| Author |
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Bill0351
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 02:17 pm: | 
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"no offense, but based on what i've read i wouldn't have offed your bike, but that's just me. with the exception of the runability issue, it all sounds pretty simple, and i'd like to know more about whether your bike was purchased new and was totally bone-stock when you were first having these issues."
Jerry,
When I got the bike it had a few hundred miles on it and was basically stock. I was the first person to hold the title. The dealer claimed a "reflash" of the computer (whatever that was, I don't know), but that was about it. Part of the whole deal was my fault. I didn't test ride it long enough. I bought it very early in the season and it was cold. The rideablity issues didn't really make themselves known until it got a little warmer.
There is no question whatsoever that my impulsive decision to bail on it was questionable. There is also no question in my mind that the bike would have been fine after yet another minor and irritating repair.
At the end of the day though you have to like what you ride. You said you would climb on your bike and ride it around the world. You trust it and you love it. I had grown to hate mine. I resented how much I paid for it and what I ended up with for the money. Once you start to feel that way, it's time to move on. You start to notice little things that you might overlook otherwise.
For example, as I was detailing it for sale, I noticed that the paint around the tail light had what looked like a stress/vibrarion crack coming away from the corner and there was just the slightest hint of orange rust bleeding out of the crack. The trans cover was starting to get all grimy from the slight weeping of oil from where the cable went in. You could keep up with it easy enough, but on a nearly new bike, you shouldn't have to. The springs from the quick release had a way of letting go of the windshield every now and then so that it would tip forward under hard braking. I bent them so they grabbed tighter, and it never happened again, but it just added to the list.
I brought up the Vulcan before because the entire time, my friends ran perfectly and it cost roughly 2/3 as much. On top of that, he could consistently pull away from me on on-ramps.
I don't want to offend you either. Obviously you love your bike. Motorcycles are about passion and logic really plays a fairly minor role. If nothing but a RK is going to do, no deal on a Vulcan is EVER going to make any sense.
There were enough things I liked about the bike that I am willing to give a RK or EG another try. After all, there are a lot of bikes better at touring. There are lots of bikes better as posing. But for the combination of both, they seriously can't be beat.
Now.....
Lunch hour is half over and it's time to start the next installment on my essay exam/paper from hell tour...
Adolescent Rebellion: Fact or Fiction?
Funny...
Venting about my old RK has had me looking more and more at replacing it...
Brainwashed by the MOCO!
That's where 80 quarters (or whatever it was) of growth comes from!
Bill |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 02:47 pm: |
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I think the exhaust kept coming loose because the lugnut who owned it had reused the one-time-use clamps.
the, um, stud who owns it had never had the mufflers or clamps off or even loosened before, i.e. the clamp was still in its one-time use cycle.
That would surely bring a smile of satisfaction to any self respecting Vic rider, dontchya think? :-)
i don't know any self-respecting Vic riders.
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Jerry,
When I got the bike it had a few hundred miles on it and was basically stock. I was the first person to hold the title. The dealer claimed a "reflash" of the computer (whatever that was, I don't know), but that was about it.
and there's the root of your runability issues. not your fault, but not the bike's fault, either.
"reflash" is basically electronically resetting the engine management parameters in the stock ECM, and it sounds like the dealer (the same one that said you could install slip-ons without adjusting the ECM?) badly missed the mark.
btw, one wonders exactly who put those miles on. were they demo miles? ouch!
At the end of the day though you have to like what you ride.
totally agree, and i hope i haven't been too harsh. i love my Harley, but i'm not a Harley snob. i like all bikes (except JB2's Vic), and i'll gladly ride with anyone on anything (except JB2 on his Vic), and i'll even buy the first round of beer at Stations Inn (except for, well, you get the picture).
There were enough things I liked about the bike that I am willing to give a RK or EG another try.
i don't know for sure, but i imagine there are deals on '06 models still to be had. it's the last year of the 88-inch engine/five-speed trans, plus with the economy seemingly headed for the doldrums, i think a person might be able to shop around and find one "relatively" cheap.
i'd suggest buying brand-new, OR buying one that's been tweaked by someone who knows what they're doing.
if you get a chance, Google "FuelMoto." you'll get lots of hits, and read lots of unsolicited, un-compensated testimonials.
i don't have first-hand experience with Jamie other than a couple of e-mails back and forth, but i'm confident that's the direction i'll go when it comes time to let the RK breathe a little bit.
oh, one last thing: don't ever re-use the one-time muffler clamps.
we certainly don't want your exhaust system falling off... |
Jb2
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 04:39 pm: |
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>>> the, um, stud who owns it had never had the mufflers or clamps off or even loosened before, i.e. the clamp was still in its one-time use cycle.
You know that piece of info makes the story even better without the need for embellishment. I'll forgive you for not knowing any self-respecting Vic owners since you were so honest about your RK's insatiable need to shed its mufflers. |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 05:49 pm: |
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Jb2 - 03/13, 11:01 am - Bill, Your neutral problem was a clutch adjustm...
Road_thing - 03/13, 11:08 am - re: pulsing front brakes. I bought my 96 RK wit...
Road_thing - 03/13, 11:09 am - Hi, Jim! That neutral thing sounds like a mis-a...
Jb2 - 03/13, 11:25 am - Howdy RT! You are indeed right. Most of the tim...
Jerry_haughton - 03/13, 11:35 am - Did your exhaust ever fall off? I have a good f...
Bill0351 - 03/13, 11:47 am - Hi Jerry, I can answer more a little later. I k...
Jb2 - 03/13, 11:58 am - FB1, I didnt want to disappoint. I just needed ...
Bill0351 - 03/13, 12:26 pm - ive read many, many good things about FuelMoto....
Jerry_haughton - 03/13, 01:42 pm - JB2, which is it: Did your exhaust ever fall of...
Jb2 - 03/13, 02:13 pm - FB1, Of all the Harleys in the world I love you...
Bill0351 - 03/13, 02:17 pm - no offense, but based on what ive read i wouldn...
Jerry_haughton - 03/13, 02:47 pm - I think the exhaust kept coming loose because t...
Jb2 - 03/13, 04:39 pm - the, um, stud who owns it had never had the mu...
Trouble for sure. When I saw the the cast of characters in my new messages listing above, I about called the FBI. Are y'all allowed to convene like this without violating parole? |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 06:27 pm: |
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Only if their moral compass (Court) is there to oversee it.
Unfortunately, he was busy off pushing police cars out of the way so he could park in his normal place on the sidewalk... |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 07:45 pm: |
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You know that piece of info makes the story even better without the need for embellishment. I'll forgive you for not knowing any self-respecting Vic owners since you were so honest about your RK's insatiable need to shed its mufflers.
only you could find any logic in that gibberish, but hey, if it helps you feel a little more self-respectful, cool by me.
you've sure gotten a lot of mileage out of that clamp backing off a bit. it was my only mechanical glitch in an otherwise flawless lap of the country, so i guess i can understand why you hang onto it with such tenacity.
here, this'll make you feel better: with 20,500 and some change showing on the odo, i think the left-side muffler clamp has finally relaxed, too. oh, the horror!
maybe i should just dump the entire POS on the first $ucker that comes along and get myself a Victory.
yeah, like that's ever gonna happen - i've got WAY more self-respect than that.
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Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 07:49 pm: |
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Trouble for sure. When I saw the the cast of characters in my new messages listing above, I about called the FBI. Are y'all allowed to convene like this without violating parole?
that's a motley crude, to be sure.
hey, maybe that the name of BadWeB's new Harley section??? |
Jerry_haughton
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 07:52 pm: |
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Only if their moral compass (Court) is there to oversee it.
on Court's compass, all points point south... |
Jb2
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 08:13 pm: |
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>>> maybe i should just dump the entire POS on the first $ucker that comes along and get myself a Victory.
Don't do that. Neither of us would be happy then! Who'd they call the FBI on? I'm most happy that you don't own a Vic and that I no longer own a Harley.
>>> Only if their moral compass (Court) is there to oversee it.
Court has no compass. I know for a fact and I have a witness. Doc and I followed him through the backroads of southern Wisconsin one morning... I believe he said, "Follow me, I know this shortcut."
I'm not even touchin' the morals thing.
JB2 |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 09:24 pm: |
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Court's moral compass is a Tates...
..and what's this stuff about "one-time use" on exhaust clamps? The more I tighten mine, the easier it is to turn the nuts!
rt |
Blake
| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 10:59 pm: |
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You like turning your nuts? |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 08:26 am: |
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Geesh you guys! I'll be up there this summer, bringing *two* bikes... an 85 KLR-250 with 9k miles, and an 05 XB9SX with probably 25k+ miles by then. And lots of tools and extra parts.
I'll be happy if *either* of them is still running at the other end of the trip ;) |
Road_thing
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 10:01 am: |
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Well, since you asked, yes...
rt |
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