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Stoutman

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Everything posted by Stoutman

  1. Stoutman
    Rusty, Good post. One thing I try to keep in the back of my mind is blind spots. Everybody knows where their blind spots are when they are driving, toward the left rear and right rear of the vehicle, right? Well, I don’t think most cagers are aware that they have two more blind spots for motorcycles, to the right front, and left front. The support pillars for the vehicle’s windshield cause the blind spot. Those pillars are just the right size to block out the upright rider cruising down the road. I have had multiple instances where an SUV has swerved into my lane from a position slightly behind me and to my left or right. I was lucky that my peripheral vision caught the movement and I was able to avoid a collision, although the last time my wife was on the back and I suffered bruised ribs from her reaction. I now ride with this in mind and keep myself out of the cager’s blind spots, both from behind, and in front. This is another case where the throttle is your friend. Again, great post. If everybody keeps these things in mind we’ll all have a much better chance out there. I try to think about this stuff constantly. The number of different situations is infinite, so you have to keep it running through your mind and react and plan.
  2. Stoutman
    I have used the Purolator filter. It is one of my favorites. I always buy two or more when they are on sale. Otherwise I use the SuperTech ST7317 from Wallmart for about $2.10, and change it every time I change the oil. These are both group 5 filters. Check out the tech library under general tech and oil filters. The Spin On Filters listed toward the bottom of the page past the manufacturer listings are grouped by numbers in Red eg. [5]. The group 5 filters will fit the newer Ventures and RSTD. I buy a lot of these filters because the same filter fits my Nissan truck.
  3. Stoutman
    The strap is a great idea. When I lived in Utah I would do about the same but put my trouble light under the bike with a 60 watt bulb and leave it on. That would keep it warm enough that nothing would freeze, and the condensate would be less. The bike seemed to be a little less rusty in the spring.
  4. Stoutman
    To winterize the bike in Texas: Wash and wax bike. Make sure any service items are complete for the number of miles on the bike. Get on the bike and ride it until next weekend. Repeat.
  5. Stoutman
    I replaced mine with one that came with the JCWhitney handlebar switches. It came apart before I finished installing the lights. I took the switch out of the circuit and used the shell to fill the hole in the lamp. I would suggest you bypass the switch and just let the lamps come on with the bike until you find a replacement. Good luck.
  6. Stoutman
    Just switched to Shell Rotella 15W40 after running the Shell Rotella 5W40 synthetic. The synthetic came out of the bike real clean, like it was only a month old. I switched to the 15W40 to see if it would lessen the whine a bit. I think it did so I'll see how the 15W40 looks when it comes out of the bike. If it looks real clean I may put it back in again next summer.
  7. Stoutman
    I have the 05 RSTD and use the clock all the time. I just leave it on the clock setting and only check the odometer when I fill up and service the bike. It keeps pretty good time also. Only have to reset it for daylight savings and it is always within one minute.
  8. Stoutman
    I read about 11 when I'm idleing with the Morgan carbtune II.
  9. Stoutman
    Don't mistake common with frequent. These are problems that more than one of us has experienced. It does not mean that everybody has these problems, or that all bikes will develop these problems. Also, you have a five year warranty. Yamaha could not make money offering a 5 year warranty on a piece of junk. Best case, you'll be aware that these things have happened to others, so if something should go wrong with your bike you will hopefully recognize it before it causes you any inconvenience. That said, these are complex machines that need maintenance, and will break now and again. They have many of the same systems that a car has, and a few more, all in a compact package that is exposed to the elements. The way I look at it, if it doesn't break, you aren't riding it hard enough.
  10. Stoutman
    I use this one when I'm travelling. It is a bit big for everyday use. http://www.cyclegear.com/spgm.cfm?L1=2&L2=55&L3=&L4=&item=FTL_CAR001 You might try Ride Gear. They had some smaller ones on sale.
  11. Stoutman
    Try these two pages from the Yamaha instructions. I've got the rest if you need it. Sorry, I could only get one page to upload as the others are two big for the file size restrictions on this site. PM me with an e-mail address and I'll send you the whole thing.
  12. Stoutman
    I have the Cargo tail bag. Here is a link to the Cycle Gear store. It is tough, has good zippers, and comes with a rain cover and bungies to attach it to the bike. It also has shoulder strap and backpack style straps. I paid about 95.00. This is big enough that I can use it as a rider's backrest when I attach it to my RSTD passenger seat.
  13. Stoutman
    Has anyone tried the resistor type spark plugs to help with this issue?
  14. Stoutman
    I have the JC Whitney trunk on mine. It holds the skid lid, but I'm not impressed with it overall. The backrest is thin and cheap, and the plastic parts don't inspire confidence. When I've got a passenger I take it off and put the RSTD backrest on with a tailbag. I've seen the larger trunks on Ebay. They don't seem to have the weather proofing and are silent about that in the descriptions. I may go with a homemade fiberglass trunk in the future. Still thinking about that one though. Might not be worth the effort if a HD tour pack can be had for a reasonable price.
  15. Stoutman
    I had this issue, and tried the carb re-balance several times. Used some Sea Foam and the problem went away. I think I had some varnish or gunk or a load of stale gas. Anyway, no more popping, and the bike really purs with those carbs synced to perfection.
  16. Stoutman
    Newman, I've had similar doubts about Venture vs RSTD, but still love my RSTD. Here is the J&M unit I've been eyeing. http://www.motoleather.com/21-8110.html If mama liked to ride more I'd buy it tomorrow. I may get it just for the CB and external audio capabilities.
  17. Stoutman
    Thanks for the information. I think I'll have some German food in Grandbury after the ride.
  18. Stoutman
    Could you give a guy some more information on where "near" Dallas this road is? I have searched on Google Maps and Mapquest for FM51 and no results were returned.
  19. Stoutman
    I would add that the rear brake locks way to soon. See Rick Butler's posts on this. Also, I've not heard the backfire as loud as a cannon. You guys must have had it bad. Mine sounds more like my pocket pistol. Here in Texas it doesn't even scare anybody.
  20. Stoutman
    I saw gradual mileage improvements up until about 2000 miles when new. Started out at 34-35 mpg and gradually improved to 37-38 combined highway/city. I get 44 mpg at highway speeds under 70mph. Your best bet is to change the oil over to synthetic and sync the carbs. Also, check your spark plugs. I found mine to have a very wide gap at the first check. When I put in new plugs with the correct gap my mileage went up 2 mpg. The other thing is the manual says to shift way to soon. When I shifted at the recommended shift points it always felt like it was lugging the engine. Now I have a tach installed and up-shift at about 4000rpm. I don't have an exact mph for each gear, but Goose did that post prior to the site crash. He may still have the information. I think that not lugging the engine helped my mileage.
  21. Stoutman
    I use needle nose pliers. I have a pair that are like a duckbill, flat on the end instead of pointy. The work great on those little hose clamps.
  22. Stoutman
    This must not be much of an issue, as I haven't read any previous posts on the subject. For me though synchronizing the carbs has been a little difficult, as I didn't have a screwdriver quite long enough to reach the 1-2 sync screw and would always burn my knuckles. I was delighted to find a long phillips screwdriver today at Harbor Freight. It came paired with a straight one of the same length. They are item number 34253 in the HF store (you won't find them online, at least not today). For five bucks I bought two 24 inch long screwdrivers. Now I won't be burning my knuckles on the engine when I sync my carbs with a screwdriver that is almost to short. Still have to figure out what to do with that straight blade 24" long screwdriver...?
  23. Stoutman
    I put on the Steibel horn this weekend. The installation is easy with the L bracket. I made my own L bracket out of a chain link fence stay. Fits like a glove in that little spot where the factory horn goes. Much louder as well. After the install I had the neighbor three houses down come out front to see what the racket was. He didn't believe it was a motorcycle until he came down to my place to ask if I had heard "That kook honkin his horn". He turned the white, then red when I made him jump by hitting the horn button. He then apologized for the kook remark, as did I for making him jump. I honked when I drove by his house this morning just for fun.
  24. Stoutman
    Thanks for the kudos, although I did it for my own piece of mind because I have used these things on virtually all my vehicles. I used to take used oil filters apart everytime I changed the oil to inspect for metal particles and crud, but that was back when I was servicing general aviation aircraft and had access to all the tools and inspection aids. I'm sure it's not related, but I went to Walmart this morning to replace my filter and THEY WERE OUT OF STOCK! The price has come down since I was there last. They are now $2.09. Such a deal. By the way, I took apart a Micro Gaurd (O'Reilly auto parts brand) filter that I didn't need any more. It was equally well made. The anti-drain back valve had a little flash on the edges, and the bypass valve was a different design, but it also was a quality product. It was for a car (I no longer own) so it had a bit more filter area, but other than that it was comparable to the SuperTech.
  25. Stoutman
    I've seen some posts dissing the Supertech oil filter, so I decided to tear a new one apart for my own peace of mind. What I found was a surprisingly good filter for the $2.29 you pay at Walmart. This filter has all of the right parts in a well made package. See the pictures below for details. What you get for you money: A good anti-drain back valve. This is important in our bikes for two reasons: one, the filter is mounted horizontally. If the anti-drain back valve fails then dirty oil can leak back into the crankcase. Second, if the oil drains out of the filter then the engine oil pump has to fill the filter before it starts pumping oil to the engine at startup. The anti-drain back valve in the ST7317 was well made of a flexible nitrile material. The paper filter element had 43 pleats that were evenly distributed, except where the seam was. This gives about 86 square inches of filter material. For a comparison to other filters check out this link http://motorcycleinfo.calsci.com/Filters.html#OilFilters The top and bottom of the filter element are metal. The filter element was sealed and glued at both ends. I've heard some manufacturers use a paper end on the filter element. I guess this is OK if you have a good bypass valve arrangement. This filter needs the metal end for the bypass valve to seal to. The filter I opened had a very normal coil spring bypass valve on the top of the filter element. This is more than adequate to protect your engine from lack of lubrication in the event of a clogged filter. By the way, if this feature gets used frequently in your oil filter you need to either let your bike warm up longer before you redline it, or change your oil more often. The filter gasket was smooth with no defects.So here is my challenge: if you have a different filter you like, tear it up and post some pictures. Lets see how they stack up.
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