Seaking

Good question, I have noticed my fuel filter being cleaner when I change it each year since I started burning premium gas (no ethonol in premium gas over here, generally speaking). Premium only costs 50 cents more per fill up and I end up going a tad further on that tank so the extra cost engates itself.

That's because you shouldn't be out riding at this time of year in Canada.. (says he, still locked under 4 inches of ice and a couple of feet frozen snow on the east coast.. sigh) I've had that happen to me before a couple of time, not sure if it was just gremlins of part of the ignition system issues I was suffering. Once that problem was sorted the problem never returned.. This is PEI... http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/PEI/ID/2654524972/

Based on my own past experiences, a clogged fuel filter will not make a difference on your fuel light. In my case, it did cause other problems (used bike was new to me at the time, with a very dirty fuel filter). When the fuel got below a certain level, it would cause fuel starvation problems, almost like it had run out of fuel. Put it on reserve it would start and run until the fuel level got to certain point. The filter was so clogged that it required a certain amount of head pressure from the weight of the fuel to assist the pump to suck the fuel past the filter. Once the fuel got below a certain level, not enough head pressure. Once I replaced the filter, all was good.. Until the fuel pump died later on from being overworked by the clogged fuel filter. I since then I relocated the fuel filter to under the seat so now there is no excuse not to change it every year.

Interesting post from both. I too suffer from early browning of my clutch fluid and I end up changing it out frequently in the summer riding season. Mind you, I do a lot of clutch riding during training courses as I demonstrate with my RSV so that puts more wear and tear on the clutch system than the usual rider. I hadn't thought of trying the shieding until I had seen the OP's message and will give that a try to see if it makes a difference this coming riding season.. Though I flush out my clutch system twice a year (simple enough to do it), in between flushes I would typically change out the reservoir fluid with a turkey baster to suck out the old and pour in fresh from the bottle new Dot4 fluid. I have new seals in the master cylinder and under the reservoir cap. I live on the coast (moisture) and ride in the rain a lot, which may contribute to the browning of the fluid through water contamination.. if it's not the heat causing it.

Glad to hear you got it sorted out.. Do you remember how old the previous battery was? I ended up replacing the batteries in my 05 VStar and 06 RSV at the 6 yr mark for each battery.. I was lucky it started showing signs while at home and not on a road trip. Based on that experience, I plan to replace the battery after the 5th year.. I don't have access to fancy batteries out here but found the NAPPA batteries to be quite excellent for these two bikes.. cranks like a bear, and at a good price.

Once you've determined that your battery and charging system are OK but still suffering the same symptoms, I would suggest starting to do the ignition key switch test. Mine started doing what you described two years ago, but last year it came to a head where I had to replace the ignition (key) switch.. which then required a new kick stand switch (gah can't remember the proper name for it.. SCCR?) and then finally the pickup coil packed it in.. After all that pain and suffering last summer, it was well worth it.. The bike now roars to a good and proper start, and rides smooth as anything. The tests are simple enough to do (If I could do them, anyone can.. and can save you some trouble down the road.. Best of luck!

I had a situation like that a while ago on a road trip where as on the highway on with throttle applied, the cylinder would fire but not at idle.. A short visit to the nearest Yamaha dealer sorted it out real quick.. The tech said he couldn't take the bike in for a week, they were so busy but offered to do a quick check of draining the float bowl.. and wow, that did the trick.. If I remember correctly, he said that this won't work every time but in my case, there was something in the bowl sucking up into the idle circuit and blocking it. I'm not familiar enough with the carbs to know exactly what he meant at the time, but suffice to say it did the trick for my bike.. The symptoms I experienced for that problem was that when ever I came off throttle on the highway it would backfire horribly and loud.. (scatters the tailgating cagers real quick) The next morning when warming up the bike to continue the trip and find a repair shop is when I noticed the exhausts fumes not looking right.. and found the left rear cylindre was cold.. but it would warm up as I throttled up the bike..

Just a thought... You didn't mention if you had a 100% battery state on the bike after 2 months away.. Hopefully nothing more than just a weak battery, strong enough to crank it but not enough to play nice with spark.. Once you have that eliminated, then you know you have somewhere else to look for the fault..

I also teach the Advance Riders course and use my RSV to demo the various slow ride manouvers, so I know where you're coming from. I had burnt out my OEM clutch a couple of times doing demos and had to get towed home (nothing like sitting in 1st gear with the clutch out and nothing happening.. I had tried the 1/2 plate upgrade system many speak of here, but didn't like where it left the lever in the friction zone (and ended up wearing that one out too after a while..it's a great upgrade but not for my needs.) I then did the full Barnet heavy duty clutch upgrade and its like night and day.. The friction is always where you left it, easy to re-engage.. Doing the slow ride manouver demos all day is easy now.. Yes, it's a heavier pull on the lever but if you're stong enough to toss this bike around from floor board to floor board at walking speed, you really don't notice it.. much.. To prolong its life, I change out and flush out the DOT4 on a frequent basis during the heavier training period. Every once in a while I'll also remove the steel plates and give them a cleaning to take the shine off.. After 6 years of doing these courses, I have yet to burn out the clutch or have to replace any of the plates on this Barnet system. As far making adjustments for the lever itself, I don't think there is one.. The Barnet system leaves the friction zone closer to the grips than the 1/2 plate upgrade system did..

My choke knob had long ago fallen off so it's replaced with a kitchen drawer pull knob, brushed steel finish and JB welded on.. As far as I can remember, the stem end is not threaded but hatch patterned to hold onto the knob (glued or heated on?) .. but as Chaharly stated, you can just unhook the mechanism to remove the carbs.. simple to do, have a look at how it's connected, pretty straight forward..

Those are widely available for bikes.. I did some research on those but the popular verdict out there is leaning towards that its more snake oil than actual boosting of anything..

I had tried several types on my RSV a while ago and none of them work as good as a proper antenna. Lack of range mostly. Here's another one I checked out recently, though haven't yet decided if I would go this route or not.. http://www.tunetrapper.com/

Nuttin says luvin like a new clutch Read this line in your post "Planning to run the beaches later toady with my GF on the back.".. as I look outside.. sigh..

Same.. I did a few of my own tires these past couple of years and nah, I'd sooner let someone else do it for me for $30. BUT if you do have to do it yourself, all you really need is at least three tire spoons, large clamp or something to break the bead and then something to balance the tire after installing the new rubber. If you're using dyna beads or balancing gel, you won't need to static balance the wheel.. Make sure to scrub clean the inside of the bead rim to avoid slow leaks etc

I installed the progressive springs a while back on my 2006 Midnight (didn't know of the other brands at the time). What a marked improvement on the handling and braking of the bike. Though I've read that many ride with 0 PSI in their front forks after installng progressive springs, I ride mine with 5 PSI in the front forks as I prefer a stiffer suspension on my bikes. With the better handling in curves (less wallowing) you will also appreciate the better brake handling on the bike as well. Without the springs, I found the bike's front end would dive terribly, making it hard not to lock up the rear wheel as the bike's weight starts to transfer onto the front wheel which raises the rear wheel, less weight then less rear wheel grab onto the pavement, causing lockup. After installing the progresive springs, when ever I do a heavy front and rear brake application, the bike now feels like it settles down onto the suspensive evenly without front end dive, keeping a good amount of weight still on the rear wheel for more effective braking in those dire situations. You can still lockup the rear wheel on this bike if you stomp on it but it is less likely than it was before installing the progressive springs. I also installed stainless steel brake lines in the front but kept the rear line OEM as the rubber line will absorb some of the unintentional scary moment rear brake stomps when you get caught by surprise and human nature kicks in.. and will be less likely to lockup.. As configured, when applying emergency braking on both brakes, the bike hunkers down evenly and comes to an impressive stop without diving or locking up. There are various opinions out there about this, but this is what has proven to work best for me and my bikes.

'Tis but two bolts holding down the chrome peice and easy to remove.. probably took you longer to type out your query than it would have been to remove the chrome peice and putting it back on to find out the measurement..

Congrats!! Glad to hear you're up and rolling again! Another great week forcast weather on the coast so lots of riding ahead still. What condition was the old fuel filter in? Rather dark looking compared to the new one? Now you understand why many 'relocate' that darn filter.. my ape hands can't reach down there without leaving skin residue behind Cheers!

Yup, only once and at a gas station right after fueling up.. Every winter maintnance I clean off those lugs and connectors.. just a couple minutes to save a potential issue the next riding season..

Here's the corrected URL for that part from Amazon.. (though our bikes aren't listed on the fitment chart?) [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Supply-Universal-Point-Switch-18-4615/dp/B0034ZMVKU/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_i]Amazon.com: K&L Supply Universal Fuel Pump Point Switch Kit 18-4615: Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/413ZwtRHzdL.@@AMEPARAM@@413ZwtRHzdL[/ame] Amazon acquires it from http://www.powersportsuperstore.com/K-L-Supply-Universal-Fuel-Pump-Point-Switch-Kit-18-p/4606031.htm You yanks have the advantage with Amazon's free shipping.. Not available through Amazon.ca and shipping from either source to the Great White North costs more than the item being shipped.. go figure eh?!

The fuel filter is scheduled to be changed out at 20,000 miles so it was due.. long over due. Because of the issue I had, I change mine every spring regardless of miles on the bike.. just good cheap insurance.. Though you probably might not have had to replace the pump if it was indeed just the filter being clogged up, but if your bike does what mine did, the pump would soon follow later on down the road due to it being overworked with the clogged filter. It died about 2 months later on a road trip.. So being a big bite out of the wallet, at least you have the peace of mind that the system is new. I would get new points and service the old pump and hold it as a spare.. a buddy of mine had his pump replaced under warranty only to have it fail once again just after the warranty period was up.. (sneaky little timers they put on these parts... I wouldn't think Seafoam by itself was your culprit, but not changing the fuel filter on a regular basis doesn't help down the road.

Based on what you described where the bike falters as the fuel level goes down in your fuel tank, this had happened to me in the past and it was all due to a clogged FUEL FILTER... Once the fuel filter was changed out, all worked well again, until the overworked fuel pump died a few months later. If this is the case with your bike, what you're experiencing is that a full fuel tank adds head pressure to the system to assist the fuel pump to suck the fuel out of the tank past the restriction of a clogged fuel filter (the weight of the fuel helps to push past the clogged filter), but when the fuel level goes down below a certain point, there isn't enough weight of fuel to assist anymore and you end up with a fuel starvation problem. Switching the bike to reserve at this point allows a bit more height of fuel for a little bit but the problem will manifest itself again once a certain level is reached. Again, if this is the case with your bike, your fuel pump is working overtime trying to pull that fuel through the filter and will most likely start suffering a premature failure in the near future. If you haven't yet had a chance to do so, have a look at your fuel filter, replace it if it hasn't been replaced in a while.. and while you're doing that, relocate it to a more accessible spot to make the next fuel filter change easier. I put mine under the seat, making sure no pinching or kinking of the fuel lines exist.

From what I understand it's a very known issue.. oddly enough, none of the cracks or holes were at the joining weld holding the two pipes together, they were mostly around the shield bracket welds and around the pipe to the rear of the two pipe joint.. weird.. $600 for that pipe.. ouch..

well, that worked out nicely! I knew I had an exhaust leak down by the left y-pipe where I could see a couple of holes and cracks.. but I wasn't able to see the extent of the damage until I removed the muffler and put a bright light shining inside the open pipe that all the cracks and holes appeared as the light shined through.. shining the light from the outside into the pipe showed all the openings as well. wow.. I thought I only had a couple of holes but this y-pipe looked like it had been hit by bird shot.. No wonder the tape wouldn't do the job.. Using the light to guide me to the holes, I was able to apply JB Weld over the cleaned up cracks and holes. Looking inside the pipe I could see how the JB Weld blobbed a small bead inside the pipe which looks like it would help anchore the stuff to the pipe, and prevent it from blowing out when under pressure when the engine is running. Once dried and everything re-installed, it looks (or sounds) like its a decent fix as the bike sounds and feels differently under load. Not sure if I would call this a permanent fix but it should hold until later this winter when I remove the y-pipe and have it repaired or replaced..

Mine died around the 50K miles marker and replaced under warranty.. bike now has 135K miles on it and pump is rolling on fine.. Remember to change your fuel filter! I change mine each year, inexpensive peace of mind, easy to get at once relocated..

The OEM battery in my 2006 died in 2012, I replaced it with one from NAPA, great crank amps and great price when on sale.. decent price when not on sale