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Snaggletooth

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Everything posted by Snaggletooth

  1. Snaggletooth
    I had my carbs off the bike so many times when I first got it and AFTER I figured out how critical the carb body alignment was I made a set of plates out of counter top material to "sandwich" the bodies. There are some linkages and fittings that extend past the points where the bodies meet the plate surfaces so I used hole saws and a jig saw to make room for them and places to access each brakect screw that would need to be tightened during the process. I'd install each screw loosely and set the rack assembly on the lower plate and allign the linkages to the holes. Then set on the top plate and line it up. Don't want to bend or break any thing. I used two large C-clamps to pull the plates together until there were NO gaps on the plate surfaces then tighten all the screws down. It was butt ugly and looked like a piece of hard to eat Swiss Cheese but in made the reassembly of the rack easier and the rack was the same each and every time when I was done. But it was CHEAP and useful. Mike
  2. Snaggletooth
    Ouch!!! The last time a gal gave the best 6 years of her life she took 25 off mine. :rotf: I'll be running now....... Jackson* (The name has been changed to protect the one that will probably get beat up)
  3. Snaggletooth
    Sounds like they are doing their job. They might even move more when you get everything cleaned up and adjusted. Like Twigg said, when they quit moving is when you start to worry. And don't forget to use an assembly plate of some sort when you mount the carbs back together with the brackets. All four carbs NEED to be dead flat across the bottoms. And then time for a sync. Mike
  4. Snaggletooth
    You need to talk with my daughter. A cell tower was down where she lives last night and she didn't have cell service from 10:00PM to about 4:30AM. I'm still getting texts from her on how bad it was. You two can share your feelings. I felt bad for her. I slept through it an missed all the excitement. Mike
  5. Snaggletooth
    Too funny But did it land on its feet how deep was the hole?
  6. Snaggletooth
    I run a service route to several Wally Worlds and Sam's Clubs to check mechandise displays 5 days a week. Seems like any rule of common sense in left at home in the parking lots. And anyone in the way of a parking spot near the buildings is open game for a full body hit. I've been clipped by a car while walking through the lot, knocking me down. I got rear ended by an old coot (I mean OLD) on a lil scooter on my bike. My last car was T-boned at the entrance road by a woman who ran a stop sign. She told me and the LEO that she didn't have to stop because the stop sign post was bent. (about 5 degrees so it wasn't working) Didn't Earl get rear ended on his bike in a Wally World a while back? And my daughter wonders why I hate shopping. Mike
  7. Snaggletooth
    My best friend back in the 70's opened a glass bottle of Pepsi one day. He took a few drinks and then nothing was coming out. His dad checked the bottle and got to digging out what was blocking it. Turned out to be a piece of finger tip. All was done and documented and the best offer Pepsi came up with was life time supply of their product. He still don't drink soft drinks today. And EVERYTHING gets poured into a glass first.
  8. Snaggletooth
    I'm looking at some of the same issues with that "New/Used" Tag-Along I just bought. With the stock draw bar it just isn't going to handle the weight of a cooler rack with cooler loaded and a spare tire mounted on the tongue. With the axle set so far back it would be a trick to load the trailer well enough with the gear I want to carry and still retain a decent tongue weight. So longer it will be. Mike
  9. Snaggletooth
    I'd want to tweak that 11mm up a bit but the others are pretty close. Gotta be careful when bendin the brass tang. It don't take much to change the level a lot. All at the same level is great. Close is pretty danged good. You have new diaphragms don't ya? I'll leave the question on the needle adjusment to the better informed carb guys. Mike
  10. Snaggletooth
    Look at the bottom of your billfold. And don't forget to buy the right charger for it to. Not cheap items. I think Dingy did some research on them during the "Tweety" project. Might search some of his old threads on the subject. I can't help ya on the the "where" part. I quit looking when I saw the prices. Mike
  11. Snaggletooth
    It's not that hard of a job to do a repair on the clutch assembly. It can be done on the side stand without even draining the oil, which you would want to do anyway when you're done. I know at least one member here has done his on the road in a parking lot due to a failure. I used the kit by skydoc_17 on '84 when I had the same type of problem you are having. Worked great and still pulling strong. As said, if the metal plates are not damaged you have a problem than can be fixed fairly easy and without ripping your wallet to shreds. Mike
  12. Snaggletooth
    The ETX20L is for the 2nd gen bikes. http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka.html But the Odessy battery that was popular for the 1st gens was bit smaller than the stock battery also. Some used padding to fill the space and some relocated the TCI into the extra space to make a home for it. Mike
  13. Snaggletooth
    I thought that last batch was a lil crunchy. Thought I grabbed the Grape Nuts by accident. I worked in the grocery retail stuff for seven years. It would scare the daylights out of most people as how many products are recalled for many different reasons, and when they are recalled. I gotta go. I need to run a magnet through my breakfast. Mike
  14. Snaggletooth
    I just used a short piece of clear airline tubing left over from the fish tank and connected it to the drain line with a male/male coupler from NAPA. Plug them together and hold it up along side the diaphragm housing where the cast line is. (Center line for the slides) Start the bike and open the drain screw up a turn or two until you see gas rising in the clear line. Match that to the line on the carb body. For the life of me I can't remember how far below the line it should be but I'll check and post if if somebody else don't. It's a good way to check before tearing the carbs off. When I first got into this bike I had the carbs off several times making adjustments until they were all in the same place. I installed new floats from the 1st gen V-Max during that process and haven't had a problem since. Mike
  15. Snaggletooth
    You got me to watching it when you posted this morning. Absolutley incredible!!! What a ride!! If anybody has bragging rights....... He's the guy.
  16. Snaggletooth
    Wore out the last set of Avon Venons at almost 25k miles. No problem with them. Installed my second set this spring both with birth dates less than a year old. Got about 4k on them now with no issues. Wearing well and no sign of cracks. Mike
  17. Snaggletooth
    Sweet Ride!! Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the pics. Mike
  18. Snaggletooth
    DEKA AGM. Top end stuff. These guys are great to deal with but there are other sources also. http://www.bohannonbattery.com/html/deka/etx18l.html Mike
  19. Snaggletooth
    What your'e saying is you found New OEM springs for $59.00? Or you found New "Progressive" springs at a place called OEM? If these are OEM spings (as in stock springs) walk away and buy the Progressive brand. Few bucks more but the stock springs ain't gonna fix the problem. Mike
  20. Snaggletooth
    Forty? Really? And these kids today worry about getting old. Enjoy your birthday while you can still remember you had one. Happy B-Day Brad. Mike
  21. Snaggletooth
    Well I'm done with my insurance guy. Pretty painless really. Been with him a long time. All I ended up doing was adding the new Tag-Along trailer to the bike policy and dropping the deductible to $100.00 per vechicle. It only added about $35.00 a year to my cost for the bike policy so I'm still under $300.00 for full coverage on both. With my old deductible the trailer would have been a wash anyway. This way it's a lil bit towards getting another trailer. He did ask me about rebulding the trailer if damaged and it took me a while to quit laughing. I guess he's not familer with Harbor Freight. The trailer is fully covered under the bike policy when I am pulling it or it's attached but the deductible would be $100.00 for each one if in an accident and damaged together. If the trailer would be damaged or stolen when not attached to the bike, rather stored here or left unattended while traveling it would still be covered and a $100.00 deductible. Fair enough. I did talk to him a bit on Golf&Venture method of dealing with his loss from his accident. He remarked that it was a very productive way to get a fair settlement on his bike. He thought it would help any rider of an older bike with a considerable investment made into it. No one will ever recover all the money put into a bike, but the documentation presented helped him out a lot. Kudos to Golf&Venture. So I'm happy with my coverage. I hope it stays that way if I ever need to use it. Mike
  22. Snaggletooth
    Some guys will tell you the "Friction Zone" will damage your clutch. In effect, it fry a dry clutch in short order. These bikes have a wet clutch that is lubricated by the engine oil. (Hence the need to pay attention when buying oil. No engine additive to make it slicker) The wet clutch system is much more forgiving than a dry, but still don't abuse the slippage. This method is pretty safe to use on our bikes. These bikes have a hydraulic clutch so the "Friction Zone", where the clutch is just on the edge of holding is very narrow. Just a small pull on the lever will tell where it's at. You can practice that by trying to get the bike rolling from a stop with the engine idling. With that said, one of the methods taught on the video is learning how to ride the bike at a "slow walk" speed. This is riding the bike in straight line, better to practice now than trying to turn, with the engine just above idle speed. With the clutch just beginning to slip and a very light touch on the rear brake pedal you will find a spot that is surprisingly stable at just a couple miles per hour speed. The gyro effect of the engine has a bit to do with that. Takes a lil practice but once you can ride at a slow walk in a straight line, the slow turns came a LOT easier. By the way.......... Mike
  23. Snaggletooth
    There ya go. Pretty much says alot about how to maintain control at low speeds. One of the best things you can do is buy a copy of the video "Ride Like a Pro". That will walk you through handling a heavier than you are used to bike. And even better, how to pick it up if you do drop it. In my experience, and as will be mentioned here and in the video, keep your hands of the front brake during very low speed manuevers until you come to a complete stop. The effect of hard or even moderate pressure on the front brake during slow speed turns will dramatically change the balance of the bike, enough to tip you past the point of control. In my younger days, I rode Goldwings. I had two situations that left me laying on my side. Both low speed, turning corners in city traffic at not much more than idle speed. Once I learned to tail brake (lighting dragging the rear brake) during slow turns and keeping my fingers off the front lever I got past the falling down trick. Haven't done it since. Head to a safe place and practice. You'll get it figured out. Mike
  24. Snaggletooth
    Now I'm really regretting not moving to Bay Minette. Mike
  25. Snaggletooth
    I'm going over to meet with my insurance agent on Wednesday to talk about my bike coverage and adding the new trailer to my policy. I have no issue with my current policy, as I have never made any kind of claim on my bikes or cars, but want to be clear on the terms he keeps bringing up in our e-mail exchanges. The term is "cash value" which I understend, if I'm correct is what it would cost to replace the vehicle or trailer at the time of loss based on KBB or other info they use. I know some of the headaches many have gone through concerning the value, based on what the bike/trailer was worth to them, compared to the insurers opinion based on their data. I try to keep a current file of bikes similiar to mine that were sold to document the prices on the current market in case I ever suffer a loss. Along with that prices of the parts and farkels I have added over the years, which adds up. I can't whine about the cost of my bike policy as it's only $269.00 a year for full coverage. I'm considering dropping my deductable to $100.00 and that would only raise me to $290.00 per year for full bike coverage, Deductable of $100.00 per vehicle as the deductable would apply to both the bike and trailer seperatley. At the current deducable the trailer (paid $250.00) would about be a wash. Any advice on how to look at this? Mike
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