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Maggie’s SH Motorcycle Thread
- Thread starter my human host
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Thank you! I grew up and lived in Iowa until 2015 so the R90s knows the roads of eastern Iowa well. Photo below was taken north of Stone City.
My R90s has the original paint. The primary orange appears to have been hand sprayed over the champagne color, but I'm not 100% sure. I do know the red pinstripes were brushed on by hand, including the painter's initials in red on the bike.
I just double checked, they are the ones that got hand painted. Cool bike.
Kawi versys can do ADV, I took one to Alaska. Suzuki has the v strom 650. Yamaha has the 700 Tenere which would be a good choice. They aren't KTM but will do more than most people are capable of doing. My next one will be the Triumph triple.
picked this up today. triumph speed triple 1200rs
Those were awesome back in the day it was a mini motorcycle compared to the typical mini bikes everyone had.
Yesterday was beautiful riding weather--mid 60s, sunny......and I spent my Saturday wrenching instead.
I had some problems show up during last weekend's ride and they're common issues on 2007-2014 Harleys. The compensator spring pack wears out and the auto-adjusting tensioner gets the chain so tight, the starter can't turn the motor when hot.
I probably could have gotten away with a few more rides, but it was just a matter of time before it became a major issue so I jumped into it.
I really need to pour a pad. Jacking up any vehicle in the grass is just sketchy.
I replaced the craptastic factory comp with a Dark Horse Man O War (which on an '07 requires an upgrade of the rotor cover so the inner primary cover had to come off too) and swapped in a manual-adjust tensioner. While I was at it, I replaced the battery, starter, and did a full fluid service. I also replaced the primary shaft bearing and seal, and adjusted the clutch. I had the entire primary opened up so it made sense to do it all while I was in there.
No leaks! (I'm one of the few backyard mechanics that uses torque wrenches) No more 'clunk' from the starter, and it's a lot easier to find neutral now. Even when the bike is hot, it starts without hesitation. I really wanted to ride yesterday because the weather was so beautiful, but it was time well spent--In another month when everybody else is doing their pre-season maintenance, I'll be out there with the wind in my face and bugs in my teeth
From last weekend--after warming up, she didn't want to start--and when she finally did, the starter made some pretty horrific noises.
Here she is in mid-surgery. Foot boards, shifter lever, inner and outer primary covers off, rotor cover, compensator, clutch basket and tensioner removed.
Various pieces-parts: The '07 rotor cover houses the compensator spring pack--that's why it had to be upgraded to a later version. The '07 inner primary cover also has a lip that doesn't let you remove the rotor cover--that's why the inner had to come out. (Some people grind off the lip--but it was faster to do it by-the-book......I wanted to replace all the seals anyway)
I had some problems show up during last weekend's ride and they're common issues on 2007-2014 Harleys. The compensator spring pack wears out and the auto-adjusting tensioner gets the chain so tight, the starter can't turn the motor when hot.
I probably could have gotten away with a few more rides, but it was just a matter of time before it became a major issue so I jumped into it.
I really need to pour a pad. Jacking up any vehicle in the grass is just sketchy.
I replaced the craptastic factory comp with a Dark Horse Man O War (which on an '07 requires an upgrade of the rotor cover so the inner primary cover had to come off too) and swapped in a manual-adjust tensioner. While I was at it, I replaced the battery, starter, and did a full fluid service. I also replaced the primary shaft bearing and seal, and adjusted the clutch. I had the entire primary opened up so it made sense to do it all while I was in there.
No leaks! (I'm one of the few backyard mechanics that uses torque wrenches) No more 'clunk' from the starter, and it's a lot easier to find neutral now. Even when the bike is hot, it starts without hesitation. I really wanted to ride yesterday because the weather was so beautiful, but it was time well spent--In another month when everybody else is doing their pre-season maintenance, I'll be out there with the wind in my face and bugs in my teeth
From last weekend--after warming up, she didn't want to start--and when she finally did, the starter made some pretty horrific noises.
Here she is in mid-surgery. Foot boards, shifter lever, inner and outer primary covers off, rotor cover, compensator, clutch basket and tensioner removed.
Various pieces-parts: The '07 rotor cover houses the compensator spring pack--that's why it had to be upgraded to a later version. The '07 inner primary cover also has a lip that doesn't let you remove the rotor cover--that's why the inner had to come out. (Some people grind off the lip--but it was faster to do it by-the-book......I wanted to replace all the seals anyway)
Supposed to hit 60 here today.
Going to try and get the bike out and test the ABS so I can bleed my brakes.
Stupid ABS. Why did Harley put ABS on bikes? So they can charge you $70 to bleed them.
Fuck Harley.
Put a mustang seat on, replaced the clutch and a few other things that needed done. Took the woman for a 150 mile ride last Saturday
A few weeks ago I upgraded the crappy HD sound system on my limited with an amp and new speakers front and back
A few weeks ago I upgraded the crappy HD sound system on my limited with an amp and new speakers front and back
Mine doesn’t have ABS…it’s not governed either.
That’s exactly how my bike looked when I installed the heated grips a few years ago…what a pain in the ass. It was pre-wired for heated grips, but not the HD Skull ones I bought, had to put in the old school wiring harness for them.
Gotta love the business model that HD has. $28K motorcycle. What? The sound system sounds like shit? Bring it in and we'll put a download in it. How much? $200. You can upgrade to Hog Tunes for another $2K. Which is just an upgraded POS Hd system. Seat sucks? We can let you try some demo's. $800 for a comfortable seat upgrade. Shocks suck? We can upgrade that too.
Want to trade for a new model? Well that $6K in upgrades ain't worth $10 on trade in.
Anything that needs an upgrade on a Harley needs to have a third party manufacturer.
Harley branded (aka Screaming Eagle) upgrades are shit.
I've actually been pretty good with the factory seat on my 17 ultra. Not so with the one on my 09 that I had. I got a Mustang for the 91 Heritage because it was the only one that I could find that matched the original studded seat. The 150 mile ride is my only time on it. It was comfortable so we'll see how it stands up.
I asked the woman if she wanted me to get a heated seat for the ultra. Nope, I ain't riding below 60 degrees. She says that the 17 seat is the most comfortable one that I have had.
The factory seat was ok on my '18 Street Glide, but I wanted a nicer seat, picked it up used from a guy in Illinois for $350...looked like it was brand new when I got it, still looks pretty close to new after 12K miles under my boney ass. My wife has never been on the back of this bike, both of my daughters said it's comfortable for them. I had a 2010 Street Bob as my first Harley, bought it new from AAFES in Korea when we were there, wife did get on the back of that bike one time...I fucked up and apparently scared her. Going back to Songtan from Suwon we were going "slightly" above the suggested speed limit, pulled up to a light a few miles later, she says, "it's a lot of wind", I said, "well yeah, we were doing XXX mph..." She smacked me in the side of the helmet, said slow down, and take me home. Oopsie.
If I start the bike she'll run out and say... I want to go. I'm going to the post office ( it's only a couple minutes down the road). Let me get my shoes on!! A few years ago we went to Canada. On the return trip we were coming through Virginia early in the morning and zero cars on the interstate. I passed a highway patrol sitting in the median. I waved and he waved. A few miles down the road, same thing. A few more miles and as I was passing a car I look and it's an unmarked cruiser. Cop is motioning me to slow it down. I slowed to 70 and the woman is tapping me and asked why we were going so slow. I point out the speedometer and she says ohh, I was wondering what the waving to the cops was about. We must have been moving.
She was the one that talked me into buying the 91 Heritage. She said she likes the new bikes but missed the old bikes. She said we needed one for trips to town. Ummm, okay. You twisted my arm.
The 2010 Dyna riding in Korea. Man I loved riding over there, get 10 miles east of Seoul to Pyeongtaek (Osan AB / Camp Humphreys) corridor and it was full of twisty mountain roads. Good times. This picture was about 15 miles west of that corridor headed to the coast to set up a hotel/beach run reservations for a Memorial Day party, we'd probably have 75-100 bikes show up, most of the American MCs several of the Korean MCs; lots of families and friends. Camaraderie was always better overseas; in the States people finish work, take the uniform/work clothes off and go their separate ways..see you next week fuckers.
Back to bikes after a 20 year gap, picked up very low mileage S2R from a collector, serviced and changed out the exhausts and front brake, called her ’Daisy’
Back many years ago I did a bunch of big group riding. Over the years I saw a bunch of stupidity and people going down and the skill level of the riders getting worse. The only one that I have done in the last several years is a wounded warrior fund raiser. I am the last man out of the parking lot. And since COVID I haven't done that ride. Now I have one friend that I will ride with, my brothers and my father.
here are a few of mine.
96 springer
65 panhead
98 fatboy
07 lightning scg
this little girl was murdered with her two sisters. this is the only picture i have of her.
98 fatboy
2005 firebolt
buell blast
94 softail custom
96 springer
65 panhead
98 fatboy
07 lightning scg
this little girl was murdered with her two sisters. this is the only picture i have of her.
98 fatboy
2005 firebolt
buell blast
94 softail custom
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I've been riding solo since we got back to the states in 2014. In Korea I did mostly group rides, but the groups were small, say 4-7 bikes...and generally everyone was pretty well skilled. We participated in some of the big charity rides hosted by different MCs, not real fun riding in a group of 50+ bikes.
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We recently quit riding with our usual group.
Did a little 300 mile ride with our group on a Saturday last month. Bright sunshine and 75 degrees--couldn't ask for a better day to ride, especially in early March. This time we went to the Irish Festival out in Camden, SC via some awesome country back roads.
All washed/waxed prior to the ride:
First break after about 2 hrs of riding.
As much as we enjoy getting out and seeing the historical/tourist attractions in GA/SC/NC that this group rides to every weekend, we're pretty much done riding with ANY groups now. We've had several new people show up to the last few rides....and I haven't been impressed.
That Saturday, we had some real winners join us......
1) When you're doing 65 on back roads and riding in close, staggered formation, that's NOT the time to be popping wheelies.
2) It's not cool to downshift 3 gears instead of using the brakes when you've got a line of bikes behind you at 1-2 second intervals. (At least touch the brake lever so we know that you're slowing down.)
3) When you're in the middle of the pack, you have to pay attention. Locking up your brakes and skidding or doing a 'stoppie' because you were rubbernecking and didn't notice the bike in front of you slow down is bad. Its worse when it happens 3 more times within the next 15 miles.
4) If you're bored with 65 MPH in a posted 45 MPH zone, and the group is riding in staggered formation, that is NOT the time to start slaloming back and forth from white line to yellow line. (I get it--I do it too. But I only do it when I'm alone and don't have bikes in front, behind and to my left)
5) There's a reason for the staggered formation and the short intervals between bikes. If you allow a gap to open, cars will fill it. (BTW, when that happens, don't blame the car and flip him off while passing on a double yellow. You're the dipshit who left over 100 yards of space for him to get into)
The core members of this group are fantastic to ride with but these new people we've been seeing are fucking idiots.
The last big ride we did was our annual Polar Bear run to Georgia in January. (I think I posted it a few pages back) This big 'ol line wasn't the worst I've ridden in--our local Toys for Tots run has that trophy--but it wasn't a lot of fun. Most of the folks were fine, but there were just too many newbies and with around 80-100 bikes, there was just too much potential for problems. (My girlfriend took this pic while we were in the middle of the pack) After about 4 miles, we took an offramp and took up a tailgunner position after they had all passed.
I'm not gonna say that I'll never ride with a big group again, but I'm gonna be very cautious of WHO I'll ride with
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i quit riding with people i don't know really well 15 years ago. those big group rides? no way in hell.
1st track day on my triumph speed triple 1200rs and 1st track day of the year.
yessir. it's called pittrace now. they added another 1 mile or so to the original track.
you're familiar with the track?
you're familiar with the track?
About to go down the bike rabbit hole and will gladly take some advice. 1st is I'll be taking a riding class in the next few weeks and will take all steps to be smart/safe about riding.
I am currently in possession on a V Rod. I am going to do some maintenance/upgrades to it. I don't plan on riding it for awhile. My plan is to grab a bike that is more beginner friendly but is still worth keeping around and tinkering with over time.
I'm looking at everything from the new Sportster S and the like to dual sport bikes so I can have a bit of easy off road fun. All over the place I know.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
I am currently in possession on a V Rod. I am going to do some maintenance/upgrades to it. I don't plan on riding it for awhile. My plan is to grab a bike that is more beginner friendly but is still worth keeping around and tinkering with over time.
I'm looking at everything from the new Sportster S and the like to dual sport bikes so I can have a bit of easy off road fun. All over the place I know.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.
My son bought this a few years ago, CRF 450L. You can mod and remap if you want more power.
And I picked up this old girl. I don't think she has seen 500 miles since new...
1984 red, white and blue Yamaha RZ350 two stroke. Just finished the 1985 RZ350 restoration. Now have a set of them....
He's got a Yoshimura pipe, LED turn signal kit, CRF450X model fender kit and brake light. There is a something like a EGR delete kit and ECU remap will make it closer to an CRF450R in power. I rode it, I like it! It's narrower and sleeker than my 450X model.
KTM has a really nice 450 dual purpose.
Most of us started on dirt bikes. Getting a dual purpose would be a good starter bike. Learn to ride slow in parking lots. Just about anyone can ride the roads but doing U-turns and slow speed handling is what will keep you off the pavement. That's what you will learn in a beginner rider course. What you cover in the class needs to be practiced after the the class.
The learning to relax and not tense up on grooved and rough pavement is usually learned early on when riding dirt bikes.
Target fixation. You will hit what you are looking at. Look where you want to go. Not at what you don't want to hit.
Learning to use your front brakes and switching to the rear before you come to a complete stop is important. The front brakes will put your face on the pavement quick.
A V Rod doesn't have an ideal riding position for a beginner but for a Harley they are fairly nimble.
If they just made a carbon fiber custom fairing for that that actually blocked wind that would be a really nice sport tourer, something like the gen 1 FZ1. I think that would be sick !
ive been contemplating trying to fab a fairing. i know a good fabricator. i test rode the rr and it was too crunched up for me. it probably would be sweet at the track but id never ride it on the street. im in my mid 40s with tons of old injuries. i just didn't want that riding position anymore. i wanted a 80 track/20 street bike. the wind blast isn't too bad at highway speeds. plus it's a good feeler guage to keep the speed down so i don't lose my license again. couple that with cruise control and it's titties. on the other hand i took it up to the 155 governor last night and it was a bit gusty lol.
Those are absolutely gorgeous!!!!
You did a great job and now I need to find one for sale!!
Do it, start looking at different bike fairings and make it. If it turns out nice enough you might make some money out of it. This is a oem aftermarket sport touring wind shield it is about the perfect hight. I can go down freeway fully upright at 120 one handed no problem. Why one handed ? It’s a naked and with both hands on the bars it gives the bars to much input with wind hitting my arms, one handed is more stable, just have to lean into it slightly, lol. Find a oem sport touring windshield that you like and build your fairing around it. 8 inches up from fairing seems to be a nice medium.
