GaryZ

I have not been paying good attention . . . What is the difference of TPS and IAP? What do I have on my '87 engine? What was the black box that you sent with the TCI?

Gary, What's the latest on a fix? Although I can live with the occasional drop-out, I really want it right. I think I will reload the program. Do I have everything in the kit except a USB cable? Does anyone have a program they would share?

First, do not be afraid of riding in the rain. Motorcycles get excellent traction in the rain and do not hydroplane as bad as cars. In fact, the opposite has been my experience. My bikes have always sliced through a little standing water without any drama. A couple of things that I will mention; After a long dry spell the roads tend to accumulate oils and stuff. I will generally pull over and let this stuff get washed away. Hard rain makes it hard for cars and trucks to see you. I will turn on my emergency flashers until I can safely pull off and wait for it to let up. I put my feet in plastic bags and then put on my boots. Keeps my feet warm and dry. Carry extra gloves.

A test in a magazine many years ago resulted in the bike actually running hotter on 20-50 versus the factory recommended 10-30. The editors were surprised at the results, as I was. This test was not particularly scientific. They simply added an oil temperature gauge to an air-cooled motorcycle and watched it as they made runs up a mountain road. What I find interesting is the number of old farts (like me) that still adhere to the myth that heavier oil is needed for hot weather. I think today's water-cooled bikes will work fine on the factory recommended weight oil, even in Las Vegas.

Typically a 'crossover' is an SUV-type body on a passenger car platform. The concept is to have the interior space of the SUV, drive and handle like a car. Once upon a time we called these things 'station wagons'

KIC is absolutely right. I found a two-pack of long-handled needle nose pliers at Harbor Freight for less than $10. This simple little tool has saved my sanity when putting the air box back on my VR.

I had a Honda 'once upon a time' that would not go above 5,000 rpm. I finally found the problem; The carb diaphragms were torn and the slides were not moving. Remove your air cleaner lid and watch the carb slides when you rev the engine. They should all move together and about the same distance.

When it dies, open the gas cap. If it sounds like air escaping when you open it, the tank is not venting properly (as mentioned by others) and you are literally running out of gas. It's sort of like a gas can that needs a vent opened before it will pour.

All of the answers here are excellent. I will add that the low speed circuit (you are calling it the idle circuit) is important for maximum MPG because this circuit is contributing at 1/8th throttle. It turns out that 1/8th throttle is where we find ourselves cruising down the highway . . .

Darn!

That is really nice! Does the radio have scan and/or mute to connect to my handlebar switches?

I've said this many times on here . . . The Corbin seats seem to work best for folks 200lbs or more. I love the one on my Ninja. If you don't like it, I will give you $200 for it

Oh yeah . . . I forgot about that. A little bit of air in the forks shoots oil across the garage. Don't ask me how I know this

I recently replaced my fork seals and can tell you that 6psi is not a problem. When you get down to the air collars between the triple-trees, shoot a little WD-40 on them. Mine were stuck and didn't want to come loose. I placed a 4-wheel dolly under the Beast and stacked 2x4 blocks until the dolly + stacks were slightly taller than the bottom of my crash bars. Then, with the Beast on the center stand, I had my neighbor push down on the trunk enough to lift the front wheel and slid the dolly under the crash bars. Remove all the stuff and slide the fork legs down until the air collars almost touch the bottom tree. BTW, you simply twist these collars to loosen them. Then twist back and force while pulling up to the top of the fork. That 6psi will leak out when the collar clears the fork leg. I made a tool to remove the damper. I bought an 8" bolt with nut and welded the nut to the end of the bolt (15/16" head, 5/8" shaft). I then slipped the bolt down into the fork leg using a 15/16" socket, long extension, and breaker-bar.

I hang the axle on a pair of jack-stands to check balance. For the last couple of tire changes, I removed the old tire, left the weights on the wheel and checked the balance. The balance was good. Then I installed the new tire (with the dot aligned to the air valve) and found it still good.

My adjustable forks on the Ninja make the damper valves smaller. This forces the fork oil through a smaller hole and slows the fork action or 'bounce'. The test on my Ninja is to set the damping at minimum and bounce the front end. Then step to the next setting and bounce. Each time the front gets stiffer. Heavier fork oil is harder to force through the damper valves and will make the suspension stiffer. More oil (5.5") will make the forks stiffer. I recommend that you try a 5 or 7 wt fork oil and around 6" of oil. I am 250lbs and using a spacer and 10wt oil. To install the top caps I must compress about 1.5" of spacer. If yours is too soft with 5wt oil, you can add air. Note: Last week I replaced my fork seals on the VR. I managed to not fill the forks with the same amount of oil. This caused the Beast to want to 'pogo' on high-speed sweepers. I was able to balance the fork levels using a radio antenna as a dipstick. I removed one top cap at a time and measured the oil level with the antenna and a yardstick. One was 9" and the other was 6.5". I am pretty sure the 9" one was correct and now both sides are 9". No more 'pogo'.

Dingy delivered my TCI with Vmax programming. Do you think more adjustment is needed? BTW: Another symptom is reduced gas mileage . . . Down from 30mpg in town to around 28.

Gary, I have another symptom. When steady cruise around 3200 rpm the bike sorta stumbles, surges, etc. Imagine how your bike would feel if a wheel bearing was beginning to gall. Shifting to a higher gear drops the rpm and the symptom disappears. This symptom is not intermittent, it is always there.

Gary, My experience has been drop-outs around 3200 rpm, same for tach drop-out. My stream of logic says a poor connection would not be this specific and consistent. I am inclined to believe there is a program error or glitch.

I ride with a friend and his 1996 Heritage Soft-tail. It is a beautiful bike, runs like a clock, and nothing has ever fallen off. Don't you think you can give this bad-taste joke a rest?

In general terms, government needs to protect the people. However, this helmet conversation is one where the effective protection does not warrant the laws put in place. Some believe that 'even if one life is saved. it's worth it'. I am not one of those folks. For me, the protection must be worth the cost. The 'idiots' riding with beanie helmets are not going to harm fewer 'others' by wearing larger helmets. The protection difference between the beanie and the larger helmet is dubious at best. This appears to be another law put in place for politics rather than a real world need. If you are one that believes 'even if one life is saved. it's worth it', I can respect that. Please be equally respectful of my belief.

I have considered painting my cases black because it should go with my paint scheme. Really want to see pictures when it is back together!

My 2 cents . . . Effective June 1, all motorcycle riders and their passengers must wear helmets that meet safety industry standards. This means motorcycle riders will no longer be able to wear novelty helmets, typically known as skid lids, skull caps or beanies, which do not meet the new requirements. Makes perfect sense to me. If you are going to have laws requiring that safety helmets be worn, it makes sense to back u7p the law by ensuring the helmets being worn are safe. It makes perfect sense; any helmet is better than no helmet. But, we,the government, believe you, the public, must spend large amounts of your hard-earned money to purchase rated helmets that offer marginal improvement over novelty helmets. What makes no sense to me is that such a law is needed to protect people from themselves! And yet you agree . . . In addition, the new regulations: · Will require passengers, including children, to place their feet on foot pegs or floorboards. Drivers can easily be thrown off balance and risk crashing if their passengers do not keep their feet fixed on foot rests. Children who are unable to reach foot rests will no longer be allowed to ride as passengers. Again... maes sense as a law, as there are idiots who will put short people into a dangerous place if they cannot have both feet secured. I thought you said it makes no sense that a law was needed to protect people from themselves? · Will improve visibility and enforcement for police. The font size on motorcycle licence plates has increased by 0.95 centimetres (3/8 of an inch). Since May 2011, all new motorcycle licence plates have been issued with the larger font. OK... so the government is scknowledging that our police officers are short-sighted. Good one, I got nothing better . . . In making the announcement, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Shirley Bond said the provincial government intends to move forward with a graduated licensing program that includes power restrictions, following additional consultation to determine the best model. Feedback will be considered along with research and best practices to develop a model that improves rider safety and reduces motorcycle crashes especially for new riders. It is crazy that a brand new rider on a provisional licese can go into a showroom and emerge on a brand new, track ready sport bike capable of 300 kph! I thought you said it makes no sense that a law was needed to protect people from themselves? The Office of Motor Vehicles and ICBC will also partner on an awareness campaign to ensure automobile drivers are aware of how to drive safely when they encounter motorcycles on the road. I cannot think of a better way to remind cagers that riders share the road with them. Doing this every year seems much more effective than focusing on training that occurs once, early in a driver's life. I thought you said it makes no sense that a law was needed to protect people from themselves? The goal is to reduce fatalities and injuries from crashes involving motorcycles. While motorcycles are estimated to make up about three per cent of insured vehicles in B.C., they account for approximately 10 per cent of road fatalities. In the last five years, 203 motorcyclists have lost their lives on B.C.’s roads and 5,172 have been injured. Motorcycle fatalities increased by about 57 per cent between 1996 and 2010. Seems to be a very laudable goal. I thought you said it makes no sense that a law was needed to protect people from themselves? The new rider safety regulations are the result of extensive consultations between the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, BC Coroners Service, ICBC, police and other road safety partners to develop a comprehensive approach to improve motorcycle safety within the motorcycling community and industry. The right people are being asked to provide input. The Britich Columbia Coalition of Motorcyclists - BCCOM is also providing input. . . To make a law that is needed to protect people from themselves? The month of May will allow for a transition period that will give government time to move to the new laws by informing riders and the public about the upcoming changes. Starting June 1, police will begin enforcing the new laws and issuing educational materials to riders found violating the helmet and seating regulations. Fines for all new helmet-related offences are $138, and fines for seating requirements range from $109 to $121. In addition to fines, riders violating seating requirements will have their motorcycles impounded. Seems to me that the Government is doing its best to look after the interests of motorcyclists. . . And passing lots of laws to protect people from themselves!

I bought a 1984 Goldwing trunk rack, added a couple of spacers and mounted it to my '85 VR trunk. This rack is probably too big for the earlier, smaller VR trunk. However, you may find a luggage rack that will work on ebay.

I want to see the whole bike with the bags mounted . . .