So I guess I could post pics of this here machine. I ... or should I say my bike ... has reached a point where the turn signals are now on strike ... when I first installed the signals and relay (went with LED), everything worked without a hitch - fantastic ... as time went on, the probability of a successful function of the signals diminished ... and now I'm using hand signals - and am not pleased.
So I fixed another problem anyway. I installed new mufflers as I mentioned previously, however I very quickly learned that said mufflers interfered with the rear brake lever ... A.K.A. I couldn't use the pedal at all - hit the muffler right away. So I proceeded to torch and bend my rear brake lever until I was able to actuate it through its full range of motion without knocking my muffler. Looked great so I let it cool and went to take it for a spin...
...
...
Until I realized I couldn't start the bike as the kick-start lever slams right into my bent brake lever
:Take two:
I proceeded to do a little bit of repositioning of the muffler, torching and bending of the included rear mounting bracket, and torching and bending of my brake lever further, and now everything is fine... except the damn turn signals
The only other ... and perhaps bigger problem that I'm experiencing with this fella is somewhat of a major issue for a Chicago-resident:
The Friday before I went on vacation out west, I left my laboratory early to "beat" rush-hour traffic ... my anticipation of a 60-70 minute ride home turned into a 3hr bumper-to-bumper traffic jam ride during which the bike experienced hellacious idling issues - namely high idling ... or no idling - it died on me 5 or 6 times on the interstate
- the only way to prevent the thing from stalling out was to hold the throttle open at 2,000 or higher RPM. Simultaneously, I noticed my clutch somehow got out of adjustment as the lever was much looser than before - so I'm wondering if it was overheating - or if the clutch was somehow to blame - perhaps if the clutch came out of adjustment, then pulling the lever would never fully release the clutch but that doesn't account for idle issues in neutral??? An air-cooled motor shouldn't be overheating at idle based on my experiences with my '85 Honda Nighthawk 700S and my 2001 HD Fatboy. (Note: at this point, my new mufflers were not yet installed - I was running stock mufflers with carbs balanced earlier that week - when not in traffic, it ran beautifully).
- J