Motorcycle Thread

jooka

marco esquandolas
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Been pondering the idea of getting the 390 over the 690 and then also giving the dealership some money down on the first 790 they get in August. Then trade in the 390. That's assuming they don't have people in line for the 790 already
 

Hekotat

FoH nuclear response team
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You'll take a financial beating doing that.

This, you're better off selling it outright then buying the one you want. I'd recommend just getting the one you want or you end up like Sludig and I playing musical bikes or contemplating doing so.

I don't even know why I want a 790/FZ-07 I never even take my 390 on the highway, just mainly to work and back to save gas. But the idea of wheelies with no clutch makes my peener hard.
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
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So me being a new motorcyclist reading these post and talking with some people, it seems like you almost need to be a gear head to some degree. I did sign up for a basic motorcycle maintenance class at the local community college which covers:
  • Basic adjustments
  • Changing oil
  • Clutch adjustment
  • Belt/chain adjustment
  • Brake inspection and adjustment
Beyond this, I'll probably just take my bike to the shop...

It's a big reason why I bought mine as an old bike, price was a major consideration but learning mechanics of how everything works was a big part too.
 
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Lejina

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Speaking of gear heads, something that it's a must is to get your hands on the shop manual of your particular bike. It's the manual used by the dealership techs with detailed walkthroughs how to take apart the bike for every jobs and the torque required for every fasteners.

Usually it can be found on forum specific to the model hidden on a member only sub so Google doesn't pick up on it. Pdf of those usually cost like $80 so easy to find links get shut down quick.
 
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Sludig

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So me being a new motorcyclist reading these post and talking with some people, it seems like you almost need to be a gear head to some degree. I did sign up for a basic motorcycle maintenance class at the local community college which covers:
  • Basic adjustments
  • Changing oil
  • Clutch adjustment
  • Belt/chain adjustment
  • Brake inspection and adjustment
Beyond this, I'll probably just take my bike to the shop...
Id love a class like that. Im often hesitant to fuck something up. Though swapping grom levers and cable adjustment turned out to be super easy. Need to get my big bike up on the stand without tipping it and muck around.
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
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Speaking of gear heads, something that it's a must is to get your hands on the shop manual of your particular bike. It's the manual used by the dealership techs with detailed walkthroughs how to take apart the bike for every jobs and the torque required for every fasteners.

Usually it can be found on forum specific to the model hidden on a member only sub so Google doesn't pick up on it. Pdf of those usually cost like $80 so easy to find links get shut down quick.

Is that different than the Owner's Manual? My owner manual is like 260 pages with exploded views and instructions on how to disassemble most components
 

Leadsalad

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Usually an owners manual these days is 3 pages about how the electronics work and then 100 pages of lawyering in 7 different languages.

No actual torque specs or instructions for removing anything are included. They'll just say "Go see your dealer to replace your headlight bulbs".
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
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Usually an owners manual these days is 3 pages about how the electronics work and then 100 pages of lawyering in 7 different languages.

No actual torque specs or instructions for removing anything are included. They'll just say "Go see your dealer to replace your headlight bulbs".

LOL, I see now

So not like this?

Honda Rebel 250 Service Manual (Page 50 of 263)
 

Sludig

Silver Baronet of the Realm
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Been pondering the idea of getting the 390 over the 690 and then also giving the dealership some money down on the first 790 they get in August. Then trade in the 390. That's assuming they don't have people in line for the 790 already
Seems like a big waste of money. Buy something cheap used until the 790 or just get the 6xx.

If looking at those bigger bikes i think the 390 might leave you impatient for more. Can grab a 3k 5-8 year old sport to get by on. Or come over to the frugal spending side and grab a kawasaki until the 790. Not as pretty but the z900 felt so good when I sat one.
 

Sludig

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Nope!

My 2018 Street Triple manual had a warning to not adjust the preload collar on the Ohlins rear shock... I mean, really guys? It's a full function shock with 30mm of preload adjustment. My dealer was dumbfounded by that when I showed them the page.
To be fair retards like me don't know what I'm doing so might go max softness with a big load then go aggressive in twisties and wonder why they had problems.
 

Lejina

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Is that different than the Owner's Manual? My owner manual is like 260 pages with exploded views and instructions on how to disassemble most components
The owners manual is an operator manual. It tells you how to use the motorcycle: how to do the break in, the locations of different items on the bike, how to adjust the display, where to plug extra accessories and give instructions for the basic maintenance items like changing oil, adjusting the chain tension and how to prep the bike for storage.

The shop manual has full explosion diagrams of everything, like what's inside the front fork tubes and the entire engine (super handy when you're looking for a particular part, I just print the diagram, circle in red the bit I want and go to the dealership saying "I want this one bushing right there"), full electrical diagrams, which pins of the ECU to test for voltage, torque specs of everything and step by step procedures for jobs like checking cylinders valve gaps.

My owner manual is 178 pages and my shop manual is 665 pages.

I didn't have any manuals with my first bikes, so I honestly don't know what they put in them in the 70s and 80s. Your old school owner manual could contain some shop manual stuff, dunno.
 

SuperNaught

Trakanon Raider
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ah, i didnt do it when hitting the starter, when i tested the battery at terminals it was 13.6V or something like that.

is it possible for battery to randomly shit the bed after 6 months?

On a Motorcycle, Yes. The Batteries can go bad quick depending on your riding habits.

I used to not keep my bike on a battery tender during the summer and one year, 20 miles into a ride through stop and go traffic, the battery died and the bike quit running at a red light. I went through all sorts of troubleshooting to try and figure out what had happened and the battery was the last place I looked. It was less than a year old. I replaced the battery and no trouble for the rest of that riding season.

Later on in the year, I was speaking with an old gandalf-bearded biker about that incident and he had told me that the stators on some bikes suck. For one, they don't charge the battery at idle very well or at all. For two, after starting the bike and depending on the life left in the battery and your stop and go pattern that run cycle, the battery may not be back to fully charged until after 30 or 40 miles of open throttle ridding.

His comments seems to jive with what I notice on my tender, which I keep plugged in all the time while the bike is in the garage. If I start the bike and go for a short 10 or 20 mile ride, after which the tender will take about 15 to 20 minutes before the fully charged light comes on. On the other side of that, after a long ride say 40 miles or more on low traffic back roads, the tender will show fully charged after a few minutes of being plugged in.

I have a Honda Shadow 750 ACE and I don't know if there are any bikes that don't behave like this but, for my frustration, all tender any time its parked at home. Legging a bike off the road sucks!
 
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Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
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On a Motorcycle, Yes. The Batteries can go bad quick depending on your riding habits.

I used to not keep my bike on a battery tender during the summer and one year, 20 miles into a ride through stop and go traffic, the battery died and the bike quit running at a red light. I went through all sorts of troubleshooting to try and figure out what had happened and the battery was the last place I looked. It was less than a year old. I replaced the battery and no trouble for the rest of that riding season.

Later on in the year, I was speaking with an old gandalf-bearded biker about that incident and he had told me that the stators on some bikes suck. For one, they don't charge the battery at idle very well or at all. For two, after starting the bike and depending on the life left in the battery and your stop and go pattern that run cycle, the battery may not be back to fully charged until after 30 or 40 miles of open throttle ridding.

His comments seems to jive with what I notice on my tender, which I keep plugged in all the time while the bike is in the garage. If I start the bike and go for a short 10 or 20 mile ride, after which the tender will take about 15 to 20 minutes before the fully charged light comes on. On the other side of that, after a long ride say 40 miles or more on low traffic back roads, the tender will show fully charged after a few minutes of being plugged in.

I have a Honda Shadow 750 ACE and I don't know if there are any bikes that don't behave like this but, for my frustration, all tender any time its parked at home. Legging a bike off the road sucks!
That makes a lot of sense.

A lot of my riding is just basic errands around town, so a lot of stop n go.
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
<Gold Donor>
75,045
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The owners manual is an operator manual. It tells you how to use the motorcycle: how to do the break in, the locations of different items on the bike, how to adjust the display, where to plug extra accessories and give instructions for the basic maintenance items like changing oil, adjusting the chain tension and how to prep the bike for storage.

The shop manual has full explosion diagrams of everything, like what's inside the front fork tubes and the entire engine (super handy when you're looking for a particular part, I just print the diagram, circle in red the bit I want and go to the dealership saying "I want this one bushing right there"), full electrical diagrams, which pins of the ECU to test for voltage, torque specs of everything and step by step procedures for jobs like checking cylinders valve gaps.

My owner manual is 178 pages and my shop manual is 665 pages.

I didn't have any manuals with my first bikes, so I honestly don't know what they put in them in the 70s and 80s. Your old school owner manual could contain some shop manual stuff, dunno.


Looks like I need to track down the shop manual then
 

karma

Molten Core Raider
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I have a Honda Shadow 750 ACE and I don't know if there are any bikes that don't behave like this but, for my frustration, all tender any time its parked at home. Legging a bike off the road sucks!

Ive got a 750 shadow and I only use a tender on the battery during the winter (I have NO winter riding clothes (yet) so the bike stays mostly parked during the cold). I ride a few times a week, 5-10 miles in 45ish mph traffic during the rest of the year on average (occasional longer trip in there) and the bike starts up just fine even after sitting for a few weeks.

Maybe check the wiring/connections etc? Mine seems pretty damn reliable.
 

SuperNaught

Trakanon Raider
417
1,403
Ive got a 750 shadow and I only use a tender on the battery during the winter (I have NO winter riding clothes (yet) so the bike stays mostly parked during the cold). I ride a few times a week, 5-10 miles in 45ish mph traffic during the rest of the year on average (occasional longer trip in there) and the bike starts up just fine even after sitting for a few weeks.

Maybe check the wiring/connections etc? Mine seems pretty damn reliable.

I did that after my incident. connections are clean and tight. I could change the stator but I don't really want to tear that far into a 2001 with 40k miles on it.
 
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jooka

marco esquandolas
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So I ended up backing out of the 690 Duke deal. Felt like I was settling on a bike I really didn't want. So I went back to the financial drawing board. Moved some stuff around and came up with a way to get the bike I was really wanting. Paid a total of $13,589. They didn't charge me the extra $200 for the crystal white color so saved a little bit. My first accessory purchase was the seat cowl. Nobody riding on the back with me on this one no matter how pretty she is.


IMG_20180615_142253.jpg
 
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Sludig

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That has a bigger case of needing a fender delete than the Grom. Stats? Imagine it actually has a decent sounding exhaust stock. I like some other naked bikes but that one seems a little too bare for my tastes though the fancy swingarm is eye catching.