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What's the easiest way to get bugs off of a textile jacket? Edit edit: Moved my other questions somewhere else, because hey there's a thread for them. sklnd fucked around with this message at 01:44 on Oct 6, 2008 |
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Oct 6, 2008 01:32
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Oldsmobile posted:So what's a 250cc bike like?
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Oct 26, 2008 16:15
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Nerobro posted:When we recommend a first bike to someone, we point them at a bike with 30-70hp. That excludes bikes like the nighhawk 250, rebel, GZ250, TTR225, but includes the Ninja 250
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Oct 26, 2008 17:42
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My EX250 lets the engine start with clutch out in neutral, so I think its just a large case of YMMV. EDIT: As an interesting side note if I have the clutch in when I turn power on with the key, I have to pump the clutch to get it to start otherwise.
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Mar 12, 2009 04:02
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I am having headlight issues with my EX250. I've made it very much not stock by removing the upper and lower plastics, headlight, speedo, mirrors, etc. I replaced the headlight with a 7" bucket I found for relatively cheap on the internets ($60?). It looks something like this now. The headlight seemingly plugs in just like the stock one did, so I didn't mess with the wiring harness at all for that. With the engine not running (after its been started once and the power hasn't been turned off) it works great. With the engine running, it flickers (goes dimmer and then returns to normal brightness) with change in RPM. If I remove the headlight from the bucket and hold it while the engine is running, it does not flicker. When it flickers, the high beam indicator light comes on, seemingly opposite the headlight (dimmer headlight -> brighter high beam indicator). I seem to get pretty steady voltage (14V) from another point on the wiring harness. Am I dealing with a loose/crappy wire in the wiring harness leading to the headlight? Is vibration doing something screwy to the bulb? I don't think its a charging system issue because of how it stops happening when I remove the lens assembly from the bucket. Any thoughts on what I can look for to fix this? 
sklnd fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Mar 20, 2009 |
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Mar 20, 2009 03:53
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To conclude my headlight dimming saga, I swapped the bulb from the stock headlight into the new one, and the dimming seems to have gone away.  I'll be testing this more throughly tomorrow.
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Mar 21, 2009 03:34
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I've got a very guy question. I think the gear I was carrying strapped to my bike on my last long trip was pushing me forward, and it has caused a bit of ....male discomfort..... after the trip. Any advice on avoiding that beyond making sure my gear is far enough back that I'm not humping the gas tank?
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Apr 8, 2009 03:37
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Bean_ posted:How do you shift on a motorcycle? motorcycle shifters are sequential, going 1-N-2-3-4-5(-6).
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Apr 8, 2009 04:34
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:While I'm here, what's the CA stance on bar-end mirrors?
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Apr 12, 2009 06:13
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Popping in to say that I have Napoleons on my Ninja and they are pretty nice for the price. I get a little vibration, but I had to modify them to make them work due to the funky bars ninjas have. Still, they provide me a fair bit of visibility in exchange for probably being instantly destroyed if I drop the bike.
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Apr 13, 2009 02:44
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From time to time my EX250 won't go into neutral without letting the clutch out and bringing it back in. Its annoying because I typically have to turn the bike off to do that, otherwise I'd end up rolling into stuff. This typically happens when I come to a stop in a gear other than 1st or 2nd and have to downshift a bit without moving.
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Apr 17, 2009 01:25
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Z3n posted:Yes, but I'd say it's more likely that you had crap at the very bottom of the tank that got sucked in when you switched to reserve and has clogged your fuel filter or carbs. This is why it's a good idea to run reserve regularly. Something doesn't quite add up with this, though, as a Ninjette should get well beyond 150 miles to a tank before hitting reserve, even if you're hauling rear end at freeway speed the whole time.
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Apr 17, 2009 15:14
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Z3n posted:My ninjette never made it past about 150 with me on it before wanting reserve. I was a little aggressive with the throttle and revs, but I'd usually see around 50-55mpg out of it. Sometimes I got into the mid 40s when really aggressive. 150 miles to reserve means you're below 40mpg, which would make me think something is actually wrong with the bike.
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Apr 17, 2009 19:15
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Phat_Albert posted:Has anyone actually driven a bike with a TrailTech Vapor installed on it? How easy are they to see during the day? Any weird gripes or issues you noticed? I'm probably going to pull the trigger on one this week for the Bandit. I've stuck one on my EX250. No problems with the speedometer. I jbwelded a magnet to my rotor and it works great. As mentioned earlier, the tach is flaky, and as far as I'm concerned is worthless. My first tach wire was broken, and they shipped me a new one after I shot them an email about it. I rode around without it for a bit, and got used to not having it. Now that I have a wire that isn't broken, its still pretty flaky. The reading jumps around, is sometimes way off for the speed I'm going, etc. Also, it doesn't really even go high enough for the ninjette, so the shift warning light is blinking at me any time I'm at highway speed and its reading remotely correct. If you don't have a 15k rpm rev limiter, it might be a little more sane on your bike. It does work to tell if your bike is on and idling or not when you have headphones in, so I use it for that. The screen is great. No complaints. I can read it just fine at almost all times. The one exception is at high noon when the sun reflects off it into my eyes.  The ambient temp sensor is always off by 10F or more. I don't know what's up with that. On a two hour 45F ride a few months ago, it told me it was 60F out. Yeah, right. I haven't installed the radiator temp sensor yet, so I don't know how well that works. The trip odo maxes out at 1999.9 miles. I haven't figured out how to reset it yet (haven't really tried that hard either). Overall I've got around 2200 miles on mine, and I find it pretty adequate.
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May 14, 2009 00:42
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Phat_Albert posted:How long ago did you purchase yours? From what I understand they've been steadily improving it.
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May 15, 2009 00:05
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blugu64 posted:Texas does this too, though I think it's a flat $20, if you mark gift. Automobile gift tax in Texas is $10. I'm amazed that this is the case, too.
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May 16, 2009 14:33
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Phat_Albert posted:Secondly, the tach is weird. Its accurate for the most part, but it will randomly start responding slowly when the bike is revved up. Also, when cruising at a constant speed it will fluctuate +/- about 1000 RPM's from the true amount. I have the tach hooked up correctly according to the instructions and everything I've read on the internet. These are pretty much my only complaints with the device. I gave up on the tach telling me anything interesting beyond that my bike is on. I'm ok with riding by engine sound anyway. The temp gauge on it is pretty hilarious. I was so pissed at that thing after riding a couple hours in sub-40F weather when it told me it was 55 the entire time. Now it just comically reads 120F when its a reasonable 105F on my ride home from work.
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Jul 28, 2009 13:32
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I don't feel too bad about my lovely 2 person coleman tent not fitting in my saddle bags. Just bungee that poo poo down.
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Aug 7, 2009 13:30
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This is kind of a longshot, but has anybody here used in-helmet mic systems for radio communication while riding? What has your experience been? I'm going on a decently long ride next month with a buddy who (like myself) is a licensed ham. Using our radios for communication would be fantastic, but I don't want to give up my earbud headphones and music to do it. So far I've managed to get an order going for a multi-input amp so I should have no problem with getting both the radio and music into my headphones. What I'm having trouble with is finding a boom mic with PTT that doesn't have speakers attached. There are a bunch of mic-speaker combinations out there, and some hook directly up to my radio (top mount connector with a 3.5mm TRS mic input and 1/8" TRS stereo output). I suppose I can modify something like that to work, but finding a helmet-mountable boom mic with a 3.5mm connector is really ideal (though I'm thinking unlikely). Anybody know of such a product?
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Aug 9, 2009 19:21
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I don't believe removing a turbocharger will help fuel efficiency.
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Aug 15, 2009 03:13
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King no one posted:And sklnd, I have no idea what the effect would be on a common rail diesel but I'd imagine it would be the same. Less air=less fuel. less air = less fuel = less power Whether or not its more efficient at a given speed depends on a lot more factors than just that assertion (torque curve, transmission gearing, etc).
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Aug 15, 2009 04:55
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blugu64 posted:I just carry a hat. There's always a hat in my tank bag. For work I carry a brush and some hair product.
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Aug 30, 2009 16:39
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Stupid chain question time: I stuck the rear wheel back on my KLR this afternoon. After putting it back on exactly where I removed it from (hash mark wise) I checked the chain tension with it on the side stand. This comes out to about 2" of play, which is on the tight end of spec. Something I've not thought about up until this point is I've never actually taken the chain off the sprocket before. Is it possible to get too much slack on the top of the chain when putting it back on? Right now with 2" slack on the bottom of the chain the top of the chain sits on the swingarm immediately behind the front sprocket when the bike is on the sidestand. With me sitting on the bike compressing the suspension a bit, there's a little bit of play between the top of the swingarm and the chain. My usual go-to sources for general motorcycle information (aside from CA) are pretty silent on slack on the top of the chain versus the bottom when reinstalling a wheel. Help?
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Sep 2, 2009 04:08
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Nifty, thanks!
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Sep 2, 2009 04:18
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blugu64 posted:I bet most bikes are somewhat in the same range, but I'd look it up in your bikes service manual to be sure.
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Dec 23, 2009 04:08
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hayden. posted:Hard for soft luggage to break beyond repair with the use of zip ties and rope. Action shot!   The entire top seam was ripped. Held my gear for another 1000 miles.
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Mar 4, 2010 05:25
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The NonBornKing posted:Being an enormous moron, I've neglected to inspect my valve clearance for 1.5 times the recommended interval (recommended is 8k and it's been 13k). Would out-of-spec valves cause reduced gas mileage and power? Any auto parts store will have them. I've also found them at a hobbyist electronics shop, of all places.
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Apr 24, 2010 17:02
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Z3n posted:I'd get some quality earbuds, etymotics or whatever you like? Also, beg/borrow/ That tankbag is awesome mostly for that reason. [Edit] woot 
sklnd fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Apr 29, 2010 |
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Apr 29, 2010 06:26
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Was locktite mentioned? For out of town trips I carry enough tools to do most things. This includes sockets for all the bolt sizes on the bike, wrenches of the same criteria, breaker bar, allen wrenches, big torque wrench, small torque wrench, screwdriver, pliers, channel locks. I'm also paranoid.
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Apr 30, 2010 04:23
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I'm poking at why my throttle isn't returning properly, and after taking the throttle cables off and taking the grip off, I noticed the bar was scratched a fair bit and the inside of the throttle grip...thingy is pretty dirty. I figure this is not helping my throttle return smoothly (or at all...). The innermost part had what looked like a layer of caked dirt and lithium grease. The question: After I get all the dirt out, should I lube the tube with more lithium grease or just put it back on clean?
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Jun 4, 2010 01:40
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The KLR housing relies on friction, with two butter-soft brass machine screws that Kawasaki loves so much holding the two pieces together. The paint on the bar has been scratched down to bare metal in places. I guess I'll sand it down.
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Jun 4, 2010 04:18
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Hughmoris posted:Hello KLR buddy. Do you know what size bolts hold the stock luggage rack to the bike? My bolts popped out on both sides, no clue what to replace them with. If you're talking about the ones on the side, they're M8x??. My pannier rack goes through those holes and is held on by M8x80 bolts, so I'd imagine something a lot shorter would be appropriate. If you're talking about the two on top, I have no idea.
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Jun 5, 2010 01:10
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I'd just ride it as-is, and keep an eye on coolant level. You can reuse it if you dont tear it, but if you tear it no riding for you until you get a new gasket.
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Jun 10, 2010 02:08
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2ndclasscitizen posted:Also, the Gixxer is marked for 10W40, in winter would the 10W40 or 50 be better? Shouldn't matter, as the first number indicates the cold viscosity rating. The first number (before the W) is 'winter grade' (or cold start viscosity) and the second number is high temp viscosity.
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Jun 12, 2010 06:06
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Having used a trailtech vapor, I'd just replace it with stock parts. The speedo on the vapor works okay, but the tach (at least on my ninja) sucked rear end to the point where I didn't pay attention to it. It might work a little better on the KLR since they have a KLR kit. At least you wont be hacking it into your wiring harness like I had to do on the ninja.
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Jul 31, 2010 02:10
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Once you get into a long touring day, you'll start noticing the wind blast less as the day goes on. You get really used to it really fast.
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Aug 1, 2010 19:02
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Bottom Liner posted:A klr is going to be one of your cheapest options, and they are indeed made for long trips such as this. A comofortab,e cruiser would also be a good choice, provided you're going to be on roads the whole time as mentioned above. Used Klrs can be had for around 3k, and make sure if you get one get a 2008 or newer, they had a major redesign that year with some nice changes and upgrades. KLRs do fine touring, but I wouldn't go with the new model unless you can be sure its not one of the ones that consumes oil. I'd also wager that if you're looking to go cheap, the newer models don't really buy you much for the extra cost (better front brake, a little bigger forks, better looking plastics, a fair bit heavier). The redesign isn't really that major once you discount cosmetics and the front brake. Front brake is easily fixed with an oversized rotor.
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Aug 10, 2010 05:36
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:10 |
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Primo Itch posted:A good solution for lubing the chain if you don't have either is to put the bike on neutral (turned off, of course, you don't want your fingers torn out by the chain) and then just pull the bike on the sidestand to lift just the back wheel and roll the wheel with the other hand. It's kinda complicated to explain in words but just try it, way easier than moving the bike around a lot.
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Sep 17, 2010 05:20
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