Jump to content

Semi-retired

Supporting Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    584

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Semi-retired

  1. Semi-retired
    Dear Owner's Manual: I know you say simply, "If the headlight bulb burns out, replace it as follows. 1. Disconnect the headlight coupler and then remove the headlight bulb cover." 2. Remove the headlight bulb holder by turning it counterclockwise and then remove the defective bulb." Excuse me sir.........I'm stuck back at HOW THE HECK DO I GET AT THE HEADLIGHT COUPLER!?! Anyone? Do I need to remove the fairing? Or just that one allen screw on the headlight chrome trim ring? (I tried that........and nothing else seems to want to pop off.) Or do I hire a tiny little person with tiny little hands, to reach in behind the fairing, in front of the steering head? Tips?
  2. Semi-retired
    Hey, they gotta pay for those brain injury bills somehow!! But, I agree....if you've got medical coverage, it should be up to your insurance company to ask you if you ride a MC or not......and whether you wear a helmet. It's really between YOU and the company paying your hospital bills to determine the risk/reward ratio. Mike
  3. Semi-retired
    Agreed, Goose, I'd want to do a compression check bigtime. I'd be a lot more worried about rings and valves than I would the steering and swingarm bearings. Those can be replaced fairly inexepensively.......but a full motor tear-down is getting into real big lunch money. Squidley claims he's seen RSV4's with 400 K on them and still running fine, though, so I think at that crazy low price......you gotta take a chance...........and, if push comes to shove, YEAH BABY....part it out!! Mike
  4. Semi-retired
    Good point, Jeremy, thanks; I'll check those bowls. Just hope they're not a beeotch to get to!! If Goose sees this, maybe he can tell me how tough it was. ?
  5. Semi-retired
    No offense meant to mamma......but, I'd park the bike in the driveway, look for a small stone lodged in the tread of the front tire...roll the bike forward two or three feet, then check again......and so on, until the entire circumference of the front tire has been checked for "implants". In my experience, that's the cheapest, likeliest, easiest to remedy problem you might be having.......especially on a brand new ride. Good luck......and be SURE to not tell mamma I said to check it yourself!! Mike
  6. Semi-retired
    Thanks for all your help and references, guys. I guess if I was booting along at around 75 to 80 miles per hour (125-130KPH), even though I was riding solo, this is still pretty good as a "gas consumption" figure. I've just always wondered since acquiring the bike a little over a year ago, whether it's running rich (therefore consumig more fuel than it should). The reasons I've suspected this are not consumption calculations like we just did here.....but more related to the fact that a) the bike will start on almost any Summer day with virtually no choke.......and, b) it always seems to smell a little "gassy" after first starting up; almost as though an automatic choke had kicked in somehow. m
  7. Semi-retired
    Call me stupid......or maybe just lazy! Are there any Canadians out there who've done the math to calculate if their "mileage" (kilometrage?) is good or bad? On a trip home yesterday, I put 14.2 litres into the tank after travelling 233 kilometres. Is that good or bad? Anyone? Anyone? Thanks to any braniac/math/conversion wizzard for your help. Mike
  8. Semi-retired
    I agree with both of you. I'd bet big money that it's just the mfg guys ducking for cover in the event that the "projection" causes any injury in an accident situation. I think my 2007 Camry manual says not to operate the vehicle without the rear headrests in place for the same reason. However, if you really want to see out the back window of your 2007 Camry, you pretty much have to remove those bloody headrests. (Sorry about the whiplash, passengers!!)
  9. Semi-retired
    Thanks very much, Bob. It was the Allen wrenches that really had me confused (I had about 7 others from my own collection mixed in with the pack) Agreed on the ****e quality of virtually all factory tool kits: what godforsaken second rate foundry in North Korea pounds out those miserable excuses for pliers anyway!!!??? I like your ideas for additions to the stock kit....hell, I think I'll just toss the stock kit and get REAL versions of the same tools, along with some of the true "essential" extras you mentioned....plus maybe a small roll of duct tape and a coat hanger or two, just for old time sake! :-) I'll use your list below to put my original kit back together and save it for trade-in time! Thanks again for your effort.
  10. Semi-retired
    Yeah........as I recall, it's kinda hidden like the spare tire under that bristol board reinforcement on the floor of the trunk in your Chevvy!! LOL!
  11. Semi-retired
    Hey, Bob........I like the way you think.......but, seriously.......only a pint!! Come on now. What's wifey gonna drink? Thanks very much for your effort..........and I agree with you 100% on the phone and (C/A)AA. Mike
  12. Semi-retired
    Anyone know where there's a list of all the contents of the "stock, onboard" toolkit that comes with the RSV? I've got mine all mixed up with other tools and would like to sort it out. Thanks for any info.
  13. Semi-retired
    Along these same lines......if they go to Injection in order to go "drive by wire" as someone above suggested, I hope they don't screw THAT up, the way Toyota did on what used to be the top selling car in North America. The Camry used to be the modern day 55 Chevy; everything about it was calm, cool, predictable. Now with DBW, the dumb thing never seems to know what gear it wants to be in. Don't know if it's a function of the throttle or the automatic transmission, but my dealer confirmed (two weeks after I took delivery.....thanks guys) that virtually every new (2007) Camry purchaser complained about "indecision" on the part of the gas/transmission, especially at critical points like turning at intersections. Didn't mean to get off track, but I guess the only point I'm trying to make is: sometimes OLD technology is GOOD technology. Me......I like carbs, cables and manual transmissions!
  14. Semi-retired
    You're right, Doug. As much as I hate to say it, ("wonderful" health plan notwithstanding), we Canadians take it up the u-know-what when it comes to buying anything for bikes. With our "moderate" weather (read: colder than hades in Winter), and undersized population, we have exactly ZERO economies of scale working for us on prices of what are not exactly 'everyday items' to begin with. I'm gonna try to find the friendliest Yamaha dealer I can, just across the border from Niagara Falls, ON, in the beautiful state of NEW YORK....and start going on 'international trips' (it's about 20 minutes from St. Catharines, so no big deal) whenever I need ANYTHING!
  15. Semi-retired
    I hope everyone's right about the tires being the primary offender on the lean/moan syndrome. My 03's been doing it since I bought it with 10,000 miles on it last June. It moans AND groans when leaning off center in BOTH directions. (I also have additional noise happening in the 80-90 KPH speed range, but I'm assuming that's a "Venture thing". Planning on installing two new Venoms in a couple of weeks, so that'll validate the "tire factor".....one way or another. Also planning on dropping front to 130 size, and dropping the triple clamps at the same time. Hoping all three of these moves will create a whole new ride!
  16. Semi-retired
    Not sure if it's my motocross experience.......or my auto mechanics training that puts me "at one with my machine"......but I'm always surprised by the number of folks who are not aware that almost any non-automatic vehicle can be shifted from one gear to the next WITHOUT using the clutch. Virtually all motocrosser transmissions are built to be abused and anyone who hopes to cross the finishline first NEVER uses the clutch to get from one gear to another. It's bang up....and bang down. Simply back off the gas........and kick it.......And it works! Guess what? It also works on street bikes. Even big ones like Ventures. You just don't want to be doing it at "racing" throttle settings. If you're accelerating moderately, as the 'responsible' Venture Rider that you are......you'll find that you can up-shift from 1st all the way to 5th, without pulling your left hand in once. (You WILL find it's a little easier in the 'higher' gears than in first and second.) Just roll on the throttle slowly, and when you've reached 'optimal' RPM's in the gear you're in, start to put the slightest pressure on the heal/upshift portion of your gear lever as you simultaneously back off the throttle. Suddenly, as an almost imperceptably "synchronous" act of god, the transmission will smoothly snick itself into the next higher gear. This happens at the exact moment your road speed, transmission speed and crank speed are in perfect "harmony". It sounds tricky, but if you haven't tried it, give it a shot. After a little practice, it'll become second nature....and feel like it's the way your bike WANTS to be shifted. You can do it at all speeds providing you are not heavy handed on the throttle. (Great when you're adjusting the radio, or holding hands with Honey behind your back.) When you're out on a cross country trip, with 50 miles between stops, shifting isn't such a big chore. But if you're running across town, with forty-five lights to negotiate, you can save a helluva lot of "clutching" by adopting this "one hand" gear shifting method. Down-shifting doesn't really work out all that well, (unless you're amazing at double tapping the shifter and double twisting your throttle!), but with just a little bit of practice, you'll be saving a whole lotta left hand work on all those upshifts. Try it. You'll like it. Look ma......one hand!
  17. Semi-retired
    Hey, Lonna.......thanks again for "lending me" your loving hubby who did admirable work (considering he didn't know me from Adam) on my bike and got my "always on" brake light fixed with only 5 minutes of troubleshooting. Also, Reiny, sorry I missed you; I left one of your confederates a business card with my name and number; I'm Kitchener born and raised.......and when I heard someone say YOUR NAME and Transylvania Club in one sentence.....I KNEW I had heard your name before. I used to play in a band called the Sapphires......with John Frimm and George Fritsch and Helmut Emerich (suppose they're German?)....every second Saturday at the Club. So I probably knew you when you were kneehigh to a grasshopper, in the junior dance troup, whipping around in your lehderhosen, smakin your heels like a good thing. We definitely have to get together to swap lies......about the Rosies, the Gertrudes and the Hildas and the Heidis!!! Perhaps at Oktoberfest. Ein prosit!!
  18. Semi-retired
    You mean ALL the fuse boxes, don't you? Aren't there THREE on these suckers? I'd get hold of a wiring diagram and check every connection that has ANYTHING to do with the horns.......which is what I'm about to do for my (intermittent) passing lights. :-) Good luck Oh, and by the way, could someone please post the link to the online service manual for my friend and me? (had it but misplaced it.) Thanks!
  19. Semi-retired
    Good call, Joe. Thanks. I wonder just how critical that side stand mod is? I hate the thought of butchering up my chrome; plus, if I can get away without cutting/welding whatever......this could be a totally homemade project with no shop time......and therefore subject only to MY timing, and not some commercial guy that wants to put me in a queue for a week or two!!
  20. Semi-retired
    Even though I'm 6 ft tall, I find the low-speed/no-speed handling of the RSV to be a task (I'm coming from a much lighter 1100 Suzi).....so I, too, would like to try lowering the front end. I'm not too concerned about the technical aspects of doing the mod...but wonder, if the previous owner has already done it, will I know by looking at triple clamps? Is there any 'benchmark' or 'starting point' measurement that will tell me/show me if it's already been lowered? (I've only ever ridden one other RSV, and that was some time ago, so I can't really tell by "feel" if mine might have already been modified.) Thanks for any info, Mike.
  21. Semi-retired
    Thanks for the feedback, Gary. Please let me know if you see anything "revealing" when you're looking at your brakelight setup. I will disconnect both brakes, one at a time, to see if that identifies any problems, but I'm not hopeful of the outcome, based on the fact that I can hear that same little "click" when applying each 'lever'.......suggesting that both levers ARE opening/closing whatever mechanical/electrical connection resides inside that "little black box". Anybody out there who KNOWS what that little black box IS? Is it a micro-switch (my guess by the sound it makes)......or is it some completely electronic gizmo, in which case I'm REALLY suspicious of its well being! Again, guys, thanks for any and all comments.
  22. Semi-retired
    Can't think of anything I've done that could have caused this; just wondered if it's due to failure of the little solenoid down by the rear brake pedal. I can hear a little click coming out of this little box whenever I activate the pedal or the front lever........but the brake light just stays brightly lit all the time. Anyone ever had this symptom before? Thanks for any words of wisdom. Mike
  23. Semi-retired
    Forgive me for not having been on the forums (fora?) for a while.......but, has anyone brought up a discussion on affordable insurance lately? I'm with a broker called Dalton Timmis out of Burlington/Ancaster, who I think have me with an insurer called Elite(?). My "comprehensive" package on my '03 Midnight Venture comes to $988. Am I getting hosed? Anyone else riding in Canada getting a good rate from a broker they can recommend? Thanks for any tips. Mike.
  24. Semi-retired
    Thanks for the feedback, everyone. When removed, it appears there is tons of material left on both pads; probably 3/16 or possibly even a 1/4 inch (if that's possible)......so it appears I don't have a metal on metal problem. Don't know exactly how the stock ones are identified, and can't remember if the original owner said he replaced them or not, but these ones are marked along the top edge with the code: TOYOS20GG.......then a number 28 on one side, and a 14 on the other. The faces themselves look somewhat copperish and shiny, so perhaps the previous guy put in high metal content pads in order to reduce wear. Thoughts?
  25. Semi-retired
    Any suggestions? (PLEASE don't say grease them.... :-)
×
×
  • Create New...