grubsie

Use these baffles. Gets rid of the obnoxious harmonics that will give you a headache. Nice rumble at idle and cruising. http://www.smartpartz.com/SPZHK250ST.html At the end of this video, the guy shows how to make "easy" to make brackets. He shows a nut that he had welded on for the mount bolt. I just drilled the hole big enough for the stock mounting bolt and bought nuts to fit. Just use a piece of cardboard to make the templates. You can use the stock clamps from the stock mufflers.

While I put some of the blame on the manufacturers, I also put the blame on the times we live in and it's our own fault. I have been saying for as long as I can remember that no one, and I mean no one, should receive a high school diploma unless they pass a "mandatory" rigorous course on money and budget management. Anybody at any income level could be doing better if they only knew how with the proper skills. Nothing is going to save the MC industry or so many other industries until the following problems are dealt with. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2018/01/18/could-come-up-with-1000-tomorrow-more-than-60-americans-cant.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/18/few-americans-have-enough-savings-to-cover-a-1000-emergency.html

No. My wife is plenty sexy. Been with her for 40 years, 38 married so I know her well enough to know that she wouldn't wouldn't be too happy with another in the mix. I can bring home all the sexy motorcycles I want though.

2009 Road Star. It was just screaming my name. What can I say, my RSV looked lonely just sitting there all by herself. Now I just have to explain this one to the boss. What's that saying? Better to ask for forgiveness than for permission? Oh well, she really doesn't mind as long as some sexy thing doesn't come home with it.

Anyone have a junk RSV rear shock that they would like to get rid of? Not looking to rebuild it like Fitz (dfitzbiz) is doing. I just want to experiment with the travel length of the shock. I am going to disassemble it, remove the spring, then re-assemble it so I can test travel length of the swingarm in relation to the travel of the shock. Can't do that with the spring in it. That's the problem with these long winters. My brain thinks up all these weird things that I can't shake. I need some open road in the worst way. I did take the Road King for a quick spin today though. Not really, just drove it from the front of the barn to underneath of the back of the barn to make room for another restoration bike. I have been watching ebay but there hasn't been anything there. If you have one, let me know. I will gladly pay for it.

When I read the title of the thread, I thought you were inquiring about a turntable to replace your cassette deck. I had one of those at my last house and it worked great. A little tricky getting the bike lined up on it. You have to have a smooth surface for it to work. It will hang up on any cracks, holes or divots. It wouldn't work at all on the old wooden floors on the barn at my current house.

The gap would definitely widen. The HD pipes sound better at idle, but when you are on the throttle, the noise gets quite loud. That's OK for around town driving, but there's a resonance from the V4 motor out the HD mufflers that gets annoying on long rides. My wife and I were actually getting headaches from the noise. I put Smartpartz baffles in my HD Monster Ovals to tame the sound and now they are perfect. Great rumble at idle and an easy low rumble on the throttle. I'm sure the baffles would work in the stock HD mufflers also. When just cruising along with the Ovals, they are not much louder than the stock RSV mufflers. Since I put the baffles in, it seems like I have more torque throughout the rpm range. You will be glad you switched back to stock vs the HD's when you take day long rides.

I knew that if you had a picture with measurements that a sign shop could/would print a sticker for you. Glad you got it registered. Now, ride the hell out of it. You earned it!

Got my Sonic 1.2 Springs last week. Had my buddy make up 2 1" aluminum spacers that I used on the lower side of the damper tube to lower the front end 1" and still be able to keep the top of the fork tubes flush with the top of the triple tree. My buddy is getting expensive on the work he does for me. (Just kidding) This time it cost me a 12 pack that I had to sit and split with him. Oh, the price we have to pay sometimes. Also, I modified the upper fork tins by drilling 2 5/8" holes in the exact location of the clamping bolts on the lower triple tree. This will allow me to do any fork work in the future if I need to without having to tear off the fairing again. My buddy is fabricating some stainless plates that will hide the holes. Anyway got everything back together and finally had a chance today to take a test ride now that I got my modified Monster Oval mufflers back on the bike. I have to say, wow!, what a difference in the handling and feel of the front end. Between lowering the front and rear of the bike 1" in combination with the sonic springs, it's like a whole new machine. It now feels lighter than my '02 Ultra Classic and seems to handle better also. The ride was great but short. It's damn cold out there today. My plan for the spring was to keep the RSV or the Ultra. Mostly along the lines of which one sells first. Now, I can't see me parting with the RSV. Now I guess I have to get to work on a vmax final drive and a 130 tire up front. Almost not feeling bad about letting go of the Ultra. After all, it only has a CD player, but the RSV has a cassette player and you can't beat that. Here's a pic of one of the upper tins with the holes drilled in it.

Well I solved my problem with the Monster Ovals Slip-ons dragging with the rear lowering kit on. Cost me about 3 hours of my time to do it. I shortened the inlet pipe 2". The inlets originally extended about 1 1/4" beyond the chrome covers on the mufflers. Took the chrome covers off, cut 2 inches off the inlet pipes and 7/8" off the chrome covers on the inlet side. Brought the pipes to a friend of mine that has a custom muffler shop and he expanded the inlets to the correct size again as the pipes were only 1 3/4" ID on the pieces I cut off and only 1 3/4" OD the remainder of the way. Put the chrome covers back on and made 2 new brackets for the back and now they are ready to go. The mufflers originally extended approx 3" beyond the saddlebags, now only about an inch with the lower slash cut flush with the back of the saddlebags. Just for the heck of it, I decided to measure the length of the stock mufflers because they never dragged with the lowering kit on. They were 28 1/4" from inlet tip to outlet tip. The Monster Ovals are now 28" tip to tip. So that must explain why the stock mufflers never dragged. Took it out for a test drive on some hilly areas near me and no more dragging and I intentionally tried to drag them. I froze my tail off while test driving it as it's only 30 Degrees here today but it was worth it.

Kind of sad. Makes me wonder what the future holds. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2018/01/30/harley-davidson-kansas-city-plant-motorcycle-sales-fall/1078008001/ http://www.kmbz.com/articles/local-harley-davidson-workers-told-go-home-plant-closing-2019

If SpencerP could take a clean straight picture of his sticker and give you the dimensions of the sticker, you could copy it to a cd/dvd and bring it to custom lettering/sign shop and have them make the sticker for you. No big deal for them to change it from a 1983 to 1984. I have a shop that makes all kinds of stickers and decals for me that I put on older 1960's Honda's that I restore, that look as good as the originals. I would think that with the Vehicle ID number, Momma Yamaha must have some sort of records that this bike is California compliant.

I have run both Harley and stock. I haven't noticed any difference in performance or mpg, just sound.

I have been thinking about trying these. They sure sound like they are better than stock braking. http://www.tcbbrakesystems.com/technical-tcb.html

Yeah, me too. I had a migrain by the time I got back home to look at it. That was my thinking until I looked closely to how it works. The actual suspension (shock) never changes it's position and maintains it's full length of travel. What changes is the height of the swingarm from the ground or closeness to the top of the fender depending on the way you look at it. The longer the dogbones, the more the swingarm raises and vice versa. None of this affects the shock. The only job of the dogbones is to pull on the pivot (for lack of a better term)that the shock is attached to, compress the shock as the swingarm goes up. The shock doesn't care what the length the dogbones are. The reason for remount caliper bracket, in my opinion anyway, goes as follows. Because the swingarm is now 1" closer to the top of the fender with the new longer dogbones, the caliper in it's original position is now approx 1" closer to the fender, the caliper is going to hit the fender with 4.1" travel. My thinking is with the original shorter dogbones, the caliper was at least 4" away from the fender and with the longer dogbones, it would be closer to 3" left in it's original position. If a shock could be found that only allowed 3" of travel or find a way to limit the travel of the stock shock, it would solve the problem of the caliper location. A 3" travel would also solve my problem with the mufflers dragging. Lets say the ground clearance for my mufflers is 10" in stock form with no dragging. Caliper on original position. Bottomed out on a big bump with 4" of travel, I have 6" clearance.... no muffler drag I lower it 1" with the kit, so now I have 9" of clearance. Relocate caliper. Bottomed out on a big bump with 4" of travel, I have 5" clearance...muffler drag. I lower it 1" with the kit, so now I have 9" of clearance. Find and install a shock with 3" travel that would work on this bike. (not likely) Bottomed out on a big bump with 3" of travel, I have 6" clearance...no muffler drag (Caliper could stay in it's originally position if you wanted) Or, I could just pull the lowering kit back off, Have the seat modified to lowered it to the desired seat height and....no muffler drag. I think this is the better option.

Thanks Du-Rron. You just confirmed what I thought after physically looking closely at the setup on my bike with the lowering kit.

Gotta stop asking questions before checking things out. I was thinking about the wheel travel while on my way to an appointment so I stopped and asked the question here. Just got home a few minutes ago and looked closely at the linkage on the bike with the Barons kit on it. It appears to me that the longer dogbones have no affect on the travel and their only job is pulling on the linkage to the shock. The shock is still going to travel it's full distance. I installed the lowering kit I kept from my last RSV on my current RSV last week. I was hesitant in doing so because the the Vance & Hines Monster Ovals that I also kept from my last RSV are on my current RSV. I ran my bike this way all last year and never dragged the V&H exhaust. It happened quite a bit on my last RSV with the lowering kit. Thinking maybe now I will pull the lowering kit back off and see about having Rick Butler Modify my seat instead.

Does anyone know if the rear wheel travel is changed from the stock 4.1" with this kit?

Found it here, but looking again, it was for the 230 series. http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/index.php?action=article&cat_id=002014&id=374 [TABLE] [TR] [TD] Brand [/TD] [TD] Name [/TD] [TD] Size & Position [/TD] [TD]SW[/TD] [TD]Load / Speed Index[/TD] [TD]Overall Diameter[/TD] [TD]Overall Width[/TD] [TD]Tread Depth[/TD] [TD]Max Load @ PSI[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Avon [/TD] [TD]Venom AM41 Venom AM42[/TD] [TD]150/80 -16 F 150/90B15 R[/TD] [TD]BK BK[/TD] [TD]71H 80H[/TD] [TD]25.10" 25.40"[/TD] [TD]6.20" 6.30"[/TD] [TD] 8/32" 11/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 42 992 @ 50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Avon [/TD] [TD]Venom AM41 Venom AM42[/TD] [TD]*MT90B16 F 150/90B15 R[/TD] [TD]WWW WWW[/TD] [TD] 74H 80H[/TD] [TD]25.10" 25.40"[/TD] [TD]5.40" 6.30"[/TD] [TD]11/32"[/TD] [TD]827 @ 42 992 @ 50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Avon [/TD] [TD]Venom AM41 Venom AM41[/TD] [TD]*MT90B16 F *MT90B16 F[/TD] [TD]NWW BW[/TD] [TD]74H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.10" 25.10"[/TD] [TD]5.40" 5.40"[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]827 @ 42 827 @ 42[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Bridgestone ( OE ) [/TD] [TD]Exedra G705 Exedra G702[/TD] [TD]150/80 -16 F 150/90 -15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.30" 25.80"[/TD] [TD]6.20" 5.90"[/TD] [TD]9/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 41 827 @ 43[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Bridgestone[/TD] [TD]Exedra G705 Exedra G702[/TD] [TD]150/80 -16 F 150/90 -15 R[/TD] [TD]WW WW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.30" 25.80"[/TD] [TD]6.10" 5.80"[/TD] [TD]8/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 41 827 @ 43[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Continental[/TD] [TD] Milestone CM2** Milestone CM2 [/TD] [TD] 150/80 -16 F 150/90 -15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.43" 25.63"[/TD] [TD]5.90" 5.90"[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]761 @ 42 992 @ 49[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Dunlop ( OE ) [/TD] [TD] D404 [/TD] [TD]150/80 -16 F 150/90 -15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.43" 25.60"[/TD] [TD]6.02" 6.02"[/TD] [TD]6/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 41 827 @ 41[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Dunlop [/TD] [TD] D404 [/TD] [TD]150/80 -16 F 150/90 -15 R[/TD] [TD]WWW WWW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.43" 25.60"[/TD] [TD]6.08" 6.05"[/TD] [TD]6/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 41 827 @ 41[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Dunlop [/TD] [TD] 491 Elite II [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F MV85B15 R *MT90B16 F[/TD] [TD]BW RWL RWL[/TD] [TD]71H 77H 71H[/TD] [TD]26.98" 25.50" 25.00"[/TD] [TD]5.90" 6.02" 5.10"[/TD] [TD]6/32" 11/32" 6/32"[/TD] [TD]770 @ 40 910 @ 40 770 @ 40[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Dunlop [/TD] [TD] Elite 3 [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F *MT90B16 F MV85B15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 72H 77H[/TD] [TD]25.54" 25.00" 25.50"[/TD] [TD]5.97" 5.24" 6.02"[/TD] [TD]6/32" 6/32" 11/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 41 770 @ 40 910 @ 40[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Maxxis [/TD] [TD] Touring M6011 [/TD] [TD]*MT90-16 F MV85-15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 77H[/TD] [TD]25.0" 25.5"[/TD] [TD]5.2" 6.1"[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]761 @ 40 910 @ 40[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Maxxis [/TD] [TD] Classic M6011 [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F 150/90-15 R *MT90-16 F[/TD] [TD]WW WW WW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H 74H[/TD] [TD]25.5" 26.1" 25.0"[/TD] [TD]5.9" 6.0" 5.0"[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]761 @ 40 827 @ 40 827 @ 36[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Metzeler [/TD] [TD] ME 880 Marathon [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F 150/90B15 R 150/80B16 F[/TD] [TD]BW BW WWW[/TD] [TD]71H 80H 71H[/TD] [TD]26.50" 26.06" 26.50"[/TD] [TD]6.34" 6.22" 6.34"[/TD] [TD]9/32" 9/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 42 992 @ 49 761 @ 42[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Michelin [/TD] [TD]Commander II[/TD] [TD]*130/90-16 F 150/90-15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]5/32" 9/32"[/TD] [TD]761 @ 42 827 @ 41[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Pirelli [/TD] [TD] MT66 Route [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F 150/90-15 R[/TD] [TD]BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 74H[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]761 @ 36 827 @ 41[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD] Shinko [/TD] [TD] 230 Tour Master [/TD] [TD]150/80-16 F 150/90-15 R **130/90-16 F[/TD] [TD]BW BW BW[/TD] [TD]71H 80V **[/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD]761 @ 42 992 @ 42 675** @ 42[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [TD][/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] SW = Sidewall, BW = Black Wall, WW = White Wall, WWW = Wide White Wall, NWW = Narrow White Wall, RWL = Raised White Letters * Non-OE Tire Size ** Caution! The 130/90-16 Shinko Front 675lb load capacity is 86 lbs less than the OE tire specs. It is NOT recommended to use tires with a lower load capacity than the OE tires! ** Continental website and technical manual claims this CM2 rear tire can be fitted to the front on the RSV. Verify with tire dealer. The 150/80-16 is not made in the CM1 Front version. I was looking at Avon Cobra's here. The AV 72's in the MT90-16 size. So a dummy like me could make the mistake. https://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/motorcycle-tires/avon-av72-cobra-motorcycle-tire/p/14975?rrec=true Should have looked here at the AV71's for the front https://www.bikebandit.com/tires-tubes/motorcycle-tires/avon-av71-cobra-motorcycle-tire/p/22626?rrec=true I kept thinking that the Cobras I have on the bike now were AV72's front and back, but upon further inspection I have AV72 rear and AV71 front in the stock sizes.

My front tire will probably need to be replaced sometime this summer and I have been thinking about going to this tire vs stock size. Is my understanding correct that the 130 being a rear tire and should rotate reverse of the arrow indicator when installed on the front? I have never put a rear tire in the front of large bike but on the small old Hondas that I restore, the tires are usually the same tire used front and rear and this is the practice used. They have 2 arrows on each tire marked front and rear depending where you are putting them. Also for anyone doing this, here's a note of caution I stumbled upon on another forum. I also read on another thread on this site that someone was using this tire. It could apply to other tires also. ** Caution! The 130/90-16 Shinko Front 675lb load capacity is 86 lbs less than the OE tire specs. It is NOT recommended to use tires with a lower load capacity than the OE tires!

Wow! And I thought I was busy on my '08. Pulled the carbs and cleaned them...waiting on new air filters, installed new Iridium Plugs, rear lowering kit and the front end is torn apart and waiting for new sonic springs to arrive. You have been a very busy beaver and have done an incredible amount of work in a relatively short amount of time. Great job on that old gal. Hope she rewards you with many fun miles.

How do you know what length the PVC spacers should be? Never mind. I asked before I read about correct preload at Sonic Springs.

How do you know what length the PVC spacers should be.

Fantastic review! Got my juices flowing. How is the power through the gears in both modes? Just cruising and getting on it Or just overall? How does it compare to a 2nd Gen? Congrats on your grandson and beautiful new scoot. Just promise that you will take good care of it so I can afford to buy it in a few years.

It doesn't matter if you are moving on from HD or Honda or BMW or whatever. There shouldn't be any HD bashing at won't be from me. I also have a 97 Road King and an 02 Ultra Classic. The powerband is different in that HD's use a lot of low to midrange torque and Royal Stars and Ventures like higher rpms but can cruise very smoothly in low rpms. V4 power is different than V-Twin power. With the HD, like all v-twins, you have to be more conscious of the gears you are in at what rpm you are at so as not to lug the engine when you want to accelerate. On the RSV riding 2 up, I can cruise through small towns or back roads at 30 mph in 3rd gear and just slowly roll on the throttle to get up to 40-50mph without lugging the engine. Then a quick twist of the throttle still in 3rd gear and I am 75-80 mph. The RSV is much smoother and accelerates much quicker than HD's. With handling, the RSV is more top heavy than an Ultra Classic which is noticeable in slow maneuvers and in parking lots, walking the bike, or moving it 2 up, but it's not something you don't get used to. There are cheap mods on this site than can help with this. Part of it is the seat height on the RSV is higher than the HD. Out on the open road and going long distances, I prefer to ride the RSV. It's hands down, the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden. Don't get me wrong, I love the Ultra and personality and vibes riding it, but there's just something about the RSV ride. It feels more solid. In tight twisties, the Ultra is a little better at getting through them with speed but that is a moot point for me as the days of pushing a bike to it's limits in corners while dragging footrests and exhaust pipes are long behind me. The RSV is smoother and more comfy, and you can ride it all day everyday and not feel like you have been. My wife prefers comfort the rear seat of the RSV. There's more room between her and me when she sits in it. There's also more room for the driver to stretch out on the RSV vs the HD. I am 5ft-8" and feel a little cramped on my HD's and often wonder how guys who are 6ft or taller feel riding them. Electrics: All RSV's from 1999 to to the last year of production have the same electronics. The best feature?......The cassette player! The sound system is adequate but I myself, upgraded the speakers and added an amp. I connect my phone and play the tunes I like....err, I mean what my wife likes. All the controls are much more intuitive from the sound system to cthe cruise control than my Ultra but I like the sound on the Ultra much better. Cost of maintenance: RSV wins hands down. Besides a valve clearance check at 50K miles which most don't even need any adjusting, everything else is easy stuff like oil/filter, brakes, tires, batteries etc. Basically a 10 minute carb sync once a riding season that you can easily do yourself and then just ride. RSV batteries last much longer than HD's also in my experience. Cheaper too! I know it sounds like I am RSV biased. I am. But I am also biased when it comes to HD's. There's nothing like firing up my RK and blasting around on back roads all day. It's also great to hop on my Ultra to go riding with my buddies. I ride it more time as an EG than an Ultra since my wife rarely rides on it. But I am also biased toward my 66 Honda 160 Dream or my '67 Honda SS125. They are an absolute blast to ride around town and great conversation bikes too! Each bike has it's own qualitys. Hope this helps you. You went from a Yamaha V-twin to HD's so it sounds like you have little to no experience with V4's. The ride is different, smoother, and not as much personality, but spend a long day or 2 on the V4 and you will know why we love them here.