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Stoutman

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Everything posted by Stoutman

  1. Stoutman
    I'd be intersted to know what your gas mileage does with that shorter windscreen. Great pictures. Beautiful bike. Keep us posted.
  2. Stoutman
    That looks real nice. I have to echo Helmer's question: "Where did you get the bracket and how hard was it to make it fit?" Vendor names and part numbers would be very helpful. When I added lights to my bike I wired everything into the tail light assembly behind the brake light. The stock Yamaha wireing harness has bullet plugs that disconnect from the lights there. I bought matching male and female connectors and wired everything to plug into the stock wiring harness. That way I could unplug what I added, and I did not have to cut the stock wiring harness. It gets a little crowded in there, but everything fit OK. If you go under the seat you will have to cut the stock wiring harness. I did that to add my backoff flasher, which I mounted by the battery. Going with LEDs is a good idea. There is not a lot of excess electrical generation capacity on the RSTD/Venture. When I added my Harley brake lights I could really notice the drain when I would hold the brakes while stopped at a light. I put in LEDs and it seems much better.
  3. Stoutman
    the other meter I mentioned above is this one.
  4. Stoutman
    Check Cruiser Customizing. Search for the Kuryakyn L.E.D. Battery Gauge. I'm sure other vendors offer it. This is where I bought mine. I hope this is what you were asking about. If you want a digital readout there is another gauge available that has a temperature readout as well. It is much bigger. I posted a picture of the Kuryakyn gauge below.
  5. Stoutman
    I would like to know a bit more about this venture rack you are referring to. Do you have a part number, or a web link you could share?
  6. Stoutman
    I put this one on my bike last spring. It was about $80.00. Not as fancy as the billet mount, but it works well. I did have to put a 50 ohm resistor in line with the backlight to dim it for night driving.
  7. Stoutman
    The only one that comes to my mind is Diamond R Accessories. I don't think they make the center stand any more but they do offer the backrest. Checkout the Gold Star Vendor forum.
  8. Stoutman
    If it doesn't bother you no need to change. You may feel different as the bridgestone wears flat on the rear. I had mine for about 5 months (5,000 miles) and had enough. I threw them away and never looked back. To answer your quesiton, Colleyville is in the Dallas/Fort Worth area on Highway 26 between Fort Worth and Grapevine, Texas. When I moved here it was a rural spot amid the metromess sprawl. Now they are tearing down all the older homes and building McMansions. I still like the place though. As long as the taxes are bearable and I still have a job, I'll stay. Best of luck with whatever tire you choose.
  9. Stoutman
    No, throw them away and put on some Avons. You won't regret it. If you put on the leveling links, stick to the stock sizes. If you don't put on the leveling links go to the smaller front tire, MT90/16. It will improve your slow speed handling tremendously. Just my humble opinion.
  10. Stoutman
    I have those exact tires on my 05 RSTD. I love them. I don't know how to describe the feeling when I put them on. This is an exageration, but it was kind of like taking a beating everyday for 6 months, then one day the beatings stopped. Ride on.
  11. Stoutman
    I can't speak to Metzler tires, but from what I've read on this site the 170 series tire will rub on the swing arm. There is very little clearance there so you take a chance the tire you buy won't fit. I'm not aware of anyone that has had success at putting on a larger rear tire. Best of luck.
  12. Stoutman
    Seems like that is how I can tell if I need a carb sync. The vibrations go up when it needs a sync. I used to get the backfire, but not since I started doing my own sync every 2000 miles. A good sync makes the beast into an entirely different animal. Smooth, quiet, and it really likes to rev.
  13. Stoutman
    I have the JC Whitney trunk on my RSTD. It has the same problems that Roadkill mentions. I currently use it as a hat box. It has a quick disconnect so I can take it off and put on the more substantial stock backrest when Mamma or my daughter go with me for a ride. I think the concerns about being substantial are mostly based on the light luggage racks that are available for the RSTD. My rack attaches to the single bolt behind the passenger seat and then to the license plate bracket. I also have the Harley accessory lights on my bike, so that also stresses that hardpoint. I'm going to look into adapting the Harley luggage rack to my RSTD so I can add a more substantial trunk like a tourpak with a quick disconnect.
  14. Stoutman
    I've been tempted during the hot months of summer. I think I'll buy a set of brackets and a shorty windshield so I can slip a short one on for the summer. Wayne Farrington (Brewser23) sells the brackets for this. Check out his picture gallery for some pictures of his bike with the shorty shield.
  15. Stoutman
    The first statement is not quite accurate. The vapor pressure is not really related to octane. Octane ratings are about how fast a fuel will burn. The lower octane fuel burns faster than the higher octane fuel. That means in a high compression engine the fuel can burn too fast and is more of an explosion than a controlled burn. That is the knock you hear in the engine when you don't have high enough octane fuel. The part about it firing before it is supposed to is not accurate. The fuel fires when the spark plugs ignite it, unless you are talking very high compression ratios (which the racing guys might be talking about). The lower octane may seem like it fires before it is supposed to because it burns so fast at high compression. Higher octane fuel burns slower giving a more controlled flame front for a smoother power cycle at higher compression. As far as av gas goes most av gas today is 100 octane Low Lead. The low lead av gas has much more lead that automotive gas used to have. There also used to be a 130 octane av gas that had much more lead. I think the 130 octane has been hard to find for about 20 years. The thing that makes av gas good for motorcycles is that is stores much better than auto gas. It has very low vapor pressure because it has to work at higher altitude. That means it doesn't evaporate as quickly as automotive gas. It is also a much cleaner fuel in that it doesn't have as much of the high vapor pressure impruities like benzene and other volotile organic compounds (VOCs). It is the VOCs that evaporate and leave behind the nasty stuff that fouls up your carberators. Todays price for 100 Low lead is about $3.80 per gallon Most engines (except racing engines) don't need the high octane gas. Any engine with compression below about 10.5/1 won't really get much benefit from the high octane gas unless you can advance the timing a lot. The newer computerized, fuel injected engines will run fine on regular because the computer will adjust the timing and air/fuel ratio. They won't have as much power, but it won't be very noticable either. Most car manufacturers that state you must use high octane gas in the newer cars do so because of their horsepower claims. The car will run fine on the lower octane gas, but won't generate the claimed horsepower. Here is a good discussion on octane and what it means.
  16. Stoutman
    There are two luggage racks I know of for the RSTD. One mounts to the removable backrest. The other is a three point mount, to the bolt behind the rear seat and then on either side of the license plate bracket. I'm not sure which one you are asking about. Sorry, no pics either.
  17. Stoutman
    Measure the diameter of the bar. My 05 RSTD has 1 inch bars. I found the Kuraykyn work well on mine. I bought the pegs and mounts at the local Harley dealer. He actually had competitive prices. I feel my 1 inch crash gaurds are almost to small for highway pegs though. I can see them flex when I put my feet on them. If yours are smaller than that I'd consider another option like upgrading to a bigger crash bar, or the Lindby bar with build in foot pegs. I know they make those in 1 1/4 diameter. Not sure if they make them for your bike or not.
  18. Stoutman

    Grab Rails

    Stoutman replied to a topic in Bike Accessories

    I have not done this but saw it done on a Vstar 1100. The guy put a straight bar across the back of his sissy bar and then put standard bike grip handles on it. The bar was not very long but his wife was able to reach back and grab those handles when she needed to hang on. That might be a good place to start.
  19. Stoutman
    I use a wet/dry vac that has a detachable blower. It is a Rigid 16-Gallon 6-1/2 Peak HP Wet/Dry Vacuum with Detachable Blower from Home Depot Here is a link. Works great to dry the bike, and I also use it to blow the leaves out of the rain gutters on the house. Makes that job a lot easier than getting up there with a ladder.
  20. Stoutman
    That is right, I've only been looking for the second gen tire size. Sizes I've looked for are are 150/80-16M/C 71H or MT90/16 front, and 150/90B15 rear.
  21. Stoutman
    I'll second this. I've been looking for about a year and have not found a radial in the sizes we need.
  22. Stoutman
    As long as it has good binders (read antilock) and a comfortable seat (read NOT RSTD) I'm up for a new bike as soon as the kids are out of college. Lets hope it gets here before I'm on Medicare.
  23. Stoutman
    The Harley lights would work. I may still put them on. For now I use the Signal Dynamics license frame. I also added two more LEDs on a piece of aluminum angle that attaches to the bottom of the license plate. My gallery has a picture. It is very unobtrusive, but still brigher than stock. Also, I hate relying on a single bulb for my brake light and running light. If it goes out you are dark. Here is a link to my gallery picture. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/vbpicgallery.php?do=big&p=236
  24. Stoutman
    I've always been a fan of the Kaw triples. Had both the 500 and the 750. One thing that makes them run sweet is to sync the carbs. I never had a carbtune when I did it. I used a mirror to watch when the slides started to move, and adjusted the throttle cable adjusters on the carbs until all three carbs opened at the same time. The carbs were pretty simple and forgiving to re-build. I have no idea if you can still get kits. One thing I would worry about is the oil injection system. That old two stroke oil can set up like glue. Drain what is in the tank and put in some fresh oil right off the bat so it can get mixed in with what is left in the lines. They are fun bikes around town. I'm not sure I'd want to take a tour on one again. Last time I did that I was buzzing like a two dollar radio for about an hour after I got off the bike. Also, if you plan on taking it on a twisty road take off the center stand. The center stand will drag real early.
  25. Stoutman
    That is a good one Bill. You need to update your profile to read "05 Tour de Venture."
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