darthandy

Well, keeping in mind all the comments regarding costs, how about the "S.S. NotSoFreebird". Andy

That's interesting. I forgot to measure mine before removing the stock links, but everything I've read in the forum indicates a change in ride height of 1 inch per 1/4 inch of change in the link length. If that's true, you're ride height should have changed by 3 1/2 in. rather than 2 1/2 in. since your link length changed by 7/8 of an inch (Equivalent to three and a half 1/4 in. changes). Either the 1 inch per quarter inch estimate is off or the ride height change lessens as the links get longer (or shorter) than the one inch change. I may have to pull my shock off this winter (The bottom on mine is quite oily - never a good sign.). If I do, I could make some cardboard templates to put in place of the links and jack the bike up and down to see how much various link changes affect the ride height. I know it doesn't really matter, but now you've got me curious. Andy

Yep, 6 7/8 in. centre to centre. 1/4 inch longer drops the bike about an inch and a 1/4 inch shorter will raise the bike about an inch. You can play with those ratios to make the bike sit a bit lower or higher, but there are limits to how far you should go with the changes. For instance, lowering the bike an inch could lead to problems with the rear caliper hitting the fender on a hard bump or if fully loaded. this is why commercial lowering kits include a bracket to mount the caliper below the swingarm. Andy

I'm running a stock size 150 on the front. Although some have gone to the smaller tire, I found that a number of them went back to stock size because they felt the high speed handling became a bit "squirrely". Also, I read comments from those who went to levelling links and a 130 soon went back to stock size as the combination seemed to cause handling problems rather than resolve them. But, to each his own. I'm an old biker and we were always looking to get more rubber not less back in the day. Old habits can be hard to break especially when the changes seem to have as many detractors as supporters. I am very happy with the change and plan on keeping it. Andy

Installed my levelling links today and managed to get out for a short ride this evening. Very definite improvement in handling, especially at lower speeds. The bike feels about 80 lbs lighter now. As well, if I scoot back on my seat a bit and sit very straight, I can see reasonably well over the windshield so I'm set for those rainy days. Wish I could have got this done before my trip to the Blue Ridge and the Dragon last week. The better handling, increased ground clearance and ability to see over the windshield would have been greatly appreciated. At least I'll be ready for the next time. Andy

Looks like an interesting site, but I wasn't able to stay for long. My laptop started to vibrate and drip oil! I also started to feel this uncontrollable urge to buy a $60 T-shirt and drink a full case of beer! I'll try another look later after things settle down. :rotf::rotf: Andy

Thanks, Buddy. Time to head out to the garage and git 'er done. Andy

So ... tires still on the floor but the bike lifted just a bit? Andy

I had some levelling links made to raise the rear of my bike. I'm looking at the 2nd Gen tech library write-up on doing it, but I have a question. Where it says to raise the bike to take pressure off the links, is it necessary to get the tires off the ground? It looks to me as if just raising it enough to remove the load from the links would be the way to do it, otherwise there might then be a load on them from the wheel hanging down. Am I right or am I missing something? Thanks, Andy

I'm still waiting for the rest of the credit card bills to come in so that I can figure out whether or not I have to get a part time job to pay for this trip. Then there's the necessity of finding a way to thank my very patient and understanding wife for letting me dent the old budget for this one. In other words, yeah it might be a tad early for that suggestion! :rotf: Andy

Well, my buddy and I got back from the Dragon (and other places) yesterday. Definitely the trip of a lifetime for me! The roads and views were incredible! Looking down from a mile up to see the mountains poking up through the clouds was an unforgettable sight! Having deer, wild turkeys (Really big suckers, those!) and what seemed like hundreds of suicidal squirrels dash across the roads really added some interesting challenges to roads that didn't need help at being interesting. The Blue Ridge, Skyline and Smoky Mountains National Park were incredible. Heck (I'm trying to be politically correct), even the roads back down for the occasional meal and some fuel were often wilder than the roads we had been travelling. Didn't really have a chance to look anyone up as we spent the days riding, eating, gassing up and sleeping, although some nasty thunder showers on the Skyline did slow us down a tad. I could go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. If you don't, you really need to get up there. Oh - and watch out for some lost metal on the Dragon from my floorboards! The Dragon can get mean if you push too hard! Andy

So I might need a new lever or the bracket the lever fits in? Andy

Actually, that sounds about right when I check other parts with similar sized bolts that don't seal something up. I'll try that and see how it feels. Thanks Andy

...the torque value for the bolts holding the "fins" to the engine on an RSV. I am going to flush the clutch system and I can't find a value anywhere for torquing down those screws. The service manual mentions removing them but doesn't show a torque for replacing them. Also, someone said that they fixed a cruise control problem caused by too much freeplay in the clutch lever by replacing the bushing in the lever. The manual doesn't show a bushing unless it's the thick part of the screw that holds on the lever. Other than that, there's a "Holder (Push Rod)" in he hole next to the screw. Anyone know? Thanks, Andy

I tried one out at the Honda Rock the Red event last month. Nice bike - extremely smooth (after all it is a Goldwing!). Mine had an accessory exhaust and sounded great (Think racing Porsche!) from behind, but in a full face helmet with the breeze hitting at helmet height, you couldn't hear much. At 70 pounds lighter than a regular Goldwing it moves out smartly. In fact, my impression was that it was almost like riding an electric bike - crank the throttle in any gear at any r.p.m. and it just GOES! But - the seat is quite wide and unless your long in the legs, it could get tricky getting both feet flat comfortably. I have around a 30 inch inseam and could flatfoot it, but it didn't feel good. The seat felt comfortable for a longer ride (As far as padding went) but the riding position put a lot of stress on my lower back. A half hour was about all i could handle comfortably without a backrest. It looks cool and somewhat mean, should be as reliable as an anvil and will out accelerate and out handle most other cruisers but - for me anyway - it had no character - at all. From the riders seat it's just a motorcycle - a very quiet, smooth, powerful, good riding motorcycle with great brakes, but it just doesn't - how can I put it? It doesn't make me want to turn back for another look as I walk away. It was more appliance than soul machine, I guess. Great performance but I would rather be riding my Venture or my Triumph with all their quirks and deficiencies. I get off those with a smile on my face, looking forward to the next ride - not so with the F6B. Great performance but it just isn't very involving. Sorry I can't put it better but it was just one of those weird situations where the performance just wasn't enough to make up for the lack of - well, character. Andy

Since this was an easy place to start, I tried this first. Pushed away the clutch and held it there as I hit the "Set" button. Sure enough, the cruise light came on. Looks like that may be the problem. Now, where did you get that bushing for the clutch lever? From the dealer? Thanks, Andy

My father had that on his '71 and '73 Cadillacs. It was a small "reverse mini-scoop at the front end of each front fender with three different colours to indicate which light was out. The only problem they can have is to keep out ambient light so that you don't get a false "positive" reading if they pick up light from another source. That would light them up even when the light in question has failed. Still seems like a nice idea to me and there is no power draw. Andy

I've been racking my brain for the size I used last year. I believe they were M6 (6 mm) screws and about 3 cm long (around an inch and a half.) I bought them at our local Canadian Tire store, but any hardware store carrying metric machine screws and bolts should have them. They are a fairly common size. By the way, I repaired my ignition switch rather than replacing it and it has worked fine ever since. Also, if you want to make your screws look like the "tamper proof" type, you can fill the recess with J.B. Weld for metal then paint them in flat black paint. To a casual observer, they will look like the tamper proof type. Andy

That's what I suggested in post #6. Didn't go over well there either. Andy

Even more possibilities. This may take a while! Andy

Aha! Didn't know about that one. I'll check that as well. Thanks, Andy

Thanks, but I did that twice and no joy. Must be something else. Andy

As I mentioned in an earlier thread, a friend of mine and I are headed out towards the Tennessee / North Carolina area to ride the Tail of the Dragon, the Blue Ridge Parkway and whatever other interesting roads we have time for. Now then, we had a chance to go up in October with some members of the local chapter of the GWRRA but we prefer to go when the weather has a better chance of being decent. It would be nice, however, to have a larger group, even if it's just for the trip up and back. Hopefully, more motorcycles in the group increases our chances of being seen by the cagers - at least those with their head up and looking rather than down and texting! So ... the point of all this! If there are any of you in my area (Or along the way, or whatever) who would like to join us, please PM me and I'll let you know our plans. Right now, the only thing we have locked in is our departure date - Sept. 7, a Saturday. You are welcome to join us for the whole trip, part of it or just the voyage there and back. If you like our planned route on arrival (Once we have it) you can come along or go on your own way and rejoin us for the trip back. We plan on being gone for 7 days, with an option for adding a couple of days should we feel the need to explore more. We've checked out motel prices and they are more reasonable once the summer tourist season is over. Splitting a $75 room two ways (twin beds, though - friendship only extends so far!) allows us to spend more time there. Our plan is to be very flexible. Carved in stone, calculated right to the minute plans can take the fun out of a vacation in a hurry, so we are keeping ours open to last minute changes and decisions. Andy

Thanks guys, I'll check out the floorboards as well. The rain that they have threatened us with for a couple of weeks has finally arrived and the weatherman is saying we'll get a couple of days worth. Between that and helping our oldest and her husband move into their first house, it may be a while before I can get to it. We'll see what happens. Andy