Ok, back from sturgis, and here are some second impressions:
First, Kevin Hawkins, are you a technical writer by trade? Of course I know you
aren't because the directions you gave me re greasing the A-arm bearings were
perfect. I'm a mech. dolt, and it all made sense. IT was perfect--thanks. IT
even seemed to make the squeak go away, but have not ridden yet, so not 100%
certain.
The only question I had was about the camber adjustment. Now that I've removed
the camber adjusting bolt/A-arm pivot bolt, is there a spec for adjusting camber?
What exactly is camber (I think I know, but....)
Second. Man, I hope the new Pirellis are as transforming as you say, or else I'm
going to have a GTS for sale.
Here is the list of new words I learned while on the sturgis trip: Oil light,
head shake, rear tire kick-out, drivetrain lash, flat spot
I rode out 2 up on freeway, and it seemed fine. It took the expansion joints a
little rough, but nothing major. On day 2, the stinking oil light comes on.
Well, this is a new one to me, as I've never seen an oil light on any vehicle.
Then it goes off. Then it comes on. Pull over, look, seems like plenty of oil.
So I'm thinking, I overfilled it, it's foaming and the pump is locking up with oil
bubbles. Run down the road at 55, its ok. Move up to 80 in 2d gear, and the
light comes on. I'm freaked, so we just take it easy. I think maybe its the
heat, but it even comes on after sunset, when it's cool. Ultimately made it,
checked with the Yamaha shop, and he says its a level indicator, not a pressure
indicator, that they are still made the same today, and that at sustained higher
speeds/rpms the light will come on if the level is a little low. So I top up with
Castrol 20/50, and it cures it.
Headshake throughout the trip, bad enough at times to make me worried. As I said,
I've replaced the old BT50s with new Pirellis, and assume the will cure this. It
just sucked, and I had to worry about keeping tight grip the whole time, esp. as
pillion was novice.
Rear tire kicked out whenever I rode even remotely pushed it, so much so that not
only could I not keep up with John's 87 FLH (He's a superior rider, so I don't
feel bad about that), but a novice squid on a shadow took me on a corner. It was
f'in scary to lose rear tire like that--never had it happen before. One minute
you're leaning into a RH curve, and the next your rear tire jumps to the left what
feels like 2 ft. I backed way off, and sulked the whole way home. The stupid
tires also seemed to hate the rubber/asphalt crack-filler stuff--it was hot and
that filler was nice and gooey, and the rear wanted to kick out whenever I came
across filled cracks in a corner.
As for drive train lash, that damn thing bucked and jerked anytime I was trying to
hold a steady speed at low (<2500-3000) rpm. Tightening the chain hellped, but
didn't eliminate the problem.
I also found an enormous dead spot--about 3700 RPM. It was actually more of a
problem if I was holding at 3500-3700, then accelerating (e.g., sweeper corners,
trying to pull out of them a bit hard, or even just holding the line with the
throttle to bring the bike up). I'd roll on the gas, and nothing. THen all of a
sudden, whoosh, and she'd go hard. This was disconcerting to pillion as well as
myself. It was like it was bogging down, like I sometimed see on my CB-1 with the
dirty carbs before the main jets kick in.
Also, the plastic cover on the RH dash (covers the radiator cap) cracked and
broke. Not sure why--is the plastic on this bike prone to cracking?
I'm not trying to slag off everybody's favorite bike. It had some goodpoints
too. Eg, everyone wanted to know WTH it was, and those who had heard of it looked
appreciatively. In the one spot where we had ideal conditions (tailwind, fresh
asphalt, great visibility), I cruised up to 110, and pillion, upon learning this,
said "no way, it was like 60 the whole time." It's just that with the CBR1000, I
could ride all day, beat the ass off everybody around (except John's FLH--but I
could at least keep up), and never freaked out expecting the motor was going to
seize from lack of oil at 80 mph. I also didn't worry about nicks and scratches
from the soft luggage, b/c CBRs are a dime a dozen. Gotta get those Krausers....
To cure the dead spot, I've changed the plugs, and blew out the air filters.
There was some detritus (ancient mouse?) in the air box, but not enough to
obstruct the airflow. Handling problems should be helped by the tires. I'll keep
the chain tight, and hope it doesn't continue to buck.
If all this fails, I'm looking for another CBR.
Rant over.
Sturgis was its usual disgusting self. Topless girls, oil-leaking harleys, and
bad food. Loved it.
adam
