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LilBeaver

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Everything posted by LilBeaver

  1. LilBeaver
    Oh boy, WHAT a find! It really did pain me to have to drop the extra moolah at the stealer for these when I rebuilt my calipers. I have been dreading having to do it again when I rebuild my front master cylinder and replace my lines... Good stuff. What a group we have here!
  2. LilBeaver
    To be quite honest with you, it sounds to me like you have something wrong with your wires, headset or intercom system. I have had similar issues with mine - here is a quick summary. Excess noise in the headsets was solved by: 1) ensuring that the mic and windsock for mic were appropriately oriented, installed and very close (touching) my mouth when trying to communicate 2) re-arranging and shielding the audio wires that run under the gas tank to avoid the ignition coil wires (ie the E&M interference) Issue with very low sound/volume was solved by replacing the patch cables. I determined they were bad and J&M replaced them under warranty. My first set of replacements were incredible. I couldn't believe how well I could hear the passenger. Additionally the quality of the music was MUCH better through the headsets too (although I very rarely do that anyways). My IC is set anywhere from 8 to 14 depending on how good the particular passenger is at keeping the mic positioned appropriately. at 13 and above I do notice a bit more excess noise (I believe it to be almost exclusively wind noise, with a hint of other bike related noises mixed in) but if I run with it at 12 or below the noise through the headset is no worse than the ambient noise that would other wise be there (with the audio system off). For what it is worth, I have the 'el chepo'/entry level J&M HS-8154B-OF in both of my open face helmets. If we were closer I'd say lets switch bikes and give-er a try to see if it is YOUR audio system or your headsets; maybe you can do that with someone nearby you.
  3. LilBeaver
    So are you still bikeless or what?
  4. LilBeaver
    The fuel sending unit is really (in my opinion) the only part that could be causing this behavior. It is easy enough to remove, clean, inspect and reinstall it even though it does require that you completely drain your tank. It may be worth while to pull it out and take a look to see what may have collected on it and clean the varnished fuel off of it while you are there. ALSO, take that opportunity to take a really good look inside your tank to see if you've got some extra debris floating around. Not that it would directly affect the fuel gauge/sending unit but you may as well check your vent hose while you are there; make sure that it is not obstructed anywhere. Now, the fluctuations in the gauge while dealing with extended leans and such is not surprising, but the delay in showing 'full bars' after a fill up could possibly be related to something in the fuel affecting the buoyancy of the float on the sending unit. I sort of doubt this, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely. Just a few thoughts.
  5. LilBeaver
    That makes a lot of sense. Glad you got it figured out!
  6. LilBeaver
    Yup, that's what I use too. For what it is worth, my rears wear evenly as one may or may not be able to see from the picture.
  7. LilBeaver
    Good to know!! I'm due for a clearance check and am certainly not looking forward to it...
  8. LilBeaver
    Here are the rears that I said I was going to post and had forgotten about...
  9. LilBeaver
    Ironically, after writing that last post I went out for some lunch. Some doofus pulled up next to me, in my same lane I pushed the horn button and got nothing but the stock 'tweet'. I was disappointed to say the least. Turns out my voice carries quite well though... Yesterday I had my annual Texas mandated 'safety inspection' and it worked fine then. Looks like I'll have some troubleshooting to do when I get home... Regardless, here is the picture.
  10. LilBeaver
    Now THAT is talent!!
  11. LilBeaver
    I guess I will be the odd one here. Mine has marks in the top of it (I'll get a picture up later). i don't know if it is melting or if it is just marred from the vibrations and dinking up against the heat shield. It still toots, so that is really what matters to me.
  12. LilBeaver
    Hey Jack, I don't know when the last time you changed/flushed your coolant, but since you are going to be replacing those plugs it really isn't that much more work to go ahead and do the coolant too. Just a thought.
  13. LilBeaver
    Your logic is fine but I believe that many have reported (myself included) that the odometer is not nearly as far off as the speedometer is. I believe all you could safely say is that your actual mileage is somewhere between 54000 and 60000kms. Hope that helps.
  14. LilBeaver
    :mo money:
  15. LilBeaver
    Glad to hear that you all are okay. Thanks for checking in.
  16. LilBeaver
    I made a similar run last July (Followed US 101 most of the way). Vancouver down to Sacramento, mostly coastline. A few comments that I have: 1) There was an absolute TON of traffic (for what it is worth, it was a Thursday) 2) Average moving speed was really quite slow which was a bit disappointing although I was on a bit of a time table to get home and tried to pack too much into the couple days I had to get home. 3) I was absolutely astonished at how much the weather varied. As can be seen in my pictures, it went from 90+ and sunny to cloudy, damp, uncomfortable and ~40 degrees in a matter of 15 minutes or so. I turned inland for a while to warm up and stay dry and the temps were back up with clear skies again. 4) The riding was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and I would love to do it again. My preference would be to find some time that would be much less populated than it was and now that I know what kind of pace to expect, I would plan to make it more of a leisurely trip than what I had done. 5) I thought that Washington was not nearly as pretty as Oregon but if I were to do it again, I would still ride through Oregon (Unless I was up against some time constraints). As far as things to see, "crater lake" would be worth a visit if you have the time I don't know how helpful this is but feel free to ask if you think I can be of more help. Have a great trip!!
  17. LilBeaver
    Metric hardware is not carried 'everywhere' and you may have a limited selection but I have had good luck at various Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware stores. Just take an old bolt in with you and use the little 'sizing card/sample' thing-a-ma-jig and you'll be set. You could always get extra long bolts and a few of those chrome 'tube' spacer thingies if you wanted your lamps further away from your fairing. I have one of the 'ugly' spacer blocks in mine MOSTLY because the way mine were positioned one was resting up against the fairing and the other was within 1/4" or so. I don't really know why it is like that but that is how it was. Don't forget your dielectric grease while you are picking up your bolts!
  18. LilBeaver
    I just heard from a friend of mine and then saw some pictures on the news; looks like Tuscaloosa got nailed pretty good. Luckily my friend is okay, she was not home when it ripped through but she still has not been able to get back to her house. My initial thought was that I hope that all of our members in that area are okay, and I do think that, but really - I hope that everyone else is able to pull through as best as possible...
  19. LilBeaver
    Haha - Been there done that Far more times than I'd like to admit. To answer this question it is important to understand the actual purpose of using the dielectric grease. Dielectric grease, as the name suggests, is a substance that is electrically non-conductive with the main purpose of helping prevent corrosion build up, oxidation, etc on the electrical contacts caused by moisture that will collect on the contacts themselves. In light of this, you want to balance the amount to allow for good covereage and protection of the electrical contacts but not TOO much so that you are insulating (and thereby preventing) electrical contact all together. In essence, "a little dab will do ya". After you have completely cleaned each connector you indent on using this stuff on, put a little dab on each pin then firmly press the connectors together, then separate and inspect. You are looking to make sure that the pins are finley coated without having excess 'globs' of the grease anywhere. It is not an exact science, in fact, once you get it all cleaned and everything connected up - do a complete test of your radio and communication system to make sure everything works fine. If all is good then you can button everything up and not worry about it. If you find something doesn't seem to function correctly; clean and reinspect the appropriate connector and try again. As long as you use the grease sparingly, you shouldn't have a problem. My notes from an older thread basically explaining the same thing but the O.P. in that thread asked if there would be any problems associated with using dielectric grease on any of the other connectors: The only 'problem' you may encounter when using [the dielectric grease] directly on the connectors (where it ought to be used) is if you put too much of it on. You want enough to provide a very light coat, but [the dielectric grease] IS an insulator - so use it sparingly but keep in mind that the metal on metal contacts are pretty tight so the grease will move as they get plugged in. If you are unsure (or even if you just want to potentially save yourself from having to take it all part again) you can do the following: 1) Disconnect and reconnect each connector several times (to clean the pins) 2) Spray some QD Electric contact cleaner (or equivalent electric contact cleaner) rather liberally on both the male and female connectors - Use caution as you probably don't want this stuff touching a painted (or plastic) surface for an extended period of time. 3) Connect and disconnect several more times 4) use compressed air to blow out each side (and to make sure the cleaner is completely dried) 5) Put a dab of the grease on each connector before reconnecting -- disconnect and connect one more time if you'd like to make sure that you have good electrical contact in each connector and wipe up the excess grease (off of the rubber housings) 6) Turn the bike to the ACC position and test your radio, communications, etc. 7) If all seems to function appropriately, then turn bike off and reassemble. If NOT, then disconnect the connectors, start over but use less grease. Other methods for doing this exist, this simply is what I find works for me. CAUTION: Be very careful when you are buying your tube of grease to make sure that you pick up the DIELECTRIC grease and NOT the conductive grease. There are appropriate applications for conductive grease, but this is not one of them. Hope this helps
  20. LilBeaver
    Absolutely! Sounds like you've got it figured out!
  21. LilBeaver
    Oops, Just saw your post. Sorry, nothing new as of yet. We didn't end up getting out last weekend due to the weather and the holiday. The weekend before that I was out of town. We'll see how this weekend goes though,
  22. LilBeaver
    Shaun: I am really tired so this may be a really dumb question but here it goes: Are you saying that there is a 'special' ride like a pro, that is specifically for the 'tail of the dragon'? Or is your statement that there is a retailer located in that area that sells the RLAP videos?
  23. LilBeaver
    No kidding, these specs are about what I see on my RSV... and WE have the bigger tank!?!?
  24. LilBeaver
    When was the last time you cleaned the carbs and how often is this bike ridden? Reason I ask is that I had a 96 Bandit 600 for a while and even AFTER I cleaned the carbs (took off, disassembled, dipped, etc etc) and even after that if it sat for a few weeks it would run terribly until fresh fuel with a little sea-foam ran through it. So if you haven't cleaned the carbs recently or if it sat for a while, you may have partially clogged jets or whatever... It may not simply be a carb sync issue. Just a thought.
  25. LilBeaver
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