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Who sells good weatherproof power connections that I could use to replace some of the lovely bullet style things currently on my bike? I have seen gasketed clip together connectors as parts to various kits, but never really sold individually. Any ideas of a retailer online that might carry these? Main thing is I want to add a power strip for various 12v accessories, but the leads on the bike have an odd spade connector I have not seen used before. Got a picture below that is what I am looking for, but I need both male and female sides
dietcokefiend fucked around with this message at 05:25 on May 12, 2009 |
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May 12, 2009 05:22
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waterproof connectors aren't needed really. Just good connectors. Bullet's aren't that. I'm rebuilding the harness on my 80 this summer. It's getting done entirely with "lightspeed" and deans style connectors. the benfit being that they're self cleaning.
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May 12, 2009 05:29
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dietcokefiend posted:Who sells good weatherproof power connections that I could use to replace some of the lovely bullet style things currently on my bike? I have seen gasketed clip together connectors as parts to various kits, but never really sold individually. Any ideas of a retailer online that might carry these? Main thing is I want to add a power strip for various 12v accessories, but the leads on the bike have an odd spade connector I have not seen used before. Got a picture below that is what I am looking for, but I need both male and female sides Behold Eastern Beaver: http://easternbeaver.com/index.html Its an odd named site but that guy will hook you up with whatever you need. He is like a bike electrical god. I've heard nothing but good things about his products.
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May 12, 2009 06:19
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8ender posted:Behold Eastern Beaver: drat, he's got all of connectors for sale. This will really help cleaning up the wiring on my SV...thanks!
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May 12, 2009 06:28
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8ender posted:Behold Eastern Beaver: You are a wonderful man 
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May 12, 2009 06:51
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I'm planning on ripping the bikini fairing off my mostly naked VFR750 because it looks like a retarded basking shark. Going to put an aftermarket headlight on so I'll be needing a new cluster as the VFR one is bulky as poo poo. Not really keen on spending much so a new aftermarket one isn't too attractive. I saw a 96 ZX9 cluster at a shop today which looked nice and small and neat, redlined about the same. Does anyone know off their head if this is a not-impossible swap?
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May 12, 2009 09:29
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My friend's just bought himself a 1993 Honda CB400 Superfour. If that sounds familiar, yes, I do have one of those, no, we weren't trying to have to same bike. He's not passed his test, but a smidgen over 500 pounds is a steal for a really clean bike. Anyway, the bike's a bit cold blooded, needing the choke to start even on a warm (for Britain) day. And then it didn't warm up enough to be able to run without the choke in the 10 minutes it was running. Previous owner says he's pulled and cleaned the carbs, but I was wondering what other problems would show themselves as coldbloodedness. And is it possible he's cleaned them and put them back wrong somehow? Inline 4 engine by the way, so 4 carbs as far as I know. I think someone else mentioned carb balance? I know not of what he means. And I have a sneaky suspicion I'm about to be jumped on by Nero and his idle jets bandwagon.
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May 12, 2009 09:49
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Yup. And not idle jets. Pilot screws. :-) goto the pilot screws, screw them in, back them out the same number of turns.. and I"ll be the cold bloodedness will go away.
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May 12, 2009 10:10
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If you guys were going to be putting about 1k on a bike over a weekend (400 miles back home and back) what sorts of things would you check over on a bike? So far inspected my chain for any binding, inspected it for missing orings, checked sprocket wear (none), and did basic tuneup items. New fork seals, wheel bearings, cleaned carbs, plugs, air filter, tires, oil about 1500 ago, etc. I have put about 1500 miles in the past 2 months with nothing more than some rattles from the fairings. Should I change the oil again before I go?
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May 12, 2009 16:25
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The current oil only has 1,500 miles on it? Leave it in there.
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May 12, 2009 16:47
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Nerobro posted:I'm rebuilding the harness on my 80 this summer. It's getting done entirely with "lightspeed" and deans style connectors. the benfit being that they're self cleaning. IIRC from my RC plane days, arent Deans connectors just held together with the friction of the connectors? Dont you want something that clips together somehow?
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May 12, 2009 16:48
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michaelm posted:I'm planning on ripping the bikini fairing off my mostly naked VFR750 because it looks like a retarded basking shark. Is your VFR cable drive or electrical for the speedo and tach? I'd recommend going with an aftermarket unit either way, something like the Trailtech Vapor. 100ish $ for a complete setup, and you're good to go. You can spend another 30-40$ and get the dash surround for it that will have turn signals, gas, and neutral lights. Hacking another gauge cluster will be time consuming and you'll need to have access to a complete wiring diagram for both bikes, as well as (ideally) connectors that will let you splice the 2 wiring harness connectors together to keep things mostly stock. If you just want to hack away, then that's possible, but it's recommended to keep the stock stuff intact.
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May 12, 2009 16:57
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http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/honda-motorcycle-cl125s1-1974/o/m9239 Why is there only one valve seal shown in this picture. I was ready to order 2, but the fiche only has one on one valve. How many should I order?
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May 12, 2009 17:29
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1977 KZ1000 I can't get my bike starting reliably. So far I have confirmed spark, checked the carbs (was going to clean them but they are spotless inside), visually synced them as best I could, and I just resealed the valve cover because it was leaking oil, and put on new exhaust gaskets because they were leaking exhaust. After everything it's still hard to start, and when I last took it out, it would want to stall when I pulled away after stopping, and was hard to re-start. What should I be checking next? How do I set the idle mix screws, and then the idle screw for the throttle? Trial and error?
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May 12, 2009 18:43
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mr.belowaverage posted:
Battery/charging. Then compression. Compression testers are pretty cheap and easy to use. Unscrew the sparkplug, put the tester in, open the throttle wide and crank. The absolute numbers will vary (check your manual) but all cylinders should be around 80-90 psi and pretty equal. It will be below what the manual calls for as the engine is cold. If you get a low reading, drop a teaspoon of oil in the cylinder and check again. If the number increases the rings are bad. If not, the valves are. mr.belowaverage posted:How do I set the idle mix screws, and then the idle screw for the throttle? Trial and error? On a non running bike, sort of yeah. You should really check a bike specific forum before fiddling with it, but if required to trial/error it I would screw the idle mix screws all the way in and then 3 turns out, less or more depending on how many turns it took to screw them in. Throttle idle ... check as best you can how far the mechanism is off its stops. If you haven't fiddled much with it, just leave it. Same goes for idle mix screws really.
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May 12, 2009 19:22
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Aaaargh, I'm going back and forth with my valves on my 1200 Bandit, and I cant decide what to do with them. They're the screw and locknut type, so they're easy to adjust, thankfully Earlier in the spring, I adjusted them, and set them fairly loose, as everyone on the Bandit forums claims that these bikes like to run a little loose rather than a little tight. Well, they were too loose, they were noisy as hell. So last weekend I readjusted them, and set them tighter. Now I think they're too tight, as the bike backfires sometimes through the carb when its cold, and the bike seems much more cold blooded in general. This doesnt make a ton of sense to me, but its the only thing that has changed. Anyway, the manual says to set the valves so there is "some drag" on the feeler gauge. Well thats a pretty vague description. Is some drag "so loose you can barely feel any drag", or "really tight, but you can still move the feeler gauge", or some even more vague place in the middle? Any general tips for setting the valve clearances? I feel like I'm going around in circles here
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May 12, 2009 19:40
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Ola posted:Battery/charging. Then compression. Ok, my battery doesn't have a rating, but it's testing at about 70 cold crank amps. I have no idea if that is good or not. quote:On a non running bike, sort of yeah. You should really check a bike specific forum before fiddling with it, but if required to trial/error it I would screw the idle mix screws all the way in and then 3 turns out, less or more depending on how many turns it took to screw them in. Throttle idle ... check as best you can how far the mechanism is off its stops. If you haven't fiddled much with it, just leave it. Same goes for idle mix screws really. Idle mix screws were all exactly one and a half turns out from all the way in. The throttle idle screw I had to remove to take off the diaphragm cap of one of my carbs. So I tried starting the bike through the range, a half turn at a time. I think it's at the setting where the bike wants to start the most, but who knows! 
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May 12, 2009 20:07
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Phat_Albert, any chance you screwed one up and tightened the screw along with the locknut? If not, I'd go back to valve noise. mr.belowaverage, I don't know about cold cranking amps either. If you have a multimeter, see how many volts it reads. A good battery should be in the high 12s without load, but it might be lower if you've been cranking a lot and might need charging. If you do get it started, rev above 3000 and measure the voltage over the poles. It should be in the high 13s or low 14s.
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May 12, 2009 20:16
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Phat_Albert posted:
Imagine scraping your fingernail along a smooth table. That's the kind of feel that the correct size of feeler should have when you insert it into the gap.
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May 12, 2009 21:17
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Ok so the R1 needs an oil change. I have no idea what it's been using. I would like to use synthetic, however I don't know if it's been using regular oil or synthetic. What kind of oil should i be putting in this bike? 10w40? 10w50? 15w50? and what if any preparations should I make for a synthetic switch.
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May 12, 2009 23:03
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:Ok so the R1 needs an oil change. I have no idea what it's been using. I would like to use synthetic, however I don't know if it's been using regular oil or synthetic. What kind of oil should i be putting in this bike? 10w40? 10w50? 15w50? and what if any preparations should I make for a synthetic switch. 10w40 is the standard, full synth is fine, don't use oil that has energy conserving in the API donut on the back. I use motorcycle specific oil in my trackbike, and rotella in my streetbikes.
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May 12, 2009 23:10
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Z3n posted:Is your VFR cable drive or electrical for the speedo and tach? I'm not actually sure whether its mechanical or electrical, I really need to get to know my poo poo better. I didn't think of MX units, they'd probably be cheaper than an OEM cluster off another bike, which seem really pricey. I am considering a bicycle speedo, which apparently would be roadworthy here. Ratty as poo poo though. My friend can rig up some LEDs in a bit of aluminium for the signals etc, so one of those vapors could be a good option. Thanks for the pointer man! While I'm here actually, I was thinking, my bike has just over 300,000km (woo), should I be using a different oil viscosity to 10w40 because of her age? this thread is fun and useful
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May 13, 2009 01:10
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So what the hell is a Suzuki SP500 from 1982? A guy near me is selling one in not completely horrible shape for $500, and i'm almost jumping at it. But I can't really find any information on them. Google tells me it's a Dual-purpose bike, but thats pretty much it. Looking at the pictures, I can guess it's one cylinder and Air-cooled, but beyond that i'm lost. Can't find a Clymer or Haynes manual either. Does anyone know anything about it? Click here for the full 1600x1200 image.
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May 13, 2009 04:34
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michaelm posted:I'm not actually sure whether its mechanical or electrical, I really need to get to know my poo poo better. Rigging up another OEM cluster would be a huge pain in the rear end, no matter how you slice it. Obviously, gauges are just clusters of instruments, but you're talking about a custom wiring harness mod plus praying that it will read the signals the same way as the one on your bike...Doable, I've considered it out of boredom and because it'd be interesting, but I wouldn't do it on anything but a project. I'd keep using the same oil, personally. That is a shitload of miles...on your VFR?
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May 13, 2009 05:22
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Ola posted:Unscrew the sparkplug, put the tester in, open the throttle wide and crank. The absolute numbers will vary (check your manual) but all cylinders should be around 80-90 psi and pretty equal. It will be below what the manual calls for as the engine is cold. Really?? I've always considered 90 to be on the absolute low end of what's acceptable. What I consider okay compression is 120+. Are my standards too high? mr.belowaverage: Check your ignition timing. If it's too far off it'll make the bike have trouble turning over and starting, not to mention what it'll act like when it gets running. You should probably also either buy some sync gauges or take it somewhere to get synced since it's difficult to eyeball these things. Taking it somewhere shouldn't run you more than $30 so it'd be worth it if it helped.\ For those carbs, 1 1/2 turns is the standard setting. While the bike is running try turning each carb out half a turn more and see if it makes a difference. If the idle rises, go another half-turn. If it keeps rising, keep going. If it drops, close it back a turn and see if it makes any difference from there. The object there is to adjust them evenly until the idle is as high as it will go using those screws and then adjust the actual idle screw to turn it down. bobula fucked around with this message at 07:28 on May 13, 2009 |
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May 13, 2009 07:20
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bobula posted:What I consider okay compression is 120+. Are my standards too high? No, you're probably right. Of course it depends on temperature and original compression ratio, but I figure a 9:1-ish ratio engine should have enough compression at 90 psi to fire.
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May 13, 2009 08:46
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Z3n posted:Rigging up another OEM cluster would be a huge pain in the rear end, no matter how you slice it. Obviously, gauges are just clusters of instruments, but you're talking about a custom wiring harness mod plus praying that it will read the signals the same way as the one on your bike...Doable, I've considered it out of boredom and because it'd be interesting, but I wouldn't do it on anything but a project. Yeah, I was figuring they'd be cheaper but apparently OEM clusters are hellishly priced... looks like an MX gauge is the way to go for something that actually looks bikeish yet affordable. The old viff does supposedly have 308400ish km. I know the two previous owners and they say it's gone past the maximum 99999km 3 times  Still runs like a champ too, hasn't been losing oil, starts every time and still pulls nicely, love that low down torque  Project: ratbike VFR commences this weekend so i'll take some pics. I think it's going to be a love it or hate it kind of affair. how the hell do I show an image here, god I suck at the internet
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May 13, 2009 10:19
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How long should a clutch last? Just this past week my ZZR600 gearbox (ZX6E in North America) has been quite cranky and difficult to get into neutral at a standing start, as well as crash and bang into some gears. I've adjusted it now, but the clutch point is still almost all the way in near the handgrip which is where it shouldn't be. It is however, less clunky. What gives? It's not slipping, and the bike has done 'only' 40,000klm and being my daily transport, I don't exactly abuse the old girl so I'm at a bit of a loss to explain what the gently caress it's problem is. Any ideas?
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May 13, 2009 10:40
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Road_Warrior posted:How long should a clutch last? Just this past week my ZZR600 gearbox (ZX6E in North America) has been quite cranky and difficult to get into neutral at a standing start, as well as crash and bang into some gears. I've adjusted it now, but the clutch point is still almost all the way in near the handgrip which is where it shouldn't be. It is however, less clunky. I don't know ZZRs, but if it has a clutch cable, I'd guess that your cable has stretched and needs to be adjusted. It isn't slipping because your cable is loose, rather then tight.
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May 13, 2009 14:26
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Soooo...search is disabled and I'm going to assume this thread is more frequented than the gear thread. What is the best sounding isolating earbud for motorcycle use? I know there was an "e" word company that a lot of people liked...etyonix or something like that. I want something with good sound, volume, and bass that will stay in my ear with a helmet on. Sound isolation is secondary (I don't find wind/engine noise to be much of a bother) but I feel like buds that fit into the ear canal would stay put more effectively and provide better volume and bass. Regular earbuds absolutely refuse to stay in my ear even if I try to adjust their placement after the helmet is on.
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May 13, 2009 15:33
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Etymotic. The model that gets recommended most often is the ER6. I have a pair and I like em.
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May 13, 2009 15:37
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Twenty-Seven posted:Etymotic. The model that gets recommended most often is the ER6. I have a pair and I like em. Thanks a bunch.
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May 13, 2009 16:18
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Hopefully you don't have weird ears like me. From looking in a mirror they look just like normal ears but I've tried every set of ear buds I can get my hands on and they all fall out. That's just from walking around. Trying to keep them in with a helmet on? Hell no. It's a bummer too. I commute 50 miles a day on the bike and would like to listen to some music once in a while. I've been considering dropping the coin on the ER6s but I'm afraid I'll be in the same boat.
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May 13, 2009 16:33
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Bugdrvr posted:Hopefully you don't have weird ears like me. I just browsed the MP3 thread on the first page and it seems Etymotic sells a very small tip that may be up your alley if you're finding typical buds too big. Additionally, you can find the ER-6is for half of what Etymotic is asking on Ebay from reputable sellers.
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May 13, 2009 16:51
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I grabbed some cheap flush mount turn signals. Like 17 bucks or so. My stock turn signal connector has 3 wires this signal only has 2. I found out which wires to hook it to at the cost of a 15a fuse. Can I just steal the connector off the stock light and use that to plug it in or should I wire the wires directly to each other? Also how much custom wiring stuff like this am I going to be doing on a bike?
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May 13, 2009 16:59
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Ponies ate my Bagel posted:I grabbed some cheap flush mount turn signals. Like 17 bucks or so. My stock turn signal connector has 3 wires this signal only has 2. I found out which wires to hook it to at the cost of a 15a fuse. Can I just steal the connector off the stock light and use that to plug it in or should I wire the wires directly to each other? Probably a good idea to use a connector since you'll likely be pulling the fairing off at some point in the future. And uh, I think the amount of custom wiring depends on how much custom stuff you do.
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May 13, 2009 17:14
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I would use the stock connectors. Leave enough wire on the plugs that you can, if need be, cut them back off and reattach them to the stock signals. How much wiring you'll do depends on how much customization you're going to do. Just lighting? Not much. Undoing years of PO neglect/hack jobs on a '70s/'80s bike? Plenty. (Please don't be that PO.) Dagen H fucked around with this message at 17:20 on May 13, 2009 |
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May 13, 2009 17:16
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Bucephalus posted:Undoing years of PO neglect/hack jobs on a '70s/'80s bike? Plenty. (Please don't be that PO.)  Aint this the truthAlso I'm going to mention these guys again because they're awesome: http://easternbeaver.com/index.html
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May 13, 2009 17:21
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There's nothing worse than half assed wiring jobs. Oh, we'll just crimp this, and that... and this... And soon you have a completely untracable harness. This is why i'm building a complete new harness for my '80.
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May 13, 2009 17:23
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I will probably only be changing out my turn signals as far as custom stuff. Probably a power commander in the future somewhere. I will go back to using the stock connector's. Does anyone else compulsively label and document any changes they make to their bike?
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May 13, 2009 17:30
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