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Nerobro posted:Well I was close ;-) I don't think of most bikes as really having emissions systems. But I'm stuck in the 80's with motorcycles. I'd say you nailed it, it was an air leak from a hose where there should have been a plug. The best thing is that this forced me to work on the idle mixture, which cleared up the eye-watering rich smell and should help my around-town gas mileage. One day I'll port the heads, get FCR's, and put a spaghetti exhaust on......or maybe just pick up a 916.
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Jan 3, 2009 10:38
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Nerobro posted:Mr Brown, tell us exactly how you have it hooked up. :-) Where did you splice into the harness? How old is your battery? The vest comes with a cable that is a Y on one end to hook directly to the positive and negative terminals of the battery. The other end hooks into the vest, and there is a fuse inline with the positive terminal connection. Bike is a 2001 Bandit 600 with about 22k miles, battery could be original or could have been replaced... previous owners were less than diligent about recording services or anything else. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a failing something or other. Are there any simple tests I can do to isolate parts? Interesting! Thank you, I will pursue those ideas. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv Sound Mr. Brown fucked around with this message at 01:07 on Jan 4, 2009 |
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Jan 3, 2009 16:20
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You've got a bike with an actual alternator. That makes things a little more difficult to diagnose. I don't know enough about the physical layout of your alternator to tell you exactly what to do. I know that there is a bandit forum, I'd ask there about how to check your alternator. I don't know what a new regulator would cost for your alternator, but that would be my second step. I'm betting it's in the $30-50 range. What I "think" is wrong, is that one, or more of the diodes in it's rectifier is shot. Which makes the output of your alternator look like morse code, instead of a slightly bumpy wave.
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Jan 3, 2009 19:15
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I found an ad for a 1976 Kawasaki KH100 for sale in my area, but I can't find anything about them on the internet aside from a Dennis Kirk page which doesn't seem to relate. The seller claims it is a 100cc two stroke, and I'm interested, but I'd like to find someone's opinion on it somewhere, or even a mention that it exists. Can anyone point me in the right direction? This could be dumb, and I'll probably go check it out anyway, with someone who's opinion I would trust, but background information is always nice.
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Jan 4, 2009 04:23
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The KH100 is a two stroke streetbike. Pretty cool looking little cafe runabout. This youtube video seems to imply that its good to about 65 or 70 mph. http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_KH100 http://www.bikepics.com/kawasaki/kh100/
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Jan 4, 2009 04:36
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wow, the KH100 is nice. 65-70mph is completely believable. Disk valve, which is neat :-) Like my TC90. Disk brake is nice too. I'd buy it.
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Jan 4, 2009 06:17
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So I've got the worries. I put my bike away back in late October, and I made sure to run a tank with some seafoam first. I then topped the tank off, tossed some more seafoam and some stabil in the tank, ran the carbs dry, and turned the petcock again to let them fill with stabil/seafoamed gas. Given that gas in MA all has at least 10% ethanol, was this a retarded maneuver that has promised me a spring of carb rebuilding? The bike's at my girlfriend's mom's house, about an hour West, so I can't just empty the carbs. I plan on getting the bike out of storage as early as possible; this is probably gonna be mid-late April. (And I know there was some internal logic to why I did this, but I can't for the life of me think of what it is).
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Jan 4, 2009 07:22
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drat, the KH100 looks perfect for my fiance. I'm desperately looking for a lightweight small displacement bike to get her into riding with. Its really hard to find anything under 250cc that isn't a dirtbike.
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Jan 4, 2009 07:23
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FluffGrenade posted:So I've got the worries. 8ender posted:Little Bikes Off the top of my head: Suzuki TS and TC 90, 100 and 125. Suzuki GT 100, 125, 185. The Yamaha DT100, LT2, CT3, DT125, AR80, RD60/80. Phat albert can fill in the Kawasakis. Nerobro fucked around with this message at 22:30 on Jan 4, 2009 |
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Jan 4, 2009 09:17
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Nerobro posted:I wouldn't worry about it. You should be just fine. The alachaol will evaporate. The stabil will prevent varnish. What I would worry about is the seafoam. That stuff is designed to eat crap. The sort of crap that builds up and keeps old seals working well. ;-) You'll likely be ok. ...Luckily, the carbs are otherwise freshly rebuilt.  Thanks for the reassurance.
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Jan 4, 2009 16:21
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Nerobro posted:Phat albert can fill in the Kawasakis. Lets not forget the small Hondas. There were of course CB/CL 125's. Sadly I dont know much about early small Kawis other than the F11-250 that I own. Which is definitely as enduro as it gets. A little research turns up some sweet small bikes from Kawi, however. http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_AR50 http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_AR80 http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_G7 http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_KZ200A http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Kawasaki_KZ250D
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Jan 4, 2009 17:54
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Nerobro posted:Method for dealing with carburetor boot leaks on a VFR honda: Is this repair common on VFRs? I'm actually thinking of getting a slightly used one in the near future but I might not if regular repairs are going to turn into a huge headache.
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Jan 4, 2009 20:04
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I went out to a parking lot (actually, the one where the ending car scene of "Superbad" was filmed) and horsed around with the bike (DR650) a bit today, and have a few questions. 1) What's the right way to get up (and down, though I think I have that mostly covered) a curb? I went up and down a few just to get some practice in - all "standard" size (read: not very big, 6-7" probably) - and basically just rolled up slow (<5mph) and goosed the throttle as the front wheel rolled up. It seemed to work well enough, but that's rarely a sign of it being the right way, right? 2) How slow should I be going for standard curbs? Can I do it faster? 3) How about bigger curbs? Finally, basically unrelated: What's the right way to clean a visor? I've been just using warm water, it seems to work pretty well, but always looking for pointers. Edit for fun stuff: The driveway the car comes down at the very beginning, I was going up the curb just to the right of that - and up the little hill after. Edit 2: Debating trying to go all the way up the hill @ 0:20 too. Krakkles fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Jan 5, 2009 |
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Jan 5, 2009 04:38
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Going up sharp edged bumps.. .like curbs, is best done slowly. If you can wheelie it a little, make sure you get the tire high enough to get over the curb. I take curbs on my "normal" bikes all the time. I just slip the clutch and get it up the curb gently. going down, I go quickly :-) Faster is better. I clean my visor with hot water only. Cleaners can strip coatings off hte lenses. If I have to makea choice, and tell you what cleaner to use, it would be plexus spray. It's a cleaner developed for aircraft (polycarbonate... the same as your visor) windows. I have no idea about VFR repair, other than it being a utter pain in the rear end. It's a honda, so long as you ride the bike with any kind of frequency, it will keep running. Don't worry about it ;-)
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Jan 5, 2009 04:46
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Nerobro posted:Going up sharp edged bumps.. .like curbs, is best done slowly. If you can wheelie it a little, make sure you get the tire high enough to get over the curb. 
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Jan 5, 2009 04:49
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Are there any recommended Battery Tenders? Or are they all pretty much the same?
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Jan 5, 2009 05:56
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Krakkles posted:This seems consistent with what I was thinking. I'm staying as far away from wheelies as I can for the time being, so I'll take that part under advisement for a later date You've got loads of clearence and travel on the big thumper, so you don't have to worry about things that you'd typically be concerned about (scraping plastics, bottoming out forks hard). Make sure to hit them head on, wear your gear, and have fun. When I get the SV rebuilt, I'll come out there and play on some curbs too 
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Jan 5, 2009 05:58
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shaitan posted:Are there any recommended Battery Tenders? Or are they all pretty much the same? I use this guy with no complaints.
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Jan 5, 2009 06:19
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Nerobro posted:You should have asked. Thanks, thats an excellent list to start with. I keep forgetting that AI isn't like the usual bike crowd around here that scoffs at anything without a Harley badge and less than 1000ccs of displacement.
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Jan 5, 2009 06:38
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Z3n posted:You've got loads of clearence and travel on the big thumper, so you don't have to worry about things that you'd typically be concerned about (scraping plastics, bottoming out forks hard). Make sure to hit them head on, wear your gear, and have fun. Sounds great, I'd love to have someone around to tell me when I screw up - or watch do things right Confession: This post is why I started thinking about curbs
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Jan 5, 2009 06:53
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Uthor posted:I use this guy with no complaints. Does the Amperage matter? I see on Amazon it's $24 for the .75A model and $40 for the 1.25A
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Jan 5, 2009 07:13
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Krakkles posted:Still sticking to ATGATT All anarchy/riding like an rear end in a top hat aside, sometimes it's a better to hop a curb then get, say...rear ended. I don't anticipate ever having to do it, but if I do, I'd rather have had a few shots at it before I get out there and do it for real. Plus it's fun. 
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Jan 5, 2009 07:20
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Z3n posted:All anarchy/riding like an rear end in a top hat aside, sometimes it's a better to hop a curb then get, say...rear ended. I don't anticipate ever having to do it, but if I do, I'd rather have had a few shots at it before I get out there and do it for real. Which means I can justify wheelies but stoppies I haven't come up with a reason for yet
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Jan 5, 2009 08:55
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Krakkles posted:Agreed 100%. The only reason I want to learn the few squidly things I do is so that I can use them should the need arise. Stoppies obviously occur when you're practicing braking. That's how I started doing them... And honestly, if you're not comfortable with the back end coming a little bit off the ground, you're going to have problems getting to max braking comfortably. You don't need to be lofting it like, 3 feet in the air or anything, but it's good to know what it feels like and how to modulate it.
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Jan 5, 2009 09:08
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Z3n posted:Stoppies obviously occur when you're practicing braking. That's how I started doing them... I haven't gotten the rear far up, but I have had a couple of quick stops that resulted in either just that little bit of satisfying tire scuffing (which I love) or a bit of rear-end squirreliness. I guess next time I'm in that parking lot I'll try to get the rear up. Worst case I go over the handlebars, right?
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Jan 5, 2009 09:27
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Krakkles posted:I haven't gotten the rear far up, but I have had a couple of quick stops that resulted in either just that little bit of satisfying tire scuffing (which I love) or a bit of rear-end squirreliness. I guess next time I'm in that parking lot I'll try to get the rear up. Worst case I go over the handlebars, right? Rear end squirreliness is you unweighting the back end and the engine braking dragging the tail end around due to the lack of traction. It actually took a bit of work to get the rear tire off the ground on your bike...probably due to the dual sport tires not giving the most confidence under braking. What are you refering to when you say you're getting "tire scuffing"?
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Jan 5, 2009 18:39
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Krakkles posted:Worst case I go over the handlebars, right? Or you dump the front tire and go down awkwardly...
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Jan 5, 2009 18:56
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Z3n posted:What are you refering to when you say you're getting "tire scuffing"? Sound Mr. Brown posted:Or you dump the front tire and go down awkwardly...
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Jan 5, 2009 22:03
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Gnaghi posted:Is this repair common on VFRs? I'm actually thinking of getting a slightly used one in the near future but I might not if regular repairs are going to turn into a huge headache. How slightly used? I'm thinking that 2001 ish they went to the V-tech motor which raises the level of mechanical complexity by a factor of "frak me sideways".
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Jan 6, 2009 04:30
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So I just did my valves on my 08 Rebel (3,200 mi) as recommended at 4k miles. Everything runs fine, I haven't lost any low or top end, and it starts just fine. I am noticing that after riding to work (~12mi), the engine smells "hot," which if it did before, I wasn't noticing it as much; I can smell it easily at stop lights. It's definitely coming from the cylinder heat sinks. I've also noticed that the rpms don't drop as quickly when I let off the throttle. My manual recommends .004-.006" on the valves, and I've got them set somewhere around .0045", both cylinders, exhaust and intake all the same. Does it sound like I've got them too tight? I'm guessing that's what's affecting my throttle response, as it's increased the cylinder pressure on exhaust, but is it what's causing the heat (smell)?
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Jan 6, 2009 18:34
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Handiklap posted:So I just did my valves on my 08 Rebel (3,200 mi) as recommended at 4k miles. Everything runs fine, I haven't lost any low or top end, and it starts just fine. I am noticing that after riding to work (~12mi), the engine smells "hot," which if it did before, I wasn't noticing it as much; I can smell it easily at stop lights. It's definitely coming from the cylinder heat sinks. I've also noticed that the rpms don't drop as quickly when I let off the throttle. Well, first of all, you always want to adjust to the loose side of the spec. Valves tighten over time, so the loose end of the spec is where you want to be. I'd adjust them to the loose side of the spec and wash the bike and see if the smell sticks around.
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Jan 6, 2009 18:41
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Anyone have any online sites for vintage motorcycle plates? I'd like to find a 1969 Wisconsin plate for my CL350. I've found lots of general "old plate" sites, but they usually have few, if any, motorcycle plates.
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Jan 7, 2009 08:47
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Handiklap posted:So I just did my valves on my 08 Rebel (3,200 mi) as recommended at 4k miles. Everything runs fine, I haven't lost any low or top end, and it starts just fine. I am noticing that after riding to work (~12mi), the engine smells "hot," which if it did before, I wasn't noticing it as much; I can smell it easily at stop lights. It's definitely coming from the cylinder heat sinks. I've also noticed that the rpms don't drop as quickly when I let off the throttle. As Z3n noted, the loose side is what you want. Even if you're talking the choice between .004 and .007 (if you use shims; if it's a locknut engine, don't mind me), I'd choose .007, especially if we're talking exhaust valves. Rather a rattling drivetrain than a burnt valve.
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Jan 7, 2009 22:14
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I'm thinking that maybe the hot smell is from a small oil leak. Take a good look at the valve cover, see if there is any sign of wetness, if so, you'll want to correct this. You may need a new valve cover gasket but it's also easy to let the gasket slip out of position.
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Jan 8, 2009 04:31
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Gnomad posted:I'm thinking that maybe the hot smell is from a small oil leak. Take a good look at the valve cover, see if there is any sign of wetness, if so, you'll want to correct this. You may need a new valve cover gasket but it's also easy to let the gasket slip out of position. In this vein, check for a bit of smoke coming out of the tach drive. My bike leaked just a bit there and it smoked pretty nastily after 15 minutes of riding. The seal is usually like $5, though in my case, getting to it involves removing the valve cover and taking one of the cam holders off. It's not hard, it's just annoying.
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Jan 8, 2009 05:46
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Ok, I did a stoppie last night, and one tonight Last night I stalled because I forgot to pull the clutch in - it was super low speed, so no problem, but something to keep in mind. Tonight, I fixed that, but I hadn't clicked down to first, so I stalled when I tried to take off. Both were probably roughly a foot up - felt good! All on a semi-closed road, of course. As in, one in, one out, straight, no possibility of anyone coming on it without tons of lead time and me knowing. Krakkles fucked around with this message at 11:52 on Jan 8, 2009 |
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Jan 8, 2009 11:47
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Hello everyone I have a question. I am buying my first bike probably this weekend. I do not have a helmet yet. I have been told that White helmets are far more visible so I am trying to find one, but all my local bike shops (and indeed every bike shop I can find on the web) so not have any plain white helmets. In order to get a plain white helmet I will have to pay twice as much to get a Shoei. So the question is, should I pay $300 for a black Nolan, or $560 for a white Shoei? Is the extra worth the safety advantages? My bike is likely to be black and I will also likely get a black leather jacket so I don't want to be invisible... edit: this is Australia so ignore the high prices and poor availability Prince fucked around with this message at 12:56 on Jan 8, 2009 |
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Jan 8, 2009 12:52
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Prince posted:So the question is, should I pay $300 for a black Nolan, or $560 for a white Shoei? If not, no, it's probably not worth it. Being visible is good, but 99% of safety on a bike comes down to what YOU do, not being what other people do.
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Jan 8, 2009 13:04
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Prince posted:I have been told that White helmets are far more visible They're not. Sure, in certain situations they would be, but generally the urban environment is a light gray color and white doesn't really stick out that much. Not to mention doing nothing in low light situations. If you want a safe color, look for a bright yellow or orange. Otherwise, I'd just get the black one.
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Jan 8, 2009 14:57
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Wear a bright colored reflective traffic vest over your riding jacket if you're worried about visibility.... I bet it would be more effective than what color your helmet is.
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Jan 8, 2009 15:40
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