Most motorcycle maintenance can be done in the garage with the exception of some special tools.

Motorcycle Maintenance - Some Tips To Keep You Running

http://www.cyclesolutions.net/content/category/11/81/235/

Balancing beads

Redleg's Rides: Tool Run and adding to my riding toolkit

Dave's Motorcycle Trailer Project

Welcome

View Larger Map


Posts are grouped in categories:
camping
CMA
How to do it
maintenance/wrenching
misc.
photos
pipes
safety
Safety tips
Scenery Pictures of USA
Total Control
touring
video
Welcome
Westword Riders

Motorcycle Touring For Beginners

http://www.visi.com/~dalebor/maint.htm
Table of Contents:
http://www.visi.com/~dalebor/index.html#contents

3" PVC Tool Tube

3" PVC Tool Tube for the F650GS
I finally got off my behind and made up a PVC tool tube for my F650GS. I have these on both of my XT225s and love them.

Here's the write up for the XT225-- the only difference with the F650GS was that I drilled two small holes in the skid plate to mount the angle bracket. I also installed two screw caps instead of a screw cap and a plug cap, so that I can open the tool tube from either end.
Tool kit
In the tool tube, I keep:
* 5-14 mm sockets
* 1/4" socket wrench
* Extension for the 1/4" drive sockets
* Folding hex keys
* Folding torx keys
* 13-in-1 ratcheting screwdriver
* Small vice grip
* Cable ties
* Roll of electrical tape
* Roll of Rescue Tape
* 1 pair of vinyl gloves
http://bluepoof.blogs.com/motorcycle/2007/09/index.html

More On Auxiliary Lights

More On Auxiliary Lights
Is seems that the place where I mounted the switch for the auxiliary lights on the Yamaha Vision was in such a place that I could not turn them off fast enough when faced with oncoming traffic, especially with gloved hands.
I went and rewired the auxiliary lights through the High Beam switch and eliminated the separate switch all together. I studied the electrical schematic for the Yamaha Vision and found that the yellow wire running from the high beam switch on the left handle bar runs from the switch to the headlight and then back to the high beam indicator light under the speedometer. Unfortunately, the indicator light has a low voltage draw to illuminate the blue indicator lamp. I devised a simple solution...

Throw a relay into the mix and things should work great (and the relay costs less than $3.00). The four prong relay was exceptionally easy to install. One of the prongs goes to ground, one gets spliced to the yellow wire between the headlight and the blue indicator light, one prong get attached to the positive side of the battery and the last prong goes to the "hot" side of the auxiliary lighting circuit. The negative side of the auxiliary lighting circuit is already attached to a ground from the initial installation.

Let's see... Turn the ignition on, check. Start the bike, check. Switch the headlight from low beam to high beam, headlight goes to high beam and.... the auxiliary lights come on, perfectly! Total time to rewire the auxiliary lights through the headlight switch, 15 minutes. Time to go for a ride!

Labels: Electrical

Posts are grouped in Categories & Labels:

Posts are grouped in Categories & Labels:

Labels:
CMA
photos
maintenance/wrenching
misc.
pipes
Safety tips
Scenery Pictures of USA
Total Control
touring
video
Westword Riders

windshield scratches

Nothing can be more frustrating than getting your windshield spotless. I found a couple of really great articles on ways to get this deed done without making your shield look like center ice at a Stars game. Now, if you are like me, I have done a lot of the things that they say NOT to do ... thus the research. Motorcyclecruiser.com is where I borrowed this pic and read their article. Fortunately my shield has never looked like this. Another really great article is found on the Tulsa windshield website. Fortunately my shield has never looked like this. Another really great article is found on the Tulsa windshield website. Reprinted w/o permission as originally published

Oil

How to choose engine oil for your car/bike

How to choose an oil for your car or motorcycle is a subject that is very close to the heart of many enthusiasts. I do not intend to go too deeply into the subject here as there is loads if information on the web for all to see.

Engine oil has changed over the years at a fantastic rate, Many people think that as they have an old design of engine any old oil will do, but at the end of the day, the oil stops metal parts grinding together whether the engine is old or new. There are three main classes of oil, mineral (the oldest), semi synthetic and fully synthetic. When only mineral oil was available, additive packages were combined with the oil in production, this meant that oil change intervals were driven by the life of these additives, when they started breaking down, the oil needs changing. There were bottles of additives that could be added to extend the life a little such as Wynns or STP. With the synthetic oils additives were not needed in such great quantities so oil change intervals were extended. Synthetics also allowed the oil manufacturers to fix the viscosities (thickness) better with out additives so that the oils would last much longer.

Viscosity has also changed over the years, a 20W50 mineral oil is not as good at lubricating as a 5W40 synthetic because the latter has longer chain molecules to keep metal parts away from each other. The first figure is the viscosity of the oil when cold, this is very important. It may be a lower number than the second figure but that does not mean that the oil is thinner. Most engine wear happens on start up and a 20W** oil could take 10 times as long to get to parts of the engine than a 5W** would. This means that for a couple of hundred engine revolutions, some parts of the engine will be running without oil.

The second figure is for when the engine is hot. The oil is still thinner than when it was cold despite the number being higher. A **W40 synthetic will lubricate better than a **W50 mineral due to the long chain molecules. If you think of these molecules as hair cuttings on a flat piece of metal with a ball bearing rolling about on it, it is obvious that hair cuttings that are a quarter of an inch long would not keep the ball bearing away from the metal as well as cuttings 2 inches long.

The other advantage to a synthetic is the temperature tolerance. If you heat a mineral oil in a frying pan to around 150C, the additives will break down and you will end up with treacle, and that does not lubricate at all. If you do the same with synthetic, there are very few additives to break down and you will still have oil above 190C. People may think that their engine never gets that hot, but in some parts of the engine it may do.

Motorcycle oils are a little different in that they are designed to also lubricate gearboxes in some bikes and the grinding of gears on an oil requires different properties. Most bikes, apart from BMWs and some others also have wet clutches that run in oil. If you want your clutch not to slip then why run it in oil? BMW bikes will be quite happy with just normal car engine oil.

Synthetic oil is what many HGVs use, this allows them to have 50,000 mile oil change intervals. Many modern diesel cars specify only fully synthetic oil and have change intervals up to 20,000 miles.

So why do BMW specify an oil change every 6000 miles? Well, they know that people will chuck any old oil in their bike, and the dealers need to have something to keep them in business. BMW cars manage 20,000 mile oil changes (on fully synthetic).

Here on the continent, synthetic oil is not the hard to find expensive stuff that you find in the UK. It is on all supermarket shelves for around 20 euro for 5 litres.

In Judes bike we use a 5W40 synthetic and in mine a 5W50. The reason for the difference is that mine has less than 10,000 miles on it and still vibrates through the bars at some speeds, when mine is also run in it will get 5W40 too.

Reprinted w/o permission as originally published @ http://bikesindordogne.blogspot.com/

How to

http://howto.werideonsundays.com/2006/12/14/can-spray-painting/

« How to clean old dirt bikes plastics»
Can Spray Painting
Some tips on how to use a can spray when painting. Most can sprays are quick to dry. Different brands have different characteristics. The distance you spray is a very big factor on the outcome of your work. If your paint job becomes powdery, you are spraying too far meaning that the paint dries before contact. If you paint job has drips, maybe you are spraying too close or too much.
When you are finished using the can spray it is a good practice to turn the can spray upside down and spray about 2 times to clean the nozzle. Air will be sprayed out but not the paint. Don’t over do this because the can will lack air pressure to push the paint out.
I always stock non-gloss black can spray paint. It is very easy to use and even a monkey can get good results. I use it for rusted chassis, cheap bumpers, rack/carriers, mirrors, rims, handles, etc. Your bike might not look perfect but it will look better.
Sticky Cables
If you have a sticky or stiff brake/clutch/accel cable you can try this. First check the cable if it is still worth repairing. Check for cable bents, rust, etc. Put the cable in a pan of kerosene/ pain thinner/ parts cleaner/ oil/ Coca-Cola, overnight (just experiment…). Try if the cable will move and if it does, move the cable wire until it’s movement is smooth. Spray WD-40/CRC/ deep penetrating oil and continue until the oil comes out from the other end (take your time and don’t rush or you might bend the cable). You can also use silicone spray or engine oil if you like.
How to use carburator cleaner and engine conditioner
Using the carb cleaner has pros and cons. The good thing about carb cleaner spray is that it will clean the inside unwanted deposits (carbon build up and sludges). Doing a full carburetor overhaul is the best thing to do but if you want to clean the valves a bit, engine conditioner and carb cleaner is for you. Remember that these chemicals will damage palstic and rubber parts so be very careful when you use them. If you are working on a carburetor or EFI, it is best to put a rag under the carb/EFI and be careful not to drip these chemicals especially on electronic parts. Don’t get too paranoid because they won’t give damage to plastic and rubber parts that easily.
1st get your engine to warm up. Remove the airduct from the air filter. Get a rag and spray the chemical on the rag. Open the flap and stick your finger in and clean the area especially the edges of the flap.
If you want to go further to clean the valves a bit, spray in the carb cleaner/engine conditioner inside the throttle body but make sure that you try to minimize (best if none will enter) the hole just in front of the flap on EFIs because these holes are mostly for idling unit. Do this while the engine is running to get best results but for EFIs with air flow meters, it is best to do it while the engine is not running because if you take the duct the engine will stall. You can still do it but you have to stick in a long hose and redo the clamps. Spray around the throttle body and control the engine’s throttle by pulling the cam or cable. DO NOT OVER DO THIS AND DO NOT OVER REV. If you do this for a long time there may be oil shortage on the valves and you’ll fck the engine. There will be lots of white smoke from the exhaust and try not to inhale the smoke. I quarantee that a normal person without asthma will have asthma if he sucks too much of this white smoke. While doing this, the engine will run funny or will stall but after the routine, your engine should run OK and if not do a full carb overhaul.
It is not advisable to to this on 2 strokers especially for racer models because most racers oil mixture is low. It will basically clean the ports but I advise that you dismantle the parts (cylinder, exhaust) and decarbonizes it manually because manual cleaning is better.
After doing this, spray a bit of CRC/WD-40 on the pivot point on the flap and put the parts back together. Now remove the spark plugs and clean it with a wire brush because there will be soot build-up in the plugs. Start the engine and give it some quick revs until the white smoke is not visible anymore.
There are times that people will think that the carb needs an overhaul but there are times that the vacuum hoses cracks up and engine condition is unsatisfactory. Older Nissan Sunny is famous for this.
Again be very careful using carb cleaners and engine conditioners. If you spill some amount below the unit, wash it out with water ut be careful not to let water enter the spark plug hole or the distributor.
Dead battery and electrical components
I want to share this:
I bought a dead bike and I found out that one of the components of the CDI burned. I bought a CDI and just replaced it. I jump started the bike and the engine worked properly but after several minutes, the CDI burned again. What I did is pulled out the main wiring and stripped all the tapings, checked for continuity, checked the rectifier, fuse box, relays, alternator’s continuity, pick-up coil, coil, meter unit, etc… everything but I couldn’t find anything wrong. Again I bought another CDI and this time with the complete wire harness plus the rectifier, fuse box, relays, and coils.
What I did was jump started it by using a portable power booster that I use for jump starting cars (most stupid thing that anybody can do)… CDI component went bananas again. I forgot that my power booster gives a higher voltage especially when fully charged. Now I have 3 dead CDI’s. I opened the CDI and changed the power up component, checked the diode, chip continuity, board continuity, etc and placed a new Yuasa battery (I love Yuasa). The bike started and I checked the voltage coming out from the alternator. The bike is now sweet and working perfectly.
I called the bike shop where I bought the bike and asked some of the bike’s history. He’s a monkey and don’t know Jack s**t about electricity. My conclusion is that the bike’s battery went flat and couldn’t accept charging from the alternator that fried the CDI. The bike shop guy jump started the bike without changing the flat dead battery and normally it will fry something. I fried the 2nd CDI because I didn’t check the battery if it would accept charging. The 3rd time was another basic stupidity that I forgot that my power booster gives a higher/stronger voltage. Sometimes I forget the basic stuffs and repairs are time consuming, expensive and exhausting and to accept the fact that I’m a dumb monkey who’s not using his coconuts.
Always check your battery if it will accept charging and never use a dead flat battery that will not accept electricity coming from the alternator. Never use a very strong power booster to jump start a bike just like what that monkey did because electrical components are very delicate. If you do not know how to check a dead flat battery, first connect the power booster to the battery and leave it there for about 10 to 15 minutes BUT remember NOT TO TURN ON THE IGNITION KEY. After 15 minutes, disconnect the power booster from the battery. Turn on the key and turn on the marker lights or the head lights. If you don’t see the lights to power on, the battery is probably very dead and it may not accept recharging from the alternator. If you have a DC voltage tester, use it because it is more reliable.
CDI/ECU, digital meters, dynamos, etc are repairable. Some people thinks that they are not repairable Some of them are very hard to open because of the glue, rubber, sticky silicone thing, and some of the units maybe casted or sealed. And again, some are repairable and some are not. Also always check the electrical connectors for deterioration, dirt, weak contacts and wire connection to the connectors. It is wise to file, sand paper, scratch the connectors to maximize, electrical flow. It is also a good practice to spray deep penetrating oils like CRC, WD40, etc but never use non conductive oils.
Improvise
There are time that you may have to use what is around you. There are some repair tasks that requires specialized tools. There are times that you will need special tools if you are planning to be very serious with repair but do not forget that basic tools and improvised tool can take you a long way. I find using a shovel as a lever (for lifting the wheel) perfect for changing the rear tire of a bike (especially big bikes) . The shovel acts like a spoon and holds the tire very well.
I don’t have a press or a tire changer and I use a truck’s rig to detach the tire from the rim’s bead (tubeless tires). It works OK. Large C clamps does the work also especially for bike tires. I tried using the rig as a press to repair my trials engine guard but I was not successful. It works well for some off road engine guards but my trials engine guard just won’t bend… I need to use a proper press to do the repairs… Some works and some doesn’t.

Terms used in Motorcycle Specifications

(Reprinted w/o permission as originally published @ motorcycles.about.com)
http://motorcycles.about.com/od/roadtestsreviews/a/motospecterms.htm
Definitions of Terms used in Motorcycle Specifications that appear on this site.

Engine:

Type:
No. of Strokes: Engines in motorcycles discussed on this site are all four-stroke. There are two-stroke engines as well. Also, don't confuse four-stroke with four-cylinder or two-stroke with two-cylinder. They are totally different. The four strokes in a four-stroke engine are defined as follows:
Stroke 1 - Intake valve(s) open, piston moves down, sucking in the air/fuel mixture.
Stroke 2 - All valves closed, piston moves up, squeezing the mixture.
Stroke 3 - All valves still closed, spark plug ignites the fuel/air mixture, pushing the piston down.
Stroke 4 - Exhaust valve(s) open, piston moves up, blowing the old charge out the exhaust valves.
A short version is Suck, Squeeze, BANG, and Blow.

Cooling: An engine can be liquid-cooled by running coolant through the engine and exchanging the heat via a radiator like a car. It can also be air-cooled by airflow over fins on the engine. Another variation is oil-cooling where engine oil is circulated in the engine and its heat exchanged by a small radiator. There are even oil/air/fan cooling systems.

Valves: Valves are used as mentioned above. There may be one or more valves used for intake and exhaust. The specs may indicate how many valves are used per cylinder or for the whole engine. Terms such as SOHC (Single OverHead Cam) and DOHC (Double OverHead Cam), etc. are used to indicate how the valves are opened and closed. There are other methods to operate the valves as well.

Number of Cylinders: Engines can have one to six cylinders.
A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is used in small bikes.

Most bikes have engines with two-cylinders arranged in many configurations including: V-twin where the cylinders are spaced at a particular angle to each other; Parallel twin where the two cylinders are right next to each other in a vertical position; and Flat-twins where the two cylinders are opposed such as in BMW Boxers.

Engines may have more than two cylinders such as: Triples where three cylinders are lined up next to each other in a vertical position; In-line fours similar to a triple except with another cylinder added; V-4 engines such as used in Honda ST1300; V-6 engines such as used in Boss Hoss; Flat-six engines such as used in Honda Gold Wing 1500/1800s.

There are other engines not described.

Displacement: Displacement is the volume displaced in the cylinders of an engine as the pistons move from their bottom position to their highest position in the cylinders. Displacement is measured in either cubic centimeters (CC) or cubic inches (CI).

Bore and Stroke: Bore is the diameter of the cylinder in the engine in which a piston moves up and down. Stroke is the distance that the piston moves up and down inside the cylinder.

Fuel System: Either carburetor(s) or fuel injection is used to control the mixture of air and gasoline and prepare it to be sucked through the intake valves and into the cylinders during Stroke 1, described above. Specs usually identify the carburetor name and how many carburetors are used. Fuel injection comes with different names such as Fuel Injection (FI), Digital Fuel Injection (DFI), Electronic Sequential Port Fuel Injection (ESPFI), Programmed Fuel Injection (PGM-FI), etc.

Compression Ratio: Here's a definition from Motorcycles Forum moderator, Bill Wood:
"Think of Compression Ratio this way: When the piston is at the bottom of the cylinder, say you could pour 100cc of water into the sparkplug hole (both valves closed) and it would be full. When the piston is at the top of its stroke, you can only pour 10cc of water into the hole to fill it. The compression ratio would be 100 to 10 or 10 to 1. That's about as easy to understand as I can make it. Oops, forgot to say -- Higher compression ratios (in general) will let the engine make more power, require higher octane gas and be harder for the starter to turn over."

Maximum Torque: Torque is described as twisting force. This is the maximum amount of twisting force the engine can put out and at what value of engine Revolutions Per Minute (RPM). Put simply, torque is the "grunt, stretch your arms, push your eyeballs into their sockets" quality when you aggressively use the throttle and accelerate hard. The higher the number, the more forceful that feeling is.

Maximum Horsepower: This is the maximum amount of horsepower delivered by the engine. It occurs at a particular engine speed. Horsepower (HP) and torque are interrelated with RPM by the formula HP = TORQUE X RPM / 5252.
Drivetrain:

Transmission: The specs may show the transmission as 4-speed, 5-speed, 6-speed, or an automatic transmission such as found in some bikes and most scooters.

Final Drive: The final drive is what connects the engine and transmission to the rear wheel. Options are a chain, belt, or driveshaft.

Brakes: There are many brake systems given in motorcycle specs. The usual system is a disc front brake controlled by the right handlebar brake lever and a rear disc or drum brake controlled by the rightside foot brake pedal. There are also Linked Braking Systems (LBS) where use of either the front brake lever or the foot brake will activate both front and rear brakes. A variation on LBS is the Integrated Braking System (IBS) where the foot brake also controls a portion of the front brake.

Sponsored Links
Motorcycle Specifications
Specs, Pictures, Reviews, Prices Spec. Comparison Between Brands
www.powersportsnetwork.com

Motorcycles
Browse a huge selection now. Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com

Motorcycle Part
Searching for motorcycles parts? See our motorcycles parts guide.

Motorcycles-Parts.info

In some integrated braking systems, the front brake will also control a portion of the rear brake.

Disc brakes are made of a rotor that is attached to the wheel and a caliper that is fitted over the edge of the rotor. The caliper contains one or more pistons under hydraulic pressure that, when activated by a hand brake lever or foot brake pedal, will push against the brake pads that then contact the rotor to create friction that stops the bike. There are fixed rotors and floating rotors. The floating rotors can move and expand and contract thereby allowing less heat to be generated and braking performance to be increased.

Anti-Lock Braking Systems (ABS) may also be part of a motorcycle braking system. ABS uses computer controls to keep the brakes from locking by applying and releasing the brakes very rapidly, always just short of a lockup.

Front Suspension: Springs and shock absorbers are used in various configurations to provide a comfortable ride. The concepts used for both front and rear suspensions are similar but the configurations of springs, dampers, and links are quite different.

Spring pre-load is the amount of compression already in the spring before applying any load. Many systems allow you to adjust the pre-load to suit the expected road conditions or rider preferences.

Most motorcycles use a telescopic front suspension consisting of two fork tubes containing springs and some method to control their motion. When brakes are applied, the front end tends to dive because of weight transfer. When the bike hits a bump, the spring also compresses to absorb the shock. To keep the spring from bottoming, some form of compression damping is used. As the spring comes back up, rebound damping is used to control its travel. Without damping, the spring would propel the rider up and down in pogo stick fashion. Many bikes have methods to control and adjust compression damping and rebound damping and these are spelled out in the motorcycle specs.

Most telescopic front forks have a smaller top portion that is pushed into a larger lower portion. A variation on this is the inverted fork where the fork tubes are essentially turned upside down with the upper portion sliding down outside the lower portion.

BMW uses a Duolever front suspension that still has telescopic front forks but the damping is provided by a shock absorber that is placed in back of the forks. This configuration effectively separates braking, steering, and suspension forces and eliminates dive when braking.

Rear Suspension: Today, most bikes use a swingarm system that is laterally fastened to the frame in front of the rear wheel and moves up and down in an arc. Two arms extend back and hold the rear wheel. One or two shock absorbers connect between the frame and the swingarm to provide spring action and appropriate damping. Some bikes use a single-sided swingarm.

Older bikes had no rear suspension and were known as hard tails. Many bikes today have hidden rear springs and shocks to give a hard tail look but a soft tail ride. The Harley-Davidson Softail line is an example.

Use of springs that become progressively more widely spread from one end, allows a spring to give a good ride on normal surfaces but also handle sharp hits from the road as well. These are called progressive springs. Another approach is to use a standard single rate spring but connect it to the wheel using linkages that change the leverage on the spring thus making it into a progressive type system. So called link-type rear suspensions, usually using a single shock, are examples.

BMW uses a Paralever rear suspension that employs two universal joints on its driveshaft to allow the suspension to move through two angles in a parallelogram fashion.

Tires: The first two numbers in a tire size indicate the width of the tire and the height of the sidewall. For example, 240/40 indicates that the tire width is 240mm across the tread and the aspect ratio is 40. The aspect ratio, expressed in percent, when multiplied by the width gives the height of the sidewall. Thus, the example tire size tells us that the tire is 240 mm wide and the sidewall is 96mm high (0.40 X 240).

Various Dimensions:

Seat Height: Seat height may be given as measured with a rider aboard (laden) or it may be given unladen. Riders may be interested in the seat height to tell them how easy it will be for them to get their feet flat on the pavement when stopped. See my Seat Height article.

Rake and Trail: Rake is the angle of the fork away from vertical toward the rider. Trail is the distance on the ground between a vertical line dropped straight down from the center of the wheel and a projection of the fork extended until it touches the ground. As the rake increases, the trail increases. The more rake, the more stable the handling at speed. As rake decreases, handling becomes easier at low speeds.

Wheelbase: This is the number of inches measured from front axle to rear axle.

Weight: Weight may be given as wet weight with all lubricants, liquids and gasoline added or it may be dry weight with nothing added.

Fuel Tank Capacity: Capacity is usually given including reserve tank.

Touring in Northern California

(Reprinted w/o permission as originally published @ http://howto.werideonsundays.com & starry-gurl.blogspot.com/2006/12/motorcycle-touring-in-united-states)
http://starry-gurl.blogspot.com/2006/12/motorcycle-touring-in-united-states.html
Motorcycle Touring in the United States

Motorcycle Touring in the United States is unbelievably fun and many people who have toured Europe and the United States on a Motorcycle often say that they had more fun in the United States. We simply have more scenic highways, roads, forests, canyons and space to do it in than in Europe’s largest countries. Motorcycle touring in the United States is truly the epitome of freedom.

Often as one travels the United States you see folks on motorcycles with saddle packs and gear stopped for a break and when you talk to them you find they are touring our nation on motorcycles. Well at the price of fuel that is a good way to do things. Some of these people are from the United States and some are from other countries enjoying the Euro Strength against the Dollar and they are having a literal blast cruising the highways and back roads of America.


Camping on a Motorcycle

All your camping gear has got to fit inside that limited space.
Camping on a motorcycle can present a real challenge, because you can't carry much weight or volume, and there are few places to store your equipment on a motor bike.Your motorcycle should already have it's own small tool kit, but it could be wise to carry a spare inner-tube and a pump. In case you get a flat tire 50 miles from nowhere. Here's where membership of an auto club would be a good idea, just as carrying a cell phone (mobile phone) would also be cheap insurance.

The only other thing you need when camping on a motorcycle is a sense of humor and a large helping of common sense. You also need to show courtesy for other road users. For camp lighting carry a small flashlight and / or a candle. Some will take a mechanic's 'trouble light' which has a long cord and runs of the motorcycle's 12 volt battery. If you're going to be in a campground with mains electricity, by all means carry a mains-powered 'trouble light'. A change of clothing and extra socks and underwear. Toilet kit - toothbrush, toothpaste or powder, half a bar of soap (or a small cake or soap from a hotel), a small towel, comb, a few band aids, some asprin or Tylenol pain killers, and any feminine hygiene stuff or prescription medicines needed.

Hennessey Hammock Hennessy's 5 hammock models including the 2.5 pound Expedition ($119; 888-539-2930 www.hennessyhammock.com ) can be suspended in less than 3 minutes. You enter the Expedition through a bottom side slit that automatically Velcro's together once you're inside. And you can sleep anywhere there's a pair of trees, over almost any terrain, including the sharp rocks, steep slopes, fetid swamps, and steaming buffalo dung that typically foil tents. Unlike backyard hammocks, the Hennessy has a proprietary "integral ridgeline" design that maintains the shape of the hammock and helps you sleep level on your back and just as comfortably on your side. The Hennessy Hammock is shy on floor space and pretty much useless above tree line, but for solo campers who trek in forested terrain, its birth may mark the end of tent bound nights.

Tires for Street Motorcycles

Buying tires for street motorcycles is only the beginning of the process of owning a pair of tires. It should always be remembered to buy good tires for street motorcycles, and to keep them properly inflated. This is because, however well constructed a tire may be, it may fail in its use as a result of punctures, improper inflation or overloading. New tires should never be subjected to maximum power or hard cornering, as this lessens the life of the tire.

When buying tires for street motorcycles, never mix radials with non-radials. Nor should a tube be fitted in a radial motorcycle tire, nor a radial tire be fitted on a rim requiring a tube. To maintain tire safety and mileage, always maintain the motorcycle’s recommended air pressure in both tires. Riding on tires with too little air pressure is dangerous, builds excessive heat and also increases fuel consumption. Similarly, riding on tires with too much air is dangerous, as the tires may break or puncture on sudden impact. Overloading a street motorcycle causes excessive heat to the tires, which may inflict serious personal injury.

All street motorcycle tires have the tire size specified by the manufacturer. The letters S, H, V and Z found after the size marking on tires are the speed ratings. It is very important to correctly match front and rear tires, as riding motorcycles with improper mix of radial construction tires is dangerous. Even fitting a new front tire with a worn rear tire may cause instability. All tire manufacturers recommend their tires not be used in excess of legal speed limits. This is because riding at high speed is dangerous, and can cause motorcycle accidents. Some tires for street motorcycles have letters bearing ‘speed rating’ designations that indicate the tires’ design speed capability. This is to allow comparison of the different speed capabilities of tires, to replace speed-rated tires with another tire of the same speed rating.


How To Repair Motorcycle Saddle Bags

Motorcycle parts like saddles are provided with products that can make them look new and desirable again. These repairs are very easy. In fact, sometimes it only takes a visit to your reliable motorcycle store or home depot.

Saddle bag with cracks on it are not pleasing to the eyes. In addition, it contributes to the overall unattractiveness of the bike.

How do I do repairs? Actually, a friend taught me how to. First, for cracks, you can use tape on the inside and pressurize thick glue with a piece of flexible plastic into the crack. You need not use sand paper because the glue and plastic will be almost unseen. For best results, you can use plastic pipe glue that can be found in the plumbing section. This glue dries up even without heat application.

ABS shavings can also be used to repair saddle bags. It dissolves effortlessly into the liquid within five to ten minutes. If you want a richer mixture, add more shavings. Mix it properly. To make the surroundings of the crack rough, use some 220 grit sand paper. When it is already rough, apply the mixture over and into the repair area. In order not to seep out or at least minimize the chance, begin from the inside of the bag and place some foil on the other side. You can clean messy edges with wet or dry sandpaper. Make sure that ventilation is good. If you can have a fan blowing away from you - the better. It helps in achieving easy and mess-free repairs.

Other miracle products are the liquid plastic by melting ABS in a solvent, thick black plastic that repairs without the application of heat and black ABS Cement. Repairing can be that easy even without heat!

I have repaired saddle bags before - some having cracks and some are far worse. My tools are the tape, plastic pipe glue, shavings and the likes. They can make miracles. Fiberglass is also a solution. Nonetheless, it is hard to have permanent bonding to the plastic since it is slippery. However, you can try them too.

Pipes

(Click photo to hear & see video)

http://www.jcmotors.com/images/jcm_auctions/cobra/sounds/VLX600_classic_slash.mp3


Pipes_loud

http://shadowcruiser1978.blogspot.com/ MOTORCYCLE DIARIES

performance modifications The re-jet kit and air filter had been gathering dust for several weeks. I also want to drill and de-baffle the exhaust pipes, not just for a better sound but to open up the exhaust a bit, since I was going to put a K&N filter in. ( The idea is to let more air in by using the K&N filter, mix it with more gas in the carburetor by replacing the jets with bigger jets and the open up the exhaust for getting all the gases out quickly).

Here's a tip from Joe.

Here's how I ported the exhaust pipes on my V-Star 1100 Classic. Relax, this is a pretty simple job, just take your time and don't over do it with the amount of material you remove. You can always come back and remove more on a second pass like I did.

Here is what I did: I used an old Sears hand held grinder, and a 1" grinding wheel. First the front pipe. After removing the front pipe, I placed the copper washer in the cylinder head and scribed out its size on the head itself. Remove the washer and rout out the excess head material so that the head and the washer hole are the same size. Place the washer on the pipe and do the same thing. Remove only as much material as you feel comfortable with. Never go beyond the size of the inner diameter of the copper washer. I also ran the grinder down the pipe several inches to smooth things out a bit. Done with the front pipe.

The rear pipe has two parts: first the elbow, and then the pipe itself. Simply remove both from the bike and use the copper washer as a guide. Same procedure as the front pipe.

Tips:
The first was to cut a 2" hole in the back side of the air cleaner, next to the original hole. Be careful not to cut through any of the ribs on the cleaner. Just find a flat spot and use a 2" hole saw for the cut. I also removed the rubber tube thing going between the backing plate and inside of the air box. This gives the engine a bigger passage from which to draw air. This procedure is simple to do, and it allows the engine to really get the air it needs. Now when I grab the throttle, the engine sounds like the 4-barrels are kicking in.
The second thing I did to the engine was to port the exhaust pipes. See my User Tip for the details.

http://www.volusiariders.com/viewtopic.php?t=39662&highlight=rejet+kits

wehrd1 wrote:
One last consideration before I order mccarbs.com kit....

Do I HAVE to change stock filter for k&n? if i'm running lean on idle now, wouldn't keeping the smaller air flow filter (stock) help with the leaness on idle?

I'm putting on debaff'd/demik'd pipes & before I order my kit configuration, was wanting to ask do I HAVE to go to higher air flow k&n filter? ....

or is the higher air flow a performance response issue when throttling??

Thanks!


I agree with SSquire above, you might as well change to a K&N and put in a larger main jet to get more juice out of the machine. I did the whole rejet/K&N/de-baffle last weekend. Also disabled the pair valve. Used the Dynojet 155 main and backed the mixture screw to 3.5 turns out. Runs fantastic!
_________________
My motorcycle blog:
http://shadowcruiser1978.blogspot.com

When you contact Robert, robreil@motorcyclecarbs.com, ask him if you could add to the rejet kit, possibly a main jet for OEM air filter and the proper main jet for a K&N filter. I have been writing to him because I need a 142.5 main jet for my after market pipes and the UNI on the carb. I currently have a 150 main jet and that was too rich for my setup so I am getting the 142.5 per his recommendation. Once you open up your carb, and rejet the first time, changing the main jet is like changing sparkplugs

dynojet, www.mccarbs.com,
Dynojet makes a stage 1 jet kit for your bike and I have ALWAYS had my best results with Dynojet kits, these guys really know their stuff. The Dynojet part number is 3126, they also have a high-altitude kit ( in case you live in the mountains) that is part number 3126HA. Tghis kit is designed for a bike with a stock puipe or a quality aftermarket pipe and a K&N filter in the stock airbox. It comes with a range of needles and clips so you can tailor it to your exact specifications. the manufacturers suggested retail on the kit is 85.86 ( probably the best 90 bucks you'll ever spend on your bike) and you can order it from any reputable bike shop.

jack is a sharp dude.k&n is getting out of jet kits.dyno jet always made thier kits for them .1400 intruder #dj3126.sug retail $82.00.i'll sell you one for $62.00 + shipping.fuel screw adjustment is all that's needed with stock intake & exhaust.you didn't mention if your bike was stock.elevation & humidity have a big effect.dealers are becoming very leary of installing jet kits becuase of the e.p.a.I install about 50-60 kits a year.If your bike did not perform correctly after the dealer installed it & they refused to fix it-find an other dealer.I get a handfull of bikes in a year (metric & hd)that supposedly had a kit installed at an other shop.they were sold a jet kit and what they got was a bigger main jet,and some shims under the needle.Jet kits very per model.Some have slide springs, emulsion tubes,pilots and drill bits for slide lift holes. they all come with mains and needles.the 1400 has 2 carbs in 2 diff. locations.they should be synched at idle & at half throttle.there are 2 seperate adj.some shops don't know that. Jim

To get the best out of this modification should it be done with an exhaust gas analyzer or even a dyno?>> Dave--I'm not Jack (who knows WAY more about such things than I ever will), but any time you do any major changes to air or fuel systems, an exhaust gas analyzer and/or dyno is always a good idea. Some of the really good Techs (like Jack) who have years of experience and the brains to evaluate the changes may be able to do it without them, but it will take longer and may not be spot on even then. Ride Safe.

Tips:
If you use a car battery for the good battery, use the same procedure as above except DO NOT START THE CAR OR HAVE IT RUNNING. Incompatibilities between the car and motorcycle electrical systems may destroy some of the electrical components


Reprinted w/o permission as originally published @ http://shadowcruiser1978.blogspot.com, http://www.volusiariders.com/viewtopic.php?t=39662&highlight=rejet+kits,

Catagories & Labels

Posts are grouped by categories & labels.








CMA
maintenance/wrenching
misc.
pipes
photos
Safety tips
Scenery Pictures of USA
Total Control
touring
video
Westword Riders