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5bikes

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  1. 5bikes
    Use a skinny magnet and small flashlight to look down the intake ports. Change the oil. When was antifreeze done last time? Check the brake/clutch fluid levels & pads and do a bleed if fluid is dark. Replace final drive (rear gear box) if it's been more than a couple years. Clean the carbs thoroughly by using carb cleaner spray in every port and hole you can find and lots of compressed air. Use a little grease on the joints to ease installation. Do 1 tire at a time and check the air pressure, friend drove his 40 miles with 15 psi from shop. Stay near home until everything checks out.
  2. 5bikes
    I would disconnect the power outlet/cigarette lighter to what ever it is connected to now and go the the 2 accessory terminals in the fuse box. The center terminal on the outlet is the positive. Do the same for the radio or lights that are on all the time. Now they can only work when the key is on the ACC or On position. PM me if you need more assistance.
  3. 5bikes
    El Paso, TX. Cartel (2000 murders in 08) real bad in Juarez right now (worst in the world). DO NOT go over. But El Paso has one the the lowest crime rates in the USA. Go figure? Let me know if you help, place to stay, advice, anywhere in far west Texas. PM me. I like to meet new to me bikers. Retired.
  4. 5bikes
    Obviously I have 5 bikes, and 19 before that. Worked on 50+ more, Ridden 75+ How many you got now? What are they? Why did you buy them?
  5. 5bikes
    Totally different bikes. Venture is heavy, minor vibrations, comfortable, OK handling, great 2 up, long distance bike, smooth riding, good looking. Virago 1100 is light, much better handling, vibrates way too much, hard riding, great in town, too small for 2 up except locally, and I love all the chrome. But if I want speed my Gixxers are it. Also they are totally vibrationless, extremely reliable, semi-comfortable, smooth riding, easy to work on. Many of my friends are getting more than 1 bike, I'm just a "BAD" influence. Their wives don't like me, WHY?
  6. 5bikes
    Make everything have more than 1 use. Carry ONLY what is absolutely necessary. Each item must be small and light weight. Clothes have to be worn more than 1 day. We stayed near enough to towns so we could eat out and not carry food and utensils, or ate before we got to the campground. We sat on our pillows on the bike. Sleeping bags and our 1" foam mattresses rolled up small, attached to the saddlebags. Eventually we slowly transitioned to moteling every 2nd-3rd night go get a soft bed, good night's sleep, quiet time and a good shower. I said to my spouse "this is your storage space and no more" (1 saddle bag or the trunk), today I get no argument on trips. 7 P's = Proper prior planning prevents "P---" poor performance.
  7. 5bikes
    http://www.markelinsuresfun.com 1-800-236-2453 All 5 bikes, liability only, was $250 last fall. Cheapest I found. Your chances of causing an accident are far less than a "cage" so I don't do the full coverage thing. Bikes are garaged, inexpensive and rarely out of my sight too.
  8. 5bikes
    Alarm-tilt mercury & hidden switches See other post. Aux/DRL's to H3 LEDs to reduce load by >100 watts/ 9 amps $24 Ebay Buy spare parts ahead, if something gives out on trip they can be overnighted, rather than waiting a week… Take enough tools so most any repair can be done on the road $20 Walmart tool kit Take withs especially on long trips: Insulated Wire, Electrical tape, 5 min Epoxy/Super glue, tire repair kit, tie wraps, 1 spark plug, 1 qt. oil, small flashlite, tire gauge, valve core removal tool (kind in the cap), drinkable water use for radiator/battery too. Fuses, Green Slime or Fix A Flat, padlock & chain, paper funnel, small 1st Aid Kit, spare key, rag(s), Dawn (Hand cleaner), Windox, grease, hypoid oil. Just carry enough in small containers to get you to the next Walmart/town. Flat spotted/worn in the center tires, handle poorly. Do not pull out nails/screws out of the tire until you are where you can fix the tire. Carry $10 air compressor Harbor Freight & Walmart Install a power outlet for air compressor/accessories Maps are cheaper and won't get stolen like a GPS Check Battery condition easily, Key Off. 12.6+volts Fully charged, Most not all types. 12.4 =3/4, 12.2 =1/2, Slow turning or needs boost charger = time for new one. Red On Sale $3 Voltmeters at Harbor Freight are compact, accurate enough for trips. If you take parts/tools you will not need them, don't take them and you will need them! I service/buy bikes frequently. I frequently find most bikes rarely get proper servicing. Batteries, carbs, tires, oil, brakes go first, usually in that order. Honestly how often to you check?
  9. 5bikes
    Checked my crankcase breather hose and it's still leaking oil into the air box and onto the multi-purpose chamber between the cylinders then all over the lower engine. I'm 1/2 way down on oil in sight glass. So I disconnected the front drain hose I "T'ed" into the crankcase vent tube as Yamaha has suggested. Went back to draining the oil on the ground as Yamaha had it. (1984) I may add a small collecting reservoir later. Inside the air box I added a T at the crankcase vent outlet and ran hoses to the top of the rubber air intakes. Oil/fumes have got to return to the engine now. 1 drop? every 10-20 miles? won't hurt anything. I leak much more than I burn. I'm going to lick this problem...
  10. 5bikes
    1. Get a (mercury?) tilt switch and any toggle switch, (10 amp?) I had a tilt switch laying around from Radio Shack for years. From pink wire side of the horns (or experiment), won't hurt anything, go the the toggle switch then to the tilt switch then to ground. The tilt switch will be tilted on an angle so it is off when the bike is on the side stand, but once the bike is pulled upright to ride (or be stolen) the tilt switch makes contact. Horns go off (if it is hot wired). 2. To make it work any time, just disconnect the brown wire to both horns and run a fused wire from the battery to both horns. Horns now will work anytime with the tilt switch or the horn button. Locate switches in one of the locked side pockets of the fairing. Very simple, very loud, very unexpected, very cheap. May want to cover electrical connectors at the horns so they can't be disconnected. Mercury switches maybe banned, I'm sure other types are available.
  11. 5bikes

    horn

    5bikes replied to a topic in Poor Man Tips and Fixes

    For the third time my horns weren't loud. I went directly to a good ground from each one and they were loud, So a stock electrical ground was the problem. Took horn switch apart for 2nd time, went to a good ground, they were loud. Found a plastic electrical connector behind the headlight. Took it apart, used brake cleaner (works great as a contact cleaner) on both ends, tightened the copper connectors, and finally they are really loud. Over 110 db. Electrical diagrams really help. Count the number of wires and the wire colors to identify connectors.
  12. 5bikes
    I bought my Venture last June. Ever since I bought it, it wandered. Did not track straight. It was especially bad over parallel grooves or road repairs. I suspected it was tires. When I did the 2nd gear fix(1984)in Dec I took the front and rear suspensions totally apart, greased all bearings and adjusted them correctly. It was better but still not right. I have the super brace, but no progressives. Today I changed the front tire. The old one was quite flat in the center, almost no round curvature. The new one is a Michelin A66 Hi-tour is nicely rounded. The wander is completely gone. :happy65:Couldn't make it wander, even purposely driving on grooved tar snakes. If your having this problem change tires. My rear will be worn out in 2-3k, I bet it will get even better after I change it too. Like Dan has said these overweight bikes can handle. I wasn't sure.
  13. 5bikes
    The suggestion was to just keep the oil level = or Still got oil in the air box but better. Really do not want to vent blowby to the air. If we all had to directly breath our own pollution would we do it?
  14. 5bikes
    What a pain in the A$$. 3 hours work! But no worse than a BMW K1200LT. That was about 3-4 hours too. Under the plastic, (40 screws) AND "Under" the gas tank. Installed a K&N. The engineers should be required to change out every bike built, they designed. Won't volunteer again. Time wasted I could be riding!
  15. 5bikes
    I have carpeting in the garage to stay off the cold dirty floor. It is just more "stuff" (George Carlin) in the garage. I can move a bike by getting on it. It's another expense. Probably harder to get on the center stand, harder to get off. Floor must be perfectly flat. The wheels have to lubricated periodically or they it will be hard to move. I'll bet you can think of more reasons like "if you ever dumped the bike because of it you'll never use it again". Remember 1/2 of our purchases in a year are " Why did I buy that?"
  16. 5bikes
    Sounds to me like the idle (low speed) circuits are dirty/plugged. Take the carbs off and clean every orifice, jet, hole, that you can find. Follow up with compressed air. Use a whole large can of spray carb cleaner, but do not get it on any rubber parts. Remove the fuel enricheners (choke) too. I believe there is a section, posting to do that here. Try SeaForm first but I always do it it the hard "right" way. Yes, check for any vacuum leaks too by spraying oil around all joints. If it gets better momentarily that's a leak.
  17. 5bikes
    With triangulated DRLs they saw 8.7% decrease in accidents, and with triangulated yellow DRLs they saw a 12.4% decrease in accidents. WOW!! Sorry, I did not read on, forget it, I'm doing the tri-yellow thing too.
  18. 5bikes
    Some will use brights and extra lights. Some won't. I asked a MotorCop and safety instructor in Texas. Brights are legal in the daylight. Sorry about blinding 1% of you. It's the 99% that don't see me I'm worried about. One other concern, with so many vehicles with daytime running lights, we need an advantage. Any ideas? Weird thought: A hologram that surrounds/simulates us as a large dump truck with large rocks falling off in all directions....
  19. 5bikes
    Love fixing it after every ride, it keeps me busy. Love the styling, some one has to. Love the comfort, aging makes you want that. Love it, that it doesn't wanna be a HD. Love it because it's a Jap bike and not German (BMW bad experience). Love it because my SO will ride with me and can drive it. Love it because 3 friends have one too, (after I bought mine). Love it because the cassette player doesn't skip like the 2nd Gen. CD's. Love it better after doing the 2nd gear fix, after I said I would never tear into an engine again. Love it because Ebay has many of the "Spare Parts" it's GOING TO NEED. Love it because it was $1800 and only 14k miles when I bought it last June (priced a new 2nd Gen?? WOW!!) Love it because it's the only tourer that's powerful, comfortable, ok handling, low price, easy to work on, AND different from a GW/HD. :fiddle:Beside it keeps me busy fixing/modifying it.
  20. 5bikes
    Friend's 88 Std. wanders terrible with the Kruz's, front and rear. Not safe at all over 60mph. We put a Dunlop Elite II on the front from a 2nd 88 and most of the wandering went away. He's going to Avon's this week. We have adjusted all the bearings, read all the posts, spent many hours trying to figure out what was wrong, changed air pressure in tires and suspension, has a Super Brace, reset clamps, axles, triple trees, checked bearings for wear. It was OK before the Kruz's went on. More if the Avon's fixes the wander, was so bad he almost lost it 3 times going over a well paved mountain road.
  21. 5bikes
    I'll take the "Bird" over dying! And yes, many many times people would have driven through me if I hadn't had the Brights On. Use them!!!
  22. 5bikes
    I'm addiment about driving with my bright lights "ON" all the time. With over 300,000 miles and thousands of trips in 44 years of biking, I'm positive this has "Saved My Life" more than once. Hundreds of other safety conscience habits have helped too . As the leader of 20+ riders I ask all my loyal followers to use there brights too. I'm adding a second headlight or driving lights and second stop/taillight to all my bikes, even my dual sport. Bulbs are cheap, hospitalization isn't! If they don't see you they can't avoid you! Please do the same.
  23. 5bikes
    For every 10 degrees F. below 70 you can loose 2-3 mpg. Leave the choke on and loose up to 10 mpg! Been there done that too. Speed and loose 2-3 mpg for every 10 mph over 50. Drive in the city and loose 5-10 mpg. Now do them all at the same time and yes, you get only 25 mpg. But do all these in a big gas eating SUV and get 10 or less. No choice here. I really get upset seeing one person/empty Excursions!!
  24. 5bikes
    Like on Ebay for less or equal to the cost of original (H4?) bulbs. In my opinion the higher K values (over 3-4000K) are not as bright as lower K bulbs. I'm going to Silverstars too.
  25. 5bikes
    Rotors are too thin to be ground down. Replace them and/or replace the pads and bleed the systems. Clutch too. Never grind without the correct equipment. They can be cleaned up with brake fluid, and "light" sanding. I have used the "HH" pads to smooth off rotors. HH are hard, wear the rotors fast and after the rotors clean/smooth up then use softer compound pads.
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