24

1/12/2010 5:47:25 PM

Baby, it's cold outside.

[Edited on January 12, 2010 at 6:01 PM. Reason : Thursday and Friday will be good though.]

1/12/2010 5:51:32 PM

Quote :

"Better yet, anyone want to sell me theirs if I find that I like it?"

i could probably be talked into it, especially in a few months when I'm getting ready to deploy.

1/12/2010 6:12:47 PM

*slightly off topic*

not a big twisty bike rider, so bear with me. just moved in to a new place. roommate has a late 80s HD Sportster that wont start. He has tested the battery and it is not the issue. Seems to think that the aftermarket ignition (keyed ignition) is the problem.

Im fairly mechanically inclined so can likely fix the ailment, but have no first hand experience with this.

Ideas on how to diagnose, where to start, etc?

1/12/2010 7:19:37 PM

"It's a Harley, take it to the dealer."

Haha, that seems to be the only advice given out on Harley community message boards. Will it turn over, does it have spark? Otherwise you're going to need a schematic and trace things out.

[Edited on January 12, 2010 at 7:53 PM. Reason : .]

1/12/2010 7:52:41 PM

when we rented bikes out in Arizona to go to the Grand Canyon, we rented from a HD dealership (despite my bitter protests and pleas to rent from http://www.racyrentals.com/Home_Page.php --I wanted an R1200GS).

Out of the FIVE of us who rented Harleys from this dealership, I was the only one who didn't have a problem with my bike at some point (other than just being incredibly disappointed with it in every regard, considering it was a nearly $20k motorcycle).

-the exhaust fell off of BOTH Road Kings (vibration)

-the Electra Glide failed to start after riding it a 1/2 mile from the dealer and stopping at a gas station

-the other Softtail overheated the rear brake...like, glowing bright red and completely ineffective due to fade (*** don't know if it was due to a stuck caliper or a fairly inexperienced motorcyclist riding the brake pedal).




the WORST part was when we turned the bikes in and told the dealer about it, their response about the Road Kings' exhausts was "Yeah, they do that a lot." You have gotta be shitting me. I'd be ashamed to bear the "America's Motorcycle" badge if I were HD.

[Edited on January 12, 2010 at 10:53 PM. Reason : and these were all 1-2 year old bikes]

1/12/2010 10:52:44 PM

I've ridden an 883 sportster and a early 90's evo superglide. Both were...competent. The Evo engine is nice and torquey, but it didn't really blow me away with power. I didn't feel comfortable pushing them and I don't think I was really supposed to.

I can't even imagine how bad the AMF Harleys must have been. I don't know much about pre-60's HD's, but they must have been kickass at some point...or at least marginally better than Indians.

1/12/2010 11:12:33 PM

Great weather today.

I probably passed 15 other bikes on a 40-mile drive.

1/16/2010 7:49:47 PM

someone talk me out of this:
2007 sv650N 2300mi $2400

http://savannah.craigslist.org/mcy/1548431400.html

1/17/2010 12:33:26 AM

^you'll poke your eye out


looks like a good deal though

1/17/2010 8:15:28 AM

^^ Pretty sick deal. I just bought an S and love it, so I'll not be the one to talk you out of one.

And the obligatory pics of new bike -

1/17/2010 2:06:46 PM

SVs are great bikes. Only thing is that I wish they had better front brakes. You can swap a set of GSX-R or ZX-6R forks onto them, and then have godzilla brakes, but by the time you do all that, you could've probably bought an older GSX-R.

I just put some Racetech springs and heavier fork oil in mine and called it good. I'll prob sell it in a few months before I deploy, then buy another true sportbike when I get back (along with a BMW for "normal" riding).

1/17/2010 3:26:53 PM

i blew my motorcycle money on an unexpected down payment for a truck (long story). i still have the money to buy it, but i'd feel better about it if i knew what my income taxes looked like first. I'm expecting some $obama and still need to make some other big ticket purchases (appliances for my house) with it.

its damned tempting though. savanah is only 3.5 hrs from and me and i feel like i could easily sell it for more than his asking price, if necessary.

1/17/2010 3:33:20 PM

That deal is making me hate myself. I paid a couple hundred less for a '99 with 17k.

But if you want to be talked out of it-- I think that shade of red is a bit too dark to be paired with so much black. It clashes.

1/17/2010 3:52:33 PM

This is probably an exceptionally silly question but what is required to get a motorcycle inspected? Is it just like a regular vehicle? My first motorcycle was stolen before that one came due and my new one is due but I didn't want to just assume it's a standard emissions inspection only to get laughed at by some grease monkey. Thanks.

1/17/2010 8:57:20 PM

^ you have to take it to someone that does motorcycle inspections, regular car inspection place won't do it. ray price is where i took mine.

1/18/2010 10:44:36 AM

They'll check pretty much the same stuff that gets checked on a car, minus the emissions - tires, signals, safety equipment, etc. and it's around $13. Any bike shop should be able to do it for you and it costs the same no matter which one you choose.

1/18/2010 12:49:48 PM

wouldnt be surprised if that sv650 deal chop posted was Nigerian scammers

1/18/2010 6:33:22 PM

^i thought about that, but the spelling and english were clean enough, plus the photos are dated 2010. i emailed the guy, if its legit, i'll probably go get it this weekend.

1/18/2010 7:08:19 PM

38 degrees on the ride in this morning

I think with a balaclava and heated gloves I would be fine

1/19/2010 10:53:19 AM

yep, its a scam. oh well, nothing gained and nothing lost. here's his reply:

Quote :

" Hi, the bike is in great condition, has been properly maintained, has never been laid down or abused in any way. it has a clean title and it is street legal. The price I'm selling it for is $2400, which is including all charges. I used to live in Savannah but I'm currently working in the UK (London) and I'll be moving here permanently within the next few months and I can't afford the luxury of taking the bike with me so I decided to let it go. I'm using a privately-held company called Storacar Ltd. vehicle storage to sell this bike, I left it at their warehouse before leaving to the UK. they are supervising the entire sale process from payment, shipping with a 5-day inspection period, title transfer service or/and (if needed) returns and refunding. if you want to purchase it, let me know and I will explain you how the company works and how we can move forward. Kind regards. Frederic Moreau "

1/19/2010 6:04:32 PM

Quote :

"Frederic Moreau"

lol.

1/19/2010 8:56:18 PM

1/21/2010 9:30:51 PM

do want. flame away. http://rayprice.com/ebay/bikes/2157a/index.htm




though you'd better believe those bags and windshield would be coming right off

1/22/2010 4:20:01 PM

Is it hardtailed? Or is that some factory model?
----------------------------------------------
Nevermind, just a softtail. I don't know shit about harleys. That foldaway seat is ugly though.

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 5:54 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2010 5:50:20 PM

it's a factory model (Rocker C) based on the softail with a concealed rear suspension, even has a nifty concealed passenger seat that folds out like so





pretty slick bike for a stock HD

[Edited on January 22, 2010 at 6:02 PM. Reason : i like the utility of it, anyway]

1/22/2010 6:02:21 PM

One of the fork seals is leaking on my Ex500. I've never changed any before so I was wondering how involved it is? Am I going to die from riding on them in the meantime? I don't think I've lost much oil, as the suspension behaves normally, for whatever that's worth.

1/25/2010 5:56:52 PM

^c'mon folks. Please?

1/25/2010 9:33:34 PM

never done fork seals but i think you need special tools. i wouldnt worry about too much as long as its not leaking onto the brake pads or causing ride issues.

1/26/2010 7:24:37 AM

http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php/Replacing_Fork_Seals

Google is your friend.

1/26/2010 12:10:17 PM

meh the seals went oil left my forks long ago, front end's a little squishy but you won't die it'll just affect the handling. on my bike it really isn't a problem at all. however, like beatsunc mentioned, before it was all gone i did have to regularly clean the front caliper/disc because lubricating your brakes with fork oil is generally a bad thing

1/26/2010 2:10:31 PM

Quote :

"lubricating your brakes with fork oil is generally a bad thing"

Shitty ride quality is something you may or may not choose to endure, but sub-par braking as a side affect is generally the more compelling reason to just spend a Saturday morning fixing it. Fork seals aren't bad, I'd get them swapped out before they really start to break down and make a mess.

1/26/2010 8:03:06 PM

Quote :

"you won't die it'll just affect the handling."

well

1/26/2010 8:23:47 PM

2007+ suzuki bandit 1250 opinions..............

2/4/2010 2:42:02 PM

I want the fuck out of one. That's my opinion.

2/4/2010 4:44:24 PM

trying to decide between the bandit and a fjr1300.

2/5/2010 7:22:47 AM

In before 69

2/5/2010 8:37:04 AM

From what I understand, in pretty much every regard, the fj is the better bike by a long shot. But it isn't as cheap as a bandit, though. You could buy a 4 or 5 year old FJ and probably pick up a bandit with the spare change!

2/5/2010 3:11:53 PM

My new bike that I got in October. Rode it a couple times in January, but am definetely ready for the weather to warm up.

2/5/2010 7:20:47 PM

Just picked up 2009 KTM 525 for some fun filled back road riding

2/6/2010 1:45:22 AM

Rode to work yesterday in the ~27 degree weather. It was cold, but any time on a bike is better than driving.

It needs to warm up though, for real.

2/9/2010 9:02:40 AM

That is not that cold. Stop bragging.

2/9/2010 2:24:22 PM

^obviously you don't ride bikes because the windchill of going over 50mph at that temperature is probably below 0 F

2/9/2010 9:13:32 PM

Hahaahhah you might want to reevaluate that statement Sally.

2/10/2010 1:03:48 PM

My 02 Shadow, first bike so don't be hatin....Only working vehicle at the moment so I may have cut a few years off my lifespan riding when its so cold.



[Edited on February 11, 2010 at 2:58 PM. Reason : huge pic correction]

2/11/2010 2:57:01 PM

And from here I want to get HD VROD Night Rod special. Sick bike IMHO

2/11/2010 3:01:54 PM

^ do you see that "edit post" link beneath your user name? use it.

in other news, has anyone else found that the potholes after this crap weather (specifically the snow and rain and related freezing) are much bigger? it makes sense, but i'm not sure if they're actually larger or i'm imagining it...anyway, some of them are big enough that i don't want to think of what will happen if i hit one of them going the speed limit

2/11/2010 3:45:53 PM

i definitely compressed my spine more than a little on a pothole yesterday

was slaloming through a series of them and got trapped, had to pick one or the other

chose what i thought was a larger but shallower hole, turned out it was just larger AND deeper. managed to swerve the front wheel out of the way but got nailed with the rear. didn't stand up high enough and the rear end slammed me in the ass and i'm pretty sure that disoriented sensation afterward was another flashback


^^ I'd like to ride one of those out of curiosity, but i want a rocker c more than i wanted to get laid when i was 15

want these pipes



but this color



[Edited on February 11, 2010 at 4:27 PM. Reason : hd]

2/11/2010 4:19:24 PM

Yeah those potholes are treacherous right now. Screwed up my car tire just yesterday.

^^^^Nothing wrong with a shadow. They get you there and look good doing it, at least in my opinion.

2/11/2010 4:23:46 PM

My ride to and from work takes me on US70/Glenwood right through downtown and the potholes on that road are murder. Bottomed out the front fork on one yesterday and that bitch hurt. It's got .85kg/mm Sonic springs in it right now and for my weight I need closer to .95-1.0 springs. Either that, or I lose 50 lbs.

2/12/2010 10:16:52 AM