xrated

One of the most convenient things to get for a trailer that is going to hold multiple bikes on one occassion and maybe only one or two the next time is "E Track". This allows you to move your chocks forward or backward whenever or wherever you need them for the occassion. I have a 6' x 12' enclosed and I put a permanent wheel chock on the right side of the trailer and then two pieces of etrack in, one in the middle and one on the left side. If I'm hauling one bike, I want it in the middle of the trailer and I can move my Pingle brand wheel chock to the middle etrack. If I'm hauling two bikes, one goes in the permanant wheel chock and the other goes in the pingle chock that fits into the etrack....on the left side of the trailer. Hauling 4 bikes in a 14' trailer can be done, but it is tighter than a Bull's ass at fly time. Personally, if I were hauling 4, I'd go with a 16' x 7' if you have the tow vehicle to be able to do that. I sometime wish I had a bigger trailer when I do track days. Two bikes, pit stands, popup canopy, lawn chairs, generator, riding gear, cooler, Craftsman 3 tier toolbox, spare tires and wheels, etc. It is surprising how quickly you can fill one up with "other stuff" after you get the bike in. Another thing, DON'T buy cheap tie down straps or cheap anchors to tie the bikes down. I've got a couple of set of Ancra tie downs that I bought way back in the 70's and are still using them, although I use them for strapping the rear wheels down when I transport. Make sure and get a trailer with a ramp door on the back! Duh!

N1K, You truck probably doesn't "weigh" 8000lbs, that's the rating on the truck. I'd be surprised if your truck weighs more than 5000 to 5500lbs......and certainly a 5000lb lift would work on one end at a time.

I think that was meant to mean that there are no such animals in these here parts (U.S. of A.) .......'eh

'06 BlackBird????????????????/ Ain't no such animal in these here parts. Actually, it looks like the cluster off of a CBR1000RR.

PP's are really happy at 31/31 on my 1000RR for twisty stuff and a little lower for track day use. Since I don't do a lot of slabbing or distance, I keep them at those pressures all the time.

I just bought another automatic trickle charger.......from Walmart. Now before you say anything, the brand is Schumacher ? sp who has been making battery chargers since Christ was a teenager. Oh BTW...$17.95

Philip, Sorry if I'm coming in late on this.....maybe you've got it fixed by now. Anyway, Square D company makes a line of breaker panels called "Homeline" and they are a cheaper quality, cheaper price unit than the standard Square D unit. Consequently, the breaker are NOT interchangable between the standard unit and the homeline. The standard unit uses a "QO" breaker in it and will not work in a homeline and vice versa. As I was looking at the pictures that you posted, it looks like you've got the right breaker, you just didn't get the breaker installed correctly. Slip the notch that is on the end of the breaker by your A/C wires, onto the matching piece on the breaker panel...........Then......slide the "contact fingers" down onto the buss of the breaker. Hope this helps

Josh, Anything that pulls a heavy current draw (amps) should have it's own circuit. Take the time to run a separate circuit for the vest. Volts x Amps = watts of power. Example: a 12V vest that is rated at 75 watts would draw approx 6 1/4 amps. Make sure that you install an inline fuse of the proper rating for it too. Hope this helps.

Why not just save your allowance money between now and winter and buy a second and/or a third one as needed?

You have the LEAST sticky of the Pilot tires. Roads are mostly mileage tires, Powers are a mix of mileage and some stick, Powers are the mostly track days, some mileage. Then comes the Power Race, which is basically a track only tire. Don't expect a lot of grip on a Pilot Road.....but do expect good mileage.

Sounds about normal............GO RIDE!

Tim, ain't you got something else to do........like work or something! I was going to answer that question and show my mechanical genius!

I've used the Puig double bubble on both of my CBR1000RR's and never had any issues with either one of them. They are BOTH the dark smoke. When I finally turned my '04 into a track bike, I reinstalled the factory windscreen because it is clear and I didn't want to spend the money on a clear Puig. Hope this helps.

The obvious advantage to doing as he suggested........is to not cycle the HID light bulb twice when starting the bike. The question, as I see it, was whether or not it would cause electrical problems somewhere down the road using the side stand switch as the "start button". I'm saying no it will not. The analogy that I would make is like my riding mower. Key has to be on, mower deck in the raised position, seat switch activated by sitting on the seat, and brake pedal pushed.......all of those safety criteria have to be met in order for it to start. So, it really doesn't matter if you turn the key on and hit the starter, THEN sit down on the seat, or turn the key on and push the brake pedal, or turn the key on and raise the mower deck.k As long as all three are met, the mower will start. Same way with the bird. Hope this helps

That's the numbers that Monte at STT told me to run respectively......street and track. Sorry, that's all the info that I have. BTW, 42 is the max. tire pressure recommended by the Michelin. That will get you a Hard ride, maximum mileage, and not near enough grip for the bike. The Powers are a Track/Street tire similar to the Pirelli Diablo Corsas and are made to run at lower pressures to acheive the grip that they are capable of. If you are going to run 42, just be careful that you don't spin up the rear tire or push the front in an agressive riding situation. Hope that helps

Personally, I don't see any ill-effects of starting the bike like that....electrically. Everything in the circuit that is a safety.......is "control" current. In other words, when all of the conditions are met to let the starter engage, you activate a starter relay that is made for carrying the amount of current needed to run the starter motor. The control current is very small and is just enough to activate the starter relay.

42 is WAAAAY to high for the Powers. I would try about 32/32 on the street and if you ever get into a Track Day/agressive riding situation try 29F/26R.

+1 on what Donnie said.

Why don't you just order a DID chain from an online supplier and use AFAM sprockets? I'm sure you can beat the dealer's price.

Contactors are made to carry a certain amount of current for a continuous period of time. For a contactor to burn up like the one that you have pictured required a fairly heavy overload of the current through the contactor. There are several possibilities for the overload. As mentioned, there is a possibility that the control voltage (24 vac) from the transformer is low. The operating coil of the contactor could have been going bad thus causing the main contacts to not fully close and "wipe" the contacts. There could have been lower than normal voltage coming into the house temporarily which would cause the compressor to pull more current than it normally would (lower voltage = more current to do the same work). If at one time the contacts got burnt a little, they usually will continue to worsen and the current will increase and finally the contactor will give it up. There is also a possibility that something is wrong with the compressor itself, but not likely, since the same thing happened to both contactors that are on separate units. Loose connections can and will cause higher than normal current flow and start the overheating and contact burning. Bottom line is that it probably should be checked out by someone that has a thorough knowledge of electrical components and their operation.............read a qualified Electrician.

Any voltage reading that is HIGHER than the battery voltage reading.....will charge the battery.

Why don't you try the Avon AV45 up front and the AV46 on the rear? I went through three sets of them on my 99 Bird and the absolute WORST I got out of the rear was 6500 and the front went about 9K. Ask anyone that ever rode with me in TN during our spirited rides, ......the XX has been all the way to the edge of the tires (Avons) and drug the bottom of the fairings on both sides. Avon tires are a fairly inexpensive tire, but eXXcellent quality.

Although it's been a while since I've had an XX, IIRC the sidestand was how it was suppose to be checked. Think about all of the other bikes out there WITHOUT a centerstand.....every cruiser made, every sportbike made, etc.

As I work for a dealer, in sales, I understand your frustration about having to wait for a week to get the bike taken care of but, remember, you aren' their only customer. Our store, right now at this time of the year has an approx. two week waiting list to get a bike in. Everyone is taking their bikes out of winter storage, the weather is warming up and problems are being discovered on a daily basis with someone's bike. We sell approx. 1500 units a year in our store, so just the new bikes coming back in for the first service is something that keeps mechanics busy, much less the bikes that have been sold over the years and years of being in business. I know it's frustrating from your perspective, but the bottom line is.....first come first serve.....and apparently you weren't "first come". Our exception is that if someone is travelling and they are from out of the area and their bike breaks down, we will try to expedite the repairs and get them back on the road asap. Patience Grasshopper!

Flourescent lighting makes for a very good light in the garage, but when the temps drop down in the 20's and 30's their light output dwindles down to less than half. Of course if you have a heated garage....it's a moot point.