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V7Goose

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  1. V7Goose

    Windshields

    V7Goose replied to a topic in Watering Hole

    I rode my brother's 07 RSV with a clearview shield for about 50 miles. I guess it was OK, but I wouldn't want one. Nothing against those who love them, but that does not mean everyone will. Something about the curve of the clearview bothered me. I prefer my stock shield cut down by 1 1/2" and modified with side wings that I can open. Goose
  2. V7Goose
    Sadly, this is not an uncommon problem. All evidence seems to point to the bikes being delivered this way, as once they are properly checked and tightened, this is not an on-going problem. The front fender trim, shifter, and trunk or passenger grab rail support bolts seem to be very common. When my brother bought an 07 RSV I warned him about this; he went over it front to back and found a bunch of loose things before he lost any of them. Wish I had known to do that on my 05! Goose
  3. V7Goose

    Windshields

    V7Goose replied to a topic in Watering Hole

    Well, next time I go hunting with Dick Chaney, I'll wear tall polycarbonate shirt collars. No doubt the stuff is tougher than acrylic, but in the real world, if someone fires a shotgun at me while I am riding, I'm probably gonna soil my pants and go down out of shear fright anyway. Goose
  4. V7Goose
    Did somebody say "cracked?" More like nuclear separation! For that gap to be so wide, the entire rear section has had to rotate down in the rear. Very Nasty! Looks like it has been a while to me. I was not suggesting that the bike was safe to ride with that broken loop (even before I saw how bad it was), only that the problem should not cause any long-term damage to the bike - once the breaks themselves are repaired, everything should be back to normal. BTW - once everything around the break is removed and the the part can be repositioned correctly, any good welding shop should be able to do that repair easily, either at their shop or with a mobile unit. One other thought as to cause - does the bike have a trailer hitch on it? I wouldn't think pulling a trailer would cause much of a problem, since most of the stress is straight back on the sub-frame under the bags, but if the tongue was overweighted, then the bouncing that would cause would certainly put a lot of stress on that loop - even more so than an overloaded trunk. This has given me a lot to think about. I have a cooler rack for my hitch that I have used a lot when touring two-up, but now I am having second thoughts about that due to the weight issue (same as too much tongue weight). Maybe since my 05 shows no signs of any flexing or paint cracks in those areas after doing a lot of touring with a fairly heavy cooler on that rack it is not a big deal as long as all the bolts are tight? Tough to tell, since that kind of vibration induced stress failure rarely shows much before it breaks. I think I'll be a lot more cautious with the cooler now! Thanx again for sharing all this information with us, and good luck, Goose
  5. V7Goose
    This is a tough one to comment on - they are probably just surface cracks that are completely safe, but even if I could see them first hand, I would hesitate to "advise" you one way or the other - lots of risk and liability here, and I am not a trained expert! The 100% safe answer would always be to replace them. The first thing I would do is check the manufacture date code just to see how old the tires are. But even if relatively new, some tires can do this if stored in an environment with any sort of fumes that attack rubber (chemicals, paints ozone, etc.). This is especially prevalent in any area with significant air pollution. Last year we had a member note that this happened with virtually new Avons they had to buy while out of state, and I don't think we ever did figure out what was causing it. Anyway, the decision about using them or not is strictly up to you. I have had a lot of old tires show surface cracks (mostly on my truck), and I personally have never replaced one for this alone. Goose
  6. V7Goose
    Your first drawing did a very good job of showing where the breaks are located. I really appreciate your posting the information. There may be many other RSVs with the same problem developing but just not spotted yet. I will certainly be looking at mine. The good news is that the location of the broken frame loop is not going to be particularly dangerous - shouldn't affect the handling or alignment of the bike, and the rider's seat mostly sits directly on the main frame so not much danger there. The repair should be simple, even if Yamaha won't do it. I agree that you should contact them first, along with the NHTSA, but if they don't help, at least you can get it fixed and move on without any worries about long term problems. I can absolutely see this happening, especially to a bike that has been overloaded or ridden a lot with a heavy passenger. There is a lot of leverage applied to those points on the frame if the rear trunk is loaded up and a big weight on the trunk rack too. Over time, this constant bouncing would work just like the wind pressure on the fork deflectors that causes those brackets to break off if the rubber bumpers are not pushing against the fork covers. After looking closely at mine - no signs of cracking at all, even after 40,000+ miles with a lot of heavy loads. But examining the general structure of the bike to try and tell what might cause the cracking, I'd suggest you look closely at all the bolts connecting the sub-frames that support the saddlebags and rear fender. If any of those are loose, it could allow extra flexing on that top loop. There does not seem to be any single main support for the rear seat and trunk, just a combination of the top frame loop, the rear fender, and the side loops that are bolted on. Remove both seats and saddlebags, then carefully go over all the bolts to make sure everything is tight. We know a lot of these bikes have a problem with loose bolts when first delivered! I strongly suggest all owners check this - it is easy to do. Especially if your bike is nearing end of warranty! Goose
  7. V7Goose
    Just an FYI: I noticed today that JC Whitney now sells Avon Venom tires. They are not in the catalog, but you can find them on-line. The good news is they are shipped directly from the manufacturer, so you will never get an old tire (probably really a wholesaler, but just as good). The bad news is their prices are higher than Southwest Moto Tire. JC Whitney does match prices, but I would still suggest you buy from SWMT first because they have been such a great supplier for us. But JCW might be a good backup if SWMT is out of stock. And if you are buying just one tire where you have to pay shipping from SWMT, you might even save the $14 with a price match through JCW. On a related note, if you have been considering buying auxiliary switches for your bike, you may be out of luck. JCW used to sell both a handlebar mount 2-switch unit and a brake cylinder mount 3-switch unit, but they have both been discontinued (tried to buy them yesterday). So if you see one somewhere else and have been considering it, better get it while you can. Goose
  8. V7Goose
    Just scroll down and look at the list of similar threads at the very bottom of this page - those links will get you all the info you need. Goose
  9. V7Goose
    You don't say how old your bike is, but this would be covered under the 5 year warranty. Goose
  10. V7Goose
    First of all folks, there are cheaper options for buying Yamaha parts than those listed. I just bought a lower front cowling for 44% off and a chrome windshield trim for 41% off (my cost $124 and $74 respectively. Try waynsvillecycle.net or carolinacycle.com BUT BEFORE YOU ORDER YOUR PARTS OVER THE INTERNET, why don't you give your local shop a chance?? If you don't support them now, they may not be there at all when you really need them. But note that this does NOT suggest you pay more for the parts: Just print off the prices you find and ask if they will match them. Be willing to trade state tax for shipping costs. Any intelligent dealer will immediately know that some profit on a deal is better than NO profit. And if they say "no way," what have you lost? Nothing - just tell 'em to do without the sale and order them like you were going to. The list price for the lower cowling I bought is $221.07, the dealer's cost is $106, and they sold it to me for the same quote I had from Carolina Cycle - $124.15. The best part is that the total tax for everything I bought was only about 1/3 the shipping cost for the same order! This seems like a win-win deal to me. Goose
  11. V7Goose
    There ain't nothing simple about food poisoning! What you describe is almost identical to what hit me from a liverwurst sandwich in France 30 years ago. We stopped for lunch just north of the Spanish border, and it hit me about 4 hours later. Did my damnedest to make it to the German border to get medical care at the Canadian base (the closest NATO base), but just could not even sit the bike by 7 PM. Ended up hugging the one toilet in the motel all night long (didn't make any friends from that!), and could barely ride the next day. Really bad stuff! Goose
  12. V7Goose
    Both of my RSVs will generally sit for a month or two without killing the battery (although that is very rare for me!). My bikes never sit unless I am on vacation without them. The only exception being my 05 after the accident last summer; I had to put a charger on it every 2-3 months to keep it up. If you don't have full gauges, I would not assume your charging system or load on your bike is all correct. Here are a couple of things I have noticed - first, the RSV has very limited excess charging capacity - this is ESPECIALLY true if you do any riding below 55 degrees where the carb heaters are on (just guessing at the trigger temp - too busy to bother to look it up here). If you have changed driving lights to 55 watt bulbs, you definitely have a problem. My point here is that IF you are even near the nominal charging capacity at 3,000 RPM, then your battery is NOT being fully charged in normal riding. It is kept up enough to generally work for day-to-day use, but it will go dead faster when sitting and meet an early death compared to one that is really kept fully charged. Again, only a full set of gauges (or at least an accurate digital volt meter) can answer the questions for you. I do have full gauges on both of my RSVs, and I can tell you for a fact that if the battery is left to sit for a few weeks (or is less than full charge for any other reason), it takes four or more hours of normal steady highway speed riding to fully bring it back up to charge unless you turn off your driving lights and the carb heaters are not on. For comparison, if the battery is truly charged, then the starting load is replaced quickly and the voltage and charge current will generally level out in under 20 minutes. There is more I could say, but that's probably plenty for now! Goose
  13. V7Goose
    You are correct on the function of the "starting knob." I personally use the term "choke" in a generic way, especially since that is understood by everyone. Interesting to note that even Yamahaha calls their official chrome accessory for this a "Billet Choke Knob Cover." Goose
  14. V7Goose
    It is not normal for me. I ride year round, so have fired it up many a morning below 40 degrees. It does take some choke, although I rarely pull it all the way on; once it fires (quickly), I just set the choke for about a 1200 RPM idle, and it is ready to go by the time I have my helmet and gloves on. My 07 is a tad more cold blooded than the 05 - always needs a little choke if temps are below 70, but not much. Never have to leave the choke on for more than a minute or two on either bike. Goose
  15. V7Goose
    I was able to test ride the 05 RSV at both Arlington and Hurst Yamaha shops in the Dallas area - both initially said no, but gave in after some discussion. The Arlington shop would have sold me the bike, but after letting me test ride it, he wouldn't deal on the price. Oh well, his loss... Hurst shop made me a deal that beat the best internet price I had found (and that was a very good deal). Goose
  16. V7Goose
    Dealers get away with refusing to give test rides because too many people are willing to just bend over and take it from them. If people would just stop buying a bike that they are not allowed to test ride, then the dealers would change pretty damn fast. There is absolutely no way I will give my money to a dealer for a bike without riding it first. Sometimes it has taken a little negotiating, but I either get my way or I walk. I recently bought a virtually new 07 RSV sight unseen from another member here up in Michigan, and I got screwed on that deal, but I knew the risk I was taking. I chose to put a bit more faith in our members, even at the risk of getting burned. I personally would NEVER take that risk from a dealer. They are in business to make a profit, and letting a prospective buyer test ride/drive a vehicle before they buy is a part of that business. Just my Goose
  17. V7Goose

    Tires?

    V7Goose replied to DNBoll's topic in Watering Hole

    Avon does make the AM41 in both narrow and wide white walls in the MT90B16 size, but only black walls in 150/80-16. For the rear, they only have the AM42 in black or wide white wall in 150/90-15. Goose
  18. V7Goose

    Tires?

    V7Goose replied to DNBoll's topic in Watering Hole

    The front tire is MUCH wider than any other 150/80-16 tire made, causing the RSV to feel very heavy and be extremely difficult to manage in parking-lot speed turns. Once you begin a turn, the front tries to forcibly go to full lock, causing you to have to constantly fight the bars to keep from going down. Rear tire wears out VERY fast; generally toast in 8,000 miles or less. Rear tire begins to howl in even slight turns after about 3,000 miles. Rear tire has very little rounded profile - handles nasty. Despite it wearing fast, rear tire seems to have very hard rubber - no bite on road at all. Slightly too much gas in 2nd and 3rd gear acceleration busts it loose constantly. As it wears flat, sharp edges begin to grab any road surface irregularities and jerk the bike around - if there is a sharp ridge or uneven pavement, these jerks can be violent and quite dangerous. Because of it's poor profile to begin with, this is much worse on the Brickstone than any other tire I have ever used. Did I mention they just handle like hell?Good luck, Goose
  19. V7Goose
    The stock rear tire for the RSV has a 74H load/speed rating. The Avon Venom AM42 tire in 150/90-15 is available in both H and V speed ratings. The 80H is the tire most commonly used on the RSV and has a load capacity of 992 lbs (even in black wall) with a maximum speed of 130 MPH. The 74V tire has the same load rating as the stock rear tire (827 lbs) with a maximum speed of 149 MPH. In my experience, V rated tires wear out much faster than H rated tires (on both motorcycles and automobiles). Goose
  20. V7Goose
    I rode that pass in 1976 two-up on my BMW R90/6 while I was living in Germany - it was truly amazing. Several hairpin turns INSIDE one-lane tunnels. At one point we had to get off and lay the bike against the tunnel wall to allow a truck to inch by us! The streams of water running out of the tunnel ceilings in places also made the ride interesting. Goose
  21. V7Goose
    Hey Rick, we don't think very far apart on this. True, I dislike the combination of the raised rear end and the MT90 front tire, whereas you like it, but we should be able to make room for personal preferences. I still maintain that I notice a significant degradation in the handling of the bike on irregular road surfaces when running both and the rear tire gets near the end of life, and I don't have the same problem when running stock front tire on a raised bike. I do not, however, think it is valid to compare tire sizes from one model of bike to another; there are just too many variables that change the handling characteristics. Just think about how significant the change is on the RSV by only raising the rear of the bike by one inch! I certainly do not think that a bike like the RSV needs to have tires as fat or small as Yamaha put on it, but the fact is that it was designed with these tires and handles pretty darn well when the right tires are used (we will ignore the stupidity of Yamahaha in selecting those terrible Brickstones as stock skin). The fact that a different bike handles well with different tire sizes than we use is immaterial to how the RSV will handle. I'm no Johny Racer, but I think I do pretty good on the RSV. When I carve up the Ozarks on it, there seem to be darn few other bikes of any design catching me, and I absolutely refuse to cross the center line on curves (so I am not getting any extra speed by straightening them out in such a dangerous and irresponsible way). I don't know if that makes me more aggressive than average or not - I'll leave that for others to decide. I think this machine handles quite excellently with the raised rear and Avon Venoms in stock size. If I wasn't using the Leveling Links, I'm sure I would be running the MT90 up front. I do think it makes the stock RSV more sensitive and nimble, but I just no longer recommend it to others since I don't think it is necessary to make the stock bike handle well. If someone is already running on good tires and wants to experiment a bit to take the handling to the next level, then I think the narrower front tire is a good choice. Ride safe, Goose
  22. V7Goose
    When I first tried the Avon MT90 on my 05 RSV, I had been suffering with the terrible performance from the stock Brickstone 150/80 for about 6,000 miles. I was completely astounded by the dramatic improvement in slow speed handling, and frankly, I just could not imagine that such a major change could have come from anything other than the narrower tire size. I assumed that all tires in the stock 150/80 size would share basic handling characteristics, so such a dramatic change must have come from the narrower size and not the different brand. Much of this assumption was supported by my experiences on lots of different bikes since the late '60s, and probably over a hundred different tires. I know now that my assumption was wrong. Although the MT90 tire did add some additional low speed handling improvements, the majority of the change came from simply mounting any other tire than the grossly misshapen Brickstone 150/80-16. I have compared Avon, Dunlop and Pirelli tires on the RSV, and although they each have specific characteristics which can cause different riders to prefer one over another, ALL of them are phenomenally better than the Brickstones! I have never found such a major difference in handling between different tires in the same size on the same bike as I did when getting rid of the Brickstones on the RSV. Goose BTW - my personal preference today is still for the Avon Venom tires on the RSV (in stock size, with shorter suspension links to raise the rear of the bike by 1").
  23. V7Goose
    At the risk of redundancy with many other threads, I thought I would recap all of my experiences with front tire choice on the RSV. I'll try to keep this fairly short, but some of you may know how hard that is for me! I did a lot of testing on various tires (both sizes and brands), and I was one of the very vocal members a couple of years ago who posted so much about how great an improvement the narrower MT90 or 130/90 front tire was over the stock 150/80 size. Since then I have amassed even more comparisons and have come to these conclusions: The stock Brickstone 150/80 front tire is the WORST possible tire you can use if you have not raised the rear with shorter suspension links. ANY other front tire will be a vast improvement. Raising the rear of the bike 1" with the Leveling Links will make even the stock Brickstone 150/80 front tire handle like any good tire. Poor handling is not just related to the front tire size. In fact, any rear tire that begins to flatten out in the center from too much straight line riding will make this bike track grooves and jump around on surface irregularities. And the stock Brickstone rear tire is the ABSOLUTE WORST for this!Since my initial testing with my 05 RSV which came with the ****ty stock Brickstone tires, I have been able to compare a stock 07 RSV that came with Dunlop tires, and a stock 07 RSV that had Avon tires in stock size. In both of those cases, the bike felt agile and nimble with none of the horrid slow speed heaviness of an RSV with stock Brickstone tires. Since most RSVs come with Bricksones, but a few lucky ones get Dunlop 404s, I think this explains why so many new owners complain about the heaviness and slow speed handling, while a few new owners say "Huh? Feels fine to me." Bottom line, although I think the MT90 front tire is a good tire for the RSV, I no longer recommend it at all. IMHO, if you have raised the rear of the bike with the Leveling Links, the narrower front tire makes the bike a bit squirrelly as the rear tire begins to wear flat. And even with the stock suspension links, I have found that any other good tire in stock size on the front makes the RSV handle just fine at slow speed (note that this EXCLUDES the Brickstone front tire). So, for those of you who have not already made up your mind on tire brand and size, here is what I recommend: If you have Brickstones, get rid of them immediately. They make the RSV and unpleasant bike to ride, and sometimes a dangerous bike to ride. The only exception to this is if you raise the rear with Leveling links, then the FRONT Brickstone will handle fine and last long time. Decide on any other brand of tire and buy stock sizes, front and rear. I personally will never trust my life to Metzeler tires on this bike (see plenty of other posts on this subject), but even if Metzeler is your brand of choice, the bike will handle just fine with stock tire sizes until the rear tire begins to come apart on you. Sorry, I just could not avoid that bit of editorializing!Good luck and ride safe, Goose
  24. V7Goose
    There is a vent tube that is supposed to be clamped in directly in front of each air filter. Perhaps these would cause the gas to run out where you see it? I have not really analyzed where the gas would go if it puked from one of these, but that seems possible. In addition, these tubes just BARELY reach the little square clamp that positions them, so it is quite possible that one of them is loose and pointed who-knows-where.
  25. V7Goose

    Seat removal II

    V7Goose replied to a topic in Watering Hole

    This makes no sense to me. Removing that worthless curved chrome shield on top of the left rear cylinder is one of the easiest things you can do (several of us had our bikes delivered with it mounted backward on the opposite side)! You don't need any new screws for anything. Just remove the two screws holding it on, then remove the bracket from the round heat shield under it. All done. You will now find access to the seat nuts much easier. Goose
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