|
What does everyone here do for storing a bike for the winter? Its starting to get too cold to ride here without assuming the "lay across the bike and hug the engine for warmth" position so I think its time to put it away until spring. I have a nice converted chicken coop to store it in.
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2008 12:14
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 4, 2024 16:36 |
|
|
Nerobro posted:Unless you drain the tank and use it in your lawnmower.. I'm not too worried about this as my bike is 42 years old and about as advanced as a lawn mower. Its also oil injection not pre-mix and the timing is pretty relaxed right now. I'll remember to give it shot of premium in the spring. Thanks for the tips everyone. Its breaking my heart to put the Yammy away until spring. 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 6, 2008 15:30
|
|
|
relaxzguy posted:1) What would be a good way to clean the contacts for the lead to the starter? I'm going to get replacement washers and nut, but I need to clean the actual bolt coming out of the motor. Anything that I could apply to it to derust it without having to remove the whole thing? 1. A little sandpaper works great for this. Failing that get a small nail file. 2. Clean out the carbs thoroughly and you'll probably be fine. If you do the plugs make sure you gap them correctly to the factory specs. 3. Fork oil, transmission/crankcase oil, chain, check the tires, lube any points that have a grease fitting. 3. Probably a bad flasher unit. Mine are doing exactly this right now and its definitely the flasher unit as I can get them to blink if I tap the flasher with a screwdriver.
|
|
#
¿
Oct 8, 2008 05:06
|
|
|
Can I hook up a battery charger in lieu of an actual battery? I'm having trouble finding a good sized battery for my 77' KZ650 project and I'm itching to see if any of the electrical works.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2008 03:11
|
|
|
drat intelligent battery charger saw right through my tricks and realized there was no battery attached. Oh well, guess I'll wait for the stupid battery to show up.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 18, 2008 05:31
|
|
|
dietcokefiend posted:Depends, if you list it as lost/stolen they will issue a new number so someone else cant pick it up off the street and use it. I would never want my plate on someone elses car if only by a small chance. This isn't about a motorcycle plate but my fiance's parents started receiving hefty toll charges from the 407 toll road a year or two back because of a lost plate. Eventually the police caught them but it was a huge hassle until then.
|
|
#
¿
Nov 23, 2008 09:20
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Ride the bicycle. A lot. You think that riding a mountain bike doesn't help, but that's because you've already made automatic the correct reactions to a 2 wheeled vehicle not automatically righting itself at low speed. I rode my bike a lot when I was younger and felt pretty comfortable when I started Motorcycling. I remember I was completely baffled when our MSF instructor was explaining counter steering but once I tried it I immediately recognized it as something I would do (on a much smaller level) when I was riding my bike at higher speeds and got used to it almost immediately.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 4, 2008 13:03
|
|
|
So I bought two ammo cans like the ones below with the idea of turning them into some sort of storage tins mounted to the luggage rack on my new bike. They've got nice rubber seals at the tops and it looks like its not going to be too hard to rig up a padlock on each. I'm trying to think of a good way to secure them to my tube style luggage rack in a way that would let me remove them easily but I'm coming up short. Any ideas? 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 9, 2008 15:45
|
|
|
TapTheForwardAssist posted:There seem to be two main ways to clean an exhaust: caustic chemicals, or putting in on hot coals for an hour to burn out the smutz. I prefer the chemicals, but they aren't that bad. I've got a nice foam spray that I used on my (larger) two stroke pipes caked with 10 years of oil buildup. Just spray it in, let it sit, and hose it out. Repeat while running a rag on a stick through the pipes.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 11, 2008 06:15
|
|
|
Tequila Ranger posted:I have not yet attempted to start my bike since August, How hosed am I? Dump a third of a can of Seafoam in the fuel tank and shake the tank around a bit before starting it and you'll be just fine.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 11, 2008 12:59
|
|
|
Bugdrvr posted:I use a gas tank off of an old snowmobile I bought from a yard sale. It looks like a slightly overgrown soup can with a gas cap on top and a nipple on the bottom. I use the tank off my snowblower:  If you really want to buy one JCWhitney sells them here: http://tinyurl.com/4ozs5g but they're pretty expensive for what you get.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 18, 2008 04:10
|
|
|
Bean_ posted:What do you guys do to deal with rust in tanks (this is on a moped, tank is integral part of frame and cannot be removed)? Some preliminary reading has pointed to getting some "Evapo-rust" from autozone, but I figured someone here has got to have some more useful information. POR-15 has a good kit I've heard good things about. Since its part of the frame its going to be tricky to use it though, as I think you have to slosh it around for best effect. http://www.por15.com/prodinfo.asp?grp=CTRK&dept=12
|
|
#
¿
Dec 20, 2008 17:09
|
|
|
Krakkles posted:Wrap a blanket around the moped, throw it in the back of a truck, do donuts around a dirt parking lot I was going to say tip it side to side but that certainly works as well.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 21, 2008 03:51
|
|
|
drat, the KH100 looks perfect for my fiance. I'm desperately looking for a lightweight small displacement bike to get her into riding with. Its really hard to find anything under 250cc that isn't a dirtbike.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 4, 2009 07:23
|
|
|
Nerobro posted:You should have asked. Thanks, thats an excellent list to start with. I keep forgetting that AI isn't like the usual bike crowd around here that scoffs at anything without a Harley badge and less than 1000ccs of displacement.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 5, 2009 06:38
|
|
|
Cash in hand has a weird way of changing what price people are willing to take for a bike as well. The 77 Kawasaki I picked up was listed at $500 and even after seeing it the guy was dead set on $500 over the phone. I showed up with $300 and a trailer and it was a done deal.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 9, 2009 17:54
|
|
|
FluffGrenade posted:Ha, funny thing is, I only know the 7/11 as a CB750f/k with a CB1100f engine. Thank god for similar cc ratings. :P One of my MSF instructors had almost this exact setup. I rode on it for about 10 seconds and the concept of a "beginner bike" suddenly became very clear.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 19, 2009 17:55
|
|
|
Christoff posted:I saw them mentioned. Obviously it sounds like a bad idea but there's ones that only block certain DBs right? Just get the cheap soft kind. Usually there will be a decibel rating on the package, lower is best. I can pretty much hear everything I need to when mine are in. I can't hear the wind much though because my bike is ridiculously loud.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 23, 2009 05:21
|
|
|
Phat_Albert posted:Check eBay too. A lot of times, manufacturers only cut a few thousand or so different keys, and just cycle them over and over. I got some keys for my 77' Kawasaki this way. I just checked the code on the seat lock cylinder and ordered a matching pair for $10 on ebay. They work great.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 26, 2009 03:10
|
|
|
Gnomad posted:I liker using hair spray as a lube. Some folks use water but it takes forever before the grip really grips the bar. Water and soap works great. Dries right out after you're done.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 9, 2009 08:27
|
|
|
Gnomad posted:Let me put on my asbestos undies to protect from the flames of righteous indignation from the defenders of the 2 cycle engine, here we go! I'm a huge defender of the 2 strokes but you're correct. They burn hot and bright but that comes at a price. Top end rebuilds are an afternoon with beer affair though, depending on the engine.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2009 13:03
|
|
|
MaiaN posted:This sounds encouraging. Is it something a complete novice could accomplish with the right book? Sure. Most of the time its just a matter of yanking off the head, throwing some new rings in, and putting a new gasket in before banging it all back together. Here's a really good video to watch. The person in this video is doing a top end rebuild of a two stroke dirt bike. Likely your scoot would be even more simple than this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FFIWtqU5Zc
|
|
#
¿
Feb 12, 2009 14:27
|
|
|
dietcokefiend posted:Friction modifier differences since the clutches share the same oil and car engines dont run into that problem. I would stick to motorcycle engine only unless it was a dry clutch assembly. Yes. The general rule is that if it has the energy saving seal on the back of the bottle not to use it. The other problem with car oil is that it often has a different viscosity range (5w30, 10w30) than what your bike wants, which is usually 10w40.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 15, 2009 05:56
|
|
|
MrZig posted:Awesome. I didn't mean my carbs specifically though, I just thought as a general idea if seafoam would desolve the grime if a part was left submersed in it. Although my carbs have sat for at the very least a year with gas still in them so it would be a good idea to take them apart and clean them. I find Seafoam won't dissolve solid varnish if you just soak parts in it but it works great to rinse it away if its already soft. I use carb cleaner for soaking and Seafoam deep creep for rinsing.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2009 13:01
|
|
|
Phat_Albert posted:I'm a crimp man when it comes to bikes. Is there some sort of special way to crimp a butt connector? I've used them before and always fallen back to solder because they always feel loose and I can never seem to get them very secure.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2009 16:34
|
|
|
Phat_Albert posted:If you have a crimper, its dead simple, and I've never had one fall apart on me. If you're just flattening them with vise grips or something, I can see how it wouldnt work. Thats probably my problem. I'm using one of the aforementioned thin little crimpers. I'm also using some pretty cheap connectors. Now what I've been doing up until now as complete and total overkill is soldering the wires together, crimping over the soldered wires, and then shrink wrapping the whole deal. Its a stupid way of doing things but I don't trust my soldering or crimping skills and I haven't had a connection like this fail yet. Of course it takes forever to do it this way.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 17, 2009 17:54
|
|
|
French Canadian posted:I'll just leave it alone if it's not gonna burn my clutch out (though I usually dip into neutral at long stoplights). Its a wet clutch and it'll take a lot more than that to burn it out. To give you an idea when I took my MSF there was a Honda Titan there with 24,000km on the clock. It was on the original clutch and had spent its entire life getting the poo poo kicked out of its clutch by students.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 19, 2009 07:45
|
|
|
I also use the cheap soft orange foam plugs. They're good because they block noise but not as much as others I've tried. I like to hear the traffic a little.
|
|
#
¿
Feb 25, 2009 02:34
|
|
|
MrKatharsis posted:He is correct. The Harley will hold its resale value better. I don't know about that. With things the way they are the resale value of Harleys in my area has tanked. There is an insane amount of them on the used market right now.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 7, 2009 21:25
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:ok now, everyone here with a 70s bike or any other bike with a gas cap of the two spring-bladed screw-on type needs to go measure their filler hole/cap and if the inner (smallest) diameter is 1.5" then tell me the make and model. chop chop. cause i'm not paying $40 for a goddamn italian gas cap. i won't be italy's bitch anymore. I just checked my 77' KZ650 and 66' YDS3 and both are too large. Sorry 1.5 inches seems really small. Some of the older 60's Yamaha's had pretty small gas caps. The ones pictured here (about half way down the page) http://www.hvccycle.com/yamaha1965to1969.htm are 2.5 inches in diameter. If thats the outer diameter the inner might be close to 1.5 inches. If you call HVC up they'll likely measure it for you. Of course you might not want that Yamaha logo tarnishing your beautiful Italian masterpiece.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 15, 2009 05:14
|
|
|
Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester posted:some more searching revealed a '60s honda dream 150 gas cap has an ID of 1.5". found a used one on ebay. i just screwed italy out of $35. take that, benito. Eagerly awaiting your followup post when you find out they made the original Guzzi cap reverse threaded or some crazy poo poo.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2009 03:43
|
|
|
Nerobro posted:Dietcokefiend. It's WELL PAST time you made a thread for your bike. You've got two threads worth of questions in this one. ;-) I was going to say this. It sounds like you're having a hell of a time with the poor thing
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2009 12:00
|
|
|
Does anyone know anything about the late seventies Yamaha XS1100s? The father-in-law is apparently trying to one up me now that I've got my KZ650 in order and is looking to replace his Goldwing with a 1978 XS1100. The specs look good but I'm not sure on reliability, handling, etc.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2009 17:36
|
|
|
Gnomad posted:That's a move down. The late 80's weren't Yamahas best days and the XS bikes had cooling problems. The inner cylinders tended to overheat, the 750's were worse but I have talked to a couple of riders who hated their XS1100's. Arrgh. He bought it anyways. Looks like he's going to keep both. Its a low miles XS and is nearly perfect except for the tires. He got it for around $1000. I guess we'll see how it is when we tear into it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2009 05:06
|
|
|
Well the only saving grace is that aside from the occasional spirited takeoff he is pretty gentle with bikes, or at least he is with the wing. If there is overheating or gear issues hopefully he wont run into them. Hes bringing it home tomorrow and then we get to tear into it. Coming right off the completion of my KZ650 I'm pretty happy to have another project bike in the fleet to keep the wrenches turning. Also as a side bonus the Yamaha dealer he bought it from is a new small dealer in the area and they seem like really nice guys. They're putting my tires on for $30 a pop as well. 8ender fucked around with this message at 12:13 on Mar 24, 2009 |
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2009 12:10
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Fixed. People who don't know how to shift gently caress up second on just about every bike out there. I have to ask, how do you gently caress up shifting second gear?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2009 15:43
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Edit: gently caress, No no, that was good. I personally don't consider myself gifted with a magic foot for shifting but I've never had trouble with shifting to second. Just rev, clutch in, toe up till its in gear, clutch out. I don't understand how someone can gently caress that up but then again I don't like to abuse my bikes.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2009 18:24
|
|
|
Z3n posted:Hell, these days I even use the clutch on the track. The twin doesn't rev fast enough for me to really get comfortable with blips at high RPM on downshifts, so I use the clutch instead. Upshifts, I'll usually tap the clutch out of habit. The gears on my 66' YDS are like butter and I can clutchless shift just by putting a little pressure on the lever and it will slide into the next gear when it wants to. The 77' KZ not so much so I stick to using the clutch.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2009 19:06
|
|
|
I love when companies send a real, genuinely insightful reply to a question about their products 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2009 12:22
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 4, 2024 16:36 |
|
|
FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:Why would you rev the engine or attempt rev-matching while shifting up? Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant rev as in turning the throttle normally until its time to shift up, nothing fancy. On downshifts I'll pull the clutch in, downshift, and blip the throttle before letting the clutch out.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2009 14:40
|
|
