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uncledj

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Everything posted by uncledj

  1. uncledj
    I was curious to see the variety of first bikes was, and got a pretty diverse bunch of responses. A few of you listed other bikes you've had, so this seems like a good time to re-visit this question, and list the bikes you've had, and which ones hold a special place in your heart. Lets start at the beginning: 2 1/2 horse mini-bike 3 1/2 horse mini-bike Honda Trail 50 Yamaha MX80 Honda XL350 (first street-legal bike) Honda XL500 Yamaha XT500 (stripped for off road use only) Honda CB750F (79, bike was stolen from me) Honda CB750F (80) Kawasaki KZ1000 MK2 Honda XR600 (dirt bike) Honda CB700sc Suzuki GSX 600 Yamaha XVZ 1300 (87 standard) Honda CB900 custom I'd have to say the second CB750F was my favorite bike. It was fast for the time, handled well, again, for the time, and it was just that time of my life that I was truly in love with my bike (early twenties). Started out in Ohio, moved down to the Florida Keys and rode it year 'round. I was so broke I rode the rear tire until it went flat on US1 just south of Miami.... Ruined the aluminum casings when Cardsound road was flooded, and I ran about 4 miles through 4" of saltwater. Saltwater, heat and aluminum don't mix well. I used and abused that bike, but I did love her......sigh...... The CB700sc is a great bike, and I've owned it since '98, but since I've got the Venture, I don't ride it much anymore. The Suzi 600 and the Honda 900 don't really count. They're both in need of a little TLC and probably won't even be roadworthy until next year. That's a list of my two wheeled relationships, some true loves, and some love-hate relationships, but all memorable. Maybe next time I'll list my favorite cages. Thanks for your attention.
  2. uncledj
    Stroker... That Kaw 750 H2 was a 2 stroke beast. That was quite a jump from an XL250.
  3. uncledj
    KENW. That lil' Suzi 80 couldn't have been street legal,....was it?
  4. uncledj
    I was just thinking about my first street legal bike, which was a 1975 Honda XL350. I thought it'd be a fun thread to see what sort of bikes y'all had as your first street-able bike. Kinda' like your first love, you never forget your first bike.
  5. uncledj
    I just missed an opportunity on e-bay....no big deal, but my powersnipe service said that e-bay wouldn't accept the bid because my e-bay account wasn't linked to Paypal. I've been buying through e-bay for years, always using Powersnipe, and never had that problem before. Well, I went to my e-bay account, and sho nuff, there was a button to link it to my Paypal account. I made the link. Not sure what that was all about, but hopefully I won't have any problems next time.
  6. uncledj
    The neighbor and I have a kind of system: Whoever gets around to it first does the other guys drive as well. I had a class today, and when I got home, all 700' of drive was already done. YEAH!!!. I don't think I'll worry about going over it again, this stuff's supposed to melt next week. I heard it's supposed to be in the 60s in a week. It'll be a mudball mess around here, but I'll be glad of it. The good stuff's comin'
  7. uncledj
    I doubled up on the clutch spring...put the new one first, then the original to back it up......around 3,000 miles, and no complaints. I'm sure it'd be unhealthy to do on a regular basis, but if you give it a bit of gas and pop the clutch,....it's either gonna smoke the rear tire or pull the front one off the ground. I've heard some complain about a tighter lever, but I hardly notice it; certainly not a problem. 87 Venture Standard
  8. uncledj
    I'd get a "W" tattooed on each butt cheek......do I need to go on?
  9. uncledj
    I took part in a midget toss at a bar one night. I thought I could throw "Little Larry" through the juke box at the other end of the bar, but those little guys are pretty heavy....he only went about 10' or so....I'm sure I'd have done better if I were sober.
  10. uncledj
    I have an 85 Honda Nighthawk CB700sc that I was suprised to find is considered a sport touring bike. It's a great bike, and was ahead of it's time when built in the 80s. Fast, reliable, shaft drive, looks really cool, handles like a sportbike, but without having to lean forward like on the crotch rockets. I mostly ride the Venture now, but every now and again, I'll take it out for a joyride. It seems tiny when you're used to the Venture. You should be able to pick one up fairly inexpensively. I put a luggage rack on mine, but if I was going to do a lot of traveling I'd want to figure a way to secure more stuff on the back.
  11. uncledj
    I'll never forget back in the mid 80s, had no car, but had to get from Key Largo, where I was living, to Hollywood, North of Miami, and ended up riding through Tropical Storm David. It was raining so hard that the cars were mostly pulled off to the side of the road, and then there's me, on my 1980 Honda 750 Super Sport (I loved that bike) still riding. The rain had got to the ignition system, and it was running on two cylinders, and I figured that if I stopped, I'd never get it started again, so I did my best to keep the revs up and pray I didn't lose the third cylinder, and a half hour later the sun was out, and she was firing on all 4 again. Florida weather. Those couple of years were a difficult time for me, but as I think of it, they were some of the best times of my life.
  12. uncledj
    That's a nice rig...I thought about goin' that route myself, but I went with the utility quad 'cause when the weather turns nice, I can take the plow off and hit the hills and trails with my buddies with the sport quads. My old Foreman can't keep up with my friends Banshee... (insane crotch rocket death machine)....but for anything short of a hare scramble, my Foreman does just fine, and can go anywhere the Banshee does, and then some.
  13. uncledj
    I agree. I have an 87 Standard, and I believe they are the best kept secret of the touring bikes. They're comfortable, FAST, they look great and they're Cheap. As far as buying toys go, I couldn't justify spending 20K+ when I know that I can get a decent older venture for less than 1/4 of the cost. Nothing against the 2nd Gens, I'd just hate to spend the extra $ just for the style.
  14. uncledj
    With 700' of driveway, I was luvin' this machine today.
  15. uncledj
    SEUDAR Don't worry, you won't ruffle my feathers...I enjoy a good discussion. You sound pretty up on this stuff, and I'll admit I've been out of the residential game for a while, but I've still gotta stick to my guns on advising this guy against a heat pump, in favor of a fossil fuel furnace....preferably natural gas, if not available then propane, but not too sure I'd want fuel oil....STINKY AND DIRTY..... I'm sure that you're right that the COP on the new equipment is much better at lower temps, but I can't help but to think it's unhealthy for the outdoor unit to run at those low temps., especially considering that the lower COP at the lower temps would require longer run times. I don't think the COP applies to fossil fuels, but it's easy to argue that a propane furnace (and certainly a natural gas furnace) would provide more heat and reliability for less cost than an all electric system, although I'd imagine the heat pump would fare well when the temps are up.....but even then you'd have to factor in the shortened life of the heat pump caused by excessive running hours. (As compared to a conventional A/C condensing unit) The system and installer you're speaking of sounds quite expensive, and while I've noticed that the high efficiency furnaces have become a lot more reliable over the years, I still like to keep it simple. Simplicity usually means added reliability, less initial expense, and lower repair costs when the time comes. I work for a national hvac company that only does commercial and industrial type work. I'm a service technician, so I don't have much to do with the design and install of this stuff, but my "simpler is better" attitude comes from years of working on this stuff, and seeing what works and what doesn't. As I think of it, it's been my experience that the energy savings that folks are sold on when they buy a pricey system are rarely realized. (At least that's what the majority of people seem to say a few years down the road ) I would not argue that a two stage, or modulating system with a freq. drive blower motor, and something other than electric backup would be a great system to have, at least initially, but I don't know that the original poster is looking to suggest making that kind of investment to Ma and Pa. As far as the programmable thermostat goes, the Honeywell 8000 series are pretty cool, and you can set them for "circ." mode, which kicks the blower on intermittently to offer the benefits of air circulation without requiring the blower to run constantly.....might not be as quiet as a freq. drive slowed down, but a lot cheaper. The thermostat cost would be somewhere around $160, and I'm sure any Venturerider could install it themselves, if they had you or I to advise as needed. Well,....this is turning into quite a thread....I'm enjoying it thoroughly. creds: 23+ yrs hvac tech (Field Supervisor) OH Licensed hvac contractor OH Licensed refrigeration contractor UA Building trades journeyman Licensed Med Gas Installer Licensed Backflow installer / tester RSES Certificate Mechanic (CM) Been through more classes over the years than I can remember.... Just completed the "Green Awareness" Technician training. (Just tootin' my horn a bit) And I've still got a lot to learn......but I enjoy learnin' it.
  16. uncledj
    Mostly sounds good, but the two stage system sounds expensive and potentially troublesome. I think the COP relates only to ideal operating circumstances. As the temp drops, so does the COP, which is why I like to shut them down when it starts getting cold. When the COP starts getting down below 2, I'd rather save the equipment from running in those frigid conditions. I never did like heat pumps.....and I was an Ohio Edison authorized heat pump tech.....back when I did residential work in the 90s (went through their school). I used to work on them, but I'd never own one if I could avoid it. BUT.....opinions vary.
  17. uncledj
    Heat pumps and AC condensing units are all pretty much the same. The bigger names may have a few more bells and whistles, which can end up causing more trouble than they're worth......more gadgets=more stuff to break. Living in Indiana, you're getting far enough North that it'd be questionable whether a heat pump is the best idea or not. If you do go with another HP, you should consider having a thermostat set up on it to keep it from running below ? 25 ? degrees or so, at which point you'd use only the auxiliary heat. When you go much below that, you'll start to lose the benefit of the HP, as it'll have a harder time pulling heat out of the colder air. I live in Central OH, on a rural property, where the house was all electric. I did a lot of work to the place before I moved in, and one of the things I did was to go with a propane furnace, and I couldn't be happier. It'll be a bit of an expense to have the propane run, but I think it'll be well worth it in the long run. I'd suggest a higher efficiency furnace, anything above 90% is good,....don't try to split hairs getting the absolute highest efficiency, 'cause you'll pay more and more for a smaller and smaller gain. Also, with furnaces, as well as heat pumps,....don't let the big names impress you. I've installed quite a few Payne (mfg'd by Carrier) and Goodman (I think they're made by Ruud), and have had very good luck with them. If you're really trying to save energy $, get a programmable thermostat, and set it to drop the temp as much as you can comfortably stand at night, and to set the AC up a few degrees during the day, if there's times when no one's home. Also: Very Important !....don't let them oversize the equipment. For greatest efficiency, best heating/cooling capability and equipment longevity, it's important to have a correctly sized, and maybe a little undersized system. Wow....that was quite a rant..... I've been doin' the HVAC gig for over 23 years now, although I haven't done much residential work for a while, other than moonlighting jobs. I hope this was helpful....if you have any questions, (if anyone has any questions). feel free to e-mail me at uncledjm14@yahoo.com. Best of luck. John
  18. uncledj

    History test

    uncledj replied to 6pak's topic in Watering Hole

    24, and was a bit disappointed in myself, ...but some of those questions are pretty tough.
  19. uncledj
    Pyramid seals from e-bay wouldn't work on my 87. They're about 1/16" taller than the OEMs and it made it next to impossible to get the lock ring in. After several tries I compared them to the ones I took out, and saw the problem. Got another set from Bike bandit,...they were the same size as the originals, ...went right in. That was in July, and have had no problems yet. Good luck:banana:
  20. uncledj
    Skydoc, thanks for the generous offer, I'll keep it in mind. I'm located in Central Ohio, but have a hunting cabin in North Central PA, near a little town called Emporium. Next time I take the bike over that-a-way, I may take the long way around and stop by, (with plenty of advance notice, of course). Again, thanks for the kind offer.
  21. uncledj
    I think I'll need to get a sync tool and take that as a first step. I think I have an old mercury manometer X 4 buried in the garage somewhere, but it also seems that I should pull the diaphrams just to have a look. I guess I'll put it on the winter project list......it's a long list. 69 Chevelle SS needs restored, cb900 custom needs minor restoration, garage needs built, ( Just to house the Chevelle ) wife wants the bathroom redone, need to get the old backhoe sold...and so on and so on. There's no rest for the wicked. Thanks guys (and gals? )
  22. uncledj
    I have an 87 Venture Standard, which has been running great, and still runs pretty well, but something's off a bit. It doesn't miss, and seems to run well above 3500 rpm or so, but at lower rpm levels it has a bit of a rumble, as if the carbs are out of sync, but I'm not sure. I run about a quarter can of Seafoam when I fill the gas tank, (most times), and recently replaced the spark plugs, which made no difference. All the plugs looked the same. Someone new to the bike probably wouldn't even notice it, but it's definitley there. Would this be a likely symptom of the carbs being out of sync, or the dreaded diaphragm problem, or could it be ignition? I just can't put my finger on what sort of problem it is. I figure someone here may be able to help clue me in. Thanks.
  23. uncledj
    2000 miles into it, I have no problem at all with the double spring. It is a bit stiffer, but after 15 minutes riding time, I got used to it, and now I don't even notice it. I just got home from a 300 mile ride ( To Cabela's in WV ) and clutch hand is fine. I'm not a small guy though,.. maybe someone with smaller hands wouldn't take to it as well. For what it's worth, I got my clutches and spring from Buckeye Performance. I spoke with ???? (can't remember his name now, but he was very helpful )...and he suggested using both the new and the old spring to give the extra tension. He was right. I have no regrets doubling up the spring. Bike was running a bit rough though. Performance was fine, but something was off just a bit. Couldn't put my finger on it, but that'll be for another day / another thread.
  24. uncledj
    Skydoc's DA MAN !!!
  25. uncledj
    I guess not.
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