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2006 (June through July) Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Perplexed, Saturday, June 3 Hi VTwin Mama, Dear Onyxvstar, Meanwhile, I turned to Mark Zimmerman, author of The Essential Guide to Motorcycle Maintenance, to get his take on your motorcycle longevity question. His reply: Interesting question but a bit like asking is it hotter in the city than in the summer? The problem here is that I don't know the bike's service history or how the rider treats it. With regular and properly performed routine maintenance a motorcycle should last indefinitely. In this case I'd suggest that down the road you can expect things like the steering head and wheel bearings to fail as well as the clutch, rings, valve guides and seat foam. The question is how long before that happens and frankly there is no practical way to predict that. In my experience a well maintained motorcycle should last forever, or as long as you feel like rebuilding the thing. If I were pressed, and knowing something about Yamaha's build quality, I'd think you can expect 250K out of the bottom end, maybe 150K out of the top end (maybe more if you don't hammer it). Things like steering head bearings and fork seals can last anywhere from 30K to 500K while components like clutches and brakes go from 10K to about 50K. This question really has no hard and fast answer. Old British bikes normally went 20K on a top end and 40K on the bottom but I've seen any number of them with 75-to 100 K on them that had never been apart. Likewise I've got a buddy, an HD mechanic that always orders low compression police bikes, his usually go 300K before the sheet metal rusts out (he's an all weather rider). Sorry to be so vague here, but like I said there's no
practical way to predict the life cycle of anything other than rule of
thumb or formal destruction testing so in this case my advice is to just
ride the thing until you're tired of it and don't worry about life
expectancy. Take care,
Mark Dear VTwin Mama, Unfortunately it has just developed an annoying problem. As soon as the bike is warm, 8 miles plus, the tickover has started increasing at will from 1200rpm to 2800rpm. I have tried all the obvious snagged cables, lubricated linkages, stuck choke, etc., all to no avail. Can anyone help? Andy Reade in Liverpool Dear Andy, Normally when an engines idle speed increases as it warms up you're faced with one of three situations. 1. the pilot screw setting is too lean The first step is to revisit all of the carburetor
adjustments. Set the pilot adjustment slightly towards the rich side and
the idle at a bare minimum. Only set the idle speed after the bike is
fully warmed up. If the idle speed continues to climb after the bike is
warm or will only idle at a very high speed, spray a bit of carburetor
cleaner at the various inlet joints, when you find the one that's leaking
the engine speed will climb. There are some ignition problems that can
make a bike respond the way your readers is, primarily sticking advance
units, but that's certainly not the problem here. There is also a
possibility that an internal carburetor fault, perhaps a dirty air bleed
or air bypass problem or maybe a stuck AB valve (if the carbs have
them) might be at fault. But I subscribe to the KISS theory of repair so
I'd look at the easy to fix stuff first.
Mark Monday, June 12 From Andy in Liverpool about fixing that runaway idle (tickover): A big thank you to you, your
mechanical guru Mark and the VTwin Mama site. Today I have stripped
down the carburettors on my Ducati and followed your advice. I found that
the main needle jets on the carburettors were both gummed up towards the
bottom third of the needle. Once this was cleaned I found that I had to
reset the balance between the two carburettors once this was achieved I was
able at last to alter the tick over using the idle screw. I would just to say that I
had asked for advice on many sites (including Ducati Forums) and you were
the only bikers who actually bothered to reply. If you ever find yourselves
in Tuesday, June 13 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear HD, It occurs to me that if you centered the motorcycle and cleaned the under belly and any possible place oil could come from (including shocks), you could lay on your back and watch for the source of the leak. Yes, oil can be hard to trace, but if you keep wiping at the possible leak points, eventually you'll move your shop cloth over a new oil slick. It's a KISS thought . . . but as a lapsed bench tech, I learned the value of watching first, even if that took a bunch of time. One wonders if you couldn't temporarily duct tape paper towels at key areas so that the leak point becomes apparent easier and quicker. Of course it's useful to think back to when the leak
started and review if any maintenance or repair was done at the time, even
if it was something simple. Heck, even a slight overfill of the primary or
trans could be forcing its way out of a not-quite properly cinched down
bolt.
Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Melissa, Monday, June 19 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Andrei, Tuesday, June 20 Dear VTwin Mama, A few weeks ago, I was riding my Vulcan 750 down on the highway to Denver and the bikes electronics went crazy and the bike died on the Interstate. I think there was a loose wire on the regulator, as I fooled around with it for a while, then by the time the tow truck arrived, I requested a jump. The bike fired right up, ran about 3 miles to get off the highway but into bumper to bumper traffic in downtown Denver, then went all crazy again. Of course, it was in a relatively in accessible place, but the nice thing about motorcycles is that they can break down anywhere and the cars can still squeeze past. I got a tow, then went home, replaced the regulator but still the bike refused to cooperate. Then I realized the battery was shot. The sealed batter was so deformed that I could barely get it out of the bike! Of course, the part of the battery you could see looked good, and the voltage was showing 12.5 when I pulled it out. A new battery though got the bike to fire right up. After riding the bike a few miles to make sure that it was charging and all was well, I began to pull the engine to replace a leaky oil seal around the shifter. I was also planning to replace a damaged component in the petcock, and replace the old radiator fan that fell off after a bolt fell into it! I was also planning to replace some missing items that I'm guessing a mechanic in the past forgot, lost, or decided to save some weight. Yes, I like to wait until the problems get to be major and numerous! I began to pull the engine. This was the second time and everything was going smoothly. Drain the fluids, remove the radiator and some other stuff, then on to remove the exhaust pipes. I began to unscrew the nut holding the pipes to the manifold. It required some torque to get it to loosen up, then it really got going. Then the stud snapped. Hmmm, maybe I should have used some anti-seize compound last time! Of course, the simple job would have to be come more complicated. I decided to remove the manifold to the rear cylinder. 3 of the 4 nuts refused to budge but the studs unscrewed right out of the engine. The 4th nut was missing. Go figure. Later, one of the nuts would just unscrew with finger pressure. GGGG! I called up a mechanic and they said that they would charge $60 an hour to remove the broken stud, and if they screwed up, which they said was very possible (they didn't quite say it like that) I'd still have to pay them, and then buy a new manifold. 4 hours later after trying what one of them suggested "off the record," I ended up drilling out the old stud, the using a tap to put in a new one. Of course, after drilling out the old stud, the hole was the perfect size for a SAE tap and bolt. On a metric bike, you will now find one lonely SAE bolt holding the muffler on. About this time, I about gave up. I was really getting annoyed that this bike seemed determined to throw every problem it could my way! I put an ad on Craigs List offering this cantankerous V-twin for a working thumper. I figured I'd end up having a reliable working motorcycle, and be rid of this beast. I replaced the seal, did some other stuff, then put the bike back together again. I hit the starter and it fired right up. Sweet! I ran it for 5 minutes, then shut it off. The intermittent fuel leak was back. Replacing the damaged diaphragm in the petcock had not fixed the problem. I ran to ACE to get something to try to fix the leak. This was a real annoyance. It was now more than intermittent. I tried a fix, then wheeled the bike out of the garage. Nothing. The oil and neutral lights came on, but there was no other evidence that there was even a battery in the bike. ARRRRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! Give me a working moped and I'll be happy! As it was, someone responded to my add offering a '82 Honda 500 Ascot. They sent me a link to photos of the model, though not the actual bike they owned. I thought it was a nice looking, though dated bike. Either way, the man assured me via email that the bike both worked and was reliable, other than a small leak that was not major. It showed promise. Simple, reliable, and working, we set up a meeting time, though my bike was still not working, and I could not figure out why. Friday I decided to give it one last shot. I made it to the garage at 5:30 AM. I began to tear apart the wiring harness looking for the short. 5 hours later, I found that their was some missing wire in the bike. I have no idea why it worked at all for the time I had it, nor why it just quit working after working. Either way, I replaced this wire, and the bike started. But that fuel leak was back. I was really annoyed. I had replaced nearly every part of the petcock, yet fuel was streaming out. Off the bike, the tank wouldn't leak a drop but on the bike, the tank gushed fuel. Then I noticed that the leak was actually slightly away from the petcock, but the fuel was running along the bottom of the tank and thus it appeared that the petcock was to blame. The tank was cracked around one of the mounting brackets! GRRRRRRRR! I removed the tank, found the crack, emptied the tank, then dragged out the welder. The first and only commandment of welding a fuel tank came to mind: Thou shalt not weld on an un-purged tank, lest thy friends console thy wife in ways unacceptable to thee. I filled the tank with water, then drained that. After attaching the ground clamp, I couldn't figure out why the welder was not working. I finally realized that the tank had already cracked and it had been Bondo'ed or something. The guy was due soon, and I was really hating this bike. I ran to the store for Bondo, applied, poured in some Heet to remove the water, then attached the tank. Hmmm, still leaking, though mostly fixed. I applied some more Bondo, and soon found that the leak was manageable. I only used two of the three bolts to make sure the Bondo didn't crack. The leak disappeared. I took the bike for a test ride. First, the penetrating fluid used to try to free the stuck stud in the manifold was burning off and smoking, which definitely got looks from pedestrians. What do you expect when you ride the God of the Forge? Then I looked down and was horrified to see some sort of fluid bubbling out of the engine. I stopped the bike, then realized I hadn't tightened down a side cover and it was oil. I tightened it down, then checked the oil level and found it was in the proper range. I also noticed this weird hesitation but I figured it was the water I had used to purge the tank. I headed back to our meeting place to await the arrival of the trader and bike, and to finish a few last details with the bike. I was just screwing on the side panels when the guy arrived towing his bike on a U-Haul trailer. Right away, I could see that there were at least 3 oil leaks. The oil sight window was black, and he wasn't sure about the last time he changed the oil. The tires were nearly bald. The paint was awful. The brake light wouldn't turn off, but he assured me that it would turn off and function properly after riding it 10 feet. It started up but the the tachometer was kinda funky. Some of the switches were damaged as well. Right away, I could see that this bike wasn't quite as good as the bikes on Google images were. We mounted up, him on my bike, and I on his. Owing to the fact that his clutch had to be nearly out to get the bike moving and mine was set up to take effect very soon, we made an odd pair. I took forever to get moving, and he was nearly doing wheelies when starting. But the bike was moving. The tach was bouncing around, the mirrors vibrated so badly that they were useless, and the speedo was not operating owing to a missing cable. The rear brake felt like there was a "thumping" when applied but it felt like it was dragging when starting off. I definitely noticed a weird sound when turning. We got back and I looked at the bike some more. I found that the front wheel had some serious play in it. In the end, we didn't trade bikes. I realized that his bike had just as many demons as mine, but at least I know the demons that ride with me on my bike, and mine are perhaps close to being eradicated. So when you are about to give up and put a "free" sign on your bike, just ride something even crappier than your bike, and you will look at yours with new eyes. I put about 60 miles on my bike this afternoon, found that the oil leaks and the fuel leak that were on my bike before the last bout of repairs had ceased. The hesitation disappeared and the bike was charging well enough. Now I'm just trying to decide whether I want to take the bike outside of my towing plan coverage area! I hope all is well with you these days. Ben Dear Ben, Well, the Vulcan is certainly putting you through the
wringer, but I had to chuckle at some of the points (yes, there are always
bikes out there that are worse than yours!). Kudos to you for sticking with
it and I'm hoping soon you'll be comfortable leaving the towing plan range!
Mama Wednesday, June 21 Dear VTwin Mama, Hubby wasn't anymore help. He just said, "I wasn't there, so I don't know what you did wrong". Arrrggghhh! Love the guy but sometimes he makes me so mad. And he has changed oil in bikes a gazillion times so it is all second nature to him. I'm trying to do all my own maintenance and take care of all my bike problems so I'll learn how to do it. But, between the sometimes "ambiguous" instructions in the Harley manual and the obvious language barrier between men and women when explaining mechanical things, I'm getting rather frustrated. Anyone out there know how much oil you really need to put back in the oil bag when changing oil on an 883L? Also, the oil was hot when I drained it, the bike had only been sitting about 30 minutes. When I started it the oil light went off right away so everything seems to be working just fine. Just want to know why it says it will hold more than it really does. Thanks, Tricia Dear Tricia, Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Harley Dave, Friday, June 23 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Anon, If you need help doing all of this . . . get the service
manual. My Education Center
page has lots of online sources for the aftermarket manuals . . . best
$20 investment you can make.
Mama Monday, June 26 For Harley Dave who was wondering about oil types: Mama's right on. If you change your oil regularly, as the type of oil you choose requires, everything should be fine. Even with Petrol products. Remember it's the additives that make petrol products work, that wear out. (Just to let you know I sell and use Amsoil. I'm not selling anything) Synthetics are manmade to work as well from fill to drain. So, the main advantage of Synthetics is that you don't have to change oil as often and there great for the harsh environment of an engine. Remember the filter is just as important as the Lubricate. Buy as high as quality as you can. And look how many Microns it filters down to, that's important not a fancy label, so read the fine print. As to the brand Lubricate you choose be careful and make sure their data backs up what they say. I know a few products have come on the market that have tried to make claims and had to change their labels. Jennifer WV (note from Mama: an oil expert . . . yahoo . . . thanks for sharing this!) I just changed to 20w-50 in my VStar 1100 for the trip to Athens. I went with a semi- synthetic from Bel-Ray. I bought it at a motorcycle shop. They highly recommended the synthetic. I put about 250 miles on the bike yesterday and didn't notice any problems. I will know more obviously as I ride her. I have read postings about people who swear by synthetic and those who say they have gear shifting challenges because of it. So far so good for me. I will let you know if anything changes! Sandra (note from Mama: hmmm . . . we haven't had that many oil-related questions here at VTM . . . anyone else hear about shifting problems when changing to synthetic?) Tuesday, June 27 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Madeline, Meanwhile, let's look at shocks a bit more. First, a shock is rated by is ability to absorb impacts and is noted as a spring rate given in pounds per inch. A shock's spring rate at 100 pounds per inch (typical) means it takes 100 pounds of force to compress it one inch. The higher the spring rate the more it takes to compress it, but get it too stiff and you'll feel every variation in the road! Springs also come in two basic flavors: straight-rate and progressive-rate. Straight-rate simply means the compression is even while progressive-rate means that as more compression is added (think big road bump), the compression rate is stiffer than a light hit (more compression increases the spring rate . . . aha, progressively!). Now, what you are actually adjusting on the collar of your shock is the spring pre-load. This does not affect the actual spring rate, just what it takes to start the compression in motion. If the pre-load is less, then it takes less for that first inch of compression and if the pre-load is more, it will take more for that first inch of compression. So, if none of the shock pre-load adjustments takes out the bottom-out on bumps, you need to investigate a different spring rate/type shock. As I have no idea what type or spring rate your bike comes with, a quick call to the dealer's parts department should answer that question, or if you have a service manual, it's likely the information is located there. Progressive is one of the biggest names in the
suspension business and they offer variations of shocks for bikes. If you
determine what you currently have, then you can go to their product
search page and look at what else Progressive offers. Or, given that
you're on the phone with dealer to see what you have, explore what other
options they can find for you! Happy suspension!
Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Christine, Hmmmm . . . I'm not sure you're actually doing anything
wrong but there shouldn't be any jolting action. So now my best guess is
that you've got some sort of misalignment of the brake system. Have you
checked the bolts that hold on your brakes lately? It could be something
simple like a small loosening and thus, the brake isn't grabbing perfectly
centered. If that's not it, I would take the motorcycle out to your side
street and try a straight line stop with just the front brake and then
just the rear brake. Does the bike jolt when just using one or the other
(using this to determine if you have the problem just with the front or
rear system)? That could be your clue where to turn next. Depending on the
age and mileage you may be in need of new pads. Start there, and don't
forget, if you have a friend who rides, they could check to see if the
same thing happens, and then you could talk with the local dealer about
the symptoms.
Mama Tuesday, July 11 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Adam, Dear VTwin Mama, I worked myself up the comfort ladder a little bit and commute to & from work in downtown Chicago. You remember Chicago cab drivers, don't you? They stink in more ways than one. I've only put about 1,500 miles on it since I bought her in April, but I ride almost everyday. When I have that rare, near flawless ride with smooth turns, stops and shifts, and then finish up at the office with a slow, tight little 180 in the parking garage, I'm sure that I walk into the office with a big, dumb grin on my face. I enjoy the focus and constant maneuvering when I'm in traffic and I think it's helped expedite the growth of some of my newbie skills. I'm still a babe in the woods, and the "what if-fears" always sit in the back of my mind when I'm riding. Your forum reminds me that it's okay, and maybe a survival skill to be aware of our risks and that they must always be managed. I haven't had to seriously use any emergency maneuvers, but there were two close calls where I got to test my brakes. They worked. Here's my question for you or your readers: Since most of my riding is downtown, I come to a lot of red lights, pedestrian cross walks or anything that makes me come to a complete stop, during which I prefer the bike in 1st. The problem is that she'll sometimes slip from 1st into 2nd, but usually it slips into Neutral. It does this right as I'm trying to leave a complete stop at a red light that's gone green. I try to be super vigilant and tap the shifting pedal, as in "YES, IT'S IN 1ST", before I try pulling out of my complete stop, but sometimes I don't have a chance because traffic has begun to move and I really need the bike to stay in first. When it does go into neutral on its own, often the green Neutral light isn't illuminated. Sometimes I have an aural heads-up that it's done this, but often it's a silent slippage. Does this sound familiar? Is it me? Is there hope? Alexsandra Dear Alexsandra, In reading through some material on transmissions that jump out of gear, the news is not particularly good. It's suggested that internal components (shift dogs, shift fork(s0 or shift-fork shaft) are either worn or bent and that's why it's happening. I would start with an inspection of the shift lever shaft itself. This is what the shift lever attaches to. If that motorcycle was dropped on the left side by you or the previous owner, that's a part that will bend and start exhibiting problems down the line. Remove the shift lever and eyeball down the shaft to see. I tried to noodle out if the clutch lever adjustment could be playing a role, but indicators would be a bike that "clunks" into gear, stalls, or creeps forward. Although you didn't mention any of these symptoms, you may not have mentioned it or been aware of what to consider. This then would be a review of the freeplay adjustment on your clutch lever. If these suggestions don't reveal anything, I would have a heart-to-heart with the local dealer's service manager or work with an independent shop. I have no knowledge that this is a "characteristic" of the Viragos, but if it is, I'm sure to hear from Virago owners letting me know. Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Haider, Because your bike is relatively new, the engine is still wearing in, but all bikes use a certain amount of oil which must be replaced. Simply get in the habit of checking your bike and add a dollop when needed between oil changes! Do NOT overfill . . . this is as bad as running with too little oil. Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Shakti Aerorider, Better fuel efficiency is largely a function of how you ride and maintain the motorcycle. Hard, uneven riding (fast take-offs, etc.) and large amounts of idling stops affect this. By really, for my money, it's about maintenance. This includes tires at the proper pressure, cleaning your air filter on a regular basis, and changing spark plugs and engine oil/filter as recommended. All of these things, when not properly maintained, can have a 3-10% effect on fuel efficiency. It is also important to be running the correct viscosity of oil and you may find improvements by going to a synthetic oil. Mama Saturday, July 15 For Alexsandra whose Virago jumps out of gear at a stop: In all the time I had my '03 Virago 250 (about 6,000 miles), I could count the false neutrals, starting from a stop, on less than two hands. It was a rarity. If anything, once the bike was warmed up, it was hard to get it into neutral from first gear. I sometimes had to get to neutral from second gear. Linda C. (note from Mama: thanks! I'll also add that on my Help By Make/Model page are a few Virago tech sites, one with direct access to a mechanic.) Saturday, July 15 For Haider whose new GZ250 seems to be eating oil: My better half and I bought bikes within a week of each other (both new bikes). They also went into the shop for 1000 mile maintenance together. Her oil level was close to normal, mine was much lower. The difference? My bike had an "inner primary seal leak." Both the inner primary seal and outer primary gasket had to be replaced (all under warranty thankfully). There was not a drop of oil on my garage floor, seems the oil was only pushed out when the bike was running. How was it discovered? When I was checking the bike in, the mechanic was doing a general inspection (lights, brakes, etc.) and ran his hand under the primary, only to discover oil. He said, "This should be dirty, but not oily, we'll check for a leak." So, Petra is probably right, but from experience, double check your primary! JoJo (note from Mama: yikes . . . ok, thanks for the tip!) Sunday, July 16 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Lisa, Sunday, July 16 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Bill, In reading through Dan's Online Motorcycle Repair Course, there are a number of different petcock set-ups. One type includes the use of a diaphragm. According to this online BikeBandit OEM parts diagram, your motorcycle has one. As I don't have your exact service manual, I'd be checking more about this. The diaphragm (if your bike has one) could have a pinhole in it, not be seated or connected correctly, or have lost it's elasticity (age). I hope this gives you more things to check out to find the problem. Mama Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Noah, Altering the exhaust system always impacts a motorcycle one way or the other. You would most likely need to rejet the carb in order to maintain a correct balance in the systems. By not re-tuning the bike, you set up potential long-range problems within the engine. Mama Wednesday, July 19 For Noah who wants to remove the baffles on a Honda Shadow Aero 750: If go to www.delphiforums.com, put Aero 750 in the search. You'll find the Shadow Aero 750 forum; sign up is free. I'm not into the baffle removal thing, but I'm sure there are some people on the site that can guide you. Jennifer WV (note from Mama: thanks for sharing!) Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Michele, Friday, July 21 For Michele who wants to get scratches out of her windshield: Try NOVUS - it is a three step system with one agent that will clear up the yellowing of your windshield from time, then another that will get rid of light scratches and the third step that will polish out pretty heavy scratches. Dorathy Biddinger (note from Mama: thanks!) This won't take the scratches out but it is the best way to clean. Soak a soft towel in hot water and lay it one the window shield for about 15 minutes while cleaning the rest of the bike. Then just lightly rub it across the window shield. The bugs and goop will come right off. Also the only thing I ever use to clean my bike is Pro Honda polish. Sometimes I use S100 to clean the wheels. But the Pro Honda polish will work to clean the whole bike and windshield too. When I travel, I take a soft towel and Pro Honda polish with me. Bobbye (note from Mama: love the hot towel pre-soak . . . some of those bug bodies really make for nasty splat removals!) Unfortunately, I havent discovered anything to get out scratches on plastic. I scratched mine simply by using a dry towel, so do be careful what you use those microfiber towels are the best. I do, however, have an excellent tip for cleaning the bugs off regular Pledge! It not only cleans, but treats the plastic so that water slides right off big help when you get caught in the rain! It works on faceplates, too. Amy (note from Mama: good warning and interesting product. Read on for a more "radical" scratch removal process that may be of interest!) I have found something that works but it takes a little skill to resolve this problem. But this is only to be used after all other methods fail. For a little history on how I found out about this, in previous work I had to build covers made with LEXAN. After awhile these covers got scratched and had to be replaced. I accidentally played around with a piece one day and realized something. LEXAN is a plastic and can be melted. Don't run away yet, there is a method to my madness. So please don't run away yet. I took a small butane torch and "painted" the piece. What this did was slowly heat up the area around the scratch to the point it just melted together. The trial and error method showed me how far and how close to get to the area. Too close and it will bubble and burn, too far and nothing happens. I start about six inches away and SLOWLY move in to maybe four inches and all the time "painting" the area, moving the heat back and forth. This does not work well with Plexiglas shields. Granted this is not something you begin to do without practice, lots of practice. A good suggestion is to get a scrap piece and make a small scratch on it, then practice "painting" the area. On my old windshield I had to "repaint" multiple times without any problems but prior doing this to my windshield I had practiced on multiple pieces. I had lived in the southwest with sandstorms blasting my windshield on a regular basis. This will work on small scratches and some medium, but don't and I repeat don't move the flame closer than necessary or you will burn your shield. Find an area on the shield that is near the bottom and not necessary to see through. Again, practice before trying this on your windshield and the butane torch you need is one that you can adjust to a high intensity blue flame, not one that will just adjust to a yellow flame. Also, you should only do this if you have resolved yourself to buy another shield. Try a practice area and move to others but remember PRACTICE - PRACTICE - PRACTICE and have plenty of patience. And for you VTM, my lady found your site and shared it with me and I think it is great, and even an old guy like me has learned some things. It also helped her on her beginning riding jitters and now she is a great rider. Glad I have her to ride with and a lot of it is thanks to you. Oldehawg (note from Mama: I can see that if standard products won't resolve the issue, this technique has merit as otherwise the windshield is a total loss anyway! And I'm glad you and your lady are enjoying the VTwin Mama site and that it's helped . . . that's what it's all about, and I appreciate that you wrote in to say so!) Sunday, July 23 More for Noah who wants to remove the baffles on a Honda Shadow Aero 750: Removing baffles is never a good idea. Your bike's exhaust system was designed to function with the baffles. Exhaust systems need to have what is called back pressure. There is a "wave" created from your cylinder to the end of the exhaust. Open pipes with no baffles have low back pressure and have nothing to deflect this wave, and it will go back to the cylinder and mess with the proper air/fuel mixture . . . thereby screwing up the performance of your bike. The back pressure prevents the wave from getting back into your cylinder. If your goal is to create more sound and/or more performance . . . investigate a good set of slip on mufflers and maintain the proper back pressure and air/fuel mixture. Diane in Michigan (note from Mama: I'll simply add that in most cases, once an existing system is altered, it cannot be reversed, so if the effect/sound desired is not achieved, it can mean purchasing new stock or aftermarket pipes. Ouch!) Sunday, July 23 For Pennie and anyone with a Rebel clutch that is slipping: I called The Honda MC dealer and he wanted $300 to replace my slipping clutch in my 2004 Rebel 250 with 1,000 miles on it. The actual clutch cost is $65. I took the bike to a local MC private shop that did the job for $115. He added spacers to my Rebel clutch to make it grab harder. It's a little harder to pull the clutch handle but the problem is solved. He stated Honda Rebel clutches have too much free space and as a result burn out too soon. The mechanic said also, the springs in the Rebel clutch were not strong enough in his opinion and he was putting stronger ones in. He indicated the pull on the clutch lever might be a little heavier but that could be adjusted. Anonymous (note from Mama: interesting!) Friday, July 28 Dear VTwin Mama, I figured out the problem!!! The coil was bad . . . when it got hot it would start to fail. I ran the engine in my garage, about a 1/2 hour, shut it off, and it would not start . . . sprayed electrical contact cleaner on it (that stuff gets COLD, you would know if you've ever used it). BAM!!!! Started right up, tried it a few times, worked. Spent $45 on a coil. RIDING AGAIN!!!!!!!! Thanks. Scott in Phoenix Dear Scott, Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Carole, Also, it could be tire tread that is wearing unevenly or a tire mounting that is loosening up for some reason. If you bring it to the dealer, have them first look at the tires and point out exactly what they are seeing to you so you have an understanding before they go spouting service quotes. I'm thinking that there could be other causes, but I'd start with the tires. Mama Monday, July 31 For Carole who has a VTX 1300S that has started wobbling: The Honda VTX Owners Association site may be of help. I've gone there to look up discussions on questions for my '05 VTX 1300R. Ride Safe, Audrey LI (note from Mama: thanks for sharing and I've added your site suggestion to my Help By Make/Model page!) Monday, July 31 Dear VTwin Mama, The other issue is the bike itself. I don't know if it is me or the bike, but it does not shift well from a slowed or stopped to start and go position. It feels sometimes like the bike is getting away from me, maybe idling too high. I just had in for a tune up, etc. But I really am uncomfortable with the way it shifts. Suggestions? Ideas? Anonymous Dear Anon, If that "getting away from me feeling" is about the motorcycle creeping forward even the slightest bit with the clutch lever pulled in all the way, then you need a slight adjustment to the clutch lever freeplay as your clutch isn't fully disengaging and you've got clutch drag. Another sign is gears, when shifted from a start, are clashing a tad. Look at the clutch lever, where the clutch cable threads in. There should be a knurled adjustment knob. If there is no more adjustment room here, look down the cable and you should see the other adjustment/linking point. The adjustment could also be at the clutch housing. Cables stretch over time, and this adjustment is normal. A service manual will guide you to correct measurement/adjustment if this is not clear to you . . . check my Education Center page for online sources to a manual if you do not have one. Mama |
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