camos
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Everything posted by camos
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Adding a relay to the headlight.
camos replied to camos's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
So the dimmer switch receives power from the relay rather than the headlight? I think I may be confused. Seems to me using one relay would require using a 5 terminal relay with switched power from the dimmer to 86/85 to ground. Connecting from the battery to 30 with 87 connecting to hi beam and 87A connecting to lo beam. This provides a direct connection from battery to lights through the relay eliminating the undersized Yamaha wiring and switches. What it doesn't do is turn the headlight off when starting. -
I've been thinking about adding a relay to power the headlight hi/lo directly from the battery, essentially bypassing the connection through the CMU. It could be done using one relay with normally closed going to the lo beam with the switched circuit going to the hi beam operated by the dimmer switch. Or alternatively using one relay for each of the hi and lo beams. I pulled this quote from another thread. Gary what relay option did you use? The first one would seem the simplest but may not allow the lo beam to be shut off by the start circuit.
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This thread describes the best 1st gen Virago starter fix which is essentially changing the left side case to a 2nd gen so the newer starter will fit. Many Virago parts are interchangeable between years and models but not all of them are compatible so it is important to give the year and displacement when asking a question. ViragoTech is a very good forum with a lot of knowledgeable people to ask questions relating to those bikes.
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Side Reflectors to LED's
camos replied to Hotrod's topic in Royal Star Venture Tech Talk ('99 - '13)
Why not just wrap the wires and the brake line together with a slightly larger tubing? I'm thinking it would look neater. -
Darker than the Dark side?
camos replied to MikesBike's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
There are a lot of threads on the ViragoTech forum about converting to a single carb single manifold setup. That is going from two to one though. There is a kit that includes a new carb with the manifold that can be purchased for about $600 that works quite well out of the box. Or another one where you buy just the manifold and install one of the stock carbs or one of your choice that is much cheaper but requires a lot of messing with needle sizes to get to work well. In general this modification does work well and gives quicker acceleration at the bottom end but not quite so much HP at the top end, which is not such a bad compromise for most normal riding conditions. Probably would be much more complex to do on a four cylinder engine. Instead of a new carb setup, it seems to me the effort and $$$ would be better spent on converting to fuel injection perhaps like this setup for the VMax. -
I have never understood what passing lights are.To me there are four kinds of auxiliary lights for a vehicle, driving lights which are a pencil beam that reach way down the highway, fog lights that have a wide short beam which light the sides of the road and the area between the headlight and the focus point of the low beam, daylight running lights which essentially have no beam and just say here I am, and finally off road lights which are a flood and can be as powerful as you like to turn night into day. Yamaha and probably most other MC's have the skinniest wire they can get away with that will handle the stock lighting requirements with no regard for the health of the battery not even considering the limitations of a generally pathetic charging system. If you want to add aux lights of any kind with a significant amount of power they should have a relay with a #14 or #10 power wire fused and fed directly from the battery. The relay coil can be powered as necessary to get the aux lights working in the manner desired by tapping into the stock wiring. If the lights should be on all the time (DRL's) with the ignition pick something convenient like the front turn/running light to power the relay or add a switch to turn them off independent of the ignition while still having the backup of not forgetting to turn them off with the ignition. If the lights should be on only with the Hi beam, tap into the Hi beam circuit to power the coil or similar for Lo beam only operation. It is true that adding a relay adds one more complication that can go wrong but not doing so can do harm to the stock wiring and switches with the higher amperage being drawn through components that were never designed for that amount. The lights will also work to full capacity with a decent sized power supply wire. If DRL's are all you are after with the passing lamps then LED's (PAR 36 are the ones I think) are the way to go and wire them directly into the ignition system with no relay.
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Consider wearing a mesh jacket. I've worn one with armor in 80F on the west coast, which is hotter than 80F inland and suspect it is just as comfortable as just a shirt. Mesh jackets may not offer as much protection as a tighter weave one but is a good compromise which will certainly slide further than a shirt.
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Now I'm really scratching my head. I found some of the missing pix from the La Connor trip in a different folder from where they were supposed to be. If you haven't met Larry and Danette yet, here they are. Larry, Danette and Bella in Camano Danette in La Connor Larry in La Connor
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I fully intend to inflict myself on you and Danette again this year and perhaps more when my house is done. The Anacortes ferry from Sidney is almost a direct link. There has got to be at least 6 members on the lower Vancouver Island so it should not be too difficult to find some good riding companions and some interesting roads for you over here.
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Generally PNW would stand for Pacific North Wet but this year it stands for Pacific North Warm. I've been commuting on my bike since January 10th. As for rusting... Naahh... we are made of stainless.
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As international shipping is outrageous, last Fall Larry Dearborn (Silverdeer0454) offered to take delivery of some parts for me. Last weekend I was finally able to get it together to make the trip from Saanichton. Larry braved the rain, well mostly drizzle, to meet me just below Blaine to escort me to Camano where he lives. The next day, Saturday, was a gorgeous sunny day and Larry, Danette and myself rode from Camano to La Connor. We saw the eagle in a tree by a tulip stand and iron pony boyz RSV parked on the main drag of La Connor. Unfortunately we did not get to meet Larry (another Larry) as if the world could stand more than one. :happy65:We had a wonderful ride and a great day along with a few hundred other riders. To top it off, Larry BBQed us some flat iron steaks. Never heard of that cut before but they were tender and delicious. He did fail to deliver on his promised famous potato salad but that was not enough to spoil a perfect day. I did take some pix but managed to lose them in the transfer from the camera to the hard drive. Fortunately the other Larry wasn't such a dunderhead with his pix so you all can appreciate to some degree the good day we had. I want to extend a special thank you to both Larry and Danette for all they did to make this weekend memorable. Helping me with my parts and for their wonderful American hospitality by inviting a complete stranger into their home. Larry and Danette are true VentureRiders.
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So is it likely the "Phillips" screwdriver that comes with Yamaha tool kits is really a JIS?
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I watched the video but could not hear what he said, no computer speakers, but think I got the gist of it. Probably similar to what I've been doing for decades. The way I set my side mirrors is to first make sure the rear view is centred on the back window then watch a passing car in the rear view mirror and set the side mirror so that vehicle is visible before moving out of range of the rear view and with the passing car visible in the side mirror until it can be seen in my peripheral vision. To verify the setting is correct, with my head against the side window I can just see the rear of my vehicle in the side mirror and a similar movement towards the centre of the car checks the other side. Knowing your mirrors are set to provide 360 vision makes a shoulder check about 90% unnecessary although I still find myself doing it because I'm used to doing it on the bike. This mirror adjustment also seems to work OK when backing a trailer just by leaning a little left or right. I put a pair of the convex mirrors on the Virago just before it went on the road in Jan but so far I have not come to terms with their usefulness. I find myself leaning over to look around them. Perhaps they were put in the wrong spot, the inside end of the mirror, and a move to the outside lower corner will be less intrusive.
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Had a look for this and one of the five Canadian Tires in our area had it in stock for $12.99.
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I don't think the wheel goes up and down very much. Most of the action is weight transfer between the forks and the frame. Paved roads are fairly flat, not often like washboard gravel roads or driving through potholes where the front wheel might actually bounce into the air.
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I participated in the Ride For Dad last year and hopefully I'll be there again this year, don't know yet what my work schedule will be though. I tried to sign up last night but the registration link gave me a 404. Looks like they revamped the site so the trouble should be temporary.
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Don't know how well this will work out but here is the route, more or less, on google maps. http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Swartz+Bay,+North+Saanich,+BC&daddr=Duncan+BC+to:Chemainus+BC+to:Ladysmith+BC+to:Yellow+Point+BC+to:Nanaimo+BC+to:49.315779,-124.318199+to:Parksville+BC+to:Crofton+BC&geocode=FXfY5gIdatqk-Cmbnd9u82ePVDFS5NoQFzUBJg%3BFd1N6AIduYGg-Clb50gUXk-PVDHwDXsqFTUBBQ%3BFfR96gIdDjqg-Ck77PfVw1KPVDFtKBR1xmxXaQ%3BFcWU6wIde7ue-CnZpMh0la2IVDFADnsqFTUBBQ%3BFbXG7AIdBvie-CnDeuRf0qiIVDFCNVzx7XKGkQ%3BFVww7gIdb-Cc-ClbHKwgXqGIVDHQD3sqFTUBBQ%3B%3BFWOU8AIdvh-X-CnzCGn6WoWIVDEQEHsqFTUBBQ%3BFZ-g6QId7Uuh-CnLrexHlFGPVDGS5doQFzUBJg&gl=ca&hl=en&mra=dpe&mrcr=5&mrsp=6&sz=14&via=6&sll=49.311358,-124.284382&sspn=0.044206,0.07699&ie=UTF8&ll=49.300502,-124.281034&spn=0.044216,0.07699&t=h&z=14 Click on the camera to get street views.
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Car drivers are not trained at all. The written test is so easy it is a joke and some have to take it 3 - 4 times to pass. The driving test is inadequate relating to night time driving and skid control although neither likely impact motorcycle awareness. The real problem is lack of attention to "driving" while aiming the car down the road. It's doubtful any training could ensure drivers will actually drive the vehicle without engaging in any of the activities that take their attention from the road. Not that it will help the victim but higher fines and insurance rates for inattentive driving might get the point across though. Graduated licensing, reduced horsepower for the first couple of years would likely be a good thing. There were a couple of MC crashes in this area about 5 years ago both of which resulted from driving too fast through a corner for the riders skill level. It has always boggled my mind that the ignorant boneheads who make the rules think displacement is a defining factor. My 1100 V-twin develops about 60 HP while quite a number of 4 cyl 750's get about 80 HP.
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What does that mean?
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Remove the cover from the left side case. (Three Phillips head screws) Remove the 17mm crank access cover. Be sure to turn it counter-clockwise. http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/showschematic/m7892sch219244 Basically roll it over as if setting the valves. The best permanent fix for the 1st gen starter issue is to replace the side covers with 2nd gen ones which will allow the newer starter to be used. All the details you will need can be found at http://viragotechforum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=4739&highlight=permanent+starter+fix . That said, the 2nd gens do not have the same grinding starter issue and work great. The 87 is a 2nd gen Virago so whatever issue it has should not be the "well known" Virago starter hoo-haw.
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I just finished Digital Fortress and thought it was very good, fast paced with lots of twists.
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Speedometer squeal
camos replied to Venturous Randy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
A-1 ! ! ! Thanks, that should do just fine. Would that piece be the bearing housing? -
Speedometer squeal
camos replied to Venturous Randy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
Seems like a lot more difficult than the zerk adapter method but with the remote it would be much easier for long term maintenance. A pic would be nice, had a look at the parts fiche but it isn't from the right angle and is too difficult to figure out where you put it. Thanks for the info, much appreciated. -
I have two helmets, an Arai Quantum II fullface and a Hawk flip-up. The Arai is a very good helmet but I prefer the Hawk which is definitley not as good a quality but the Arai was $600 and the Hawk was $110. The flip-up and the sunvisor make the difference for me. The fit of a medium size seems very similar for both helmets. How dark is the sunshade on the Scorpion? The review implies the Scorpion is not dark enough. Except for looking directly into the sun I find the Hawk sunvisor to be dark enough for most needs. I wonder if it is the only one that is?
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Speedometer squeal
camos replied to Venturous Randy's topic in Venture and Venture Royale Tech Talk ('83 - '93)
Are you referring to the same thing randya is or did you put the zerk somewhere else?