GeorgeS

Led's are great for your Tail lights, and Marker lights, ie: bulbs that are " On" 100 percent of the time. As to Brake light, and Turn Signals, Hmmm Why Bother ??? These lights are " ON " for an Extremely Short Time, !!!! So, the Current draw is extremely low, " On Average" So---- Why bother, changing them, and spending money, and going to all the trouble of trying to get your signal system to work with these type of bulbs ????? I use them for " Tail " and " Marker " lights, but, turn and brake ???? Whats the point in going to all the trouble

Don't forget, both 4th and 5th gear, is, Overdrive on these bikes !! My 89 got about 40 mpg, cruzing on a freeway at 65 to 70 mph. My 08 RSTD does about the same. For local, and 2 lane roads, milage always dropped to about 36 to 38 mpg. The best I have ever seen was 42 mpg, and that is only on 70 mph constant cruzing on a long trip, going South on I-5, at steady speeds. Don't forget, if you are bucking a headwind, its going to have an effect, on milage.

I'm getting the same complaint !! :whistling::depressed:

I'm thinking " Damaged Threads " !!! Better inspect the threads carefully !!! I never had that happen, on any bike :detective::whistling:

Did you try rideing with progressive springs, and NO, air pressure ?? did you leave OUT the spacers, and just use one washer on top the springs.?? I set up new progressive springs, with just a heavy washer ( no spacers ) and rode with NO air pressure in the forks. I used #10 oil. Ride was perfect on my old 89 . well anyway, thats my 2 cents worth, and sticking to it !!

You might need do open the throttle grip and greese the twist grip, and also let some oil run down into the cables. Carefully check the " Pull" cable at the carbs, for any sign of the cable " fraying " just above the linkage assembly, ( put some greese on the exposed section of cable ) Also, lubricate all of the cross linkage assembly, between all the carbs. Be sure to lubricate, the " throttle plate" rods, at two points on each carb. Inspect the " pull cable" at the left fwd carb, make sure there is about 1/16th to 1/8 th inch of play, in the cable, as you start to actuate the throttle. ie: make sure all 4 of the throttle plates are going to the " full closed " position, at idle. Then--- do the carb sync proceedure. Pull up the Service Manuel section on doing the carb Sync procedure. ( its on this site if you do not have a service manual )

As long as your are doing this, have you considered, " heated grips " ??

Left about 0800 this morning in car to get some building material, Anyway, on local news, on radio-- Headline, was " Two motorcycles, collide, head on. On U.S. Hwy 101 in Western Washington" , Did not hear any details though. Hard to believe ??

As long as its " Out " be sure to Remove the top cover of the unit. Put it in the Oven in the kitchen at a setting of about 100 to 110 deg. F. for an hour or two. This will Dry out the " Moisture " which has accumulated inside the box over the years !! This IS, a Good Thing to do !!!!

You forgot the " fork brace upgrade " !!

No Problem, just go for another ride !!!!!!!!! :stirthepot:

As I recall some of the early 1st Gens, had cruz control, and some did not??? but not sure on this. If it " Forced " you to go to the full cut off position, sounds like maby the cruz control system has some problem. ?? Hmmmm ?? Interesting. Check, you Cable ends, carefully, at the Forward Left side carb. Check for any signs of " Fraying Cable " just above the Carb !!! If you find any, replace the cable !!! It will soon break . If you have cruz control on your bike, to get at the " throttle joint " you will have to pull off the upper left side fairing to get access to it. I had to replace the " pull cable " from the " Joint to the Carb " on my 89, due to cable Fraying, at the carb, and the cable broke. Not a fun job, had to pull off the upper fairing.

I was at a dealer, discussing Lithium batteries with the parts counter guy. He told me that the first ones on the market ( about 3 years ago ) did have problem's. Don't remember exactly what they were. However, he claimed that the manufacture had Overcome those problems, and they were solved. Also told me that the Lithium bats. are becoming very popular with the " Raceing Bike guys " due to the weight saveings, and space restrictions. ( Less weight on a race bike is a big deal, I guess ) I read thru the " Spec's " posted for that battery, Very Impressive !!! to say the least.!!!! As to the " Reliability " of these new bats, I really don't know, and have not heard much about that. ---- Except--- All the current news stories, about the Boeing 787 Aircraft Batteries, that have been Overheating, and starting fires !! Those batteries are " Lithium " techology type batteries, ???? Boeing, has " Encased " them, inside an enclosure, " Air Tight " to prevent " Fire " in the event of Overheating. That is basicly what the New Fix, for the 787 battery problem is. ( Put it inside an Air Tight Box ) . I also think they have Added, more Electronic " Monitoring " for the battery system due to the fire problems. ??? I will be checking into this, as I have contacts in the Industry. My 08 RSTD, came New, with an AGM type battery. So Far, I am very impressed with the performance. The Odyssey PC 680 that I installed in the 89 about 7 years ago. Two of them, one failed after about 5 years. the 2nd one is still in service 7 years later. ( I am useing that one for the #2 Battery in my new 08 RSTD, for extra radio equipment ) I also have a PC-545 size Odyessy, ((AGM Type )) installed on my 99 Busa, its been in service for 6 years now, and still doing fine !! As to those new Lithium batteries, they are probably great!! However not a lot of User Reports, out there as yet to how they hold up " In Service " ?????? (( Unless you need the weight reduction on your bike , if that is important to you )) I am looking into the new Lithium type, for replacement on my Sports Bike as my old, PC-545 is getting up there in age. I might put one on the Busa later this year, after doing more research on them. My advice would be, stay with the DEKA, AGM type's for around $ 100.00 plus or minus. They are Proven good quality, and not as pricey as the Lithium. Check with " Condor" here for best priceing !! And, electrically, the AGM's are FAR Superior, to a Lead Acid !!!

Well it all depends on the " current " Radio Propegation conditions. All hams know that. As far as the " cost " well, after working 55 years, and retired at 70, yrs old, I'm going to do what is fun, for whatever years I have left. Hi Hi !! Plus the rig, doubles in the Car, and its a 2nd rig for base station. ( also, it sets up on the work bench in the garage in about 10 Min. ) ( the TS-480 is very versitile ) As to the Antenna performance, I have found the shorter antenna's on the M/C is not as good as the larger mobil antenna's on the car, But they work, I have made lots of QSO's !! I also park along the Pacific Ocean, next to salt water. Its Amazing how that works !! You don't need 80 METERS !!! I skip that completly. On 40 Meters, I have been checking into nets on west coast for the last 12 months, with 100 W from the M/C set up. No problem !! Also, I do a lot of rideing at high Altitudes, in the Western Mt. Range's. Great for Ham radio !!! Theft ??? thats why the equipment is mounted in travel bags, Quickly removable, at night, takes about 15 min. The antenna's are all Hardware Store Junk, no big deal if they get stolen. I have Audio, to the Helmet, but Use the Hand Mic's to talk. Have not figured out yet, how to set up a High Quality Mic, for the helmet, But I am looking into that. I'm researching, if I can Install a " Heil " Mic element, in a J + M Helmet set up. I have also found that most of my mobil ops from the car have been on 20M and 17 M. 17M is a very good band for Mobil operations. And, if I hear sombody I really want to talk to, I just pull over and stop !! I'm very seldom in a hurry to get somplace, ( I leave the wife at home !!! ) that helps !! :whistling:

It just saves you cost of buying new filters all the time. You might get a small performance increase, but nothing you would actually notice. But they do save money in the long run. And supposedly they do a better job of cleaning the intake air.

With the TS-480HX installed, I'm not drawing anymore Amperage, then the guys out there that are running TWO extra 35 Watt Driveing lights, Full time !! Those lights run 100 percent of the time, I'm only going to be transmitting at most, 25 percent of the time, and most likley, only for 3 or 4 hours during an 8 hour drive. Its NOT, a problem, with two AGM, batteries, And, of course, there is still the 55 AMP, Stator Upgrade !!! I will get to that sooner or later

Ht works just fine, I used the IC-2720 simply cause thats what I had, I can move it from base, to car, and now the M/C Depends on where you travel, and what repeaters you want to use. West coast repeaters, lots of them on high Altitude Mts, and they have 50 to 75 mile range. With 50 Watts, I have used them up to over 75 miles. We have lots of repeaters on west coast, that are up at 5000 to 6000 feet on mountains. Fantastic Range on them !! Portland Or. has one on Mt. Hood, good for 75 mile Radius, Easy !! I know, back east on the flat lands, about 45 miles is the limit, for repeaters, no matter how much power your transmitter has. However, " IF " your going to buy a new VHF rig, I highly reccomend 35 to 50 watt, as cost is not that much higher, for the extra power rateing, and the new equipment now is very compact, even for a 50 watt unit. A detachable control head works great, put T/R in Trunk, and control head in your tank bag. As far as " Rain " I'm not worried about that, as if its raining, I'm not going to be useing the radio anyway, and it gets put away. !! Concentrate, on driveing !!! Have covers for tank bag, and travel bag, anyway if needed. ------------------------------------------------ Few more comments, as to " Battery Draw " or Transmit time worries, for useing extra Radio Equipment. The 2nd Gen, AGM Bats, are 300 CCA with about 18 to 20 Amp hour rateings. IF you are only useing 10 to 35 Watt VHF, you will have NO Problem, with just the one stock AGM battery, !!! You are not going to spend that much time transmitting. !!! Also, installing a Head light cut off Relay, and turning OFF the head light when useing the radios, will eaisly solve the problem for 10 to 35 watt radios. For higher power, HF set up " IF " thats what you want to do, simply install a 2nd battery in one saddle bag. ( Its No Big Deal, easy to do ) Two, size 20L AGM batteries gives you 600 CCA, and almost 40 amp hours of draw, Also remember, that a 100 Watt, SSB HF transmitter, the draw is about equal to 50 Watts, FM from a VHF Rig. So--- the two batteries will eaisly handle it. Plus if you kill the head light, ( with a relay ) thats about 15 Amps of draw from the system you have eliminated, -------- A 100 Watt SSB transmitter, draws only about 20 AMPS !!! You DON"T need an Inverter , mounted in a trailer. However for Over night camping, or extended periods of operating, " Yes " that would work great. If I did camping, I would do that. But I'm a Motel -6 type of guy !! Or put it this way---------- With TWO size 20 AGM's, ( stock 2nd gen bateries ) ( 600 CCA ) and a normaly operating 2nd gen charging system, you could operate a TS-480HX 200 Watt, SSB transmitter, for lets say 10 to 15 min. of transmitting time in a given hour of traveling down the road !!! Realistly !!! Thats about the maximum time you would have the Mic keyed, even if you were operating 100 percent of the time you are driveing down the road. All day long. Also, you can change your tail, and running lights to LED's , that helps. You can change your headlight to a HID system, that helps. You can install a Relay, to Cut the Head light , Off, ( IF legal in your state ) that helps (15 amps less draw ) Another angle on all of this, is, Simply, you will not be rag chewing, as you do, on your base station, with the mic, keyed, 30 min. out of an hour, !! NOT Mobil, it just don't happen. Your going to be lucky to snag, 2 or 3 QSO's during an hour of driveing time, an most likley you will only have the mic keyed, a total of 10 Min. during those 3 QSO's !!! This is far less total power draw, from your battery, then just haveing the head light on, for an hour !! SO:, Just turn OFF the head light !!! IF operating at a portable set up, useing CW, you can cut the power to 30 to 50 watts, No problem operating for a hour of so, with TWO AGM's at that power level, TWo 2nd Gen, AGM's Equals , 600 CCA 40 amp hours Three 2nd Gen AGM's Equals, 900 CCA and 60 amp hours ( If you are really serious about this !! ) Its not that hard, to install a # 2 Battery in the left saddle bag !!! No Big Deal !!!!

Two Meters, is Easy!!! ---------- Just get a 50 Watt, VHF/UHF radio, mount it in a tank bag, Run power cable, run Audio into your Music System " Aux " input. And, mount one VHF/UHF Antenna. I just use the Hand Microphone. But be sure to get at least a 35 to 50 watt radio. 10 Watts, ain't going to cut it !! HF, well thats another story !!!

All safty items are dully noted: !! Most transmitting will be limited, to cruzing speeds, after I'm out on the open road. Or, at rest stops, and lunch stops. Put it this way, mobil HF, is 95 percent, listioning, and only 5 percent transmitting time. Also, I have one more Mod to install, that is a Relay in the Head Light Circuit. So I can simply Cut the Head light OFF, if I'm going to Transmitt for a long period of time. I might, also change the Head Light, bulb to a HID System, that will lower current draw on the system. I very seldom ride at night !! System, will recharge between usage, no problem, no different then running the starter. However of note: I have installed an AGM Dry Cell in my Chev TrailBlazer, ( 740CCA , I think it is ) and have been useing a 500 Watt Amp, for over 12 months. With NO, Battery Issues. I sat in driveway and been in QSO for 45 MIN or longer The new AGM batteries are fantastic !!! ( but , expensive, about $185.00 for the car battery ) Most " Mobil " QSO's are short duration so power drain on the Double AGM batteries is not a problem. ( AGM's are far superior to the old Lead Acid types ) I will be upgradeing the #2 battery to a larger Size 18 ( 1st gen size 340CCA DEKA battery) and if needed will install a 3rd battery in the right side bag , well " maby " . Two, 1st gen size AGM, DEKA's is 340CCA times Two, plus the Stock AGM another what is it? about 260 CCA . NO Problem !! Also, I can eaisly cut transmit power down as low as 10 watts. ---------------- I'm also going to Fabricate, some " Longer Cables ' So I can park at a picnic table, and set up to operate, Portable, and CW. Just need three cables " phone type " one 6 conductor, and one 8 conductor ( RJ_45 )and, CW Key cable. And a mount for the control head on the table. ( Cable set will be, about 12 feet long, This is no big deal. Will get to it this week. Control head has Speaker, and Earphone plug. --------------- As to VHF/UHF, its not big deal operating on the move, Scanner stops on live Repeater channels, I just push one button, to lock on, and talk. Also, on long trips, I just select the best Wide Area Coverage Repeater, and stay on that freq. Keeps it simple. I have all the wide range repeaters on West Coast, programmed in, with access tones. ------------------------- also, County Hunting--- I am planning on stopping, and running " Rare Counties " for the County Hunters Net. As I mostly just drive around " Aimlessly " on the west coast , I will try to hit some of the " Rare " hard to get Counties, for the county hunters net. That should be interesting. ( Well, something to do , us old retired guys are always looking for a good reason, or excuse, to get the -- &*$@^ ---out of the house :whistling:) One other comment, any Hams out there, the Kenwood, TS-480 HX is a Fantastic piece of radio equipment for operating " Mobil " Car, truck, motorcycle, whatever !! Don't, buy the Icom IC-7000!!! I did, and --- well------------It has problems !!! I now have a fantastic spare Receiver, but the transmitter is dead !! Fix, is over $300.0 and at this point no plans to spend that money. ( and I'm not the only one with a dead, IC-7000 !!! lots of info on the internet )

I just installed mine 2 weeks ago !! Very well made item, high quality.

Maby time to get back into the hobby, lots of improvements over the years , but ham radio has changed a lot since 67. Amazing improvements in the avialable equipment. I will be replaceing the Seperate Band antenna's with an " Auto Tune " Antenna sooner or later, that can be used on the M/C or the Car. That will simplify things.

Actually, there is still a little more space under the thing, !! If I was to do it again, I think I could actually increase the storage space. Next time I pull it off, I should take exact measurements, and draw up a " blue print " Useing the space for Extra fuel storage, another good idea. Hmmmm ??? now you got me thinking. But welding up an Aluminum, fuel tank, is way beyond my skill level. But I'm sure there is sombody out there who could do that. !! I'm thinking, building it with 1/4, high quality ply wood, and then Applying Fiber Glass material, inside, and outside, might be a better method of construction. I might add a couple extra " brake lights " on the rear end of it ??? well maby.

I been running 40lb. for years, so far, over 20K on the E3's My 2 cents worth. I also use " Ride - On " in all my tires, both bikes.

I get your point, however its not a Dirt Bike, its " On, Off Road " Read the article, and you will understand what this bike is built to do. 150 HP engine, and that weight !!!!! Its a Rocket Ship !!!! I have a 172 HP , 500 lb bike, trust me, its Hell on Wheels !!!

Last night reading the latest issue of " RoadRunner" magazine. Article on the new KTM, On - Off Road bike, not for sale yet in U.S. However if anybody is interested in that type of bike, the Engine Spec's are Fantastic. ( Unless, I'm behind on developments) Wgt of bike-- 507 lb. Engine, ----- 2 cyl, 1190CC MSRP TBA in June Power 150 HP @ 9500 RPM Torque 92.2 Foot Lb. at 7500 RPM Fuel tank, 6 gallons Anybody thinking about this type of Motorcycle, check this out !!! Not my cup of tea, but ------- looks very interesting !!!