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Z3n posted:When was it running last? Speaking of which, why the hell don't motorcycles themselves have quick releases on their battery wires? That would really save me a lot of fiddling around every time I have to pull the battery out. I suppose I could buy one and pigtail it in, but that would result in a lot of clutter and extra wire in an already cramped space.
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Apr 7, 2011 14:49
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Has anyone had experience in adding an audio system to a motorcycle? I guess what I'm looking for is a small 2 channel amp. It would be getting the audio signal from my gps's headphone jack. I have a pair of 5" car speakers I'd install into the fairings (old sony xplod). I did notice this little amp that looks like what I'd be after. http://www.amphony.com/products/mini-amplifier.htm The downside is it looks to want a 24v supply. Building a 12-24v step up isn't beyond me, but a 12-13v supply would be convenient. I suppose since they'd have to overcome wind noise, sound quality doesn't have to be flawless, though I'd like it to sound decent when parked and posing. Thanks for any advice.
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Apr 7, 2011 18:31
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I've never understood how it's possible for speakers to overcome wind noise and still make it through your helmet. Do you plan to ride everywhere on 35mph back roads (and actually go 35mph on them)?
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Apr 7, 2011 18:35
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Yeah, I guess I should add that I don't really expect them to overcome highway speed wind noise, but I do a lot of riding around 50-70 km/h (back roads are nice). I honestly can hear my GPS's speaker on its own once at lower speeds, so I don't imagine real speakers would have much trouble getting up where I can hear them. I'm still looking, and it seems I can get amps for 40-80 bucks, so it seems like a fun project for me. Just looking for advice from anyone who's actually done it themselves. For highway I'd have ear buds in anyways for the noise protection.
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Apr 7, 2011 18:46
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bladesamurai posted:Nah, the bike seems completely dead unless I hook it up to my car, the second I hook up my car, the lights turn on, all of the warning lights do their thing, the tach does its sweep, and the fuel pump turns on. Doesn't seem like enough juice to really get the starter going fast enough, it's pretty sluggish. Gonna stop by wal-mart today and check prices on batteries and trickle chargers. Check the earthing points...
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Apr 7, 2011 18:53
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TLG James posted:Sadly not, probably because it was not just made for motorcycles. I bought it so I could charge my car on deployments. Won't 1.5 AMPS cook a motorcycle battery? Battery Tender Jr's are only .75 Amps.
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Apr 7, 2011 18:56
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Golluk posted:Yeah, I guess I should add that I don't really expect them to overcome highway speed wind noise, but I do a lot of riding around 50-70 km/h (back roads are nice). Don't be a douche. Seriously, nobody ever sees a bike with speakers on it and thinks "Wow what a cool dude!". Everyone with speakers on their bike is a joke. Don't be a joke. Use earbuds.
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Apr 7, 2011 18:58
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Crayvex posted:Won't 1.5 AMPS cook a motorcycle battery? Battery Tender Jr's are only .75 Amps. My battery tender is 1.25.
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Apr 7, 2011 19:06
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ReelBigLizard posted:Check the earthing points... I don't quite know what this means, are earthing points spots where the current is being grounded where it shouldn't be? Like a short? I did a bit of googling and came across this: http://www.offwidth.co.uk/bike/general/electrical_fault_finding.pdf Should I follow this and test before I get a new battery?
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Apr 7, 2011 19:16
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bladesamurai posted:I don't quite know what this means, are earthing points spots where the current is being grounded where it shouldn't be? Like a short? I did a bit of googling and came across this: http://www.offwidth.co.uk/bike/general/electrical_fault_finding.pdf You hook up a car battery, and suddenly everything's working and it's cranking strong, but it still won't start? Yeah, sounds like a bad ground (earth). First make sure the battery terminals and connectors are clean. Then trace your negative cable to any and all places where it's connected to the frame or otherwise grounded. Make sure all those points are clean and solidly connected.
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Apr 7, 2011 20:08
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Bixington posted:
awesome, I'll keep this in mind. Next year I might have internships in warm places for winter and spring, in different places/states, and this would be a huge help.
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Apr 7, 2011 21:13
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SlightlyMadman posted:My battery tender is 1.25. What's the upper limit for Motorcycle batteries? I had some off brand battery tender that totally fried my Honda's battery. I think it was a 2 amp.
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Apr 7, 2011 21:36
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moved to gear thread, sorry.
Errant Gin Monks fucked around with this message at 22:45 on Apr 7, 2011 |
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Apr 7, 2011 21:51
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Z3n posted:Ok, there's 3 parts that make up a charging system. Bumping this cuz I'm finally getting around to working on my bike. Battery is fine, 14v when running. When I do the stator wiring checks against each other (i.e. 1-2, 1-3, 2-3) I get a pretty consistent read, around 57 volts. But when I try the one wire against the frame test I get arouynd 16v - but I get this with just one end of the multimeter checking the output whether its against the frame or not. What's up? The wiring itself looks alright but I'd need to take the tank off to get to the entire wiring unit.
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Apr 7, 2011 22:03
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14v DC when running and reved up to 5k? 16v AC from the stator to the engine ground is a fair bit of bleed over, but if you're still getting 14v DC at the battery when reved to 5k, then you're ok. Have you checked the battery recently? What's the voltage on it fresh off the charger and after sitting? What does it drop to when you crank the bike over?
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Apr 7, 2011 22:32
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Crayvex posted:What's the upper limit for Motorcycle batteries? I had some off brand battery tender that totally fried my Honda's battery. I think it was a 2 amp.
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Apr 7, 2011 23:13
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Picked up a multimeter and a trickle charger to figure out my sv650 issues, the battery was reading 1.5 volts. I hooked it up to my car again and this time the bike was able to start, although once i disconnected the car the lights would flicker faintly, and if I tried to apply throttle the bike would die pretty quick. I tried to follow the negative line off of the battery but couldn't see anything conclusive. Does this help narrow down anything or am I still at the same spot? I've got the battery hooked up to the trickle charger currently, I'll see what it reads in an hour or so, voltage-wise.
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Apr 8, 2011 00:11
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Z3n posted:14v DC when running and reved up to 5k? 16v AC from the stator to the engine ground is a fair bit of bleed over, but if you're still getting 14v DC at the battery when reved to 5k, then you're ok. I took it off the trickle charger today after 2 days. It was dead, obviously from sitting nearly a year. I'll check the voltage off the battery when revved. I'm amazed that the gas hasn't gone bad. I took it out and rode for about 20 minutes and it responded perfectly. Keep in mind my problem (back then) was largely deteriorative, it got worse as time went by, supporting the idea that there's a charging system problem. Pretty amazed it flat out died while in motion though, that was stunning.
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Apr 8, 2011 00:14
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Ammanas, I bet you're going to find that the voltage drops down as you rev the bike. 20 minutes of riding isn't enough time for the battery to completely drain. Probably need a new R/R. quote:Picked up a multimeter and a trickle charger to figure out my sv650 issues, the battery was reading 1.5 volts. I hooked it up to my car again and this time the bike was able to start, although once i disconnected the car the lights would flicker faintly, and if I tried to apply throttle the bike would die pretty quick. I tried to follow the negative line off of the battery but couldn't see anything conclusive. Does this help narrow down anything or am I still at the same spot? First step is ALWAYS make sure your battery is good. 1.5 volts is not good, it needs to be reading at least 12 before you give things another shot. Anyways, to explain why: Motorcycles generally do not charge their batteries at idle. There's too much draw on the electrical system with the lights, coils, etc. to both run the bike and put out enough juice to charge the battery at low RPM. Instead, it pulls from the battery. Once you get the revs up, it'll start to charge the battery. Usually it's around 2-4k where it starts to make enough power, depending on the engine's rev limit. If you only have a 1.5 volt battery, you increase that draw by opening the throttle and you run it out of power and it dies. Could also be lovely gas, or a combination of both, but step one is ALWAYS make sure your battery is good. You will drive yourself crazy hunting down "issues" that are due to bad/low batteries or bad gas.
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Apr 8, 2011 00:22
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Just wanted to post to say that Pete's Superbike in  does indeed kick rear end. Thanks to those that recommended them to me a couple months back.My Battlax tires for the ST came in promptly and safely via Fed Ex. By the time I paid to get them mounted and balanced, it was still basically almost half price from anyone even remotely local. Can't recommend him enough.
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Apr 8, 2011 01:47
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slidebite posted:Just wanted to post to say that Pete's Superbike in Your welcome!  I've ordered one set through him and it was awesome and cheap and awesome. Glad it worked well for you too.
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Apr 8, 2011 01:59
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Trickle charged the old battery overnight, disconnected it when it got to 12.3 volts, although I haven't tested it in the bike yet. I picked up the battery from my bike at home and the bike runs great, although I'm still not sure if the battery died because of age, parking lights being on, or a short. When the bike is running i have a nice 14volts across the pins. Is there anything else I should check or should i just ride it as usual and see if anything dies?
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Apr 8, 2011 14:03
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Sorry, I should have expanded on the earthing thing. Almost all modern bikes use the whole frame as the negative rail, which saves on a lot of wiring. Around the bike will be one or more thick insulated or possibly braided cables that connect with bolts directly to the frame. These provide continuity for the bikes electrics. There will likely be one from engine to frame and one from Battery/fusebox to frame at least. If they become disconnected, loose or even just too far corroded the electrics will be intermittent at best, dead at worst. An easy way to check your earths is to use your multimeter to test resistance between the negative terminal on the battery and an exposed bit of frame, then the engine.
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Apr 8, 2011 14:22
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ReelBigLizard posted:Sorry, I should have expanded on the earthing thing. Should they have the same resistance? I didn't bring my multimeter to work but I'll test it when I get home. Thanks for the clarification The bike's electronics seemed great today with a fully charged battery, but for all i know it's slowly draining out there in the parking lot!
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Apr 8, 2011 14:48
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bladesamurai posted:Trickle charged the old battery overnight, disconnected it when it got to 12.3 volts, although I haven't tested it in the bike yet. I picked up the battery from my bike at home and the bike runs great, although I'm still not sure if the battery died because of age, parking lights being on, or a short. When the bike is running i have a nice 14volts across the pins. A fully charged battery should be over 13v without a load on it. I'd keep an eye on it to see if that battery holds up.
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Apr 8, 2011 21:13
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If I take my wheels in to have new tires put on tomorrow do the brake rotors need to be removed or is it OK to have them on?
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Apr 9, 2011 23:32
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It's fine to leave them on.
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Apr 9, 2011 23:48
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They stay on
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Apr 9, 2011 23:48
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I recently worked on a '05 R6 with about 12k miles. It was put away last fall running with a full tank of gas with stabil. The owner went to start it this spring, it ran for a few seconds and then died. It has not started since. I tried starting with a little starting fluid, no go. I pulled all four plugs (all were wet from previous starting attempts), checked for spark (it was good). I pulled the plugs multiple times between starting attempts and they were always wet with fuel. I also drained the tank and put fresh gas in. I will some times rumble a little like it wants to start but does not. This bike is a little more advanced then the tractors I usually work on, any ideas?
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Apr 10, 2011 03:09
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Remember me posting about my destroyed cam lobe and a horrible tapping sound? Well it turns out it was the cam lobe after all. Swapped the cam & all the rockers from my parts bike and it sounds and runs fantastic now! Insuring it tomorrow, super stoked.
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Apr 10, 2011 05:27
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Vork!Vork!Vork! posted:I recently worked on a '05 R6 with about 12k miles. It was put away last fall running with a full tank of gas with stabil. The owner went to start it this spring, it ran for a few seconds and then died. It has not started since. I tried starting with a little starting fluid, no go. I pulled all four plugs (all were wet from previous starting attempts), checked for spark (it was good). I pulled the plugs multiple times between starting attempts and they were always wet with fuel. I also drained the tank and put fresh gas in. I will some times rumble a little like it wants to start but does not. This bike is a little more advanced then the tractors I usually work on, any ideas? Zig, glad that was it
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Apr 10, 2011 07:02
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Was out for a ride today and the digital dash on my KTM 640SM died. Now this has happened once before a couple of months ago so I knew it was a blown fuse. However this time after I changed the fuse I got maybe 2 minutes out of it before it blew again. The blown fuse also left me with no indicators for the ride home. Checking through the owner's manual the dash is meant to be on fuse #1 while the indicators are fuse #3. The fuse that keeps blowing is #3 and if I put a good fuse in #3 and remove #1 completely the dash and the indicators will work correctly. To my mind this seems an awful lot like the dash is wired in incorrectly. My questions are: 1) Is it possible that having the dash on the wrong circuit is what is causing the problem? 2) I've only really handled minor mechanical stuff by myself, is the rewiring something that could be done at home without driving myself crazy?
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Apr 10, 2011 07:45
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Sounds like the wires might have gotten pinched or mangled somewhere are are making a connection when they shouldn't. Start by looking for damage to the wiring harness or fusebox. Besides that, it's probably not that they were wired up wrong, just that something has gotten damaged. You can track it down at home with a multimeter and the circuit testing function. I recommend picking up a book on electrical system troubleshooting if you're not familiar with them, it'll really help you isolate things out. Electrical problems are rarely complex, they just require a careful, methodical approach.
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Apr 10, 2011 16:23
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Quick question. When I hold the front brake and push down on the bars to compress the forks, there is a faint 'knocking' sensation. I don't recall this happening before I swapped the fork springs out a few days ago.. I thought it was related to the swap, but when I roll the front wheel up against a wall and push down, the fork travel is really smooth. It also doesn't happen when I just hold the back brake on. I also tested compressing fork with brake on while holding the fork stanchion and lowers trying to detect if there was any play back and front rather than up and down (like when bushings in mtb forks wear out) but could not detect anything. At this point I'm thinking its not related to the forks themselves, but there is anything else to look at let me know. So I took off the front brake calipers and checked the pads. One of the pads has about 3 mm play of movement up down in the caliper whereas the other 3 don't seem to have that much, so I am wondering if perhaps that it causing the knocking. One pad did get unseated when I pulled them off for the spring swap, I dont remember if its the same one with the play, but I'm pretty sure I put it back right. Any advice? This is a gen2 sv650. There doesn't appear to be any actual impact to braking or suspension performance.
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Apr 10, 2011 19:14
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Is there a rule of thumb for suspension travel that should remain when under maximum braking? Looking at the dust on my front forks, under heavy braking I might have 1/2" of travel left in the front forks on my 599. The surface I was on wasn't grippy enough to pull the back tire up during braking like I can do on other surfaces, but I still laid down some decent stops. I have Race Tech springs in the forks, the 0.85 rated ones. Looking at their calculator online, I may want the 0.90 springs, especially with how much gear I wear. Or is 1/2" of travel left acceptable during maximum braking?
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Apr 10, 2011 19:34
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GanjamonII posted:So I took off the front brake calipers and checked the pads. One of the pads has about 3 mm play of movement up down in the caliper whereas the other 3 don't seem to have that much, so I am wondering if perhaps that it causing the knocking. One pad did get unseated when I pulled them off for the spring swap, I dont remember if its the same one with the play, but I'm pretty sure I put it back right. Pretty sure brake pads should not really move around at all in the caliper. The spring/bracket things in there should put pressure on them and keep them mostly stationary. Sounds like that might be the issue. Are the spring/brackets all there? Are they in the right spot, oriented the right way? Sometimes it's hard to tell just by looking at them which way they go in. If you have a repair manual, check in there for a diagram showing that stuff.
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Apr 10, 2011 19:46
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Napkins posted:If I take my wheels in to have new tires put on tomorrow do the brake rotors need to be removed or is it OK to have them on? Z3n posted:It's fine to leave them on. slidebite posted:They stay on Specifically, you want the rotors left on so that any imbalance they have is negated when the wheel/tire is balanced.
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Apr 10, 2011 22:21
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GanjamonII posted:Quick question. When I hold the front brake and push down on the bars to compress the forks, there is a faint 'knocking' sensation. I don't recall this happening before I swapped the fork springs out a few days ago.. I thought it was related to the swap, but when I roll the front wheel up against a wall and push down, the fork travel is really smooth. It also doesn't happen when I just hold the back brake on. Sounds like head bearings that are on their way out. Check the head bearing tension, it can be difficult to detect under light load if they're just a bit loose. I've had play in brake pads in the calipers before, depends on the caliper design, I'd inspect the backing springs, as Rev suggests. Z3n fucked around with this message at 22:47 on Apr 10, 2011 |
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Apr 10, 2011 22:44
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I had my girlfriend look at the rotors while I was applying brake and rocking it back and forth and she pointed out that the 2 pieces of the rotors are kind of moving independently back and forth. The outside is locked by the brakes but the inside is moving slightly back and forth. Is that normal or are they toast? I thought the floating rotors were only meant to move side to side to allow for alignment to the brake calipers?Z3n posted:Sounds like head bearings that are on their way out. Check the head bearing tension, it can be difficult to detect under light load if they're just a bit loose. I've had play in brake pads in the calipers before, depends on the caliper design, I'd inspect the backing springs, as Rev suggests. Thanks - I'm going to check this out too - Googling how to do this suggests a front stand is needed and I don't have one so I'll be borrowing that again. Also I will check the brakes again as Rev suggested to check if I put it back together ok. Its strange that only 1 of 4 pads is doing it.
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Apr 11, 2011 01:58
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GanjamonII posted:I had my girlfriend look at the rotors while I was applying brake and rocking it back and forth and she pointed out that the 2 pieces of the rotors are kind of moving independently back and forth. The outside is locked by the brakes but the inside is moving slightly back and forth. Is that normal or are they toast? I thought the floating rotors were only meant to move side to side to allow for alignment to the brake calipers? That's how fully floating rotors work. They ride entirely on the buttons, although I've never been able to get a clear answer on how much play is normal and how much play is "too much". My brembo full floaters had huge amounts of play, the sumo rotors end up with a lot of play after a few thousand miles, I haven't been able to get a clear answer about how much is normal. You can put a jack under the bike to get the front end off the ground and see if they click at all.
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Apr 11, 2011 05:41
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