darthandy

Thanks Buddy, I'll give it a try. Sorry Steve ... yes, I meant the RSV - the Royale is strill a long way from being rideable. Andy

Went to use my cruise control for the first time in several months and an odd thing happens. When I press the CC button, all three lights flash on the dash and then the blue power light stays on. But, when I press the "Set" button nothing happens. I tried in both 4th and 5th gears at 80 kph (50 mph), 100 kph (62 mph) and 115 kph (72 mph). The lights don't flash, the blue power light stays on but nothing happens. I did notice one other thing ... the "On" button used to stay pushed all the way in on the left side when I turned on the CC and then moved to a "center" position when I turned off the bike. Now it goes right to the "center" position. Anyone have any ideas? I rarely use the CC but, I hate it when something isn't working right on the bike. Especially since that could be a symptom of another problem. Thanks, Andy

Actually, my wife was riding almost everywhere with me till last year. She has developed an inner ear problem that the doctor thinks is something called "Meuniere's Disease". It causes her to suddenly feel dizzy and as if she is about to fall. And that's if she's just sitting there. On the bike it becomes completely unbearable as we lean into turns. It doesn't hit her that often, but there is no way to know when it will start and when it does she just can't stand being on the bike. I'm not surprised ... feeling like you're going to fall is bad enough, but when you're leaning through a turn? Yikes. Some people would just whine and complain about their (bad) luck, but she has just learned to live with it as best she can. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for that at this time. It does make me feel guilty when I leave without her and I would certainly have understood if she had complained about me taking this trip. Instead she encouraged me to go ahead and do it. She has been my best buddy for 39 years (plus the 3 years we went out together) and I wouldn't trade her for anything. Andy

Very sad news. And yes, it always pays to stay aware of traffic around you. I have had people come through the red light after my light had gone green ... and this is with a short delay during which all the lights are red. It seems to be happening more often. So be careful out there folks. Andy

That's the car division. The power sports division is still alive and kicking. Andy

I've been riding for over 40 years and even road raced and I'd still be nervous about getting on a Hayabusa. AA beginner's bike? That salesman should have his butt kicked! I agree with you - I can't see this ending well. Andy

Thanks for the link. Yes, I'll be taking lots of pictures (Don't you just love digital cameras!). I may even try to find a way to mount my Sony Camcorder to the bike (The digital one, not the old VHS version - that would require a trailer.) and see if I can get some movies for her as well. Hazen, thanks for the invite. Not sure if we'll be there for the weekend, but i'll see if we can work in a "Hello!" Andy

Very nice bikes. You'll enjoy the RSV. Now then ... about that lack of adequate "safety chrome" ... Andy

So, as my wife and I chatted the other night I mentioned that a buddy of mine wanted to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway (he's never been on it) and do another run on the Tail of the Dragon, hopefully next month. I mentioned that such a trip was on my bucket list and wouldn't be too expensive if done in September after school is in and motel prices drop a bit. To my surprise, she said, "Well why don't you call your friend and plan out this trip while you can still do it. I'd like to see you enjoy that." Whoa! I called my friend and let him know (His wife had OK'd such a trip for him too, but then he's also in better financial shape than we are, so that helps.) and asked what was a good date for him. We settled on a departure date of Sept. 7 and a return date of around a week to 10 days later. We're leaving things a bit flexible. So, at long last, while I can still ride, it looks as if I'll finally take a trip I have dreamt about for some time. I'll be doing some maintenance on the bike over the next little while to get it ready. Front brakes were just done, tires should be good for the trip and I'll spring for some new air filters and an oil and filter change. This has me pretty excited as there were days not so long ago when I wasn't sure I would have the chance to ride a bike again, let alone take a trip like this. And it says a lot about the character of the little honey I'm married to that she would encourage me to do this. I will owe her a very special vacation when I get back! The Goldwing club I belong to is going in mid-October, but my friend and I decided that we would prefer to go before the weather has a chance to get too sloppy. It might be OK down there, but mid October around here can sometimes get a bit ugly. It would have been nice to be part of a bigger group (More noticeable on the roads) but then this way we get to travel at our own pace. Needless to say (But I'll say it anyway!) I'm really pumped up about this. I sent my friend a copy of the list of roads that appears in another recent thread, since some of them are either in the same area or on the way. :cool10::cool10::cool10: Andy

I've been using the Honda Powersports Trip Planner for a while now and find it quite useful. Unlike some others, it lets you put in a specific route rather than putting in departure and arrival points with the planner filling in the route for you. Sometimes I like to deviate a bit from what the planner wants! http://tripplanner.honda.com/ Andy

Welcome to our friendly zoo. Pick at will ... or any of the others ... something will show up and be useful. Andy

I installed Skydoc's PCW and full disc upgrade last year and decided to replace the rest of the plates as well. 10, 000 KM later everything works beautifully and I'm very happy. Go for it! Andy

Really glad you guys are OK. Accidents like this are always scary. Glad too that you decided on going with the ATGATT principle. Makes a world of difference! Good luck. Andy

Well, I got my front brake pads installed and the lines flushed and bled last week. I've just about reached the required KM (Or MI) for them to be considered bedded. I already notice the increased braking power of the EBC HH pads compared to the original stock pads. I had cleaned out the master cylinder and that smoothed up the lever action. I cleaned as well as I could on the calipers and the pistons, but now I note I still have a "dragging" sound at lower speeds. The old pads were doing that too but is was a whistle . Looks like I'll have to pull the calipers apart and give them a full cleaning (later). My guess is that one of the pistons isn't releasing fully. The angle wear on the old pads pretty much confirmed that. I had hoped that I would be able to clean them well enough on the bike, but it wasn't to be. Oh well, my new PowerBuilt brand vacuum tool did a nice job of bleeding the lines by myself so that's one less annoyance. I still plan on getting the speed bleeders though. I plan on doing a better maintenance job than the previous owners did. I also painted my chrome ignition cover in GM Dark Cherry (Rattle can from Canadian Tire) along with the screws so that the nasty reflection in my windshield is gone. While I was at it, I installed a small lit up switch in the cover for my driving lights. No more searching around under the fairing when I want to switch them on or off. Now with a light on the switch, I know at a glance if the lights are on or off. Well, that is I can tell if the switch is on or off. Since it is installed on the power wire from the battery to the relay, it would be on even if the lights were burned out, but at least I know something is happening. Had a cold and was not up to riding most of the week so it was a good time to get some minor stuff done. Andy

Also, if you're using Hotmail, it will let you recover recently deleted emails that have been deleted from your "deleted" folder. (OK - now my head is spinning!) Andy

Not me either. Mine's red on red ... besides, I wasn't anywhere near Dunnville. I was in the garage installing my newly painted my chrome ignition cover and gas cap beer cozy to get rid of the reflection in my windshield. Andy

This is a sneaky way to jack up the price of the part. Make the shipping amount much higher especially since they pay Ebay a fee on the part price. It seems to me, though, that Ebay was supposed to put a stop to that by charging a fee on the part price including shipping. Wonder what happened? I'm lucky - I live close to the border so I take advantage of a warehouse near the border on the U.S. side that acts as a delivery point for Canadians. They charge a small fee ($6) and of course I have to pay the bridge tool ($3.50) but if it saves me $75 in delivery charges, it's worth it. Andy

Actually, I hadn't noticed if the forks look lowered. I'll check tomorrow. I'd forgotten about the lowered caliper making some brake work easier. Yet another reason to leave it alone. By the way, I seem to remember a thread stating that 5/8 in. was the most you could lower the bike on the forks without the bars hitting something. Does that 1 1/2 in. drop cause you any problems at full lock? Andy

Thanks, but I think I'll leave it this way. If I ever sell the bike, it could be a selling point that the buyer wouldn't need the full kit to lower the bike - just the links. Andy

I've thought of waving to scooters and moped riders, but I'm afraid that the sudden disruption of air by my hand as I speed by might knock them out of control! :rotf::rotf: (Sorry ... just in one of "those" moods. It's been a wacky day!) Andy

Shouldn't be a problem. If you did this when the bike was cold, then it's theoretically possible that if the engine gets really hot and the coolant expands a lot, you could wind up with some overflow on the ground. A bit messy but OK otherwise. Andy

Oh ... well then, wouldn't that be a " RB' " :rotf::rotf::rotf: Andy

What is an RBA? Andy

Well, I'd want a couple of more details but just smiling and saying "Hi" shouldn't have been justification for the person's actions. I occasionally have kids wave to me on the street as I ride by or wave and say "Hi" in a public place so I'll respond politely. Then again, I have a smaller beard and no tattoos so maybe I seem less threatening. If the story is true, it would seem that the mother is a bit of a bigot and not very bright. If you don't want your child speaking to someone, it is more civilized to say please don't talk to strangers than to resort to name calling. Again if the story is true, that child is being poorly raised by at least one intolerant parent. Andy

First I want to thank Larry for sending me stock links for my bike. I was looking forward to installing them. Now this is where things get weird. When I bought the bike two years ago, the seller told me that a previous owner had installed a lowering kit but he wasn't sure how much of a drop it was. It did have the underslung caliper to get that away from the fender. So, I went to the garage today to start the job and the first thing I noticed is a code number "4XY" on the link on the bike. I realized that it was the same number as on the links Larry sent me. So I pulled out one of Larry's links and put one end over the end of the bolt for the link on the bike and one over the head of the upper bolt. The "8" on the head of the bolt is dead center in the mounting hole of the other link. They are the same length!! It's only speculation, but I think that a previous owner replaced the links from the lowering kit but, for whatever reason, left the new caliper bracket on the bike. It would seem that what I will need is levelling links. Why would someone claim to have a lowering kit installed if they've removed the links. This doesn't make any sense at all! I can only guess that the guy may have meant that he was leaving the caliper bracket for the kit and was misunderstood. I don't see the sense of keeping the links but not the caliper bracket. People can be a bit strange at times. Andy