Great White

Tossed em in the trash. Because: 1. They look fugly 2. They came on my 86 parts bike and i didnt want them on my 83 3. The ones i had were pretty nasty and dirty 4. I ride with a full face/modular helmet and dont need a place to keep sunglasses. 5. Anything i would have left inthere has a high probablity of not being there when i get back 6. They look fugly. but i can see where they might be useful fornthe missus to store those little bits of shrapnel they always seem to have with them. This is my gps mount: http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/r618/justonepict/19D183D6-7CDB-4C07-A3DA-C38510D1C0AE_zps9uiugiim.jpg Holds my iphone 6+. I plug it into the 12v port with a usb adapter. Thats just rough at the moment. Cut it and bent it up as I was heading out on a trip the next morning. Phone slips in and out with no more trouble than putting it in a belt holster. It's on there with a couple strips of 3m trim tape and so far has survived rain, humidity and boiling sun. It also functions as my phone, intercom and stereo in conjunction with my smh-10 headset. the phone is in a lifeproof case so weather isnt an issue...

Nope. Won't work. Too many toys and not enough space as it is.....

Something is not right here. If you actually have a zero vacuum reading, the engine would not be running...even the loosest, sloppiest, ring/piston/cylinder bore you can imagine will create vacuum behind a closed throttle plate if its running in any capacity at all. Also, if someone used an ultrasonic cleaner to do your carb bodies and it didnt get absolutely every nook,cranny, passage and circuit clean they didnt use it properly, werent set up to do it properly and/or they just didnt care to do it properly. Wrong type of unit, wrong cleaner, not in long enough etc. Done properly, an ultrasonic brings components back to oem fresh specs. I've used em to clean everything from jet engine fuel nozzles to fine jewelry. At work and at home. But the one for jewlery wont nessesarily do the proper job on the jet nozzles and vice versa. Its like any other tool: right tool for the right job and all chemicals/ultrasonics are not created equal.....

Yd-5f breaks down to: 120 degree bend, 10 and 12 mm thread, 5 kohm resistance, for terminal stud. For the xvz1200/1300 NGK parts catelog calls for xd05fp which breaks down to: 102 degree bend, 10 and 12 mm thread, 5 kohm resistance, for terminal stud, special waterproof cover. Personally, I'd be going for the manufacturer recommended xd05fp.....which I already did! Fits perfect, works perfect.

http://www.ngksparkplugs.ca/products-resistor-covers-and-caps.cfm bottom of the page you'll find a pdf that tells you everything you need to know about the plug caps. the iridiums are expensive compared to the standard plugs, but they were worth every penny to me after i installed them and went for the first ride...

I'll have a closer look this winter because all I can see on internet pics on those cards is surface mount caps and resistors. Could just be lower res pics I'm looking at or the EPROM might be on the underside of the card. If it's on the underside, it must be surface mount as I don't see any through mounting to indicate its position. EPROM is easy peasy. Used to work with that stuff when I was tuning obdI. I'll just have to dig out some hardware and software. Well, some dusty corners of me brain too!

I just didn't bother with the radio (my 83 doesn't have one but I have it all in the attic). I just made a mount for my iPhone 6 plus, stuck a USB source in the lighter socket (will do a more integrated solution this winter) and bought a sena smh-10 Bluetooth intercom. Whatever the iternet can bring (whatever radio staion you could ever want from pretty much anywhere) and all my music is at my fingertips all the time. I also have intercom with the missus and anyone else on another bike within a mile (as long as they have a BT headset). Finally, with TomTom installed on my phone I have GPS with voice guidance. I thought about putting the radio in my bike but once I took a hard look at it, its just not worth the trouble or the extra weight. Ymmv....

Ah, no worries. I can buy that one new if needed. Cheers

Actually, the decisions about the entrance, apex, exit, speed and escape optiins should have been made before you even enter the corner. You should be looking up to the next corner and/ or the road ahead. Never ride the front wheel, you have to force yourself to look up ahead to protect yourself until it becomes natural to look ahead. Its how you corner fast and catch those chowderheads pulling out or doing something stupid that may take you out when you get there....

Alrighty, right up front this thread is pretty much going to be full of guys personal opinions so there are no wrong answers. I'm going to be tearing my 83 down this winter and its pretty much going to be a different bike when it roles out in spring. I'm torn back and forth over which luggage to put on it. I have both pre and post 86 bags. I've got an 85 top box which will work with either and still be removable. I just can't decide which way to go with the bags. Both have pluses and minuses. I like the pre 86 bags because they are smaller, look lighter visually and allow you to see enough of the rear tire so that the bike still looks like...well, a bike. The post 86 bags offer more storage, look more integrated and allow me to install a hitch (not for a trailer, but to use a platform for large items like golf bags, etc) without an add on looking bumper (don't like those at all). But the also make the bike look visually heavier and I'm not a fan of it looking like a "scooter" from the rear. I'm also not super keen on having the turn signals down so low. To toss one more wrench in the works, I'm not sold on the bigger 85 top box. The 83 box is smaller and IMHO also looks better. But the 85 box would work with both the 83 bags (just like an 85) and it is essentially the same box as the lost 86 so it would also work with those bags. I've got all the brackets, bits and pipes to hang whichever ones I want, I just can't seem to decide which ones I want. Truthfully, I may just end up painting both sets of bags the wine color of the bike and switch back and forth until I settle on which way to go. So let your opinions run rampant: which way would you go and, just as importantly, why ?

No problem, everybody takes whichever route works best for them. My old tci has no problem firing the plugs well past redline....

Glad it works for you. I may end up with one myself to get vboost control. But it costs me nothing to play with the couple tci's I already have on hand...

Got a pic of one? I haven't had one apart yet myself, but from the available pics on the net all I've seen is mostly through mount caps, diodes, resistors and transistors. There does look to be two 40 pin "cards", but they look to pretty much just hold surface mount resistors and such. Boards that sensitive to back voltage o would think should have " protection" diodes (like a 1N4003) . They blow if back voltage is induced, protecting components upstream. Pretty common in things like cb radios. Don't ask me how I know that.....

Before you go through all that, unscrew the spark plug caps from the spark wires and meter them. If you see much more than 5-8 kohms, they need to need to be replaced. If the resistance is too high, you get weak spark and misfires. It's an easyn5 dollar per cylinder fix if that's the problem as opposed to chasing tci problems. The carb slides should be clean and dry when you put them in. I use a clean lint free cloth and compressed air to clean both the bores and slides before assembly. They need to be "surgically " clean for assembly. If you find they're still not moving after checking them out you've either got perforated diphrams or blocked carb circuits...

Well, depending on how old it is a fella should be able to just download the .bin file from the chip. Once you have it, you can do nearly anything you want with it. Assuming you can work in hex...

Wait: why do I need the thermostat unit? It's not in any of the block or wiring diagrams I've seen...

Just heard back from the sheep farm. 150 bucks for a black shearling skin. picking it up Friday on my way through. Ill be able to make a couple covers for my bikes and might even make a few to sell....

Seeing how these bikes have an "enricher" vice a traditional "choke", I think Puc may be on the right track with carbon fouled plugs. you can get a decent idea of how your bike is running by looking at the exhaust openings in the mufflers. If it's predominantly "fluffy" black in the main opening, you're probably running rich and plugs bear the brunt of that. If you're not running rich and the exhaust is still fluffy black,you're probably spending a lot of time warming up on choke and not much time ridding at decent road speeds. A lot of "around town" bikes show this. My my bike usually doesn't need choke to start and will "idle up" on its own as it warms. But that also indicates to me it's running a bit rich. Since The bike is ruining pretty good "as is" I'm waiting for winter to do a proper tear down and see how it behaves next spring before getting in to messing with jets and bleeds. For now, I usually start the bike, let it idle while I pull on my gear and ride away gently. By the end of my street (about a km) it 's usually just fine to idle at a stable 1 grand. Properly jetted and regularly run (ie: 10-20 odd minutes at highway speeds) bikes should have a slight brown tinge on the muffler openings if you're running right.

Dunno. I'd have to see if there's anything of a "program" anywhere on the board and I'd have to see what's in it. I haven't had any of the TCI's I have apart yet (have 4 now) but the few pictures I've seen of the guys don't seem to show a chip on the boards. It may be all defined by resistance and solid state switches. Probably a simple chip on there somewhere, and it's probably holding a very basic program. the presence of a MAP sensor instead of a vacuum pot seem to indicate there's a programmed chip in there somewhere. All the this "electronic stuff" was still pretty pretty primitive in the 80's. I've kind of got it in my mind to pull one TCI to bits, suss out any programs, brute force the bin file off the chip, drop a ZIF socket on the board and then have a programable TCI. Kind of like working with obdI ECM'S again. The ignitech sounds like it would be like working with OBDII with flash able chips on board. Ported or manifold vacuum doesn't really matter if the program is written for it properly. Most automotive manufactures use manifold vacuum though. Usually a stronger signal to the vacuum pots they used to use for the advance mechanism when it was mechanical and spring defined ign advance curve. I've got to spend some time with the TCI guts to see how it works, but I'm too busy riding this summer. Winter will give me some time to see what I'll see.

Ther is truth in your statements, but I also rebuild electronics as one of my hobbies sooo....

I see guys riding over their heads everyday. I've kinda stopped trying to tell them so. They tend not to listen. I don't know if it's bravado, Machismo, arrogance, they think they know it all or the new "me generation" attitude but whatever the reason; they don't seem to want to hear it. Sadly, I'm to the point where I just make sure I don't ride with them anymore or just let them go since I know what is waiting for them somewhere up the road. Wrong attitude, I know, but I've got no more fight left in me for it. I know they're over their heads because I've been riding/racing since I was 16 (34 years) and these 2-5 year wonder riders are already taking chances I wouldn't. Not just on sport bikes, but "feet forward" bikes too. They go in to corners too fast, they brake late, thier lines suck, they stand the bike up everywhere, they run wide, they lock rear wheels and they ride the front wheel everywhere they go. Most seem more interested in popping wheelies, trying to stand on parts of the bike they have no business standing on or getting their hands as high on aapehangers bars as possible or getting thier feet as high in the air on highway pegs in town as they can. Its like there's no one out there anymore who appreciates a good, sharp, technical ride. Or maybe they don't want to put in the work to learn how to be technical when they ride. That takes more than an afternoon to learn. Bragging rights with my buddies when I was young was whoever hit the apex just perfect, not who got through the corner the fastest (not always the same thing). Now bragging rights seems to be who can go through the corner standing on the tank or throwing "Gang signs" or "the bird" in the corner while your buddy stand on the corner with the go pro! More than once I've had a guy following me through the corners ask me after the ride what the hell I was looking at. They've noticed I'm looking up past the corner I'm in and on to the next one and don't undestand how or why. They don't get why I don't end up off in the weeds somewhere when I'm not even looking at the corner I'm in. They usually notice on fast "esses" as my head is pointed opposite to where the bike is going. I explain it and they either don't get it, don't want to get it or think I'm just plain wrong because it goes against what they think about hustling a bike though the twisties fast. Probably why I can often run away from a guy on a sport bike on my Venture. It's strange but true, its actually happened. They're in my mirror, I'm riding my pace and they just keep dropping back. I've flat out left guys for dead on thier new "xyz900zz" flash in the pan bike with my "clunky" old FJ1200 "sport tourer". Boy oh boy do those kids get po'd when they catch me at a stop and see a head of silver and an air cooled bike older than they are. Takes more than a check book to ride fast sonny.... I had one guy comment once how cool it was that I broke the rear tire loose in a turn one day (long ago on my vf750f, not on the Venture) and why didn't I hold it on and do, I quote: "one badass drift around the corner". I explained to him i did break the rear loose on purpose with throttle but I had run out of cornering clearance and I was doing a "power slide" a la "King Kenny" used to do to tighten up his line. Once I had the line I wanted, I backed off and let the rear tire grip under my control instead of it deciding when to grip and then spitting me off in a high side. I got deer in the headlights for a couple seconds and then he came back with I could have drifted "fast and furious" style and it would have been easier, faster and cooler. I don't ride with him anymore either. I also don't ride that fast on the street anymore either. It was a very tight low speed hairpin corner, but I was still over the speed limit by about 20-30 mph. Yeah I got away with it, but I (used to) have the skills to pull it off. I dont ride that way anymore. Skills are cold, bones are old and I don't heal like I used too.... Its cold, it's cruel and it's probably not the best way to look at it, but; if a guy won't listen and won't help himself you just have to let events take thier course. I'm kinda off on a rant here now, so I'll end it here.

Spark plug antennae? you lost me there bub......

I don't have a problem with comfort gents, the 83's seat is comfy for 5+'hours at a stretch (looking for fuel long before that anyways). Problem is just heat and ......errr, "humidity". Even then ,it's not a problem unless on a 2+ hour ride. Indo do have the seat from the 86 in the loft though. It's in good shape except that it's brown. Maybe I'll stitch up a nice black leather cover for it and see how it goes....

Yessir. I bought a complete 86 royale that someone had already removed the engine. Been slowly going through the harness and fixing/freshening/cleaning it. I'm also going to add the CLASS system. Air is not my prefered way of handling suspension changes, but this is a touring bike, not a sports bike. I can accept the air suspension for the versatility it will give me.

Yeah,ummmm......I'll pass on the spit on my bum thing. But point taken. I'll opt for the baby wipes or take a small dish of water into the stall with me.... there's a reasonably local sheep farm from where I am. I've written them an email to see if they have any hydes in stock and I'll see about picking one up on my way home Friday. Auto upholstry is also a hobby of mine so making up a few custom pads is simple enough. For around 100 bucks a Hyde I'll have enough to make a couple driver pads, passenger pads and maybe one or two for my FJ1200 if I like them...