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My wife has taken a liking to riding in to work with me, since it drops her commute time by around a half hour, and avoids public transit with filthy plague-ridden humans. I'm hoping to use this development to get her to take the MSF. (She's scared to death of the idea of actually driving a bike.) The other idea is as an excuse to get a mid-90's goldwing or something like it. Those schemes seem unlikely at the moment though. If this becomes a daily thing, should I do anything to help avoid additional wear? I'm assuming I'll go through rear tires twice as fast. Maybe lighten the preload on the shock? I commute on the Gladius, which is currently all stock, except for some steel brake lines.
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Jul 9, 2010 14:05
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chryst posted:My wife has taken a liking to riding in to work with me, since it drops her commute time by around a half hour, and avoids public transit with filthy plague-ridden humans. I'm hoping to use this development to get her to take the MSF. (She's scared to death of the idea of actually driving a bike.) The other idea is as an excuse to get a mid-90's goldwing or something like it. Additional wear is no big deal unles your wife is....well, I shan't go there. Get her some decent, practical gear, set the suspension for pillion according to the manual and see how the wear pans out. I know a guy who had his girlfriend on the bike to work every morning, he said it was really fun as they both felt like teenagers on a moped again. She could store her gear at the workplace and even though she regularly wore a skirt to the office, she could just pull it up to her waist inside the textile pants. Safe, practical, quick and somewhat romantic common commute. Really loving cool.
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Jul 9, 2010 16:19
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Ola posted:Additional wear is no big deal unles your wife is....well, I shan't go there. Get her some decent, practical gear, set the suspension for pillion according to the manual and see how the wear pans out. I know a guy who had his girlfriend on the bike to work every morning, he said it was really fun as they both felt like teenagers on a moped again. She could store her gear at the workplace and even though she regularly wore a skirt to the office, she could just pull it up to her waist inside the textile pants. 
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Jul 9, 2010 17:54
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chryst posted:She's like 135lb, which just seems like a lot of weight to add to a 400lb bike, I guess. The manual is pretty light on passenger setup. The tire sticker even specifies the same pressure for 2-up. Guess I'm good to go. Up the rear (and front if possible) suspension preload a bit if you're carrying a passenger daily
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Jul 9, 2010 18:36
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My 07 690 SM KTM has about 8,500 miles. I got some seafoam lying around. Should I run it through the gas tank?
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Jul 11, 2010 01:01
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If the bike's charging system does not charge, how far can you safely ride on just the battery? I'll might have to wait a week or two for a new stator and/or rectifier and the weather is just too good to keep the bike in the garage.
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Jul 11, 2010 10:07
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makka-setan posted:If the bike's charging system does not charge, how far can you safely ride on just the battery? I'll might have to wait a week or two for a new stator and/or rectifier and the weather is just too good to keep the bike in the garage. 
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Jul 11, 2010 17:24
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makka-setan posted:If the bike's charging system does not charge, how far can you safely ride on just the battery? I'll might have to wait a week or two for a new stator and/or rectifier and the weather is just too good to keep the bike in the garage. I've ridden about 12 miles from noticing the charging system had failed to the bike stopped. I noticed it by the gear indicator lights going very dim so it probably had been failed for a few miles already and the last mile was practically on two cylinders. And now that I remember, it wasn't the charging but the battery itself that had failed that time. I think that failure mode has a shorter range than a charging system one. If you have a spare battery, get both fully charged. Once the first one runs out, the second one should be just enough to get you home. 
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Jul 11, 2010 20:15
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On the other hand once you got the bike running you dont need the battery anymore, at least on mine.
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Jul 11, 2010 20:45
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niethan posted:On the other hand once you got the bike running you dont need the battery anymore, at least on mine. That's because your charging system works...
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Jul 11, 2010 20:46
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When in doubt, experiment! I made it all 10 miles to a friends house without incident today. The voltage hadn't even dropped any measurable amount. Just to be safe I charged it for an hour before returning home and that too went fine. I first noticed the charging problem on Friday after about 70 miles since the last battery check. The stater motor would turn but it sounded real weak. It could be that the charging system gave out at the very end of those 70 miles, but more likely it went out before that. I had some electrical problems on Wednesday when the starter motor refused to turn over. That's fine now but instead there is no charge, or at least very little. I'm guessing the regulator and/or stator gave out and that caused the starter system to act up.
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Jul 11, 2010 22:28
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makka-setan posted:If the bike's charging system does not charge, how far can you safely ride on just the battery? I'll might have to wait a week or two for a new stator and/or rectifier and the weather is just too good to keep the bike in the garage. the first time, maybe 10 miles, charge it again overnight maybe about the same then next few times its shorter and shorter as your battery self destructs, if you ride fast its shorter, if you indicate it gets shorter, if you brake it gets shorter, if its cold its shorter, if you want to use your headlight its halved. i know this because i went through about 5 R/Rs and one battery last year till i finally changed out my loom to get rid of the mystery intermittent short. edit: i must point out that its an SV which makes its starter motor work awfully hard and it was winter so the cold really didnt help the battery also i didnt buy 5 R/Rs i just cannibalised all the laid up bikes that i and my friends own. and if you are replacing your R/R get one of these http://www.roadstercycle.com/Vmax%20charging%20system%20repair.htm echomadman fucked around with this message at 23:01 on Jul 11, 2010 |
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Jul 11, 2010 22:55
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I installed a new Brembo brake lever on my '74 Honda CB750 but I'm not sure what the correct electrical connector for it would look like. I had the wires just kinda wrapped around it and a ton of electrical tape holding it together, but that doesn't seem too reliable. Maybe it's just a couple ordinary blade type connectors. 
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Jul 13, 2010 02:27
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BatDan posted:I installed a new Brembo brake lever on my '74 Honda CB750 but I'm not sure what the correct electrical connector for it would look like. I had the wires just kinda wrapped around it and a ton of electrical tape holding it together, but that doesn't seem too reliable. Maybe it's just a couple ordinary blade type connectors. You must not have a stock brake setup. The 74 had the same brake pressure sensor as my 77 which is connected to the forks: (Item 1 connecting to Item 6) http://www.bikebandit.com/houseofmotorcycles/showschematic/m9235sch397873
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Jul 13, 2010 16:53
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I recently acquired an '81 Yamaha Maxim XJ650 and I need to (and would like to) replace both mufflers, they have pretty much both rusted out. The rest of the exhaust system and baffles are absolutely fine, so I'd just like to slap 2 cheap aftermarket universal mufflers on if at all possible. Any recommendations for brands or other manufacturer's mufflers that work on these bikes would be greatly appreciated. As far as taking off the old ones, the Haynes manual is a little unclear as to whether or not the mufflers actually come off on this model by pulling, looks like they could but I do have an angle grinder if I need to cut them off where the mufflers attach to the regular diameter pipe. I'll eventually just pull the exhaust off and see, but if anyone has any caveats or tips I'd definitely buy you a beer next time you're in central Massachusetts.
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Jul 13, 2010 20:36
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I've been riding for 3 months, and I finally got so busy that I went 5 days without riding. When I came back, my SV650 has nothing happen when I put the key to on. This was a bad surprise as I was planning to commute on it today, and left me late to work. Anyway, if a battery has been discharged so far that I can't get a single light on the thing on, is it done for? I have a trickle charger and a 2nd battery that I'm going to swap in tonight, but is this completely dead battery gone for good? If I'm only riding shorter distances, should I try to use the trickle charger often?
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Jul 14, 2010 18:00
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Weinertron posted:I've been riding for 3 months, and I finally got so busy that I went 5 days without riding. When I came back, my SV650 has nothing happen when I put the key to on. This was a bad surprise as I was planning to commute on it today, and left me late to work. replied to your post in the other thread, but that sounds like you left it in park, or that your battery is failing. charge it up and see how it goes. read the pdfs i linked to in the other thread and do the checks, its pretty fast to do them on an sv.
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Jul 14, 2010 18:23
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echomadman posted:but that sounds like you left it in park, I'm really hoping its this, but I had been riding it short distances often before and I'm wondering if the charger is working. I'm hoping I get it charged up and then it works fine, meaning I left it with parking lights on like an idiot.
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Jul 14, 2010 18:48
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Yeah, really sounds like you got burned by the 'Drain my loving battery please!' setting 1 notch after the steering lock.
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Jul 14, 2010 18:57
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Spiffness posted:Yeah, really sounds like you got burned by the 'Drain my loving battery please!' setting 1 notch after the steering lock. If so, then I'm just an idiot and not an idiot with a broken electrical system.
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Jul 14, 2010 19:06
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Weinertron posted:If so, then I'm just an idiot and not an idiot with a broken electrical system. It's an easy mistake to make. If you have a voltmeter, you can check the voltage at the battery with the bike running (after you get it charged, of course). If the charging system is working, you should see 13-14v when you rev the bike up around 3,000-4,000 RPM or so.
Raven457 fucked around with this message at 19:29 on Jul 14, 2010 |
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Jul 14, 2010 19:21
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Weinertron posted:If so, then I'm just an idiot and not an idiot with a broken electrical system. Check your battery terminals too, if the little screws got loose somehow it wont have a solid connection and wont power anything, same things happened to me a few times.
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Jul 15, 2010 02:19
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vulgarghost posted:I recently acquired an '81 Yamaha Maxim XJ650 and I need to (and would like to) replace both mufflers, they have pretty much both rusted out. Try to find some Harley Sportster take-offs. Perfectly good mufflers, but too quiet for the rugged individualists.
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Jul 15, 2010 03:01
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Gnomad posted:Try to find some Harley Sportster take-offs. Perfectly good mufflers, but too quiet for the rugged individualists. Seconded. Usually yanked from the bike within the first 100 miles, so they're pristine and plentiful. There was just a set here locally for $30, so that gives you an idea of market val. Amazes me how many UJMs have them--you'd think they'd go out of their way to make them proprietary, like everything else.
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Jul 15, 2010 17:29
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Gnomad posted:Try to find some Harley Sportster take-offs. Perfectly good mufflers, but too quiet for the rugged individualists. Do these just bolt on?
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Jul 15, 2010 18:48
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My 80' Honda CB750F Super Sport has crooked forks and I don't know how to fix it. Riding in a straight line, the handlebars, dash board, and headlight point slightly to the left. To ride with the handlebars straight, I'm making a right turn that probably has a 100 foot diameter. The triple tree seems straight, it almost seems like the fork tubes are twisted inside the tree, but I think if that was the case the axle would be binding so much the wheel couldn't turn. I can post pictures if you want, I just ride a lot less because it's uncomfortable holding the handlebars 5 or so degrees off of straight, and my right hand an inch or two up and forward of my left.
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Jul 16, 2010 00:33
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Did you loosen up all of the bolts in the triple tree and try and straighten things out? Sometimes they'll get minorly tweaked in an accident and loosening up all the bolts will sort it out. Once you've done the top, loosen the pinch bolts in the front axle and pump the front end up and down a few times and then tighten them back up. Toss some support under the bike when you loosen up the triples too, so the front end doesn't slide down the forks.
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Jul 16, 2010 01:04
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ari.gato posted:Do these just bolt on? You may have to be a bit creative, your local auto parts store will have some exhaust pipe adapters for the pipe end, and then you have to figure out a way to attach it to the bike but it shouldn't be that hard. I put a set on a CM400 in an afternoon and they look really good, sound nice too, gives it a deeper tone than the stock "piff-piff" mufflers.
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Jul 16, 2010 02:12
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Crayvex posted:You must not have a stock brake setup. The 74 had the same brake pressure sensor as my 77 which is connected to the forks: (Item 1 connecting to Item 6) No, I installed an modern Brembo master cylinder with a new stainless line connecting to the original front brake caliper. The new master cylinder has an integral brake light switch making the whole set up much simpler. The problem is I don't know what sort of connector I need to use for the Brembo master cylinder.
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Jul 16, 2010 02:52
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2 blade connectors will probably work fine. All the switch does is close a circuit so that the brake light lights up.
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Jul 16, 2010 03:31
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Z3n posted:2 blade connectors will probably work fine. All the switch does is close a circuit so that the brake light lights up. Says the guy with no brake lights.
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Jul 16, 2010 16:40
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laymil posted:Says the guy with no brake lights. I have brake lights if I manually join the connectors with my right hand as I brake.
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Jul 16, 2010 16:53
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Z3n posted:I have brake lights if I manually join the connectors with my right hand as I brake. When the rear tire leaves the pavement: Z3n is braking. Ask me how I know!
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Jul 16, 2010 17:16
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Z3n posted:I have brake lights if I manually join the connectors with my right hand as I brake.
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Jul 16, 2010 17:17
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Spiffness posted:When the rear tire leaves the pavement: Z3n is braking. I believe that braking is a binary situation. Jabs posted:So that's what the other two fingers are for? Yup.
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Jul 16, 2010 17:22
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Well, I'm an idiot with a broken electrical system. I just charged up my second battery, swapped it in, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition to on. I went ahead and checked all the fuses and they're good. What are the odds that the key cylinder would fail on an SV650? How easy are these things to hotwire if I want to hotwire it and ride it to the dealer to pay someone to fix it?  Anyway, I have a known good battery and nothing happens with key to ON. What's happening?
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Jul 17, 2010 02:36
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Weinertron posted:Well, I'm an idiot with a broken electrical system. I just charged up my second battery, swapped it in, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition to on. I went ahead and checked all the fuses and they're good. What are the odds that the key cylinder would fail on an SV650? How easy are these things to hotwire if I want to hotwire it and ride it to the dealer to pay someone to fix it? No lights or indicators at all? It's not just the kill switch in the "off" position, right? (Always good to double-check!)
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Jul 17, 2010 02:44
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Any of you duders know someone who has converted a 250 to GP shift by chance? The stock shift rod isn't long enough to just flip the linkage around. I'm probably going to call woodcraft next week and try to order a longer rod, unless there's another option.
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Jul 17, 2010 04:29
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Weinertron posted:Well, I'm an idiot with a broken electrical system. I just charged up my second battery, swapped it in, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition to on. I went ahead and checked all the fuses and they're good. What are the odds that the key cylinder would fail on an SV650? How easy are these things to hotwire if I want to hotwire it and ride it to the dealer to pay someone to fix it? Did you make sure the terminals are hooked up correctly and the wiring harness ground is connected correctly? There's a blade connector that attaches to a lead off the negative terminal of the battery and provides the ground for the wring harness. Following that, it's time to whip out a multimeter and a wiring harness and see where the power is stopping.
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Jul 17, 2010 04:47
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Weinertron posted:Well, I'm an idiot with a broken electrical system. I just charged up my second battery, swapped it in, and nothing happens when I turn the ignition to on. I went ahead and checked all the fuses and they're good. What are the odds that the key cylinder would fail on an SV650? How easy are these things to hotwire if I want to hotwire it and ride it to the dealer to pay someone to fix it? did you check the main fuse? its not in the block under the seat, its further down behind the black trim panel under s transparent green plastic cover (on the curveys) i think its under the riders seat on the pointys
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Jul 17, 2010 13:44
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