Author Topic: Not much at dealer  (Read 10806 times)

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greekxj

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Reply #15 on: January 22, 2008, 08:34:00 pm
  If you could get a good price on it I don't think I'd be too concerned unless the header pipe is dark blue or there is some other obvious defect.  You will still have a new warranty on it should something be wrong.

 BTW, there was a sensor type bung looking thing attached to the pipe right by the head, almost like an 02 sensor. Any idea what that is?

That's part of the emissions system.  It pulses air into the exhaust stream past the exhaust valve.  A PAV system.  There is also a catalytic in the muffler.  I would put about 2000 miles on the bike before messing with any performance upgrades (such as monkeying with this).  The bike will settle in by then.

Cheers, Foggy

Thanks Foggy. I kinda figured it was emissions related. It looks like an o2 sensor but i knew that couldn't be possible with the carb. My goal was to maybe ride it a season and just do maintenance/tweaking for the miles put on, then take the emissions crap off and do a rejet with intake/pipes(once broken in etc). Seems like a good idea, but i know its gonna seem like forever lol. It does seem from what people say on here though that i will have plenty to do to keep me busy heheheh.


fredgold52

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Reply #16 on: January 22, 2008, 11:16:33 pm
I've spent a good amount of time fooling around with things on mine as it's been too cold to ride.  There's not many miles on mine but honestly, I haven't seen all that much to fix, tweak, tighten or adjust.  Most of what I've done on mine has been just because I wanted to, not so much because it needed it.  So far, I don't see these bikes being huge consumers of maintenance time.  That could change, but I don't think so.

 :)

Fred
2006 '65' and a 200cc Stella, Indian all the way


mrunderhill1975a

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Reply #17 on: January 24, 2008, 03:10:31 am
Problems.......hmmmmmm.......I don't think I had any problems in 11,000 that were'nt fun to repair, but here goes the list:  I change the oil & filter at 1500 mile intervals, check the valve clearance every 500 or so (however, I have only had to readjust the valves at 2000 mile intervals).  Somewhere at about 4000 miles the clutch cable snapped and I replaced it with the premium version our host sells.  Every 800 miles or so a nut comes loose on the fender or tail-light etc so I carry some blue thread locker which seems to take care of that problem.  I adjust the points for wear on the fiber block every 2000 miles and replace the points every 4000 miles.  At about 8000 miles the pos (+) battery cable rubbed on the battery cover and shorted which gave me quite a fright to look down and see smoke between my legs (my wife says I'm hot, but smoke is a bit much). It melted the insulation off the positive cable but, did not stop me from riding home where I then added a layer of electrical tape to the cable.  At about 10000 miles the middle front fender stay cracked and I replaced it with a much thicker premium version from our host.  Just recently, I had an intermittant head light flashing which I tracked down to the bundle of wires that come from the head light and rub on speedometer cable and head set.  I solved this problem by using a "Zip-tie" to hold the wires away from the headset.  All in all, I have had nothing but enjoyment from this bike, any "problems" I have encountered have been easily fixed by me (which gives me a profound sense of accomplishment).  As a side note, I live 300 miles from the nearest dealer, and I have never had a "problem" I could not fix myself.  My bike has never been back to the dealer for any reason.  I might add that I very rarely exceed 65mph and do most of my crusing between 45 and 55.

If I remember correctly, I did the first oil & filter change at 350 miles and found a fair amount of swarf in the filter.  It scared me at the time, but now after 11,000 miles I have no problems and it runs great. 

Hey thanks, yep i would be cool with the miles it was for setup. I know the owner is really cool, just wish i had a chance to talk to him last time. But i think im going again saturday.  So within your 11K miles what kind of problems have ya had and what have you done maintenance wise? Thanks


greekxj

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Reply #18 on: January 25, 2008, 06:50:01 pm
Hey thanks for the response. That is pretty damn good maintenance wise. That pretty much seems like normal stuff ya know. It seems like from what ive read is that  alot  of people have had a cable snap on them pretty early  I know i would definitely make my "own tool kit" to have with me which would include probably a spare cable for each one on the bike lol. But it looks like the bike has been good to ya and hopefully stays that way for many miles to come! I guess when i think about it, if i put 2K a year on it it should be good to me. The v star i have is definitely the high mileage bike and can take miles all day with very little maintenance. Being a v twin i know what you mean about loose bolts lol. Ive had my share of them and even lost my side mount license plate coming home one night on the highway. The vibrations sheared the bracket and it all fell off!  When i got home all that was left was the part of the plate bracket that bolts to the bike and a hanging wire from the light i ran to it. Never heard it so i was at a loss. It makes for good stories though :) Ah well, hopefully tomorrow i'll get a chance to run by the dealer again and see whats up. Thanks!

Problems.......hmmmmmm.......I don't think I had any problems in 11,000 that were'nt fun to repair, but here goes the list:  I change the oil & filter at 1500 mile intervals, check the valve clearance every 500 or so (however, I have only had to readjust the valves at 2000 mile intervals).  Somewhere at about 4000 miles the clutch cable snapped and I replaced it with the premium version our host sells.  Every 800 miles or so a nut comes loose on the fender or tail-light etc so I carry some blue thread locker which seems to take care of that problem.  I adjust the points for wear on the fiber block every 2000 miles and replace the points every 4000 miles.  At about 8000 miles the pos (+) battery cable rubbed on the battery cover and shorted which gave me quite a fright to look down and see smoke between my legs (my wife says I'm hot, but smoke is a bit much). It melted the insulation off the positive cable but, did not stop me from riding home where I then added a layer of electrical tape to the cable.  At about 10000 miles the middle front fender stay cracked and I replaced it with a much thicker premium version from our host.  Just recently, I had an intermittant head light flashing which I tracked down to the bundle of wires that come from the head light and rub on speedometer cable and head set.  I solved this problem by using a "Zip-tie" to hold the wires away from the headset.  All in all, I have had nothing but enjoyment from this bike, any "problems" I have encountered have been easily fixed by me (which gives me a profound sense of accomplishment).  As a side note, I live 300 miles from the nearest dealer, and I have never had a "problem" I could not fix myself.  My bike has never been back to the dealer for any reason.  I might add that I very rarely exceed 65mph and do most of my crusing between 45 and 55.

If I remember correctly, I did the first oil & filter change at 350 miles and found a fair amount of swarf in the filter.  It scared me at the time, but now after 11,000 miles I have no problems and it runs great. 

Hey thanks, yep i would be cool with the miles it was for setup. I know the owner is really cool, just wish i had a chance to talk to him last time. But i think im going again saturday.  So within your 11K miles what kind of problems have ya had and what have you done maintenance wise? Thanks


fredgold52

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Reply #19 on: January 25, 2008, 08:20:02 pm
You do know that if you buy a new Classic, Delux or Military you get an extra clutch cable and inner tube with it in the tool box, right.

Maybe with the Electra too, I'm not sure about that though.
2006 '65' and a 200cc Stella, Indian all the way


greekxj

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Reply #20 on: January 25, 2008, 09:33:50 pm
You do know that if you buy a new Classic, Delux or Military you get an extra clutch cable and inner tube with it in the tool box, right.

Maybe with the Electra too, I'm not sure about that though.

Thanks Fred, i wasn't aware of that. I would probably order all the other ones and keep them with me too. Hell if i got the military one i could designate one of the storage boxes as the "tool box" lol. Speaking of storage, do the non military models have like a storage area under one of the side covers or seat to put small stuff?


BanditRE

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Reply #21 on: January 25, 2008, 09:40:26 pm
They sure do. There are two storage boxes, one on each side. One is full of PAV stuff but the other is empty. Ready for your tools, smokes, pop, 38-special.....

If you buy an older model without the PAV you get the added bonus of 2 useable storage boxes.
2007 Military 500ES. 2007 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe


greekxj

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Reply #22 on: January 26, 2008, 12:14:28 am
They sure do. There are two storage boxes, one on each side. One is full of PAV stuff but the other is empty. Ready for your tools, smokes, pop, 38-special.....

If you buy an older model without the PAV you get the added bonus of 2 useable storage boxes.

Thanks Bandit, i like that 38 comment lol. So if you remove the PAV setup is there any room to make it a storage box or is that just an access cover covering the PAV setup? BTW, i appreciate all the responses to my questions guys. Ive had my v star for almost 6 years now and know it like the back of my hand so looking at new bikes has me pretty curious!


deejay

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Reply #23 on: January 26, 2008, 12:40:34 am
Thanks Bandit, i like that 38 comment lol. So if you remove the PAV setup is there any room to make it a storage box or is that just an access cover covering the PAV setup? BTW, i appreciate all the responses to my questions guys. Ive had my v star for almost 6 years now and know it like the back of my hand so looking at new bikes has me pretty curious!

For it to be empty you'll need to remove/move the PAV stuff, the electric starter relay, a fuse, and the rear brake switch. I'm in the process of permanently removing both of my toolboxes right now. I removed the PAV stuff the 1st week I had the bike, I also have removed the electric starter relay because I am removing the electric start altogether. The rear brake switch can be swapped out to the the older lucas style which attaches directly to the frame.

Of course if you remove all of this stuff, you are left with a bunch of holes in the box that all of the wires ran in and out of, so those need to be plugged.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2008, 12:43:08 am by deejay »