Just Ride.

Should this ride thread be just a.... well, thread? Or should there be a dedicated Forum topic?

  • Yes, it's own topic in the Forums

    Votes: 19 90.5%

  • Nah... threads good enough.

    Votes: 2 9.5%
  • Total voters
    21
  • Poll closed .
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Downeaster said:
Funny how that works, isn't it? Back in the day, I thought my '74 TX650A was The Shit for touring. Big, powerful, comfy...

Even my '79 Special felt pretty good, but I did notice it was a tad breathless at anything over 55 or 60.

Then I got the FJ...the six-fiddy seemed like a moped...small, cramped, underpowered....PRETTY as all get out, but not nearly as much fun as I remembered...
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and then i got on my 70cc 4tricks and had the time of my life
...that not me, friend having good time too...
...he on 750cc, me on 70cc
...King of the HIlls honors go to.....70 cc scorpa...2nd place far away, wow
... thank you, i unhumbly accept this award!!!

...and then get on the 1100 and excellent quality ride time...
 
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New saddlebag mounts needed to be tested......
Took the free ferry at Merrimac,
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traveled along Lake Wisconsin, both sides.
Hadda snap this one
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Ditches are full of flowers.
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Rear brake has had very little freeplay. I checked action and that the bike was rolling free couple times, then when I stopped at a buds place I stunk up the driveway. Rotor wasn't glowing red but it was major hot. Sitting there the brake fluid boiled, no brake, By the time we were done swapping lies the brake was acting normal. Went home with no problems, about 90 miles all told. Mix of clouds and sun, upper 70's, great day to be out. New bags n brackets are good. Guess it's time for a rear brake overhaul.
 
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Mailman said:
Funny, my memory just woke up. Back in about 1977, I took a long road trip on my 76 xs650 along with my buddy who had a Kawasaki Z1, it was mostly high speed mountain road blitzing, probably about 300 miles that day.
I was in my early twenties and I was still damn happy to be off of that bike at the end of the day. It probably didn’t help that back then, I had no riding gear. Just an open face helmet that at highway speeds would slide back on my head , no gloves or boots.
My next bike was a new XS750, that I put a Vetter Quicksilver fairing on. Man that bike felt like a yacht in comparison to my 650. :)
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1977...I was 20. It was my first full year to be an Airman in the USAF stationed in Las Vegas NV at Nellis AFB. Yeah, Tough duty...Anyway...I bought a Honda CB77. Engine in pieces in a box. $35 with title. Pistons from a CB350 so who knows how big it was. Got the engine reassembled and installed back in the frame. Got it to run ok. Never rode it. Didn't have the endorsement on my Okla license. One of my biggest life regrets. Got orders to go to England late in '77 and left in Feb(?) '78 and got (and rode) a early 70's CB175 and a "74 Ural M-66 650 combo. Brought the M-66 back with me in July '80. What a pain Customs gave me importing it. It never ran again. Bought a '60 BMW R-69 and put the sidecar on it. Good times. Rode the BMW combo to Mariposa BMW rally in '82. Smooth as rails. Took all night rolling 65mph.
 
gggGary said:
New saddlebag mounts needed to be tested......
Took the free ferry at Merrimac,
View attachment 142226
traveled along Lake Wisconsin, both sides.
Hadda snap this one
View attachment 142227
Ditches are full of flowers.
View attachment 142228
Rear brake has had very little freeplay. I checked action and that the bike was rolling free couple times, then when I stopped at a buds place I stunk up the driveway. Rotor wasn't glowing red but it was major hot. Sitting there the brake fluid boiled, no brake, By the time we were done swapping lies the brake was acting normal. Went home with no problems, about 90 miles all told. Mix of clouds and sun, upper 70's, great day to be out. New bags n brackets are good. Guess it's time for a rear brake overhaul.
Click to expand...
Great shots!...Rode that ferry lots of Sunday rides, sometimes having ice cream while waiting on south side or a beer waiting on north side.....Been to Hookers too........couldn't resist when seeing their sign! Love Wisconsin back roads.............
 
Mailman said:
Just an absolutely beautiful pair of bikes. Man that must’ve been painful parting with that Z. :laugh2:
I’m sure the 200 miles was easier for your buddy. My XS2 is fun to run around on short rides, but labors a little at highway speeds.
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Glad I'm not the only one who feels like it is laboring. She feels good at 60 but starts to labor a little after that. Still runs good but the feel is you wouldn't want to run for hours there.
 
So during a nice long ride yesterday afternoon, I noticed the turn signals and neutral light flickering with vibrations. All three of them together. Lately My bike has had a slight shudder when I accelerate suddenly from a consistent cruising speed. I attributed this to either the carbs being gummed up a bit or the timing being slightly off. So after a long ride yesterday afternoon I messed with the timing. Couldn't seem to get it to run just right. The flickering got worse and I started hearing a clicking near the right side, which I realized was coming from the (safety relay?) under the RH cover. I also noticed that when I give it a little throttle, I can hear a slight whirring sound coming from the kickstarter. If I touch or rotate it back at all while the engine is idling, I can hear it whirring. I have searched various threads to try to find a similar issue explained but have yet to. That’s how I deduced the clicking to be a safety relay. All I can think for the flickering dash lights is that I have a slight short in my headlight bucket, maybe some wires touching, from gently pulling the wires a little to accommodate the bullhorns I just installed, but after engaging the starter last night while flashing in the lights seemed to stop, which led me to believe that
Perhaps it was my starter causing them somehow. I normally avoid using the starter button as much as possible but the timing being so off while I was adjusting it made it necessary. Still doesn't make much sense. Does anyone have an opinion or insight they can glean from this information that they would care to share?
 
loose wire connection or short somewhere. Check the grommets at the back of the headlight bucket, they can crack or rot let wire insulation get cut, short to the shell.
 
gggGary said:
loose wire connection or short somewhere. Check the grommets at the back of the headlight bucket, they can crack or rot let wire insulation get cut, short to the shell.
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Yep sounds like a short/loose connection ,also pull your starter control off bars and check inside for loose/broken solder to your start button and kill switch! Also spider webs!
 
Mailman said:
Now there’s a bike worth having, boy those early Beemers have shot up in value!
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It had a period Wixon fairing and bags. Badly painted orange. Florescent Orange with the bags stickered in red reflective by a couple of drunken guys (or so I was told). For a sports model it was slow. I don't recall how many miles were on it. It ate armatures in the generator though. Never found out why. I rode that bad boy as far and as often as I could. Solo and as a sidehack.
 
Update on the flickering- I’m hoping to find some time this evening to inspect the controls switches and the headlight bucket, but in the meantime I made a few observations yesterday evening- It doesn't start to flicker until it’s warmed up, and it also only does it when I am twisting the throttle. If I let off the throttle and coast it stops. The moment I engage throttle the flickering resumes. What could this mean? Why only when throttle is on?
 
Check your grounds. Had a bike was grounding through the throttle cable one time, scary. Stock wiring or custom? There is a good reason Yamaha used ground wires 'tween frame and engine even though "they are bolted together"
 
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