What did you do to your Vmax today? Part 2

[scuff]

Put about 200 miles on my new Corbin, feels pretty good, thanks to lethaldose for selling it to me:eusa_dance:

 

[Traumahawk]

Put about 200 miles on my new Corbin, feels pretty good, thanks to lethaldose for selling it to me:eusa_dance:

The seat matches great.

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[Diablo]

What width is the rear wheel? Do you know how to measure offset by laying a flat stock across the rim edge from one side to the other (probably cannot be done w/the wheel on the bike), and then measuring the distance from that flat to the inner hub on each side? Then measure the thickness of the hub. I'd be interested to know what your offset is, and how far from your swingarm to the rim at its closest point. Do you have a widened swingarm?

Kinnel dude, way too late in the day here for that kind of detail :biglaugh:

Joking aside, no idea on the offset. I think you are right though, would be an easy check with the wheel off, but knowing what a pain it was getting the wheel back on I dont see me popping it off for a quick check in the near future. If its something you really 'need' to know, I will make sure I add it to the list of things to do in the future. But Between having to remove the numberplate and the damned spacer in the hub constantly trying to escape it was a fiddly first wheel removal/refit. That said, now i sussed it its not such an issue for next time. I do have to admit to being a bit shady though and fitting an oversize tyre to the rim. It is rated for a minimum 160 section (found it odd they cast the wheel with a minimum rather than just saying 160). Until i took the brake rotor off to give the wheel a good clean and polish I was under the impression it was a five inch rim. Then i found the casting saying its actually a 4.5 inch rim. I had already done the deal on the tyres, and as it was already running a 170 at the time I thought what the heck, see how it goes. So far I havent found any issues in the way its handling, though I do appreciate that the tyres life may be shorter due to the profile change, though I have to say the tyre change has definitely improved handling over the rubber that was on when I got the bike. With a 170 back there it just looked too skinny for my liking so if nothing else I have the aesthetic I was looking for. In terms of clearance, tyre wise i still have the width of my little finger left between the swinger and tyre. The swingarm 'looks' standard to me, but I am not its first owner so cant say for sure, I am still finding and changing things the previous owner/s did so I am the first to admit that I dont know as much as I should of the bikes history. The previous owner provided shedloads of paperwork, but it was obvious the owner before him was the one who did a few mods to the bike and those changes to the bike obviously never came up on that particular changeover. The 17 inch rear was done before the owner prior to me got it. You can tell the last owner before me knew little of what had been done by the fact the bike was just advertised as a 95 vmax. No mention of any mods at all and he had no idea of the wheel conversions existence on the bike.

On the subject of wheels though. The wheel is stamped 'Wicked'. I would dearly love to know more about it, whether wicked is a model or manufacturer, whether anyone can narrow down whether its a conversion or a dedicated vmax wheel? If nothing else it might help when it comes to wheel bearings later down the road. I tried googling wicked vmax wheel and ended up with masses of this is a wicked bike instead of anything that might relate to the actual wheel. I thought i saw a manufacturer called wicked, but even that led to a dead end of anything but what i was looking for.


Things like the Harrison billets are easy to find, but that rear wheel, its lineage is doing a grand job of evading me so far.

 

[davesax36]

Shimmed my rear caliper to center it on the rotor, took off my aux tank and back rest, fiddled with my windshield a bit, and cleaned some stuff. I'll probably get to do a little check ride tomorrow. I hope the wheel fixes my auto-left-turn problem. Otherwise I'm back to square one, and maybe selling off stuff to go back to stock wheels and tires.

 

[scuff]

The seat matches great.

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thanx Eric, now i have to get my backrest pad re-done to match, The Max she's an evil mistress she's never satisfied....LOL unk:

 

[redbaron13]

how bout that steering bearing tension?

 

[Fire-medic]

I did the same bench front brake overhaul to the '86, so now at least they can be moved around safely, w/working front brakes. unk: First steps...

Here's what I did recently, a bench rebuild of a complete front brake system. Actually, the system had coagulated orange snot in it, almost like a paste, at the caliper banjos at the splitter block. The fluid in the calipers was still intact, and while dirty, it was still transparent, not opaque.

I removed all the hoses, flushed them, blew them out, wire-wheeled the banjo bolts and also flushed them, & blew them out. The pads look almost new, they have a deep wear indicator groove yet.

I cleaned the calipers w/brake cleaner, pads and pistons too, and used a square screwdriver & a crescent wrench to retract the pistons.

With the caliper hoses & brake bleeder nipples off, I filled the calipers at the hose connections until I saw the brake fluid in the bleeder holes. Then I re-installed the hoses & nipples. I had already previously cleaned the master cylinder. Now it was time to connect the master cyl hose to the brake splitter block, and the upper caliper hose banjo bolts to the splitter.

Next I broke-out the 60 ml syringe and 6" of clear plastic hose, and hose-clamped the hose to the caliper bleeder. Filling the syringe w/~20 ml of brake fluid, I opened the bleeder and I reverse-flushed the fluid towards the brake master cyl. Quickly I saw fluid in the reservoir. I shut the bleeder nipple and fanned the brake lever w/the master cyl immobile in the vise. Immediately the lever was getting firm. I repeated the same thing for the other caliper (both calipers were on a loose rotor I hadn't discarded), and now I had a good lever, and a well-bled system.

The first step in getting a tired old bike back on the road. A heart donor already contributed its engine (thanks to a Captain Morgan lovin' member), yet to be installed. It's got a long ways to go, but one less job after today. The first thing I did was to ditch the z-bars for a stock set.

Then, the Elephant Burial Ground (last pic).

 

[Fire-medic]

Took the (shoulda-been-a-parts) bike to be done sooner than I can get to it. The heart transplant is bought & paid-for, being done by a Yamaha factory mechanic, a 'side-job.'

He showed a bike to me that he had brought from the far west (NM) to FL, who knows the model designation? If you do, I'd say you can claim to be an older guy who's been doing bikes for over 40 years. It started first kick. Take a look at the odometer. About the worst thing was the paint was faded in places. He rode it in CO for a couple thousand miles, before moving to FL, and he said he just sold it on ebay.

There were some other interesting projects in the building, an early '50's 3-window Chevy pickup getting the Tim Worm eradication treatment, it's already got a 350 mouse motor & AC. The owner paid $10 for a ticket and won it in a raffle. It had a lot of crappy bodywork, now being done-over, correctly. It was standing next-to a real 'blast from the past,' an Austin Healy 3000 w/a 283 mouse motor also, from a '50's Corvette. He's had that one for a long time, just waiting its turn. He also has a near-perfect A-H 3000, stock, being gone thru because it sat for awhile and ethanol did a job on it.

Then there are the original GS1000S pair, sitting side by side, waiting for Wes Cooley to clamber on and do battle w/Eddie Lawson, several Triumph twins, the CBX...

 

[lethal dose]

thanx Eric, now i have to get my backrest pad re-done to match, The Max she's an evil mistress she's never satisfied....LOL unk:

Honestly, I kinda like the black seat rest pad.

 

[Dorney]

took the (shoulda-been-a-parts) bike to be done sooner than i can get to it. The heart transplant is bought & paid-for, being done by a yamaha factory mechanic, a 'side-job.'

he showed a bike to me that he had brought from the far west (nm) to fl, who knows the model designation? If you do, i'd say you can claim to be an older guy who's been doing bikes for over 40 years. It started first kick. Take a look at the odometer. About the worst thing was the paint was faded in places. He rode it in co for a couple thousand miles, before moving to fl, and he said he just sold it on ebay.

There were some other interesting projects in the building, an early '50's 3-window chevy pickup getting the tim worm eradication treatment, it's already got a 350 mouse motor & ac. The owner paid $10 for a ticket and won it in a raffle. It had a lot of crappy bodywork, now being done-over, correctly. It was standing next-to a real 'blast from the past,' an austin healy 3000 w/a 283 mouse motor also, from a '50's corvette. He's had that one for a long time, just waiting its turn. He also has a near-perfect a-h 3000, stock, being gone thru because it sat for awhile and ethanol did a job on it.

Then there are the original gs1000s pair, sitting side by side, waiting for wes cooley to clamber on and do battle w/eddie lawson, several triumph twins, the cbx...

1972

 

[Redbone]

I just arrived home from a somewhat zany (mostly weather driven...mostly!) trip around the U.P. over the last 3 days. It was forecast to be sunny and low 70's during the day but the end of the first day left me chilled and slightly damp when I arrived in Copper Harbor near the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula.
I covered almost 1200 miles in 170 mile runs between fillups where I covered areas from the aforementioned Copper Harbor, to Escanaba to St. Ignace, to Munising to Iron Mountain, Grand Marais, Newberry and Paradise. I had planned to go further west into the Porcupine Mountains but rain drove me south and away from the higher cooler, and more exposed to Lake Superior weather patterns. My main goal was to get a feel for rides on motorcycle friendly roads. There is a lot of straight roads in the U.P. but also some hidden gems that were just awesome to ride. There is still much to discover on the west end of the U.P. but it will need to wait until next season.
I will add some pictures later this weekend when I get a chance.
As promised, not a lot of pictures, since I really dislike stopping just to take picture! Miles, you may remember the dirt road section of our ride (in the SUV) back from Pictured Rocks on that rainy day when you were here. The road was dry but the chatter bumps treated poor Redbone to a bolt loosening ride for 12 miles! Pictures 5/6 is of National Mine near Negaunee, MI., the scope of the mining operations are mind boggling!

 

[davesax36]

I just arrived home from a somewhat zany (mostly weather driven...mostly!) trip around the U.P. over the last 3 days. It was forecast to be sunny and low 70's during the day but the end of the first day left me chilled and slightly damp when I arrived in Copper Harbor near the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula.
I covered almost 1200 miles in 170 mile runs between fillups where I covered areas from the aforementioned Copper Harbor, to Escanaba to St. Ignace, to Munising to Iron Mountain, Grand Marais, Newberry and Paradise. I had planned to go further west into the Porcupine Mountains but rain drove me south and away from the higher cooler, and more exposed to Lake Superior weather patterns. My main goal was to get a feel for rides on motorcycle friendly roads. There is a lot of straight roads in the U.P. but also some hidden gems that were just awesome to ride. There is still much to discover on the west end of the U.P. but it will need to wait until next season.
I will add some pictures later this weekend when I get a chance.

You practicing for a trip to Newfoundland next summer?



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[Redbone]

You practicing for a trip to Newfoundland next summer?



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Yes, that and more! If this 3 day trip showed me anything spending the whole day riding in changing weather is something you have to build up a tolerance for. It also allows you some time to know what you need in terms of bike setup too. I really need to rethink the seat to footpeg distance, as in adding a inch or maybe 1.5" to the padding. Also the highway pegs, which need to be set out further than they are now and more foot support. The bike ran flawlessly save for a tiny oil leak which at first investigation appears to be coming from valley between the cylinders. Looks like a little teardown is in order but that can happen this winter.
Other things to add would possibly be: heated grips, larger wind screen, outlets for heated gear.

 

[Dragmaxster]

Looking forward to the pics- you can ride for hundreds of miles in any direction here and all you see is desert sand.

 

[Fire-medic]

My college buddy who just retired from the GM Tech Center < 2 yrs ago has a summer home in Copper Harbor, it's been in the family for generations. It looks very pretty there, but being a MI transplant to FL, I don't think I would want to be a winter resident of Copper Harbor! I know that at some point I'll get up there to visit.

I bet the riding was awesome, glad you had no real issues. I'm not a long distance biker, but I surely would get some Gerbing electric garments, or maybe look at the Cycle Gear stuff.
http://www.thewarmingstore.com/gerbings-motorcycle-heated-clothing.html

http://www.cyclegear.com/motorcycle/Heated-Clothing

Looks like the Gerbing set of electric jacket liner, pants liner, and socks and gloves would be ~$600. A quick check showed Gerbing's items to be a bigger selection that Cycle Gear.

Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops are other alternatives for heated clothing.

I think the key is to get the variable-setting thermostatic control so you can dial exactly what you need.

 

[Fire-medic]

R.E. post #9528: Yes to the year, what's the model designation? I bought a 360 Enduro the same year from a MI Yamaha dealer (I still have it). My older brother had a year prior R5 that was a lot of fun to ride, a real wheelie machine! I also had a H1 Kawasaki triple when he had the R5, another wheelie machine.

1972

 

[Miles Long]

I just arrived home from a somewhat zany (mostly weather driven...mostly!) trip around the U.P. over the last 3 days. It was forecast to be sunny and low 70's during the day but the end of the first day left me chilled and slightly damp when I arrived in Copper Harbor near the tip of the Keweenaw peninsula.
I covered almost 1200 miles in 170 mile runs between fillups where I covered areas from the aforementioned Copper Harbor, to Escanaba to St. Ignace, to Munising to Iron Mountain, Grand Marais, Newberry and Paradise. I had planned to go further west into the Porcupine Mountains but rain drove me south and away from the higher cooler, and more exposed to Lake Superior weather patterns. My main goal was to get a feel for rides on motorcycle friendly roads. There is a lot of straight roads in the U.P. but also some hidden gems that were just awesome to ride. There is still much to discover on the west end of the U.P. but it will need to wait until next season.
I will add some pictures later this weekend when I get a chance.

Ah....Paradise.
After arriving home from the U.P. trip, I sent this photo to my ultra-religious friends, whom had told me for years that I was not destined to make it.
Guess they were wrong!
By the way - why didn't you cross into the U.S. while on your toot, Brian???
Forget your passport, perhaps????:biglaugh:
Cheers!

 

[schudaddie]

brian, you might want to check out this site. they have a wide variety of heated items including Gerbings.
http://cozywinters.com/heated-clothing/
later,bill

 

[Diablo]

Swapped out a nasty looking (annoyed me since getting the bike how pitted and bad the lacquer was) indicator mount for something nicer.

 

[Dragmaxster]

Swapped out a nasty looking (annoyed me since getting the bike how pitted and bad the lacquer was) indicator mount for something nicer.

Nice crown cover.