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ShaneB posted:You put gas in a Volt. WELP, TODAY I LEARNED 
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Jul 29, 2014 00:56
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So I'll be in Ireland in march and want to rent a motorcycle and had a few questions. Will my standard American license work fine or would I have to get an International one? Are there any rental places an Irish goon can recommend? Say http://www.motorental.ie/ ? I'll be in Dublin for my birthday so I wanted to just go exploring the countryside most of the day and return in later in the afternoon.
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Jul 29, 2014 01:11
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I'm fairly sure you need an international license, but they're a joke to get and cost like $15
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Jul 29, 2014 01:12
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What's the deal on front forks? How squishy should they be? Is there a rule of thumb?
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Jul 29, 2014 01:25
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SquadronROE posted:What's the deal on front forks? How squishy should they be? Is there a rule of thumb? If you can get the right sag out of them then you're alright on the fork springs - GENERALLY SPEAKING (!). What kind of bike and what is your weight with gear on?
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Jul 29, 2014 01:30
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BlackMK4 posted:If you can get the right sag out of them then you're alright on the fork springs - GENERALLY SPEAKING (!). What kind of bike and what is your weight with gear on? Honda cm400, and I am around 175 with gear on.
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Jul 29, 2014 01:56
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Noob question... I was replacing my forward controls with mid controls and left the left foot rest bolts loose for a week or so, causing oil to leak out and pool up under the bike. I tightened the bolts and the leaking stopped, but a lot of oil escaped. I'm thinking I need to replace what was lost, but I'm not sure what exactly was leaking out or where I would add it in. Can anyone get me started on my Google quest? It's a Harley Sportster.
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Jul 29, 2014 01:59
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SquadronROE posted:Honda cm400, and I am around 175 with gear on. Unless you have personally rebuilt the forks recently, it is almost a surety that your fork oil has long since worn out, leaked out, or both E: SomethingLiz posted:Noob question... I was replacing my forward controls with mid controls and left the left foot rest bolts loose for a week or so, causing oil to leak out and pool up under the bike. I tightened the bolts and the leaking stopped, but a lot of oil escaped. I'm thinking I need to replace what was lost, but I'm not sure what exactly was leaking out or where I would add it in. Can anyone get me started on my Google quest? It's a Harley Sportster.  Do you have your owner's manual? Are the footrest bolts seriously an oil boundary? Are you sure that's what those bolts are? Are you sure that's where the leak was coming from? Snowdens Secret fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 29, 2014 02:03
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Do you know how to check your oil level with the dipstick? If so, that should tell you all you need to know about the oil. If not, well, uh, figure that one out before poking around further. I also want to see how these footpegs are connected to the oil pan though.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:14
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I'm sure they are the footrest bolts because the footrest is back on them now. I am also unsure why oil would leak out of them, which is why I left them loose for so long. I have the manual but it doesn't mention this in the pedal section, and I'm not sure what kind of oil this is to look it up anywhere else. Maybe it's something other than oil? It's clear and oily. I'll check the oil level, but I was thinking it wasn't coming from the oil pan either because that doesn't make sense as you said. SomethingLiz fucked around with this message at 02:20 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 29, 2014 02:15
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Well if it's oil it's just going to be engine oil. There isn't anything else that would be leaking out of the bottom of an air-cooled engine. Gasoline, I guess, if your engine was well and truly hosed up. Did you loosen any bolts that it turned out you didn't need to in order to take the pegs off? Maybe some next to the pegs that hold the engine side covers on? Or hell, maybe the pegs do go right into the side cover bolts on these bikes. Beats me.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:19
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Assuming that it engine oil, the correct replacement is 20W50 motorcycle oil. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Castrol-06080-V-Twin-4-Stroke-Motorcycle/dp/B0068C4KPK But engine oil should not come out from your footpegs, which strongly suggests the leak is coming from somewhere else. I would recommend you post pics, before and after cleaning any oil and/or other grime from the affected area. E: also post which year Sportster to narrow down the engine
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Jul 29, 2014 02:20
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Posting instead of editing: does this sound familiar? http://www.motorcycleforum.com/showthread.php?t=114269
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Jul 29, 2014 02:24
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The footpegs bolt into the primary cover because Harley, so it's probably primary/transmission oil leaking out of it. ETA: If they aren't leaking once the bolts are back in you're probably fine, you could do a transmission/primary oil change to be safe though and keep an eye on it. M. Night Skymall fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 29, 2014 02:27
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M. Night Skymall posted:The footpegs bolt into the primary cover because Harley, so it's probably primary/transmission oil leaking out of it. Seems to be the case: http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=949876
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Jul 29, 2014 02:30
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SomethingLiz posted:Noob question... I was replacing my forward controls with mid controls and left the left foot rest bolts loose for a week or so, causing oil to leak out and pool up under the bike. I tightened the bolts and the leaking stopped, but a lot of oil escaped. I'm thinking I need to replace what was lost, but I'm not sure what exactly was leaking out or where I would add it in. Can anyone get me started on my Google quest? It's a Harley Sportster. The left peg mounts bolt to the frame as one would expect, but the mid is in the vicinity of both the primary cover and the oil drain bolt. Possible you loosened up more than was necessary for this task. One has nothing to do with the other, and you may have come across a pre-existing condition by virtue of getting a close up view of this area. Tighten down the primary cover, inspection cover, and drain bolt. If you have leaks from any of these areas, it's possible a gasket is mangled or missing. The pegs do not bolt into the cover. Take it from someone who was just installing this mount less than 24 hours ago.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:34
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Ahh, I just read a couple of articles on changing the fork oil. Seems very straightforward.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:36
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Snowdens Secret posted:
This. Rubbermount and EFI era (04-present) aren't configured this way.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:40
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Depends on what year Sportster you have. Here's an '03  Here's an '08.  I forget what year they switched, but I'm pretty sure it was with the switch to rubber mounts in 04. Edit: So yeah, let us know the year. Edit 2: Whoops, that first one's for forward controls. Here's mids: 
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Jul 29, 2014 02:43
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It's an '02. The link Snowdens Secret posted seems to describe what's happening exactly. I'll look into changing the primary/transmission oil and checking for other leaks down there. Thanks a lot.
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Jul 29, 2014 02:44
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Harley have some gorgeous parts illustrations I must say. Very impressive compared to the grainy bullshit you get with most brands (cars included).
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Jul 29, 2014 02:47
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Slavvy posted:Harley have some gorgeous parts illustrations I must say. The better to sell you every chrome nut and rod individually
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Jul 29, 2014 02:50
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Slavvy posted:Harley have some gorgeous parts illustrations I must say. Very impressive compared to the grainy bullshit you get with most brands (cars included). Too bad that's not the case for the photos: 
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Jul 29, 2014 02:51
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SEE, THEY ARE CAPABLE OF CHANGE. Part 13 in the last diagram is a mammoth hunk of steel that apparently doubles as a case guard. At least it did when I played the role of Dan Layeur in Dis Donc, Ou Est La Honky Tonk a few summers ago. That previous design choice is...odd, but apparently goes all the way back to '57.
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Jul 29, 2014 03:21
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Marv Hushman posted:That previous design choice is...odd, but apparently goes all the way back to '57. Same could be said of their riders 
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Jul 29, 2014 03:31
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Astonishing Wang posted:Would you really call this a vanishingly rare bike? I know it's special in that it's in amazing shape and has super low miles, but there seem to be a lot of them out there. I'm not going to NOT ride it because it's in good shape, though I do feel slightly guilty every time the odometer kicks over another zero. Rare due to condition, but that just gives you the opportunity to have a unique experience. Anyone with an older beat up bike invariably has to wonder how it rode before the odo rolled over. Don't take this as some "soul and spirit of the machine" bs, but you can always find a modern bike that will ride much the same as the current model year, enjoy the quirks of a 73 and ride the poo poo out of it. Better than sitting it in a garage for another 30 years. I just meant if you're going to strip it down to learn mc mechanics practice on another bike first, rather than end up with 8 boxes of barely ridden parts.
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Jul 29, 2014 03:45
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I feel like I've had my one oops moment with this bike, and it seems to have forgiven me for it. The key now will be keeping on top of regular maintenance.
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Marv Hushman posted:
So when will you post about "the event" oh great and mighty Marv?
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Jul 29, 2014 03:57
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Crayvex posted:So when will you post about "the event" oh great and mighty Marv? I believe I did way back when, so another post would take milking to an entirely new level.
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Jul 29, 2014 04:03
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My ninja 250 has been slowly leaking coolant and it started to overheat the other day and I finally got a chance to really check it out. It looks like its leaking from the rubber hose attached to the water pump. You can see a bit of green coolant starting to drip out in the picture. The leak definitely gets worse when the engine is warm and the coolant will start to spill out pretty quick. The coolant level in the overflow tank never changes so I have to keep adding to the radiator it self. Can I just replace the water pump with one off ebay or could this be a problem with radiator? This is my first bike so I'm not really sure where to start troubleshooting something like this. 
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Jul 29, 2014 04:30
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That looks like the o-ring around the end of the steel pipe on the left is leaking. The steel pipe just slips into a smooth alloy tunnel on the pump; the o-ring is the only thing stopping it leaking. It could also be the pump though, I guess? It doesn't look like it. O-rings are cheaper than water pumps, I'd try that first. Be sure to thoroughly sand both the hole in the pump and the pipe so as to avoid shredding the o-ring, then coat it in a light layer of engine oil or rubber grease so it slides in smoothly.
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Jul 29, 2014 04:33
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Slavvy posted:Harley have some gorgeous parts illustrations I must say. Deeters posted:Too bad that's not the case for the photos: Beautiful, classic technical illustrations straight out of a 1950s drafting textbook, probably even hand-drawn by a grizzled old pipe-smoking dude with a Rapidograph on drafting mylar? Of course. Grainy, pixelated photograph because no one in the documentation department could figure out that fuckin' digital camera, why do we need this bullshit anyway film worked just fine back in my day? Of course.
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Jul 29, 2014 04:59
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Sagebrush posted:My front brake seems to have gotten somewhat squishier and less powerful than it was when I first got the bike. I assume this means that I need to bleed the brake line. This being my first motorcycle with hydraulic brakes, I've never done this before, but it seems straightforward enough. Any specific recommendations or suggestions? Also, would it be a decent idea to install speed bleeders while I'm at it? What colour is your fluid? Edit: I say that because it might not be bubbles, just old fluid. Ehhh but bleeding it would flush it with new fluid so why the hell did i even ask the question i'm an idiot karms fucked around with this message at 15:08 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 29, 2014 14:57
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to apparently greatly simplify the job sounds smart to me.
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I searched and didn't find anything for my extremely basic and dumb question. I have one of these: And it bugs the hell out of me that transmission case, cylinder head, and all the fiddly stuff under the fairings, visible or not, aren't clean. Is there a particular way to get all that clean that doesn't involve a toothbrush and simple green? Also, how do you keep your black parts shiny? I'd use armor all but don't want to make the parts I hold on to slippery.
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Jul 29, 2014 16:32
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I just clean mine with a rag and water. There's really no way to 'keep' bits on a vehicle shiny/clean, they only stay that way if you constantly wash it.
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Jul 29, 2014 16:47
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All that stuff being dirty on my bike when the rest of it was clean used to bother me until I tried cleaning it a few times. Now I just focus on the areas I can reach.
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Jul 29, 2014 16:54
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Buy a naked bike. And never wash it. Alternatively, top cleaning tip - buy a cheap battery-operated electric toothbrush and a bunch of spare heads, they're dirt cheap and fantastic at cleaning the bits you can't reach with a minimum of fuss.
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Jul 29, 2014 16:58
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SomethingLiz posted:It's an '02. The link Snowdens Secret posted seems to describe what's happening exactly. I'll look into changing the primary/transmission oil and checking for other leaks down there. Thanks a lot. Just to be sure, the primary takes an other type of oil than the engine. Also, it doesn't take that much, just enough to have the bottom of the clutch pack touch the oil. It should be easy enough to find directions on changing it for your bike.
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Jul 29, 2014 17:03
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Yeah you'll probably want to put H-D Formula+ in it. I like how the primary fluid works on the Uly. On the side stand, it's full when the fluid overflows the clutch access hole. No fuss, a little muss.
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Jul 29, 2014 17:26
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clutchpuck posted:Yeah you'll probably want to put H-D Formula+ in it. Much like a car gearbox. I'm surprised they designed it based on the bike being on the side stand, though. Surely that same engine package would've come in a few different bikes with different lean angles when on the stand?
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Jul 29, 2014 19:44
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Slavvy posted:Much like a car gearbox. I'm surprised they designed it based on the bike being on the side stand, though. Surely that same engine package would've come in a few different bikes with different lean angles when on the stand? It just happens to work well on the Ulysses. The spec in the manual calls for the bike to be upright, and has the fluid level coming up to the very bottom of the big whatever in the thinger there.
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Jul 29, 2014 19:48
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