Snaggletooth

Ditto on the spray water bottle and a dark garage! Had an '81 Lincoln that was driving me nuts trying to isolate electrical problems under the hood. A neighbor came over with a spray bottle in one hand and 6 pack in the other. In half an hour we solved most every open circuit and weak wire in the engine compartment. I sat in the car with it running and in gear with a little bit of gas to load the power and he turned off the gargage lights and started spraying. A pretty good light shows with all the nice blue arcs firing around. So much for the remove and replace process. Water does the trick. OH, yeah, Don't check the coils on a 750 Trumpet if your hands are wet. Don't ask.

Nice job there big guy. Ya done good! Much appreciated! Mike

Now this is the kind of guy I like to ride with! Got a game plan............roll on out and do it!

Started out back in the 70's driving for an auction company then started working my through the different types of equipment. Spent most my years doing flat bed, double drop and hydraulic 7 and 9 axle heavy haulers for specialized outfits. Loved the oversize and heavy haul stuff. Had my nights off and weekends off where ever I was and back in those days the rates paid well for the unusual stuff. Made good money back then. If you were pulling a subway car (yes, I said subway car at 114 ft long) from Boston to Indy and back or a 110,000 lb. piece of earth mover there was no argument over a buck a mile! In the early 90's I was offered the chance to become a Safety Director. Spent 14 years in that field working for swinging meat haulers and a cryogenic company. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd have a $110,000 tractor pulling a $223,000 cryogenic tanker with $800.00 cargo on board and still make a profit! Strange world. Of all the trucks I've driven there was a Kenworth extended long nose that was my favorite. 3406 Cat twin turbo with a 5 over 4 tranny. Heavy old goat at about 20,000 lbs. Two alternators and 8 batteries. 150 gal side tanks and another 150 tank on the frame behind the sleeper for those trips to Alaska. You could outrun a D9 Cat in the mud or introduce yourself to every LEO on the highway. Done both! LOL! The dash looked like it came out of an aircraft. 28 gauges and I turned them all so when the truck was at its peak operating range all the needles were at 12 o'clock. You could spot something out of whack at a glance. I remember my first trip into Canada in that truck headed to Moose Jaw. Crossed the border and the first thing I saw was "Speed Limit 100". I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Had just got it settled into the top hole and was enjoying the ride when I saw the weigh station sign. It said "OPEN". My first thought was they should really give a fella more notice at these speeds. I passed the scale and got her stopped about a 1/4 mile farther down the roads. I was getting ready to walk back when the Mounty pulled up behind me. His question was how fast were you going? I admitted I was pulling past 90 when I saw the sign. His next question was miles per hour or kilometers? Huh? I do believe he enjoyed the look on my face because he asked me if I'd had any Canadian Bacon yet eh?, looked over my paperwork and told me to have a nice day after explaining the the metric system to me. The drive to Moose Jaw was longer than I'd hoped for.

I don't know what you ride but this is a shot of a 2nd gen. The 1st gen is similar.

Got a few shots of my '84 while I was going through it after I bought it. About as naked as it gets and still ridable. Looks better with all the tupperware back on. You could probaby lose 150 to 200 pound off this critter with a decent bobjob.

From my own and others dealings I have come up with this. THEY have a current motorcycle license THEY have proof of insurance. THEY have ridden or owned a similar bike in the past. THEY are willing to let you hold their license during the test ride. THEY brought CASH to the game and are willing to lay down a fair sized deposit before riding. YOU get them to sign a form stating THEY are responsible for damage during the test ride and the deposit will be non-refundable if they damage the bike. At least up to the cost of repairs. You can give them back the change when the bike is fixed. NEVER let them talk you into "You can hang onto my bike/car while I'm gone." Thanks, already got one. YOU feel comfortable with the way they handle the bike in the driveway. Do they have control of a non-running bike? If THEY don't look comfortable on the bike with it running call off the game. I ride with them on another bike if this all falls into place, with THEIR license in MY pocket along with the deposit. I'll ask them where they want to go, surface streets or big road and suggest the route to follow. Remember you probably don't know this person and it is YOUR bike. It is YOUR call on rather or not to sell it to them. Don't forget that if there is anything wrong with the bike and they crash because of it, it WILL come back on you. Don't create another organ donor by letting any fool that shows up take your scoot for a spin or you'll be selling parts on EBay. Me, I'm just honest and straight forward with a potential buyer. You're in charge and tell THEM how it works. A joker will usually back off if he's just looking for an afternoon ride at somebody elses expense. Plenty of serious respectable buyers out there that understand the game. Deal with them, let the fools walk away. I've told more than few lookers "This ain't the bike for you. Thanks for coming by." IMHO Snaggletooth

Had a black cherry in the showroom here tagged at $17,900 BUT it had about every piece of shiny stuff you could ever want already attached to it. Farkle to the max. Just under $14,000 for the base bike.

I bought this one off E-Bay last year. It was inexpensive and I found out why when I got it. Missing a few parts. The U-clamps were the easy part. If you are lucky you will find a strap type (flat) in chrome at a motorcycle shop. And you will pay dearly for them. I used ones I found at my favorite Westlake Hardware store for a fraction of what a bike shop was asking for chrome. ($12.95 each) If I remember right I think they are 1" U-clamps.(round stock) Mine are stainless steel and I think they were about $4.85 each. I slipped clear shrink tubing over the U-clamp to help avoid scratching the crash bars. They came with a flat cross piece that was SS also. The Westlake I go to is the newest one in the area and they are fantastic. I have replaced every bolt or screw I've taken out with SS hex heads. Don't ask me what I've spent, it makes my eyes water. I should be a complete basket case by the time I get the sidecover, valve covers, and other odds and ends plated and replace all those bolts with chrome ones. If you insist on flat and can't find them try to cross reference them from universal joints with 1" caps and have them plated.

Just a quick question. What is the finish on the black one? Paint, powdercoat, whatever? Thanks

I was going to put a "Super" on my '84 this summer but if you can pull this off i'm jumping on your wagon. Count me in and keep me posted. Mike

Ok. here is what I do on my '84. 1st: Top off the master res. 2nd: Locate the metering valve on the front brake line that is on the top of the frame behind the triple tree. This has to be your starting point due to it being the highest point on the brake lines. Some have a bleeder, some don't. Mine can be reached from the right side by going up under the fairing. Wrap a rag around the line to soak up the brake fluid. Crack open the bleeder or a line fitting so it's easy to open, then close it. 3rd: Apply pressure to the pedal and pump it up. Crack the metering valve line open and bleed there first. Repeat until solid. 4th? Then move to the front left brake caliper and bleed that as needed. It's a bit of a reach from the brake pedal to the left caliper but it can be done. 5th: Check the master res again. 6th: Pump the pedal and bleed the rear caliper. 7th: Top off the master res again. Close it up, wash your hands, go for a test ride. Check you brakes really well BEFORE you NEED them. Snaggletooth