First bike!

wfooshee
Rear brake is also handy while running in the friction zone in parking lots and whatnot, just a little drag can help with the balance sometimes.
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Yeah, I was thinking of the parking lot stuff but didn't botherr to post about it though, I meant it as you can ride all day on a twisty road without ever touching the rear brake.
 
Looks like I'm about to start using the rear brake a lot more...

Went to aim my headlight tonight cause it's off wayyyy right on the high beam (like a whole lane over) and in the whole dissassembly, assembly, aiming process the wire from the front brake to the light lost a connection.

Doesn't help that there''s a massive cluster **** of wires hidden in that housing. There's like 6 or 7 wires that don't even lead to anything. 4 are the front indicators, but I don't know what the rest are for now
 
Yeah my harness had random places for connectors that didn't do anything. YAY for cost cutting. :)
 
Good news, finished my class today. Bad news, the state computer system hasn't refreshed itself so I STILL can't get my endorsement. And tomorrow is the 4th of July and they'll all be closed. I'm going to be even more annoyed with this entire process if I have to wait till thursday to get my endorsement
 
mustangGT90210
Looks like I'm about to start using the rear brake a lot more...

Went to aim my headlight tonight cause it's off wayyyy right on the high beam (like a whole lane over) and in the whole dissassembly, assembly, aiming process the wire from the front brake to the light lost a connection.

Doesn't help that there''s a massive cluster **** of wires hidden in that housing. There's like 6 or 7 wires that don't even lead to anything. 4 are the front indicators, but I don't know what the rest are for now
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You should have dip, main beam, left indicator, right indicator, brake light switch for front brake, parking light, maybe a neutral gear indicator wire, or a high beam indicator light, and maybe even another one for indicator flasher on the instrument panel, as well as an oil indicator, and two to provide light for the speedo and tacho.

It's a potential list, if nothing else......

:irked:👍
 
That makes a good bit of sense, thanks Vexd.


Went back to the DMV, computer refreshed, got my license! Just got back from the maiden voyage :)
 
This makes me want to take my bike out now.

Its nice to see new riders discovering the joys of bikes.
 
Just got back from 4 hours of riding with a buddy of mine. That MSF class really made a world of difference, I wasn't expecting it to be that big of an impact.

Anyways, that has led me to finding some new issues with the bike. The fuel valve has to stay on prime or the thing gets starved for fuel (common GS500 issue), and I need a new front rotor. It's cracked along every one of the little eyelet things, but the eyes are fine. I'll put up a pic tomorrow.

Aside from that, still getting used to speeds on the bike. Traffic doesn't sketch me out as much as I anticipated, and 45mph feels way faster than in my truck. I need a speedometer haha.

I love riding, I'm so glad that all the crap I went through to get the endorsement was worth it!
 
Um, don't order a rotor just yet. That "crack" is supposed to be there. Gives the rotor some wiggle room when it heats up. Think of it as an expansion joint.

Ultra-poor cellphone pic of my rotor:
Bike%2520brake.jpg
 
The more I looked at, the more intentional those seemed. Mine have those, but around every eyelet. I'm glad it's supposed to be there!

Bad news yesterday, the rear valve stem was apparently old or kept in the sun too much. As soon as I touched it with the hose to air the tire up, the stem blew out on me :( Can't ride till saturday now
 
My picture's not very good, taken in dim light with a cell phone, but that separation does exist at every eyelet. It belongs there.

How old are your tires? If a shop changes tires, they usually swap valve stems, too, precisely because of what happened to you. Folks who change their own tires might neglect that, but shouldn't. Anyway, if your tire's in that condition, beware! :)
 
I'm not sure how old the tires are. They have good tread and I don't see any issues. They're a little on the older side I would think, but definately still rideable. I think I just got unlucky on this valve :( I'm definately going to be checking it all closer though because of this

And thank you again for the pic of the rotor, that really helped me out!
 
Gear nazi's, be proud of me! Now I have a jacket to ride with, as opposed to a t-shirt! Perks of working at the drag strip and knowing people. Got this really nice Vanson jacket for FREE :dopey: Looked on their website after I picked it up from my coworker... cheapest leathers are like 350 bucks.

And even better, it was worn once before I got it. Mr. Professional racer felt it was a little too tight and gave it to my co-worker as a gift. Co-worker doesn't ride, so now it's mine

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Also started the makeover on the bike. Going batman theme with this thing

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Just gotta paint the frame, fender... and get clubman bars and I should be set for a while
 
Nice jacket. :tup

But something that I noticed was that the GP style pipe don't look quite at home on a big naked bike.

It'll be cool to see when it's all done up though.
 
Bopop4
Nice jacket. :tup

But something that I noticed was that the GP style pipe don't look quite at home on a big naked bike.

It'll be cool to see when it's all done up though.
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That muffler is just a stop gap measure really. It's just a universal muffler my buddy had on his 250 rebel. Gave it to me, so I chopped off my stocker and slipped it on there. I just wanted it to make sound :lol:

When I get serious I'll cut the pipe back more and put an extension pipe so it comes out flat instead of up turned. The baffle inside makes a little squeek because of the angle
 
Nice one 'stang.

Tighten that chain up though dood.

It's looking a little slack from here.

Mind you, I am across the ocean.

:irked:👍
 
I tightened her last night. Gonna need a new one soon as it's now maxed out on adjustability but it's good for now. Good opportunity for new sprockets to add a little bit more giddy up to my metal pony. It doesn't see freeway save for going 4 exits down so I don't care about that

The pipe: Fixed it up last night! Cut more of the stock pipe, used the same muffler, and custom made a stainless steel tip. Welded it together, and it's quite nice :)

Pic is from before I welded it together, this was the mock up

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And the pre-fenderectomy/exhaust action shot! (I got a lot done yesterday...)

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I sure hope Wfooshee doesn't see you in that shot, riding around in your T-shirt.

That sort of thing just makes me wince......

I've had a mate come off in full Alpinestars leathers at 50MPH and saw what happened to his skin.

Naughty Mustang.......

:irked:👍
 
Since I got my jacket I've been all about wearing it. I just didn't for the whole 5 minutes between the shop and my buddies house. Gotta find me some awesome free vented summer jacket and I'll be set. Leather in the Florida sun and humidity is no fun once you stop moving
 
Neither is lying in a burn center 300 miles from home for skin grafts for months on end........
 
I don't even have an argument to it. All I can say is you're completely right. I try to be the best I can about not putting myself in situation that would allow my skin to come off!

Most often now seeing as this bike is still on "project level" because it spends as much time torn apart as it does running lately... Small little things though
 
It's finally fixed. No more flooding every time I park it, no more changing the oil every 3 days every time what I did should have fixed it, no more hole in the gas tank, no more fuel starvation followed by running so rich I could smoke like a diesel, no more bad mileage, etc. It works now, and it's (expletive)ing beautiful.

Wanna know why ole Suzi Q didn't want to work right? Either the P.O. or his "mechanic" (that hasn't proved to have done anything right except make it run long enough for a good test drive...) hooked up the fuel lines backward through the petcock. So no matter what, gas was getting to that carb always. But running opposite through the valves as it should have. I switched the 2 lines they messed up, and she's now flawless aside from still running a little rich. But I need an air filter and spark plugs so that will probably get fixed with those.


And of course, I get to add bad news to this story. Ran over a nail last night in the back tire. 1,000 miles on the bike and it's first nail. I've driven my truck 40,000 miles, and had it construction zones, mud holes, everything and the worst I got was a rock stuck in between my tread blocks lol
 
Lots of folks will tell you otherwise, but I've never had an issue. Get the sticky-string plug kit from WalMart or an auto-parts store. As long as the puncture is just a puncture and not a cut, and as long as it's not near the edge of the road tread, it'll hold forever.

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The nail is on the far right side of the the tread that contacts the road when driving straight, so I think that qualifies as being in the "will hold forever" category? I'll definately give that a shot, seeing as I really would have to have to pony up 100 bucks now for a new tire when my current back tire still has good tread
 
Time to add plugging that tire to my list of things to do tomorrow. I just hope I can still get it out, the head on the bolt has been ground down and came off during my riding home after I discovered it

To do list tomorrow
-Wash the truck
-Wash the bike again
-vacuum/scrub truck interior
-touch up truck wheels
-plastidip some racing stripes on a buddys car
-install speedometer on bike
-CRUISE!

Busy birthday I have planned :)
 

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