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JoeKanuck

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    Joe

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    Grande Prairie, Canada

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    Grande Prairie

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    Canada

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  • Bike Year and Model
    86 Venture Royale

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  1. JoeKanuck
    I'd say those diodes are just about toast. That being said, as long as your TCI is still working, then it can probably be saved. You're not screwed until the diodes cause a problem in another component...and there's no telling what a bad diode can fry. Since you already have it apart, I'd say get the diodes replaced and give it a try. My diodes were in about the same shape but my TCI was still working....and it's still working after the fix...3 years later. Visually, I couldn't tell if any other components were ready to go, but they all looked good. Once again, if you're not really handy with a soldering iron, get someone else to do the job. The conductive layer on the board is a bit delicate and there is a chance of lifting or breaking traces if it's done wrong...which isn't a deal breaker if you know what you're doing. I'm no expert but I have done my share of soldering, so it was a fairly straightforward job.
  2. JoeKanuck
    Good day. I thought this might be a good time for an update on my TCI mod. It has been almost 3 years since I did my preventative diode replacement mod to my stock TCI and my bike is running as good as ever. It's all spelled out here; http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51767 If you're stock TCI is still working, you don't have much to lose by trying the diode swap. I have probably put 10,000 or more miles on the bike since the mod without a single TCI related problem. Doing this saved me a lot of cash and gave me tons of piece of mind. I'm confident that it would work for anyone with a still working TCI.
  3. JoeKanuck
    So it has been almost 3 years and my bike has been ticking along without a hickup. I think I can conclusively say the fix has worked and I consider it a screaming success. I recommend it to anyone who has an old TCI, because I'll pretty much guarantee that those diodes are on the way out, and if you catch it before they fail, I strongly suspect that you'll have as much success as I did. If you're not that keen with a soldering iron, I imagine an electronics tech would do the job for less than 50 bucks.
  4. JoeKanuck
    Definitely check the three post connector that runs from the stator to the R/R. The wire on my bike ran up from the R/R to a loop on the gas tank just under the left side of the seat. One wire had fried the insulation and was bare. When I removed the wire harness from the frame, that wire had gotten so hot, it had actually melted the metal crimped connector and pulled out with the lightest effort. I removed the entire connector and connected the three wires individually but have since just soldered the wires together. It was a very close thing that could have been expensive.
  5. JoeKanuck
    I vote for sending this to the First Gen Tech Library.
  6. JoeKanuck
    Crappy tire is where I get mine...the part number is FRAM CH6002.
  7. JoeKanuck
    The only hot spot was the 3 connector plug...and only one of the connectors. That's a real problem with old style, unsealed plugs. Eventually, the contacts will corrode and you'll get higher resistance across the connector, which makes heat and corrosion which finally fries the wires, connector or both. It is a really good idea to re-seat any connector you come across and put a bunch of grease in the female side. I've never worried about using dielectric grease. I've used and tested regular grease in very high voltage situations and it has zero conductivity. Bad connectors are not only a source of burned wiring and components, but just having erratic signal caused by intermittent contact can fry electronics or just be a pain in the butt. Basically, clean them when you see them...but I wouldn't wait too long....
  8. JoeKanuck
    Here's the place I used; Mr Speedometer Inc - 505 53 Ave SE, Calgary, AB 403-258-2909. They primarily do auto speedos and there is a slight difference in the size of the square bit that plugs into the speedo, but he did some extra hammering and it works like a charm. That equipment sounds interesting. It might be something to drag out of the closet. Basic speedo cable stock is available...all a person needs is the length.
  9. JoeKanuck
    I've been really happy with my E3. I still have the E2 on the front...but it needs changing soon. I really don't know how many miles I have on it...at least 2 full summers of riding...probably in the 10,000km range...maybe 7000miles. They really aren't showing much wear, ride well and handle the wet just fine...and I'm about 300lbs. That's a lot of stress on that poor tire. The tire has lots of life left in it...I don't hesitate to recommend them.
  10. JoeKanuck
    I totally recommend it...it taught me techniques I use today...and it has probably saved my bacon a time or two. This happened a couple of years after the course. While riding at night, my buddy was riding about 100 or so feet in front. I saw something flash by his bike. I saw a lump in the road right in front of me...all I had time to do was get up on the pegs then I hit a bloody huge dead porcupine. My friend said all he saw was my light go up then disappear. I had both wheels in the air...at highway speeds...at night...while riding what is probably the crappiest bike ever made...a Yamaha XS750 Special. Without the course, I no doubt would have done something stupid and potentially fatal like slam on the brakes or death grip the bars or who knows what? Instead, I got the balls of my feet on the pegs, stood up just a bit and landed safely....which allowed my to park the bike and examine it properly. It was fine except for dozens of quills stuck in both tires. If I had just gotten on a bike and tried to learn as I went along, I would never have had the confidence or reflexes to survive that like I did. One reason is that i never would have tried the things I learned in the course. Up here in Canadia, there's the extra bonus of a discount on insurance after earning a pass.
  11. JoeKanuck
    For as long as I can remember, my cruise has acted a bit oddly. I do have draggy throttle cables so the cruise isn't as precise as it could be but often yet irregularly, it would jump up 5-10 kph then fade away under the set point, then cut out. I could resume but in a few minutes it would happen again. It was getting to be a pain but I had taken out the vacuum pump and checked the connectors and all seemed ok....I was stumped. I even took the speedo apart to see if anything in there was off...didn't look like it. The cruise box behind the light was a bit worse for wear wth the board basically hanging out...but that wasn't the issue either. Last week I was on a road trip and while going through one town, I noticed my speedo wasn't working. I pulled over and the cable was undone....and the core missing. I went back and forth over the couple of mile stretch where it happened 4 times but found nothing....so I went on my way without a speedo or cruise. The next day, i found a place called Mr. Speedometer that, among other things, fabricated speedo cables. It cost me 25 bucks but the new one works like a charm. One side benefit is that my cruise is no longer jumping. It seems my cruise problem was a loose speedo cable. The speedo itself was always steady but since the cruise uses pulses, it only takes the slightest slip to make it think the bike is slowing down and try to speed things up...which is where the jumping came in. So if you're having odd cruise issues, I suggest first checking your speedo cable.
  12. JoeKanuck
    Before I bought my first bike, I took a motorcycle riding course. I knew nothing about riding but wanted to. Being a coward, I thought I should get some instruction first. The course was 24 hours long spread over 3 weekends. One of the first things they drilled into us is counter steering. It worked then and it works now. The instructor explained that it is the way we instinctively ride a bike...but don't realise it. If you pay attention to how you steer a bike, you will realise that you control it by counter steering. When I got to that course, I barely knew which way to sit. To pass, you have to run an obstacle course which includes, riding over curbs, tires, a teeter totter, ramps, emergency braking, gravel, wet roads and emergency maneuvering. The last one is where you really 'get it' about counter steering.
  13. JoeKanuck
    For the most part, at anything above idle, my stock voltage gauge reads 14ish. Lately, it's been getting up there but it seemed a bit random. Tonight, I checked the wires leading to the R/R and man...did I ever get there just in time. One of the wires from the 3 prong plug had gotten so hot, it not only melted the plug, it heated up the connector enough to slide out of the crimp. One slight tug and it came completely free. I have been going over my bike and re-seating and greasing plugs as I come to them...I was planning on doing this anyway but damn...there was some serious puckering happening when I saw that bare wire. I pulled all the connectors out of the burned and melted plug, cleaned them up and plugged the wires together, without the plug, and insulating them. A quick startup showed the volts at around 14...right off of idle and steady as a rock no matter the load. Moral of the story; check those plugs. If you catch them in time, you may save yourself the time and effort of getting stranded and buying a new R/R.
  14. JoeKanuck
    I just did an oil change today. I still have the stock canister setup.The price of the FRAM 6002 was ten bucks. This will be my third oil change with this filter and I've never had a problem with a FRAM yet. The cost for the adapter is 95 bucks...that's the price of about 10 stock oil filters to save me around 5 minutes...max. I'm more than happy to be a luddite and keep the stock system for as long as I can keep getting filters. So far, I have yet to add a drop of oil between oil changes and I change the oil once a year. Just this summer I've done around 6000 km and the oil was still in the middle of the sight glass when I drained it. I have no idea how many I did last summer since my last oil change. I am all about free will and what I prefer has no bearing on what other do...or should do. As it is, I have a very long list of things I'd rather spend a hundred bucks on.
  15. JoeKanuck
    There is still the option of preventative maintenance by replacing the diodes on the stock TCI, provided it hasn't crapped out yet. I did it a couple of years ago and I haven't had a single problem with it. Here's the thread with the details on how I did it; http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51767&highlight=diode+repair&page=1
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