Freebird

OH yea, we have snow now. And Ice. Power went off for 20 hours yesterday due to ice heavy trees crashing down on power lines.

OK..she says that it's MY new toy but since we decided to sell her Sypder to get it, I'm saying that it's hers. Either way, I expect we'll have a lot of fun with it. 2016 Slingshot. 4,231 miles. Like new.

Let us know what you find.

Well, to be honest, I would suspect the battery tender. Have you got another one that you can try? I have seen them go bad and not shutoff and therefore overcharging and ruining batteries. That's the first thing I would verify.

OK....I'm probably being a little dense this morning but don't completely understand. You say that the Yamaha test says the battery is dead. I assume you have replaced it?

Neither of those bikes are 84's. If the white one is original paint, it is an '88. Other one is newer also. Both have the '86 and later bags and trunk.

Just noticed what I THINK is our first new Eluder owner. @Texas Tom just joined and lists an Eluder GT as his bike. Will be great to hear his first impressions. In his honor, I just added a new Tech Talk area for the Eluder. Hope he is the first of many 3rd Gen owners to join us. Welcome.

Well, your 1500 watt generator breaks down to about 12.5 amps at 1500 watts and 120 volts. Rule of thumb for most washing machines is probably around 10 amps. So, you are just about using all your available power just for the washing machine. With much of anything else turned on, lights, etc., you were very likely exceeding the power capabilities of the generator. Your 10/3 wire is rated about 30 amps so you should be fine with what the generator can put out. My guess would be that you are correct in that along with the washing machine, some lights, etc., the voltage was low and caused the motor windings and wire to the motor to overheat. It's been a long time since I've done any major electrical work but I was an electrician for about 20 years, almost all industrial, and low voltage can certainly cause such issues. I'm surprised though that if you were actually pulling too many amps, that the breaker on the generator didn't trip. I assume it has one. Of course, it's not like it would have tripped instantly as it would with a short circuit or something. They can take a good while to trip if you are just a few amps over their rating.

Moved to the proper area.

I enjoyed that. I didn't feel that they really picked a clear winner but certainly pointed out some likes and dislikes. I would have loved to been one of the riders on that test. For me, the Eluder was the best looking bike in the group. I really do NOT like the fairing on the Indian. The BMW actually looks great but just not my style of bike. The Harley's look good but a little dated compared to the others. Overall, the Eluder would be my choice just from watching that.

That doesn't sound good. No big deal about the shoulder pain. I had that on the RSV and some Flanders bars were the cure. I'm sure there will be such an easy fix for the new one. The footpeg deal would be a deal killer for me though. Like you, they are essential for my riding long distances along with the driver's backrest.

Will be looking forward to your report after your test ride. I love the looks of the bike but have actually heard some pretty harsh comments about the heat. I had a 2013 Road Glide Ultra for a couple of years and even after doing several modifications that were supposed to reduce the heat, it was still a scorcher. As far as members in your area, I don't know what area you are in. You have Fr entered as your state. Tell me what state you are in and I can correct that for you.

Unless you have a way to test them, I don't know how you tell if one is accurate or not. I have a 1/2" in ft.lbs. and a 3/8" in in.lbs. that are both Craftsman. I have another 3/8" in.lb. that I picked up at Advance Auto. The one from Advanced Auto was only about $20.00. They are all the click type and seem to work fine but how do you really know?

Really looking good. Amazing that it will live again.

That groove is supposed to be there. That's where the bolt passed through and keeps it from sliding off if it gets loose.

Well I'll start with this. Forget about how it bogs down in your shop with the airbox off. These bikes simply won't run right with the airboxes off. You can take one that is running perfectly, remove that airbox, and it is going to do the same thing that yours is doing. It could very well have some gummed up carbs after sitting for so long. Especially if it had old/untreated gas in it. Two things I would try first though. Change the spark plugs and then run a can or two of seafoam through it. A full can to a full tank of gas.

First I've seen of it also but that is a very sharp bike.

Oh yea, I covered that in detail. This is custom and that is the finished size.

OK...after a lot of deliberation, I've about decided to just put a tarp on it for now. I finally went out and got a good measurement this morning. I through a cord all the way over it and measure from the top of the sidewall to the top of the sidewall on the other side. It is 38' total. So I need a tarp that is 60' long by 38' wide. Now the question is what kind of tarp to buy. Hopefully some of you will know more about tarps than me but it looks to me like a super heavy duty vinyl tarp is my best choice. I can buy one in 18 oz. and 22 mil thick for about $1800.00 or 22 oz. and 25 mil thick for about $300.00 more. Is it worth it to go with the 22 oz. or do you recommend a different material altogether? There is a 2 x 4 running horizontally along the top of the side walls the full 60' length. The 38' is from the bottom of that 2 x 4 to the bottom of the 2 x 4 on the other side. I plan to secure it to that 2 x 4 and then put some type of siding on the sidewalls. I will then rebuild the front of the greenhouse and put in one or two overhead doors. There used to be a single 8' overhead door on the front but I sort of backed the 26' boat into it and then finally tore the entire front off because the boat wouldn't go through that door. Boat is gone though so I no longer need an opening as high. Standard doors will do what I need.

That is certainly another option that I have considered. What it has now is a double wall plastic top that a small blower keeps inflated. That has lasted for close to 12 years. The only issue is that it gets too hot in the summer but that can be handled with an additional "shade" cover. I had one of those but it rotted and tore up about 3 or so years ago. I don't think there is enough framing for a regular tarp. I don't think you could get it tight enough to prevent sagging in the large unsupported areas and the snow would cave it in. A regular tarp over a new inflatable vinyl roof would work but that starts getting expensive. I looked at pricing for a 40' x 60' tarp and they get up there close to $2,000.00. Plus the cost of a new inflatable top.

Thank you. Now I'll get busy sourcing and pricing it out.

OK...I get what you mean about the side walls now. I am actually planning to do that anyway. No way would I try to bend metal around that bottom bend. One more question, I see that the hat channel is available in different gauges, what would you recommend? Some of the structure is already hat channel and it's pretty heavy but I don't know what gauge it is.

@Edbo I like your first suggestion. So you are saying that the steel roofing will flex vertically enough to fit to that radius? If so, this sounds like the best solution. You mention 28 gauge for the horizontal suggestion but what gauge would you recommend for the vertical orientation with the hat's channel on 24" centers? Also, can you explain what you mean by running it differently at the very top of the side walls?

LOL...I would be up for that but getting 100 able-bodied and willing people here to do that might be a bit of a challenge. I'll bet it wouldn't take long to get it done though.

Whether it would bend enough is the question. If so, that would cost me about $4,000 plus the additional framing that would be needed. Not bad depending upon how long it would last.