Jump to content

allwx

Expired Membership
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    287

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by allwx

  1. allwx
    You're right, it sure can be a bummer. It can be so loud on mine that I can't ride without earplugs, or a fullface helmet. One or the other. Sure there are lots of other loud noises going on with a motorcycle, but this whine thing just goes straigght for the ear bone. However, for me, earplugs or a fullface helmet are a complete fix. Attenuate the racket so that it fades from consciousness. Works for me.
  2. allwx
    Thanks to VentureRider I caught this over three years ago, just after I got my 07 RSV. Mine at that time were riding way high away from the fork covers. I adjusted them to maintain solid contact with the forks, and they still look perfect after 23k miles. Thanks, VentureRider! ON a slightly different note, it never ceases to amaze me that Yam (and the other manufacturers as well) will let something like this ride with apparently no attempt made to improve the parts. A similar thing often happens with the cheapo lightbar on the Roadstar Silverados. Mine snapped off one day in traffic, fell down and put nice dents in my fork covers. In so many resects, an outstanding motorcycle, that could be made so much better by a little more attention from the Company.
  3. allwx
    How many miles are on that bike/clutch? Patrick
  4. allwx
    Woulda happened anyway, riding or sitting. Maybe faster in a humid climate, maybe faster with frequent heat cycling from riding regularly, I don't know. But it does happen either way, and I can't really tell the difference. This winter and spring I fixed up a deteriorated VTX1800 that had sat outside a lot, including periods of time when it was being ridden every day, and other periods of months when it was just sitting. The hydraulic fluids were horrible after three years of neglect. The stuff in the clutch was almost jelly-like, and very funky looking. Yet, I flushed it until my hands cramped, and everything worked fine, strong hydraulic action in all three cylinders.
  5. allwx
    That should be a front tire. What model of Dunlop is this tire?
  6. allwx
    Is that Castrol Activo oil a motorcycle specific oil? Everyone seems to have unique experiences with these clutches. Myself, I've never had a clutch go wrong using any oil whatever. I used to use car oils up until about 10 or 12 years ago when warnings started coming out about the new car oils with their friction modifiers that are designed to render better fuel mileage in drive trains that have separate trannys and dry clutches. It was being reported that people were having clutch problems using these new oils. That was when I stopped using car oils. Up until that time, I'd used just about every type/brand of cheap car oil in several motorcycles, all of them large touring bikes. I never had any problem with any clutch. So, from my personal point of view, if that Castrol is a mc specific oil (and Castrol is certainly a reputable brand) it almost surely could not in and of itself have caused your clutch to slip. Most likely there is an existing defect in the clutch that was brought to fore by other factors, including the oil. OTOH, I'm always ready for befuddlement at what actually happens that deviates from logic. Machines don't always follow the "rules."
  7. allwx
    The thing that sticks out to me in what you write is, that the tires are new. New tires do tend to feel this way, that is, they seem to drift and meander. The old tires, which you have become used to, are flat, compared to a new tire. The old tire feels stable in a straight line, but is harder to get to lean into a turn. So, you get used to having to give the old tires more control input. then, blam, there are new tires on there. The new tires are not flat, but have a max crown to them. They take much less control input to get to lean. The result is that for the first hundred or two miles, you have to re-learn the control input amplitude. After awhile, the crown on the new tires wears down a bit, and you get used to not having to countersteer so hard to initiate a turn. Until then, winds will waft me around more, and the bike generally feels twitchy.
  8. allwx
    I did something similar on a Hondaa a few years ago. Should be an easy and cheap fix, esp if you can find a pan off a donor bike. The oil pan itself is around $175 for the Venture.
  9. allwx
    The plugs are about $5 U.S. apiece, so replacing them adds $20 to a coolant change. I never did replace the ones on my RSTD, and they dribbled coolant for years. Never more than a few drops, and usually it would happen as the bike cooled down. I never saw any leakage when the motor was hot. So I didn't really worry all that much about it on that bike. The water pump weeped on that bike also, from day-one. Never more than a drop or two, and always during cool-down. I had them replace the wp under warranty, and the new one weeped, too.
  10. allwx
    It doesn't take 'em long to start leaking. My 07 started weeping from the left rear cyl after about a year. Now, I replace them whenever I do a coolant change. I'm pretty sure they shrink down over time. I don't think they'll ever do more than weep a few drops out, like overnight.
  11. allwx
    I had this problem years ago on a Concours, but have not had it on my Venture, yet. In the past, the concern with the dealer was that the bolts were being tightened too tight. But the problem continued, even with the bolts carefully finger tight. After the dealer replaced three windshields on the Concours under warranty, the company bought me a Rifle faring, and that was the end of the problem. We never identified what was causing the cracking, but vibration is a suspect. In the case of my Concours, the motor had a problem, and eventually had to be torn down to replace crankshaft. It ran much smoother after the repairs. This excessive vibration may have been the cause. Therefore, you may want to look in that direction, not that you need to tear your motor down, God forbid, but that something else may be loose and transmitting excessive vibration into the faring. Good luck.
  12. allwx
    my 07 has always been slow to actuate, and sometimes it won't set at all, and I have to power cycle the cc and try again. It is an old design, and acts exactly like the cc I had on my 2000 Kaw Voyager. I attribute the crankiness of it to the fact that it is so old a design. The cc on my 03 Goldwing was much better, and acted like the cc in my car, in that it actuates instantly, and incremental adjustments of 1 mph are easy and accurate. One thing I've discovered just lately is this: whenever I set out and anticipate using the cc I turn the unit on right from the git-go. If it has been powered up for awhile, it seems to set its speed more quickly, and with less lag of getting the speed up to where it was when I set the set switch. It doesn't like to be powered up and then hit the set switch right away. I'm thinking it takes a minute or so for the unit to boot itself up and be ready for that set switch. One other thing that needs mentioning is that it won't set above 80 mph, or thereabouts. There must also be minimum speeds in both 4th and 5th gears but I don't know what they are.
  13. allwx
    Hmmm, fish scale. I'm no fisherman, so I'm imagining what this thing looks like and how it works. I'll keep this in mind. In the meantime, I've developed a pretty good sense of how tight to make the ringnut and have it be right. I nailed this time for sure. I've put 400 miles on the bike since doing this work (tires, steering service) and it is perfect. No hint of decel wobble at 40 mph, and I sure tried to get it to wobble today. A lot of that could be the front tire, maybe older tires tend to wobble more than newer ones, I don't know. Thanks for the idea.
  14. allwx
    There's always a little play in the foks between the forktubes and the lowers, or what the book calls the inner tube and the outer tube. There shouldn't be much play, but with the bike elevated, a normal set of forks will have a tiny amount of play when you push and pull at the axle. One might be deceived into thinking that this play is in the steering, but it isn't. Also, it is possible to have a loose steering bearing that doesn't reveal itself with the push-pull-elevated-forks test. I had a CBR that developed a "rattle" when going over rough surface, and the mechanic at the dealer thought it was because of too much play in the forks. I had tried the elevated forks push pull test many times, but all I could feel was the normal play in the fork tubes. He "rebuilt" the forks but afterward the rattle was still there. Neither of us suspected the sterring bearings being a little loose, but that was the problem all along. I put a tad more tight on the bearings and everyting was normal after that. Only cost me $200 for the fork work, LOL.
  15. allwx
    Ooops, I said "stand" and meant the Carbon One stand, which is how I usually do my oil changes. Sidestand, definitely a no-n0.
  16. allwx
    I change my oil the same way you describe, with the stand. Just a hair over 3 qts will bring the sightglass level to about 2/3 up with engine hot. If I even go to 3.5 qts the oil level will be well above the top of the sight glass. These are U.S. quarts, mind you.. I'm assuming you did change out your oil filter?
  17. allwx
    All my weights are in grams so that is what I relate to. That is about 57 grams. Last week me and my friend mounted a new tire on his front VTX wheel, and it took 40 grams, all clustered together near the valve stem, to get it balanced. So I don't think 57 grams would necessarily be too much, as long as it is all in the same place. In other words, not two weights 180 degrees apart on the wheel. That might point to trouble. I've always been made to understand that the weights need to be clustered together. I've seen some wheels though, that had them spread around.
  18. allwx
    Spare wheels... what a great idea...
  19. allwx
    To each his own, for sure. There is no one size that fits all.
  20. allwx
    Yes I've had my eye on that pillow top as a source of trouble since I got the bike. But sometimes it is great for me. Good day, bad day, I suppose. I understand the midnight editions came with a firm saddle, like my old RSTD had and I loved. Next big thing I buy will probably be a new saddle, and I need to start shopping now. I've had Corbin Dual Tours on other bikes, and liked them, but I don't find the backrest to be a total solution. A backrest works for me for only short spells, then I have to lean forward. That means I have a narrower range of adjustment between backrest and bars, such that neutral upright can't be against the backrest. On long rides I always take a Cruiserbag in the pax position to use as a backrest. Wife can't ride anymore, so there goes the on-road massage.
  21. allwx
    I've never taken this seal off, so I don't know what it looks like on the side that contacts the wheel, but the top side has a sort of hump to it, as I recall, such that the wider side contacts the wheel and the narrower side faces away and into the flange. Hope this helps.
  22. allwx
    Just this past week I put on a new set of D404s. They replaced a set of E3s, which I didn't like much because of noise, but which performed flawlessly otherwise and rendered 14k miles. I probably could safely have squeezed another 1k out of them, but nowadays I tend towards the safer route. As the E3s aged they got noisier and noisier. The set of D404s my bike came with 3 years ago were great. They were nice and quiet. Only near the end of life did they get a little howly on the edges, but not in the middle, unlike the E3s which howled all the time in every attitude. I got a little over 9k out of them but could have gotten another 2k I think. I picked up a nail at 9k and so that was that. I've ridden the D404s in every type of weather, wet dry hot cold, never had a reason to complain about them. I paid $120 rear and $140 front, which isn't bad. I'll probably stick with 'em.
  23. allwx
    Howdy. Personally, I wouldn't do anything for awhile. It always takes a few thousand miles to really get to know a bike, ride it in many conditions, see how it handles with various loads, etc. I do agree about the saddle, though. My 07 often gives me a mid-back ache that sets in within the first 20 miles of a ride. My back only hurts when riding, definitely a motorcycle thang. I've still got the soft oem saddle on it. Some day I will spring for a new, firmer saddle, but for now I'm tapped out and will have to put up with the back ache. A few weeks ago a friend came by with a 2000 Venture MM he was thinking of buying. The owner had really butchered the ergos on it. Tall risers with stock bars that forced me to lean to the rear. Bike was lowered, dragging body parts in even mild turns. Well, to each his/her own, but I could never live with a bike set up that way. I've grown to love mine stock, but when I first got it I hated it. By the end of my first week with the Venture I was ready to get rid of it. I've had this reaction to most motorcycles I've bought for the past 48 years of riding. I've learned to just keep riding it and see if I can't figure out what the bike is trying to do, and see if I like it that way. Most changes I've ever made to a bike, I've eventually gone back to stock. Best of luck with your journey!
  24. allwx
    Today I finished doing maint on my front end. This included pulling the steering shaft out of the frame and repacking the bearings. The bike has 23k miles on it, and is a little over 3 years old (07 model). I was surprised at how little grease was present on the bearings. All they had on them was a thin film. I'm glad I did this when I did. The book calls for a repack every 16k miles, which I've felt is too often. Maybe they are stingy with the grease at the factory. I'll do this again in around 20k and see what they look like then. I got the ringnut tool from Dingy, and had no problme getting the bottom ringnut torqued to 37 lbs/ft, but I don't have a small torque wrench that can measure the tiny second torque, and can't afford one just now, so I did what I alwyas do, which is to just snug it up until the front end "feels" right to me. Test ride tomorrow.
  25. allwx
    I'd recheck that top hose, the one that goes into the front head on top. I removed mine when I did my last valve adj in June, and when I got everything back together I had a leak just where you describe yours. When I was taking things apart I removed that hose. To get it off the head flange I had to loosen the top of it and slid it up the top to make room to get it off the head. During reassembly I did not put enough tight on the top clamp. The leak showed up after running the bike, as a small trickle down the left side. I was able to get at the thing without removing much of anything, just used a long screwdriver to get at the clamp. Good luck!
×
×
  • Create New...