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Cerviperus

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  1. Cerviperus
    Actually I should post an update. My sister is fine, thank you for your concern, though I'm sure it will hit her hard when she goes back, if not over the weekend. And, while we haven't heard a direct update on her friend yet, he has not been added to the casualty list. Hopefully everyone else injured remains as lucky. There will already be five un-needed funerals as it is (I'd say six, but I can't say that the shooter deserves one).
  2. Cerviperus
    I have a friend or two who, sadly, could probably vouch for the fact as well.
  3. Cerviperus
    To anyone who may have friends and/or family attending Northern Illinois University, I pray that everything is alright. My sister goes to school there, and had just left campus to head home before the whole event happened. One of her friends was wounded, but the last we heard was considered in stable condition. She's worried though, because he was airlifted out, and the news has said that at least two students that were airlifted have since passed away. It's tough to see things like this on television, but it's really hard when things hit this close to home. Every time I read more news about it, or someone here at work asks me about my sister, it gets harder and harder for me to talk about without myself getting a little choked up, even knowing she's fine. Thoughts and prayers to anyone affected by the event.
  4. Cerviperus
    Haven't dropped by in a while, and not quite sure why. Maybe it's because I don't seem to have much downtime lately... or because after sitting on a computer all day at work I can't bring myself to hardly look at one at home! Hopefully everyone is doing well, and hopefully at least some of you are able to get out and ride. I'm having withdrawals so bad right now, spring can't come soon enough. Anyone planning any exciting trips this year? I'm hoping my dad and I will get our plans set in motion to take a trip up and around Lake Superior. We talked about it last year, but scheduling never got worked out, and my mom was having problems with her foot and was in a boot for 6 months (that put a damper on her riding). Anyways, just thought I'd drop by and say hello, and hope everyone is surviving the winter!
  5. Cerviperus
    I wish I had had a copy of this on Tuesday, as I watched a driver pass me on the interstate while reading the day's paper... I just don't understand how friends, work, extra curricular activities, etc., can be so important that the safety of others pales in comparison. I guess I'm fortunate that I'm not that important.
  6. Cerviperus
    Funny that you asked, as I was just getting on to post my update when I noticed the reply! I got the bike back on Saturday, and took it out for about a 45 minute ride through both residential (stop-and-go) and back country roads (full out). The first thing I noticed was I no longer had the unburnt fuel smell. I do have a slight exhaust smell, but that's not something I can't deal with... hell my last one had a bit of that too when sitting idle. I've also ridden it a couple days to and from work, which is about 10 minutes each way, but I haven't had too many other chances with the weather and errands requiring a cage with more cargo space. I can say though that so far so good. I haven't had any of loading up that I had before, and this morning, for the first time in a long time (okay... forever) I used the choke to get it started, and was able to leave it on half-way for a few minutes to let it warm up without killing the engine. So while I can't say that the problems are gone completely, only being able to get out on it more often will tell, it seems to be running right. The service manager from the dealer actually called me Monday evening to ask how it was running. Whether he's genuinely concerned or tired of looking at my pitiful, aggravated face I can't say. But I appreciated the call. And to those wondering, I can't say for sure if they replaced the one plug again, but they changed the needles and seats in all four carbs. He said they did show a little wear, and that could have definitely caused a problem. He also said that on closer inspection they realized the carbs had already been jetted, so that wouldn't have been the issue. And that is why I prefer to deal directly with him rather than the boneheads under him!
  7. Cerviperus
    ...was done two weeks ago when it was at the shop... I'm still waiting to hear from the... I dropped it off Monday night. Hopefully they'll have it done and back to me by the weekend.
  8. Cerviperus
    You all weren't the only ones saying not to re-jet. I talked to a friend of mine here at work. He's older and wiser than I (partly due to the dozens of bikes he's owned), and he too said he wouldn't recommend having it done. If the needle & float is causing the problems, it's hard to say if re-jetting would make a lick of difference. The service manager said that it might help to make it run a little cleaner, but considering 3 of the 4 plugs looked almost brand new when we checked them, I can't say that it's running dirty. Anyway, I plan to drop it off to them this evening for the warranty stuff, and leave the jetting out of it. I'll report back when I get it back. Thank you all for your responses to day. It really helped between phone calls!
  9. Cerviperus
    I just got off the phone with the service manager, and he said pretty much what Al was pointing towards, that it's probably the needle and seat on one of the carbs (the one that had the dark plug in the beginning). He told me to bring it in, and it would be warranty work as well. I was also mistaken about the jetting, so I have to eat a little crow. That wasn't his recommendation for a fix. He's suggesting that while they're going to have the bike apart anyway, he recommends I have it re-jetted, but it's not a necessity. That way, a majority of the labor would be covered with the warranty work. Otherwise if I chose to have it done later it would be the full cost of the labor. So I'd be looking at close to $200 if I have it done now, as opposed to $350 or so. I don't know, you guys/gals tell me, would it be worth it in the long run to go ahead and have it done? He mentioned again that it was running "fat", and the jet kit would help, but wouldn't that also be due to the needle? And before anyone jumps on the dealership, while I don't trust the dealership per se, I trust the service manager. He's been a friend of my parents for a long time. Now the dipsticks working for him are another story...
  10. Cerviperus
    It doesn't quite make any sense to me to be honest. It has the Harley pipes on it, but it's had those since I got the thing in January. This hasn't been a problem the entire time, so I don't see what re-jetting would do. Maybe I just don't understand the whole process. I've never claimed to be mechanically inclined...
  11. Cerviperus
    Didn't realize I clicked on the wrong forum before posting this. If someone could please move it to the 2nd Gen Tech forum I'd appreciate it. The sooner the better too, before these 1st Gen owners start giving me a hard time!
  12. Cerviperus
    Well, if you read this thread you know about the problems I was having with my 2nd Gen. Well I finally took it to the dealer, because I had some warranty work to be done on it anyway. I finally got them (after a call to Yamaha myself) to replace my warped brake rotor under warranty, and they replaced my fuel petcock. When taking the bike in, I kinda figured they'd assume all of my engine troubles could be traced back to the faulty petcock, and they did. They replaced it, changed out the plugs for me, cleaned and re-synced the carbs (they did say they were off a tad), and replaced a couple hoses that had crud in them from the petcock going bad. I got the bike back last Monday (a week ago) and it seemed to run much better. However, after riding it off and on all week, my problems are back. The engine seems to simply load up, like it's still getting too much gas. In fact, at times you can smell unburnt gas. I did find out that if I'm going down the road and it loads up on me and runs like garbage, if I shut the fuel off at the petcock (which now works properly) and let the thing almost die before turning the gas back on, the problems clear right up and it runs fine again. So it definitely seems like too much gas is the problem. Now what's causing the problems is another mystery. So, I'm going to call the service manager back today and talk to him about it, though I'm pretty sure what he's going to tell me... that my carbs need re-jetted. He told me when I picked it up that they did some kind of test with the exhaust and said it was running slightly rich, but not enough to effect the running of the engine. To be honest, I doubt they ever even took it for a ride further than around the parking lot. So now, if I take it in and they re-jet it, I'm sure that's out of my pocket, and still no guarantee it's going to fix my problem. Could that lead to smelling un-burnt gas? Maybe there is an issue with my choke, though looking over the exterior mechanisms of it, it appears to be in working order. So I don't know... Any thoughts?
  13. Cerviperus
    I didn't replace any of the plugs because three of them look almost brand new. The questionable one is in the rear, so if it does need changed, it can be done without removing the tank.
  14. Cerviperus
    Wow... so I've been behind on a few threads. I guess that's what happens when you're away from town for a while. Anyways, here's an update... Last night my dad and I tore into the thing to get to the plugs (man that's a lot of work just to check spark plugs). The two in the front, and the back right one looked almost new. They had very little carbon on them if any, and the ceramic was still nice and white. The rear left one on the other hand was pretty black. It was corroded or anything, but had quite a bit of carbon on it. We checked it for spark, and the spacing, and everything looked to be in fine shape. We took a wire brush to it and cleaned it all up, and check it's spark again. Still, everything looked great... constant sparking action. Now, I did find a couple interesting things in the process. The first on which (not really part of this fix) made a huge difference for me. Whoever last had the seat off did not put it back on properly, you know how it's supposed to slip underneath a catch so it won't come up in the rear. Well, once we got it back on like it was meant to be, it lowered my seat hight by a good half inch or more. Holy crap... what a world of difference that made! Ok, now on to the second, more notable issue. When we moved the tank back, I decided I wanted to check my petcock while we were working on it. I shut the gas off, pulled the hose, and low and behold gas still flowed. Not nearly as fast as with it on, but any gas while it's off is not a good thing. So I need to get that fixed while it's still under warranty. Also during this time, while taking the hose off, I noticed gas start coming out the side of the hose!! There was a cut in the hose. It wasn't far enough back to cause gas to spew out while running, but I'm wondering if it wasn't sucking air into the engine, causing it to run like garbage. So, I made a note of which plug looked the worst, and we put everything back together (with a repaired hose), and I took it for a spin. Instantly it sounded better when I started it up (maybe it was in my head, who knows). I started to go down the road, and it popped and coughed a few times for about a mile, then it cleared right up and ran like a top. Could it be that it truly was air in the fuel line and it just took a little bit to clear and all will be fine now? I'm not sure. I plan to ride it as much as I can over the next week or so to find out if all is better, then if not I'll take it in. I have to take it in for the petcock assembly anyway. So after all this, does this help to narrow down any of your thoughts on the problem, if it wasn't the hole in the hose? Or are we still leaning towards the choke assembly?
  15. Cerviperus
    The choke is completely off, as far as the choke knob is concerned. Which brings me to another point... the bike (whether good or bad) never seems to need choked. Even in the winter months when it's cold starting, leaving the choke on for more than a second or two and the engine dies. I've never been able to leave the choke on without also opening the throttle a bit, or it dies. I've never really considered that an issue though since I've never had a problem starting it. Is there a setting, sort of like for the idle adjustment, that I should check? Or is the knob basically the thing to look at. As far as the plugs go, I'll have to tackle that next weekend. I leave in the morning for a week in Cincinnati, OH for work, so I don't want to get started on that project only to leave in the middle of it. I'll report back.
  16. Cerviperus
    Alright, I need some help. I'm guessing I have a fouled plug or two, but I want to see if that's the general consensus. Whenever I'm forced to ride for a while in first and second gear, say while checking out a campground as I did with my father earlier in the week, or caught in stop and go traffic for a while, my bike decides it doesn't want to run right anymore. When given gas, the thing coughs and sputters and pops, and just generally acts like it doesn't have any get-up-and-go. It still runs, I haven't had it die, but until you get into third or fourth gear, it just acts like it's a struggle to get up speed unless I really hammer it. I checked my air filters, and they both look like new, and I've been fighting the issue off and on all summer, so I throw out the thought of bad gas. I've also run a full can of Sea Foam through it to see if maybe I had some buildup somewhere, but it seemed to have little effect. I'm guessing this all works into my mpg, which at 34 on a good day seems low to me, not to mention my 28-30 normally. Am I right in thinking this sounds like a spark plug issue? I've had a couple other guys (my dad included) throw that out there, though they're about as mechanically inclined as I am. So, if the plugs are a good place to start, does anyone have (or have a link to a good walkthrough) of how to check the plugs? I'm guessing the rear two are no big deal, but unless I'm missing some serious tool it appears I have to take off my tank to get to the front ones. So far the owner's and service manuals haven't proven much help. Thanks in advance for any help & advice.
  17. Cerviperus
    At the meet & eat on Saturday, old hippy and his wife said they had to send both pairs they bought to J&M. Not sure if they were the exact model you're getting, but they did say the J&M ones from Wingstuff. I guess both of them broke on the way to and from Don's maintenance day in Ohio. Hopefully they'll chime in and let you know. Until then, most of what I'd heard was favorable as well.
  18. Cerviperus
    You got me as well...
  19. Cerviperus
    Sounds about right. My '03 shows right at 75 when running 70. I thought about buying the Speedohealer, but decided it wasn't that important to me. I know the speedometer is off, and approximately to what degree, so I just take that into consideration when setting my cruise. Hasn't been a problem yet.
  20. Cerviperus
    Well... since Roadkill has already done the mod, and lives less than an hour away, maybe I can talk him into giving me a hand. Thanks for the info, as this looks like something I'm definitely interested in doing. Hell, I don't even know if my CB works... one of these days I'll find someone with a couple headsets that I can test with... which makes me think...
  21. Cerviperus
    Since I know nothing of CB technology... if I were to switch to the Marshall Mod (which looks great, and would look much better than stock on my black RSV), do I need to adjust the SWR? ...or is that only if you switch to a single antenna?
  22. Cerviperus
    Is this the case on the '03 model as well? I've (to my knowledge) never hit a rev limiter, but I tend to be conservative since it doesn't have a tach. I would like to use your theory though so I know what the engine sounds like close to redline for those days I just feel like getting on it.
  23. Cerviperus
    I ran into that same issue, now that you mention it. I had to tap them back into place with a flat-bladed screwdriver. I haven't had any problems yet, but when I next split my fairing I'm going to check it over to make sure all is well.
  24. Cerviperus
    This thread should help.
  25. Cerviperus
    The $80+shipping is for both the saddlebag liners & the trunk liner. That's where the higher price comes in. It seems they post the same prices on ebay as they do directly at their store. I ran it through to checkout to see total cost and they would come to $92. Plus I can have free embroidery (not sure what I'd get), so that's a bonus.
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