nicksta43

Sounds like a terrific trip! 

The wife and kid and I were there yesterday. Got absolutely soaked in the torrential downpour in the morning. But the sun came out and the wind picked up and we dried out in time for qualifying. 

So Marquez finally couldn't do it huh? I thought he was unstoppable here. I'll have to see if I can find some highlights of the race somewhere.

Have a great rest of your trip!

After seven months, today I have a running motorcycle! 

Fixed the valve clearance, set the cam timing and synced the throttle bodies. 

A quick ten Mile test ride confirmed she's good to go. 

Super stoked!

Planned to finish up the valve adjustment and maybe get to the throttle body sync. However I decided to get strep instead so I'm sitting on the couch being miserable.

I added a layer of 3/8" rebond foam. (Carpet pad) in between the seat pan and the original foam. The factory cover had plenty of stretch to go back over. Completely eliminated any complaints I had and you'd have to have a stock one sitting right beside it to really tell. It does sit you up a little higher but I've got long legs so it's not an issue for me.

 

Edit to add a picture.

Report from the dealer service department is "will not start, engine spins over quickly with little to no resistance while making some grinding noises". It's my only transportation besides a bicycle and I do not have the money to fix it. I was hoping against hope that the noise I was heard was the CCT going bad, but it appears that not the case. I'm just gutted.

Sorry to hear. Sounds like you're in a real bind. What a lousy diagnosis... could they be any less descriptive?

 
 
I'm sure they could have found the issue if I could afford their time to properly diagnose it. It started fine for me before I loaded up on the trailer to take it to them. I had convinced myself at that point that it was just the CCT bring noisy, which I assumed would quickly be replaced do to the TSB or whatever is out for them. So my heart sank when they called and reported that. Actually the first guy only said "the bike won't start, it'll be another $98 to do a compression test and pull the valve cover" when I called back I got a different guy that at least explained that it was turning over just not firing.
 
I understand shop time and they gotta eat too but from my perspective they are charging me a hundred dollars to hit the starter button and say that it won't start.
 
I'd love to be able to just say fix it because I really don't want to deal with it myself. I'm just going to have to do that though. It's not that I'm not capable of diagnosing and repairing it myself, I certainly am. I just would rather not have to.
 
Depending on what I find when I get it home and start tearing into it may mean that it's going to be down for an extended period of time to be able to afford to replace whatever may be damaged.
 
I'm more mad at myself for being in this position in the first place.
 
Anyway that's enough bitching from me in this thread. This is supposed to be a positive thread. I'm just mad and sad.

Became sickened, heartbroken and a little angry at it.

Cheating whore. She run off with a Suzuki? 

 
 
Report from the dealer service department is "will not start, engine spins over quickly with little to no resistance while making some grinding noises". It's my only transportation besides a bicycle and I do not have the money to fix it. I was hoping against hope that the noise I was heard was the CCT going bad, but it appears that not the case. I'm just gutted.

Became sickened, heartbroken and a little angry at it.

I took off my GIVI windshield and put the stock shield back on. It's just been too hot and having the extra air in my face is nice this time of year.  Oh and I changed the oil.  

 
 
That's funny. I took off my factory screen and put the Givi on. Even though it's been well over 100 the wind noise and buffeting have been more of an issue for me than some sweat. I still get buffeting but so much less noise.
 
I just absolutely hate how the thing looks.

Picked up a new helmet that is excellent in clean air. It's really worlds apart from the old helmet. Going to try some different things but I will likely go back to the short screen.

Adjusted the chain again. Changed the oil and replaced the spark plugs.
 
Still on the list to do is sync the throttle bodies, check the steering head bearings and swing arm pivot. It's too hot in the garage to tackle that today.
 
 

I had it happen twice when the bike was new. Hasn't happened in the last two years.
 
I probably just jinxed myself...

That's a very good looking setup.
 
Are you using the stock mounts?

I've been reading and it seems Madstad and several other places recommend a 60° layback angle for windscreens.
 
So last night I thought I'd try to reach that. The most I was able to get without really tweaking on the Givi mount was 50°. But man what a difference in the ride into work this morning. Absolutely zero buffeting whatsoever, of course that's in the soft morning air. The ride home will be more telling but I'm certainly calling this a major win. The wind noise is smooth, no low rumble just the soft sound if smooth rushing air. It seems to hit my helmet just at the top of the visor or about where my eyebrows are.
 
I'm super happy with how it performed this morning.

There a big difference between spending a couple bucks and a weekend tinkering with junk I have laying around versus spending Madstad money. I like to tinker.

I know most people consider the stock shield a lost cause but I decided to see if I could make it work for me. In stock form it's really bad for me in regards to buffeting and noise. It just takes all the joy away from riding the bike.
 
For the winter I've got the big Givi Touring shield. It does a great job of blocking everything when the temps drop with just a little bit of buffeting that is not a deal breaker.
 
 

 
For the summer I have been running my little home made screen.
 
 
 

 
 
I like a naked bike but living where I do, with most roads outside of city limits being a 75mph limit even back roads, I've grown weary of the wind blast beating me up and getting my head whipped around all over when I do a lane check at higher speeds. However with the temps already hovering just under the 100 degree mark I need to have some airflow to my body so the Givi is a no go. What I want is just enough airflow to keep cool but very little buffeting and noise and to be able to turn my head without it being ripped off.
 
 
I thought I would try to mount the stock screen to the Givi mount. I wanted to test the screen in several different positions on the mount prior to committing to drilling four giant holes in it for the Givi grommets. Luckily I had previously drilled holes to lower the screen on the stock mount so with all those little holes in it I was able to securely zip tie it to the Givi mount for testing.
 
Testing was done on a 75mph section of road run in both directions for  about 3 miles with the temp around 98.
 
 
For the first test I mounted it as low as possible without covering the headlights while adjusted to the lowest setting. That put the widest part of the screen in a position to block too much wind from my body. The buffeting was much worse than stock and it was very noisy. Raising it to the top adjustment didn't effect the buffeting and noise but did allow slightly more airflow to my body.
 
 
Next I raised the screen as high as possible without exposing any mounting hardware from underneath. This allowed plenty of airflow to my body. The buffeting was nearly the same but the noise was much worse. It sounded like a Clydesdale was galloping on my helmet. But I also was having no issues turning my head for a lane check and I decided to mount it to the bracket as high as possible and worry about the buffeting and noise later.
 
 
While I was drilling the holes I decided to round the top corners of the screen off. I figured a rounded corner would be less likely to produce turbulent air than a sharp corner. Unfortunately this made no perceptible difference in noise or buffeting. I didn't take away any height only rounded the corners. I'll just have to get used to the new look. It's a bit different. 
 
 
 

 
 
I ran down to the hardware store and bought some longer bolts and 1" Nylon spacers hoping that playing with the angle would help the noise and buffeting.
 
 
First I put the long spacers at the top and the 1/2' Givi spacers at the bottom to stand the screen more upright. This was the worst buffeting I've ever experienced. My vision was blurred it was so bad and it sounded like someone had an air chisel against the helmet.
 
 
Next I reversed the above to lay the screen more backwards. Now we are getting somewhere. Considerably smoother air and the noise level is much reduced. It's still a little louder than with my shorty screen but it's a different sound. No air rushing sound but a deep bass thumping sound. Better than with the stock mount for sure. I can easily turn my head without any change in pressure. Definitely on the right track. I think I can play with the angle a little more to get it where I want it but it's livable for the time being. Or maybe one of those little clip on deflectors may help. I measured the angle and it's at 45 degrees at the top.
 
 
It's a different look for sure. I like the looks of the stock setup but I bought it to ride not to look at so I'll get used to it.
 
 
 

 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
BTW, I'm 6' tall with a 34" inseam. I have switched the seat from the tall setting to the low setting and it is a little better noise wise but my legs are a little cramped. I may raise it back up.
 
 
 

I installed mirror extenders  
 
 

 
 
Where did you get those?

I slid my FJ into the corner to make room for this.... 
 

 
 
Now I have something to play with while mother nature gives me the middle finger

 
 
I like that a lot.

I say go ride... 40F seems perfect to me!!

If it were clear and dry, I’d be out on the bike right now. But it’s grey and wet today, unfortunately... I ride for fun, and Friday’s forecast looks ‘more funner’  

 
 
I got suited up and rode down to Salado yesterday to test rode an electric bicycle. It was around 38° according to my phone. With the heated grips and giant ass windscreen I was perfectly comfortable at 90mph. My legs weren't even cold and I only had jeans on under my mesh over pants. Really, I could have rode all day I was that comfortable.
 
I froze my ass off in that bicycle though. Ten minutes at 23mph and I was done.
 

You should be in politics ?

(A) He is.   (B) - I wish I understood a word of this...... :-S

 
 
Yeah, that makes sense.

Addition of a beak smooths non-laminar airflow in the crucial low pressure area under the headlight, resulting in a reduced negative lift-ratio. This reduces head shake under acceleration and increases high speed stability. Vortex disruption from the lateral edges of the beak have the additional benefit of breaking up the leading edge high-pressure areas and this stops the formation of stochastic sound waves, characteristically found in the rotor-tips of helicopters. This reduces induced wind noise resulting in a quieter ride. The final benefit of the beak is that the rider is more relaxed due to a quieter, less turbulent ride and this increases blood flow to the frontal lobe and cerebelleum in the brain, increasing concentration and basal testosterone levels. This has been shown to have a 19.3% increase (within 95% confidence intervals) in attractiveness to the opposite sex and lower service charges at Yamaha dealers due to the recognition of increased riding deity. 
YMMV

 
 
You should be in politics ?

If you need me I'll be over in the no beak nation. You'll recognize me by how good the front of my bike looks ?

Flushed the brake fluid and changed the coolant. Also took the time to clean it for the first time in a couple months.

 

Reworked the locks on the bags to work with the bike key. Not as bad of a job as I was expecting. I did lose one spring and had to steal one out of the extra cylinder. I'll have to try and remember that if I ever need it for anything.

Love that red paintwork!   Is that a standard colour, or an after-market repaint job?   Woddever, it's nice!

 
 
I'm really digging that stripped down look with just the tank and tail bag. I think next summer I'm going to do the same. I need to have lots of room during the winter for changing temps throughout the day and the factory cases are wonderful for that but come summer time I'm going to minimize.
 
Thanks for the inspiration.
 
Which rack do you have?

Just a bit...