jrdxx

The Honda recommendation to replace them probably originates with some kind of liability concern. I would just take note of what hardware was removed from where, clean it and reinstall with a little loc-tite on the threads. Torque to specs, and go ride.

Were the carbs rejetted to compensate for the air filter and exhaust modifications? With stock compression, regular pump gas should work just fine, as should the stock heat range plugs. What do your exhaust tips look like?

That's a good idea. I think the axle centers might be better datum points.

Damn. And I just went and bought a gallon of the Rotella synthetic 5W-40. My guess is it would have something to do with the 5W base allowing some more gear noise. Oh well, I'll use it anyway.

I went with 1.05 springs and spaced them for static sag, and changed to 5WT fork oil. The front still sucks, but it sucks a lot less than it used to.

I measure 1-1/8". Tires are Pilot Sports, the front shows negligible wear, but the rear is almost to the wear bars in the center of the tire. My guess is new Sports would set the bike at 3/4" to 7/8".

You need to peruse the sticky above titled "not automatic, but...". If you have broadband and some diskspace, you should download it and refer specifically to pages 550 and 551. My 'bird is a '99, so I don't follow much on the updates since, but it appears the wiring did change after the '99 model year, and it sounds to me like all your friend's troubles could be attributable to the ECU pinout.

Use the Mobil 1 15W-50 and a fresh filter, don't overtorque your drain plug, and ride a few miles just to warm the engine and check for leaks. You'll be fine. Unless you decide to learn how to do giant, smoking burnouts in your driveway before you leave. Then, you might have clutch problems, but I wouldn't blame it on the oil....

The stock H-D motor is at such a low state of tune that practically anything you do will net you a small increase in power. I had Carl's Speed Shop in Daytona (they're just up the road from me) port and flow the heads on my '94 FXR, resulting in an increase from 56 rear wheel HP to 87 as measured on a dyno, an increase of about 55%, and not too shabby for a 80 inch motor with stock compression. The Blackbird motor is already at a sufficiently high state of tune that many mods to the engine (such as a slip-on exhaust, for instance) individually could actually result in a net decrease in peak horsepower. A good point of reference might be to ask the guys running nitrous or turbocharging their engines. If they can run using the stock ignition, then the stock setup is already delivering peak performance for a normally aspirated engine.

Is there a seat still available?

The only time I notice is when I park in the garage after a ride in the rain (which seems like a long time ago, strange for Florida); I don't see any reason to be concerned about it. I don't know if a fender extender would help, as it appeared to me it was caused by water draining DOWN onto the radiator and cylinder head from the fairing/gas tank area.

The first thing you need to do is determine precisely where the fluid is coming from. You may have a leak at a hose coupling on the engine or radiator. There is an overflow vent from the reservoir. Has your bike been serviced recently?

Are you done yet? If not, this is what I would recommend: First, leave the cover on the reservoir ON. Don't even loosen it. You stand a chance of throwing brake fluid all over the bike if you jostle the front wheel hard enough (which you know will happen), and brake fluid and paint are totally incompatible. There's plenty of room in the reservoir for the fluid you're going to force back upstream. It is absolutely not necessary to remove either the calipers or the wheels. I wouldn't be overly concerned about the grime around the pistons. The reason calipers are designed to "float" is because the combination of gyroscopic forces, heat and cornering loads that the brake calipers see on a daily basis already move the calipers quite a bit relative to the rotors. You'd probably shit if you could see how much the wheel and fork assembly flex during riding. The problem with using cleaner/solvents and compressed air is that you really can force grunge into some places where you will never get it out without disassembling the caliper assembly. All the manual says to do is to "clean the caliper assembly, especially around the caliper pistons", and it tells you to do this AFTER you have pushed the pistons back in and removed the old pads. I think you can do this with a bike wash with some mild soap and plenty of water, before you start the job (who wants to work on a dirty bike?). For each caliper, gently but firmly force the caliper assembly inboard (toward the wheel centerline), then outboard a few times. The caliper should now slide in and out a few tenths of an inch. Like Tim and Chris said, the pad pin plug is at the bottom of the caliper on the front brakes. The plug looks like a slotted screw, but really is just a dust cap. The pad pin is an allen screw. Remove it, and the pads, and replace with the new pads, and tighten the pad pin to 18 N-m or 13 ft-lb, whatever your torque wrench reads. Repeat for the other front caliper. Easy, wasn't it? The rear will be half as much work. In fact, I pulled my rear pads, and they weren't nearly as worn as the fronts, so I just reinstalled them and will check them the next time I think about changing the fronts. Now would be a good time to bleed the brake lines and change the brake fluid.

My clunky, heavy K1100RS and my conservative riding style collectively got about 8000 miles from a set of Pilot Roads, with excellent tracking, cornering feedback, wet weather grip, and even wear. The only oddity was that the front and rear wore evenly, and it was time to replace both at tire change time. I'm already suspicious of the ME Z4s I installed on the bike, and will likely go back to the Michelins or try out the Avons at the next opportunity. The Metzelers have a vague tracking feel, and the front is already showing signs of that stupid squared off wear pattern at only 2000 miles.

I just had a set of ME Z4s installed on my K1100RS a few months back, so I don't have enough time or miles on them to make any judgements. I know I didn't like the Metzelers originally installed on the bike. The set of tires I replaced were Pilot Roads, and I really liked those tires.

Well, something is definitely different than what we're accustomed to. The factory stock XX is inordinately smooth compared to many other bikes in its class. The engine uses dual counterbalancers, and there is very little "buzz" transmitted through the frame and bars. What little remaining is damped adequately through the bar end weights. See if you can find another stock XX to compare; if it's new, I'd recommend you take it back to the dealer with your concerns. If you bought it used, investigate whether the previous owner made any mods to the handlebars or bar ends. I also have never heard of complaints regarding uncomfortable vibration levels transmitted through the XX bars.

When your "normal" riding consists of many stoplight-to-stoplight runs, I don't think a temp around 210-220 is too far out of family when running in traffic. My '99 only has the analog gauge (sans numbers), but it was obvious early on that the bike was happiest running in clean undisturbed air, no matter what the ambient temperature was. My RC51 will usually show around 180 when thoroughly warmed up on the road, but will go to 220 in traffic rather quickly, but the fan kicks in and holds the temperature in that area until I can get some more clean air flowing through the radiator. You can investigate the use of additives like WaterWetter (I'm using it in my Bird right now), but I would say that as long as the fan can dissipate the heat load, I wouldn't worry about it. Just ride it.

You need to make an honest appraisal of your riding style and ask yourself if you contributed to the clutch's demise (wheelies, burnouts, drag racing starts, etc.). If you think you may have accelerated the clutch wear through your riding style, just accept that you may have to replace it periodically. One nice thing about the stock clutch is it absorbs the shock loads of engagement and prevents possible wear or failure in other areas of the drivetrain, and is relatively easy and inexpensive to replace. My recommendation would be the stock clutch over aftermarket replacements for street use. I think Honda actually removed one clutch disk and one friction plate from the clutch in the FI ('99 and later) birds in order to soften clutch engagement, so you might consider investigating the possibility of using one of the earlier clutch packs. I don't know if it would be a direct swapout, but someone on the board should know.

Neatsfoot oil. I also use it to wipe down my leathers.

I think an oil change would be cheap insurance and offer additional peace of mind. You probably disturbed some sediment when you tweaked your sending unit. Just keep an eye on it for while, and keep on riding.

Mityvac and a bleeder bottle. Works like a champ.

You cooked the clutch. They KNOW you cooked the clutch. You might even BS your way into getting the repair covered under "warranty", as you say, but I think you deserve to pay for it out of your own pocket.

Glad to hear you didn't take offense. If you do a search on the site, you will find that delinking kits for the Blackbird are available, and several board members here and abroad have gone that route. I haven't, as I simply don't want to deviate from the original stock configuration, and consider the performance improvement to be 1) limited in light of the involved time and expense, and 2) largely "in one's head", but that's just my personal opinion. Should you decide to go the delinked route later, there are plenty of board members willing to assist you. By the way, I grew up in Beckley. I miss riding on those roads.

The LBS may contribute somewhat to what you are experiencing. Actually, I use the rear mostly for some trail braking, and for holding the bike at intersections when I have to make some kind of equipment adjustment. Most of my earnest braking is accomplished through the front brake, with the use of only one or two fingers, so I don't consider that heavy pressure at all. If you are new to this size and class of motorcycle, it may be prudent to practice some controlled emergency stops in a parking lot to become more familiar with the bike's capabilities. Please don't think I am trying to talk down to you, but what is unsaid in your post suggests that your acquiring an XX was a considerable step up in performance over what you were used to previously. And welcome to the board.

I don't have any direct experience as I've had no clutch issues. By your description what it sounds like is happening is the clutch spring pressure is overcoming the hydraulic force of the clutch master/slave cylinders. First, I would check the fluid level in the resevoir. If it's low, then check for leaks, especially at the slave cylinder. You might get by with simply a thorough flush and refill with fresh fluid. At the worst, you might need a rebuilt or replacement master/slave cylinder.