ToyOdie

Well yesterday, by the way hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, I checked the swing arm. There wasn't any play and the torque was right on the money. Rick, I'll go back and loosen the head bearings as you suggest and see what happens. I did tighten them a little extra to make up for the weight of the fairing in the bump test. I may have gone past the limit. If that doesn't resolve the issue I do have a "Plan B". I'll give more details if I have to use it. Thanks for all the help.

billmac......The 97 RSTC was before the air adjustable shock but thanks for the input. My plan was to remove the rear tire and disconnect the shock. I just didn't know if the diff and drive shaft had to come off too. If I find side play I'll look at retorqueing the swing arm and then repacking the bearings after I get some new seals. I don't want to remove the seals if I can't replace them.

I changed the front wheel bearings and still have the wandering. In other threads people refer to it as the bike feeling "hinged" in the middle. This is really what I'm feeling. Now what??? Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and I'll have a whole day to recheck everything. The wife always wants me out of the way while she cooks anyway. I think I have eliminated the front of the bike, so I'll concentrate on the rear. Do I need to remove the differential and drive shaft to properly check the swing arm for play? Everyone have a great holiday.

All the lights work on 4-way and the running lights work. That eliminates the grounds and bad bulbs. The relay is working or your 4-way wouldn't flash. The right side turn signal FRONT and BACK are not working. The only thing left is the switch.

OK, I've been riding the bike for several week now. I tore the front end down and re-torqued the head bearing again. I said that the wandering was about 99% gone after I changed the head bearings. This was a little premature. The wandering is still there. Even after re-torqueing it's still moving around when riding in a straight line. It feels like a gyroscopic condition. I checked tire pressure and the swing arm and they are good. My next best guess is wheel bearings. I tried to check them with the bike on the jack but I'm just not comfortable pushing and pulling too hard with the bike in the air. I don't have a Carbon One jack adapter. I didn't feel or see any looseness but they have @70,000 miles and it won't hurt to change them. I'm just looking for other posibilities. Thanks for any help I can get.

Don, I don't know specifically about the GS650 however I have had a Kawasaki KZ400 and a Honda 750 four. I'm pretty sure that this one is like most of the Jap bikes made in the 70's and 80's. Other than basic maintenance there pretty bullet proof. Just like our RSTD's and RSV's there are four carbs that will occasionally need to be sync'd. You've been around bike long enough to know what to look for when purchasing a use bike. It should be a good starter bike but it was the prelude to the crotch rocket and can be very quick. Be the "Good Dad" and give him the safety talk.

In 2005 my wife and kids gave me 40 lap Richard Petty Driving Experience at Walt Disney World for my 50th birthday. I did the ride along first then two 20 lap stints. Next to my first skydive it was the most exciting thing I've done in my life. GO FOR THE UPGRADE!!! The price is different at each track, so check it out before you go. It will be worth every penny. The bigger tracks cost more for less laps. Disney was a 1 mile tri-oval (mini Pocono).

Nice ride! If you haven't figured it out yet, this is the place to get any and all the info you will ever need to keep her on the road safely. Go ahead and spend the best $12 to become a full member. You'll "almost" never regret it. Just kidding. The folks on this site have been there and done that to every generation of the Royal Star. Just remember, the only stupid question is the one you didn't ask. Welcome aboard!!

I posted this about a while back a never got an answer. Has anyone tried to put a RSV rear fender and bags on an older RSTC?

Called the shop that mounted an balanced my wheel. Sure enough the collar was still on the balancing machine. Picked it up after work and got the bike back together. Thanks for the help guy's.

The wife and I are looking at retiring in a couple of years and moving around Greenville, SC. I can't wait to get the bike (and our 79" Spitfire) out in the hills.

Went into settings and didn't change anything. Just went to the bottom and saved changes. I had 4 notifications show up. Maybe I needed to get the little guy's attention.

That was the first thing that I checked. I just got off the phone with cowpuc and he was very quick to identify the problem. The spacer on the differential side of the wheel is not there. Highly suspect it is on the balancing machine where I had the tire mounted. I'll be going down there tomorrow to see if I can find it or I'm going to have to order one.

I'm installing my rear wheel after getting a new tire. This is something I have done many times over the years but something isn't right this time. When I start to tighten the axle nut (with a 3/8 ratchet) the wheel gets tight to the point that it won't rotate easily. I have checked to book to make sure I had the spacer on the right side of the caliper bracket and everything in the right order. Not sure what might be the problem. I have tried several times with the same result.

Friday I was heading down to Daytona for Biktoberfest. So Thursday afternoon I put the bike on the jack for a quick safety check. As soon as I got it up, I gave the rear tire quick spin to make sure it was off the ground. As it spun around I spotted a piece of wire in the tread. Hoping it was just in the surface (hadn't been losing pressure) I pulled it out. No such luck. Biketoberfest just became a bust. I called around looking for a replacement tire. My favorite part of the search was when I called the local Harley dealer. The parts guy ask for the make and size I wanted. After I told him Dunlop MV85B-15 and he looked it up, his response was, and I quote "That's a HIGH SPEED tire, we don't carry HIGH SPEED tires." The best I could get locally was Tuesday. I went online and ordered one from Jake Wilson for $157.00 with no shipping or tax. The estimated delivery was Monday. Friday morning I checked the status and the order had shipped Thursday night from Kentucky. I was bummed all day Friday because now I had to work on my "Honey Do" list. After work on Saturday I checked the status of my order and it said it had been delivered. I checked the front porch and sure enough there it was. My only problem now is getting it mounted. Too late on Saturday to get it to the stealer and get it back and stealer is closed on Sunday and Monday. Might not be able to get it done until Tuesday. The only good I can get out the situation is that it could have gone flat in the middle of nowhere or worse.

1. No difference 2. Yes 3. Yes 4. Mine is lower. Most that I've see are lower. 5. My wife thinks it is the same. 6. Most that have commented on mine ask if it's a Harley. So my answer is YES for less than half the cost and maintenance.

Prop wash has been mentioned more than once, but here goes. We were on deployment in the Philippines. It was the rainy season and about 100 degrees (that's 37.7c for the Canucks) and 99% humidity. We sent one of our newbies for a bucket of prop wash from a squadron (VRC-50) on the other end of the ramp. We called ahead to let them know he was coming. They gave him a bucket of aircraft soap and sent him back. We he arrived we told him what they gave him was for fiberglass props (C-2) and we had aluminum props (P-3). Sent him off again this time to crash crew in the opposite direction. Again we called ahead to let them know he was coming. Crash crew guys are always prepared. The hooked him up with a bucket of AFFF (Aircraft Fire Fighting Foam). The main ingredient of AFFF is deer blood and it stinks. After waking back over half a mile with a FULL 5 gallon bucket (no lid) of this stuff he had it all over him. He worked the rest of the day in that uniform. He was the only guy who volunteered to work in the rain.

Thursday I replaced the steering head bearings. The only way I could get the lower bearing off was to cut it. Other than that it was mostly uneventful. I'd say 99% of the wandering is gone. The rest is mental. The problem started several months after installing my fairing. I'm thinking the extra weight on the front contributed to premature wear. After I put a few mile on it I'll check the head bearing adjustment again. The book calls for 2.7 ftlbs final torque and that felt a little loose. I did the bounce test before I reinstalled the fairing and it was fine. After installing the fairing it bounced when it hit the stop. I think the bearing nut needs to be a little bit tighter. I did have one issue that had me scratching my head. I followed the book 100% when I reassembled everything. I installed the shock tubes and torqued the cap nut to 94 ftlbs. Then I adjusted both shocks to be flush with the top and torqued the lower pinch bolts. I then removed the top triple tree and installed the upper shock covers. When I reinstalled the top triple tree and torqued it again to 94 ftlbs the left shock was no longer flush with the top. It was @1/16th lower than the right side. I took it back apart and checked the upper covers and even swapped them to the other sides with no difference. Not sure what might be causing the difference. I know that without the upper covers they they are flush so I call it good unless someone else has some insight.

Should have sent him for a bulkhead buffer while he was out.

I drained the tank from the petcock so the 3/4 of a gallon was the remaining "usable" fuel.

My bikes are a 96 and 97 RSTC's so there is no fuel gauge. With the tank filled to the top of the neck I can go between 155 and 165 miles before it starts to sputter and I have to switch to reserve. I got lucky one time and it sputtered as I was coming down my street with 156 miles on the trip meter. I had an empty 1 gallon can so I drained the tank to see how much was left. It was just over 3/4 of a gallon. With my average 45mpg, I figure I have around 40 miles left when I switch to reserve.

Absolutely........Wouldn't have it any other way!

Must be a "Blackshoe" thing.....LOL

I received my bearings and I'm going to start pulling the front end apart tonight. I have been researching the project and have found that removing the lower bearing from the pivot shaft is the most difficult. Anyone have any suggestions to make it easier? The rest of the job looks like it will be straight forward with a minimum of issues. I already have both new races in the freezer to make them fit easier. Tomorrow is my day off, so I'm hoping to get it back together in one day.

I started on a 6hp mini bike. Then my buddy got a Honda Mini Trail 50. The one that really had me hooked was my first real bike. It was a 1966 Honda CL 160 I bought when I turned 17. I had two more bikes after that but gave up riding until 2010 when I bought my 1996 RSTC.