cabreco

OK, I'm Sporting Wood now! I went with the 5/4 deck planks. I let them sit in the hot sun a few days to dry out and I just waterproofed them all around. Next step is trimming & fastening the boards down! http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/file/n4043602/wood2.jpghttp://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/file/n4043602/wood1.jpg

I will be installing 2 of them. One for my Venture & another for my CB750 when we move to Tennessee. I like the idea of welding a nut on the underside, this way I can reposition them to either haul 1 bike center or 2 bikes side to side. http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_21740.jpg

WILL IT EVER STOP RAINING! Got very little done. New wheels & tires mounted! Those puppies JUST made it in. http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/file/n4043428/IMG_20130712_114127.jpg http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/file/n4043428/IMG_20130712_114146.jpg http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/file/n4043428/IMG_20130712_114201.jpg

Went hunting for 14" rims today at Pick & Pull junkyard...Do you KNOW how hard it is to find 14" rear wheel drive 5 bolt 4 1/2 bolt pattern rims? REDICULOUS! The smallest I found on Crown vics, mustangs & other rear wheel drive were 15" I did see a 92 Ranger but it only had 1 rim. I FINALLY came across a Ford Aerostar with 3 good rims & hubcaps. Got them all for $30 bucks. I brought them home & cleaned them up the broke out the old Coates 10/10 & mounted 215-60/14 H rated tires I had in my garage from my Capri GT. I got lucky, once I came home from junkyard it started POURING BIG TIME. I will post pix tomorrow (if it's not still raining)

Lots of GREAT quality info here (like I didn't expect it) This trailer will be multifunction. The occasional home depot run, the occasional mulch run, transporting the bike long distance AKA keeping the wife happy, and finally it will be used to haul my bikes when we move to Tennessee. Going to pick n pull to see if I can score some cheap Ford rims (5 x 4 1/2). I've got a pair of H rated 215-60 /14 tires to replace the cheesey B-78/13 tires on it BTW Squid, I like the way you stow the ramps in the Fantail of your rig! http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u214/mystical_pippin/bth_Good-Idea-Smiley.jpg

And the progress continues...I wire sandblasted the trailer. I coated the entire trailer with Rust Bullet, which is a rust encapsulator, then I shot it with a coat of paint! The wiring is next.

As promised here are pix of the trip. Just to show you, THIS is the SOUP we found at high elevation! [ame] [/ame] Fun Trip Nonetheless!

Good call Kevin! Pressure treated 5/4 decking is 1/2 the cost & only 1/2" tinner than 2x6 boards. That basically meets all requirements. It's lighter that the 2x6 boards, closer to the thickness of the plywood, & I get the added bonus of it being less expensive. I thought of diamond plate but I shy for 2 reasons. 1. Cost is about $185 for a 4x8 sheet - that's about $550 2. Weight. This trailer has a Dexter Torxflex axle. I want to save weight for the payload.

Planks it is! Tomorrow I am media blasting it. Then applying rust inhibitor paint & primer. Looking to build it to last. BTW I just measured & found the rims are 5 bolt 4 1/2 bolt pattern...AKA Ford bolt pattern. Time to look in my old Mustang pile, then I can swap the 13" 80's for 14" 60 widths on the final plan.

Carriage bolts to the frame would be the easiers & preferred fastener? Thanx

I need some advice on flooring the bike carrier. I have stripped the frame & since I was able to dead lift one side off the ground, I am assuming it weigh no more than 600LBS. My axle capacity is 2,300LBS I was originally thinking to floor it with six 2"x8"x12' pressure treated boards which would add just over 250lbs to the trailer cost $130. If I used three 3/4"x4'x8' sheets of pressure treated plywood it would be 225Lbs cost $107. The deck, regardless of what I use will sit on the crossbeams not in a recess. So my question is which wood to use? The plywood would be cheaper & the cost of the fasteners would also be cheaper vs the planks & carriage bolts but is the 3/4 strong enough & durable enough to hold the 2 bikes? (a CB750 & a Gen 1) There are plenty of cross beams to attach to, here's a pix of the trailer now.

One of the brief moments on the Cherohala Skyway that the rain subsided. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUY5JE6Se0c]Cherohala Skyway - YouTube[/ame]

THE NEXT PROJECT! This motorcycle trip, as enjoyable as it was, has made me come to realize that trying to be a member of the IRON BUTT GANG is NOT an easy task. THEREFORE I am building a motorcycle hauler. I JUST found this online for $200.00 It's complete & functional. Just needs lights, a floor, & a little paint. That should be another $150 or so. It will wind up costing $350 total for a 12 x 6 utility/motorcycle trailer WITH electric brakes & break away switch

Bob, I have been looking for MK1 arm rests for awhile. I'm thinking of getting Goldwing rests & modifying them. The pegs is more of a knee bend issue. (too much legs, I should sit her on a few phone books ) The moving the trunk back is a great idea!

When we left Murphy yesterday it was gorgeous there (same weather you got) the "soup" didn't begin again until Asheville & lasted for about 2 hours heading east. Once we hit Durham it was a great ride! Definitely want to get together with you guys. Helen wants to ride up to tri cities (once feeling returns to her butt lol) I just noticed my foot controls are in the midpoint setting. I should be able to alleviate the knee issue by sliding them forward. I just have to spray the turnbuckles with acetone & tranny fluid to get the 30 years of rust off them. The handlebars still have plenty of room for adjustment, and then the big issues would be the seat & lowering the rear foot pegs/platform to ease the bend of her leg without them interfering with the centerstand in the up position. Andy

Lots of good ideas here! We ride a lot but not long distance. This was actually the wife's 1st. I know the Gen1 has adj handlebars so that is definitely going to have to be done. My memory foam pads (which are just fabric covered) didn't help enough with butt pain. Actually it's more like butt rash I used the cruise control a lot & I do lave a thottle paddle under my palm so I don't need to grip the bars tightly. I was actually alternating hands. I think it is that I have to reach up & I'm probably cutting off blood circulation. (it feels like I was holding, arms extended, 5lbs weight in each arm for hours) The knee I alternated between the peg & the highway bar but it was so bad that lifting the bike off the side stand was difficult at the last gas stop. Gotta check out the Iron Butt site!

Well, I just got back from Dragon's Tail. The weather was TERRIBLE, it rained going there, while we were there & on the way back...BUT it was fun. It rained so bad we didn't do the Tail of the Dragon but e did do the Cherohala Skyway & the BR Pkway. On the Cherohala Skyway at the highest elevation, visibility was literally 6 feet! Raining heavy at times, & the roads were slick. Challenging but fun! On the 1100 mile trip the old 84 gen1 performed FLAWLESSLY! I was very proud of her. She was actually outperforming my buddy's 2012 V star! I do have some questions to address the comfort level of an 11 hour 2 up ride which I will post on it's own thread http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=776685#post776685. I will be posting pix soon!

As I posted on another thread, I just got back from a trip to Dragon's Tail. It was a 2 up 11 hour each way ride. We did stop every 130 miles to fuel up & butt rest. It was hard on the body. Here are some of the issues: 1. My bicepts are KILLING me. 2. My left knee is also aching. 3. My Butt is sore 4. My wife's back, inner thighs, & hips are killing her too! Now I have the OEM seat but I installed 1. Memory foam cushions on the bike, 2. A backrest 3. Passenger foot platforms 4. Highway platforms on the front crashbars I found that my knee pain seems to be from the position of the shifter. The shifter & brake ar in the most forward position. I feel if she had forward control it might be better. Would driver platforms & heel toe shifter help? My wife's issue seem to be cause by the height of the rear peg/platforms. They are too high, the issue is if I lower them the center stand hits it when up. So, after reading this, knowing that many on here take long road trips, is there anything that can be done to improve the riding comfort level of my Gen 1? Additionally as an alternative I am looking at 1995 & newer Goldwing or Harley Ultra Glides. Are these bike better on the body for long distance riding? Any & I mean ANY suggestions, help or recommendations would be appreciated - I don't want the wife to loose interest in riding.

Heading out this afternoon for Dragon's tail. 1100 mile round trip. First roadtrip on my blonde since I bought her 2 years ago. All systems checked over. I rewired the accessory wiring, installed aluminum fuel pods, bike packed (decided not to bring the trailer) & ready to roll! Wife & I with bags full running 40psi in the rear tire 35 in front, class is set at 70psi rear damper 3, 0psi up front (I have progressives)...any suggestions gladly accepted. Hopefully the rain will hold back, but I doubt it. It looks like we are heading towards a western NC/Ga stormfront...Good thing we just bought good rain gear for the trip!

On long trips when I'm not towing my trailer (which has a 2 gallon can on it) I carry an extra gallon in these Aluminum MSR Fuel Bottles.

Lou, I've seen aux lights mounted everywhere from next to the mirrors to the more common horn mount area. I chose to mount these to the chrome chin.

UPDATE: I was going to replace the aux lights I installed with LED units to free up more amps. I happened to be at Lowes today & saw these http://images.lowes.com/product/converted/046135/046135784927lg.jpg Brighter than the 20w halogens, more lumens than the 35w units and they only use 6w each! So I dropped another 28w total of the bike & have brighter illumination!

I've ordered from them in the past (my entire fork rebuild) they are ok & ship fast. As a footnote on rebuilding slave cyl one thing I found is that unless it is really bad (& I mean really bad) it's best not to hone it but to just use some 800 - 1000 grit wet dry sandpaper to clean it up & remove surface rust. I rebuilt mine 2 years ago (and it was leaking BAD) with a kit from Ebay & it is still going strong w/o issues.

http://www.boats.net/parts/detail/yamaha/Y-1FK-16381-11-00.html

:cool10:WOO HOO!!!!!