79cbxmike

I agree, anyone with a recommendation for Ventura County CA please send it my way. It just makes me sick to spend the money and not trust the work that was done. I agree this marvel of engineering should be treated as a fine time piece. When the fairings were removed the insulation was also removed. That had to be a tough day with the HD boys. I just don't have the tools, space or confidence to wrench on the bird myself. Situations like these make me wonder if I could not do just as good a job with some training. I think this guy has no idea what he is doing. From what I have followed on the board it scares me to think that 6 of 8 were in need of adjustment with so few miles on the bike. Look: about $150 bucks will buy all the tools you need to do all the basic tasks on the Bird; another $40 will get you a genuine Honda shop manual which has superb (if tedious) how-to directions. Using manual directions, changing spark plugs takes a full day, checking the valves may take another half day (more if you need to re-shim some) but it will be right. I’ve tried some of the shortcut procedures and none are complete, lots of stuff that might seem obvious to an experienced Bird mechanic are left out. In the end you will save time, money and frustration all of which can be applied to some other situation.

Why would the insulation be disturbed for a valve clearance check? Working on the Bird requires the skill and attention to detail of a fine watchmaker. I had some "qualified" help checking the valves and ended up with an oil leak and the pair hose over instead of under the frame crosspiece (he put the ram air duct in with a crowbar). Worse thing was, next day I attended the Experienced Motorcycle course and a couple HD riders noticed the leak --- bad bad day. So now I do all that stuff myself following the Honda show manual to the letter and taking lots of pics. I don't even trust the local Honda dealer to give my baby the best care.

Carbon Monoxide and propane detectors should be part of the installation.

Got a set direct from Honda earlier this year for a 2002, just ordered them by stock number from a local dealer, took about a week.

Black fastest? Shit! Bring that fucker down here and we'll ride. Mike

I like it! But hard to get one's toe under the shift lever.

Need a pair of riding boots. Must have thick soles, reaching the ground at 5’ 5” is difficult on the CBX, tougher on the Bird and a real bitch on the 1000RR. Easy lace up or clasps Comfortable for all day rides Waterproof Cover the ankles Any suggestions? Mike Pavlick

Yes, need one for the right side. Probably both the same however. Thanks, Mike

Does anyone know the Honda stock number for the “ peg slider” . The parts list shows it as two pieces, a long acorn bolt and a spacer. This is the case for my R1000 bike but my silver Bird has a one piece part. Or – does anyone have one they could part with? Thanks, Mike Pavlick

Hope you can sell the entire package for your asking price. But I have an 02 with the Ventura system and would like to buy a front pack if possible. Mike

Especially COLOR: Silver Birds are head and shoulders above the rest.

Thanks, I'm curious about this and will look into it a bit. Mike

From what little I’ve read, remote tire pressure monitoring for motorcycles doesn’t sound practical, at least at this time. Anyone know of systems that are practical and work well?

Once you get it on it’s great. Mine has one big pack and has been powder coated silver (added 5 horsepower ) to match the bike. Holds enough for about a weeks travel. Like all this aftermarket stuff said to fit several models it has some problems: The rack rails did not fit into the recess in the OEM special washers so I had a machine shop fabricate a set. I replaced the provided bolts (for some reason I can’t recall right now). It was a bitch getting things to line up just right (the new washers helped there) as did a rubber coated impact hammer. The original purchase price is plain highway robbery for a few tubes bent and welded together. Mike

If still availabe its Sold. Send me a PM with your address so I can get a check in the mail tomorrow. Mike

Some of the water heater elements (both on my GE 50 Gal) have tripouts. Maybe one of your's needs reseting. I've had one trip during the surge when power returns. Be sure to turn off the power at the main power panel and check at the water heater to be sure power is off before fooling around in there and stand on a rubber mat while working. Mike Pavlick

Last week a custom painter in Lexington resprayed my lower left cowl and replaced the decal (I purchased the decal). I had seen much of their work at car shows and such and it looks flawless so I drove the extra miles. Perfect job, three working days for $100.00. They want $1500 to paint my 1991 Chrysler LeBaron convertible, I'll take it. OLDSLOWGUY; Who took off the cowls?, may have been a charge if they did it. (I hate! fooling with the cowls and those "Clips".) Michael Pavlick

Shell Rotella full synthetic In the CBXs (4 Yrs.), Bird (3 Yrs.) and R1000. No problems. Mike Pavlick

Not trying to be a smartass or nitpicker! The numbers are correct but the units should be expressed as below. I only bring this up because the units should cancel out just like numbers. Sometimes just working with the units first makes problems much easier to get a grip on. 6000 Rot/Min * 1 Min/60Sec = 100 Rot/Sec 1 Spark/2 Rot * 100 Rot/Sec = 50 Spark/Sec

No No No on any steel wool!!!!!!!! It will leave scratches that are the devil to polish out. Mothers or Blue Magic (favorite) will take off the exhaust residue just fine. Just did that on all fourteen exhaust systems (2 CBXs with six into six and one stock CBX with three into two systems). Wasn't even a lot of work. First wash'em up good then polish away, you'll be done in no time. Michael

Sounds like these need a look. How about some pics or a link? Michael

shovelstrokeed said: “only a squid would ride around without proper foot gear.” Based on fifty years of accident free riding: A pair of sneakers (no socks), shorts and sunglasses is the best riding gear to gain the full experience of freedom on a bike. Squids and those who think otherwise should maybe limit themselves to a pink Vespa! Michael

5) When I took the bike for a test ride, it was terribly hot on my ankles. Wasn't wearing socks. It was really hot. When I got back the veins in my ankles were showing. Is it normal to be this hot? YES! Only those from hell are comfortable riding a Bird in shorts or stop and go driving. There is some talk that this bike is the prime cause of “Global Warming”. Never the less – this is a superb machine, comfortable, handles well, and is insanely fast. Michael

Replace it. Bite the bullet for a tire instead of a tree or guard rail! Michael