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Lothire posted:I recently picked up a new brake lever and hooked up the front brake cable - an act that I am insanely proud of - but I find the lever has a ton of resistance and I can't fully "pull" on the lever with my fingers. I'm not sure if this is because the brake cable is old (thus somehow defective) or if there's some kind of nut I can loose/tighten that will make the pull much less resistant. It's a '72 Honda CL175. Assuming there's nothing wrong with the pad actuating mechanism itself, the most likely culprit is that the cable inner has corroded such that it can't move against the outer. It really doesn't take much for this to happen. What's more, if that's an ancient cable that's been flopping about loose, it may be impossible to solve the problem with a cable oiler, and even if you get it moving, it will probably have seized again in a couple of days. Honestly, the easiest thing is to order a new pattern front brake cable (ie aftermarket, not official Honda) - you can probably get one for the price of a cable oiler and a can of WD40. Get that front hub apart so you can check the mechanism's working properly and see how much friction material is still left on the pads (that way if you need new pads, you can order them when you're getting your cable). SlightlyMadman, my pal with the Bonneville has done me proud and rejected the dealer's offer to remove the air injection. Blue headers ahoy. Nice bike too - his is blue and cream with the comstar style wheels and hardly any chrome. Saga fucked around with this message at 13:34 on Aug 24, 2010 |
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Aug 24, 2010 13:31
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Saga posted:SlightlyMadman, my pal with the Bonneville has done me proud and rejected the dealer's offer to remove the air injection. Blue headers ahoy. Nice bike too - his is blue and cream with the comstar style wheels and hardly any chrome. I'm incredibly jealous! There's of course something to be said for black and chrome and I love the look of my bike, but it is a bit lacking in personality.
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Aug 24, 2010 16:06
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SlightlyMadman posted:I'm incredibly jealous! There's of course something to be said for black and chrome and I love the look of my bike, but it is a bit lacking in personality. Nothing wrong with black! One thing I like about the SE, unless I'm imagining it, is that the bars seem to be a little narrower and pulled back slightly compared to the older Hinckley Bonnes.
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Aug 24, 2010 16:28
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Two questions: 1) I bought new mirrors for my bike. New and old are the stalk type, but the new one is too thin for the old retainer. Is there some kind of adapter available or am I SOL? 2) (one of) My front brake discs is warped. How easy is such a thing replaced and what kind of tools do I need?
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Aug 24, 2010 19:35
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KARMA! posted:Two questions: Maybe an adapter, but you might be better off figuring off what sort of thread it is and just purchasing a little threaded mount for the handlebars that you can mount your mirror on. I used these: http://www.shopmotorcycleonlinestore.com/productdetail.htm?productId=8329909&ez=56-9990 Just buy the appropriate replacement part, remove front wheel, remove ~6 rotor bolts, swap rotors, and put the bolts back in, locktite/torque to spec, and reinstall wheel. Super easy.
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Aug 24, 2010 19:44
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nvm
Charles 1998 fucked around with this message at 00:48 on Aug 25, 2010 |
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Aug 25, 2010 00:42
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Terminal posted:Lube dat cable Awesome, this worked really well. It still has some resistance, but I can access the full range of breaking power without straining every ounce of finger strength. Thanks.
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Aug 25, 2010 00:45
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FieryMatrix posted:I see lots of advice on sites advising against 600cc+ first bikes (duh), but not much saying whether a Ninja 500 is too big to start on. I don't want to start on something too powerful for me and get injured/killed, but my local market for Ninja 500s seems better valued than the jacked up prices for the Ninja 250s (which is what I was originally looking for). You got your answer last page, but a Ninja 500 is my first bike. Damned fun as-is, and no problem doing highway speed. Get ready, however, for a bike straight outta the 90's.
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Aug 25, 2010 04:35
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Alright, need help diagnosing electric crap. Bike didn't start, turns out the battery's completely dead, even though it's been my daily driver for the last couple of years. Got it bump-started, it ran fine, battery was still dead after a 90 minute drive. Does this mean my rectifier-regulator has taken a dump? It's a late model DR650se, if that matters. I'm going to trickle-charge the battery to make sure it isn't just a battery that went inexplicably dead all on its own.
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Aug 27, 2010 01:06
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Nate Falls posted:Alright, need help diagnosing electric crap. Your battery could simply be dead.. My SV's battery took a poo poo and wouldn't charge at all either no matter how long I rode it. Tested the charging system, plopped in a new battery and now I ride it to work every day without sweating balls in my gear trying to get it bump started.
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Aug 27, 2010 01:07
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SaNChEzZ posted:Your battery could simply be dead.. My SV's battery took a poo poo and wouldn't charge at all either no matter how long I rode it. Tested the charging system, plopped in a new battery and now I ride it to work every day without sweating balls in my gear trying to get it bump started. Batteries do that? I just assumed there would be a period where it would get shittier and shittier without just going straight doornail on me.
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Aug 27, 2010 01:10
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If the battery was completely dead and the bike ran at all then the charging system must be functioning enough to at least generate spark.
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Aug 27, 2010 01:21
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I hosed around with a dead/dying battery for a bit and it's not worth it. Just get a new one.
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Aug 27, 2010 01:56
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Nate Falls posted:Batteries do that? I just assumed there would be a period where it would get shittier and shittier without just going straight doornail on me. Mine held a charge until one day it wouldn't start. Then I'd have to jump it in the morning and bump it when I left work. poo poo was brutal. Also, if yours happens to take a X12-BS I have a brand spankin new one in Los Angeles for the low price of $30 (bought the wrong god drat battery the first time)
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Aug 28, 2010 01:50
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SaNChEzZ posted:Mine held a charge until one day it wouldn't start. Then I'd have to jump it in the morning and bump it when I left work. poo poo was brutal. Also, if yours happens to take a X12-BS I have a brand spankin new one in Los Angeles for the low price of $30 (bought the wrong god drat battery the first time) Looks like I'm a x9-BS. My SV takes an X12, though. I'll see if that one needs to be replaced too. Hey, wait, you're in LA? Do you happen to have a multimeter I could borrow, and live on the eastside? edit: also, where's a good local place to buy that sort of thing cheap? Does Target/Wallyworld carry bike batteries?
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Aug 28, 2010 21:49
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Picked up a small sony handicam so i can watch post game footage. What is the trusted method of attaching it to the bike? This looks promising But what do other people use? Ram mounts?
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Aug 28, 2010 22:56
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CSi-NA-EJ7 posted:Picked up a small sony handicam so i can watch post game footage. What is the trusted method of attaching it to the bike? This looks promising But what do other people use? Ram mounts? I used that but the rail acts like a tuning fork and will vibrate a lot on the end, causing the footage to blur or even chop as the writer on the tape jumps.
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Aug 28, 2010 23:26
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What can I do to cure disc brake squeak? My '80 Honda CB750F has dual front disc brakes and I've got tons of pad left on both sides of both calipers. It squeaks under light to medium braking but under heavy braking it's quiet. On a possibly related note, one of the front calipers might be dragging just a little bit, would changing the brake fluid that's of unknown vintage possibly help?
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Aug 30, 2010 00:07
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Rontalvos posted:What can I do to cure disc brake squeak? My '80 Honda CB750F has dual front disc brakes and I've got tons of pad left on both sides of both calipers. For the squeak, first try wiping the rotors down with brake cleaner, you'll be amazed how much nasty residue will come off. If that doesn't fix it completely, grab a little packet of anti-squeal from the counter at AutoZone. Put small dabs on the back of each pad in the center of the piston contact area and spread it around a little. For the dragging caliper, the caliper pins most likely need some grease. Can probably pick it up in small packets at AutoZone as well, it's usually a copper-based grease for heat resistance. Wipe down the pins themselves with some brake cleaner (don't get any on the rubber boots!) and grease generously. Work the caliper halves together and apart a couple times to distribute the grease. Changing the fluid probably won't help with the sticky caliper, but it won't hurt and is always a good idea every 2-3 years.
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Aug 30, 2010 01:18
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http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/mcy/1923950615.html 1994 Honda Nighthawk in San Diego, CA, asking $750 OBO. It looks pretty nice overall but apparently it quits under throttle application. I'm new to motorcycle repair, but this looks like a good cheap way to cut my teeth on a bike I'd like to ride anyways. Anything I should be worried about here? Any ideas on what the problem could be?
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Aug 30, 2010 06:03
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Probably running really lean when the throttles openned, most likely from someone taking poor care of it and letting the jets clog up. Might have a good running a bike with a little seafoam or gumout. Might have to to tear into the carbs and clear out the jets.
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Aug 30, 2010 06:48
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CSi-NA-EJ7 posted:Probably running really lean when the throttles openned, most likely from someone taking poor care of it and letting the jets clog up. Might have a good running a bike with a little seafoam or gumout. Might have to to tear into the carbs and clear out the jets. The thought of an otherwise decent bike running after some Seafoam, even if it's not a sure thing, for $500-600 is a pretty tempting thought...
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Aug 30, 2010 07:49
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Radbot posted:The thought of an otherwise decent bike running after some Seafoam, even if it's not a sure thing, for $500-600 is a pretty tempting thought... Even if it needs some kind of carburettor overhaul, it'd still be worth it, the Nighthawks I think are pretty awesome and to sound cliche, engines are pretty bulletproof.
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Aug 30, 2010 08:35
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Stupid question time again. What exactly does the second throttle cable do? It looks like it's there to push the throttle closed. Seems pretty redundant what with the spring doing that for you. Edit: A few more minutes with Google gave me the magic answer. Safety feature, correct? Still seems redundant. The spring seems unlikely to fail. Mr. Eric Praline fucked around with this message at 18:23 on Aug 30, 2010 |
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Aug 30, 2010 18:16
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chryst posted:Safety feature, correct? Still seems redundant. Correct. The safety is in the redundancy. Hence the term. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundancy_%28engineering%29
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Aug 30, 2010 19:06
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chryst posted:Stupid question time again. What exactly does the second throttle cable do? It looks like it's there to push the throttle closed. Seems pretty redundant what with the spring doing that for you. The push-pull cable is more useful in a flat-slide scenario, where the throttle slide is much more likely to not want to close, but really its there as an extra safeguard against the throttle spring jamming or breaking
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Aug 30, 2010 21:30
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Some people remove the spring, so they have cruise control
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Aug 30, 2010 21:37
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Ola posted:Correct. The safety is in the redundancy. Hence the term. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundancy_%28engineering%29
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Aug 30, 2010 21:53
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Not all bikes have it, so it's not like not having a front brake or silly chopper things like that.
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Aug 30, 2010 22:00
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I think Suzuki saved money on my GS by only putting one cable and using a wrist snapping throttle return spring. I'd be much happier with a dual setup if it safely made it easier to turn.
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Aug 31, 2010 04:37
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Does anyone know of there being battery issues with the newer EFI Triumphs? I have a 2009 Bonneville that seems to have a dead battery after just sitting for a week, and googling for it found some random forum posting by somebody talking all about poor voltage tolerances in the 2009 Bonnevilles that mean you can't start the bike unless the battery is almost completely charged. It would actually make sense, as the lights and everything come on perfectly bright, and I can hear a bit of a click as I press the ignition, but it's simply not turning over.
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Aug 31, 2010 19:19
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SlightlyMadman posted:Does anyone know of there being battery issues with the newer EFI Triumphs? I have a 2009 Bonneville that seems to have a dead battery after just sitting for a week, and googling for it found some random forum posting by somebody talking all about poor voltage tolerances in the 2009 Bonnevilles that mean you can't start the bike unless the battery is almost completely charged. Triumph hosed up the ECU for the EFI models. It is programmed to disable start when your battery drops below 12.6V which is ridiculous high. Should have been more like 11.5V. Your dealer should be able to reprogram. Ask him about a "urban tune".
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Aug 31, 2010 20:09
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Ah cool, I wasn't sure if that was actually a real thing or just random internet ranting, but that's basically what the forum post I found was saying as well. Since I park it on the street there's no way for me to keep the battery topped off so I'll definitely have to look into that.
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Aug 31, 2010 20:23
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Nate Falls posted:Looks like I'm a x9-BS. My SV takes an X12, though. I'll see if that one needs to be replaced too. I'm on the best-side, but I do have a multimeter if you wanna ride out and grab it? I got it at harborfreight for like $5.. but walmart or any auto store (pep boys, etc.) should have one. Walmart also sells the batteries you need, 12-BS and 9-BS IIRC.
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Aug 31, 2010 21:59
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Should I be worried that my SV won't start unless I give it throttle as I hit the starter button? Choke is on. I'm also looking around for reasonably priced suspension upgrades. Has anyone done business with this seller? The prices are low enough that they're worrisome, yet the seller has great feedback. Or are the parts knock-offs?
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Sep 1, 2010 03:40
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Blaster of Justice posted:Ask him about a "urban tune". Make sure to ask them to polish those headers as well!  How much of a pain is the battery to remove? If you don't ride it every day ("sitting for a week"), just pull the battery, take it home and leave it on a trickle-charger.
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Sep 1, 2010 10:58
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Saga posted:Make sure to ask them to polish those headers as well! Actually Triumphs first solution to this problem was to offer a mini-charger to frame mount and advise the customer to charge the battery at least every second day if riding short trips in an urban environments. Pretty arrogant in my opinion.
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Sep 1, 2010 11:35
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I generally ride every day, but had a head injury (not motorcycle related) and couldn't wear my helmet, so I couldn't ride until it healed. Now that I know it will happen, it's not a huge deal I guess, as like you said I can just take out the battery if I know I won't be riding for some reason. The bike did actually come with a hard wired hook-up for a battery tender, so I suppose I should have seen it coming. I'm half wondering if I should just run a line out to the street so I can leave it hooked up overnight, but hopefully it won't become a big deal unless I have more head injuries.
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Sep 1, 2010 14:41
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SlightlyMadman posted:had a head injury (not motorcycle related) That sucks! But from what Blaster of Justice says above, your local dealer should be able to solve the problem by reflashing the ECU. So you should only have to worry about taking out the battery if you're going to leave it sitting for a month or something.
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Sep 1, 2010 15:06
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Really, I would accept no less than an ECU reflash or a new updated ECU on something as new as an 09. Thats just retarded ECU programming on their part, and telling you that you should plug it in every other day is even more dumb.
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Sep 1, 2010 15:31
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