Bubba

My AC unit just has 9 or so sheet metal screws holding the fan motor and housing on to the side louvers. I just take 'em out and tilt the whole fan/motor/cover back and either vacuum or hose the crap out. I've started using a cover for the fall/winter/spring months when the unit is not in use--it keeps things a lot cleaner--altho I suppose you can't do that for a heat pump. FYI, be sure and pull the buss bar/breaker on the outside box disconnect so you're not working around live 220V!!! And while you're in there, make up a soap solution--something like Mr Clean or Simple Green--and give the coils a good soaking, and then hose them off to remove last year's sponge and aid in heat exchange.

Can't help you with the paint question, but I'd be suggesting this: http://www.harborfreight.com/8-channel-surveillance-dvr-with-4-cameras-and-mobile-monitoring-capabilities-61229.html to you MIL….unless you've got an Uncle Guido with a barber shop in Queens. Nailing the neighbor to the wall would be SWEET revenge!!!

Joe: I doubt that, with the advent of FI on modern bikes, there isn't a lot of expertise remaining in the run-of-the-mill shop that has any specialized skills with fueling, especially fora specific model. I'd start out asking your question and looking for tips on the ThumperTalk forum. I had a DRZ for awhile and I'm sure that the FCR conversion is one of the more popular, so there's bound to be a ton of info. If you're not familiar with the link: http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/17-dr-z-400/#!GSKca

That's not pretty! Interesting that there was a run of Yamaha FZ1's from the same era--'07 thru '09-ish--that had aluminum frame weld issues. The dealers were getting authorization from Yamaha to replace the frames back then, but presume an out-of-warranty issue nearly 7 years after the build date would present a problem. Sorry to hear of your problems and good luck with the repairs!!!

Whoa….my heady explody….need more beer.

Give up. You are trying to be The Voice of Reason in an unreasonable thread….you're wasting energy. This is why I love to lurk on OR--the humor and wit are AT LEAST on a par with members' riding skills. Aahhh, if only I could carve a decreasing radius corner the way some of the wags carve up the noobs here. A-N-D….it's not even winter!!!

Agree with this, if true. Hope this is the case…. Pretty sure the 'modern' H-D Sportster motors use a multi-weight 10W-40 oil in the gear case. The older motors used the 90W hypoid gear oil.

Mmmm, I don't know. If it was my bike, I'd be concerned. That's a metric shit-ton of shavings for a bike with 20K miles of wear-in, especially if the oil and filter was recently changed and the plug wiped clean. Some pretty big chunks of metal being shed by something in there. Problem is that you won't know what/why unless you do a tear-down, so I guess the answer is ride it until something breaks…unless yer into some serious wrenching.

Doug: I agree with you on the WeeStrom. That's my main go-to bike for day rides and week-long tours. Definitely has more capability as far as motor and suspension than can reasonably used at the limits on the street.

Nope. Not necessarily. Depends on what kind of fun you're talking. Given that both are bikes are wrapped in 20+ year-old technology, the performance envelope of the two bikes you're comparing isn't that wide. Nighthawk is your standard UJM with upright seating position and certainly more top-heavy than your lighter, lower Vulcan cruiser. Cruiser should take a bit less work to transition from side-to-side, but you're gonna run out of clearance and suspension competence way before you reach the higher levels of the fun quotient. Plus the V2 motor of the Vulcan will put out more useable torque at lower RPMs than the Hawk's I4, and you'd have to stir the Hawk's gear box with more regularity to keep things on a boil. So….more fun? Maybe. Better? Wait until you ride a modern sport bike to define 'better'!!!

Doug: If you want to ride some other routes in NKY, send me a msg. That's where I do the bulk of my riding, since the roads in OH have apparently turned to sh-t from our hard winter and no maintenance. Rts 10 and 22 are probably the best known around the Cinti area, but there are other/better roads that are less traveled. Check out the LocalRiders.com forum. Not as large a membership as OR, but several hard-core riders that are a wealth of route info. Welcome to OR!!!

I've got a pair of cheap-o lights that I took off my old DRZ that Id be happy to give you for the shipping costs, probably couple of bucks. They look like these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-Factory-Carbon-Stick-LED-Turn-signal-light-for-Motorcycles-Super-LED-TSL-332C-/221131838339?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item337c7c1383&vxp=mtr ….only not the faux carbon fiber but rather plain black plastic, so in other words, even cheaper-looking. Honestly, if you type in "motorcycle turn signals" on Ebay, you'll be able to find some really inexpensive LED style for $15 to $20. At least it wouldn't look like you cobbled something together. Lemeno if you want the ones I've got--they're sitting in a drawer in the garage.

Just posting this up in case anyone on OR knows the rider, who is from Louisville on KY Sport Bike forum (Update posted by Dice32 on LR and AFJ): "UPDATE: on the condition of Ken, the Kaw Z1000 rider who hit the dog. He had surgery today on his thumb to repair the badly torn ligaments (no bones involved). His other injury to his knee, a torn ACL, is gonna be treated with therapy first, to see if surgery can be avoided. His gear did the job & no broken bones were involved in the highside. The bike was totalled by the insurance company......Ken's people are working it out with the owners of the dog's people (thru their home owner policy). Hope all goes well, Ken! We're all rooting for your recovery & hope to see you back out there on another bike. Thanks, Viper, for the update today from the hospital."

If you're interested in a guided tour, go to the LocalRiders forum and send a PM to Fast Eddie. He's a ride leader for Edelweiss tours. He should be able to give you a couple of suggestions. Definitely one of the top To-Do's on my bucket list…. http://www.localriders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17750

Weather looks primo. Gonna be mid- to upper-50s by noon. Thinking of hitting NKY for a few hours in the PM. Anyone in the SW OH region interested in some twisties?

In case you haven't already, be sure to check you tire pressures before you ride this spring. Low pressures from sitting all winter can make your steering feel heavy, and isn't the best for handling and tire life.

Increasing the pre-load on the rear will make a slight change in the ride height and should reduce the rake and trail slightly as well. This would make the bike turn in a little better, but I wouldn't think it would change steering feel that dramatically. Get a jack under the motor and lift the front forks off the ground and push the bars left/right. If there is appreciable drag on the bars, it's time to adjust the steering head tension or change the the SH bearings. Check to make sure the cables for the controls--brake, throttle, clutch, wiring--aren't binding or hanging up where they go thru the frame/triple trees.

Heart attack on a plate!!! Three major food groups of my food pyramid: sodium, alcohol and grease.

We've matured? ….and yeah, that IS a question.

Well, based on some of the stuff on any of the MC forums around here, esp in the winter, prolly depends on what you consider 'drama'…. Guess some folks just seem to have more exciting lives than the average Joe.

Welcome to Notcalifornia!!! You got here just in time to see what spring is like: cold, hot, rainy, cold, dreary, sunny….well, you get the idea. Not sure where you're located (presume C-bus) but if you get a chance, wander south to the Cinti/NKY area for some great twisties. Won't make you stop pining for California roads, but will take some of the sting out of trading the west coast for the midwest. And for more SW OH riding opportunities, join the Assfault Junkies forum (younger, more active crowd, race-oriented, some occasional unnecessary drama???) or LocalRiders forum (older, less active forum, day rides and week tours). [says to self: "Why do I always note that LRs are 'older'? Makes us sound slow and boring."]

Thanks to Dice for putting in the work to get this rolling every spring. We had a great turnout in the morning--13 bikes with members from LR, AFJ, and an OR rider who came down from Dayton! The day didn't start auspiciously, with a farm dog making an illegal cut-block tackle on one of the mid-pack riders early in the ride on 824/Racetrack Lane. Dog fared far better than the rider, who high-sided when he hit the dog, throwing him and his pristine Z1000 down the road. Injuries weren't life-threatening, but he's gonna feel like he pulled a flying Superman impression this morning…. After cleaning up the body and bike parts and waving adieu to the po-po and ambulance and dropping a few riders to look after the bike, nine of us rolled south to Willow and took the short route to Williamstown across 22 to meet up with other riders at the Red Carpet restaurant--World's Best Burger!!! We had to endure a rolling road block in the form of a red crew cab pickup that made sure we did at least 10 under the limit all the way from Falmouth to the Williamstown city limit. I believe he was taking it on as his personal mission to ensure we obeyed the speed limit and had zero fun on 22. We picked up two more riders after lunch and continued south and west, heading down 227 to Stamping Ground. Had a great run and did the entire length without being blocked by any red pickup drivers. More back roads on the return to our last gas stop at about 200 miles back in Falmouth again, where 5 riders headed east for home and the others rolled on toward Rabbit Hash. We dropped two off in Dry Ridge as they rode 75 north toward home and just Dice, Chris Nicoloff--aboard his brand new 2012 Pikes Peak edition Multistrada--and I rolled to the Hash. I did take a picture of his bike and would'a posted it except that it didn't turn out from the drool on the lens…. All in all, a fairly successful day with no loss of life and minimal carnage. I got about 320 miles door-to-door, and I can feel it in my shoulders today. Good riding!

Bumping this up for Rob. I know that a lot of OR peeps are in Dayton, C-bus and points north, so that'd be lots of miles to ride just to get to/from the route. If you live in the SW portion of OH or SE IN (but then I suppose you would be an IR peep???) and have the day free for being irresponsible, it promises to be a fun route with LOTS of twisty smooth roads. Think WV/TN/NC/GA only with smaller hill'n'valleys and closer to home. I got in 240 yesterday in the same area and its a great ride!!!

Love the new Ninja 1K. Looks like it would make a killer ST machine. Lately tho, I've been jonesin' for a late model Multistrada. Same idea as my WeeStrom, but more HP with less weight and orders-of-magnitude better suspension. There are several on local CL recently--none of them screaming deals--and I just haven't been able to bring myself to pony up the cash for a bike that has known QC issues like tank swelling, rear brake, and electronic glitches in the new e-suspension. But in a perfect world, where I had unlimited funds and garage space…...

Comet is a little dive bar in Northside on Hamilton Ave just above Knowlton's corner. Every Tuesday night is bike night, all year long. Great burritos and beer selection. Great service??? ….not so much. Go for the crowd. Bar service is so slow you won't have to worry about riding home buzzed. A thread from ADVR: "I went on Yelp to see the reviews, and they were all over the place. Great burritos, terrible burritos, welcoming staff, unfriendly staff, great music, lousy music. One person even said "no matter what they say, it's not even in Northside" The reviews were funny, worth reading. Sounds like a hippie, hipster, dive, old man's, blue collar, white collar sort of place. One thing they all agreed on, fabulous beer selection. That's enough to get me there." http://advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23855200&postcount=2248