RedRider

Cowpuc, Exactly the first question I asked. Carbs. RR

Stopped by and chatted with Eagleeye yesterday. He showed me his new to him Triumph Bonneville. What a classic beauty. We need pictures!!! I'll let him tell the story. BTW, he is doing well in retirement. Catching lots of ice while fishing (that's the purpose of ice fishing isn't it?). RR

For those of you who run across this thread searching for a fuel pump solution, continue searching until you find the thread about replacing the points. IIRC, they are about $30 and easy to change. Every pump failure I have seen discussed (that was fully diagnosed), the problem was the points. It is easy to check the points. Just peel back the rubber cover on the end of the pump. Look at the points. If they are burned or pitted, you need to replace them. RR

I've had cracks in my intake boots for 80k+ miles. No worries. There is a steel liner between two coats of rubber. If you want to check, spray some carb cleaner on them when the bike is running. If the idle changes, then a crack is all the way through. Don't expect it to be a problem. RR

Pete, Great to hear that took care of the problem. RR

Thanks 'Puc. I'm not nearly as knowledgeable on the 1st gen as I am with the 2nd. It just seemed the overall condition of the bike was more of a 40k machine than 140k. I certainly could be wrong though. RR

My impression of the bike. 1) Plastic appears to be relatively flawless. Does not appear it had ever been down. Crash bars did not have any rash that I noticed (ran my hand down them). 2) Rotors did not have a ridge. They were lightly scored, but nothing I wouldn't ride on (with a likely change of pads all around). Both fronts and rear rotors were checked. 3) All the fancy fairing stuff was there. CLASS, cassette deck, cassette deck lid, radio. 4) Battery was completely dead so I wasn't able to see if anything worked. 5) All luggage opened and closed and locked with the ignition key. (Wait, I didn't try to lock the trunk, but it did open easily with the latches.) I did not try to remove the saddle bags. 6) Seats were weathered, but did not look overly worn. Some good treatment with leather food of some sort will do it good. 7) Right front rotor cover appears to have some fluid leaked on it. Couldn't tell if it was brake fluid, fork oil, or some dog stopped and took a leak on it. 8) Serial number is JYA59J000FA000242 9) There was some wet oil on the bottom of the engine, clutch side. Appeared right under the shift shaft where it goes into the tranny. Was dry further back. Did not notice any oil under the throttle side engine. 10) All vents were in place. The plastic vent-like cover that goes between the triple tree and the fairing (under the handlebars so you can't see down the forks) was not there. Don't know if this bike has that piece or not. I seem to recall my '83 had that, but I could be wrong. 11) Tires seemed decent. Didn't check date codes, but I didn't see any cracking and they had decent tread left. 12) Aftermarket grips. Not overly expensive ones, but they were in good shape. 13) Interesting chrome cowling under the radiator, behind front wheel. Appears to have a couple of lights in it. Never seen one of these before. Nice. 14) Front rotor covers on both sides. Wired for lights, was not able to see if the lights worked as the battery was dead. 15) Chrome side lights on the front fender. Again, unable to test. 16) Has Yamaha back rest, wasn't installed but appears to be complete. 17) Small Venture bags (2) that go in front of the knees, attaching to faring, were in the trunk. Appeared to be complete, as did the mounts for them. 18) Chrome radiator grill was in really good shape. 19) Nice highway pegs. 20) Tasteful pinstriping was in good shape. 21) Don't recall seeing a center stand, but I really didn't look for it. 22) There were two auxiliary switches just inboard from the CLASS. Assume they were for the front rotor lights and the cowling lights. Again, couldn't test. 23) The faux gas tank cover was loose. However, it appeared it just hadn't been tightened down. Now that I think about it, they likely removed the battery so it wouldn't freeze. (I think that is where it is on this bike.) 24) Sales dude I spoke with was Jeff Huntoon. He wasn't knowledgeable about this bike. Not surprising at all. He was more of a snowmobile guy (owns 20 or so snow machines with some from the '60s). Overall, from a purely aesthetic standpoint, this bike would clean up really well. Very good shape. As it is not motorcycle selling season up here, and it was sitting in an unheated pole shed, they did not clean it up. So it was dusty. Was not able to start it to hear it run, let alone ride it. It was 10F and I wasn't dressed for it. It didn't appear they were trying to hide anything on the left side parking it next to the crates. This was near the door and there were snowmobiles in the shed they needed to move in and out. If the bike was further away from the crates, it would have blocked the door. It was good talking with you CJ. Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck with your choice. RR

Will likely be stopping by TA Motorsports Thursday to check this out. Will let you know what I find. There is a forecasted high of 11F tomorrow. Don't think a ride will be in the cards though. RR

I use a grease pencil. Doesn't wash off in the rain. But, good idea for important things you need to remember on a trip or on a LD rally.

You will need a ball end. Trust me on this one. And yes, disconnect the cables and clean the contacts inside where they plug into one another. Then apply dielectric grease. RR

Pinwall Cycle RR

To remove the fairing cover, there are (8) 3mm hex bolts on the inside. Take the top one out of each side and then GENTLY remove the chrome strip across the base of the windshield. There is a small tab in the center of the chrome strip that holds it down. It will come right out, but be gentle with it. If you have an auxiliary running light bar, it will need to be removed also. You will need a ball end 6mm hex wrench. Place a towel across your front fender before removing it to prevent it slipping and dinging the finder (DAMHIK). Then, remove the other 6 3mm hex bolts and then walk around the front. At the bottom of the headlight bezel is a 4mm bolt. There are also a handful of short 3mm hex bolts at the base of the windshield. Remove these and the front fairing cover will come right off. Do it a few times and it becomes really easy. Now, take a look at the left side (as you are looking at the wiring from the front - throttle side) and you will see several large cables with a thick tiewrap around them. Release the tab of the tiewrap so it is easy to get to the cables. Go one by one (although they are color coded) and separate them. Give each side a shot of CRC electrical contact cleaner, let 'em dry, and spread some dielectric grease on the contacts. Put is all back together and I expect your radio troubles will be gone. Good luck. RR

Sure, be glad to go take a look. Don't expect me to ride it though. Still a little chilly here. Where is TA Motorsports? Not familiar with them. Google is my friend. Which store is it located? RR

Angry, You may just be making a joke, but you do realize there are chrome caps on the bolts? Pry them out with a mechanics pick (nut pick) or a small screw driver. Standard 6mm (IIRC) hex bolt. RR

Leaning

Steve, I have a bunch of balancing beads I'm not using. I found a shop that doesn't charge extra to balance and don't use them anymore. Let me know and I will get them by sometime soon. RR

Check out EddiesRoad.org. Similar goals but targeted to older teens (14-18+) who are about to be moved from the system. Started in memory of Eddie James, one of the iconic Long Distance (Iron Butt) riders and rallymasters of all time. You are a good man working with this organization.

The only adjustment I have seen for the clutch friction zone has been with doing the Freebird mod. This is a mod where the inner 1/2 spring and 1/2 friction plate is replaced with a full friction plate. This mod makes the friction zone smaller and moves it out to the end of travel. The opposite of what you are looking for. If you have (or a previous owner has) done this modification, you should find some relief by reversing back to stock configuration. The Barnett setup will not change the friction zone, however, it will be the best spring upgrade you can do. There are standard and heavy duty springs available for the Barnett. As long as you have a good 4mm ball end Allen wrench, they are easy to change. Standard for MSF class, HD for 2up+trailer trips. Put the bike on the sidestand, you don't even need to drain the oil. Might want to have an extra clutch cover gasket handy in case you rip one. RR

Puc, technically yes. But since you don't really know how much current is being put out at any given RPM, it will not provide the real information you need. An amp meter is the proverbial 'instructions to build a watch' when you really just need to know what time it is. A voltage meter will provide constant status of the charging system. If the voltage is going down, you are drawing more power than the bike is producing. If it is steady at 14.3V (or full green, or whatever full voltage is on your meter), you are good to go. You know the important information as the battery/system voltage is the measure of a healthy electrical system. RR (am an engineer)

Randy, I run heated jacket and gloves, 2 GPSs, radio/XM, charge the phone, all at once. However, I have replaced my headlight and running lights with HID which pull less than the incandescent OEM bulbs. Install a voltage meter for peace of mind. You will likely find running OEM headlamps and running lights along with the heated gear turned all the way up (assume you have a HeatTroller for adjustment), will outstrip your stator at idle. While at full speed, you will be OK. Not sure an upgraded stator will improve the idle issue anyway. Like I mentioned, install a simple volt meter to monitor while you are riding in the cold. RR

Have owned and used the HF lift for several years. Would buy again in a heartbeat. It needs some minor mods such as replacing the front wheel chock with the HF ride-on chock (abt $40 IIRC) and adding some tiedown loops. I also built a small wooden box the same height as the lift. Position it under where the kickstand comes down so I can lean the bike over a bit to support it until I get the straps on. Best money spent on shop equipment.

I'm glad to finally have an opportunity to give back after all the help you provided to my son (and me). Hope things turn around soon. At least you don't need to worry about shoveling snow. Looking forward to seeing you guys again soon. Have a Merry Christmas. RR

Steve, Long Splitter Cable for Gloves/Socks - Warm & Safe Heated Gear, LLC Their gloves are nice also. RR