Motorcycle Consumer News / Motorcycle Consumer News / Tech Tips

new am/fm motorcycle radio for under 40 bucks

freeonthree — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:20:13 GMT

My tech tip is: Get one of these for your bike if ya don't have tunes yet. It's the best 40 bucks i've ever spent...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqb1emJXpp8

Lexan Windshield Solution?

OzarkWingGuy — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 07:57:31 GMT

About a year ago I had a recipe for mixing several items to use to clean windshields which are usually made of Lexan. I can't seem to find it and the large amount I had mixed and put in my big spray bottle is running low. Anybody come across one? I know the one I am using now had filtered water (no clorine) maybe a touch of soap and vinegar from the smell. I googled this subject and didn't spend a lot of time searching but everything that came up was to sell me something. Thanks in advance cause I know you guys always know your stuff or you fake it real good.

1700 roadstar problem

road_star1 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:45:14 GMT

I bought my roadstar in 2007 used,its a 2006 1700 and it came with aftermarket bub pipes.It had 500 miles when i bought it, and it ran perfect.As I put more miles on, my exhaust is poping now and I'm fouling plugs left and right.I put on 8000 miles on this year and it seams that the problem is getting worse with milage.I hear about how lean it is from dealers,but how can I be fouling plugs then?The back cylinder plugs are black and the fronts are fine,with on carburater I don't get it! Please Help! And the dealer says there's nothing wrong!

Gold Wing 1800

modette — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:36:13 GMT

I got a guy that needs a tire change, wanted to know how hard it is to remove the rims from the bike. Any special tools needed?

How hard is this?

Thank you,
Mark

Should you do it yourself?

blutex — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 09:50:15 GMT

I've owned a motorcycle for couple of years now. The only thing I've done myself is change oil/filter and lube chain (what a mess!). I love riding my bike, but Ism hesitant to working on it. Maybe, because I work in an office environment and Ism not inclined to working with grease...Anyway, my questions is. Should I take my bike to dealer for maintenance stuff like lubing the cables? I figure if they sold me the bike they're probably best to do the maintenance. Do recommend I use the dealer for routine maintenance on my bike or what options do you recommend?

Giving Baby a Bath

Rider33 — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 20:16:43 GMT

out on tour a few weeks back I hit some particulary
nasty patches of bugs at times, way more than the service
station wipe down or even bug remover sprays could handle.
At one point I decided to try filling the little plastic trash can the
motel always has by the sink with hot water and wiping it down with
a face cloth. Presto! Worked better than anything I had ever
tried-the hotter the better. No soap, no scrubbing, just good old
hot water and plenty of it. An if you took the time to rinse said
towel before putting it back, none the worse for wear. It started to become part of the early morning routeen and is also and excellent way to give the bike a once over before heading out on the road.
If you haven't tried it while traveling, give it a shot. It's handy and it works.

How can i clean my Motocycles' muffler with a solvent

yamyam — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:15:49 GMT

Help!
How can I clean my motorcycle's muffler with a chemical or solvent at home. It should be easily available in the market. Can you give me the name and method how to clean the muffler or silencer.

How to work out the kilowatts of the engine?

dragonlearner — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 09:49:45 GMT

I have a Kawasaki EN500 how do you work out the kilowatts of the engine size. If anyone has an idea would be good to hear. Thankyou

Liquid Cooling

redscoot — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:40:14 GMT

Guess who just joined the club.......

http://www.motorcycledaily.com/08july07_2008buell_1125r.htm

gasoline octane ratings

cpatter — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 21:11:13 GMT

I just bought a new Suzuki Bandit 1250S. One of the plus factors which helped me decide to buy it was that it takes 87 octane (ie regular) gas. Not bad in these days of rising gas prices, single-hose pumps, and shortages of premium gas.

Two Questions:

1. Here in Colorado, our regular pumps are 85 octane, and mid-grade is 87. This I atribute to altitude, but should I stick with the 87 octane, or run regular at 85 octane? Is our 85 octane the same gas as 87 at sea level?

2. A salesman at a local shop told me (authoritatively, as they will do) that I should run super duper premium in the bike and gave me the location of a couple of places that sell 104 octane (@$4.50/gal). He claimed I would get better power, starting, mileage, and the motor would run cooler (I wonder if it would grow me some new hair?). Tom and Ray, the tappet brothers on NPR, say this is BS and I'm wasting my money.

What do you think?

Traffic signal trippers

Trentor — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:43:00 GMT

I read about tripping traffic signal sensors somewhere...

1) They said to stop on the edge of the sensor.

The only way I've gotten things to work was to stop in the middle of it.

2) They said the engine and wheels would be a good chunk of metal to trip it.

The engine and wheels of my Bandit are aluminum and aluminum alloy, are non-magnetic, and won't trip anything.

3) I purchased one of the products for $25, which was a 'powerful' magnet with a 'flux isolation' device.

It didn't work, maybe because I was still parking on the side of the sensor. It had 50 lbs pull strength.

I purchased two magnets from K&J Magnets. Each one is 24 times smaller than the thing I bought earlier, and each has 40 lbs. pull strength. ($2.25 each plus shipping)

I mounted them on the bottom run of the steel frame, with a piece of plastic rod thingy for a set of venetian blinds (my 'flux isolation device.') They are mounted one behind the other, rather than on top of each other.

They work some of the time...I gave the other product two chances. It 'works 99% of the time' at 14 inches off the ground. Mine was about 8 inches or something, and I calculated that the chance of it not working 2/2 times was about 1/90,000.

I made sure that my new small magnets were mounted the same as the traffic tripper, as far as which side was N/S...don't know if that makes any difference or not.

I was pretty ticked off that the original product didn't work for me.

My 2¢

Anti-vibe bar ends

Trentor — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:28:10 GMT

There's talk about how changing the bar ends will change the 'resonant frequency' of the handlebar. My thinking is that the only thing resonating is the chunk of engine that is vibrating. Doing something to the handlebar can either dampen the vibration, or make the handlebar heavier so it will make it harder to vibrate, or both.

I don't think resonant frequency of the handlebar has anything to do with it, unless it is resonating at the same point that the engine is vibrating the most.

Let's say things vibrate the most at 62 mph in top gear. Mods to the handlebar won't do anything to change that.

My 2¢

Manual Choke

Newbie — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:42:37 GMT

I have an '08 Honda VTX1300 but it keeps stalling. I know that the problem has to do with my use of the manual choke as the gas is good and the idle has been reset by the dealer. When I start off I will run it with the choke full open but because of the rumble it will slowly shut it back off. After running for about 10 minutes it will be fine and not stall, it is just that first darn 10 minutes. The dealer had said that if I run it too long then when you slow down the carb gets flooded and it will stall and this is exactly what seems to be happening. Should I boost up the idle a bit more? Or should I run it with less choke for a shorter timeframe since it is warmer out?

Thanks for any help...

Balance and Sparks

RePete — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:05:45 GMT

Here's a couple of unrelated items...fruit of an organized mind.

The first is to check the balance of the bare wheel when you are changing tubless tires. We all know the drill of the tire manufacturer marking the lightest point of the tire with a colored dot. The dot is supposed to be positioned next to the valve stem as this is assumed to be the heaviest point of the wheel. Well, you guessed it. I've checked many cast wheels with the valve stem in place and not one has been heaviest at the stem. This is especially true of rear wheels which are larger. I mark the heavy point the first time I change the tire on a new wheel and don't check it again unless the valve stem gets changed.

Here's another tire balancing tip while I'm at it. I have several BMW adhesive weights and use them over and over. Simple double sided tape from the drug store works great...not one lost weight yet. You could do the same with strip weights of course.

If you are having charging issues, the stator is easy to check. Unplug the magneto wires from the rectifier and start the bike. Run it just long enough to check the AC output of each of the three leads to ground. Each one should produce 20 to 60 volts. The exact amount isn't as important as getting the same reading on each lead.

Tire Balance - Static Balancer

03King — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 09:30:19 GMT

Just put a new tire on my Road King Classic this past weekend. Did it myself using a friends equipment. The Road King Classic has a laced 16 inch wheel.

The new tire was a Metzler 880 Rear 130-90-16 tire. When I replaced the tire, I put new tube and bead strip on at the same time. When I was balancing the tire using a static balancer, I found that it was way out of balance. I removed the previous weight, which was at 3 o-clock with Valve stem at 6 o-clock. What I found is that I had to add 4 1/4 ounces of weight directly opposite of valve stem to balance the tire. I placed the red-dot on the side of the tire at the valve stem (I thougth that the dot represented the lighter side of the tire), but it did not matter. Then I placed the red dot at the opposite side of the stem, but it did not make a difference.

I do not like that I have to put 4 1/4 ounces worth of weight on the tire to balance it, and figured I would check to see if this was normal. The previous tire only required 1-chrome weight on the spoke (I dont know what weight it is).

Is this normal, or do I have another issue?

Improving the action of drum brakes.

rnielsen — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 07:33:29 GMT

Drum brakes will work best IF full contact of the shoes to the drum is occuring. This technique should help a bit toward that goal -- it will work on rear brakes, and some front brakes of the older single leading shoe design. For dual leading shoe brakes, consult the proper manual for your particular bike.

Begin by getting the wheel off the ground. Then loosen the axle fastener (nut or bolt) so that it's finger tight. Now, while rotating the wheel in a forward direction apply the brake quickly and firmly and hold it while tightening the axle fastener. Often a helping hand is needed as two just aren't enough.

This effectively centers the brake backing plate and shoes in the drum opening and usually allows good contact between shoes and drum. The axle hole in the backing plate is usually just a bit larger than the axle diameter, allowing this to occur during the process.

I've used this technique on older British and German bikes over the years, and most recently on my Suzuki Boulevard M50 -- it definitely helped a bit. I'd suggest doing this everytime you remove or replace a tire or adjust a chain.

Ray Nielsen, in Minneapolis and sitting out the current snowstorm.

Horn

djvorts — Mon, 18 Apr 2005 19:43:44 GMT

I have a 2000 Valkryie Interstate and I want a better Horn. I want people to hear me but not be obnoxious. I want to use all the same wiring and hook up. Any suggestions?

98 Honda Magna Lighting

JCB — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:16:15 GMT

Trying to find out how to add 4-way flashers to a 98 Honda Magna.

Please email any info to jbalaja@larabida.org

Thanks

Jim Balaja

Lockport, IL

91 kawasaki ninja 600r

91_ninja_600r — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:29:47 GMT

are there any years of kawasaki bike parts that are interchangeable with a 91 kawasaki ninja 600r

NEW Trans-America Trail DVD available at xxxxxxxxxxxxx

motorrad-michael — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:09:34 GMT

...

The new Trans-America Trail DVD is now available on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcom web site – take a look and let me know what you think... and feel free to forward the link to anyone to help spread the news.

GPS?? Lowrance iWay 500c vs Garmin 2610 or others

Alfdude1 — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:04:12 GMT

Hmmm? Which GPS to choose? I like the fact the I can upload routes to the Garmin with their software, but the Lowrance does not. I like the size of the Lowerance better though. Anyone out there using these?

Mike

Michael R. Douglas
JBJ Cycles, Inc
www.jbjcycles.com
2001 Honda GL1800 (71,000 miles)
2000 Victory V92C (29,000 miles)
1989 Honda GL1500 (307,000 miles)

battery connections continue to give trouble

ibafran — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:38:56 GMT

new problem to me, the batt connections do not stay good and continue to flow electrons.

this spring i installed a new batt on the 95 trident. everything seemed good. 3 mos. later in the middle of a road trip the electric start failed. pushing the button had zero effect even though the headlight was bright. time was tight and a bump start fired the bike up. had to bump start the bike for the duration of the trip.

mysteriously, after getting home the bike started electrically fine for a few days. then the condition reasserted itself. after much aggravation, the problem was found to be poor contact at the batt terminals despite the pristine appearence of batt anodes and cable terminals. the positive batt anode had to be 'dressed' with a file to get good contact. cable terminals were wire brushed.

here it is 3 mos later and the problem has recurred. fully charged batt tested with a hydrometer says the batt is golden.

never had a batt that required such fine attention at the connections before this one. any tips on how to make the connection long lived this time?

battery charging

valkeriefan — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:04:07 GMT

Here's some good advice for anyone using a trickler charge:

Don't try taking the easy way out by charging the battery while its still in the bike. It may appear convenient to permamently attach the leads of the trickler charge to the battery terminals, then take off the side cover to charge the battery (say, for example during the winter). But doing this causes battery acid gas to seep into the frame of the bike, causing permament damage. Always take the extra step and remove the battery from your motorcycle. It will help keep your bike looking new as the years go by.

Michelin Pilot Road 2 tire

rnrkeeper — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 10:14:03 GMT

I have just read a report on Michelin's Pilot Road 2 tires. It appears to have 2 types of compounds: less soft in the center and more soft on the edges. I was wondering if anyone has tried them. I use Dunlop D220s on my Zrex and 6500 miles on a rear tire TO ME is not really acceptable. If I could get 10,000 miles that would be a lot better. Since Michelin is trying that tack maybe other tire makers are following the same route.

need help

thesketchman — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:28:30 GMT

i just got my first bike about 2months ago, i needed oil changed so i got my friend who said he could to do it for me on Saturday, later that night at 4am after getting out of work i went to drive home. i stopped at a set of traffic lights to find there was a lot of steam or smoke coming from the bike, i pushed the bike to the side of the road and found oil running down the side of the tank. i had to push my bike to a near by friends house and leave it there.

had he overfilled the oil tank?

what damage has been done?

will it be expensive to fix?

its a 1995 Kawasaki zzr400

head shake

grampahawg — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 16:26:16 GMT

have a 07 soft tail deluxe,w 500 mi on it .ithas a head shake,wobble at 45-55 mph, any hints? have'nt taken to dealer yet, maybe can fix myself,dealer is not that close!

Yamaha RoadStar 1700 performance problems

Top Cat — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 10:40:26 GMT

My Yamaha 1700 was getting in the low 30s for the first 6 weeks I owned it. Fouling plugs, stalling... Turns out the dealer installed a jet kit when he put on the V&H pipes and the K&N air filter. After changing backtothe stock jet kit I am getting high 40s locally and low 40s on the interstate. Yamaha has a bulletin out that covers this and other related failures some of which are also safety related.

JUST DISCOVERED THE NEGATIVE OF TUBED TIRES

blutex — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 14:32:32 GMT

I see why most prefer tubeless tires. I have a new 2006 Kawasaki 900 LT. I got a flat today. I couldn't find anything effect to temporarily fill that tire, so I took a chance and rode it slowly home. Any tips on what to do if I get stranded.

Suuzki GP100 U...

spudnik49 — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 08:40:16 GMT

Have been riding round on this "quality" bike all winter, looking at buying a new bike soon (when i pass my test still a learner). Just wondering if anyone his any tips to imporve the bikes speed and acceleration as it is just terrible, and when it is shifted into 5th it loses all power.

Any tips?

Cheers

reply to d/tfiles

klopez — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:06:41 GMT

re: june 07 bad starter; this problem may be a loose bolt on the generator (magneto/flywheel). my 03 roadstar has broken loose 3x's. the 1st time i was out town,the bike was only 7months old w/3,000miles. i was @ daytona biketoberfest. the local dealer fixed it under warranty but ignored my input that there was a recognised problem. i'm a 35yr. auto mechanic not a do ityourselfer weekender. a friend of mine had already dealt w/ the problem so i was aware of it. 12 months later on a trip to lafayette la. ( i'm from the n.o. area)it happened again. this time i found out the fix was to remove the magneto, which houses the gear ring(flywheel) & seat the crank end to the magento w/valve grinding compound. i did so & about a yr. late it reoccourred. this time i repeated the procdure to nth degree. not long after my generator failed(a not so typical problem from what the yam dealer tech claims) i didnn't do any more reseating @ that time & haven't had any more pr0blems sofar( about 15'000miles since last time) i will add this. i have had several occasions where,on colder days the engine would kick back i think because the comp. release solenoid didn't do it's job & the battery being weak due to the generator probably being bad since day 1,this could be related to my problem. i've kept my battery on a battery tender since day 1. the way i discovered my generator was bad i took a tune up ride the day before atrip to gatlinburg & didn't put the charger on that nite and as it happened the trip was pushed up a day or 2 so i took another short ride the next day to the coast & the battery left me stranded. the reason i'm going into detail w/this story is because i'd made many trips previously w/o charging the battery and never had problems w/the batt. when it died on me i was able to jump start the bike & make it home on the batt. & gen. once started. believe me it took me awhile to figure out the problem w/the gen.the manual doesn't give the proper way to test the generator. the moral of this story is a weak battery can cause the gen. mag (starter gear) to break loose & "sound" just like a bad starter! i'm new to the forum so forgive my long windednest. hope i've been some help . p.s. be sure to torque the mag bolt it " ain't" easy . torque is,if memory serves me 160ft/lbs & the mag must be held in order to do so. a special tool is needed . i made one since i refuse to let anyone work on my bike & needed it fixed immediately "edited by Torqueman to remove email address please reply to user through PM"

reply to 6/07 downtime files; bad starter

2up — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:23:40 GMT

I'll make it short this time! The promblem may be a loose bolt @ the generator magneto. The magneto houes the ring gear. It seats on the crank w/o a keyway. The magneto needs to be seated to the crank w/valve grinding compound.It may have to be done more than once if it's not seated well enough.That is if it reoccurs after doing it. The magneto must be held in place while the bolt is torqued. I "think" the torque is 160ft/lbs. good luck!

Teflon Chain Lube

Idaho Bruce — Sun, 14 Aug 2005 10:14:56 GMT

Hey gang,

Back again. Great to see the MCN Forum is once again a pleasant place to hang out.

A few issues back, MCN ran a product review on DuPont Teflon Multi Purpose lube in the context of chain lube. Living a few miles off-road, maintaining the chain on my V-Strom was a constant chore using oil-based lubes. I dropped a few bucks on a couple of 11 ounce aerosol cans of the stuff, and....what a revelation. No more muddy/oily mess on my Strom chain! I clean and lube the chain now at about half the interval as before (600 vs 300 miles), and now it's just coated with light road dust, not a gooey mess.

Highly recommended, folks, and thanks MCN for the tip!

Idaho Bruce AMA #497378
'02 DL1000 - '90 VX800 - '75 XL100 - '74 XL350

After market lighting question ?

GSA addict — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 15:43:27 GMT

From the factory the bulb and reflective surface are engineered to throw a specific calibrated light pattern, if you put in brighter bulb or convert to (HID) is it really any better than the intended design. It may be brighter but is the light as efficient?

Raising Blocks?

hughtwg — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 09:29:16 GMT

I'm trying to find a way to raise the rear of my Victory Vegas cruiser for more cornering clearance. There are plenty of options to lower the rear but not surprisingly none to raise it. I've emailed a manufacturer of lowering links for my bike and they said I would need to get a "raising block". I haven't found any descriptions of what a raising block is. I'm guessing that it's an extension for the mounting point at the top of the shock but was hoping someone could provide clarification.

thanks,
Hugh

Pro Gold Chain Lube

phantomsv — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 10:40:41 GMT

Has any one used Pro Gold chain lube or have any thoughts about it?

Bicycle chain lube for motorcycles???

I hate to start a chin lube thread, but any comments are welcome.

Corn Fed Motorcycles?

Godzilla — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 10:13:27 GMT

Does anyone know if there are any motorcycles that are designed for E85? Are there any in the works?

Winterizing Question

roadtripjunky — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 12:54:30 GMT

I am not very knowledgeable about the workings of carburetors and I have 4 on my bike. Every year I use fuel stabilizer, drain the carbs completely and do the other winterizing stuff. Last spring I had a sticky needle in one and then ended up having to have all four re-built due to deteriorating gaskets or o-rings so I want to do the very best for them this year. My question is: is just turning off the fuel valve and then running the bike until it stops a better option than draining them? It certainly would be easier as two of the four are quite hard to reach. I know this is a fairly simple question but I am not very mechanical beyond the basics like changing oil and filter.

Paint Problems

bluebeard — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 03:52:19 GMT

Hey, new to the forum. I will be glad to help with paint/decal/emblem problems anyone might have either in this forum, or to contact me direct go to http://www.bluebeardgrafix.com I'll be glad to help.

Ozarkcruiser, I realize your post is months old but if you havn't attempted taking the vstar graphics off, DON'T. Yamaha's decals almost always do paint damage.Even if you get them off you will have a stripe a couple of mils deep that you will still see. The chrome look emblems on any brand are OK to remove. They are backed with a glue cushion that will come off with a product that Dupont makes called first clean. Heat guns are used to remove decals,but in the motorcycle world you will almost always have paint damage.

Hope it helps, BlueBeard

Motorcycle mounted GPS

Alfdude1 — Mon, 05 Sep 2005 20:15:18 GMT

Anyone here have any experience with the Lowrance GPS systems? I saw one this weekend and was impressed with the features and size. My concern is the fact that is is equipped with a 20 GB hard drive. Hard drives and motorcycles usually do not go well together.

I currently run a Garmin StreetPilot III and will be upgrading it prior to my "Route 66" run next May. I was leaning towards the Garmin 2610 and adding a 2 GB compact flash card which would give it the same storage as it's sister model the 2620 that has an internal 2 GB hard drive. Garmin does not recommend the hard drive version on any motorcycle due to vibration and jaring during bumps.

Thanks,
Mike

Michael R. Douglas
JBJ Cycles, Inc
www.jbjcycles.com
2001 Honda GL1800 (69,000 miles)
2000 Victory V92C (28,000 miles)
1989 Honda GL1500 (307,000 miles)

What next for the H-D brand?

redscoot — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 06:41:26 GMT

The local Harley dealer recently opened a new, Harley-spec facility comprising 55,000+ square feet, and it is by far the largest motorcycle dealership I have seen. Normally, I have no reason to visit a Harley dealer, but the new facility is next to the Suzuki dealer (same ownership) where I buy parts for a friend's bike that I maintain. So, out of curiosity, I strolled through the new store, taking in all the sights, while suitably attired in my color-coordinated protective riding gear and carrying my matching grapics-adorned Arai FF helmet. After acknowledging a few strange glances in my direction with friendly smile, I stopped to gaze at the vast array of Harley-branded, non-motorcycling trinkets and doo-dads that were being sold in the store:

H-D t-shirts, H-D coffee mugs, H-D belts, H-D key chains, H-D wrist watches, HD wall clocks, H-D cigarette lighters, H-D wallets, H-D boxer underwear, H-D ceramic figurines, H-D toys for their suckers-in-training, H-D plush teddy bears, H-D posters, HD tire-pressure gauges, HD money clips, etc.

Mentally shaking my head, I wondered just who buys this stuff and, more importantly, why? Is it real loyalty, or has the H-D marketing machine created a bunch of suckers who are easily separated from their cash? I'm loyal to certain brands, like Sony electronics, but I sure as heck ain't gonna buy any Sony wallets or teddy bears. I'm also pretty loyal to Honda, and I may own a Honda Racing t-shirt or two but that's about it. So, I just don't get it, I guess, and probably never will.

Somewhat puzzled by this consumer behavior, I can't help but wonder what non-motorcycle-related products H-D will brand next in their relentless pursuit to squeeze an ever increasing amount of cash out of their "lifestyle" customers. Well, hang on to your grips, folks, cuz the MoCo just announced another branded product, beef jerky. Yep, that's right, now they're in the food business. Can you imagine the possibilities? Are visions of H-D branded fast food restaurants coming to mind, taking the loyal lifestyle aficionados to an ever higher state of MoCo euphoria?

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2006-10-09-beef-jerky-usat_x.htm