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twigg

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Everything posted by twigg

  1. twigg
    There are two obvious omissions ... well three really. 1. US Highway 1 to Key West 2. The Dalton Highway, Alaska (Haul Road) 3. Talimena Scenic Highway (Arkansas/Oklahoma) Of those I have personally ridden #3. Key West is on the agenda for this year. The Talimena road is simply stunning. I have ridden it twice recently. Once at about 30 mph with my wife on the back. It's a visually beautiful ride, esp. in Fall, and a great afternoon out. Second time was during a Rally and on the clock. Trying that road at 60mph is quite an experience on an 800lb bike! I did it and we survived. That was a fun experience but not for the faint of heart.
  2. twigg
    Just what Jeff said. The RLU has to go and you might want to think about adding a separate On/Off switch. Those units do not like coming on then going out when you hit the starter button. Sometimes they will fail to fire the second time. My procedure now is ... Ignition On - Starter button - Headlight On Works just fine. I have the HID Country Bi-Xenon unit, and it's great. Oh yes ... as for the computer monitor. Either live with the warning on, or jumper the board. If you jumper the board you no longer have a warning, but as it would be annoying you anyway, you already lost it so you may as well switch off the graphic.
  3. twigg
    If you are removing the fairing getting the Ignition box out is easy. You can remove the cross brace under the battery box and with the inner fairing panels off you can then remove the entire sub-assembly carrying the ignition coils, box and other stuff. Most people relocate the ignition box to the top of the airbox, the cables reach. I found that didn't give sufficient clearance under the tank cover so I put it back. It's off again now and it is going in the left hand fairing pocket. All the audio equipment is coming out. It's dry in there and the cables will easily reach. I also have a crap load of extra electrical stuff that is all going in the trunk. To backflush the system yes, you pump water from a hose through it. Clean the smaller diameter pipes first. Mine took a lot of doing due to neglect. It was flushed, a lot of parts replaced then I ran it with a flushing compound .... then flushed again. I also had to remove the radiator and clean it out manually in the kitchen sink. Wait until the wife is out before attempting that. The shed is a cold place to sleep in January.
  4. twigg
    Probably not me Jeff I was only asking. It could probably be done for just under $1000. If you had a bike that needed substantial carb work anyway, and the Ignition system replacing, then the cost is not so outrageous. Our bikes have plenty of power available even in standard tune. A modern small car with engine management can be tuned for impressive fuel economy. I would imagine that the same is true for our engines and for high-milers, the cost would be recouped in gas savings.
  5. twigg
    It's a good idea to remove the fairing, especially you haven't removed it before. It gives you the opportunity to clean everything. split all the connectors, clean and re-assemble them with a smear of dielectic grease. You can do the forks wit the fairing in place, it's easier if it isn't. Likewise steering head bearings. The fork bushes are on the end of the sliders. They are relatively cheap and the manual calls for them to be replaced. I didn't, and got away with it, but I should have replaced them. If you plan on any night riding, the headlight is long overdue an upgrade. The HID kit I bought was cheap and excellent. One word of warning .... HID units do not like "blipping" off when you hit the starter button. So if you convert yours then you might want to add a separate On/Off switch for the headlight. One of the biggest areas of trouble on mine was the cooling system. Don't just change the coolant. Get the hoses off, especially the one small hose just above the drain valve. You are likely to find that it is wholly or partially blocked. Then give the entire system a backflush until all sediment is gone. When you run the motor, the coolant should stay green. If it doesn't then you still have crap in there that needs to come out. Cooling is marginal, but get it clean and it works well. The proper way to fix the weeping valve cover is with better gaskets. Skydoc sells the later ones from the V-Max?. If you add washers under the bolts you will be adding pressure to the cover. It will warp the cover over time, and is only a temporary fix. It's the gasket that has gone. The new gaskets are about $20 each and they are a 100% cure. Have you checked the valves clearances? They don't change much and it's a pita to adjust them. If you do it once you should be good for the next 25000 miles and have some peace of mind. If an exhaust valve tightens too much you will burn the valve and cry ... a lot. Keep asking, you seem to be well on the right track. ps ... Tabs ... GEt yourself a small sheet of ABS from a local plastics supplier. It's cheap and comes in different colours and thicknesses. Cut your new tab to shape and use Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK $10/qrt Lowes) USe that as a solvent to weld the new to the old. With most tabs there is plenty of space to make them thicker and stronger than the originals. JB Weld, fiberglass, glue ... lots of things have been tried and they are all temporary fixes. It's actually cheaper to do it correctly in this case
  6. twigg
    Probably no more than for setting up a programmable advance curve. The mixture is controlled by by the sensors and the injector timings would be close even on default. In the Microsquirt box everything is adjustable in software. This is not a new technology. It's a well-trodden path. It might be new to the VR, but the V-Max guys have been doing it for years with basically the same engine.
  7. twigg
    Wouldn't necessarily have "expectations". I wondered if it had been done. However .... Fuel Injection does normally brings with it better control of the mixture, a cleaner, more efficient engine and less routine maintenance. Then there is that "Look what I did" grin factor
  8. twigg
    Has this been done to our bikes? This article is a conversion kit for the V-Max, with CV Carbs ... seems like it wouldn't be massively hard to adapt it: http://roadstercycle.com/yamaha_vmax_fuel_injector_cv_car.htm
  9. twigg
    I have a bad plug cap on cylinder #2. It is showing "open". I temporarily replaced it with a spare from my Triple, and it ran just fine. Still a Rev Counter issue though. So .... I dragged out the CDI and opened it up which wasn't as easy as it should have been. The whole inside has been covered in some "brown" goo. Probably waterproofing for the board. I completely failed to desolder the headers, so I cut the box. The diodes are in perfect condition, they show no sign of deterioration at all, so I left them alone. The danger of lifting a trace or other damage is worth it if those diodes need replacing, but not worth the risk if they don't. There are no swollen capacitors either ... everything looked clean so I put it back together and reflowed the solder in the header pins. Some silicone around the cut and all should be well at least for now. What I need to do is make sure that the connectors are clean before it goes back on the bike. It's going in the left fairing pocket. It's dry in there and the audio equipment is coming out. That way it's easy to get at and ready for the Ignitek that I plan on buying. New wires, caps and plugs and that's an area of the bike I can feel happy with.
  10. twigg
    Yep! My favourite bike was a Honda VFR750F-L It had a V4 with a gear driven top end. It revved hard and made a fabulous "whirring" sound as the revs climbed. Once heard, never forgotten.
  11. twigg
    I agree with this. By their very nature, V4 engines are balanced and like to spin fast. With 1300cc capacity, the actual potential to "ride it hard" is pretty limited. It can get to "so illegal you go to jail" speeds pretty quickly. Treating a motor with sympathy is always a good idea, but unless you are red-lining every gear you are not really over-stressing the engine. A bigger concern is the chassis. It's an old design that wasn't particularly stiff even when new. Brakes, suspension .... they are far from the cutting edge although they are more than capable of carrying a prodigious amount of stuff a very long way, quite quickly. Just be aware of the limitations, and sensible mods to brakes, suspension, lighting etc are all a good idea. The go ride and enjoy without worrying too much about the rev counter.
  12. twigg
    Let us know about Geico. They may have quietly dropped that clause, and they might not. This Board has regularly been down the road of political commentary in the past. All it does is get in the way of bike lovers enjoying each other's company. Friendly banter over things we have in common rather than fighting over things we disagree about. I could, and would normally challenge your comments about the ACLU, etc. But not here, not now. If you want that chat go find me elsewhere on the Intertubz. Here I enjoy the company of guys I would be standing the other side of the barricades from .... and I like that about this place. just sayin'
  13. twigg
    The only bit of the nearly 30 year old electronics worth keeping is the cruise control The Radio, cassette (who still has those), intercom and CLASS ... and the speakers were all wonderful when new, and rather less than wonderful now. The intercom .... If you have all the bits, and they work, then fine. Use and enjoy. If not then you could easily end up paying more for elderly parts that the cost of a new Autocom. The CLASS was a great idea, and some still use it. However, Progressive fork springs in the front are pretty much a requirement, and once you have them you do not need air pressure. Similarly on the back. A Progressive rear shock, or any decent after-market unit means you will have better suspension and no need for the air compressor. The audio system is just old. If it works then fine, but there are vastly better units out there for less money that our second hand parts. Deciding not to keep the original electronics is liberating. You go from having to seek out, pay for and fit old stuff, then wonder how to integrate it all with your Android Cellphone, to a clean slate with lots of room to mount the electronics of your coice. There are folk here who do both ... Both options can be made to work.
  14. twigg
    Cedar is naturally rot and insect resistant and those shingle should outlast asphalt by many years. They are less susceptible to hail damage too and they insulate better. One thing that can happen is that lots of wood splinters, etc, can gather in your roof space and it's worth clearing that stuff out to reduce the fire risk. I'd love to have cedar shingles, but they are not a cheap option It might be worth having a roofing expert (who you trust not to simply try to sell you a new roof) inspect them every few years.
  15. twigg
    Did you get an exhaust hydrocarbons reading before and after?
  16. twigg
    Before going to all the trouble of fitting cruise there are a number of considerations ... Firstly, there are plenty of bikes out there with it already fitted, and it's a pretty big job with zero resale value. If you love your bike and want to keep it, then go ahead. If you are prepared to sell it you could buy another with the upgrades already on board. Secondly .... My '86 has cruise control, and it generally works just fine. It doesn't work as well as on a fuel injected bike, but that is the nature of vacuum operated cruise. The thing is .... I don't actually use it very much. Even on 1000+ mile days I use it only intermittently. I know I could easily get by with a simple throttle lock if I really wanted to. Don't get me wrong. I have it, it works and I use it. I don't use it nearly as much as I do in the car and if I had to source and fit all the parts I would be wondering if it were worth it. Just sayin'
  17. twigg
    Accept the fact that they all will try to pay out as little as possible, and go from there. Some are going to be better than others, but there isn't much in it. Geico I would rule out simply because they have a hidden clause that restricts motorcyclists to 500 miles per day. They may or may not have dropped this now, but the fact that they thought it a good idea makes me think that they really neither like nor understand motorcycles. Mine is with State Farm. It is Liability only and the limits are 300 - 500 - 300. That costs me a whopping $50 a year. I'm happy with it. I've never had to claim but the local agent is easy to work with. Worrying about the political affiliations of the company principals is a road to madness. Although the earlier comments do have me wondering about a switch to Progressive Not everyone agrees about the best way forward for our country and in any event, we are talking about insurance!
  18. twigg
    Maybe .... Don't get me wrong I would never discourage anyone from buying advanced batteries, but I find the price hard to justify when I have never had much trouble with the lead/acid ones Maybe I'll take another look.
  19. twigg
    I am forever torn about batteries. One from Walmart is $40 and lasts a few years .... Expensive Gel batteries are, well, expensive and they don't last forever. I use a Battery Tender regularly. The better ones do rather more than simply apply a low charge. They start by using at least a 3-Stage charge that actually charges the thing, right up to maximum which the cheap chargers cannot do, then they monitor the battery discharge and apply the necessary correction. With battery chargers you get what you pay for. I remain to be convinced that the same is true for batteries.
  20. twigg
    Removal of speedo is easy but there are things to watch out for. Remove the screen, headlight and indicators. Then you can get to the screws that hold the instrument cover ... lose it. Disconnect the speedo cable and you can raise the instruments high enough to remove the wiring harness. Then the instruments lift out. You need to get the speedo out of the housing and it comes out from the front. Remove the screws holding the two halves together, and the temp gauge wiring from the back. The two halves will then split once the Computer Monitor has been removed AND the dimmer knob from the front. The dimmer knob is held on the shaft by a screw!!! Undoing that screw is way easier than trying to pull the knob off without undoing it (don't ask me how I know). Once out you can clean off all the old crap with electrical contact cleaner (tip ... cover the dial faces with seran wrap first). Blow out the dirty residue and use a light oil to lubricate everything that moves behind the dial. Keep away from the ODO wheels. That's about it. It is possible to get a little grease into the cable entry bearing, but oiling it seems to work. Put it all back together. When I did mine, the horrible whining disappeared, the needle is rock steady and accuracy is within 1%. OIL: I use Heavy Duty Diesel Motor Oil. That's just me. I use it because it is almost exactly the same as the expensive stuff with a picture of a motorcycle on it. The point is the way they are made. Regular multigrades are made by using a base oil and adding viscosity enhancers ... long chain molecules that work just fine in car engines, and rapidly get smashed to bits in a motorcycle gearbox. Diesel multigrades are subjected to much higher pressures than gas engines produce, so they are made by blending base oils of different weights .... no enhancers. As an added bonus they have no friction modifiers either, and they are cheap. What's not to love? Anyway ... others will differ. It's their bike. I use what I use and I post this just to tell you why
  21. twigg
    That's not what he meant. There is an eBay seller who sells brand new plug/wire combos. They are about $30 plus shipping and yes, the price is competitive.
  22. twigg
    Trailers should always be level or very slightly nose-down while running. If they are at all "nose-up" they will wreck the handling of the bike, and possibly cause a dangerous situation. Mainly that is because the air moving underneath will be trying to lift the back of the bike. For maximum stability they should have a positive tongue weight of around 10% of the trailer weight. This is often too high for the hitch, but on a motorcycle trailer I would be looking for about 25 to 30 pounds (measure it with bathroom scles and a piece of 2x4.) If your loaded rig is level, with a tongue weight in that region, when loaded and ready to go, you should be fine. Unless the "nose-down" attitude is excessive, then the downward push under braking is quite small, and it actually helps. I am talking maybe 1/2" to 1" maximum. Any more and you might have the stability problems mentioned above. It's worth going to some trouble to get this right because the result is trouble free motoring, and if it's not right the result can be extremely painful. Never try to use the load in the trailer to correct a nose height that is too low. If you do that you will compromise the tongue weight and introduce instability. The correct way is to load the trailer so that the nose weight is right, then raise or lower the hitch height to achieve the correct attitude. Once you get this right the first time, it quickly becomes second nature to do it the same way everytime. Hope this helps.
  23. twigg

    exhaust

    twigg replied to barend's topic in Watering Hole

    It's got to come off. Generally it's not too hard. Start by spraying every fastener with PB Blaster, or some other penetrating fluid. Leave the job until the next day and give a couple of interim squirts. The bolts and nuts holding the collector are not nearly as difficult to get to as legend has it if you have a decent socket set with extensions. The downpipes can remain fixed to the rear heads but the front ones have to come off and will need new gaskets. Fortunately they are the cheap ones Once you have the collector off you will probably find that the corrosion is worse than you thought. It can be especially bad around the welds where the front stubs are attached to the main box. These are replaceable. You need to fins a local muffler wholesaler who will stretch a couple of short lengths of pipe to fit, then get them welded on. You can cut the slots yourself. When I did mine I was given the new stubs free and the welding was $15. They were a perfect fit but it's not an exact science and some trial and error is involved. The added complication is that the trim pieces on the collector have to be removed then re-welded, and that is what would stop you accessing much with the unit on the bike. In any event, no one wants to be welding down there. The expensive gaskets can usually be re-used. If not then new ones will cost quite a few $$$. There really are no shortcuts on this one. Those collectors can be bought new for about $500 (ouch). You can get second hand ones on eBay from about $50 up, but you may end up with one as bad, or worse, than the one you have. If you get yours off and it really is rotten, buy one second hand and refurbish as above. There is the added complication that the baffle inside the box can come loose and rattle. This too can be repaired. It involves cutting the bottom of the collector on three sides, folding up the flap you just created then fixing or removing the internal baffle ... then the whole lot is welded up again. It's worth doing this correctly. Exhausts are the most inhospitable parts of the bike. They can go from cold to cherry red, even in normal running and temporary fixes are usually more temporary than most folk want.
  24. twigg
    I bet none of the Malibu ads mentioned this
  25. twigg
    Thanks
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