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camos

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Everything posted by camos

  1. camos
    Bummer!! It's confirmed, one leg of the stator is grounded. Looks like the Rick's Motor Sports stator is the one to get. Was thinking of getting it from Dennis Kirk but they don't seem to have the high output version listed on their site just the OEM one @ $133 vs Rick's @ $140. The high output one at Rick's is $160. Anyone found a better price than Rick's for the HO one?
  2. camos
    Wow, now that is what I call a detailed how to. Thanks Frank now I won't be stumbling around with guesses.
  3. camos
    Mary and I are going on a day trip tomorrow but hopefully I can check it out a bit more during our trip. Take a maintenance break of sorts. It seems a bit odd to me but at an idle the dash gauge reads about 12v and at 4000+ RPMs it is reading almost 13v. With something not working properly I would have thought at an idle the gauge would have been closer to the yellow range. Anyway, I had tentatively decided to go ahead with the new RR no matter what. Thanks for confirming that is the sensible choice.
  4. camos
    Have only checked the resistance of the stator. Totally forgot to check the AC output when I was out there.
  5. camos
    The charging system on my VR is not putting out like it used to do. At an idle the volt gauge would read about 13.8 v but now even at 5000 RPM it reads only 12.7 v. Pulled the stator and RR connectors apart, cleaned and greased them with no apparent change. Ohmed the three white wires and got .5 across any or all of them so that seems to be good. Have not checked them for AC yet though. Downloaded the Electrosport diagnostic chart through a link found on this forum but that does not seem to relate to my Venture. Refers to 4 wire colours but mine has only 2 colours - 2 black and 2 red. The RR looks like the stock one although it is still installed so can't see much of it. As I type this, it just occurred to me that the red and black pairs are coming from the RR but perhaps it is the wires on the other side of the plug that should be 4 colours. Never even thought to look. Can anyone who knows what I'm talking about clarify this for me? It's dark out and I have to go to work tomorrow so don't feel like going back out to check. I have a Shindegen RR to replace the stock one and am keeping my fingers crossed that the problem is there and not in the stator.
  6. camos
    Good idea. Use the wire to one of the original horns to power the relay using terminals 85 and 86. The fused power to 87 can come from the fuse block or from a separate fuse. There is no operational problem sharing fuses between several apps as long as the draw does not exceed fuse's capacity but doing so will make it a bit more difficult to troubleshoot a blown fuse. Seems to me the best way is to use the stock horn wires to power two relays, one on each side. One relay going to the air horn and the other relay going to the stock horns which can be swapped out for Steibels any time you want. Or one relay can power the air horn and one stock horn and the other relay can power a Steibel and a stock horn.
  7. camos
    That's what mine did too. Replacing the switch fixed the problem. When I did the job I laid the bike over onto the crash guards, had to prop the front up a bit so it would sit level. Did not have to drain the oil. Followed the directions Dingy gave, thanks Dingy.
  8. camos
    I got one from my local Yamaha dealer for less than the cost from PartShark after factoring in the shipping costs. Don't forget to get a new cover gasket. I think Yammer Dan's suggestion is more likely though. Probably a good idea to check all your electrical connections before spending your money.
  9. camos

    Riding Tips

    camos replied to SilvrT's topic in Watering Hole

    Good post Rick. 42. Flashing is good for you Turn signals get your attention by flashing, right? So a few easy taps on the pedal or lever before stopping makes your brake light more eye-catching to trailing traffic. This one I do when I roll off the throttle, not just when braking. Getting off the throttle slows the bike down almost as much as hitting the brakes.
  10. camos
    I have E3's on my Virago and VR and they do not wander on metal bridge decks.
  11. camos
    So you plugged the flash drive into the separate USB plug that you installed? That is nice and simple. There is probably an Ipod dock available that will allow the Ipod to be powered and connected through the AUX port. I'm not an audiophile so do not have to have great sound but do like the quality of sound from my Ipod.
  12. camos
    Thanks, the info in the link did not say anything about a radio in the big print which is kinda odd. It does mention media ready though so have you tried it with an Ipod or other MP3 player? What is the sound quality like?
  13. camos
    Could be just a bit too late at night or my normal thick headedness but would you mind clarifying just what you got there? The link is to a remote and you got the radio somewhere else or is it to a complete radio? On the same site I found these two items which also looked interestingly economical.
  14. camos
    Been thinking about getting a Bluetooth headset/intercom. Semi decided to get the Sena SMH10 because it is well rated as an intercom and seems to have the best sound. Found the Cardo Scala G9 which is new on the market but haven't found a review yet. A bit pricey but sure looks good as it will connect with up to 9 bikes although don't know how good the speakers are. Thought I would bring it to your attention.
  15. camos
    A few decades ago I worked for two years laying up fiberglass in 40' to 65' yachts then became a commercial fisherman for 30 years where I did quite a lot of fiberglass work on my several boats. I have a love/hate relationship with fiberglass, hate working with it but love the results. When fiberglass is laid over foam or any other material ie: plywood, it becomes a structural member like square tubing versus solid square stock or an I-beam. Structural members or engineered beams have much more rigidity than solid stock while being much lighter for a similar capacity. My two analogies, corrugated cardboard and egg crates have similar properties. You can easily see the properties at work by comparing a corrugated cardboard box to a standard cereal box which is also cardboard but not corrugated. My suggestion for using longitudinal strips of foam laid over with fiberglass will create a structure similar to the corrugated box. It will be stiffed lengthwise but not across. Adding intermediate pieces of foam in between the longitudinal stringers will also add stiffness across the floor pan. The structure of this would be similar to the square welded mesh that is often used when pouring a concrete pad. Filling in the depressions and laying a layer of glass over the whole thing adds even more stiffness and would be similar to the studs and wall board that make up the walls of a house. In your project probably 3 or 4 stringers lengthwise and 3 across would probably be more than adequate to be stiffer than a plywood sheet and much lighter. To stiffen the sides add glassed over foam strips along the inside bottom corners, like a 45 degree cant strip, and up the cut edges to make a door jamb. Where the hinges are to be mounted add a strip of metal thick enough to drill and tap for the screws. In my previous post I mentioned 10 oz roving but that would actually be cloth. Roving is just cloth on steroids and I can't remember what weight the names change. For your job I think 10 oz material would be good since it is easy to work with. For a proper bond it is necessary to also use a layer of mat with either roving or cloth because the weave will only allow parts of the glass material to be actually touching the substrate. It is important not to use too much resin as that will be weaker, brittle and heavier than it otherwise would be never mind being more expensive. I have found wetting out the mat fairly liberally makes the job easier and then add the woven material with out adding resin and roll it with a heavy hand until the top layer absorbs any extra resin in the mat then add more resin as needed to wet out the dry areas. Roll the layers together until there are no white spots. The white spots are air and they must come out to achieve proper strength. You will need a steel roller which is actually made of aluminum with a steel shank. A paint brush and a paint roller are both good to spread the resin. The small deep pile paint roller and a brush will probably be your best choice. Getting the resin catalyst ratio correct is variable on temperature and humidity conditions so is somewhat difficult. Never work in the sun. Preferably lay the glass in cool conditions so you have more working time and heat can always be applied if it has not set up by the next day. In any case the resin will tend to set up much faster in the container than it will once applied to the glass so working with small batches is better particularly when doing fiddly corners and such. Fiberglassing 101. I think that is the basics that you will need to know but the devil is in the details and you only get that by doing it.
  16. camos
    If you have not already started on this I suggest rather than using plywood to stiffen the bottom it would be stiffer and probably lighter to use half inch or three quarter inch polyurethane foam instead. Cut the foam into several 3"-5" strips then layup the FRP over the strips. Once set up fill in between the strips with remaining foam and lay up over that the whole surface. This will give you something similar to a corrugated box which is very stiff considering it is just paper. To take it even farther, do the same thing going across the body before filling in with the last bits of foam. This would be somewhat like the idea of an egg crate which is also very strong considering it is just compressed pulp. For this type of layup I like to use a layer of 1-1 1/2 oz mat rolled out and then a layer of 6-10 oz roving rolled into the mat. The outside layup could be either a repeat of the mat and roving or just two layers of mat. From the unevenness in your pic it looks like the body was originally constructed using a chopper gun which sprays cut fiberglass and resin. Also looks like there is probably a cloth layer in there as well. Not particularly strong but still effective and good enough for light duty. The same chopper gun method is often/mostly used to build small runabouts for pleasure use.
  17. camos
    If what you say is correct would the tax payers not be better served if ICBC dropped the antiquated and unrealistic method of setting rates for motorcycles by their cubic capacity. The 1300 Venture has about 94 hp while a modern comparable displacement crotch rocket has about 180 hp. My 1100 Virago has about 62 hp while the average 650 crotch rocket has about 80+ hp. My Virago costs more to insure than any 650cc bike. It appears to me more horsepower with a bigger spread of power to weight ratio equates to more possible danger for the rider and anybody around him. Bikes that can travel 300 kph should cost more to insure than bikes that can only do 150 kph. People in government are not competent enough to come up with anything approaching "common" sense.
  18. camos
    That was my experience with the Bridgstones I had on my Virago. They used to dance pretty good on the tar snakes too. Put E3's on the Virago and no more tracking on bridge decks or skittering on the snakes. Not knocking the Spitfire II overly much but they do seem to have limitations E3's don't have. Those are the only two tire brands I have tried. Got 18,000 miles out of the rear Spitfire II and a year more out of the front whatever that makes it. That's pretty good I think. Didn't do a cost benefit analysis but I think the E3's would end up winning the mileage competition but don't know if they will get $40 more mileage although expect they would. Rarely use the Virago since putting the Venture on the road so I may never know for sure. The E3's certainly handle better than the Spitfire II's did in the rain. We only have one metal bridge deck around here so that wasn't much of an issue for me. Put an E3 on the front of the Venture but still running an E2 on the rear which will probably do for this year at least. Worthwhile giving the E3's a try, they are not that much more expensive.
  19. camos
    You are just full of good news aren't you. Looks like I will have to live with it the way it is for the summer anyway. Not sure how important that damper system is. Will try to get some replacement front hoses for the CLASS so I can pump it up. The rear seems to hold air OK at least.
  20. camos
    I expect you are right about replacing it instead of fixing it. Trouble is replacing my old shock with a new old shock would seem to have a rather tenuous chance of success. In you pic it looks like the cable sheath has a bulge in the middle of it which might indicate the problem is in the cable part. Had a look at mine today and now it's stuck in the #2 position and won't move to either #1 or #3. Sometimes things just keep getting worser and worser. Thanks for taking the pic. Much appreciated.
  21. camos
    Yes, that is what it felt like to me too. Hopefully that connection with the shock is serviceable.
  22. camos
    So the adjustment knob hooks to a cable that goes into the shock? I guess the springiness that I feel is the cable torquing because it is binding somewhere. Did you notice if there is somewhere between the knob and the shock that may need lubing?
  23. camos
    Did you ever get that sorted out Frank? Been on two day trips two-up with Mary. For the first trip, turned the knob from one to position two. Moved easy. For the second trip tried to turn the knob to position three but it would not go that far. The knob felt "springy" and I didn't want to force it. Never been in that part of the bike and don't know what the knob hooks up with to make the adjustment.
  24. camos
    Just curious, how do you go about bleeding the brake lines? When I do it I make sure the hose to the bleeder goes up before turning down into the waste fluid bottle so there can never be a time when air can sit at the bleeder. Done it this way on both the Virago and the Venture a couple of times each when refreshing the fluid with no problem getting them to feel solid in a reasonable length of time. Just recently replaced the rear pads one day and the right front pads a couple of days later. Probably took about 15 minutes each to get nice clear fluid all the way through just pumping the brake lever or pedal.
  25. camos
    Thought they were 8mm. Anyway, went to the above link and found the ones for the Venture.
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