[motorat]

i see if i can duct tape my camera to the rack and get the sound of it at speed. maybe this weekend as it is suppose to rain the next 3 days.

[mattsz]

Whats up mattz ?

Oh, nuthin', Jack - but thanks for asking!  Some bikes sound "better" than others, and mine just doesn't have that knuckle-busting thump that motorat's has.  Gremlin may have described it best:

Mine also idles "high" around 1100 rpm (the book spec) and it is smoooooth .....   at normal riding RPMs and loads.

I know it's time to shift (either up or down) when I start feeling the THUMP.

[Jack Leis]

Your day will come Matt ! We all took "little steps" when we first got our bikes. Personalizing the bike takes some time and definitely some money. Ive had my bike for 13 months and put 14.4 K on it and its still work in progress. Next is a rear carrier from Hitchcocks, should be here this week. I'm telling myself THATS IT ,  IM DONE when it comes but I know I'll be changing something before too long. I don't drink or do drugs anymore but all Ive done is started another ADDICTION !

[barenekd]

I put the OEM headlight back on temporarily, so i can ride over to Century Cycles and pick up some "W" Clips and put some new headlight rims with a  flyscreen attached. My old tribar was broken Thursday when the headlight Assembly fell off onto the highway.
Bare

[sjbiat]

Jack Leis wrote: "Next is a rear carrier from Hitchcocks, should be here this week." I have one, and I like it, but it took a lot of filing to make it actually sit horizontal on the bike.  If yours fits right as it comes, that might be worth a post.

[Jack Leis]

sjbiat, the one I ordered is built for the Electra EFI which is a G5 over here. Hitchcocks hasn't let me down yet, I'll post a picture when I get it on.

[mattsz]

300 mile up the coast to Lubec, Maine (stayed with a friend overnight) and back, with a side trip down to Schoodic Point, part of Acadia National Park.  There's a beautiful two-lane, one-way road around the peninsula that's not very long, only about 6 miles, but boy is it fun to ride!  The strong wind was right off the ocean, and there was a lot of salt spray in the air - not good!  I didn't stay too long.

On the trip home, I battled 25-30 mph winds, which made me and the bike work hard.  I ran an 8-ish mile section of long straight road at 65 mph, then stopped to put in earplugs.  When I started, my muffler was silver.  After the 8 miles, it was yellow/brown around where it comes out from under the heat sheild.  I guess I finally got things really hot!

Edit: 66 mpg going north, 57 mpg returning.  Faster sustained speeds (steadier 60-65 mph) and lots of wind I guess...

[mattsz]

Jack Leis wrote: "Next is a rear carrier from Hitchcocks, should be here this week." I have one, and I like it, but it took a lot of filing to make it actually sit horizontal on the bike.  If yours fits right as it comes, that might be worth a post.

I'm in the middle of a rear carrier saga now - soon to be over.  After "struggling" with the decision of what type of rack to try to fit (GlennF's B5 with a non-B5 rack on looks fantastic!), I settled on one from NField Gear that's black, flat (i.e. no uplifted rail at the back) and has a removable seat pad - just a flat hard foamy block.  Of course, it didn't come with instructions, but who needs them since it didn't come with any mounting hardware either!  I'm still sorting it out with Tim, but I'll post the details when I have them...

[gremlin]

started another ADDICTION !

+1

[Arizoni]

Partly because I'm doing my 7500 mile service (slowly) and also because I've noticed a whurrrring sound that's seems to pulsate rather like something is doing some sort of harmonic at 35-45 mph I figured the chain probably needed adjustment.  (This sound vanishes if I pull in the clutch and let the engine drop down to idle speed while coasting along).

There was a little over 2 1/4 inches of slop in the chain while the bike was sitting on the centerstand and in my mind I could imagine the drive chain oscillating  up and down.

With this in mind, I adjusted the rear chain and reset the rear wheel alignment with the front.

The sounds still there so I'm not going to worry about it as I prepare for another 400 mile trip up to Flagstaff and back this coming weekend.

[Ducati Scotty]

Check your chain slack at several different points.  I think you might find it varies quite a bit meaning your chain is unevenly stretched.  If so, replace it.

Scott

[Arizoni]

I just rechecked the slack and found it to be uniform throughout the length of the chain.

This is a Made in USA Diamond non-O-ring chain I installed about 3500 miles ago and this is its first adjustment.

[Jack Leis]

 finally replaced my 13 month old original battery. The old guy wouldnt take a charge anymore . I installed a BIG CRANK ETX15L  AGM . Perfect fit and the terminals are better suited for ring terminals . No more kickstarting. I was just getting good at it too !

[Alan LaRue]

No more kickstarting. I was just getting good at it too !

Someone on the forum gave some kickstarting advice, and ever since then I don't use the electric start at all, unless I'm in traffic.

The advice seemed counter-intuitive to me, but it works. What they said (sorry, can't remember who it was) was to push it past TDC, then kick it. I always figured you'd want to be before TDC so it would be ready to fire, but it's harder to kick that way and if it doesn't work, you can get tired in a hurry. By pushing it past, then giving it a much easier kick... well, it works. It's starts first kick nearly every time.

I suppose if I kick start it all of the time, I won't have any warning before the battery gives out.

My old tribar was broken Thursday when the headlight Assembly fell off onto the highway.
Bare

I bet that was exciting!

[mattsz]

Rear carrier mount update in the "Royal Enfield Store & Catalog »
Installation / Usage Instructions & Tips" section:

http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,15273.msg166010.html#msg166010