Stoutman
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Everything posted by Stoutman
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I quit about a hundred times. It finally took on the 101st try. If at first you don't succeed.... One thing I can say from experience, if you live with a significant other you won't get to spend the savings on your toys. Don't count that money before you have it in your formerly nicotine stained fingers. Best of luck. The only thing you can do that is better for you than that is to keep your weight in the normal range with exercise.
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Isn't this all kind of like the Mad Magazine's, Spy vs. Spy. Where is Alfred E. Newman when you need him.
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Max for me 585 miles in 9 hours from Clayton NM to Dallas/Fort Worth. Did it this summer on my way home from Utah. Hit that Texas flat land and just wound it up to the max speed the cruise work, then held on until I needed gas. Almost had to push it into Amarillo, TX because I was bucking a headwind and didn't get my usual 150 miles/tank. Bike started sputtering going up a light grade just as I hit the outskirts of the city. Crested the grade and the engine caught. Hit the next exit and gassed up at the stop and rob.
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Even if it means you buy a bike you may not like as much, if you have the means to give your queen what she wants, go for it. Keep the Concours for yourself and get mamma whatever she wants. You know that there a lot of miles put on the GW by a lot of happy couples. It is also a quiet bike. Now wait just a minute while I put my kevlar jacket on. OK Now, have you considered the Harley?
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My 05 RSTD mirrors are solid as a rock. Best motorcycle mirrors I've ever had.
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I never got into the clubs and all the talking back and forth. I put myself through college installing CBs and tuning the antennas. Must have sold cases of those things to every sort of person. Even put one in a Ferarri Quattro Valvoli. Hardest thing I ever did was drill a hole in that rear deck to add a CB antenna. Almost hated that guy for bringing me the job and not going with a magnetic antenna or something that didn't require a hole in the skin. He turned out to be one of my best customers. Did his Porche, Mercedes, and all his kids VWs. Still prefered to work on the pickup trucks though.
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I've been looking at the Clearview as well. You don't have to buy the recurve feature if you don't want it (I wouldn't). I'm looking at it for the extra width and the taller shield. I look over the existing shield with no problem. I taped a 1 1/2 inch piece of cardboard to the top of mine to see what the extra height would do and I think I can look over the taller shield as well. The extra width and height could reduce the buffeting somewhat. If that doesn't work I may have to upgrade to the Venture. Mamma is getting used to the idea of spending weekends on the bike. I think I could sell her on the Venture upgrade if I could get her to sit on one. My only concern with the wider shield on the RSTD is interferrence with the throttle cable. My cable rubs on the stock shield, and I think the wider one will rub up against the throttle cable adjusters. I think I can minimize that by rotating the throttle cable houseing a little, and putting a standoff spacer there if necessary. If you go with the Clearview be sure to post your review after you put a few miles on it. Hope everything heals up like new.
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Lutz, I read your input and didn't think you had any negative effect on the conversation. I always enjoy your posts. They are thoughful, informative, and give us a European perspective on things that we don't usually see. If I ever get to Stuttgart I'd like to buy you a good drink. I apologized for taking the conversation downhill by refuting some.... Well, lets not go there. You have my opinion, for what it is worth.
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I must apologize for my behavior. I never picked fights back in school, but always ended up in the middle some how. Thanks for posting the new site information Juggler. If it's all the same I'll just stick around here and work on my manners.
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Those two overfed pooches look like they'd be more likely to lick a person to death than run them off. I bet they'd give up the bike in exchange for for a little attention. Nice looking bike though. I'd rather be riding that Honda than pushing a Harley.
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Froggman, It might be easier to write them a letter. There are very specific rules on how debt collectors may communicate. Here is a link tho the Fair Debt Collection Practices act. I've had issues where they were calling me about someone with the same name. I write them a polite but direct letter and it stops. Next time they call, ask who they are and who they work for. Get an address and warm up the poison pen. Here is a quote from the law of the relevant constraints (emphasis added): Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall -- (1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer; (2) not state that such consumer owes any debt; (3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information; Write them a polite but very direct letter telling them to stop calling. Send it via certified mail and keep the receipt with a copy of the letter so you can prove you sent them a letter. Reference the law like you know what you're talking about (cause now you do). If they call again send the second letter to your state agency that regulates them. It has been my experience that they stop calling after the first letter. Total cost to you is time and postage. Keep a copy on your hard drive so you can change the name and send it again when that debt collector sells the debt to someone else and it starts again.
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Tire change detail questions
Stoutman replied to Venturing Sole's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
David, I read this question 4 a little different than maybe the others did. If you are asking if you can switch pads from front to rear the answer is no. There are two different sizes of pad between the front and the rear and they don't mix. I'm not sure if it is possible to install the wrong pad, but I thought I throw in my two cents. The front four are all the same, and the rear two are the same, but don't mix front and rear. Also, to do a static tire balance yourself just slide the axle back in the bearing and support the assembly with two jack stands. Rotate the wheel a quarter turn and let it go to find the low spot. Mark the low spot with some soapstone then do this again. If there seems to be too much friction between the bearing seal and the axle you can twist the axle back and forth a little bit while the wheel is turning. If the wheel stops in the same place, that is the heavy spot. Put a stick on wheel weight exactly opposite this spot and repeat the above procedure until the wheel does not stop in the same place twice. I use quarter ounce wheel weights. If you have to use several weights they should end up in about the same spot. Wheel weights should be available from your local auto parts store. I bought mine from JC Whitney and I have enough lo last well into the next decade. Best of luck. -
the new Plasma units will last about 60,000 hours before they are about 1/2 as bright as when they are new. That is a good service life. Another point to consider is that the Plasma TV will use as much as 70% of its electricity while OFF!. That is because they use a circuit to keep the display partially warm. If you want to conserve electricity then you can unplug the plasma while it is off, or buy the LCD or Projection TV. I've got an older model projection TV that fits in my room and is working just fine after 5 years. I think either choice will serve you well if you buy a good quality unit of the newer designs.
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I know it is counter-intuitive that a lean condition can raise the idle, but let me share an experience. I had to do a bunch of remodeling on an old house, so I bought a used dump truck from a state auction. When I drove the thing home it was almost racing the engine at idle. Whenever I stopped I was afraid the thing would blow up it idled so high. So I stopped in a parking lot and opened the hood. When I took off the air cleaner I noticed that the studs holding the carb down had no nuts on them, and the accelerator spring caused the carb to tilt up off the manifold, bypassing the butterfly valve in the carb and letting air in. I happened to be by a hardware store so I walked over and bought a couple of nuts and threaded them down hand tight. When I started the truck up again it ran fine. All that extra air essentially leaned out the mixture a bunch. It was not the lean condition that caused the idle to increase as much as it was the extra air. What fuel there was heated a much larger volume of air, causing an increase in the idle speed. So your intuition is correct, but when you factor in why it is lean (extra air volume) you still get the same result. I'm not dissagreeing that this guys carbs were out and reaming the jets really didn't help. I don't know all the variables on his bike. I'm just saying a lean mixture can make the idle go way up depending on why there is a lean condition.
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How does it handle? Does it turn a tight radius? Is it pig in the parking lot? How high does it rev, or do you need to rev it like the RSTD? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Might as well ask "What keeps us breathing." Life is a risky business. If the nerve gas doesn't get you the nuclear fall out probably will. Then there is the traffic, smog, cholesterol, free radicals, terrorists, political dictators, water polution, peak oil, global warming, excessive water intake, heat stroke, hypo-thermia, hyper-thermia, hyper-tension, lack of vitamins, to many vitamins, guns, knives, large bricks thrown off of over passes, and of course the occasional cager that can't be bothered to look where they are going. We all gotta go some time. Might as well enjoy the ride until then.
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You are fortunate to have that fool gone from the neighborhood. A meth head killed my mother in a car crash in 2001. He had meth meth and pot in his system at the time. Who knows why anybody would be doping up on both meth and pot at the same time. Couldn't even make up his mind which altered state he wanted to be in, or which lane of traffic to drive in. The fool ended up wasting another 17 months of my sisters' lives as they followed his case through the criminal courts. I think he ended up getting off for time served. Good riddance.
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Lots of West Texas Cowboys know this trick as well, or so I've been told. My dentist grew on a ranch in Clarendon, TX, and told me about this little trick for staying warm out on the range. I was under the influence of the Nitrous at the time and asked him how he knew what all them cowboys were wearing under their jeans.... Sure got a giggle out of his dental assistant.
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Very interesting look. Almost like an RSTD with a full fairing. Not sure I could get Mamma to go for that though. She would want something to lean back on. Would be interested on how you take the tank emblems off. Not sure if I would like that look on my bike or not, but would be interested in your process.
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JT, Don't feel picked on. I just bought a full size Toyota Tundra that makes a Hummer look small. They are still aiming for me. Had to dodge a blue hair on a cell phone this weekend while running errands. I even leave the headlights and driving lamps on in the day and they still don't see me.
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Noise while on jack
Stoutman replied to Eddie Fulmer's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
Your first impression is probably right. With no tension on the gears they won't be meshing tight against each other. They'll mesh somewhere inbetween their normal position and make more noise. -
Update on Gas Mileage
Stoutman replied to Freebird's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
You didn't mention how the plugs looked. How did the plugs look in relation to each other? Is one of them is a darker color? Do they all look out of whack? How was the gap in relation to when you put them in? I'm sure you looked at this, but you didn't say in your post how they looked. -
Level Link Dimensions
Stoutman replied to JOE MCDERMOTT's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
Here is a link to the tech library on how to make your own leveling links. If I read this right they are 6 5/8 center to center. -
I am wondering if you also have the leveling links on your bike. If you don't I would agree with you to keep the narrower size Avon. I know it made a big difference for me when I put it on my bike. Since then I have also installed the leveling links. I really like the way my bike handles in the curves, and have no issues with the freeway handling either. But other gurus (that I respect) on this site maintain that a person should use the narrower tire or the leveling links, but not both. I thought I would give their advice a try with this next tire change.
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I have not had good luck with the 55 watt lamp in my passing lamps. It is very bright and I get people flashing their headlights at me even in the day time. As far as the lamp being to big for the housing, I had no trouble while I was running them. I'm sure they are much warmer, so you would want to make sure that there are no wires resting up against the reflector when you put the lamps back together. For me I stick with the stock 35 watt halogen H3 lamp. I buy them at www.rallylights.com for about $3.50 each. Much cheaper than what Yamaha wants for them. I have subscribed to this thread though because I would be interested in an intense white H3 bulb in the 35 watt size. If you find one please post on this thread.