RXX

Everything said above is true from what I have recently read. The 530's supplied with hte bird is the heaviest and biggesr made. Also, aluminum sorockets are crap for birds. I have 19,000 on my OEM and it is showing NO WEAR. I am replacing my chain right now, but as I am looking into it, I do not think my sprockets need replacing.

Definition of PCM: http://www.pcmenergy.com/ Phase Change Materials (PCMs) are "latent" energy storage materials. They use chemical bonds to store and release heat. The thermal energy transfer occurs when a material changes from a solid to a liquid, or from a liquid to a solid. This is called a change in state, or "phase." Ice changes phase when heated at 0 deg C and is converted to water. Yeah, what I said

"Phase-change material" ICE is a phase change material....goes from solid phase to liquid phase! I am not commenting on the effectiveness of the vest, it may do well, but that slogan is pure snake oil.

Get a part time job for a weekend or two and buy at least one HID. Since you ride at night, you would think it worth it the very first time! The illumination is on the order of triple that of filament bulbs. I have read many people on the board have gone up to 100W....be sure to use dielectric grease on the contacts.

Ron Ayers sold me : a D.I.D. chain, exactly the same chain as in the '99-00 "chainset" an OEM drive sprocket an OEM driven sprocket (Honda brand) $235, no tax So, it looks like I saved $345 + 10.25% - $235 = $145.00

When you turn the key on, the headlight comes on. When you hit the starter button, the headlight goes out and then back on therefor cycling the light twice. Why is that?? Does this occure on all Birds, Can. US, Brit, European? Of everything that I've concerned myself with, this isn't one. That being said, I don't ride at night. I've never ridden at night in over 120,000 kms in 6 years. That's just me. As for stopping my ride, I stop in first, put the side stand down to kill the engine and lock it up. When I go, I bring up the side stand, start her, and leave. I've had no problems and only had to change a bulb once. I take it that those who install HID's do a lot of night riding. There actually is a question here, is it OK to ride with the high beams on especially on the highway? Thanks If you ever DID ride at night, you might have a better understanding of the HID'rs paranoia and analosity. The lights are SO MUCH better than filament bulbs we will do whatever it takes to keep 'em burning. I think that everyone is more worried about the light starter going out than the bulb itself. (Like flourescent lights, the more you flip it on & off, the shorter the life span of the starter, or so popular opinion holds) Ruhi is right of course, they appear bulletproof. I have my HID on the low beam and is switched on & off at will. I run a modulator on my high beam. So it is easy for me to leave high on all the time & just bypass HID. As it gets dark the modulator switches iff & I then power my HID

I had a new set O' Metzler M3's put on just before SeXXT by our local dealer. I know, I know.....I am getting a tire thing from Harbor Freight before next set is due. ANYWAY, I asked them to change them, and let me know if anything else needs attention while they are at it. Get her back and go to SeXXT, and on the way I started noticing a chain noise (as per other thread) I am monkeying around on the bike the last few weeks when I notice my rear rim is BENT. It looks just like a tire tool type bend. I have not dropped her, hit curbs, or anything like that. Any recommendations on how to approach service manager? The bend is very slight, by the way, but obvious.

.. ask N1k how, after all - he did take the air compressor out of his truck using it! N1K

Called Honda & that is what I was quoted. Next day from Atlanta. '99-00 are only years chainsets are available she says. Cheaper than buying parts separate. Is she blowing me?

OK, so it seems that the chainset is good for about 18K miles, give or take a few K depending on oiling. That makes me feel better. I put a Pro-oiler on at about 17,500, so the next one should last a bit longer. I am also getting a chain adjusting tool this week. It may not help, but I will feel better using it. I just wish the bike had some fool proof, reproducible and accurate way to gauge chain slack. Some sort of gauge or marker on the swing arm or something.

Goddamit after owning shafties for the last 12 years it pisses me off to know I am going to have to buy a chainset again. But, the beemer & the goose just do not make me smile like my bird, so I guess it is worth it.

Fuck me....... Then obvious questions follow: OEM F&R Sprockets? 1 tooth up or down? Best experiences with moving up or down (for commuting/general riding? NOT acceleration or top end stuff?) I need to get on it if'n Ima gonna go to NeXXT

I do not pay too much attention to my chain now that I have my pro oiler installed. This may have led to a period of deleterious inattention. I have been noticing a wheel-revolution dependant slight popping somewhere down there that occurs when forward force is exerted on the drive chain. I assumed that when Honda put new tires on the bike they would notice & address the issue, but did not. When the bike is throttled down or slowing down or coasting the sound disappears. Also, as I adjust the chain, there are tight spots and loose spots as the wheel is turned. This makes me suspect an elliptical front or rear sprocket. Any suggestions?

Mine is the original '99 with a tad over 18k miles. Of course, I don't run many electrics with it!

I have a pair of craftsmans...one is for higher torque values and one for the lower settings. Even the lower one does not get down to 7 N/M or whatever the units are, but the fasteners that go that low are like the plastic fasteners & such. I tried to steer clear of craftsman & buy from a small independant car parts place, but his did not have the real nice little hard case that the craftsman had. I don't want to just throw a $75 tool in the wrench drawer unprotected. Once you have used a "click" meter you won't go back to the old ananlog type. BTW...I have an old "analog" type that I will let go for $5 plus shipping and handling. I will try to post a pic later. Caveat....not NEARLY as accurate, reproducible, or cool as the click type. When you are shopping, have a table of torque values for the bird with you.....

fuel filter does not have the capacity to distinguish between a combustible liquid to a non-cumbustible liquid, all it does is filter out particulate matter. Wrong. Water molecules are larger than gasoline molicules, and if the filter is larger than gasoline molicules, and smaller than water molecules, then what happens? The water stays in the filter. A lot of times, what happens when you get water in the gas is, either the filter isn't a GOOD OE filter, and lets water through and the engine runs like shit, or it is a good, small particle filtering filter, and the water just plugs up the filter, and it runs like shit. Either way, if you get a little bit of water, not a big deal, but you don't want lots of water. Mike Just to set the rcord straight, gas filters do not filter water molecules out as a function of size, rather, they utilize differences in solubilty (phase) of different liquids. Gasoline is an extremely non polar entity, while water has a distinct and profound ploarity. AND, without looking it up, I seem to recall that petrols (of most liquid sorts) are in fact much LARGER than water molecules. (MW of 18 (water) versus MW greater than 60 for any hydrocarbon with chain length of 7 or more carbons) To shed some light on this topic, until a few years ago, with the globalization of the petroleum industry, the cheap stations actually may have had inferior gas to a much greater extent than they do now. Remember we used to have many small refineries spread out around the country. I think Marathon still gets a lot of it's production domestically and refines it's own, for example. These smaller refineries may have custom blended for small chains, and the requirements may not have been as stringent for house brands, or the refineries were just not as good as there bigger competitors. I worked at a truck stop from 1972 until about '77 during the embargo, and our tankers reported getting their gas & diesel (Union) from the same barges on the Mississippi as all the other stations. True? Well, if you believe truckers....

Did one of your g/f's miss while peeing on you and hit the bike? Salty water is pretty damned corrosive. Be careful

I keep the Ventura rack on my bike all the time, but I already had Oxford soft bags. They are OK, engineering a little more could've provided a most excellent system. One nice thing about the ventura rack os that you can affix a milk crate (spray painted an attractive and speedy black) to the rack with a few hose clamps for that "sophisticated" look when you are in the company of posers. You INSTANTLY stand apart from the crowd!!

Yeah, pretty much like coax

+1

I cut mine, shortened it, and resoldered. Pain in the ass? Sure! Beer? Absolutely! Work? Yeppers..

If you DO go with the fat tire (IMHO a really dumb thing to do to such a great bike), please consider selling me your rim! The gauge is probably a bad connex. Look at the garage thread, download the shop manual, and trace the lines. Pretty easy to do. Where do you live? Probably a bird rider near you would love to meet up & ride. Some of us are also quite handy mechanically if you need help. Be sure to let us know every time you smoke a 'busa. We like to hear stuff like that.

I put my Sirius receiver on a piece of industrial velcro on top of my LH mirror housing and ran the wire through the rubber boot. Not a professional job, but then, I am not a professional.

Sounds like your autovoxx is screwing up. Try dialing it all the way off. Just a suggestion

When I had mine replaced at the dealership they used EBC HH instead of OEM