Zero Knievel

+1 I know Bob personally (please don't hold that against him ) and he does excellent work as cheap as possible. I'd sooner have him work on my bike than most anyone else I know out there.

I think a German Sheppard would look better furred, but if you really want to, I'm sure someone can custom make some panels for it.

I have a 99 and get 190-195 but the light is on about 180. I don't like to push my luck.

Heated grips, vest, gloves. No problem. Widder says the whole electric outfit for two shouldn't overwhelm a 1000cc bike's electrical system.

I'd check whatever "relay" turns the pump on and off. Make sure that is working.

Is that you Scott? Sorry to hear about the predicament. What are the other guys with you doing (other than perhaps snickering)?

I think the hardest part is drilling into the swingarm for the two bracket mounting holes. You only get one chance to do it right. I don't like the oil bottle. I put mine back by the ECU and used a used T-shirt to keep it upright. Where they suggest mounting it doesn't work if you have hard luggage because you have to remove the rear cowling to top off the oil bottle.

Well, I don't recall how I did things originally, but I do notice that the swingarm flares out near the end, so the bracket shouldn't be square with the swingarm. I used a ruler to see if the bracket was straight with the chain. It seemed so. Found a replacement bolt and I used locking washers as a safety. The oiler unit itself may or may not have come with a locking washer, but I ALWAYS used a locking washer on the bolt that attaches it to the mounting bracket. It has never come loose or fallen off. I've never had a problem with getting it over the sprocket (so far). All of this started because I wanted to put a wire protector sheath over the oil like to keep some crud off and add a layer of protection against chain friction. That's how I discovered the one bolt had sheared. I could have let it be, but that would mean only one bolt keeping things together. About the only complaint I have about the Pro-Oiler is that the oil line is so darn long on the nozzle assembly that you can't route the feed line too many places without kinking the joining tube. I wish Pro-Oiler included a 45 degree and 90 degree angled bit of hose so you can divert the feed line to the sprocket any way you want. I'm itchy about bending the line too much because it will go 90 degrees on that soft connection tube, and I suspect I could be cutting the oil supply by doing that where a pre-formed line wouldn't have that problem. My feed line follows the chain guide on the swingarm, and I know the chain slaps it from time to time. No problems so far, but the last time I tried putting a sheath on the oil line, friction from the chain flung it half-off after a few hundred miles. Routing the oil feed is probably the most problematic part of installation.

Well, I wondered why the mount for my Pro-Oiler looked angled when I was certain I put it on square with the swingarm. One of the two mounting screws sheared off and the mount pivoted to the new position. It was fastened in place with two self-tapping screws. I do not want to put more holes into the swingarm to reattach it. Last time, when I put it on, I used some clear gasket sealer to "lock" the bolts so they could not work loose on their own (that seemed smart and appears to have worked great). Those who have a Pro-Oiler know the dispersing nozzles are on a pivot mount, so I don't see how any angle issues should have made this happen. I'll be working with an "easy out" to get the other bolt out of the swingarm and then I'll need two new bolts....probably something better than the ones that came with the unit. Anyone else have this happen to them? How did you fix it? I can't see why I would want to mount the mounting bracket at an angle. For all I know, what snapped one of the bolts might have been something smacking it while riding that applied just enough force to make one of the bolts shear.

I typically use a kerosene-soaked rag to wipe the gunk off the chain. That stuff makes everything stick to it, but I have a Pro-Oiler, so lube isn't a worry for me.

Most states have a law requiring conspicuous disclosure of the old odometer reading when you put the new unit in. Whether it's on a placard on the dash or just noted on the title may vary from state to state.

Everything is stock on the bike. I see nothing adjustable about the front or rear suspension. Riding again yesterday, it seems to handle okay. I'm wondering if the long rides with all the luggage made the bike bounce more and I'm just now realizing how firm the stock suspension is when it's just the rider.

Well, I sprayed down the shock and spring with WD-40, tried to spray some gunk off (not much....mostly dirt) with B-12 spray and then more WD-40. Otherwise, everything was pretty clean. If I really work the rear, the bike will bounce. Maybe I'm just not used to the suspension without all the extra weight on it.

Lately, when I sit on the 'Bird, it feels as if there is no "sag" when I lower my weight onto the bike. To me, I'd think that adding just over 200 pounds should make the bike sink lower, but it doesn't seem to move. From outward appearances, nothing appears to be wrong. All the equipment is stock. Since most of my recent riding was long-distance touring, I can't tell if the bike is handling like it used to in the past when I last rode it unloaded. There's no squirreliness that I've noticed in the handling. It seems to hold it's line. It just feels like there is no give in the rear suspension anymore. If I bounce in the saddle, I get maybe 1" of vertical travel if even that. There is nothing in my service manual that tells me how to tell if the spring or rear shock has gone bad. Nothing seems to be damaged. Bike has just over 50K on it. Anyone been down this road before?

RXX (IIRC) has an actual cruise control on his 'bird. Wasn't easy to install, though. You'd think someone with the know-how would make an electric cruise control that easily mounts to about any motorcycle.

If I don't have an air bleed nipple, I just let the overflow tank handle it. Air blows out. Fluid gets sucked back in.

No pics, but the lower engine bolts are the only accessible ones that I know of, and the pics posted look correct to me.

If you can eyeball it, 1/3 a can would be ideal, but normally I use the stuff when I want to really clean the system, so 1/2 is a lot easier. The whole can if you suspect or have a serious problem and hope a good cleaning will solve the problem.

Stress of pushing against a locked wheel adds the straw that breaks the camel's back?

That's what I thought I was doing. I have to press down on the lever while lifting the bike, but I suppose it's just not meant to take that kind of stress.

I broke it before I dropped the bike...besides, the lever is on the left side, I dropped it on the right.

Well, I'm presuming that centerstands are designed to only cope with the weight of the bike without gear on it. I've used it no matter what. I got a flat on my trip and tried to put it up on the centerstand to check the rear tire. I pushed down with my foot, pulled up on the grab handle, felt the CREAK, and that was it. I bent the leverage arm. Without it, I can't engage the stand. Otherwise, I got two flats in one week and dropped the bike once in a parking lot, but I survived the trip with no other major incidents.

Well, I just broke my center stand.

+1 on the jumper cables. I'm amazed how many people don't realize you can safely start a MC from a car battery (12v is 12v) to either overcome a battery allowed to discharge or to test if you have a bad battery or some other problem.

Thankfully, these bearings do not go out overnight, so you should check your forks every time you replace the front tire or do anything that gives you a chance to get the front wheel off the ground. Also keep in mind that you might just need to tighten the bearings down, but I'm not sure what the odds of that are since if they were seated correctly, no slack should develop...ever.