What did you do to your Vmax today? Part 2

[Redbone]

Yesterday in Atlanta it was forecasted to be about 70 degrees. So I called a buddy and shamed him into taking the day off to go for a ride with exceptions for emergency machine work he had to finish. His Buell 1125r needed some new shoes , so I went looking while he finished his work. I found some Dunlops & some Battlax sportbike rubber for $ 230 + $ 60 per wheel for mounting. He decided on the Dunlops and we dropped the bike off for what we thought was going to be about an hour. Went for a quick bite to eat & his wife showed up on her Kaw 500 to join us. Went back to the stealer and after over 2 hours the mechanic said he didn't have a specific Buell tool for mounting the rear tire. It is now about 74 degrees and I'm getting hot 'cause I'm on the hook for him getting stranded and haven't ridden but about 3 miles to meet him. I bitch to the head service mgr. and he cuts the bill for mounting to $ 30 for the front only. His rear tire is showing metal and there is a Harley shop across the interstate. We ride over and the service mgr brings the rear over in his truck. After the Harley service mgr looks at my buddys brandy new rear Dunlop , he pronounces it as defective . Sure enough , there are 2 - 3" long marks on the tire that look like a defective mold or a defective attempt to mount it. Getting a little hotter now , so we call the first dealer and are on hold for 20 minutes , so I ride back ( anything to get on the bike by now ) over to the first dealer and start in on the service mgr who tells me his parts guy is the one telling him the tire is damaged from the Harley dealer. WTF I say as the Harley dealer didn't even take it back to the shop, much less try to mount it. He spotted the defect right off. Getting hotter still. I said where is the owner ? Went to see him and poured out my buddys story , frustration about missing the days riding as well . He and I go back to the mechanic , and he fesses up or something 'cause they give me another matching new tire for my buddy. I told the service mgr to please drive it back over to the Harley dealer 'cause I didn't feel like putting it around my freaking waist and riding it back. He agrees and we finally get the damn thing over to the Harley dealer , but they say it won't get installed today 'cause they're service dept. is backed up. I'm screaming inside now 'cause I have to ride him back to his house ( 30 miles ) on the back of my Blackbird so he can pull his old Harley out of his garage so we can finally ride.

In the interim , 2 big dudes ride up to the Harley service bay area on Road Glides I think , with the loudest rap music I have ever heard on a motorcycle , and each one playing a different rap song , talk about annoying , sheesh . Any who , the first one gets off , parks and he's about 6'9" tall or so. I immediately recognize him as Dominique Wilkins from the Atlanta Hawks. I tell him that's about the loudest freaking music I have ever heard from a slow bike and he just grins. I then tell him he ought to learn how to play basketball 'cause he's so tall and all. He thinks then I don't know who he is . His jacket says 'Nique on it and his plate does too. We shake hands and he goes inside , I take a pic of his ride.

My buddy and I finally get back to his house and the three of us ( wife ) go for about a 1 1/2 hour ride through a bunch of back roads with twisties before dark. Frustrating day , but it worked itself out in the end. Here's a pic of Niques Glide - Niques Glide , Lloyds Buell & my Blackbird

Sounds frustrating! Man, when I lived in Atlanta Dominique was magnifique! He shor nuff knew how to throw the ball down!

 

[ninjaneer]

dismounted the balding rear wheel, unbolted the rotor, broke the beads with some 2x4s,


spooned off the old rubber, drove to harbor freight to buy some balancing weights, came home to find the ups man had left a matching front tire on the door stoop, popped on the replacement tire, set the beads (literally scared the **** out of the puppy with the pops), picked up the dog dung, bolted on the rotor, balanced the wheel using stock axle and jack stands, and finally remounted it.

first time doing anything like this. took five times as long as a mechanic with power equipment. broke even, perhaps a little in the hole after factoring in the startup cost of spoons, balancing weights, etc., but i reckon i will come out ahead after finishing off the front and will start saving "$25 x infinity" on all future changes. yes i lose if one starts placing a value on time, but i gain it all back by offsetting it with the cost of gas, DIY pride, a tim-the-toolman grunts. lol.


Regards from my Taptalking Hercules Android

 

[CustomMax]

I need to get new tires both front and back. Front probably first, but my worry is. I have custom Performance Machine wheels that the design is no longer made and I don't want just anyone trying to mount new tires on them because if they damage them I'm screwed! Does anyone have a suggestion of where I can get these switched ? I went to a buddy's shop and he said " I don't want to chance ******* up your wheel" and that's my fear also. PM discontinued the "Trinity" design let alone these were custom made to fix my Vmax. I'm an absolute freak when it comes to keeping my bike flawless. Honestly, I spend ALOT more time keeping every speck of dirt off it than I do riding it. Ask Bill K, lol, on the Pgh ride, when we stopped for a break Bill musta saw the sick look on my face when I saw how dirty the bike got riding and I immediately pulled a rag out and started cleaning it. Well, maybe I am a little obsessed but that's ok it makes for a pretty nice bike when alls said and done. So, back on subject, anyone know where I could take this that could do it. I'm in no hurry, I still gotta pay off the last issue before I even buy my tires. Thanks, Ed

 

[ninjaneer]

...and I don't want just anyone trying to mount new tires on them because if they damage them I'm screwed! Does anyone have a suggestion of where I can get these switched ? ...

ed, from the experience i just gained, i will say that the only things prone to getting marred up by a diy'er are the edges of the rim. that would be the bottom edge that sits on 2x4s on the ground and the edges that are in contact with the spoons. i bought four Tusk rim protectors that snap onto the edges to gaurds against the spoons. they are very durable hard plastic.

what i'm thinking is that you get a bunch of them and snap them on before having a guy with one of them power spooners run the spoon around the rim. the bottom edge would be safe from the ground because it is not in contact with it at all. after the top rim edge is done, move the protectors to the bottom rim edge and then run the spoon.

just thinking out loud.....

i also found a professional hobbyist on the net, who uses a "spoon" that has demar (spelling ???, somekind of hard plastic) on the end that looks very safe against marring the wheel.

let me find the link to his site. not saying that you that his approach or his exact tool is "the one", but maybe it could inspire a more suitable alternative for your predicament

perhaps you can find a trusting body to employ one or portions of my suggestions?


{edit} here's the link. http://no-scufftiretool.com/ {/edit}

{another edit} not "demar", but No-Mar, his patent pending invention made of UHMW, which is a self lubricating plastic. {/another edit}

Regards from my Taptalking Hercules Android

 

[davesax36]

Rode with my new clutch installed. No slipping today. Not too heavy pull at the lever, at least not much different than before. Apparently that tiny little hole was partly clogged, so I was already experiencing higher-than-normal pull effort. Met with upholster again to draw more lines on my seat and finalize some design stuff. Found a leak at the clutch slave...

 

[tothemax93]

Rode with my new clutch installed. No slipping today. Not too heavy pull at the lever, at least not much different than before. Apparently that tiny little hole was partly clogged, so I was already experiencing higher-than-normal pull effort. Met with upholster again to draw more lines on my seat and finalize some design stuff. Found a leak at the clutch slave...

What spring set up did you go with:ummm:

 

[davesax36]

Pcw, full first disc. Definitely more bite.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[timscues]

all the wiring is done, hooked up the coolant hoses, got the tires balanced
fixed the crip fix,unwrapped the new carbon fiber body panels

 

[moperformance]

Rode my 85 vmax for the first time!! When I found the bike she had been sitting for the last 9 years in a mans garage that his son recieved after his dad passed from cancer. I've had to learn about rebuilding the carbs, derusting and sealing the gas tank. and the usual stuff after sitting all of these years. It's taken almost 3 months to do it right and it paid off yesterday. When I got on the interstate and shifted the gears some where between "Jesus Christ" and "Oh my god". The speedometer said 130 and climbing.
This was my first ride on a Vmax so I think you can relate! Simply unbelievable.:th_image003:
Again thanks to all! I couldn't have done it with out this site.
Bill

 

[ninjaneer]

mudda pucker! finally got the front rubber to pop onto the rim. fought with the effer all firiggin day yesterday and some of this morn. nevermind seating the beads, they just didn't want to push up 'gainst the rim to trap the air. once again my li'l 'ol 3-gal pancake compressor has let me down. called up a local tire shop and after lathering in some of his "secret sauce", as the owner calls it, 'tween the rim and bead, pop pop--didn't take but 10 seconds. time to consider a "real" compressor. the guy, pat, is SO cool. he did my last set of rubber and tried to console me out of my diy failure. he's normally closed on sundays, but after i unsuccessfully tried out a couple of the tricks he divulged (laying the tire out in the sun to soften it up, for example; which may have worked if it weren't only 70 degrees out...had to jibe the snowmen hunkered down up there in blizzard country), he said to come by and he'll open up the shop to help me out. i gave pat a twenty, his normal price for dismount/mount/and balance, for his troubles. i don't think i inconvenienced him so much, though, 'cause as soon as i packed the tire away in the back of the cage, a guy comes rolling in--apparently to have a look at the american iron horse outlaw that pat was selling. really sick looking chopper. was too much in a rush to remember to snap off a couple of pics, but it only had 3800 miles, original rubber and a set of vance hines straight 2s.
kinda looks like this for those not in the know, except it is dark gray:


the PO was a some kind of car salesman and had bought the bike for the show room. it hardly had any real street miles, just the miles it took to drive the bike in and out of a trailer and into show rooms. pat said the PO originally paid $38k for the bike and was asking $12k for it. if the money that i don't have wasn't already spent on a gen2, i would've put it the monopoly money towards that outlaw. lol

 

[Fire-medic]

While waiting for my head gaskets, I found a non-running '82 KZ440 G1 w/8K miles on it, MO title, belonging to a MO guy working in FL whose job is sending him back North. He didn't want to mess w/the bike, I made him an offer, he took it.

Today I changed the front brake fluid & bled it, brake working OK, lubed the clutch cable, checked the rear brake & all lights, they all work, tyhrew some fresh gas into it, & after cranking it about 15 seconds & it trying to start, it finally began to run. The oil idiot light went-out, and I let it warm-up, took it off-choke, reves up OK. I bought a pair of carb kits anyway, K & L, $36. Hey, the o-rings & innards are 31 years-old! A battery is $40 (old-style Pb-acid) no chain as it's a belt-drive! That's pretty-cool, I think.

So, I got a putt-putt runabout (6-speed, 40 crank HP) that won't need much to make it functional. It could use a good cleaning & polishing, the tank is dented, but holds gas. The tires have plenty of tread & hold air but who-knows how-old they are?

I like that it's a "see-through" 1980's standard style motorcycle, not the LTD cruiser. Very traditional-looking, and comfortable, a seat you can move-around on, and capable of "the Ton," as the Rockers in London and Brighton are wont to-say.

So, something to piddle-around with until my engine for the VMax gets its gaskets & reassembly.

I can hardly wait to run some H-D's on it & make them stretch their throttle cables hard to stay abreast & pass it.:biglaugh:

This engine shot is the same model but is not my bike. The thumbnail is my bike, same colors. I think I'll get-around to soda blasting the engine to make it shine, sometime.

If I ever decide to paint it, I think a 1991 Chevy sky blue is gonna be pretty-close. The 1967 Marina Blue is close, too, I think. It looks good on a Tri-Power, don't you think?

 

[davesax36]

Compression test, re-synchronized the carbs, searched for problems, but satisfied myself that the motor is sound. Cleaned my scoops again to prep for color scheme change.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[bazwell]

Rode to my current work, which is an hour in traffic.
The rear suspension is too hard with the 440's I just fitted, on the softest setting.
Wasn't running too bad, but not right either. Popped a bit below 4000rpm and won't hold a steady cruise. I was thinking about what it could be, but when I got to work and parked, there was a load of petrol leaking. It looked like no.4 needle was leaking.

I just rebuilt the carbys, and now I just want to go and KICK A PUPPY DOG. IN THE FACE. :bang head:

 

[ninjaneer]

...now I just want to go and KICK A PUPPY DOG. IN THE FACE. :bang head:

unk:

 

[KJShover]

Painted my bellypan, will shoot the clear on it a little later on tonight. Opened my package, A ton of flat top LED's. but they messed up my order, instead of sending 50 purple LED's along with the red, they sent UV LED's.

Oh well, the cost is no big deal. I took an old project box that was left over from a nitrous controller prototype and drilled 40 holes on one side, installed a trapdoor battery holder on another side and a switch with a "on" indicator LED on, yet another side. Voila! UV lighting unit for use with dye to detect leaks

Going to hit the books for a bit to study for a test I have coming up. Tomorrow I'll solder it all up and post some pictures.

Be well

 

[Blurr]

May I suggest some UV reactive paint? Maybe some of the clear stuff done up in flames?

 

[KJShover]

In between school stuff, I got the silver base shot on the faux tank and tail sections.

Then I started thinking about bike goodies. Then I thought about my guitars, and how I shouldn't have sold my bass. My other guitars are nice, but I'm a bass player, and the 6-strings just don't fill the gap.

So picture this with a tremolo on the 5-string and the 4-string fretless and you'll have what was ordered this afternoon. unk:

 

[Fire-medic]

That's a good idea of what to do w/the UV led's, a good way to trace a leak.

KJ, they just dedicated a park here to Jaco Pastorious. I saw him play a bunch of times, he was living here, unfortunately he was also killed here.

I saw him play w/Weather Report, what a treat! I also saw Stanley Clarke a couple of times, too. I never saw Charlie Mingus, but my parents did. I saw Ron Carter with VSOP.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/30/3120642/remembering-the-rhythm-fans-celebrate.html

Great bassists, all!

 

[KJShover]

Yeah they are.
I saw Randy Coven at a show, damn good. Then went to a (very under rated band) Lord Tracy show in Washington and the Wolfe was on point. Then when I was living in Anchorage back in 1990, I went to a Satriani show and his bass player ,Stu Hamm and his Kubiki X-Factor, stole the show. Then I loved my bass even more unk:

There are many out there, several are way under rated. I like them all, country, rock or funk, as long as they bring the thump its all good

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbV-3W4hm8U

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_3yAgljlCU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t89I-JHb7FE

 

[bazwell]

Luckily I haven't seen any puppies the last few days. :rofl_200:
My fuel leak stopped and didn't come back. :ummm:
Spent 2 days checking wet float levels over and over, and they seemed pretty good.
Last night I chopped a half inch off the fork preload because theye were a bit too stiff for my liking, and wound the mixture screws out 1/4 turn.
Rode to work again this morning, stopping occasionally to wind out the mixture screws, because I thought it was lean up to 4000rpm. It never seemed to ride any worse, and it's up to 4 turns out on the idle mixture screws. Is 4 turns time to move the needles up a clip? Is that like half a clip, or a full clip?

Anyhow, she was much nicer to ride today. Also, the last three days it has been over 40 degrees celsius here, but today it'll only be about 30. Much much nicer weather! unk: