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It’s fine but you want one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Automobiles-Tightener-Stabilizer-Installation/dp/B07B9J7PB9/ref=asc_df_B07B9J7PB9/ And maybe put a cloth or other padding on the bar end closest to your rear windshield.
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Apr 15, 2021 19:00
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Strife posted:Just in general. I'm going to use it to move my KLX230 around with my WK2 Jeep, so weight shouldn't be too much of a concern. The Jeep has an adjustable air ride, so I assume it can compensate for the bike/hitch rack well enough. I ordered that specific one, and reviews on Revzilla seemed positive enough, with the only major complaint being the tilt stabilizer and someone trying to haul their Ninja around. You should be good. It's when people overload them to the max weight that it's much of an issue. Or they have a 1.25 hitch and not a 2". The biggest thing is tongue weight of your receiver, make sure it's more than the right of the bike and receiver combined. There's a gif/video of someone hauling a bike behind their ford taurus or something where it's on a 1.25 hitch with a 2" adapter and the rack is dragging on the ground at highway speeds because of weak car suspension and poor ground clearance, the hitch not being tested for the weight, and the use of an adapter with a hitch rack. All bad choices. With the adjustable air ride, that should really help. I would say be careful in large bumps, since it's over the rear axle so far, bumps will be amplified so just slow down if you see a big bouncy bump coming up. Something you may want to look into is a fork brace or fork saver. It a $15 piece of plastic that goes between your front fender and tire to prevent your suspension from squishing too much while driving. This will ensure there's a constant and consistent pressure on the bike by the ratchet straps. Without it, when you go over bumps, your bikes suspension will want to squish down due to the weight of the bike. This will cause the straps to slightly loosen while the suspension is compressed but it will rebound back to the right point of the straps. Not a huge deal but I prefer using a fork brace now because I don't want to have the tension on my bike changing on bumps and I would prefer not to compress my suspension that hard. It's mostly important for the front as that's where the majority of your tie down stabilizing comes from (the bars). Once your front is tied down with that fork brace in place, your rear can bounce all day with no issues. I would still strap the rear wheel or sub frame down but it's less crucial. And buy nice straps. Thin 1" straps rated for 400 lbs from harbor freight will technically work but they can shred very quickly especially under tension. Look for something slightly thicker and wider. I prefer ratcheting vs the pull tight kind. Rubber hooks or carabiniers are nice end attachments.
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Apr 15, 2021 19:08
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Verman posted:You should be good. It's when people overload them to the max weight that it's much of an issue. Or they have a 1.25 hitch and not a 2". The biggest thing is tongue weight of your receiver, make sure it's more than the right of the bike and receiver combined. There's a gif/video of someone hauling a bike behind their ford taurus or something where it's on a 1.25 hitch with a 2" adapter and the rack is dragging on the ground at highway speeds because of weak car suspension and poor ground clearance, the hitch not being tested for the weight, and the use of an adapter with a hitch rack. All bad choices. Yeah, on straps the harbor freight ones are OK but I have these and they're great https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026FCG90 but very much overkill. I also have these which are really nice too. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B009XIP942 The ideal is ones that actually clip in on both sides but... I don't have those so can't recommend any. If you want to be serious about it, you can always just ziptie them to the hook.
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Apr 16, 2021 01:05
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I have these straps https://www.rhinousainc.com/collections/tie-down-straps-1/products/ratchet-straps They have clips on both ends, come with “soft loop” straps in case you don’t have a good spot on your bars for the metal hook, and some nice velcro to keep it all tidy, and storage bag. I didn’t do any research before buying but I am satisfied!! You can even get them in orange (or green).
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Apr 16, 2021 01:20
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Toe Rag posted:I have these straps Clicked the link, saw the option for orange, came back to say they come in orange, finished reading the post. 
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Apr 16, 2021 02:10
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I actually had some decent ratchet straps, but those are lime green, and they match the Kawasaki, so I had to buy them.
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Apr 16, 2021 03:03
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Toe Rag posted:I have these straps This looks good, the key is the tie down loops. You can buy them separately and it's good to have a bunch of them around, I never like to put a ratchet hook straight to metal.
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Apr 16, 2021 12:08
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I was on a long ride yesterday and got cold so plugged my Gerbing jacket in. It didn't work. I got home and tested the jacket with a spare battery and battery cable: the issue has been isolated to the battery cable wired to the bike. So, this part of my heated jacket battery cable is possibly a little corroded/dirty. It's a female plug.  What do you guys recommend to clean it and to keep it working? 1. Isopropyl alcohol or contact cleaner spray + toothbrush/small brush to clean it? 2. Compressed air to dry it? 3. Dielectric grease to prevent corrosion and yet still allow good solid connections with the male jacket plug? 4. Keep the cover on it when not using it?
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Apr 17, 2021 08:46
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I would just plug it up with a blind connector.
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Apr 17, 2021 12:00
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Could you link one you think would be appropriate?
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Apr 17, 2021 16:36
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Steakandchips posted:I was on a long ride yesterday and got cold so plugged my Gerbing jacket in. It didn't work. I got home and tested the jacket with a spare battery and battery cable: the issue has been isolated to the battery cable wired to the bike. Just do these four things and you should be good, no?
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Apr 17, 2021 19:31
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builds character posted:Just do these four things and you should be good, no? 
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Apr 17, 2021 19:40
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Will report back tomorrow...
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Apr 17, 2021 20:11
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Didn't work. It's either fused (wtf, how) and therefore needs a new fuse, or is just hosed and needs replaced. So that's another £100+ in labour to the dealer because I can't exactly take the bike apart on the street behind my house. gently caress.
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Apr 19, 2021 21:01
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Steakandchips posted:Didn't work. Must be worth a check rather than throwing money to the dealer?
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Apr 19, 2021 21:11
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It isn't part of the bike, it will have a fuse inline with the positive wire like in the picture. Where that physically lands on the bike idk.
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Apr 19, 2021 21:29
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I suppose sods law does dictate it will land in the most awkward of places, accessible only by stripping the entire bike lol
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Apr 19, 2021 21:38
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Steakandchips posted:Didn't work. There’s an inline fuse less than 30cm from the other end of the wire (probably the battery). But you might find the contact cleaner hasn’t removed enough of the corrosion. Those barrel connectors are a loving stupid design for something that can be exposed to wet. Try white vinegar on q-tips.
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Apr 19, 2021 23:07
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Where is the battery on your fat bob? On most motorcycles it is somewhere under the seat or nearby, but I've never worked on a Harley so no idea if they've moved it somewhere like a tray right in front of the rear wheel or the like. Regardless, the fuse as stated will be inline on the cable that connects to your jacket, likely somewhere within 15cm of where said cable is attached to your battery. This is absolutely not worth spending 100 quid at the dealer to fix.
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Apr 20, 2021 00:52
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Toe Rag posted:I have these straps I can vouch for these straps, We usually use them to tie down our stuff at Burning Man, but I did use them to secure a bike to the back of my truck in the sketchiest way possible. The bike didn't budge. 
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Apr 20, 2021 03:08
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Steakandchips posted:Didn't work. In my experience those heated gear battery wires pick up internal breaks super easily because they use the thinnest possible gauge of copper; if the installer had to bend it at all to put it in, or if it was smushed up against the frame anywhere, then yeah it's probably just hosed. The cables are what, £15? Seriously consider trying to replace it yourself, because accessing the battery is absolutely something you should be able to do in the street and the dealer has no incentive to be delicate with the installation to ensure the replacement doesn't break like this one did.
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Apr 20, 2021 04:23
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No doubt Harley have a screaming eagle dongle that never breaks for the low low price of $300 including fitting they'll be happy to fit for you.
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Apr 20, 2021 04:51
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Slavvy posted:No doubt Harley have a screaming eagle dongle that never breaks for the low low price of $300 including fitting they'll be happy to fit for you. I don't understand why but they don't make any heated gear leads that I've found. Getting to the battery on those bikes is kind of a pain in the rear end, but if your lease doesn't let you do work in the lot, just ride to a park or a church parking lot or something and do it there.
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Apr 20, 2021 13:56
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Salisbury Snape posted:If it's fused surely it's with all the other fuses and accessible with minimal fuss in the street behind your house? It's an inline fuse with the one side of the ringlets wires, it's not connected to the fusebox fuses on the bike. Slavvy posted:It isn't part of the bike, it will have a fuse inline with the positive wire like in the picture. Where that physically lands on the bike idk. This. It's somewhere behind a lot of other poo poo on the bike, which means taking it apart. It could conceivably be routed through where the other fuses are, but I doubt Harley routed it that way. I'll check. Jazzzzz posted:Where is the battery on your fat bob? On most motorcycles it is somewhere under the seat or nearby, but I've never worked on a Harley so no idea if they've moved it somewhere like a tray right in front of the rear wheel or the like. It's not directly under the seat. If it were, I'd have done it and not posted about it. I have done it many times on my Honda no problem. Harley hid the battery on all their new softails behind a bunch of bullshit that's at least half an hour of disassembly and reassembly, and with enough bolts and poo poo that I don't want to do it on the street. Yes, ideally I'd like to not burn that hundred quid... Strife posted:I don't understand why but they don't make any heated gear leads that I've found. I'll see if a friend nearby can let me use his gargantuan shed...
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Apr 20, 2021 14:10
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Quick (possibly very common) question: Connecting USB port for phone charging to the bike. Got a waterproof motorcycle port, got a fuse box and 2A glass fuse. Question is, which cable to steal the current from? Directly to battery is a bad idea (always on..)... Headlights? Experience, suggestions? The bike is CB1300, and it would be ideal to find something in the front of the bike..
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Apr 21, 2021 12:20
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Personally my bike came with a prepared plug. Failing that, I would get the power from the battery through a switched relay. Most common seems to be stealing from the headlight.
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Apr 21, 2021 12:28
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Horn. You’ll never question whether your charger is on
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Apr 21, 2021 13:12
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On the Ninja 250 I did a fused, switched relay direct to battery with the switch coming from the license plate light.
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Apr 21, 2021 14:41
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Maybe a dumb question but what causes some Japanese bikes like the CB550’s and CB750’s to sound so good uncorked? As opposed to the modern high strung CBR/ZX 4 cylinder engines which sound so high pitched, these old CB motors have an aggression to them that I haven’t heard in any other bikes, I’ve always kinda wondered that. I mean this sounds intoxicating https://youtu.be/1vVTex1LKNo (please excuse the excessive cafe racerish) Also is there any modern bike that sounds like this ?
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Apr 22, 2021 14:47
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Induction noise > exhaust noise.
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Apr 22, 2021 15:46
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mulligan posted:Maybe a dumb question but what causes some Japanese bikes like the CB550’s and CB750’s to sound so good uncorked? As opposed to the modern high strung CBR/ZX 4 cylinder engines which sound so high pitched, these old CB motors have an aggression to them that I haven’t heard in any other bikes, I’ve always kinda wondered that. No, because modern bikes have different (better) cam profiles, different (better) cylinder dimensions, different (better) head porting and not-terrible combustion chamber design. It is literally impossible to build an engine like that now, partly because emissions requirements won't let you and partly because the market won't accept an i4 with the miserable performance that comes with that sweet sound. The closest you'll get is the lazy, old-architecture big fours like bandit 1200, zrx, xjr etc with flat slides and a noisy pipe. Not sure where cb1100 lands on this as I've never heard one with a loud exhaust.
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Apr 22, 2021 19:54
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Slavvy posted:No, because modern bikes have different (better) cam profiles, different (better) cylinder dimensions, different (better) head porting and not-terrible combustion chamber design. It is literally impossible to build an engine like that now, partly because emissions requirements won't let you and partly because the market won't accept an i4 with the miserable performance that comes with that sweet sound. The closest you'll get is the lazy, old-architecture big fours like bandit 1200, zrx, xjr etc with flat slides and a noisy pipe. Not sure where cb1100 lands on this as I've never heard one with a loud exhaust. Looking up the CB1100 and it seems to sort of have some of the sounds I meant, so as long as a beautifully made heavy dad-bikes suits me, it could be a acceptable substitute. Not that I’d buy a bike for sound only, (I had an F800R, aka the worst sounding bike in the world) but I’ve always loved the old Japanese four sound... Now that I think about it, the F800R is sort of a heavy dad bike... 🤔 Also, was that rear wheel chatter at the end of the video? https://youtu.be/L2g9ObM2Sng
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Apr 22, 2021 23:16
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Not that I could see or hear, just sounded like the engine revving up on a shut throttle.
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Apr 23, 2021 00:24
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I really like the way the Over Racing exhaust sounds on my Rex... Over's video for the DAEG version does not do it justice
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Apr 23, 2021 04:29
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Was happy to find out Kawasaki makes an OEM frame slider kit for my 400: https://www.revzilla.com/oem/kawasaki/kawasaki-99994-1036-kit-accessory-slider?sku_id=1358259 Just came in today, everything feels really quality and solidly built. A bit pricey but figure it will pay off if I ever drop the bike doing parking lot exercises. Debating doing the install myself, but I don't have a torque wrench; given this involves replacing the engine mount bolts, would it be unwise to try to do this with a standard socket wrench and just crank it until it "feels" right? Otherwise I'm thinking A) buy a torque wrench I'll probably use once for this project and never touch again or B) try to find a local non-shitter mechanic to pay to do it, which is something I'll need to find anyway.
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Apr 24, 2021 02:45
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You can go to your local Autozone-like. Most of them have tools you can "rent"/borrow and take home, or (sometimes for free?!) you can use in the parking lot.
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Apr 24, 2021 02:55
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If you plan to do any work on your bike long term a torque wrench is a good investment. You can get a digital torque adapter for a regular socket wrench for under a hundred bucks and honestly it’s never been too far off my other two mechanical click torque wrenches. Wrenching basic stuff on a bike is fun and can be relatively easy — installing no cut frame sliders was super easy on both bikes I owned, so I think it’s worth learning to do some basic stuff yourself and that can mean equipping yourself with the right tools. But I mean honestly if you don’t think that is up your alley then no harm no foul, just get a mech to do it for you.
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Apr 24, 2021 03:12
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Yeah, I should probably just buy a decent one and start doing my own basic stuff like oil changes at least to get a better feel for it all. I've never been much of a wrencher, just don't enjoy it that much, I like riding bikes but not working on them.
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Apr 24, 2021 03:35
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For what it's worth, I've grown to hate working on my car but I've loved working on my motorcycles. After tackling tires (it sucked, just take it to a shop unless you're broke) I feel like I can do anything else on the bike, and all the components are small and light and right there in front of me. And since I don't need my bike for any essential poo poo I'm less concerned about loving anything up.
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Apr 24, 2021 04:04
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| # ? May 16, 2024 17:37 |
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RightClickSaveAs posted:Yeah, I should probably just buy a decent one and start doing my own basic stuff like oil changes at least to get a better feel for it all. I've never been much of a wrencher, just don't enjoy it that much, I like riding bikes but not working on them. Sliders are pretty much an idea starter project if you do want to learn though - it's a job that's just complex enough that you actually have to think and work carefully, but simple enough that you're almost certainly not going to completely lunch your bike if you gently caress something up.
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Apr 24, 2021 10:21
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