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The
Suzuki Cavalcade Newsletter
Issue
#19 ~ February, 2002
Jay D. Johnson,
Editor
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CADE
RAID ~ 2002
The
International Rally for Cavalcades
CADE RAID 2002 is set for September 16-18, 2002 at the Honeysuckle Inn
Resort in Branson,
Missouri
. You can visit their web site at www.honeysucklebranson.com.
Plans include exhibits and displays by suppliers; classes and workshops;
rides through the scenic Ozarks; evening entertainment packages; an awards
dinner and other surprises. Our goal is to gather at least 100 Cavalcades in one
location.
You should get your reservation in early. There are only 65 rooms blocked
for our group with a special discounted rate. Half of those are already
reserved. You must identify yourself as attending the Suzuki Cavalcade Owner’s
Group meeting (“CADE RAID 2002”) to get our group room rate. The
Inn
is giving us a rate of $55.00 per night. We suggest you book NOW to hold your
room. ~ The room rate includes free continental breakfast, or you can opt for a
full breakfast with a discount coupon instead. You can also book extra days at
the same rate if you wish to arrive early or stay longer. The toll-free phone
number for reservations is 1-800-942-3553. Those who wait until the last minute
will have a difficult time finding lodging.
SCHEDULE
OF EVENTS & REGISTRATION FORM ARE AT THE END OF THIS NEWSLETTER
European
Cade Raid 2002
June
1st to June 8th at:
Campingsite-Café in den
HOF
Sleepingspot
the Hayloft.
(
Holland
near border to
Germany
and
Belgium
)
For the European
Cade Raid in
Holland
the web site is http://www.indenhof.nl/en/index.html.
The Dates are Saturday June 1st to Saturday June 8th. Contacts email addresses:
B.J. Linbeman: lindeman5@zonnet.nl
for
Holland
/
Belgium
. Tommy Karlsen tomboy@enitel.no
for Norway/Sweden and
Finland
. David Hebblethwaite> david.hebblethwaite@btinternet.com
for
United Kingdom
and rest of
Europe
.
AMERICADE
2002
Lake George
,
New York
~ June 3-8th
You can start
signing up for Americade on line at www.Tourexpo.com
now. We hope to see a lot of
you up there. It is one of the highlights of our summer. Good company....
beautiful scenery and lake...and great riding. Some of you won't be able to make
Branson...so this is great time to come out and meet the gang. One suggestion is
to get your hotel or camping reservations in now...each year this is getting
bigger and bigger. We have a wonderful restaurant in town that we meet up at and
it serves as a central hang out if you just want to sit and watch people and
enjoy the bikes. Hope to see a lot of you there ~ Nancy Dilldine. (Nurse
Ratchet, Motherwind)
I just registered
for Americade and while looking over their web site I found a reference to a
club gathering called "Suzuki Cavalcades of North America: Cavalcade Club
Gathering" is it this group? Thanks, ~ Neal
WEST
COAST
CADE RAID
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE
~
JULY 21, 2002
West Coast Caders
will gather for a day of riding and admiring each other’s Cavalcades. Everyone
should plan to arrive at Tahoe on Saturday evening July 20th. We will have a
breakfast meeting from
8
to
10 o’clock
on Sunday, July 21st at Mulligan’s restaurant. From
10:00 a.m.
to
5:00 p.m.
, we will take a scenic ride. I have spies in the Tahoe area now who are
planning the ride’s route. Everyone will be provided a map just so no one gets
lost (mainly me). We will have a social hour from
6:00
to
7:00
and then dinner. Next morning (Monday) we will head for home.
There is NO cost
for this gathering other than the normal cost of gas, lodging and meals. We have
a group rate for the breakfast and dinner on Sunday at Mulligan’s restaurant.
If you think you will come to the West Coast Cade Raid at
South Lake Tahoe
, please send me an email (jay@treefarmtapes.com)
and give me your name(s) and your location. If you want, I’ll see if I can
match up riders so you can share the road together. This information will also
help me judge how many people we will need to feed at these two meals and how
many bikes we will need to plan for the ride.
Riders from
Western
Washington
State
and
British Columbia
will meet at
10:00 a.m.
on Friday at the McDonald’s in
Fife
,
Washington
. (Take Exit #137 off I-5). Riders from
Eastern Washington
,
BC
or
Alberta
may want to meet at
Kennewick
,
Washington
. If a meeting time and location is decided, it will be posted in future issues
of this newsletter. Many of us will stay overnight Friday at the Super 8 motel
in Grant’s Pass,
Oregon
. It’s across the street from Denny’s. After breakfast on Saturday morning,
we will ride on to
South Lake Tahoe
. ~ Jay
MEALS & LODGING
AT TAHOE
West Coasters, I
have arranged our breakfast and dinner for Sunday, July 21 at Mulligan’s
Restaurant in
South Lake Tahoe
. The breakfast will probably be a buffet. Dinner will be off the regular menu.
I have scheduled breakfast for
8:00 a.m.
This will give us time for everyone to eat, chat and even have a brief meeting
if we wish. After breakfast, we will have a group ride to some of the most
scenic mountain country in
Western America
. Because of the number of us on this ride and the remote area we will be
touring, I suggest we arrange a box lunch and beverage to pack on the bikes. We
can pick a nice spot to park and munch somewhere along the way. I have scheduled
dinner for
7:00 p.m.
This will give us time to complete a full day’s tour and still have an hour
or so to clean up and refresh by dinnertime.
Mulligan’s is
next door to the Super 8 Motel. This is my bedroom of choice when I am on the road. I
have found the chain to be newer, cleaner and quieter than most Motel 6
locations. The cost is a few bucks more but is still substantially lower than
everyone else. I have priced seven motels in
South Lake Tahoe
including a couple of independents and the Super 8 is the best value. Almost
all the rest are priced at $100 per night and up. Our rate for the two nights
(Saturday and Sunday, July 20-21) at Super 8 will be $166.00 for a room with a
single king sized bed, or $217.00 for a room with two double beds. These figures
are for TWO NIGHTS include sales tax. If you want to request to share a room
with someone else, I will be happy to try to arrange a roommate so you can split
expenses. You will just need to make reservations and payment direct to the
motel, NOT through me. The telephone number for the Super 8 is 530-544-3476, or
you can reserve your room at their national reservation number, 1-800-800-8000.
Reserve the nights of July 20 and 21, 2002 at the South Lake Tahoe Super 8. In
addition, if you have a Super 8 Gold Card (which is black, by the way), or
belong to AARP, you will get an additional 10% discount. There is no charge for
the Super 8 Gold Card. You can go to the nearest one near you, fill out an
application and mail it to their franchise headquarters. Several of us will also
be using other Super 8 locations on the route to Branson in September. ~ Jay
‘86 LXE, "Blue on Blue,"
Sammamish
,
Washington
USA
Email: jay@treefarmtapes.com
TEXAS
CADE RAID
Here are the dates
for the Texas Cade Raid; the weekend of May 4th if that’s rained out then May
18th. Locations are still pending and I'm still open for any suggestions. ~
Roy
in TX
~
CAVALCADE 101 ~
KIWI CADES
Hi there everyone,
just a short note. There are about 5 cavalcades in
New Zealand
not sure of the mileage.
DOWN UNDER CADE
My name is Peter
Girdler. I have a 1986 LXE, Blue on Blue, Vin JS1VX71A XG2106904, which was
manufactured 3/86. The bike was imported to
Adelaide
,
South Australia
during 1988, purchased in
America
from Town & Country Suzuki,
Fullerton
, 1835 W. Commonwealth. This info is printed on the Key Label attached to the
keys. The bike had covered 2000 miles when I bought it from a Suzuki dealer in
Adelaide
. Since then I have covered 39000 miles, including 2 Years in storage at approx.
25000 miles. At 26000 the speedo drive stopped working and that normal noise
from the front wheel was noticed until the drive stopped. (I repaired it myself.
It was poorly manufactured; the gears were not meshing fully, very little wear.)
Now I know what was causing the noise. At 35000 miles I had the rear shocks
rebuilt for AUS$600.00. The shocks needed pumping up several times during 3
hours riding. They have not needed adjustment since then. From about 37000 miles
I have noticed a noise, similar to the sound of partially engaged gears, while
on the side stand and idling in neutral. The noise stops when the bike is
upright or in gear. During the storage period the L/H engine case developed a
bad case of cancer and some of the chrome is lifting off. Also most of the
chrome bars, except the handlebars, are showing signs of rust from under the
chrome. I have 3 other Suzuki's, GT750, GT380, and a GS1100GKE, all which have
the same problem. Love the cavalcade and still enjoying commuting and touring. I
will be 63 June this year. ~ This group is great. Have learnt a lot since
joining. ~ Peter. (Gurgles)
’86 CADE &
’01 WING COMPARED
In August, I was
fortunate enough to join Jay for his tour of the Canadian Rockies. What a
fabulous ride! Thanks again, Jay. I'm from
Boston
and it was too far for me to drive my Cade out West to begin the trip, so I
decided to fly into
Denver
and rent a 2001 GoldWing (1800cc) and ride through the US Rockies to meet them
in
Canada
. I had so many people ask me how I liked the "Wing"; I started to
keep a tally of the things that I liked about it (and things that I didn't
like). Since 99% of the miles that I’ve logged on a motorcycle in the past 6
years have been on my Cade, it started to look like one of those new model
comparison articles that you read in the magazines: '01 Wing vs. '86 Cavalcade.
Except, in this case one bike is fifteen years old, a lifetime in today's
technology world.
Overall, the Wing
is more powerful, smoother, handles better, and the brakes are far superior to
the Cade. The comparison would seem to be over at this point with the Wing as
the clear winner. However, both bikes are not new models competing at the same
price level. Please read about the details before you take the old Suzuki (and
about $15K) down to the Honda dealer to make a trade-in.
Likes:
Power
- The Wing is fast. It has all of the low-end torque of the Cade, plus more
(25%?). It accelerates quickly and keeps pulling throughout the power band.
Handling
- This is by far the biggest advantage the Wing has going for it. I can not
stress enough how well this bike handles! I read the reviews in the magazines
and took the demo ride at Americade, but you really need to spend some time
carving up some winding roads to appreciate the agility that this bike has. I
let each of the guys on the tour take it for a ride up through a curvy canyon
and they were very impressed with the handling. Low-speed handling is very easy.
You don’t have to worry about dropping the bike if you get a little off
balance at a stop. The low center of gravity keeps it from feeling top heavy.
Smoothness
– Vibration is greatly reduced, especially under acceleration.
Ride
– The suspension soaks up the harsher bumps better than the Cade does, but the
overall ride is only slightly better
Brakes
– The brakes were excellent. The bike stopped extremely well with a good
“feel” to the brakes. This bike had ABS but I didn’t get a chance to test
it (that’s a good thing)
Mirrors-
The mirrors were slightly larger than the Cade. They were a little more clear at
highway speeds due to less vibration.
Windshield-
The windshield was adjustable, but I left it in the low position so that I could
see over it. The air was still deflected over my helmet with limited wind
buffeting.
Seat
– The seat was a lot lower than the Cade. I’m just over 6 feet tall so I
would have liked it a bit higher. It was very wide and comfortable. The back of
the seat raises about 6-8 inches for lower back support. Several times I rode 3
hours straight without a problem. It’s a little high in the crotch area
though.
More
Cargo
Room-
the Wing holds about 15-20% more stuff than the Cade. I packed all my items
into the bag liners from my Cade, then loaded them into the Wing when I picked
up the bike.
Auto
Select Radio Feature- with the push of a button, the radio finds and stores
the 12 strongest FM stations and
6 AM
stations. Then you can toggle through the list.
Remote locking –
the bike locks with the press of a button on the remote key fob. The Cade
requires you to put the key into 7 slots (2 for each saddlebag, 2 for trunk, 1
for radio) to lock everything. That doesn’t even include locking the helmets
(2 more).
Horn
– the horn was louder than most car horns. It even scared me a couple of
times.
Battery
access – The side cover pops off and the battery is right there. It took me
less than 10 minutes to hook up the wires for my electric vest using just a
Swiss army knife. The Cade battery is buried in the fairing.
Gearing
– I’ve always complained about second and fifth gears on the Cade. The
Wing has it right. On both bikes, first gear is low for starting out and slow
speeds. However, second gear in the Cade is much higher than first. It makes it
more difficult when you are turning into a driveway, street, or parking lot at
10-15mph. First gear is too low and second is too high. But in the Wing, second
gear is just right for low speed turns. At highway speeds, the Wing runs at
lower RPMs due to a high fifth gear (overdrive). The Cade needs to have a higher
top gear; it has plenty of torque to spare. This translates to less vibration
and better fuel mileage at highway speeds.
“Bag-Open”
indicator- if you don’t have one of the saddlebags/trunk bag securely latched,
an indicator tells you. Similar to the kickstand being down on the Cade.
Heat
dissipation – The radiators are located in the fairing. Any hot air flows
out around the passenger area. I’m sure this heat could be captured in cold
weather conditions. The temperature gauge rises to exactly half way and stays
there. No fluctuation like in the Cade. Even when I was going across the high
desert
of
Wyoming
in 100-degree heat at 100 mph, it never moved. When in traffic on a hot day on
the Cade, the temperature gauge goes up and the fan kick on and they blow the
heat on the rider.
Accurate
fuel gauge – The fuel gauge on the Wing is very precise. It has 6 lines
for the 6.6-gallon tank. When the gauge showed half was gone (3 lines) it took
about 3 gallons to fill the tank. When it said 5 of the six lines were gone it
took 5 gallons. I could go well over 200 miles on a tank of gas. On the Cade,
the fuel gauge takes some getting used to. I can go 100 miles on the Cade and it
barely moves below the full mark. Another 50 miles puts it at half full. But,
you can be sure that you’ll have to find a gas station within the next 50
miles because the gauge quickly heads for empty. I usually have to rely on the
trip meter to better estimate my fuel supply on the Cade. The Wing has 2 trip
meters.
Fuel
mileage- I got 40-45mpg over mostly open roads. I didn’t get to check it
in
Canada
because I was too lazy to convert from liters.
Dislikes:
Cruise-
After setting the cruise control, the speed drops 3-4 mph before returning to
the set speed. Annoying when someone is following you. Turn signals – I had a
little trouble with them shutting off too early Air around handlebars – there are openings around the handlebars where they
mount to the steering stem that let air come through. This is okay when it’s
hot, but not when it’s cold. You can actually see the front forks and the
pavement going by. I’m sure some company will build a boot to block this. The
Cade has covers and a slide vent on each side of the ignition area that opens
and closes to regulate this airflow.
Tire
cupping- the front tire was scalloped/cupped when I looked at it the first
day that I had the bike. I read on some Wing sites that they cup after 3-4k
miles, but are okay for 9-12k. This Wing had 11k miles when I picked it up and
15k when I dropped it off. The tire was trash when I took it back. If it was the
original front tire, that was okay. If the tire had been replaced before, it
wasn’t good wear. The rear was getting low on tread, but it was fine.
Auto
volume control – It didn’t vary enough with your speed. I had to turn
the volume up manually on the highway and turn it down or hit mute when I came
into a town.
Crotch of seat-
raises up too sharply to where it meets the gas tank.
Saddle
bags – I had to bang on them to get them to latch securely. Flimsy design.
They opened outwards, so it was a pain to store things and keep them from
falling out. I used the saddlebag liners from the Cade, which made it easier.
No
cassette- This bike only had an AM/FM radio, no CD player. Cassette is not
an available option. Too many hours were spent in the remote areas without any
music.
Drive
lash- when you give it some throttle and let off, there is too much play in
the driveline.
Transmission –
shifting was much easier/lighter than the Cade, but I expected the gears to mesh
better. It still seemed too “clunky”.
Footpegs
– the footpegs were too high for me, compared to the seat height. They
were also too far back. I’m not sure if floorboards could make it better. The
design of the engine/fairing would also make it difficult for me to use highway
boards on this bike.
Handlebar
position- the handlebars were very low and closer to me than I would have
liked. They also did not sweep back; they were almost straight across the bike.
I don’t know how much they could be adjusted.
Airflow –
Overall, the aerodynamics were good with only light buffeting by the wind. One
place that I noticed the airflow hitting me was at the top part of my boot, just
above the bottom of my pant leg. I’m sure Baker has a product to deflect the
air at that point.
Thumb
controls- too many switches around the left thumb area (CB, high beam, horn,
radio)
No gear indicator-
doesn’t tell you what gear you’re in (except for Neutral, Reverse, and
Fifth). I’ve had Suzukis for 20 years and I’m spoiled.
Sulfur
smell- sometimes when I stopped I got a rotten egg smell.
Helmet locks- the
helmet hooks were just under the back of the trunk, similar to the LXE’s. To
unlock them, there were 2 levers inside the trunk that you slid to the side. It
was easy when the trunk was empty, but my trunk was full the whole time and you
need to be a contortionist to slide the levers with a full trunk.
No dc outlet- there
was no cigarette lighter type outlet to plug in a radar detector, cell phone
adapter, heated vest, etc… The dash was nicely sculpted, but there didn’t
seem to be any easy place to mount any accessory items, switches, etc.
No
voltmeter- Almost everyone adds something electrical to a touring bike, why
no factory voltmeter to monitor the electrical system?
Brake
squeal – Every time you come to a stop, the brakes screech from 10mph to
0mph.
Defects:
Tire cupping – see above
Speedometer-
3 times during my travels, the speedometer acted up after I went through a
construction area (coincidence?). When I sped up to 50 or 60mph, the speedometer
was stuck down at 20 or 30mph. It would continue to misread the speed while I
sped up and slowed down. The speedometer eventually would straighten out after
several miles of riding.
Fairing
pocket door- the spring for the latch came off the second day. I had to tape
it shut until I got to a Honda dealer.
Loose
crash bar- a mini-crash bar near the rear passenger floorboard came loose.
Trunk
hinges- there are 2 hinges holding the trunk lid on. I went to open the
trunk at one stop and it almost broke off in my hand. Four of the 6 bolts had
fallen out! I had to stop at a hardware store and put in new bolts with nylon
nuts to repair the hinges. The radio buttons occasionally stuck, similar to the
Cade. However, 2 buttons work on a pivot action so you could press on the other
side to unstick the button.
After 2 weeks and
4,312 joyous miles on the Wing, it was tough to give it back. It took a day or
two to get comfortable on the Wing, but then I got used to it. The big test was
to see what was going to happen when I was able to climb back on my own Cade.
The key word here is ‘climb”. When I got home and mounted the Cade for the
first time, it felt so high that I had to double-check to see if it was on the
center stand, but it wasn’t. Also, the low flat handlebars of the Wing made
the Cade bars feel like ape-hangers! I felt out of place on my trusty Cade. I
went out for a ride and noticed more noise and vibration from the engine than I
had before. I got to the first sharp curve at about 30mph and almost didn’t
make it. The Cade drifted way over the centerline and halfway across the other
lane before I got it under control. It’s a good thing no cars were coming the
other way. The Wing would have been at ease with that corner at that speed.
After being out on the Cade for a few hundred miles it now feels like home
again. I’m used to the seating position, NVH (noise, vibration, harshness),
and the handling. Everything seems back to normal. I guess you get used to
whatever you ride.
The Wing now seems
like a sweet memory from the not-so-distant past. Now, for the $15,000 question,
“Would I trade my Cade for a new Wing?” Eventually, I’m sure I will. The
bike is fantastic. If I was shorter than 5’ 10’’ and wanted a high
performance sport/tourer, looking for increased power, handling, and stopping
ability, it would be a done deal right now. The minor annoyances can be
overlooked or eliminated with modifications. But for now, I’ll enjoy every
mile on my Cade. Like Dan H from TX says, “Ride what you love and love what
you ride” I do. ~ Dave from Massachusetts ’86 Blue LXE
I recently
purchased a 2002 Pearl Orange Gold Wing. I generally agree with Dave's
comparisons. Supposedly, most of the little "minor" problems have been
corrected on the '02. The seat on the GW is certainly lower than my '86 LXE Blue
on Blue, but the air seats on the Cade are more comfortable. I also miss the
gear indicator. But the torque on the GW is awesome and allows one to travel in
5th as low as 22 mph and accelerate without any strain. It’s much faster and
smoother and feels like the center of gravity is about one foot off the ground.
I can turn the handlebars to full lock and travel at slow speed without worrying
about loosing it. I must say however, that the slow speed handling of my Cade
was much improved when I reversed the stanchions holding the handlebars (a
suggestion found in this group of owners). Be Careful! If you ride a new GW
(Cavalcade Jr.) you will get the bug to have one. ~ Gary in GA
PLUGS & IRON
BUTTS
Wow, I was just
reading the new newsletter and found out about the May, 1985 assembled bikes
being prone to the secondary gear box plug failure. Mine went about 10 years ago
on a ride up the Pennsy Turnpike with my wife on the back. We were trailing
behind a bus for a few miles and I was getting sick of the smell. I passed and
realized that the "smell" was my secondary gear fluid leaking out and
vaporizing on the left-hand exhaust pipe! Thank God it never locked up. When I
opened it up, the plug had been chewed to hell. In hindsight, we were very
lucky. ~ By the way, I've completed my first certified Iron Butt Association
ride, the Saddlesore 1000. Trying to do a few more rides (Bun Burner, Bun Burner
GOLD and maybe the 50CC) this summer so I have a better shot at getting into the
Iron Butt in '03. Incidentally, I scoured the certified ride site on the Iron
Butt page and so far, I've got the only Cavalcade that I can find. Anyone else
do an IBA ride on their 'Cade? Thanks, ~ Bob Lilley
Do we know for sure
it was just those from May of 85 that were doing that? My plug fell out and it
is a May 85. Who among us has had the secondary case oil plug fail? Especially
those who are on the VIN list? This should be interesting. ~ Spike
Spike, my Cade has
a slow gear oil leak at the secondary gearbox/driveshaft boot area. I haven't
determined where it is leaking but just check the level periodically. I think my
VIN was 1329, 3/85. ~ Bruce
Bruce,
I suspect any Cade with serial number lower than 3764 is susceptible to this
problem. After the first production run, which ended in July of 85, they
evidently fixed the oil plug in that we haven’t heard of any past that first
group suffering from secondary case oil leaks. But several in the first run that
have had it. The secondary case oil plug is the only mechanical failure I’ve
ever had on my May-85er. Sounds like Red Barber has it too. ~
Every Cade rider
who has a vin number lower than 3764, do check your secondary case oil level, or
failing that run your hand along the bottom of your shaft boot. If there is any
oil on your hand afterwards, Red Barber and I already know where it came from
and what hasta happen. ~ Spike
THE VIN LIST
Regarding the VIN
list, if anyone wants to get on that, you need not freeze any wahoonies: the
number is on your insurance card. We don’t need your date of manufacture any
more, as we pretty much have that worked out. Now the VIN list has morphed into
something else entirely. With 100 subscribers, the list now includes the
mechanical failures for each bike and the mileage at which that failure
occurred. The list is becoming a useful tool for anticipating problems. For
instance, we are seeing a cluster of final drive bevel plug early-failures in
the March to May of 85 bikes. If you want to get on that list, post me your VIN
and whatever mechanical problems you have had and approximate mileage when it
happened. ~ Spike: spike66@attglobal.net
This may clear up a
mystery: why there are so few 88 model Cades on the VIN list. The reason is that
evidently most of the last ones built went to Canada and Europe. Some Cader in
Europe perhaps posted the others to sign the Cavalcade_USA guest book, which
explains why most of these were the relatively rare 88s. Let us hope some of the
new signers will post VINs to get on that list. We have 103 bikes on the VIN
list now, and several have posted me their mechanical failures. Some definite
patterns have emerged: The first production run had problems with early failures
of the secondary case bevel oil plug. The second production run was the most
trouble free. The third production run had a light scattering of random
problems, no clear trend. The fourth (last) production run had a puzzling
unrelated bunch of problems that look to me like perhaps some sloppy work on the
production line (but may be open to interpretation). Ill send out the updated
VIN list in a week or so to those who are on the VIN list, let you decide. If
you want to receive the VIN list, send me your VIN, which is on your insurance
card. ~ Spike
HOW TO PICK UP A
CAVALCADE
Dennis, Tell me
please, what is the "proper...and easy..." way to pick up a Cade. This
new guy would really like to know! Thanks ~ John Harelson, ’87 LX Grants Pass,
Oregon
Jocotreas, hoisting
a toppled Cade is done the same way you hoist a GoldWing. Turn you back to it
and grabbing the bar and the seat rail. You start with your back straight and
your knees at about 90 degrees and up you go. I’ve hoisted mine to vertical
twice by myself. I saw a demonstration where a 200-pound sailor couldn’t right
a GoldWing because he didn’t know how to do it. So a 125-pound woman hoisted
it by herself, demonstrating the technique. It was a hoot. ~ Spike
John, I learned it
here, before that I muscled, killing myself get the thing upright... First, if
the kickstand is in the air, put it out to catch the bike when you set it up or
it's going over the other way. Next squat, gripping the handlebar in one hand
and bar by the seat with the other hand and your backside against the seat. Lift
the first half of the way with your legs and finish up by pushing it the rest of
the way with your backside. Before you let go be sure to flip the kickstand down
with your foot. I have done this many times and takes little effort compared to
trying to stand facing it and bullying it up. ~ Dennis
Should it be in
gear to keep from rolling?
Couldn't hoit. Most
of the time it will be down on the left side though. Don't know why that is. Or
even "if" it is. Everyone who has dropped their Cade or had it fall
over, which side went down? Mine has gone down 4 times on the left, never on the
right. ~ Spike
CAVALCADE GROUP
STATISTICS
Hi Everybody, I was
going through the stats for Cavalcade_USA and thought I would share some of the
information with you. Cavalcade_USA was founded on April 19, 1999. Our 3rd
birthday is coming up this year. Our membership is currently at 502. Our members
have sent 21,628 messages into the group since April 19, 1999. Since most folks
don't like lots of numbers, I'll just leave it at that. :-) I'm ready for Bike
Week. I'll be in Daytona in March, to watch as Nancy (Motherwind) and Larry (Grubfodder)
terrorize the whole Harley community. :-) Good riding, ~ Bob Ramsey Orlando,
Florida
(Editor’s Note:
Bob is the Founder of this forum. We all owe him our thanks and should call him
the "Cavalcade Godfather.”)
YOUR BIKE’S HISTORY
Hi, I need to know
if there is a web site that can help me find out the past history on my
Cavalcade, you know if the title is good on it, if it has been in an accident,
etc. ~ Sassy
~ MAINTENANCE
& REPAIRS ~
OK MONITOR UNIT
OK - I replaced the
OK monitor unit and still the display will not show anything. I have taken
apart, greased and reconnected all the connectors I could get to and still
nothing. Any Suggestions? ~ Brian 87LXE in CT
Pardon me, fellow
Caders, but once again I am triumphant with Tracy's help. If you recall (or even
if you don't) I was having trouble with my OK monitor not working since the
first year I had the Cade (1999). The old monitor unit was burnt & melted. I
spent almost $200 on a new unit and it still didn't work. Today, I report with
great enthusiasm that the problem was in the wiring. After looking at the
troubleshooting pages that Tracy sent me (us), then checking the wiring diagram,
there was a wire out of place. I rewired according to the diagram and it works!
Thanks, Tracy, once again (that must be 3-4 I owe ya now...) ~ Brian 87LXE in CT
THE HUNT FOR A NOISE
Let's see if
reasoning and investigations are going correctly? It first started as a noise
that sounded like a plastic bag had gotten stuck between the front tire and the
fender. Inspection revealed nothing, and it would repeat as I slowed down from
speed. The sound was identified as more to my left front and would
"at-first" call for a brake pad replacement. Did it! Both sides! The
Disks were worn but tolerable. No-Luck! I've checked for wheel- bearing play....
None (OK) tight! I disconnected the speedo cable at the drive unit, taped it up
and tried again! After a period of braking, the pads doing a fine job things
warmed-up and again, on slowing (brakes off too) there was the noise again.
Whoosh>>Whosh>>Whosh.decreasing cadance and volume as I slowed.
ARGUHHHHHH!!!! Perhaps the speedo drive unit is effected by the heat and is
screeching till it cools again...IDEAS? Similar experiences? Don't you just love
this kind of thing when it happens to other people’s bikes and you solve the
problem? ~ Bill the Fish Guy ’86 LXE Blue
Bill, You said
there was no play, but did you actually check the bearings? A dry bearing (or
one where the grease has caked) can still be tight yet could make the noise you
describe. Removing the front wheel ain't that bad and will allow a more thorough
investigation of the bearings and the speedo drive. ~ Tracy
Bill, That was the
same noise coming from the same location that my speedometer gear made before it
finally broke! ~ Dave '86 Blue LXE
When I had my new
front tire installed the installer did not straighten the Speedo gear drive
housing and that left the Speedo cable attached at a very bad angle. It was
making that noise on the way home. I thought it was the brake pads since the
wheel was off. 10 miles later the Speedo cable broke. I should have looked
things over better after I picked up the bike. Lesson learned. ~ Joe in Co
GEARBOX OIL LEAK
Looking for help
here. I've got a small oil leak at the boot on the driveline. I have the oil
seal for the rear of the secondary, but, when looking at the Big Blue Book, I
noticed a plug in the end of secondary bevel gear. Can this plug cause a leak at
the boot? Even if it isn't the cause, should it be changed anyway? Has anyone
had a problem with this plug? Begging for warmer weather, ~ Red ’86 LX
Yes, the plug was
the problem. In severe cases it would blow out and leak all of the fluid into
the tube. Impending gear lockup was the finale. ~ Tracy
Just off the top of
my head I'd say the rear seal is leaking, IF that plug comes out you will have a
sudden loss of the oil in the intermediate gearbox. there is a diagnosis I did
of mine on the SuzukiCavalcade web site. I put up with an intermediate gearbox
OVERFILLING from the engine for 1 year. Just remember if that gearbox is run dry
that it can cause a rear wheel lock up. If you have to pull the intermediate
there are other seals you'll need to replace. This is MAINLY because of the
possibility of them going bad after you fix the rear seal, if that IS the
problem, there's no way I'd would pull the intermediate gear box off again and
just replace 1 seal, been there done that. Good luck with your OIL leak. I have
personally been keeping an eye on the intermediate oil level. especially when on
long trips, better safe than sorry. I would think if that plug came out you
would have more than drops of oil out the boot, probably soak the left
driveline. I think the diagnosis I did is in the maintenance. Section. ~ Walter
n Maryland
When I was having
my intermediate overfill problems, I made up 2 quick check tubes. 1 for the
intermediate breather tube,1 for the driveshaft/left swing arm. These tubes
consisted of enlarging the breather tube hole with a #13 drill bit pressing a
brass barbed fitting into that hole, attached to it was a length of rubber hose
that was slid down into a length of clear plastic tube. By doing this in 2
seconds I could tell if the intermediate gearbox had overfilled, as overfilled
oil would enter the tube and collect in the clear plastic, it wasn't to catch it
but mainly to let me know the box was overfilling. The catch tube for the left
swing arm was installed by drilling again with the #13 drill bit a hole very
very carefully into the bottom of the swing arm where the larger section is for
the u-joint. And again pressing a brass 90-degree barbed fitting, into this
hole. Again with the rubber/clear
tubing rig made a stainless bracket to hold this tube up against the swing arm.
Theory being if this tube collected any oil I knew to check the intermediate for
a low level. Even with these tubes in place. They would only fill to the
breather holes that must be in the clear plastic tube, any over flow would
naturally show up on the bike, and I think we all know if the side or drive line
is covered in oil we need to check something. I put these on my bike so at a
rest stop or coffee stop I could readily check on an oil condition and might
just catch it before it got bad. They work too. As when the intermediate
overfilled it started to collect in the tube, I drained the intermediate,
refilled it with gear oil, as if I had kept riding it overfilled it would have
eventually blown the rear seal. And would have lost all the gear oil. There were
a couple of guys that were going to install these, don't know if they did, if so
did yours work? Will post drawings of modification if anyone is interested. Ride
safe Walter n Maryland
Thanks to both of
you. I have the rear seal and will order the plug. I know the oil is coming from
the secondary, not the final. I replaced the seals on the secondary last year
but did not do the plug. Should have, but if I did everything right the first
time, I'd be bored all winter. My wife says a bored husband is a dangerous
husband. Walter, you are probably right about the amount of oil signifying the
seal. I probably nicked it last time. ~ Red
The dreaded
secondary plug. Red, your bike was made right along with all the others that
have had that oil plug problem. I suspect a systematic error in manufacturing
around that time. The boot is exactly where the secondary case oil would show up
if the plug fell out. Don’t ride the bike that way, that plug could get caught
in the secondary bevels, which could lock the back wheel. ~ Spike
Spike, if it were
the plug wouldn't it be far more than a few drops now and then? ~ Red
I'm like red. If
that plug comes out you're going to see a lot more than a couple drops of oil
now and then. As for a rear wheel lock up, it's a plastic plug isn't it? Spike
yours came out, did your rear wheel lock up? Or did it just chew the plug up? As
for it being a common problem I have only heard of a couple of them coming out.
You should definitely check it when you remove the secondary gearbox. When and
if I have to do mine I’m thinking very seriously of pouring that gear shaft
full of some type of epoxy or maybe a wooden plug epoxied in the u-joint end.
The hollow shaft was only needed in the manufacturing of the gear and shaft. Has
anyone approached a Suzuki dealership/repair shop that might have a
recall/defect listing on the Cade? I'm sure there was one issued. If anyone does
try the wooden plug make sure you drill a hole in it so as not to unseat the
plastic plug as you push it in from the u-joint end of the shaft. Do you know
what I mean? The fellow on e-bay that was selling those parts stated the bike
had suffered a rear wheel lock up because a service shop had forgotten to fill
the secondary gearbox on a service job. Just make sure you don't run it dry.
~ Walter n Maryland
Yah, I would think
so. Did you check the secondary oil level? I can imagine a scenario where the
plug is out of its seat but still in the center of the driven bevel, sorta
cocked sideways in there. I’m pretty sure the assembly needs to come off to
take a look at it in any case, because it might just be threatening to come out.
Could it be you lost almost all the secondary case oil on a trip and didn't
notice, then all you are seeing now is the last little bit in there? To check
the oil level in your secondary case, I use a chopstick with a piece of tape on
it to indicate the level. It also makes it convenient if I want to have a salad
with oil and vinegar: all I have to do is add the vinegar. But I digress. Check
the oil in your secondary case and report back, so we can diagnose this problem.
~ Spike
LOCK
UP It’s a plastic plug isn't it?
Mine is a metal
plug with a rubbery coating. It probably wouldn't lock the back wheel by itself,
but I wouldn't want to try it
Spike
yours came out did your rear wheel lock up?
No I was lucky.
Somehow the plug didn’t get caught in the gears, it just fell to the bottom of
the case. I used the same plug when I put it back together, but I gooped
Locktite sleeve retainer on it.
Or did it just
chew the plug up?
As
for it being a common problem I have
only heard of a couple of them coming out. Yes, I’m hoping everyone who had
that problem will speak up, especially those who have already posted me their
VINs, so we can see if it was a calendar related systematic manufacturing goof,
such as a factory worker that didn't know he was supposed to use sleeve
retainer. The fellow on E-bay that was selling those parts stated the bike had
suffered a rear wheel lock up because a service shop had forgotten to fill the
secondary gearbox on a service job. Make sure you don't run it dry. I know Mike
Cohen had his back wheel lock up and that the secondary case was dry. But those
secondary bevels should have been singing a song way before they locked up. Mine
started whining. I took it apart, no oil, but also no signs of wear at all,
none! The secondary bevels with 23k on them looked brand new. I’m wondering
now if Mike's secondary case was dry. the gears got really hot. then
coincidentally he hit a bump or somehow got the plug caught in the already hot
gears. The shop wouldn't show him the locked gears, but I have me doubts about
the shop that did his work. If anyone buys that E-bay parts bike, I would be
interested in seeing the inside of the secondary case. ~ Spike
This is the top
view of the secondary gearbox, the plug in question is in
red. And yes Spike, it appears to be some sort
of non ferrous metal encased in hard plastic or rubber and according to
my non professional micrometer to be pressed approx. 3/8” to ½” into the
inner gear end of the shaft. My McGuyver fix is to clean the oil and grease
residue out of the aft end of the shaft and pour about 1 to 11/2" of epoxy
or I would prefer JB weld into that end carefully as not to get it on the inner
splines for the driveshaft. And having the gearbox held with the rear seal
vertical until the JB cured. The JB is indicated by the red dots. I feel this
would be a permanent fix for this problem. Wonder what Mr. Suzuki’s fix was? I
checked this fix out on a spare secondary I have and think it would work.
Driving in a wood plug is out of the question because the shaft has inner
splines for the driveshaft. This will be my fix at the next removal of the
secondary gearbox. Be sure to check oil levels before during and after a long
trip especially if there is evidence of a leak. ~ Walter n Maryland
I'm putting the
bike back together after replacing my drive shaft. I found some oil in the boot
off the upper G-box just enough to wet your finger . so I' m gonna order the
seals after Daytona, figure I'll check the level each day. I like your fix
Walter and I may try that. ~ Two questions
:Why is there a hole that needs to be sealed? Why didn't Suzuki plug it too? The
new drive shaft is 1/3 bigger than the old one. So I hope that’s a fix for my
clanging noise. I've changed all the oils, new Dunlop on the rear, some new
lights, and both heated vests are wired now.
For you guys that have a trailer hitch my son and I used a car jack with a 2x4
under the hitch to jack the bike enough to get the back tire out, and back in..
This is at least a two-man operation but it saved a lot of time , Also the lower
unit was off the wheel. so it gave some room to angle it out the side, 3 nuts,
and it’s easy to drain the oil when you’re holding the lower unit in your
hand. ~ Larry
Larry: When you
used a 2x4 on the hitch to remove the back tire, how did you keep the bike from
falling over? ~
Brian, 87LXE in CT
Brian it was pretty
well balanced between the right and left side of the hitch, but it wouldn't take
much to tip it. That’s why it’s a two-man job. This got me thinking. Maybe
there is a way to stabilize it better. ~ Larry
Larry, The reason
for the hole is the result of the machining process to make the rear gearbox
shaft, as it is a hollow shaft with internal splines for the drive shaft. ~
Walter
Walter, are you
talking about replacing the plug with JB Weld or just putting it in back of the
plug? This sounds like a real good idea to me. ~ Red
Red: I'm referring
to: 1. After removing the gearbox and replacing the seals to ensure that the
plug is in place and looks secure. 2. Position the gearbox with the
aft(driveshaft seal up) 3. Clean out any oily/greasy residue from inside the
shaft internal splined end. With Brakeclean and a rag on a wire (like a rifle
barrel cleaner) making sure the inside of the shaft is clean as possible and not
dislodging the fact plug. 4. Mix JB Weld and pour/place it in the shaft all way
to the button making sure it fills 1" to 1 1/4 inch up in the shaft (when
it hardens it will form the plug and will also have the factory plug in place)
just like the attachment shows. 5. After insuring the JB had cured, lube the
splines and seals up real good making sure there is no dirt/grit on any of the
sealing surfaces. 6. Make sure you don't get any JB Weld on the splines or
seals. If you heat the JB up just a little, makes mixing easier cures a little
faster. They suggest 24 hr. curing time. Is this clear as mud now? ~ Walter n
Maryland
Just got done
replacing the oil seal on the drive shaft and the plug on the bevel gear. Was a
little more extensive job than I thought it would be. Had a big surprise when I
got it all apart....no plug in the bevel gear at all. I think it's previous
owner poured it out with the oil the last time he changed the oil seal in
between the crankcase and the secondary. Just never noticed it. He doesn't have
a computer, so he didn't have all you guys to warn him about it. Just one bad
thing, In putting the stator case back on, I didn't get the wiring grommet back
in place and promptly blew about two quarts of Mobile One all over the bike and
the road for about two miles. Didn't leak when I started it up but, when revved
up a little , it just ran out the hole, back along the exhaust, up on the side
cased and generally all over. . Sooooo, a little more work and a couple of
quarts more and the job is done, I hope. Thanks to everyone, especially Walter
and Spike. Now, it's time to ride. Warmed up to 48 today. I am so ready. ~ Red
‘86 LX
Ok Group, Here is
my story on the gearbox leak. Tore it down and found the plug to be installed
correctly and had to actually knock it out. Didn't find any sealer on the plug.
Did find the white semi soft goo on the bolt someone mentioned. Found out why
and where my leak came from. I purchased my bike in August 2000 and it had a
funky tire on the rear that handled bad and made noise when cornering but I put
up with that for a while and did not see any leaks at that time. Well then I
took it to my local shop and had a new Dunlop Elite II put on and rear brakes.
After that I started to see the leak from the boot but not right away. Long
story short, when the bike shop had my rear wheel off and stuck the drive shaft
back in I think they damaged the seal and it started to leak. But it took a
while to saturate the boot and dirt to plug the boot and eventually fill the
tube. So this is why it finally got to the outside and under the driveshaft tube
and became more visible. I could be wrong about this but I'm sure that if I am,
someone will set me straight. Sound off Please. Oh I only have 24,000 miles on
it. Thanks ~ Frank in Indy
Frank, was there a
particular reason that the shop took the driveshaft off? You don't normally need
to do this when just removing the rear tire. I suspect it just started leaking.
The secondary bevel seals on the Cades seem to all leak and need to be replaced.
~ Denny Potoczky, 86 Cavalcade LXE,
99 Kawasaki Nomad, South Bend, IN
Frank: I agree with
your assumption completely. When they removed the rear drive, in order to
replace the tire, they inadvertently dislodged the driveshaft from the bevel
gear box, which can happen. And instead of pulling the boot back to reengage the
splines into the bevel shaft. They damaged the rear seal in the process. If you
are not careful removing, the final drive in the tire process it will dislodge
and with the u-joint, you have to slide the boot off the intermediate in order
to Popsicle stick the splines back into the intermediate shaft. As it is time
consuming if not nearly impossible to get the splines back into shaft, without
damaging the rear seal. Now we have the rest of the story. ~ Walter n Maryland
OIL CHOICE
I would like to
know if anyone has used synthetic oils in the engine, secondary drive and final
drive. I am changing fluids and would like to check out synthetics. ~ Mud
Yes, people have
used and benefited from using synthetic oil in all 3. I use Mobil 0ne fully
synthetic oil in the crankcase (least expensive at Wal-Mart) and noticed an
increase in gas mileage and am sure in other areas too. ~ Brian in IN 87 tt Gray
LX
I have put full
synthetics in my Cade. I use Mobil One, oil and the gear oil. So far so good. I
do use some Marvel Mystery Oil in the crank and always in the gas. The best
thing about the gear oil is that it has almost no smell. I love the smell of
Marvel Mystery Oil, buy it by the gallon. I was always told that it is an upper
cylinder lubricant and keeps the valve stems lubed, especially in older engines
that are to be run on lead gas, which kept the valves from sticking. ~ Joe in Co
Kelly, I buy the
Outlaw brand octane booster 4-packs that come in little 3.5 oz metal bottles. I
fill the bottles with 1/2 Mystery oil and 1/2 octane booster and put that in the
tank every other thankful. Joe in CO
Just another voice.
Have been running Mobil1 in secondary and final drive for 3 years without any
problems. I used a Quaker State synthetic blend in the engine last year - bike
seemed to shift smoother will probably try Mobil 1 engine oil this year. ~ Al
from Mass
I've been using
Mobil 1 in all my vehicles and either find improved gas mileage or cooler
running engines. On my Cade it seems to run and shift smoother, but also when I
go for long periods of not firing it up, it seems much easier to start then it
did using any other oils including other synthetics. I have 80,000 on my bike
and all of it (except for the break-in) has been on synthetic oil and the last 5
years or so on Mobil 1. ~ Doug Jensen
I
bought the little bottle of Bars Leak at the auto store. It didn't have pellets
but a powder. I mixed it with the first liter (thanks Pepsi) bottle of mixed
antifreeze and dumped it in the radiator. Added more till the radiator was full,
filled the overflow tank, and took it for a ride. Came back, checked, and
refilled the overflow. That was almost two years ago. ~ KennG
My guess is that
the tanks are blow molded. If you're not familiar with that process, here's a
quickie explanation. A two-half mold is closed between a pair of platens and
inside that mold is the shape of the exterior of the tank. Molten plastic is
then drooled into the mold opening (probably the filler neck) and when enough of
it gets in there, gas pressure is introduced into the center of the drool and
that blows the plastic outwards against the walls of the mold. The mold halves
are cooled so the resin takes a set and the mold is opened and the part removed.
What we have to
remember is these bikes were produced in the mid to late eighties when plastic
was being introduced into new applications at an alarming rate. Some of these
applications (such as radiator overflow tanks) are quite demanding. Plastic
selection and stabilization against heat, sunlight and oxygen induced oxidation
(which, generally, results in the embattlement of the plastic) can be more
complicated than many realize.
The
"seam" as it has been referred to, is actually the mold parting line
and is sometimes referred to as a witness mark. The funny thing about that line
is that it may be point of highest stress when the tank was originally molded
and may also be the point at which the material is thinnest since it is the
furthest point away from the center of the drool. Those two things make that
area more susceptible to long-term aging effects of the various operational
elements. ~ Personally, I believe that none of the engineers of the day had
enough information about the plastics they were using to really do a very good
job of using them in designs. Look at any 80's bike that has had any time in the
sun and you will usually find heavy oxidation, embrittlement and even total
failure (early 80's GS Suzuki front brake master cylinder reservoirs are a prime
example) of plastic components. A lot has been learned since then and the
plastics of today are better stabilized against the elements and resin companies
have gotten better about helping companies select the right plastic for the
right job. ~ Tracy
Is it true that you
should not run synthetic oil in a high mileage engine because it is thinner than
the real stuff and will cause burning/smoking and all around mosquito repelling?
~ Nick
Synthetic oils
maintain their viscosity better than petroleum oils, that's part of what makes
them better lubricants. As the oil heats up, synthetics thin LESS. They are
thinner when cold (which vastly improves start-up lubrication, which is when
most wear occurs) and change viscosity less as they heat up. Less viscosity
change is a good thing, especially for higher mileage motors. The main issue
with synthetics is clutch condition. If the clutch is already questionable, a
synthetic will surely amplify its weakness. ~ Tracy
In reference to
Tracy's above statement, I will relay my first hand knowledge of this. My bike
has 47k miles on it, and I had used reg. motor oil it in when I first got it (in
July 2000). I had noticed that my clutch would slip when accelerating hard in
3rd & 4th gear for quite a while. I also came home with a sore big toe after
an all day ride on the Cade in tennis shoes, hadn't realized how hard the Cade
shifted until then. I was ignorant of synthetic oils until I joined this group
and learned all the pros of it, the only con is the cost. I decided to try it in
my next oil change, (thinking of my toe of course), and after much research,
decided to use Mobil one fully synthetic. Needless to say, my big toe is
grateful, and my clutch slippage is no worse then it was before. It's not any
better either, but I am working on that right now. I have my Barnett springs and
will check the clutch plates for wear to make sure they are in tolerance. Anyone
wondering if you should use synthetic oil, don't wonder, just use it. Research
labs have rated Mobil 1 up there with the higher dollar oils, and only at about
half the cost. $17.87 for a 5-qt jug at Wal-Mart. And for Spike who likes
numbers, that comes to about $3.57.4 per qt. LOL I just did my secondary and
final drive units last winter, and was not aware that synthetic gear oil was
available. #!~%^&#~^ You can bet I will use it in the next gear oil change I
do. ~ Brian in IN 87 tt Gray LX
Hi, I tried running
Golden Spectral in my bike. It had over 100,000 miles on it at the time. It set
up such a howl I drained it after a thousand miles and went back to Castrol GTX,
which I have always run in it. It howled like a banshee with the synthetic in
it. ~ Eugene, San Diego
Richie, I don’t
think that you should use the 10w40 when it’s synthetic oil. Most of us are
using 15w50, and I bought a 5-qt jug from Wal-Mart for 17.88. Wherever you
bought yours, its highway robbery. Take it back, say it was the wrong stuff and
go to Wal-Mart. just my 2 cents. ~ Brian in IN 87 tt Gray LX
Richie I think he
bought the Mobil 1 motorcycle synthetic oil and that is about 7 $ a quart. I
agree with you that the 15/50 is as good. Go to Mobil one web site and you will
see all their oils. ~ BobL
Should I drain the
10w40 out and replace with the 15w50, or wait until I have 3 thousand miles on
it and then switch over ~ Richie
It should be fine,
Richie. Synthetic oil is thinner when its cold then reg. oil is. That’s why
you can use thicker oil as compared to reg. petroleum oil. 10w40 synthetic will
not thin out any worse then reg. oil when it gets hot, so you should be fine. ~
Brian in IN 87 tt Gray LX
FIXING THAT LEAKY
BEVEL GEAR PLUG
If that plug is
leaking, it must be out of its seat at least partially. Use some Locktite blue
sleeve retainer on it when you push it back in, and be sure to get that bevel
cleeeeean clean of all oil, otherwise the Lactate won’t bond and it might come
loose again. ~ Spike
Blue Locktite is
the weakest. If you really want to hold something in a pressed fit, use GREEN.
In fact, you may not be able to get it apart without warming it up a bit if you
use GREEN. The blue gets real weak as it heats up. ~ Tracy
Oops, right you are
Tracy. Dammit! The green stuff specifically says “sleeve retainer.” That
secondary case oil probably gets pretty hot on a long ride. ~ Spike
Tracy: I have to
agree with you on your summation of the oil transfer. If that plug comes out of
the aft bevel gear there's only one place for the oil to go. Namely into the
boot, swing arm and overboard. As for the transfer, I know for a fact it will
transfer engine oil into the gearbox. Mine has been doing that for a year or
better and especially, at high freeway speeds. That was the reason for me
enlarging the breather tube and placing a small clear plastic catch tube. So I
would know at a glance the bevel gear box was overfilled and forcing oil out the
breather, to correct this, bevel gear box was drained, fresh gear oil put back
in and engine oil re topped off. I did this so I would not run the bevel gear
box OVERFILLED, and possibly blow the rear seal. The seal problems will be taken
care of this season's get ready maintenance days. But as you stated you had to
be there. Most of my driving years I've owned something you had to do a little
maintenance on once in a while, and have been an avid oil level checker, all my
oil levels are checked before each lengthy trip, during and upon return. every
now and then when on the road, I will place the bike on the center stand in a
nice level spot, so while I'm eating, the oil will settle in the sight glass and
I will know at a glance, the engine is ok. I also keep an eye on the left aft
running gear as if a leak should develop in the bevel, which is where it'll most
likely show up.
Was the plug
completely out? if the boot was good then the oil must have collected in the
left swing arm and not showed up on the bike. As for the BOLT A that Suzuki
suggests sealing or bonding. For the life of me I can't see how it would
possibly allow any engine oil to enter the gearbox. That bolt hole is a through
hole straight through the gear box case. There is no entry whatsoever into the
inner cavities of the gear area. My curiosity was up. I went and looked at my
spare intermediate BOLT A hole, even blew compressed air through it with one
side sealed, nada. BY not sealing that bolt it MAY allow engine oil to leak out,
onto the ground, or exhaust system, I guess it's another case of you had to be
there. With all these strange unexplainable, losses of oil I know for sure
I"M GONNA CHECK IT REAL close. I know for a fact my seal between the Trans/case(mainsheet)
to the bevel gear box is causing my transfer, and it's only bad when I have
traveled long haul, at high speed. MY plug isn't out and my rear seal isn't
leaking as my catch tube on the bottom of the left swing arm has not shown any
oil drops YET???? She'll undergo the repairs before the season starts. ~ Walter
n Maryland
COOLANT CHOICE
I was just checking
the radiator overflow tanks and found that the previous owner used green
antifreeze in the bike. The manual says to use antifreeze for an aluminum
radiator, which I always thought was pink like Dexcool. Am I correct? Or is
there green antifreeze that is meant for aluminum radiators also? I thought my
overflow tank that is hidden above the engine was leaking, (didn’t see any
fluid in it and saw some wetness on the bottom of it), but upon removal and
inspection, found that it did have fluid in it and could not find any leakage.
Which is fine with me. :-) Working on getting it ready for spring, ~ Brian in IN
87 tt Gray LX
Green is okay for
aluminum. Pink is propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol so it's safer in
case you drink it (it won't kill you like ethylene). They didn't even have
propylene glycol available for vehicles when the Cav was made. Read the label.
It will say for aluminum. ~ Tracy
Most antifreeze is
OK for aluminum today. It's not that bad of a job to drain and replace. ~ KennG
I thought the anti
freeze had to be silicate free, or it could mess up the water pump. Or is that
why you have to add Bars Leak. I don’t know just thought I remembered
something about silicate. ~ Roy in TX
I added the Bar's
leak when I changed it last. Better safe than worried. ~ KennG
The anti freeze
that is pink is also SILICA free which some manufactures state is safer for the
seals in aluminum water pumps than the green, that contains SILICA agents. When
I changed mine last year I went to the PINK. OF course up until that time it had
the green in it, so it might be too late IF THERE IS anything to claims made by
the manufacturers and when looking for SILICA FREE anti freeze it all happened
to be pink. I also added the BARS stop leaks as the manual suggests. ~ Walter n
Maryland
When adding Bars
Leak to the cooling system be careful. I changed anti freeze a year or so ago
and added Bars as recommended . I accidentally put in too much and it caused an
over-heating problem. I had to remove radiator and get it cleaned. I also had to
flush the rest of cooling system. ~ phenry67 86 LX br/br Colo
As one member in a
previous post stated he had dissolved the pellets in warm water (I think) before
he added the bars leak. Which I personally think is a good idea. I didn't
especially like adding the pellets into the radiator either and didn't add more
that called for. I checked at a Suzuki shop locally and they didn't understand
why they suggested adding the stop leak before needing it. My only assumption is
that due to the uneasy way you have to get to the radiator cap. You put it in
before hand and it was there in case a leak did develop. I don't know is there a
pellet free bars stop leak? I also put in about 4oz of water pump lubricant and
corrosion preventer. My own preference and who knows might even contain silicas.
Did I defeat the purpose of the silica free anti freeze? Time will tell. Until
then I have piece of my mind. ~ Walter n Maryland p.s.: all my additives stated
safe for aluminum blocks and radiators
For what it's
worth, I haven't used any type of stop leak in my system since 1990. I haven't
detected any leaks nor have I had any problems with the cooling system other
that the *(^%#_**&^) center reservoir. I'm on my 3rd one. I still have the
original that has been repaired with a hot melt glue gun in case I need a spare.
They apparently had a problem molding the part at the manufacturer. The thing
always leaks at the seam. Actually I'm not sure if it's a seam or a line from
the injection mold. ~ I also started using the "pink" anti freeze a
few years ago without problems. The bike still runs warm in the city traffic and
the fan goes on & off just like it's supposed to. ~ Ray & Lin LeTourneau,
rayln@tznet.com "In The
Woods" Nekoosa, WI
PLUG CHOICE
The service manual
suggests either a NIPPON DENSO X22EPR-GL or NGK PJR7A as the standard plug for
the 87 model CADE and to replace the plugs every 11,000 miles. What is the
groups plug of choice NIPPON or NGK? What is the average life of a set of plugs
for the CADE? Where and about what price is the going rate? Thanks ~ David
Williams Evansville, Indiana 87 LXE
List of plugs that
will work in the Cade. Here are plug types that are used in 86 LXE: Denso
X22EPR-GL NGK PJR7A or DPR8EA SPLITFIRE SF416D Champion SERIES 810 plug type
RA8HA. Sockets most are 18MM champion are 16MM. ~ KennG
David, I bought the
cheap NGK plug for mine and it runs fine. Got same gas mileage and starts hard
in cold weather with both. I changed mine at 17,000 and put on 7,000 so far and
no problems so far. Don't forget our ride for Indiana it looks like it will be
6/22/02 weekend and I promise it will be verrrrry interesting. Camping will be
included and good company and food and so on. If you don't come we will talk
about you. lol ~ Frank in Indy
Dave, I've been
going with Champion for the last 12 years. I pay $1.09 each. No change in
mileage or performance, just a major change in price. Of course they're not
platinum tipped, but who cares if they do the job. ~ Mikey
DPR8EA9. Great
plug, I got 9,000 miles on them in one year. ~ Gerry in NY
FORK OIL
Help, I need to
know what oil to put in the forks. I see by the CD that it uses #15 oil. What is
that ? ~ Terry ‘86LX
15 weight fork oil.
AKA - automatic tranny fluid. ~ Tracy
Thanks, I assume
Dexron. ~ Terry
Yes, ~ Tracy
TIRE PRICES
I went to the local
Honda shop to see about new tires today and this is the results: Dunlop 491
elite 2--front 130/90-16 qualifier rear--mv 150/90-15-- installed including tax:
$428.00. Is this a fair price, they are the only Suzuki dealer around here ~
Richie
It is if they
remove the tires from the bike themselves. ~ Gerry in NY
Richie, I think he
is a little high. However, tire cost and the tax on tires vary from state to
state. Add a labor cost of $65 -$70 an hour for installation. He probably not
that far out of line. God bless, ~ Bob D. Indy/Gideon
Richie, I bought a
manual tire changer with the motorcycle adapter from Harbor Freight for $70 and
mounted it on 2 X 12s because I was sick and tired of paying those prices.
Balancing isn't really a problem. Try it. You'll like it. ~ Mikey
Thanks, I looked in
my owner's manual and it is not that big of a deal to remove the tires. I have a
MAW catalog and their prices are a lot cheaper on the same tires that I got at
the Honda shop. I build and rebuild ultralight aircraft and the engines so this
tire changing thing will be ok with me--I'm doing it myself and will look at
Harbor freight for that tire changer--------------Richie
P&S--sometimes
I just get a little lazy--
Richard, at
Americade last year Dunlop wanted $224 to put a new rear tire on and grease the
spines. cost me $218 at the Suzuki dealer in 1995 for the rear. I think it was
about $170 for the front. Honda dealer does not sound far off. ~ Dunlop dealer
in NH last fall quoted $155 for the rear tire plus labor. I plan to have it
installed next month.
I found out from a
Suzuki mechanic there is a special tool for the greasing. Just for the record
riding one up my current rear tire has 33,000+ on it and there is tread still
left - just doesn't feel right on wet roads. ~ Al from Mass
It takes me about
an hour to take the rear wheel off of my Cade. Save yourself some money and do
mail order and I'll bet you could save about $150. Follow the instructions in
you bike manual and you should have no problem. ~ Doug Jensen
For both tires from
a dealer not a bad price, I would pay that in a heart beat. Here in the KY state
the going price for the rear tire mounted and balanced is 210 dollars out the
door to say from a Honda dealer. ~ Ronald Cole
I believe I paid
$250 at the local independent shop for the rear tire and install. btw I went to
get an inspection on the bike and noticed they were charging $75 per hour for
labor. OUCH! ~ Dan
I would consider
staying away from the Qualifier. They don't last long for the money and there
are a good number of better choices. Most dealers will mount your tires if you
carry in the wheel & tire for about $35 each including a spin balance. ~ Ray
& Lin LeTourneau, raylin@tznet.com,
"In The Woods" Nekoosa, WI
the price sounds
very high. I wouldn't mess with harbor freight either. I take my own off then
take it to the local motorcycle shop and the will remove the tire from the
wheel, install the new tire, and balance all for $20. ~ Big Dog
CLUTCH SPRINGS
I have replaced my
clutch springs with the Barnett type. All my dealer needed to know was what bike
they were for - a little mote effort to pull/hold the clutch lever but no more
slippage. The part Number for the Barnett springs is 2012-312. That is a set of
4 and they only cost about $10.00. ~
Brian 87LXE in CT
WATER PUMP
Well I was all set
to test drive the Cade after doing the drive shaft an those extras , when I
noticed a little puddle of water beneath the Cade, appears to be coming from a
small slot, right front on the bottom, I guess this is the water pump. I should
I just replace it, the entire pump I suppose, and not just the seals, I’m off
to the archives to see what others have said covering this problem. You got to
love this group. I'd be lost otherwise. Guess my riding in Daytona bike week is
a bust . ~ Larry
Larry, Much more
often than not, a faulty seal is indicative of a bad bearing just on the other
side. Therefore by all means check the bearing on the water pump. You will most
likely find excess play. ~ Grandpa86
Has anyone who had
problems with the water pump leaking. What did you need to do to repair (what
seal, what parts)? Going to try to get this done before we leave for Daytona on
Wed. Lar noticed this moisture right above the exhaust pipe on the bottom of the
motor right side. Help. ~ Nancy
I just ordered a
seal kit for mine late last year so I would assume it would be still available.
I ordered mine from www.bikebandit.com .
~ Rick
Do the whole water
pump, Larry. Beside, I believe the seal kit for it is obsolete. Good Luck and
thanks - probably means mine will go out this year ! lol ~ Denny
Larry, Not that bad
if you get one from Bike Bandit. It’s not that hard to install. Don't forget
to get the side cover gasket. I was going to install just seals but it’s
easier to put in a new one and not take the chance on the bearings being bad.
Complete pump shipped over night was under $200.00. ~ Frank in Indy
Larry
needs to go under the bike and see where the water is coming from. It could be
coming from a weep hole. If it is, it will tell him if it's the pump or just a
seal. ~ Gerry in NY
I'm on my fourth
water pump and not one of them leaked beforehand. Be thankful for the warning. I
think the last one cost about $135.00. I keep a spare in the trunk just to be on
the safe-side. ~ Eugene, San Diego
REAR SHOCKS
Hi! I'm looking for
rear shocks for my Cade LXE ‘88. The dealer of my town sold each $625.00. I
just want to know if the price is ok. ~ Claude
I just checked www.mawonline.com
they have them for $254.95 Page 65 in their catalog. Don't know about shipping.
Call 'em at 1-800-241-2222 ~ Dan “Ride what you love and love what you
ride.”
Claude, get the
Progressive air shock set for the Cavalcade. You can get them at most mail order
places, and they usually go for around 270.00 for the set ~ Denny Potoczky,
‘86 Cavalcade LXE. ‘99 Kawasaki Nomad
What a difference
shocks can make!! I bought a pair from this group many months ago and was
finally able to install them. Spike once told me that it looked like I was
riding a pogo stick. I had to keep airing up several times in a ride but that
still didn't help out much. The bike rode like that pretty much since I bought
it years ago but just thought that was how touring bikes rode. Then one day I
was taking a turn I take every day while going to work and I hit a very small
bump while leaned over. I ended up bottoming out, which put an end to my leaning
and knocked me up straight. I then had to recover my senses and throw into
another lean even harder to finish the corner. I've had to ride in a much less
aggressive style so as not to duplicate that moment! Needless to say, I'm back
for some better riding. ~ HeyJerr
WATER PUMP DRIVE
CHAIN WEAR?
Hi all, I got the
clutch springs on and thought, while I'm in here, might as well check everything
else out. But I can’t understand how one goes about checking the water pump
drive chain for wear. Can someone explain this to me? ~ Brian in IN, ‘87 tt
Gray LX
Brian, You measure
the length of 10 chain links to the outside of the pins. There's an illustration
of it in the manual but I can't find it. ~ Tracy
The illustration on
how to measure a chain is on page 3-37 it shows measuring the cam chain you do
the water pump chain the same way but count only ten pins ~ Tom
OK.... I measured
from outside of pins of 10 links and it's not close to the listed limit of
2.54". This is what I measured with the links pulled taught--- 2.592"
and I measured 2.566" with them pushed together as tight as possible. Can
someone tell me if this 26 thousands difference means I need a new chain?
Thanks, Brian in IN
VIBRATION
When I bought my
Cade it had 2,600 miles on it and I noticed a slight little vibration when I
start my roll shifting all up to 5th. gear, after I'm cruising at say 60mph and
I give it the power to go up to 70--75 I can feel it again. it this just a Cade
or is it something I need to look into ~ Richie
Sounds like you're
running on 3 cylinders. You'd be surprised at how much power it has and smooth
it will cruise firing on only three. ~ Tracy
Richie, I have an
88 also. When I picked mine up last fall it had 6300 miles on it. I changed all
oils to full synthetic Mobil One. It works great for me. With 9500 miles on it
now I would say that I have been very happy with the synthetic. I have no
noticeable vibration at any speed up past 100 mph. I did change my front tire
even though it looked new, to an Avon Venom X. The back was replaced last summer
before I got it with an Elite II. 14 year old tires no matter what the
appearance could be hard enough to cause vibration. Mine seems to grip and stop
so much better now with the new front tire. Hope you find out about that
vibration. Could be most anything. ~ Joe in CO
Well, I'm going
with the Mobil One oil tomorrow and will look into getting the covers off to
check the firing and might replace the plugs. the tires look like new but they
have to be old, I'm going to make a few phone calls and check on getting new
tires. someone said its best to go to a bike rally to buy tires but that will be
Branson for me and I'm going to get them before then ~ Richie
GET A GRIP
(REPLACED)
O.K., I know some
of you guys are going to wonder how inept I am, but that’s all right because I
really do have a problem with replacing these grips. A man who owns a small
motorcycle shop come up talking about we could shorten the handlebars, and I
didn't like that idea. Owner of Suzuki Store came up with three different sets
of grips that he said that none of would fit, so I really am at a loss here.
Anyone who has replaced the grips, that might remember the brand and model
number and what modifications they might have had to make, please help a poor
old boy who is about to lose his "GRIP". ~ Louis
My silly question
is, do we remove and throw away the handlebar weights? I’ve tried replacing
the grips with the foam ones and tried to cut a hole in the ends to re-attach
the weights but they looked like shit so I put stock ones back on. ~ Ray
I bought foam grips
last year and replaced the original ones with them. I still have the weights on
the handlebars. I made sure that I could unscrew the ends of the grips I bought.
But, even if the can't, you should still be able to cut a small hole in the ends
of them; even drill a hole in them. ~ Gerry in NY
ALL DAY JOB
If you ever pull
the secondary gearbox off of your Cade, there is a bolt that holds it on. When
you put it back on it requires 1207B Suzuki Bond stuff. That bolt goes into the
crankcase and will leak oil into the secondary tranny. Been there ... fixed
that. In the manual it shows as bolt "A" and looks to be a top left
bolt on the tranny. ~ Doug Jensen
~ ELECTRICAL ~
OK MONITOR
My Ok monitor has
never worked. I opened the box and it looked ok. Is there a fuse before the box?
Does any one had experience in getting their OK monitor working ~ MUD
The service manual
says little about the OK monitor except "if defective, replace". ~
Tracy
Speaking of OK
monitors, I just ordered a replacement - hope that solves my problem. If not,
then some lucky member will get a deal on a new one! ~ Brian ’87 LXE in CT
STATOR
I got my last one
from Willie's Cycles. It's listed on the SuzukiCavalcade.com web site. I got
their high output stator for $149.00 and am real happy with it so far. My
voltmeter looks a lot healthier than with my other stators. ~ Eugene San Diego
Tom, By trade I'm a
maintenance Electrician. From what you state, you can pretty much bank that your
stator is okay. The Cade stator normally puts out 90 to about 110 volts 3 phase
AC. The reg./rect. will brake it down to about 14.5 DC. Changing your reg./rect.
should solve the problem. A voltage higher than 14.5 normally will evaporate the
water out of the battery and possibly damage electrical equipment (once you go
+/- 15% on voltage, damage can occur). If you determine that you need a stator,
I have a new one and a parts one (19,000 miles). I also have a new and parts
reg./rect. ~ Mike
See www.electrexusa.com
and/or the Cav service manual. Both offer instruction for testing. ~ Tracy
To test rectifier
use multimeter set at 1k ohm to measure resistance of the red, orange,
black/white stripe and yellow wires coming from rectifier. The approximate
measurement between the + (positive) probe of tester on red and - (negative)
probe of tester on orange should read approx. 80 ohms......+ (positive) on
orange and -(negative) on black/white stripe wire should read approx. 35
ohms......+ (positive) on yellow and - (negative) on black /white should read
approx. 3ohms. If the resistance checked is incorrect, time to replace
rectifier. I hope this helps. ~ Nick
Luis, I'm sure the
manual gives a specific ritual for checking the reg./rect. I simply check the
voltage across the three legs of the stator: 1-2, 2-3, 3-1. If the voltage is
around what the manual says (I think it's about 90-110 VAC but don't hold me
exactly to that figure). If the stator checks out okay, plug it into the r/r and
check the secondary of the r/r or across the battery terminals at about 5000 rpm
(again, check the manual). If the voltage is 12.8-14.5 vdc, you are okay. If the
voltage is above that, you will be evaporating the water out of the battery and
possibly damaging critical electronic components. If the voltage is below the
low limit, you will be giving your battery what is called a surface charge (the
plates will be charged only on the surface and not all the way through). That
could result in your battery all of a sudden dying when you least want it to. ~
Mike
One thing more to
do is check the battery after a bit of a load. Say ten minutes of lights on and
then disconnect the ground of the battery and check across the battery. Voltage
should be above twelve. If less than that, could be the battery. Also make sure
that the battery terminals are clean as what makes the regulator work is the
resistance across the battery. The higher the resistance the more the voltage
across the battery leading the regulator to cycle off much more. ~ Grandpa ‘86
I did , cleaned the
terminals of the battery ,down here I guess is the weather. But the Pick up have
the same problem , the terminals got really dirty. Anyway, when I disconnected
the ground ( NEG) of the battery to test it ( the bike was running) , well the
dashboard started flickering and the engine sputtering, so couldn't do nothing
else but put back the ground for the battery. I did something wrong?? or I'm
having a problem? ~ Luis, Belize City
Luis, I'd call that
borderline. The prices they're charging these days would prompt me to keep
regular checks on it and hang tight. If it gets worse, well, you know the drill.
If I were in your place (and I wouldn't recommend anyone doing this unless you
really know what you're doing), I'd talk to one of the electrical engineers at
work to see if putting a proper resistor in series with the + wire could bring
down the voltage to a more acceptable level. ~ Mike
Hi Tracy, But why
does that when I take off the ground. My question is WHY does that? Is normal? I
have a BMW -100GS. You can start the bike and take out the battery. The bike
keeps running without a problem. Also I do have a HGW 1500 SE, take out the
battery while the bike is on and it's not a problem at all. It still runs until
you turn the engine OFF. ~ Luis
I dunno. It just
does. It's different wiring or something. I suppose the charging systems on the
other bikes continue to supply enough juice without the battery. At least the
world is still turning on its axis. ~ Tracy
Disconnecting the
negative terminal while the bike is running is not a good thing. Clean the
terminals with everything off including any electrical accessories. The
regulator will short the output of the stator to ground when the circuit is
broken. The resistance across the battery goes to infinity and the regulator
thinks the battery is fully charged. ~ Some bikes have magneto ignition and will
run until the cows come home or the magneto primary is shorted to ground. The
Cade has coils that depend on the battery. At idle you weren't getting quite
enough kick a poo joy juice from the charging system. ~ Grandpa86
Hi , I finally did
, I believe is the way I was exposed to do it at the first place, following all
of your advice.
Here are the
readings:
With the Cade OFF.:
w/o battery ground
= 13.42
w Battery ground on
= 13.49
With the engine on:
= 15.15 to 15.22 @ 1000 rpm
Can anyone analyze
it? I still don't know If something is wrong or not. Looks like the stator is
OK. The stator test gave me 100-105 VAC on the 3 phases. For the R/R , I really
don't know how to get the answer from the readings. Please, to all of you,
forgiveness, this field is far from my abilities. I can follow instructions but
still I don't know what the answer means. I have the 2 Cades on the garage, one
because of this problem. The second was build out of parts and is now complete.
It needs only for me to finish the muffler. One of the two Cades looks
"rusty" and in pretty bad state. So the idea is to finish it with
aluminum. I am making one like it , the bending part and welding is done. Now
the rest to do is the sanding and a coat of prime for tropical weather. I let
you know and take a picture when is done. Thank you for all your help and sorry
about my incompetence with the electrical knowledge. I could send the Cade to
the mechanic if we had one down here. In Belize , everyone is a carpenter,
electrician and plumber. I guess this is what scared me. Ride safe ~ Luis
Luis, The simplest
way to check if the r/r is functioning properly (assuming the stator is okay) is
to put a DC voltmeter (or multi-meter on the 20vdc scale) across the battery
terminals, start the bike, and run the rpm to 5000. If the voltage is more than
12.8 and less than 14.5 you're r/r is okay (the closer you are to 14.5 the
better). In addition if you have problems with corrosion, coat the terminals
with a thin layer of petroleum jelly. That should take care of that minor
annoyance. ~ Mike
The stator and
battery readings sound a little high. However, it could just be your meter. The
output of the stator phases should be 70 to 90 VDC and the battery at 5000 rpm
should be no higher than 14.5. You might make sure that the RR is grounded well.
If it sees too much resistance to ground it could be overfeeding the battery a
little.
But, again, it
could be your meter. ~ Tracy
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