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Seaking

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Everything posted by Seaking

  1. Seaking
    hey guys, while the bike was up on the sky hook tonight, I removed the cover over the key to allow the bars to swing to and fro without touching that plastic shroud.. The articles say that a properly tightened steering head should fall to one of the stops and bounce off once and nicely settle down .. However, when I do mine it's like a frikken yo yo.. a push on the bars and it hits maybe 3 or 4 times.. no wonder the bike sometimes feels like it wants to wander in some turns.. Articles say to loosen the big nut and use a common screw driver to bang against the nuts under the top tree but I can't seem to budge that big nut.. I have risers on my bars and maybe those are making it harder to access the nut? Does anyone know what size that big nut is? Is there a torque value for that nut and if so, how do you apply it?
  2. Seaking
    Well folks I took the plunge and had ordered a buncha parts and tools, one of which were the Leveling Links from DR. The instructions didn't look complicated per se but they talked about remove a bunch of hoses from some contraption and silly enough it was a little intimidating to me.. However, once the bike was sky hooked and sitting stable, a quick looks showed how simple of a job this was going to be.. wow. Pull two bolts, replace the old hardware with the new, grease stuff in the process and voila, Leveling Links installed.. Down she goes for a test ride.. and egads I almost dropped the bike LOL.. I say almost because the babe wanted to kiss that corner like there was NO tomorrow and she recovered sweetly like I had never seen her do before. wow.. what a difference!! Ever do a tight turn and have that weird sensation that the front end was going to turn into itself and lock up, causing you to drop the bike? ( c'mon, I know you have lol) Well the leveling links basically got rid of that sensation and allows you to properly power out of that tight turn like the should do when properly handled.. I can hardly wait to let her loose on the MOST II course this week =) Hesitating about doing the links? It's simple and well worth the expense and time/effort to install.. wow. You can paint me as one satisfied customer!
  3. Seaking
    I should hope to be able to let you know after thursday when I get back from a ride.. got a bunch of stuff I need to get done and run before anything else gets going.. ; )
  4. Seaking
    As much as a pain in the assets as it can be to remove, it's worth the while.. I never did remove them until recently and now I always remove them.. so much easier..
  5. Seaking
    Oooh compared to the fluid shown in this demo, mine pitch black lol.. ouch.. time to get THAT taken care of.. quick!!
  6. Seaking
    Thanks guys, I know about how to practice it as I teach it also.. I'm asking about the Venture specifically as it is different than any cable clutch bike I've ridden before.. it's the hydraulic clutch system that I'm having difficulty finessing, might be because I need to change the black fluid out of it for some nice clean stuff, ya know? But I can hold the bike at a stand still with the clutch, brake and throttle.. friction zone yeah..
  7. Seaking
    Thanks Steve, I just had the bike for a safety inspection (requirement here) and asked them about it.. They say it's a 30 man minute job.. so might as well have them do it now and learn from them how it's done for next time.. What's the one man bleeder thing? Thanks
  8. Seaking
    Thanks M8.. I'll have a boo at it.. generally speaking, is the clutch fluid much darker than the brake fluid?
  9. Seaking
    it's an 06 with 36,000 miles on it.. I'm the 3rd owner.. the previous owner also didn't have warranty on it as he bought from a yank down south. After seeing how bad the fuel filter was, I doubt much had been done to it.. I'll see about booking some time to get the fluid flushed and see how that works.. Is this something that can be done 'easily' at home or best left to the experts? Thanks
  10. Seaking
    Thanks Tew, the MOSTII test isn't hard to do, but the friction zone on the bike is what I'm concerned about..
  11. Seaking
    2006 Midnight Venture (no warranty) Hi guys, I wonder if someone could shed some light on this for me.. I hadn't realized till recently that my Venture had a hydraulic clutch vs cable like on my VStar.. On the VStar I can adjust where the friction zone is within the clutch lever application so that it's comfortable on my hand, the zone itself is narrow, meaning how much travel of the lever keeps you in the friction zone of the clutch.. For people doing a lot of slow speed manouvering on such a large bike, you'll understand where I'm going with this.. On the Venture I find my friction zone is extremely narrow and all the way to the release point of the clutch lever.. it take a very deft hand to stay within the zone smoothly.. On the VStar, the zone was more so into the middle than towards the full release point.. I'm wondering if my clutch is actually full engaged when I release the lever, because as soon as I pull it in I'm immediately in the friction zone.. If this can be adjusted, how so.. If it can't be adjusted, is mine more or less normal? I'm teaching motorcycle safety and though students do the course on 125 Maurauders, we're somewhat expected to be able to do the excercise courses on our own bikes.. When you see a RoadKing or a GoldWing able to do it, it makes me wonder how come my Venture can't do it (oh I know there are a lot of reasons apart from the rider's abilities lol) but the one thing I noticed was the clutch's friction zone wasn't quite what I was used to on other bikes.. Any thoughts or comments?
  12. Seaking
    Now that's interesting.. I just recently did my carb synch and took a long careful time doing it, adjusting a little here, a little there until all the bars were properly aligned etc.. I took the bike out for a run and in my opinion, what tells me the carbs are still rock solid is that my mirrors do not vibrate.. The view is so clear I can see great details on the highway in my mirrors.. I still have a thump thump in my floor boards and but another carb synch check shows them to be spot on.. Mirrors tell carb synch.. floor boards is something else but I can't remember what.. Anyone else?
  13. Seaking
    Same here.. a local MC shop made my spacers and installed it for all of $10.. NOT a bad deal! And well worth the safety!
  14. Seaking
    Are any of these mods "reversible" after you've done them? I'd hate to try something only to discover I don't like it and can't go back ya know?
  15. Seaking
    We're not talking about an ear splitting shouting above the sound of your pipes loud.. but its louder than stock.. I think the nicest sound was pulling into a crowded parking lot and overhearing the HD guys mentioning the big black yamaha coming in with the sweet sounding pipes.. pipes sound nice as you roll in.. and doesn't crack an eardrum.. Cheers
  16. Seaking
    I put the RK mufflers on my 06 Midnight (and K&N Filters) and love the sound.. throatier and louder.. I read where some people find these mufflers quiet and unimpressive.. I wonder if the air filters make any difference to the sound? The pipes make a nice roar on decel.. and gets impressively throatier when it's cooler outside.. nice.. Mind you, the fuel mileage hit is to be considered but the bike is peppier than before..
  17. Seaking
    Hi Ed, I just changed my fuel filter and I feel for you.. however it's simple to change if you take your time and think of your path.. (the path of least resistance..) When you need to change your fuel filter, it's easier to toss your bike off a cliff and buy a new one.. (turn pet cock to OFF) To change the filter, you need to pull both side covers off and loosen the front cover between them.. watch the routing of the hoses and loosen them off. You'll have to unbolt the fuel pump (left side of bike) by the two top bolts.. get a bunch of rags and carefully pull the hose off the top of the fuel filter, catching the fuel coming out of it. Then, with the fuel pump loose in your hand, undo the hose going to the filter.. now you can move the fuel pump out of the way so your hand can reach in and touch the bottom of the fuel filter.. Now the fun part.. with one hand pulling from under and the other hand pushing from the top, you can now slide that filter out through the bottom of it's holder and out to the left side of the bike.. you should at this point be left holding the old filter with a short bent piece of hose on the bottom end of it.. Clean the filter off before pulling the hose off of it lest you introduce dirt into the fuel line.. Swap the hose onto new filter, ensure you have it pointing in the right direction.. and reverse the procedure.. slide the filter up through the bottom of the sleeve holder and voila, it will go nicely into place.. and reinstall everything else.. Keep in mind that when you disconnect fuel hoses, you will have residual fuel coming out so be prepared to catch that fuel lest you have a mess on your hands. The whole process doesn't take long once you get the hang of it.. after I did mine I went and changed my friends' fuel filters as they couldn't figure it out either.. Now, the next time I am going to be doing mine I'll be rigging it up so that the fuel filter is sitting in a more accessible position.. Some people have put inline fuel filters with cleanable elements in them but I'll simply reposition mine.. all it takes is a little bit of extra hose.. best of luck..
  18. Seaking
    Just ordered one.. for the cost, it's well worth the lack of aggravation when you take off the fairing.. !
  19. Seaking
    See, in heavy rains, the droplets will sheet off the shield, no probs.. But around here we have a lot of misting and heavy fog.. it's not rain, it's not drizzle, it's that irritating in between stuff that in your car you find having wipers on all the time annoying and pulse wiping too slow.. it will bead on your windscreen and not sheet away at city speeds and when caught behind traffic, it will billow in behind your screen, with or without the Honda louvres.. I found it dangerous enough to warrant going to the see-over the top screen.. Heavy rains? No probs.. its that annoying light stuff that won't sheet off that's the killer, no matter HOW much RainX you put on it..
  20. Seaking
    I ran ME880s on my VStar for years and NEVER had a prob with them what so ever.. But on the Venture I have the E3 front and back and those tires are impressively superior over the 404s..
  21. Seaking
    This is true. HOWEVER, when riding city speeds, in the dark of night, in the rain behind a truck or car, RainX still needs a little wind to push those beads of water off the screen.. THAT was my biggest disappointment.. Like the OP, I too ride rain or shine, day and night and the inability to see properly through a windscreen is why I switched to another one that I could see over the top.. Keep in mind, a Clearview WILL be better looking through than an OEM one, but it's still going to be hard to see.. You know those nights where you can't see the lane lines in the rain? that sucks even worse on a bike looking through ANY windscreen.. I prefer to look over the top of mine. I have my Clearview stored for now, and I will most likely put it back on later this year when the frost returns.. but for summer riding, over the top viewing for me.. Best luck to the OP.. what sucks is that you'll never know which is best unless you try both yourself..
  22. Seaking
    What does it mean when you say "punched out" ? Do you have to change anything in settings to ride those? Drop me a line.. Cheers
  23. Seaking
    Hey Steve, I have the Tall Wide Clearview on my 06 Midnight and it's a great shield.. unfortunately I had to remove it and install a short wide so that I could see OVER the shield when it rains.. No matter how much RainX you put on it, city driving doesn't provide enough wind speed to peel the drops off the screen which makes a miserable ride at night.. Wind turbulence with the Clearview? I found the T&W kept the wind off the helmet for a smooth ride but for some reason the winds would come up my legs and up under my glasses.. I didn't like that part! The short wide I have now isn't a clearview and wow, you can tell by the lack of quality.. the Clearview is crystal clear with NO defects while this other one has two wows in it I didn't notice until later and can't return the screen.. drat. No worries, it's out of the viewable riding view and I didn't pay a lot for it.. Your passenger will appreciate the Clearview as well but since I don't ride with a pax often, it's a moot point. I also found a fuel milage difference between the tall and short screens.. especially in the high winds.. So because of the winds we have and the frequency of rains, I opted for the shorter shield at the moment.. Others will have differing opinions..
  24. Seaking
    You'll need wires, fuse and switch, connectors, electrical tape and basic electrical training. Ain't to hard.. most time the pods come with instructions on how to do it.. ?
  25. Seaking
    A right smack upside the head should solve all arguments, no? Its no coin off their books if the shock is a warranty covered item? I wouldn't know, I'm one of those silly sods with a 06 Midnight without warranty.. ergh. But remember, 'the customer is always right' and insist on a new shock..
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