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I had some mystery glop on my seat a few years back and Goo-Gone wouldn't touch it. It was sticky like glue or tree sap, no clue where it came from. Laundry detergent removed it with ease. (Probably wouldn't work on spraypaint, but just saying.)
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Sep 26, 2012 15:18
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Is the difference between at .75 amp and a 1.25 amp trickle charger just that one goes faster? I am a cheapo and I just spent $65 on a new battery (which I then didn't install so it's around 11 volts), so I'd much rather get the cheaper trickle charger option. I hear that Battery Tender is a good brand, so I'll probably get one of those.
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Sep 27, 2012 01:32
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Yeah, it's the rate of current basically. I have a $5 2A trickle charger from Walmart and it does just fine.
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Sep 27, 2012 05:10
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Ghost Cactus posted:Is the difference between at .75 amp and a 1.25 amp trickle charger just that one goes faster? I am a cheapo and I just spent $65 on a new battery (which I then didn't install so it's around 11 volts), so I'd much rather get the cheaper trickle charger option. the Battery Tender Junior is well regarded by most and inexpensive. add another $0.89 to your order and get free shipping on it too.
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Sep 27, 2012 05:28
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Ghost Cactus posted:I hear that Battery Tender is a good brand, so I'll probably get one of those.
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Sep 27, 2012 05:29
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Pham Nuwen posted:So, tell me how terrible of an idea it would be to take my 2010 Bonneville on a trip from the SF Bay Area to Del Rio, TX and back. It's 1500 miles each way, I'd like to get it done in 2-3 days. Thus far I've only really done local rides on the order of a few hours tops. What kind of hell would I be getting myself into if I do this? Quoting myself for an update: I decided to ride to Vancouver, WA to visit an college friend instead. Leaving next Thursday. It'll be 2 easier days instead of 3 hard days, and in cooler weather with prettier scenery (I'm going to take Hwy 101). Thinking I'll camp in Humbug Mountain State Park in Oregon. Better to pay $13 for a campground, or just push my bike 50 yards off the road and set up camp somewhere?
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Sep 27, 2012 06:38
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I'm on the road to turn the V-Max into something that is not only fast but also turns and stops. As much as I'd like to spend the winter putting LED lights and custom gauges all over it I've decided handling and braking should probably take precedent so all that money for dumb lights and custom paint doesn't end up on its side. The 06 I ended up on has improved suspension (2001+) and braking (1993+) from the horror stories, but it's still kind of poo poo for how fast and top heavy the bike is. Low speed turns + bump like to toss the bike around a bit. In fact... anything but a smooth as glass surface translates pretty well up to my wrists. Turning in the process just adds to the fun. The best bang for the buck as far as improving that seems to be upgraded springs and emulators. There are few well liked and reviewed options in the max community and after a bit of reading I'm going with Race Tech springs and cartridge emulators. Q's regarding aftermarket suspension: The install suggests cutting custom spacers for lowering the suspension in the process out of whatever. Schedule 80 PVC being the most commonly suggested. Having never done anything with forks outside of replacing bushings and seals... I'm at a loss for how adding spacers results in lowering the suspension. How low you should go seems to be dependent on how much lower your rear suspension is. I have no current plans to change the stock rear springs for now. So should I even bother lowering just the front? Is it typical for after market springs to be installed with stock spacers or no spacers? The max community are largely gear heads that spend their time boring out engines and such... there's not a lot of info from them on this it's just sort of expected the average owner knows wtf. Braking is actually just fine, an improvement over the VLX and 83 Shadow I'm accustomed to even, though both of those are single disc front and drum rear so that's to be expected. The rear pads need replacement though as the PO seems to have only used rear brake for all 2000 miles he put on it. Q: There are HH grade pads available for it that I want to go with as they don't generate as much brake dust and I'm lazy about cleaning that poo poo. They are overpowered for what you need out of a typical rear brake on this bike. Am I OK in thinking I'll be fine with a stronger rear brake provided I adjust and not panic slam it? I haven't unintentionally locked a rear brake since probably my first season of riding. Even in panic situations. Halo_4am fucked around with this message at 06:48 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 06:45
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Fork spacers serve to preload the springs. Racetech may also use a different spring length with a higher rate, which especially if there is no preload adjustment on the forks, will need a different spacer. Racetech will probably specify the air gap to use as well.
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Sep 27, 2012 07:37
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AncientTV posted:Yeah, it's the rate of current basically. I have a $5 2A trickle charger from Walmart and it does just fine. SB35 posted:the Battery Tender Junior is well regarded by most and inexpensive. add another $0.89 to your order and get free shipping on it too. slidebite posted:The nice thing with those (and others that can charge control) is that they auto shut-off and cycle when the battery is charged. Without that auto control, it's entirely possible to overcharge a battery even on a trickle charger. That's settled then - thanks for the advice. Looking forward to not having to get help bump-starting the bike every time I want to ride.
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Sep 27, 2012 08:16
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What are people's thoughts on earplugs? I'm new to riding, and the wind noise was something I really didn't think would be as bad as it is especially with my Shoei.
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Sep 27, 2012 09:32
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Grimes posted:What are people's thoughts on earplugs? I'm new to riding, and the wind noise was something I really didn't think would be as bad as it is especially with my Shoei. I wear earplugs almost every time I ride. Only short trips in town where I'm not going 50mph+ for any appreciable time do I not bother.
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Sep 27, 2012 10:02
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Grimes posted:What are people's thoughts on earplugs? I'm new to riding, and the wind noise was something I really didn't think would be as bad as it is especially with my Shoei. I wear em every ride. It's comparable to riding in a car with the windows up; it just provides for a much more serene environment compared to hellacious wind noise whipping around in your helmet.
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Sep 27, 2012 11:41
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Ditto on wearing them every time I ride. It was weird at first, almost like you were insulated from the road - worried about not hearing cars, emergency vehicles, etc. Once you get use to them you can still hear everything and won't want to go without them.
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Sep 27, 2012 11:54
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Picked up a big ol box of Hearos at Target the other day and couldnt be happier, I've never worn a softer pair of earplugs.
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Sep 27, 2012 14:30
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AncientTV posted:I wear em every ride. It's comparable to riding in a car with the windows up; it just provides for a much more serene environment compared to hellacious wind noise whipping around in your helmet. Should I expect to be fine without earplugs then? I ride around with my windows down pretty much all year.  Because I don't have AC and Virginia doesn't have winter. e:\/\/\/ Oh yeah, I'm just joking. I was a bowling alley mechanic for a while and am a big fan of the foam ones. As long as nothing touches them, that can be pretty loud. Splizwarf fucked around with this message at 15:27 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 15:22
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Pick up a pair of cheap foam or silicon earplugs and try them out. You might find you like them, you might not.
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Sep 27, 2012 15:25
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Riding highway speeds without earplugs is a good way to mess up your hearing.
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Sep 27, 2012 15:37
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Halo_4am posted:Q's regarding aftermarket suspension: The install suggests cutting custom spacers for lowering the suspension in the process out of whatever. Schedule 80 PVC being the most commonly suggested. Having never done anything with forks outside of replacing bushings and seals... I'm at a loss for how adding spacers results in lowering the suspension. How low you should go seems to be dependent on how much lower your rear suspension is. I have no current plans to change the stock rear springs for now. So should I even bother lowering just the front? Is it typical for after market springs to be installed with stock spacers or no spacers? The max community are largely gear heads that spend their time boring out engines and such... there's not a lot of info from them on this it's just sort of expected the average owner knows wtf. When I installed my RaceTech springs/emulators, it came with about 18" of spacing tube for us to cut as needed. When you take your fork apart, it will already have a spacer in there. The RT spring was about 4" shorter than the stock spring, so we cut the RT spacer as needed to make up the difference + how we wanted it. quote:What are people's thoughts on earplugs? I'm new to riding, and the wind noise was something I really didn't think would be as bad as it is especially with my Shoei. I wear ear plugs every time I ride. You don't notice how much they help you until you go a ride without them. I want to be able to hear when I'm 50. Also make sure you're putting them in correctly (pulling your ear back.)
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Sep 27, 2012 16:07
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I don't wear them and instead close the helmet vents on the highway and got a shield to reduce wind noise for when I'm doing a lot of highway time. There's a point of lazy for me in gear + ride. I don't take the bike for 5-10 minute trips if I've got to take that long to gear up. As a result I've removed gloves and ear plugs from my typical gear up routine. It allows me to ride more places since my lazy rear end doesn't talk myself into just taking the car. I had a boss once who was mostly deaf in his left ear. He said it was from 20 years driving a professional van on the expressways from site to site. The wind noise from doing so with the window down caused permanent damage. You should wear them. xaarman posted:When I installed my RaceTech springs/emulators, it came with about 18" of spacing tube for us to cut as needed. When you take your fork apart, it will already have a spacer in there. The RT spring was about 4" shorter than the stock spring, so we cut the RT spacer as needed to make up the difference + how we wanted it. Thanks I'm starting to visualize how this goes together. Are the better springs and emulators night and day difference from stock for you?
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Sep 27, 2012 16:09
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Halo_4am posted:Thanks I'm starting to visualize how this goes together. Are the better springs and emulators night and day difference from stock for you? First off, my experience is with an 06 SV650S, which is internationally known to have really lovely suspension. For normal commuting, it was improved, but it wasn't some miraculous change - I would only recommend it if you are planning on keeping the bike for a long time. However, where the change really showed it's colors was in the more spirited/aggressive/track riding. When leaned over, it just felt more planted.. more secure. The change from the lovely stock SV650S suspension was night and day. edit: I also went with 15W fork oil. If I went with a less heavy oil, the street riding probably would have been more improved, but the lighter oil suffers when you start riding aggressively/tracking. xaarman fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 16:15
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I'm planning to have this bike until I'm old and busted and buy a can-am or until a mid-size cruiser with fuel injection is designed, manufactured, and a sizeable used market saturates craigslist. This bike is also well known for its poo poo suspension and brakes, though honestly the brakes on this model are fine to me. More specific to race tech, did you do the spring size/weight calculator? It recommends me .0976 with actual options being 0.95 and 1.0. I'm going 1.0 figuring I'll probably only gain weight with age and I typically have a passenger or luggage on the bike. Are they poo poo when you are 2-up or are the weight/size recommendations more general rule like I expect?
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Sep 27, 2012 16:22
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So every time I fill up I'm curious... I occasionally dribble a little gas down my tank and it hits the flaming hot engine. Is it a serious likelihood that I might start a fire? This is rare and something I work on, but I've only been motorcycling about two months so it still happens.
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Sep 27, 2012 18:35
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Wulframn posted:So every time I fill up I'm curious... I occasionally dribble a little gas down my tank and it hits the flaming hot engine. Is it a serious likelihood that I might start a fire? This is rare and something I work on, but I've only been motorcycling about two months so it still happens. While I wouldn't hose the bike down with petrol, the heat of the outside of the engine is not likely to ignite a drip of gas. If the block were hot enough to ignite fuel, you wouldn't need spark plugs. Since the interior of the block is not hot enough, the exterior should be less so. The exhaust headers OTOH, certainly could be hot enough to ignite something. The hot gas in them does exactly that when the engine backfires, so I suppose the outside of the header pipes could be hot enough. So don't sweat the odd dribble, but stay away from using gasoline as a coolant.
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Sep 27, 2012 19:15
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Tamir Lenk posted:While I wouldn't hose the bike down with petrol, the heat of the outside of the engine is not likely to ignite a drip of gas. If the block were hot enough to ignite fuel, you wouldn't need spark plugs. Since the interior of the block is not hot enough, the exterior should be less so. Well, I figured the overwhelming amount of stories of exploding motorcycles at gas stations in the news were a good indication; but you never know. Thanks a lot for your reply!
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Sep 27, 2012 20:58
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Halo_4am posted:I'm planning to have this bike until I'm old and busted and buy a can-am or until a mid-size cruiser with fuel injection is designed, manufactured, and a sizeable used market saturates craigslist. This bike is also well known for its poo poo suspension and brakes, though honestly the brakes on this model are fine to me. I did, double checked with the person I was ordering from on the phone. I don't really feel comfortable recommending this change for someone on a cruiser. It's not a good or bad thing, I just have very little experience on that type of riding. However, I did notice you were also talking about brakes, and I can't recommend stainless steel brake lines + a good high quality fluid flush and replacement with something like Motul DOT 5.1 Brake Fluid enough. The brakes feel great - they are predictable, linear and strong (no flex.) I have never met someone who said they thought SS brake lines were a waste of money, especially if your fluid/lines are more than a couple years old. xaarman fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 21:18
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I feel a bit dumb, but this has never come up in my years of working on vehicles: If a fuel-injected motor (03 zx6r in this case) starts and idles fine, but dies as soon as you look at the throttle, what is likely to be wrong? Of course the first thing through my head was CLEANTHECARBS edit: This is in neutral, kickstand down, and clutch in, if that matters.
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Sep 27, 2012 22:09
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CLEANTHEMAF? That's just a guess on my part.
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Sep 27, 2012 22:10
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xaarman posted:I did, double checked with the person I was ordering from on the phone. I don't really feel comfortable recommending this change for someone on a cruiser. It's not a good or bad thing, I just have very little experience on that type of riding. Did you drop a word here? Like maybe "can't recommend enough"? SS brake lines > old rubber lines. Or did you mean to discourage the detailed brake upgrades? Also, I thought the brake fluid DOT levels are peculiar to brake systems, such that DOT 5 is not necessarily better than DOT 4, if the brakes are not designed for that fluid type.
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Sep 27, 2012 22:12
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Haha sure did! Can't recommend SS lines enough! Went back and edited! Thanks! As for the different types of brake fluid, here's a quick Google hit that explains them: http://jimsgarage.wordpress.com/2007/01/09/dot-3-dot-4-and-dot-5/ The one I linked has a 522 F dry boiling point, which was the highest I found in my research that didn't go into racing fluids. If you feel more comfortable sticking with whatever OEM fluid was in there, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that either, just remember that not all fluid types can be mixed (refer to the manufacturers directions for more on that.) xaarman fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Sep 27, 2012 |
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Sep 27, 2012 22:15
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Can't comment on SS lines versus stock, as my bike came with SS. I will say that the DOT 5.1 I flushed the system with seemed to make a noticeable difference and seems to have stayed in better condition to boot.
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Sep 27, 2012 22:49
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ReelBigLizard posted:Can't comment on SS lines versus stock, as my bike came with SS. I will say that the DOT 5.1 I flushed the system with seemed to make a noticeable difference and seems to have stayed in better condition to boot. I hunted down the issue with brake fluids and DOT levels. The DOT 5 (not 5.1) reacts badly to DOT 3 or 4, so you cannot use DOT 5 unless you are doing a full brake rebuild. Otherwise it will react with the remnant fluid and form a sludge or something. Apparently, DOT 5.1 does not have this "feature." SS lines are the dog's bollocks. They are dead easy to make yourself, if your bike did not come with.
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Sep 27, 2012 23:06
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Thanks for the answers about the battery guys! Unfortunately that doesn't seen to have been the issue. The bike will crank but refuses to start. It's a 83 honda nighthawk 650. We've been having this issue, but it used to start if we jumped it. Now it just cranks and cranks. New battery, carbs are clean, new spark plugs, getting fuel. Husband thinks maybe the gaps on the spark plugs are wrong? Is there a basic checklist we could go through to maybe figure out the issue?
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Sep 27, 2012 23:11
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I'm selling my scooter to a friend, and I'm going to rent a 1 ton flatbed to take it over to his place. It's got no insurance on it so I can't ride it (restriction from my job), and even if we transferred ownership to him ahead of time and insured it in his name, it'd be like a 2-3 hour ride back, and he's both a new rider and not used to driving on the opposite side of the road yet. Anyhow, I've got like 50m of rope right now, what else should I need to secure it properly? Bike only has a side stand, is set up like a regular motorcycle (gas tank up top, not a step-through). I figure me and another strapping dude can lift it into the bed, thing only weighs like 200lbs IIRC. Pompous Rhombus fucked around with this message at 00:30 on Sep 28, 2012 |
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Sep 28, 2012 00:17
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spixxor posted:Thanks for the answers about the battery guys! Unfortunately that doesn't seen to have been the issue. The bike will crank but refuses to start. It's a 83 honda nighthawk 650. We've been having this issue, but it used to start if we jumped it. Now it just cranks and cranks. New battery, carbs are clean, new spark plugs, getting fuel. Husband thinks maybe the gaps on the spark plugs are wrong? Is there a basic checklist we could go through to maybe figure out the issue? I don't have any suggestions off the top of my head, but did you try posting over at Nighthawkforums.com? I have an 84 cb650 and they helped me out big time in a few situations.
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Sep 28, 2012 00:23
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Pompous Rhombus posted:I'm selling my scooter to a friend, and I'm going to rent a 1 ton flatbed to take it over to his place. It's got no insurance on it so I can't ride it (restriction from my job), and even if we transferred ownership to him ahead of time and insured it in his name, it'd be like a 2-3 hour ride back, and he's both a new rider and not used to driving on the opposite side of the road yet. Set it up straight (not on the side stand), compress the suspension about half way, and tie it off on either side up front and in back. I'll usually do it from the handlebars or accessible bit of frame in front, and grab bars, or, again, frame in back. You only have to make sure the rope/ratchet strap is taut and is directly pulling on the tied object, not hung up on anything, and you should be good to go.
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Sep 28, 2012 00:37
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A Proper Uppercut posted:I don't have any suggestions off the top of my head, but did you try posting over at Nighthawkforums.com? I have an 84 cb650 and they helped me out big time in a few situations. Had no ideas there was such a forum! Awesome, thanks.
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Sep 28, 2012 00:47
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Bike: '82 XJ750 Maxim I changed the oil on the bike a little over a week ago and overfilled it so I changed the spark plugs and air filter yesterday. I found that once I changed the plugs the bike started up and ran a lot smoother then before (pre-oil change) I don't quite remember if this was happening before as I wasn't riding it regularly but it seems that when I'm at a stop and switch into first, the idle drops as I engage the clutch (nearly dies). This is rather problematic on hills as I keep stalling the bike. I've known for awhile that the bike was running a little rich, would adjusting the mixture resolve this problem? I was eventually going to adjust the mixture, so if it is then I'll just do it sooner rather than later.
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Sep 28, 2012 03:27
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Edit: oops, wrong thread!
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Sep 28, 2012 03:38
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Ashex posted:Bike: '82 XJ750 Maxim Clutch in or clutch out? A clutch is disengaged when you're holding the handle in, and engaged when you aren't pulling the handle, and if it's stalling then, give it more gas?
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Sep 28, 2012 03:41
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AncientTV posted:Clutch in or clutch out? A clutch is disengaged when you're holding the handle in, and engaged when you aren't pulling the handle, and if it's stalling then, give it more gas? I always get it backwards. It drops when I engage the clutch and I work around it by partially engaging and giving it gas until the rpm rises back up then fully disengage. If I just release the clutch the idle drops really low and almost stutters.
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Sep 28, 2012 03:58
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