XXBIRD

Not as much as you feathering up for such a completely pointless reason... If you take a look and re-read what I said, it wouldn't appear as such. I posted to show what "cupping" is for the ones who asks what it is..

Religiously, 42psi as suggested with this particular tire. I even purchased a compressor not to be a slacker about checking/correcting it everytime I ride out. The previous Avon did this but I was not checking the pressure as I should have. The way they feel in my hands, I'd say tripple "D".

Some can see the cupped tire no matter what if there is a tire in the picture but these are for the ones who wonder what a "cupped" tire is. There was a recent question about it so I wanted to do a public service before I take my extremely cupped Avons off.

You may want to check with the person who replaced the brake and clutch lines if they also bled the lines during the swap. If they have not, it would be justifiable to pay for the $450 service because there is a slim chance that they may check the brake and clutch fluid levels from the master cylinder windows. :icon_shifty:

This thingy is so slippery, just slipped up to the top...

No dots/marks/signs that I could see (neither of them), hence the question I had at the first place... I've called the Michelin USA to ask about it. I have to say, it was one of the most pleasant customer service you can find nowadays... I spoke with someone who appeared to be pretty know-how about mc tires. His reasoining for not having the markings was because they are finding that there is no need to indicate a "light" spot because there is none. As the manufacturing process advances those kinds of irregularities vanish to the point that there isn't any "measurable/significant" variation, he says.

I recall there was a spot paint or something like that indicating the heavy spot on the tire so while installing, you could locate it across the valve stem to even it out. I've found the Pilot Powers at the door step when I got back home (thanks FedEx). Looks like we are going to have tire install party (Hint: The ones with the mounting tool; beware).

I make the axle bolt loose and count the rotation of adjsutment bolts in quarter turn increments. Usually about one full turn takes the slack off. I've verified few times at the beginning and don't even check anymore by measuring. Torque the axle nut back to spec, tighten the adjustment bolts and done.

Jack under the oil pan enough to lift the wheel off the ground. The ones with shims to raise the rear might have trouble doing this.

I have this one and used only once. It works just fine. But I don't think I paid that much, maybe $80 from JC Whitney.

Most likely, multiple personality disorder with erectile dysfunction.

I had a pair of Hi/Lo Blasters (130dB) installed recently. I had Fiamms but they were not loud enough. One of them goes in front of the OEM but up in front of the header. If you tweak it patiently, you find the right spot w/o any touching to plastic. The second one is located on the left side, partially in front of the oil cooler. I also used a relay not to fry the horn button.

Well, winter is almost over but after riding at 34F once, I knew I needed one to be installed right away. I didn't want to spend few hundred for the grip kits which are prone to failure after a season or so I opted for Dual-Star kit after reviewing few similar ones (they all look the same but with different names). There is a Kimpex kit and also Cycle Gear kit which they say made by Simptex(?). I've ordered the Heat-Throller too but it didn't come with the order (Back ordered and still waiting for it. I have to say when I placed the order, they didn't tell me it was not available. It took few calls before they shipped the grip kit w/o the controller. I intend to use it with a heated vest anyway so I didn't care.) Dual-Star kit comes with a huge on-off-on switch to select high/off/low settings. They also have an optional rocker switch ($3.95). I've got the rocker switch too but proved to be not small enough for the location I intended to install it. Instead, I used an on-off-on switch from Radio Shack (6A @125V). Grips came off with ease. I blew a burst of air under the grips but didn't help much. Then, squirted a shot of WD-40 which made them slip out. Throttle side has a thick insulating piece of plastic so it didn't seem in need of any additional insulation to prevent the heat loss to the handlebar. I've installed the switch on the RHS handlebar switch housing after soldering red, blue and white cables to match the heating units common, low and high setting colors. Two screws hold the two pieces together underneath so it was easy to open it up. I drilled a hole to insert the switch and routed the cables to prevent pinching the cables or interfering with other switches. For the throttle side, there is little ridge on the plastic piece which would interfere with routing the heater unit cable so I nicked it with a sharp knife at the location where the cables are going to come out (3:00 o'clock position). Then peeled off the backing to expose self adhesive layer of the heater and placed it centered in the front of the grip. Then rolled it up the rest and firmly pressed to stick it to the throttle. It is not asked for but I zip tied the cables to prevent pulling them as the throttle twisted. Apparently this is the weakest point to cause failure for this design. I placed the grip back on after wetting inside with Windex. It just slides in with no problem. I've also ordered a pair of right hand side BMW grips but I received only one. The part number for the right hand side is 32721458396. To accommodate the thick insulation for the left side, I ordered both right hand sides which have larger inner diameter. I left the cable loose enough not to snag it when the throttle is twisted. Left hand side was even easier except with one extra step; insulating the metal bar to prevent heat loss from the heating element. Optional heat shrink tube ($3.95) from Dual Star just slides on to the bare metal and requires a heat gun to shrink it. I didn't' try it but I don't think a lighter or an open flame torch would do it. It took quite a bit heat to activate it to shrink. Once I was satisfied, I cut the excess with a sharp knife. the rest was the same as the other side. Wiring... Now it gets confusing because the instruction sheet came with the unit is not very helpful and also they mistakenly marked the high and low sides in reverse. White cable is for low and blue is high setting as opposed to what it says. When I measured the resistance, I've got 8.5 and 13.8 ohms for the clutch side, 10.5 and 19.8 ohms for the throttle side. I tied them together white to white and blue to blue and red to red. Likewise, I tied the same color cables to the corresponding cables on the on-off-on switch. Two red ends (one from the switch and one from the heating elements) remained open to be wired to the source power directly from the battery via a relay. Placed the relay under the tail and routed a suitable cable to the front to meet the switch and heating elements at the front under the right hand side panel in front of the tank. Tapped into the rear running light wires to trigger the relay when the ignition is ON. This is a good idea in case you forget to turn them off with the rocker switch. Riding... Well, it was much better than I anticipated. The OEM grip for the throttle side got really, really hot in HIGH mode but not the left side with the BMW grip which has ridges with channels. It seems like once I get the BMW grip for the RHS, it will be nice and toasty for both sides. While I was working on it, I also installed a power block purchased from 2Wheel Innovations to tidy up under the seat.

Is it worth to get them for an $80 savings instead of your own choice tire? Unless of course that is the tire you normally use...

When I spoke with him yesterday, he didn't sound amused about this whole thing. He was short, uninterested and sounded more like annoyed. It must have been because he was leaving for vacation till March 21st as of yesterday. I presume they get paid for the warranty work they do so I don't what the deal is and also I don't see anything in the Wilbers Garantiebedingungen / Garantischein paper in regards to shipping cost. At this website, he states shipping must be paid by the customer for the service but doesn't say anything about for warranty service. It may be worth asking him to pay return shipping at least. I am going to take mine personally and wait to pick it up (40 miles trip for me). Few years ago, I've discovered a crack on one of the joints on my speakers. They were almost ten years old. Called the company and told them. They arranged them to be picked up (almost 200lb each) and asked me to pay only the portion of the return shipping which was from delivery truck at my address to the door (yes, indeed, there is a seperate cahrge for it). They did not only fix the problem but refinish the exterior as well as recalibrating them to the standards. That's what I call "warranty service". It is a Kentucky company, THIEL, btw.

No, I've just found out about it yesterday so I'll talk to him (Klaus) today and go from there. I have my old one so it is just a matter of two more swaps.... I placed a white paper tissue underneath last night... Sure enough, yes it does leak oil. Edited to add: I spoke with him this morning realizing that he is only 40 miles away from me. So, I'll drop it off there and wait till they fix it and pick it up but I am going to wait till it gets bit warmer than 20F (that's what it is right now).

Drip here too... The bottom of the triangular links were wet and dripping. It is from the shaft. Preload is dry as bone. I didn't ride the bike some time till yesterday and checked it today to find this out. I am not liking this already even if it is under warranty etc. Shock unit such as this, just based on the price they are sold for, must not leak in less than half a year of light use and kept in a mild climate and "heated" garage. Thinking about it; I didn't get to ride the bike much due to my injury since October. When I noticed an oil puddle underneath, I presumed it was was teh excess from chain lube, didn't even consider the shock. After all this time, during my first ride yesterday, I thought every bump was jolting my back so I thought maybe this is what happens at cold climates...

I believe packing material is not brand specific but just a matter of size. Also there are cermic types and fiberglass ones. Thigther you pack louder it gets.

Sargent custom seat... if you wanna keep the GF. You can ask the profile of the seat is cut to fit your needs and riding style. Also, you could request a "V" shaped hump in the middle (bottom of the V pointing backwards) for the passenger which won't interfere with the comfort but proivdes additional supportto prevent sliding forward. They will know what you are talking about since they already done one for me already. It took a while to describe it but at the end, it worked out fine. It's cheaper than Corbin and looks much better IMHO. You don't have to wait six months neither. Search for the pics of mine if you care to see it.

I found this one (breaker/riveter) from $130. Is it an overkill?

Just the rear of the tank. Undo two bolts which are exposed when you remove the seat and lift the rear of the tank up about 4-5 inches. If you have the original toolset, one of the tools you can use to keep it up like that. There is a little groove where the bolts are to prevent it from sliding out. The only other connection is the ground so it is easy to so. Good luck.

If I remember correctly, you need to prop the tank up to have access to the plug. Your kit must have had came with bike specific instructions. Here are the pics if it helps:

I did comparision check it with a digital Fluke. Detector's voltage appears about 0.3-0.4V higher than what voltmeter shows but still fluctuating. Overall, I was more concerned with the "high" voltage but it sounds like I don't need to worry 'bout it. She's going to be four years old on the road; I've got to have something to worry about, ehh? Thanks for the input.

What made me concern is that it doesn't fluctuate in my car. It stays steady on at whatever the voltage is but not on the bike.

Escort 8500 has an option to display current voltage if you choose to do so. I did. Initially it displays 12.4-12.8V when the bike is not running depending how long it's been sitting. On idle, it is about 13.8 at 4-5000rpm at around 14.8-15.3V and fluctuates almost constantly. It looks to me not only the voltage is too high but also the non-stop up/down not right. In my car, it stays steady 13.2V when driving. Is my regulator about to go kabuum?