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camos

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Everything posted by camos

  1. Wear and tear could have reduced the effective circumference of the pulley. It might be possible to improve throttle response by filling in the groove a little.
  2. My guess is that Mike is talking about the validity of only wearing a riding boot made in the US of A versus one made in China while riding a Yamaha bike made in Japan.
  3. I have a pair of Tourmaster Elite gloves that do a very good job of keeping my hands dry and warm. http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/catalog/Winter-Elite-Glove-p-109_9.html
  4. They also fit the xv1100 Virago and most likely the other models.
  5. camos

    Web Host

    I've been using these guys for about 8 years to host 3 websites costing a total of $5.95/mo including one domain name with $10/yr for more. The promo price has been going on for years. I have found them to be economical and reliable with quick response to customer service inquiries or issues. http://www.hostmonster.com/ Might be more features than you are after but there are no ads or other Whoo-Haw like you get with the "free" sites.
  6. Remember, we are talking about a Virago here which is much lighter than your other bikes. Anyway, 30K is just a guess relative to the insignificant wear after 9K while commuting one up. Just putting this into perspective but in any case, what works for you is always a good bet.
  7. I have put about 9000 miles on my E3's this year and they look almost brand new. Just a guess but I expect to get close to 30000 miles off these tires. The cost differential at Dennis Kirk is about $10 per tire. It costs me about $50 to get the tires mounted and balanced. Looks to me like I'll get more miles per dollar out of the E3's. Only time will tell though. I put 18000 miles on the Bridgestone Spitfire II tires that came with my Virago which had 25000 km on the clock. Can't say if they were the original tires but probably not.
  8. Never had D404's on my xv1100 but have heard they don't last very long. I put E3's on mine last year absolutely love them. They are a bit larger than the stock tires but fit well and make 5th a real overdrive. Seem to work as well as the E3's do on the Venture.
  9. Got another answer from HID Country. The single beam kit in the wholesale list has standard ballasts but the DOT ballast can be had for 5$ more. This kit has two HID bulbs and ballasts. Just noticed the web only price for this kit has fallen below the price listed as wholesale. Not sure what to make of that.
  10. Likely totally irrelevant to your Venture but I use the Rotella 15w 40 in my Virago 1100 SE. I want some popcorn too.
  11. I haven't PM'ed you about this so I'm not sure if you included me in the count. I would like a motorcycle kit and a single beam kit. Would actually like a pair of each to do both my bikes but since I don't know for sure if the H3 single kit will work in the fogs I'll just opt to do one bike. Sent an email to HID Country asking for details on their Single Beam Kits (Premium Ballast) $43 listed on the wholesale page. Wanted to know whether it is the Universal Kit or the DOT kit. Once I get things sorted out I'll PM you to confirm exactly what I will need.
  12. I've seen foot pegs that look like that on a sport bike that was stopped at a light beside me.
  13. So I did ask and the response was "about an inch" which was not quite as informative as I was hoping for. After opening up my fog light, the H3 bulb is also "about" an inch long. All of this seems "about" right for it to work. However the bulb in my fog lights is mounted vertically so there may be a question as to whether the diameter of the bulbs is close enough to the same for the HID bulb to fit in the H3 position without contacting the reflector. Just what-iffing here: but after looking in the fog light I'm wondering how well a Hi-Lo HID light would work. The lens is a projector with a removable plate that provides a cutoff to keep the light beam low. I'm guessing much would depend on the focal point of the projector as to whether dong this would create a Hi-Lo flood light rather than a set of headlights. Sure would be nice if R&D wasn't so potentially expensive. Putting aside my ramblings, has there been any progress with the group buy?
  14. A set for me too please.
  15. camos

    Virago's

    Under the left pod is the AIS. Yup, just like the Venture. As we know, vacuum leaks can cause problems. The PO removed the AIS on my Virago so I've never had to deal with it. Here is a link to instructions on removing the AIS. Backfiring is often caused by a lean fuel condition created by a vacuum leak, gobbed up jets, carb boot leak, unsynced carbs or poor spark.
  16. Switch stuck, bad contacts or both. Its been a bit damp here and a few days ago the right turn signal on my bike tuned on sometimes or not or would flash a short while before turning off. After spraying with WD40 it's been working fine. Perhaps that is all that's necessary to deal with your problem.
  17. I meant to say the fog lights were H3 bulbs but forgot. Anyway, judging from the pix on the website the different bulb configurations all seem to be the same size. While it would be best to call HID-Country to get an actual measurement, unfortunately I am very difficult to get in touch with so I doubt that will work out. If I could get a reasonably accurate length from the H4 bulb then I would be willing to take a chance the H3's will be the same. If the H3 kit works in my fog lights, I would need four of them and two H4 for the headlights so both the Virago and the Venture can be done.
  18. I'm interested in getting 2 HID replacements for my 55w halogen fog lights. Trouble is how long the bulbs are may affect whether they will fit into the housing. Got any dimensions for the bulb? From the pix it looks like all types are the same length and differ only in the type of socket connector. In any case, I am still interested in getting a Bi-Zenon HID kit for the main headlight.
  19. Since the headlight is supposed to shut off when starting bike, do you mean it stopped working after starting the bike?
  20. That was kinda my though too. Except I opted to keep the PS2 mouse, TrackMan Marble actually, and returned the PS2/USB adapter plus $8 for a USB keyboard. All is working as it should with Win7. Now I just have to see how much data I can retrieve from my old Win2K install. Thanks much for the ideas.
  21. camos

    Virago's

    You will find out soon enough there is a cable activated clutch and the rear drum brakes are activated by a pull bar and lever. There is a mark and an arrow on the rear brake lever that indicates the condition of the brake shoes. Somewhere in the middle is good but getting close to the mark means the shoes should be inspected/replaced. If you are planning to put some Seafoam in the transmission oil you should do that perhaps the day before an oil change then run it around a bit. Pay attention to how the filtre is installed before changing it as the filtre can be installed backwards which will mess up the engine. The oil level should be filled to about 3/4 up the window. A bit closer to the top could be better because it will help prevent the oil light from coming on when cold and when going up a hill. When the engine is running there will be no oil visible in the window so don't be concerned. When checking oil the bike should be on the centre stand on level ground. Be careful when reinstalling the front wheel that the speedo drive is properly aligned with the drive teeth or it could get pooched. Would be a good idea to oil the cables, speedo, clutch, brake and choke cables with clean engine oil. The rear brake light switch is just above the rear end of the foot lever, right about where the neg cable from the battery attaches to the engine. Make sure it is adjusted properly as it may have to be disconnected to clean the terminal end. About half the electrical connections are in the headlight bucket so don't forget to look at them as well. There are some fuses under the seat but there is also a fuse panel under the idiot lights below the instrument cluster. Remind the rider that the ignition switch has a park light position just past the lock position. Essentially, don't ever use the park position except perhaps in an emergency except the hazard lights would probably be a better choice. The park lights will kill the battery in less than 8 hours. I know this from experience. As with the Venture, so with the Virago, the primary drive splines should be greased as well as the swing arm bearings and drive shaft splines. If you don't know the condition of the rear end oil it should be changed as well. Magnum TM 80 horns are a close match to the OEM ones with a serious blast to them.. well worth looking into.
  22. The MB does have USB Legacy support in the BIOS which was set to auto by default. I changed it to enabled then reinstalled Win7 but there was no difference. I guess there is a chance the PS2/USB adapter could be faulty since neither device works when attached to it. There could also be an issue with the USB host controller but since I can't figure out how to get the info from Device Manager I can't do anything about it. Thanks for the input guys. By the way, this site works by tabbing but its a lot of work to get to anything.
  23. I'm in a pickle. Got a new motherboard with one PS2 port and a bunch of USB ports. Also have a mouse and a keyboard with PS2 connectors. Do the math, pick the mouse or pick the keyboard, only one can be connected at a time. Boot up with either one and it works. The keyboard is needed to key in my login password, Unfortunately the driver setup that came with the MB does not seem to recognize keyboard tabs or arrows so I can't install the drivers that would --- hopefully --- allow the USB ports to work. Yes, I got a USB to PS2 adapter but neither mouse nor keyboard works when connected to a USB port. The Win7 Control Panel does not appear very helpful compared to the one in Win2K. Haven't found a way to see the status of any devices yet. Boot up and plug in the mouse USB and the computer says installing device drivers, as expected, but the install fails for reasons unknown to me. Anyone got any experience with this confounded contraption who could offer any advice?
  24. camos

    Virago's

    This is a very helpful Virago site. Looks like it is now necessary to register before the forums can be read but it's free and well worth doing. The first gen Virago starters were a chronic problem but was fixed in the 2nd gens after 85. The xv1000, available in 85 only, was the first of the 2nd gens with the fixed starter so 86 and on should not have the chronic starter design problem. If your starter does not sound right there is likely something wrong. To begin check and clean the battery connections. The hot side is straight forward just the battery end but the neg/ground connects to the engine down by the brake light switch and is a definite source of corrosion. The hot to the starter should also be cleaned. Adding a second ground from the battery to the frame is a good thing to do, #10 wire will be adequate but #8 is probably better. Any old bike that has be neglected should have all the wiring checked over for obvious damage and all the terminals separated and cleaned before putting back together, then use dielectric grease to help with water resistance. I put E3's on mine last year and they work great, the rear is a bit larger that stock but fits comfortably. While everything is a lot simpler, there really isn't much difference between restoring a shed queen Virago or a similar state Venture.
  25. Raking the triple tree reduces trail as does lowering the front end by setting the forks higher in the triple tree. Lengthening the forks and lowering the rear end increases trail. All those changes will affect steering. Increasing trail will make steering more stable on the highway but less responsive in parking lots. Reducing trail will do the reverse with too little trail making steering squirrelly and potentially unsafe.
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