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Gnaghi posted:Well it turns out when I topped off the coolant I didn't tighten the rad cap all the way. Thankfully, smartwater doesn't have much of anything in it. It won't hurt it. If it makes you feel better, I once installed a used engine in my ZX6E but never noticed that the front coolant rail had gotten ovaled when the delivery guys had bashed it against the inside of the van or something. As such, the hose clamp didn't seal correctly, and under pressure, coolant would drip out and hit the exhaust. For awhile I smelled the sweet smell of coolant, but then it went away and I figured everything should be fine. Of course, the temp gauge never went over 3/4ths of the way to the red.  The engine spun a bearing after ~10k of heavy abuse and riding, including going to Laguna in 2007 or 08, where it was ~105 degrees on the ride home, plus regular weekend rides and trips to redline, as well as some tracktime, iirc. So, I think you're fine 
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Jul 14, 2011 21:37
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As a dude fairly new to motorcycles, I am unsure as to whether my take on this craigslist advertised bike is accurate. It's a 2002 Kawasaki KLR 650, with ~10k miles and about 1500$ of aftermarket stuff (new exhaust, lowered suspension, side/top cases, new seat) that was put on at least 5 years ago. He's asking 3400$, and I think that's a little ridiculous. The NADA average retail price for this bike in this year is 1650$, so he's essentially asking above average retail for a bike which has obviously been a little scraped up and full price for the aftermarket poo poo he's put on. I'm going to offer him 2250$ and see how it goes from there. Is that reasonable?
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Jul 15, 2011 20:27
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Yup. The only thing I'd consider of value in that mod list is the side/top cases. Seats are very much a matter of personal taste, as are exhausts and suspension work. I'd probably offer 2k flat, considering. And he'll probably flip out over it, but whatever, there are a lot more bikes out there.
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Jul 15, 2011 20:39
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True that. I'll offer to let him strip off the cases if he's that butthurt about their value. I don't particularly need them, and I can always get some cases later if that becomes an issue.
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Jul 15, 2011 20:55
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Why lower a dual sport? Unless the person is really short, that seems like a poor mod for a buyer. Learn to 1 foot it 
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Jul 15, 2011 20:58
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I just bought a gs450s tank that I'm hoping to restore but it has serious rust issues inside and out. It's pretty mild, nothing flaking off or anything but it's widespread and I'd still like to do something about it before I install on my bike. I've heard mixed things about 'Kreem' as a sealant and the only other I know of is something called 'red kote'. I intend to get the rust out by electrolysis with a car charger and an iron anode, but after I do what kind of sealant should I get? Or should I not do any of this because there is a better answer? Would a picture of it make any difference?
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Jul 15, 2011 22:47
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nsaP posted:Why lower a dual sport? Unless the person is really short, that seems like a poor mod for a buyer. Learn to 1 foot it The KLR is already the lowest out of its suzuki and honda cousins, too. Is there any safe way to work the foam shell out of a helmet? I want to replace one of the top vents on my HJC CL-15 and it's screwed on, and the boneheads covered the screw head with crash protection.
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Jul 16, 2011 02:52
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nsaP posted:Why lower a dual sport? Unless the person is really short, that seems like a poor mod for a buyer. Learn to 1 foot it I asked the seller about that, he claimed that the wider seat he put on makes it more comfortable to lower it. However, I am 6'6" and proportionally long everywhere, so I can stand with like 8" of room between the seat of a stock KLR and my crotch with ease. If I get this bike I will likely offer up the lowered dogbones to trade for stock ones somewhere. Also, I got photos of the bike from the seller and I thought I'd throw them up here to get opinions on visible condition. The hand-guards are pretty hosed up, but the fairing all seems fine from what is visible. Just a little worn and scraped by brush.     edit: after looking closer, it looks like he went down on a low side on the right side of the bike. Both the cases and the front fairing are scraped up right where they would run along the ground. DJ_Ferret fucked around with this message at 04:52 on Jul 16, 2011 |
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Jul 16, 2011 02:53
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Phy posted:Is there any safe way to work the foam shell out of a helmet? I want to replace one of the top vents on my HJC CL-15 and it's screwed on, and the boneheads covered the screw head with crash protection. Patience will work. I've done it on mine, and it's not very hard to loosen the padding just with your hands.
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Jul 16, 2011 12:00
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I have a question: I just got a Honda CBR250R and it's glorious, except the shifter is a little on the low side for my boot to fit under it. I have some A*s SMX5 boots and they're a little on the thicker side compared to my work boots. Do I just loosen up the jam nuts and twist it in one direction to lengthen, or do I have to undo the whole linkage to move the shifter up? Ninja edit: I bet this poo poo's in the manual...
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Jul 16, 2011 16:26
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I really don't recommend pulling the EPS foam out of a helmet. It's usually glued in and not using the right type of glue to fix it can cause it to eat away at the EPS.Taco Box posted:I have a question: I just got a Honda CBR250R and it's glorious, except the shifter is a little on the low side for my boot to fit under it. I have some A*s SMX5 boots and they're a little on the thicker side compared to my work boots. Do I just loosen up the jam nuts and twist it in one direction to lengthen, or do I have to undo the whole linkage to move the shifter up? Yup, loosen the jam nuts and adjust. I like to put a dab of blue locktite to help them stick. If you don't have a comfortable amount of thread left, then you should be able to remove the shift linkage that connects to the rod coming out of the engine and adjust it forward or backwards a spline. Also adjust your levers are this point for comfort if you haven't already
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Jul 16, 2011 19:17
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Two questions: 1. I just started riding within the last month, and I'm just starting to get relatively comfortable with riding around town (I've ridden about 220 miles. Ever.) That being said, I have to take the bike up to school in the next couple of weeks- a one-way trip of 110 miles (On a Ninja 250, nonetheless). I have two options: I can take the typical route of I-40 to US421 early in the morning to avoid traffic (Around 6am) and have a straight shot there. On the other hand, there is a route that's out of the way, that I've never been on before, and is extremely curvy. Normally any rider would jump at the chance, but given my inexperience on a bike, I'm a little concerned over the overly-curvy route. What would you all recommend? (Greensboro NC to Boone NC, for those that want to play with Google Maps) 2. I miss my radio. Is it a bad idea to run a single earbud up from an iPod while riding? I know it's frowned upon while driving a car (if not flat-out illegal in some areas), but I don't know the general consensus while riding a motorcycle
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Jul 17, 2011 04:53
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Take the curvy road for sure...just ride your pace. As for earphones, check state laws. I ride with two in sometimes, you can still hear enough to hear emergencies/whathaveyou and anything else is drowned out by wind noise anyway. When I don't use headphones and I know I'll be at speeds greater than 45 or so I pop in ear plugs too. Wind noise is one of those things that I never noticed until I used ear plugs, and now I love them to the point of pulling over to pop a pair in if I'd forgotten to. Some states have it restricted to 1 or none though. Edit: according to this, you good. nsaP fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Jul 17, 2011 |
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Jul 17, 2011 04:56
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I'd take the twisty road at a slow pace with a break or two thrown in. Bring water and a snack just in case. If you are that new to riding you will more than likely be sore later on. Skip the earbud, your attention should be on the road for now. Plus you have a large warm thing between your legs singing you a song.
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Jul 17, 2011 05:49
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Better question would be why you're not planning on wearing some hearing protection. 
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Jul 17, 2011 15:21
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I'm at the point where I feel out of place without a little music going while riding. It makes commutes much better. I'm a car singer though and that carries over to bikes. I probably look ridiculous but it makes me happy to be on a bike singing along to music while ripping around town. I leave the music out on hard rides though. I usually have it going during the ride out and then turn it off once we start up on the twisties.
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Jul 17, 2011 15:24
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I ended up not tightening my flywheel to spec when I was replacing my crankshaft oil seal, and the dowel used to line up the flywheel timing tore a hole through the crankshaft, and also up in the flywheel as well. (It's an 86 Honda Rebel, if that's important) I believe the dowel is actually in the right spot there, but it can fall over on its side.  And there you can see where the flywheel was loose, spinning around and tearing up an area around the keyhole. Is there anything short of replacing both parts that I can do to fix this? I already know that this idea is dumb, but would using something like quiksteel welding epoxy to fill in the hole on the crankshaft back to the original size and then sanding that down work? I'm already sure that that won't work, but I'm trying to see if there's anything that can be done before I start ordering replacement parts. The Senator Giroux fucked around with this message at 15:44 on Jul 17, 2011 |
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Jul 17, 2011 15:40
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Question on body position. I went to a pretty tight track today and by the end of the day I was dragging my toes through every one of the really tight corners. As far as I can tell I was putting my foot on the peg as instructed, and hanging off. While I didn't hang off 100% right every time, I still dragged toe when I thought I was doing it right. The way the instructor suggested was to keep the ball of my feet on the pegs, toes tilted outwards in order to allow opening up of the hips and getting off the bike. I did a couple of test fittings with a friend and he said it looked OK, though I have no photos. Once it stopped bothering me and upsetting my line I just kept doing it, and I've almost ground through the left hand boot and it looks like one more day and its going to probably open up and expose my toes so I want to figure out the solution to this. The bike is an 06 SV650s with the stock foot pegs etc, I'm looking around on the internet and there are two opinions - one is buy rearsets/risers, the other is fix your body position. I really want to fix my BP though I will also order the riser plates as they are pretty cheap. Do you guys have any good photos or description of how I should be placing my foot on the pegs? I did try to keep them pointing straight at one point but it felt really unnatural trying to put my knee out and I didn't particularly like it. I can see on the rear tire that I've got about ~1cm of untouched rubber left on each side, so I figure I must have more lean angle to use. On my old tire I did actually almost get rid of that, so I'm pretty sure somethings up with my BP. Overall was a great track day - I actually put in a good pace (in Novice) and got me knee down twice - no matter how minimally it still counts!
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Jul 18, 2011 01:26
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So I'm back from australia with my bike still in storage. The new job says I can have it on the road within a month do the question is this: 86 Suzuki katana, seafoamed fuel and oil system, sitting for 6 months, drained carbs, new chain, removed battery... Anything I should expect? Anything you'd recommend checking twice? That sort of thing? Thanks in advance for a heads up
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Jul 18, 2011 01:49
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GanjamonII posted:Question on body position. I went to a pretty tight track today and by the end of the day I was dragging my toes through every one of the really tight corners. As far as I can tell I was putting my foot on the peg as instructed, and hanging off. While I didn't hang off 100% right every time, I still dragged toe when I thought I was doing it right. Pretty lengthy, recent discussion on this in the chatting thread, if it helps.
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Jul 18, 2011 02:26
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Ok, yet another chain tension problem, or perhaps the same one. I rode the bike last week. Thursday, the chain was sloppy loose. I went out of town for 3 days, came back, chain is super tight; less than 1" of play. What is going on here? Is the chain worn out? Temps have been high, but the thing gets looser and looser as the week goes on, then tightens back up on its own?
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Jul 18, 2011 02:43
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Ok, yet another chain tension problem, or perhaps the same one. Have you checked your chain at many different points and determined the tightest/loosest spot? Do that first. Make sure your axle nut is torqued to spec, and are you checking it at the same swing arm angle every time?
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Jul 18, 2011 03:18
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GanjamonII posted:Question on body position. I went to a pretty tight track today and by the end of the day I was dragging my toes through every one of the really tight corners. As far as I can tell I was putting my foot on the peg as instructed, and hanging off. While I didn't hang off 100% right every time, I still dragged toe when I thought I was doing it right. Alright, risers are a start, but I'd encourage you to look at things besides BP. As long as you're generally to the inside of the motorcycle, BP is sort of irrelevant. You can see a wide variation between BP in WSBK, with guys with dramatically different BPs running nearly exactly the same laptimes. I'd start looking at lines and throttle application. Where are you getting on the throttle in the corner? Are you taking a proper, late apex line, with a proper, fast turn in? The big thing that you see a lot of guys doing is using too much lean angle because they turn in too early and too slowly, and staying off the throttle too long. Being off the throttle means the bike sits lower and you'll drag hard parts earlier. You actually have more lean angle available once you get on the throttle enough to maintain speed (ie, maintenance throttle). As to foot position, the outside is whatever allows you to lock in to the bike. I usually play the ball of my foot on the tip of the peg, but that only works when the rearsets are high enough that you've got the extra clearance. Otherwise, up and back as far as possible to maximize ground clearance. Have you read twist of the wrist 2?
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Jul 18, 2011 04:29
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The Senator Giroux posted:Is there anything short of replacing both parts that I can do to fix this? I already know that this idea is dumb, but would using something like quiksteel welding epoxy to fill in the hole on the crankshaft back to the original size and then sanding that down work? I'm already sure that that won't work, but I'm trying to see if there's anything that can be done before I start ordering replacement parts. Not really, epoxy is ok for filling small cracks and such but it doesn't have the strength for this. If you've got a welder who'll work for beer you could get them to fill it in and then re-drill it. Even then, time/cost might still work out in favour of new parts.
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Jul 18, 2011 11:06
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Need to replace my front right turn signal (2004 Ninja 250), but finding a replacement has been a pain. After some searching the only products I keep coming across are these 2 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Smok...s#ht_2615wt_965 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988...#ht_2016wt_1282 Anyone have any experience with either of these aftermarket signals or have a better suggestion? Shyfted One fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Jul 18, 2011 |
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Jul 18, 2011 14:59
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ReelBigLizard posted:Not really, epoxy is ok for filling small cracks and such but it doesn't have the strength for this. If you've got a welder who'll work for beer you could get them to fill it in and then re-drill it. Even then, time/cost might still work out in favour of new parts. I figured as much. I ordered a new flywheel, and I've got a friend who hopefully will be able to weld the crankshaft. Thanks!
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Jul 18, 2011 15:00
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Shyfted One posted:Need to replace my front right turn signal (2004 Ninja 250), but finding a replacement has been a pain. Try bikemaster.com, they have OEM replacements around $20. The second set you posted looks like it would be decent, just stay away from no-name LED signals if you want to be seen.
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Jul 18, 2011 15:52
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Bondematt posted:Have you checked your chain at many different points and determined the tightest/loosest spot? Do that first. As far as I can tell, there is no "loosest spot." I have a brand new harbor freight torque wrench, so I'm guessing it's reasonably close. It's a castellated nut with cotter pin. In the Navy, with castle nuts, you were to tighten to torque, then move to the next closest pin spot. That puts the torque here about 1/18 (1/3 of a flat) tighter. Is that right? I don't know about swingarm angle. I keep it on the sidestand. I'll go measure that. The manual says just do it on the sidestand, not centerstand.
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Jul 18, 2011 23:55
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To those of you that have sold a bike to a stranger: How have you worked out the logistics of a test ride for a prospective buyer? I'm a little leery of just tossing the keys for a pretty big bike to a guy that I have no clue as to their riding history or ability.
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Jul 19, 2011 01:04
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slidebite posted:To those of you that have sold a bike to a stranger: Every time I've bought, the ad specified that I had to bring my own gear, current insurance on a vehicle, and have a motorcycle endorsement. Other ads have specified cash in hand before test rides. Either or both of these should be sufficient, I'd think.
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Jul 19, 2011 01:08
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I'm a "cash in hand + endorsement + helmet" guy. I will have title in hand before selling a bike, and I expect the buyer to have cash. There are lots of buyers that use CL sellers as free test ride outlets. Not with my bike. Without cash in hand, they are free to sit on the bike to get a feel for ergonomics, inspect it, and watch me ride it around while they follow if they so choose. No sense in letting them ride it until they show me they are dead serious about buying. If I scare a buyer off, so be it. I could take the bike to a dealer if I wanted an quick sale.
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Jul 19, 2011 01:32
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slidebite posted:To those of you that have sold a bike to a stranger: I just talk to them first. I do require cash in hand for test rides, and that gets the tire kickers out of the way. Anything happens to the bike on the test ride, they just bought it. Most tire kickers won't show up with cash in hand.
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Jul 19, 2011 01:41
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slidebite posted:To those of you that have sold a bike to a stranger: Cash in hand and a valid license is the way I've always done it. That way if they drop it, I have the cash already and they just bought it.
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Jul 19, 2011 01:53
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I've always kind of wondered...if a prospective buyer was to take a bike on a test ride and crash it, could you be legally forced to give them back the cash in hand if you didn't make them sign a contract before the ride? Could they go to the police and have them charge you with theft for not giving back the cash? Also a good idea if you are selling a moderately expensive bike -- meet the buyer in a neutral, public location, and have a buddy along just in case things get weird. You never know what you are going to get with CL.
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Jul 19, 2011 02:14
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Personally I'm not about to hand some loving creep thousands of dollars while I go for a 3 minute ride. I usually show that I have it and that's that - if the guy doesn't like it there are plenty of other fish in the sea so to speak. Most of the time I've looked at stuff I bullshit for a while and let them know I'm not some dumb kid looking to try out bikes - if you show them you know a thing or two and are responsible they usually give in. If not - walk unless it's the deal of a lifetime.
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Jul 19, 2011 02:21
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"[panic posted:"] They crashed the vehicle, they are responsible for the damage. Also it would be a verbal contract and if you spell out the details then it's an oral contract. Either would probably stand up in court. I bet there's precedent out there too, as someone must have crashed a cash in hand test ride and tried to weasel out.
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Jul 19, 2011 02:24
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JP Money posted:Personally I'm not about to hand some loving creep thousands of dollars while I go for a 3 minute ride. I usually show that I have it and that's that - if the guy doesn't like it there are plenty of other fish in the sea so to speak. Most of the time I've looked at stuff I bullshit for a while and let them know I'm not some dumb kid looking to try out bikes - if you show them you know a thing or two and are responsible they usually give in. If not - walk unless it's the deal of a lifetime. Like I said, I'm sure that buyers have been lost because of the cash-in-hand policy, but so be it. I'm not about to hand some loving creep the keys to my motorcycle and let him drive off with it without some sort of collateral. That said, if I have seen the cash and it seems reasonably obvious that the person is not there to gently caress me over, I would probably feel comfortable letting them take a quick spin without holding their stack of benjamins. I would feel more comfortable for the person to sign a short contract that transfers any and all liability for the ride to the buyer. It really comes down to common sense. I'm OK with handing over cash in hand before a ride, but only if I see the title first and I don't get any weird vibes from the seller. If we are not meeting at the seller's house, I would definitely have a friend along to stay with the seller (and my cash) while on the ride. There is inevitably some risk inherent with buying and selling expensive property via Craigslist. How to minimize it is a personal decision I guess. I wish there was a standard for how these transactions worked.
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Jul 19, 2011 03:01
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Z3n posted:I really don't recommend pulling the EPS foam out of a helmet. It's usually glued in and not using the right type of glue to fix it can cause it to eat away at the EPS. I probably could eventually work it out like BoJ suggested, but yeah, I'm not confident I could retain the integrity of the foam doing so and putting it back in. I was basically looking for "it's a slam dunk everyone does it all the time why are you even asking", or no go. On the downside, so I got a very slightly broken helmet. On the upside, sweet, new helmet next year. I'mma go to the bike show this january, see if I can hunt down that crazy-rear end Nolan with the removable chinbar that looks like something out of Tron.
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Jul 19, 2011 03:30
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You guys are some strict sellers but it's an attitude I've run into before, just not when buying thankfully. I test rode a ton of bikes when I was first looking 5 years ago or so, and I don't think we ran into a seller that didn't let a 20 year old new rider take it out. I had my dad with me and waiting there, but we never had any money and nothing changed hands. Irony was that I was a new rider and timid and taking it super easy, trying to find my bike. Dad would take them out and see what they had, heh. During a recent trade we met somewhere, showed we were insured, and traded licenses and then just went for a little ride. Fact is, for me, if they bin it, they bin it and even having the guy's cash in hand isn't a guarantee if he or she doesn't want to pay. It'll weed a lot of people out tho. Vet the person before you let them on your bike, seems simple enough. I haven't had a bad experience yet, I guess. Off the top of my head I rode an old CBR600 (with a bitchin' dragon paintjob on the sides, epic), GS500, XJ Seca, Honda 919(don't know what my dad was thinking here), Suzuki Katana, FZ6, Rebel 250, some small Suzuki V-twin cruiser, SV650, Honda 599...I'm sure I could think of a few more if I sat and thought. And I wasn't joy-riding, this was over a period of a few months and aside from the 919 I could have ended up on any of them. Some the sellers wanted too much (the XJ, GS, and CBR come to memory), some were hosed up(the Katana had been in an accident for sure, and the SV had poorly done mods), and the rest were just the wrong bike. Oh! An old Suzuki or Yamaha UJM too...they keep coming to me. CB750 too. nsaP fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 04:14
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Shyfted One posted:http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1988...#ht_2016wt_1282 I just bought these; I'll let you know how it goes when I get them, if you haven't decided yet.
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Jul 19, 2011 05:21
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