RedRider

And they are fairly inexpensive. RR

Heading out today to visit my eldest son in Phoenix (recently moved there from Austin). He has the St Jude auction bike purchased a couple of years ago. Looking forward to going for a ride in the warmth and sunshine. Oh, looking forward to seeing my son also. RR

Puc, If'n you are ever wantin' to put a few miles on a 2nd gen, let me know. You are welcome to take mine for a little ride of a couple of days to try it out. Just don't do anything rash like wash it. I have the patina just like I want it. It has raising links, bar risers, and a custom seat (driver only, navigator seat is still stock). Lemme know. RR

IIRC, it is actually less expensive to just replace the slave cylinder rather than rebuild it. RR

Hey, aren't you the husband of that great gal that make rockin' good cheesecakes? Good to see you back. RR

You can do a same day passport at the following locations: http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/where-to-apply/agencies.html Otherwise, expedited is 3 weeks turn around by mail. Best bet, if it is convenient, have your son go the the closest US Embassy or Consulate and renew it from China before he comes home. RR

You going to bring this up to the Fond du Lac field for testing? Would love to see it fly. RR

The verification process is all done by volunteers. It sometimes takes a while.

You can get a good improvement with the Sylvania UltraStar headlight. The other option is to go with an H4 HID conversion. Options available from about $60 to several hundred. As for running lights, there are several LED lights available that will mount next to your front wheel at the end of the forks. RR

If you aren't letting the bike/battery sit for an extended time, just do the sensor bypass. What kind of new battery did you get? Lead/acid or AGM? If AGM, it isn't going to leak anyway. Don't drill any holes in the battery. Besides, doing so is just putting in a bypass at the battery instead of behind the faring. Cleaning options? I'm not the right guy to ask about that. RR

Congratulations. Welcome to the club. Well done.

Sounds like you have good plans together to make your new Connie 'all yours'. If I might make a suggestion - You have budgeted $1000 for a Corbin/Sargent seat. For that money you can get a customized Russell Day Long saddle with heat and backrest. It will be a seat customized to YOU, and not just a more comfortable version of a stock seat. It is the seat of choice for all the Long Distance guys (me included) and is the most comfortable seat on the market. Custom Motorcycle Seats and Touring Saddles - "Day-Long" Touring Saddles and Motorcycle Seats by Russell Cycle Products RR

A BBGold (1500 miles in 24 hours) is not an entry level IB ride. Not easy even for seasoned IB riders. I expect you meant 1000 / 24. RR

Poor word choice on my part. Meant next generation. Nothing concrete, just rumor from the Kawa guys at the Chicago bike show. You know how accurate those rumors are. RR

It does not have cruise control. Looking forward to revamp (supposed to have it) as the Connie is one fine ride. An absolute rocket ship. Beautiful color you have there IronMike. Like it. RR

Good luck. Be careful though, LD riding can be addicting. There are a lot of pointers, but for a SS1k or BB1.5k, the key is to sit there and twist that. No screwing around at stops. Get in, get gas, hit the can if needed, and get moving. NASCAR pit stop style. Check each receipt before leaving the station. Make sure it has a relatively accurate time, correct date, and location. Your Plan C is important. If you are finding it difficult to stay awake, stop and sleep. You will find a SS1k can be done in about 16 hours by someone experienced in LD riding. Therefore, there is a lot of sleep time available. Also, speed doesn't really help. Keep at your normal travel speeds (assuming you aren't a demon). It helps with gas mileage and reduces stress providing less fatigue. Once you complete this entry level IB ride, I will attempt to entice you into the LD rallying world. Loads of fun with lots of miles. Again, good luck. RR IBA 33089

If that picture is of your sled in current state of dress, you have the hard part taken care of to service the steering head bearings. Take them apart, inspect (likely just fine), regrease with Moly60, and set them per the manual. While you have it apart, replace the springs (again, you have the hard part done with removing the inner faring). If you are having a dealer/shop do the fork work, replace the seals (Yamaha OEM are best) as they will get damaged when disassembled. I bumped my fork oil up to 15W, but then, I do carry a bit of extra weight on mine - mostly on the driver's seat). RR

Here is the previously discussed Excel sheet for the shim calculations. Venture valve shim.xls

Have you checked to see if that is where the leak is occurring? Spray some soapy water (or just spit) around the base and see. It may be the valve inside the stem leaking. When folks change tires, they remove the inner valve to deflate the tire (quicker than just pressing it down) and they may have not reseated the replacement valve. If you find it leaking around the base of the stem, tighten the outer nut with a wrench and check again. Normally, if you have metal stems, they will not get replaced when a tire is changed unless you ask. I had mine changed when the wheel bearings were replaced (at 80k miles). Other than that, never. Let us know what you find. RR

I realize Nebraska is 2 weeks from anywhere, but where the heck is this bike?

It's already a wall of white....with whiskers.

I just can't unsee this! Arrrggghhh.

Go with the book - counterclockwise. Measure them all first and then make adjustments. You will likely find the ability to reuse some of the shims in different locations. If you go one by one, you will not be able to do that. FYI - the clearance tolerance range is larger than the shim differences (range is .04 mm and the shims come in 0.005mm difference - or something like that). Set on the loose side of the tolerance. Measure each shim with a micrometer instead of trusting the markings. When installing, marked side goes down. RR

Surprisingly enough, the HF torque wrenches are actually pretty good. If I was making a living wrenching, would look for better, but for shade tree wrenching, they work great (and are priced right). BTW, you will love the Barnett conversion. RR

And BMW