LilBeaver

Curiocity has struck me here: So, what happens when the switch fails and you no longer have continuity in the "ON" position? I had been contemplating wiring up the 'by-pass' to function with the key in the "ACC" position but not the "OFF" position. Relying on the "ON" position seems counterproductive, but maybe I am missing something here...

Haha, yeah... Although something tells me I wouldn't be on THAT one Ah-ha. Sounds like a good plan. I recall reading a thread that discussed that particular connector frying (I believe it was an Eck thread) and so I keep a close eye on those and inspect them every time I have the tank off. Originally I wanted to keep the original harness in-tact and just find some way to hook up the bypass, but COMPLETELY bypassing [the load] the ignition switch via a relay sounds like a winner. Sounds like some quality connectors and some practice with the ol soldering iron is in order (certainly do not want any 'iffy/less than ideal' connections there!). I like the idea of having that relay there for removal of the load AND quick access with the bypass switch. I have absolutely no problem pulling off the tank on the side of the road if necessary. Once wired up this way, an extra relay (or two) will definitely be making its way into my tool/spare parts bag - just in case. Thanks! ----- Just because I like to be thorough, I still think I will pull my ignition switch apart to inspect, clean and repair as necessary...

:happy65: Alright!

Looks like another good dealer to bookmark - even with ~$20 shipping. Thanks!

Haha - yeah, THE PRICE. I had noticed that too and a tad curious. Where did you find these prices, by the way?

1994 to 2004 perhaps?

:happy65: Although Um... yeah. I am guessing that no one on here REALLY wants to see me in tight leather. Never-mind that I am darn sure that I would never be caught DEAD in 'tight leather'. Don't worry though, if it ever does boil down to a good 'ol fashion rumble - I will...er... uh... 'my writers' will surely write about it. I am not one to start any sort of physical confrontation... But I am no stranger to finishing them if need be.

Good question and the general consensus is that all we know is some 'have gone' and some 'have yet to go'. The short and sweet version for the generally accepted explanation for these switch failures is that the 'weakness' is a result of the fact that by design ALL of the bikes current is routed through the switch when it is in the 'on' position causing degradation in the switch contacts and the eventual demise of the switch it self. Especially if you have your passing/driving lamps routed through the headlight circuit. A little searching and you will find the 'proper' way to wire up your passing lamps (with a relay and drawing power straight from the battery) and thereby reducing the amount of current run through the ignition switch itself. If I were you, I would ensure that any accessories are wires up with the appropriate relays to reduce the strain on the ignition switch itself and not worry about it. As you have an 08, you've got some warranty left. Just keep an eye on your bike for any 'suspicious electrical activity' and deal with it appropriately as it occurs. If you are still under warranty, check your basic connections, fuses and grounds and if you suspect it is the switch - take that sucka in and get it looked at under warranty. I've got a 30Amp toggle that I was contemplating putting in the fairing next to the 12V cig. adapter. This way I don't have to do any funny business when removing my tank for service AND if I decide to actual fork over the dough to replace my ignition switch at some point, I can just re route the wires and use the switch for an ejector seat or something else cool like that. Yeah, I thought of this and it made me chuckle. I can see it now: walking out after work and watching some knucklehead driving in circles trying to get somewhere on my bike. Again, I realize very very low risk - BUT on a serious note, I was thinking of insurance ramifications for 'theft'. That is in Texas, I believe the law is on the books that if you leave you 'key' in your vehicle and it gets stolen you are not covered the same as if your car gets stolen and the ignition system is compromised by the thief. So my concern would be that IF my bike were to get stolen AND the insurance company figured out that it is due to the fact that I had this by-pass installed, then maybe there may be some complications. Again, I would argue that the damaging of the steering lock mechanism so that they could 'ride off' without the key would be equivalent to any type of 'hot wiring' that would be required otherwise... But it is not up to me to interpret the law.

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup: Oh, sorry. Did I say that outloud?

Well folks, this morning mine finally gave me the firm signs that my ignition switch is on the way out. For a long time my trip odo would reset itself and I would have a flicker of the electronics when turning on my high beams; I had isolated that problem to a weakly connected and very corroded ground. BUT, in the last week or two I have noticed a flicker on my speedo when I turn the ignition ON (before starting) and didn't think much of it until this morning... I turned my key to the 'ON' position and then noticed that the display went completely out. When I went to turn the key back off to further investigate I found that it came back on when put a little pressure on the key to turn it from the "ON" position back to 'OFF'. So, now the experimentalist in me comes out and checks to see if I can duplicate the symptom/problem. Sure enough, when turning the ignition to the "ON" position, if I turn it all the way to the right it acts as if it is in the 'ACC' position and a little pressure counter-clockwise puts it back to functioning as if it is in the 'ON' position. Hmmm, so not the question is: 1) Disassemble switch, attempt cleaning/repair, reassemble and ride on? 2) Permanently install the by-pass I built and just let it go? 3) Dump 280+ at my local dealer for a new ignition switch? (haha- NO.) 4) Partshark and get a replacement switch for ~160 5) E-bay/pinwal get a replacement switch for 170 (don't believe me, go look for yourself - what a joke) 6) Of course there is always the "pretend like it isn't a problem until I am in the middle of BFN and my bike dies 'unexpectedly'". -- (haha -- this too is a big ol negatory) I think I will likely go with option #2 and a #1 planned in the near future and #4 as a back-up plan. I actually have a switch all wired up and ready to go where all I would need to do is snip the current wires and tie the bypass in. What I would like to come up with is an easy setup that would allow for my switch to be installed and ready to go allowing for a simple 'unbolt the tank and plug in the switch wires' solution, that way there is not the risk of someone flipping the switch and riding off with my bike without the key (I realize that is VERY unlikely to happen but still a possibility). So, I guess I'll need to get out the trusty old 'dingy' wiring diagrams (THANKS AGAIN!!!) and some thought. I guess I am venting more than anything here, so don't mind me and my mindless writing; although I wouldn't argue with suggestions

Good questions. I had been wondering the same thing. Hmmmm. Feasible, but based on some of the conversations I have had with each of them now, I am quite certain that it was a b/f to begin with and where they stand now, while IS a question but all I have to go off of is what each of them tell me. :detective: Lol - THERE is a thought! "Lets see... Carb sync, oil change and now lets talk about your feelings" riiiiiight.

Yes, come to think of it, I do believe that we had conversed about the noise differences in our bikes and how noisy these engines are (in general). I believe we also included oil () in that conversation too. Ditto.

Who me?! Nah... Now that would be a good time... I have been trying to make it for the last 2 years now, but my work schedule just doesn't want to cooperate.

Same here. It drives me nuts... But I guess it is 'normal'. My 82 sewing machine IS much quieter than my 01RSV Oh well... Although Rick, I do think yours was quieter than mine... It sure drove a lot nicer...

That's nothing I am still waiting on my decoder ring...

Got in a short little ride today. Only put on about 280 miles. Not much excitement in today's events, but if you are really interested I'll take you back to a few days ago with the invitation to go out for the ride. Thursday afternoon she stopped me outside her office and we chatted a bit and she had asked if I wanted to go for a ride this weekend. I had [of course] agreed; it has been a few weeks since I had been out for a ride (other than to and from my lab). Fast forward to this morning. As I was getting the bike ready to go, I had started to wonder if it was going to be just the two of us or of 'he' was going to join us too. Met up in the parking lot for the ride, her and the b/f(?) were there. No biggie. We had our minor chit chat and then hit the road around 1130. The plan was to spend several hours out riding, so that is what we did. No one had any real time constraints so we all agreed for a nice leisurely ride and figured a stop for lunch would be alright. I had a tentative route in mind to begin with, since I am usually the one that ends up making the decisions on where to ride (mostly because I have ridden around the panhandle a bit more) - I chose a route that would take us out through some canyons and through some small towns and still have us back at a reasonable time. I had some stops tentatively planned for fuel purposes (her bike has a 3.7gal tank - so I figured making sure to keep everyone NOT running out of fuel would be fine). First stop happened about 5 minutes after we left; we all topped off before hitting the road since there is not much of anything away from the dusty ol' town of Lubbock... We rode about 70 miles or so when we were forced to stop because her windshield had come loose. No big deal, between me and the b/f we got her fixed up enough to get her to the next closest hardware store to pick up a replacement bolt and lock-washer. Good thing one of us carries tools with him . Minor issue, but resolved with no damage to her bike or windshield. That resolved, we chatted about where and when to eat so while I packed up my tools we figured we'd stop at a little 'mom and pop' type place near my suggested fuel stop that was now about 30 miles away, so we boogied on again. Pulled into this dusty little town, topped off and then pulled in for a bite to eat. I was not really sure what to expect, both from the restaurant and from the forced socialization among us all since it had been a while since I had seen or heard anything about him; although thus far into the day and ride all was rather stable. Nothing more than small talk/chit chat and when it came to adapting and fixing up her windshield to get her on to the hardware store, there was very little chatting that went on at all. I just got my tools out, made a few suggestions and went to work. Back to lunch... The food was mediocre, but we sat around for 30-45 minutes and chatted - so it turned out to be an alright visit... at least that is how it ended. To begin with, the interactions among the 3 of us were okay. We talked about various 'small' things related to motorcycle traveling, general b.s. and how we felt about how the ride was going. While we sat there waiting for our food and the chat continued it seemed to sort of slow down and get a little more uncomfortable. Mostly between the two of them. I started to notice some looks that were going back and forth and whatever but there was some apparent effort to act as if everything was okay. Not long after this our food showed up - which re-broke the 'ice'. Not long after the food arrived she excused her self to go take care of business which left me and him. Now, up until this point I have made a pretty good effort to be friendly, welcoming and very neutral about everything. After all, I really was just happy to be out on the bike and enjoying the day. I took advantage of the opportunity that presented itself when she got up to clear the air with me and him. I am not one to play any of these goofy 'games' or whatever so I just came out and said what was on my mind. I simply cleared the air, straight and to the point; I did catch him off guard but he was rather appreciative of my 'directness'. There was not much more, in terms of 'in depth' conversation but enough was said that had apparently put him 'at ease' as the rest of lunch lacked some of the weird looks and strange body language. So lunch was finished and we had agreed at the next leg of the tentative route so we squared up the checks and hit the 'ol dusty trail. Some more riding, through some canyons, over some ridges and then back to the plain old boring F-L-A-T fields and wind... Oh boy the wind. Next stop was a fuel stop that also included some brief and quick troubleshooting on her bike - it had chugged a little bit more than usual. Topped off and gave her a few ounces of seafoam and it cleared right up (I suspect poor quality fuel or small amount of moisture -- thanks to the awesome panhandle fuel). Back on the road, yet again, this time he took the lead (I had been leading up to this point) and another 45 miles or so and we got sucked into a dairy queen. Don't you just hate when that happens!! Well, sad news on that front, they both ordered their ice cream and I stood at the counter watching them fill orders and chit chat by the register, staring at me with my cash in hand, I waited a whole 5 minutes with not a single person offering to take my order or ask if I had been helped, regardless of the 5 or 6 people standing around chatting and fidgeting with the register. So, while they both were about half done with their ice cream I went and sat down with them at the table and figured that DQ obviously did not really want my business so I wasn't going to fight for it. We chatted while they ate their ice cream; no big deal - all went fine. Ice cream done, and we cleared up the table and once again, on the road. This was the last stop. Another 60 miles or so back to town. As we got close, he started up with the 'hot rodding' at the stop signs and red lights, so I just hung way back and let him be. Eventually he was way out of sight and it was just me and her cruising along. Once we got close to her street, I pulled around her and waved as I rode off [into the sunset, incidentally]. I went back to my lab for a little while as I had some work to finish up, then came home for dinner. I anticipate some chat tomorrow about today's ride, as I will check in with her to see how it was for her and whatnot. All in all, I had a pretty good day. The weather was in the 50s and 60s, partly cloudy with 20-30 mph winds from the south. So, overall it was okay. Not fantastic, but okay enough. I do feel that 'he' is not really on as much of a defensive as he has been in the past; but I still don't really care. I'm in it for the riding and whatever friendship comes from it. Take it or leave it, I couldn't care much less either way. Oh, by the way, the RSV is a tad quicker than that k_lr he rides. With the weather getting nicer I am sure that the rides will be more frequent; I'll keep ya'll updated as long as ya'll are interested. Until next time...

I would strongly advise AGAINST this as this is blatant copyright infringement; unless you purchase the video yourself and save the electronic copy for your own archival purposes without distributing the saved media. The list was setup in such a way that it was perfectly legal since no one was duplicating the disc and the original owners were not charging for viewing privileges. I understand the motivation of your post though as you were just thinking of others and being kind but again, let us stay within the confines of the law here.

Pssssssst. An inside source tells me that there might be a ride going on this Sunday... More details as they become available.

bump

Really?!? No one? Maybe this thing isn't on... *whap whap whap* :confused24:

Alright, that is what I had figured (makes perfect sense) - just wanted to check though.

+1 to making sure you have a QUALITY set of tools to work with. It took me a few to realize that the hex tool I was using was partially rounded. That killed a few bolt heads. It did not take me long at all to start swapping out those stupid ones with regular bolts... Good advice on the strength flyinfool!

Question for you: Does the picture have to be taken AFTER the time of the assignment or could someone use a picture that satisfies the requirements but taken prior to the assignment?