Too cold to Ride, to lazy to work!

[Bob]

I think the Winter Hybernation effect has hit me again!
all I want to do is Sleep ! LOL
its too cold out there to Ride the bikes... and although I have Plenty to do, I just don't have the ambition to do it!
...
 According to the Weather man we have more wet weather coming...
I am now supplementing the burning of pellets in the pellet stove with burning oak and pine from the property here.  its cut the heating bill down a long way but requires gathering up the wood ! LOL
....
I have had enough of cold weather already... come on Summer!
...
Bob....

[Manta]

Bob,

Pretty wet over here as well.
But at least it isn't freezing yet. In fact it is quite warm (8C) for the time of year.

Sounds like you need to huncker down and read a good book for a while.

Dave
(Manta)

[randy]

Yeah, it's been cold, windy and raining here too, sloppy is the word. Been working on the putt putt though, installed a new clutch and hub bearings, polishing up the chrome and aluminum, going through the brakes and wheel bearings, got an adjustable main jet bendix carb that I need to rebuild for it, probably re wire it also. had a messy night at work last night, not one but two conveyors failed, had to pull the belt out of one of them and replace the splice in the shop, then thread it back on and hook it back together, laying in puddles of slop in the process, when I got home I stripped at the front door, threw all that I was wearing in the wash machine and jumped in a hot shower lol

[Bob]

UGH !  sounds like you earned your pay for the week in one night...again!
....
 having to lay down in puddels of water/mud and ice and snow is just no fun at all !
 once you do you are cold to the bone for the rest of the day...wet in places that should never be wet and plane miserable !
...been there done that... and I hope I never have to do it again !
 LOL
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Sounds like your getting that Bike all set up !
 a better carburetor on that thing than stock will make you happy I am sure !
...
do you have any idea how many HP that thing puts out ? and how much it weighs ?

my 1100 Honda puts out 95hp and is around 850lbs.. Honda de-tuned this years model to give slightly less HP ...(I guess to save the main bearings ?) but replacing the stock pipes brought it all back... so I've read. I've only had the pipes off the bike once
and they are after market flow through type with the bologna cut .
 Honda does not admit to that much weight but you can bet your bottom dollar its that or more! LOL  heaviest bike I've ever had ! when you pass a on coming simi at 75mph going the other way the bike stays put though.... only bike I ever had that did!
 here's a pic of my 1100cc Honda shadow vt1100c, 1996
...
Bob...

[randy]

stock they had around 60 hp @ 6000 rpm, weighs in at 550# so yer honda would probably eat me alive lol, I was told there's a set of pb cams and keith black pistons in it, but I was also told there were andrews gears in it, they are OEM but in good shape, I do believe the piston thing though the compression is way up from stock. I'm just a cruser.

[Bob]

LOL I doubt that... sounds to me their fairly evenly matched hp per pound wise !
after thinking about it a while  I'm fairly sure the HP on that Honda out there is 80HP
not 95hp ... the 95hp version was a year after this beast. and the specks are on the same page of the manual... (which I can't seam to find now)
 so that puts the power to weight ratio just about even and if your machine has high compression pistons in it ... you'll have the torque to out run this thing any day!
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I am temped to ride up there come summer and let you show me how to fish that river up there !  LOL  but I doubt I could make it that far HAHAHAHAHA!
after 4 hrs on that bike my ass was so sore I couldn't walk last time I went on a long ride!.... and after 45 minutes my hands were just blocks that took 30 to 45 min to get the feeling back in them.... and it hurt like hell !!!
so I doubt I'll be going that far! LOL
...
 I just got done making a hide-ie-hole for 3 shotgun shells in the stock of my 12 guage shotgun.... made a door over the long hole in the stock and just slid the shells in there
and then added a piece of spring steel to keep them from moving around...
then all I had to do was make the door in the plastic butt cover.
 I made a steel disk a bit smaller than the hole and cut a slot in it for a hunk of steel
and pounded the piece in there then drilled a 1/16" hole through it and pinned it, then rivited it over.   then all it needed was a henge so I drilled another hole in the end of the door metal I just put in and then cut a nail to fit as a henge pin... cut slots in the plastic and then glued the pin in the slot... walla' a trap door for the shells!
... now the gun will never be without ammo !... probably won't be fast getting them out but that's what the shell holder is for on the back of the stock... I need to get a new one as the elastic on it has gone away and its drooping ! LOL
...
...
Hay Randy does the Harley you have , have problems with the brake shoes getting tight when it sets over the winter ?
 guess you wouldn't know yet... but my Honda is strange like that ...I have to watch it as some times I get on it to ride and the brake is tight... for some reason the shoes swell up in the winter time.... the Honda shadow 700cc I had was real bad about that
... this thing does it too but not all that bad....
I'm waiting for the XR650L to show some of its nasty habits but so far the only thing is turning over slow.... still starts though... on the 1100cc if it turns over slow you just as well forget trying to start it ! their won't be any spark !
...
 and neither one of these bikes have a kick starter !   the Fools thought of a better idea!  LOL !
...
Bob...

...

[randy]

that brake tightening up thing is rust on the drum, just the humidity in the air will cause this, just intentially ride the brake a little and it'll be fine, there's a throttle tension screw on harleys, works like a cruse control, if your wheels are true in the axels you can steer with one finger "if you dare" depends on how straight the road is.

[Bob]

tried that on the 700cc ...riding the brake.... hub got hot as hell but it never did loosen up ! .... I think it was the brake shoes swelling up ! ... if I just backed off the  adjustment a full turn it was usually just right ....
I eventually had to replace the rear shoes on the 700cc because it locked up and I could not get it free ! ... that was a struggle! ripped off part of a shoe in the proccess.
but I finally got it apart and I bought new rear shoes for it and  replaced them... it stopped doing that after that.
I guess Honda used some real cheap brake pads on some of them !  because the new shoes didn't seam to do that .
...
 I made up a throttle locking screw like you mentioned for the 1100 and 700 alike
I can lock the throttle on the 1100 and give my wrist a brake and I made up a "Palm assist" attachment on the throttle grip.
 I haven't tried to take my hands off the handle bars sense I laid it down in that corner a few years back and I'm wondering if it will start shaking or not...
 my first big bike did that ... if I took my hands off the handle bars it would shake like the dickens!  on this Monster I am kind'a scared to test it LOL it could get ugly real fast with that monster!
... I was considering trading it in at one time on the 1500cc  Honda that they modified and made a chopper out of ... can't remember the name they gave them but it was a purdy thing... it weighed about the same however and I had decided that if I got another bike it was going to be lighter...!  good thing... they wanted $13,000 for that thing ! OUCH!
...
... I have hard bags for the 1100 but for riding around here I decided to take them off and see if that would help make it lighter..... nothing seamed to change however!
my rough 2 miles of drive way was beating the bags to death so I figured they needed a break anyway.
....
 I've tried to find the single beam spot light bulbs for the driving lights on the headlight bar because when I dumped it it blew both of them... at tractor supply I can get them for $17.00 each ... but that seams really high to me for a 3"~ 4" spot light bulb!...
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I made up floor boards out of re-bar for the 1100cc.... probably added 10lbs each ! LOL
and the one side folds up now...the right side doesn't fold up but its tucked in tight to the engine... the other side sticks out a bit...
as your setting on the bike they look equal... but the engine's width is odd.hehehe
...
this bike has a drive line on it ... no sprockets... same thing for the shadow 700cc I had
 and believe me that is NICE ! no chain to worry about...no adjustments  the rear wheel alignment is fixed!
...(that's why I wonder about the "no hands shake" its very easy to bend a bike frame just a small amount! ) I checked over the bike very very carefully and could not see any damage to the frame at all, and riding it afterword seams to confirm that all is fine with it. but you never know! LOL
...
 I admit I had the 1100 as low to the ground as I could get it... its not like that now!
and I am sure that was the major reason the floor board touched !
... the funny thing is I had just went that way at the same speed not 30min before that
but man when that floor board drug it happened so fast it was unreal... I just fell over to the left at 50mph ! .... I remember thinking "oh man this is going to HURT!"... it did!
... but at least I was able to ride it home! LOL
....
Bob...

[Bob]

here's 2 pic's  for ya
one of the throttle mods the throttle lock bolt and "Palm Assist"
and the other of the back rest....
the back rest & backrest Post will come off by pressing a spring loaded (hack saw blade with a pin riveted to it) lever and the whole thing comes up and off. it works great.
... (that was a long time ago when I had the soft leather bags on it)
 I re-covered the seat and backrest sense then !
...

Bob

[Manta]

Well,  Another year almost done.

Here's hoping that you all have a good 2012.

There's an old pilot's saying that any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

Let's hope that we can all walk away from the new batch of problems that are bound to come along next year. 

Have Fun.

Dave
(Manta)

[Bob]

Thanks Manta !
and the same to you ! may this coming year be better than the last !
...
Bob...

[Bob]

I went out sense it wasn't raining and decided to start the bikes...they haven't been ran in at least 2 weeks...
the XR650L fired up on the 2nd turn over .... but the 1100cc only popped once and then the battery was dieing... so I pulled the battery out and put it on the charger...I'll give it a few hrs and try it again... that big monster has to have everything just right to start!
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 I split up about 3 days of fire wood and hauled it to the house... covered it with a piece of tin... and I think that will be the extent of my ambition for the day ! LOL
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lol
 the local deer hurd is checking out my 1100cc because I UNCOVERED IT!  they don't quite know what to think about it !  HAHAHAH
...
Bob...