SUZUKI CAVALCADE OWNERS GROUP NEWSLETTER
January, 2004
Here is the January 2004
issue of the Cavalcade Owner's monthly newsletter. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO
RECEIVE FUTURE MONTHLY ISSUES OF THIS NEWSLETTER, send me an e-mail with the
subject field phrase No Future Issues. My e-mail address is jay@treefarmtapes.com
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RIDES AND EVENTS:
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CADE RAID 2004 ~
BRANSON, MISSOURI ~ August 16-21, 2004
We have arranged some group rates for entertainment
while we are in Branson. These include a dinner and show at the IMAX Mall, a
dinner-cruise and show on board the Branson Belle Showboat and our own Cavalcade
Owners Awards Dinner. Last time it was HeyJerr in a chicken suit. What will be
the highlight of our big event this year? The Thonged Wonder vs. the Ol Coot?
Come and be surprised.
Our home base will be the Grand Plaza Hotel. We have a
special group rate of just $55.00 per night for up to 4 people in a room. And
if you want to come early or stay longer you can reserve nights before and
after Cade Raid 2004 at the same rate. www.bransongrandplaza.com 1-800-850-6646. For
you campers, contact ŅAmericaÕs Best Campground 499 Buena Vista Road, Branson, MO 65616 (417) 336-4399
Mark your calendar now for
August 16-20, 2004. We want to see you in Branson.
TORONTO CHARITY RIDE
A charity ride will take place on May 29, 2004. It is
running from just north of Toronto to Dorset, Ontario. It's a great ride and if
you want more info please e-mail: ~Barry Jaynes, b.jaynes@3web.net
Motorcycle
Hall of Fame Museum
When: May 7th, 8th, and 9th.
Friday to Sunday. At: The Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum, Pickerington, Ohio.
Staying at the Fairfield Inn, 2826 Taylor Rd. Reynoldsburg, Ohio, 43068.. 614
864 4555...Rate is $59 Double. Campground: Buckeylake KOA 614 928 0706. Larry
and Wayne will plan a ride for Sat. afternoon and then we will have a cook-out
at WayneÕs Sat. night. More info as the time gets closer
CROSS-COUNTRY
ODESSEY
Greetings from New Zealand! I am planning a trip to
the US in May or June 2004. It's my intention to ride from LA to NJ over a 2
week period. I have a number of logistical problems to over come before I
can finalize arrangements. First and foremost I will need a bike!!!! I
plan to purchase a bike that would carry my rather large butt from one side of
the states to the other and selling it on the other side. I was thinking about
a shaft drive 750 - 1200cc make or model is not important but reliability is. I
have a budget of $1000 - $1500 US$. Going by what I have seen on EBay this
shouldnÕt be too much of a problem. I would even look at purchasing a bike well
in advance of the trip. I need information on title, registration and insurance
and any other legal requirements on owning and riding in the States.
I would be eternally grateful on any information on routes and places of
interest along the way. I would like to meet up with and ride with as many
Cavalcade owners as I can. Keeping in mind I have to travel
approximately 250 - 300 miles each day. This will be a trip of a lifetime I
want to make the most of this opportunity I would love to hear from any one who
can offer any information or may have or know someone who may have a suitable
bike for this adventure. If you can help email me direct at painter@ihug.co.nz
I Look forward to hearing from you ~Murray 86LX, New Zealand
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If you are planning a ride or motorcycle event and would like it posted in
next monthÕs Suzuki Cavalcade Newsletter, send it to (jay@treefarmtapes.com)
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TRIPS & TIPSÉ
COLD WEATHER RIDING
Has anyone ever seen a 12V
coffee cup? I'm going to suck it up and keep ridin' thru winter. My
van is getting only about 13mpg, thatÕs way too few. I have the plans for
the electric coat which I plan to put to use in a set of Carhart coveralls,
battery powered socks, a neck warmer, but I wouldn't mind a spot of hot
chocolate now and then. I ride 100 miles to work all in the dark.
Any warm ridin' suggestions would be appreciated. ~Jack
I think I've pretty much tried everything over the last
40 years or so... including snowmobile suits. To be honest, I don't ride
if the temp drops much below 40 degrees, or so. Overpasses, open areas and
bridges will ice up and darned if you can't see it until you're on it. Big bike
like ours doesn't have a chance. I have ridden in forty degree weather,
both dry and monsoon type foul, for extended periods of time. Think my
best experience with comfort came with a set of Thinsulate ski gloves from
Land's End, a Columbia "Powder Keg" jacket (which I still use, well
past its design life) and a set of lower pant set from a Tour Master foul
weather riding suit... the upper was fine but started leaking like a sieve...
the lowers have been replaced with a set of Frank Thomas "Aqua"
rain/foul weather gear lowers as well as a new set of "Aqua" gloves
by the same manufacturer. The gloves haven't been in the rain yet but
once... seemed fine. I've used them daily in very cold weather and they
appear to be adequate. Hands do get a little sweaty in only cool weather
but they breathe well and I don't pet the sweaty stuff, much anymore. The
Tour Master lowers were very easy to get in/out of but real tough to get into
pockets for tolls and coffee stops. The new "Aquas" are a minor
pain to get on, but have external and internal easy to reach pockets (only
internal are watertight) and seem very warm... as well if not better than the
old Tour Master I wore out. The AquaÕs also have some padding in the right
places, and impact material on the knees, ankles and hips. The gloves
have impact protection on the metacarpal area as well as the heel of the
palm. It felt odd at first but they seem to 'wear in' and feel natural rather
quickly.
I've trusted my ski jacket for over 7 years but it is beginning to leak. There's
also a FJ "Aqua" jacket I've been looking at... and would have bought
last week if my Cade wasn't in the shop. The jacket is an extension of the
pants they zip together as a suit if desired and also have impact resistance
built into the right areas. Can't give a critique as I've not worn one
yet but that is the next thing on my agenda before this NorCal cold season is
over.
Other than hating the hassle of putting a snowmobile
suit on, I've had no real problem with those either. They worked well in
the cold and rain for me. Never felt real comfortable in them but did stay
dry and warm. All I can say is to those of you contemplating riding in sub-freezing
weather on our beasts is to give it a second thought. I've been in very severe
rain and more than once have had the rear tire break loose from just torque...
even though it is a very stable and forgiving machine in the wet, I don't think
anyone would have a chance if they were to hit a patch of ice unexpectedly. ~Don
NEVADA TOURING
My fond memories of
motorcycle touring in Nevada include not only the stunning sights, but also of
a sound that I had never experienced before that winter day in 1984. I had
recently moved to southern Taxifornia out of college and had nothing to do
except ride my brains out, since my sweetheart was still in college in
Washington (the one I've been happily married to for nearly 20 years). I
was riding an aging but still functional junkyard refugee, a wrecked and
resurrected GS850G. The weather forecast was one of those windless perfectly
clear, dry January weekends. So I planned to ride out from Ridgecrest thru
Death Valley up central Nevada on 376 to Battle Mountain, where I would
stay the night, then return the next day.
Saturday morning the bike
started a little clattery, so I took the time to adjust the valves, which put
me behind schedule an hour, resulting in my making it only to
Austin by dusk. I decided to stay the night there in a passable 25
dollar motel (of sorts). The next day I was looking at a map and
chattering with the desk clerk. I wanted to know about route 722
west to Middlegate. It showed as a dashed line on the map, but he
assured me it was good paved road all the way thru, narrow, no
centerline, but perfectly rideable on a bike.
So I went that
way. I saw no one the entire way to Middlegate. Out on that road I
pulled over, turned the bike off and walked out a short ways into the
desert away from the road. It was perfectly still. Then I heard something
that I had never heard before: the sound of my own heartbeat. I could hear the
sound of my own breathing. It was so quiet out there that the ears seemed
to grasp any stimulus available. From perhaps 200 yards, I heard the
occasional tick of the cooling bike, like a shot in the perfect silence. That
is my fond memory: not only the stunning rocky scenery but also the
profound silence of the Nevada desert. ~spike
Spike, thatÕs an interesting
story. I have one to match. The second weekend I was here, my family
was still in Wis. my nephew wanted to go out jack-rabbit hunting. We went out
into the desert and he wandered off one direction. I went the other
direction, probably a half mile into the desert from the car. After
chasing off a horny toad, and a few lizards, I stood there in the silence
staring at the mountains. After a few minutes I realized there was no
sound. You have to realize one of me two greatest fears is deafness. I
actually had to make some noise to be sure I wasn't deaf. I could see
semi-trucks about five miles off in the distance buy not hear them. It was
a fantastic experience. Perhaps we can encourage a little exploring in some of
our other members. Come experience Nevada. Enjoy, you can even gamble in the
grocery store if thatÕs your thing. ~Jack
JACKING UP THE CADE
I took my rear tire off and
am now going for the front too. I placed a block of wood under engine and when
lifting the bike it starts to wobble. IÕm thinking about two small jacks with
wood under the rear baggage rails. I would let them down slowly as I raise
the engine block jack enough to get the front tire off. Does this make sense? ~John
John, when I did mine, I just
used the center stand and one piston jack under the front bar directly behind
the front tire. I also used a piece of 2x4 lying horizontal that I had
cut a channel into for the bar to sit in. I had a problem finding someone
to balance tire so it sat that way for over a week. Even in the strong Nevada wind there were no balance
problems. ~Jack
Sams {Wal-Mart] has got a nice motorcycle jack for about
$60. I sure like mine and itÕs an older one. The new ones have
perches for the frame and side riggers for stability. ~arkycade
DONÕT FALL FOR THIS SCAM
This matter does not relate
directly to Cavalcades, but may be of use to you. My officemate was
swindled last week outta 3300 bucks in a new scam which I had never heard of
until Friday. He advertised his krautwagon in the paper for 8200 bucks and
included his email @. A buyer contacted him via that medium claiming to be an
intermediary for car buyers in Dubai UAE. They negotiated for the next 4
weeks and settled on a price of 8k.
Wednesday he gets a cashier's
check in the FedEx, for 11500. The instructions were to cash the check, then to
wire 3300 to a shipping company right away. The shipping company will then pick
up the car Saturday. He agreed to do so, assuming of course that the
bank would honor the cashier's check, which they did, assuring him that
everything checked out with the money order. They handed him the 11500,
so he went to Western Union and forwarded 3300. WU charged him 155
bucks, so he is still holding 8045 bucks, along with the car. The understanding
on Thursday afternoon was to have the shipping company pick up on Saturday (yesterday).
I thought this very strange that the buyer wouldn't pay the shipping company
directly, but I and my friend both assumed that if the check cleared, then it
was no problem to do it that way, perhaps they were trying to make the sale
price look higher for some odd reason.
Friday afternoon (12 December, 12:47pm) he
gets this email, which I quote:
"Hello Johnson, how are you
doing/weekend? I have very serious problem right now, my Wife is terribly ill
with a surgery operation and I need money to take care of her (although she has
been admitted) and the hospital bills are really a huge payment to take care
of. Please I would want you to wire the funds($7,000 less western union fee)
today to my shipper for the car is not suitable for me at this point in time
cuz my hubby is in dying situation.
You can still reserve the car for me but
right now I need to take proper care of my family problem so please do me a favor
of wiring the funds today, this is very urgent and I will appreciate it if you move
as fast as possible to help me. I am sorry for the stress and any
inconveniences.
Thanks, I hope to hear from you with the
western union details used in wiring the funds today.
Sincerely, Lucky...."
Upon reading this, I immediately became
suspicious, or rather more so than I had been before. I suggested we Google the
shipping company with their street address in Essex London. There is no such
street as the one given in Essex and the name of the company gave no hits on
Google,
nor the name of the person who picked up the 3300 from Western Union. There was
no phone number with the company. We went to Scambusters, who say that almost
all international internet car sales are bogus. http://www.scambusters.org/russian-scams.html
I advised him not to wire the 7k, because as
soon as they do, some yahoo will show up with a receipt showing he signed for
the 11500 check, and demand the car. Turns out no one showed up yesterday for
the car, because that isn't the scam. The scam is that it is a
counterfeit cashierÕs check! What has changed is that banks no longer
accept the liability for this, you do. Even though Johnson was told at the
bank that it checked out, it will not. We found this site which gives an almost
perfect description of what the scam: http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/carsale.asp
My coworker is not greedy, dumb or naive (PhD
in chemistry) but this scam fooled both of us and the shysters got away
with 3300 bucks plus 155 for the wiring fee. We expect to hear from the
bank this week sometime with the bad news. He's been taken. Caders
please learn from this as much as I have, for my hapless colleague has
paid our tuition. ~spike
SPEEDOMETER CABLE
REPLACEMENT
I just purchased an 86 Cavalcade that is a pleasure, but
has a broken speedometer cable. Can anyone clue me as to what the wrestling
match is to get that cable off and my chances of finding a replacement part?
Firstly, make sure it's the cable and not the drive at
the front wheel. Easy to check. Undo the cable from the drive and, making sure
the cable is not pulled out of the housing too far to engage the speedo, spin
it with your fingers and watch the speedo. If the needle doesn't jump, spin it
the other direction. If the needle still doesn't jump, then it's probably the
cable. If the needle moves, then it's the speedo drive.
Typically, the drive gets dried up and the drive tangs get bent away from
the drive slots in the wheel. It simply needs to be taken apart, cleaned and
lubricated. You can't take it completely apart but you can remove the round
snap ring shim and drive plate and get some grease in it with a needle stuck
under the lip of the seal. The seal is NOT removable. You will also need to
grease the area around where the drive plate sits and bend it back so that the
drive tangs engage the wheel. A new drive is about $70. A new cable is about
$17. Both are available from a dealer. ~Tracy
Take off the plastic things
that go just ahead of the false tank shroud, and the plastic thing that goes
around the key, which you do by turning the collar that surrounds the
keyhole. Then it isn't that hard to get to. Finding a replacement is
easy. Go to: http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/default.asp
and follow the directions. I bought one a few weeks ago and it didn't
even hurt, much. I think I gave 16 bucks for it.
~spike
CLUTCH CREEP
I need some help with my
clutch. I have an Ō88 with 39,000 miles. At a light with the clutch pull in, I
get small pulling, like the bike wants to roll. What can this be from? ~Jim
Fill the system with a DOT
4 fluid and drain/bleed it and see what happens. If it continues and/or you
continually lose fluid out of the system, it's probably the slave cylinder. If
it doesn't lose any fluid, then it's most likely the master cylinder leaking
down or the hose is expanding. I know of one severe case of hose expansion that
would not allow the clutch to be disengaged for more than a few seconds before
it would re-engage. ~Tracy
BATTERY DISPLAY
My recently purchased Cavalcade
has a battery about 6 months old is generally showing a picture of a battery,
but will toggle to what I guess is the desired display showing the time and
what gear you are
in. Any wisdom as to the root because or is it just skitszoid! ~AZ
Well, I will agree with all of the other responses and
add a couple of my own:
1) Liquid level in the battery is low
2) Sensor is defective
3) Sensor is missing
4) New battery didn't have a hole for the sensor so they left it out and
it's laying in the compartment
5) Battery voltage could be below 8 volts which will trigger the display
but
if that was the case it probably wouldn't start
Take out the right side tray and you will be able to determine which one it
is pretty quickly. The one thing I disagree with is Walter's claim that you
shouldn't add WATER to the battery with it in the bike. I use a livestock
syringe and it works fine. Just look down in there with a flashlight to get the
level right. You
don't even have to see the line on the side of the battery. About
3/8"-1/2" or so above the plates is about right. ~Tracy
TAPPING NOISE
Q- I believe that my lash
adjusters are getting weak. I believe thatÕs what is causing the tapping in the
upper engine. Good oil can almost eliminate it, but itÕs probably something
that needs to be done.
T- You may be worrying about
nothing. A slight ticking in the upper end is pretty typical.
Q- Any guesses as to how
difficult this might be? Should I be able to get at them with the motor in the bike?
T- Nope. Motor out to get at
them.
Q- Think one would even be
able to order the adjusters anymore?
T- Have to check with a
dealer.
Q- Small over flow drip of
gear oil from secondary. Seal from the engine going bad? I did change them all
last winter when I did the Tracey plug.
Installing the sec drive case
to the motor is a critical process to prevent the seal from being damaged in
the process. If you didn't take out the drive gear bearing carrier and very
carefully guide it up on there, you probably damaged the seal. ~Tracy
OUTING THE DRIVE SHAFT
How
would I know if my 87 LXE already had the larger shaft or not? I thought
the manual says remove the final drive case to pull the shaft out the rear. If
I pull the secondary box off to replace the "cork", can I pull
the shaft out forward then to replace it as well? Thus, avoiding taking
off the final gear case? That would be easier, and I would not need any
rear seals? Guess I would grab it somehow to pull it free from the rear
case and pull it forward. ~John, Ō87LXE, NJ.
T~ I haven't read the manual but you will
at least need to unbolt the final drive from the swing arm and move it back a
few inches to allow the front end of the driveshaft to be disengaged from the
output gear of the secondary. I've found that you can roll the wheel/tire/final
drive back without actually taking anything off and the driveshaft
will pull back far enough to allow the secondary drive to come off.
While you
have the final unbolted from the swing arm, you can drop it out so that
you can lubricate the left side rear wheel bearing (large needle type) that
sits in the wheel.
Once the
secondary drive is off, you take the driveshaft out the front. Of
course, the stator cover will need to be off to get the secondary drive
off as it also needs to be out of the way to allow the drive shaft to be
pulled out. I usually just lay the stator cover on the rear footboard to keep
it out of the way.
The larger drive
shaft joint wasn't standard until '88 according to the parts book. However,
that doesn't mean you don't already have it nor does it mean that you
absolutely need it. There are a lot of small-joint shafts out there that are
doing just fine. I have one in my bike and don't expect to replace it until I
actually need to. The point is to KNOW when the joint is loosening up to the
point that replacement is warranted instead of waiting until it completely
wears through the yokes and the shaft is in 2 pieces inside the swing arm.
There will be an audible "clank" (or clunk or bang or whatever) as
the driveline is loaded and unloaded. In fact, you might even be able to feel
it. That's the sign that something needs to be checked. It may turn out to be
something else but it at least needs to be looked at.
Once you have
the shaft out, it's a simple procedure to check it. Put one half in a vice and
try and move the other half in a back and forth rotary motion (as if the joint
was being turned). If you can see/feel slack in the joint, then it's probably
not too early to replace it. Minute movement is normal but anything beyond that
is a joint that's wearing/worn out. ~Tracy
PULLING THE GEARBOX
I have been getting some oil transfer between engine and
gearbox and decided to put new seals in again. I replaced the plug last year
and have been through this before. I have removed the stator cover, rear wheel,
final drive and the clutch line. The drive shaft has been moved back. When I
removed the bolts for the gearbox the gearbox moves forward about a quarter of
an inch. I am now trying to pull the gearbox out and it will not come out. I
have used a small pry bar lightly and can see the box move slightly but it will
not come forward. Anybody have an idea on what to do to get the gearbox out? ~Bob
Morse, Lexington, SC
If you take the drive gear
bearing housing off first (cast iron round thingy sticking out towards you),
it's much easier to get the box off and when you reinstall it, it allows you to
look at the motor to secondary seal as it goes up on the output shaft. If you
have the drive gear housing in place, there's a fair chance that you're gonna
mess up the seal because there's just too much stuff in the way to get a
straight shot on it.
When you have the sec drive
off, grab the end of the motor output shaft and give it a shake, if it's moving
around at all, then the bearing's shot and that will lead to very premature
seal failure. If itÕs bad and you don't replace it, then you're just
asking for another teardown.
The other thing is just a bad
install the first time. No worry, though, I popped a spring off one once.
Luckily, I didn't think it felt right and took it right back off. ~Tracy
I
had trouble getting my secondary off the first time that I did
it. Why? Found that I had a bolt still holding the thing to the
engine. Make sure that all of the bolts are out of the thing. I was
fortunate in that after I was through prying and hammering etc., that bolt came
out and when I laid it on the ground it broke in half. I would still be
working on getting that thing out of there. I did mess up the shims and had to
take it apart again and file the rough parts down. But it is alright
now. I just spent too much time getting it right instead of doing as
Walter suggested and that was to be patient. I have to admit that patience
goes a long way. ~Tom (1986 LXE in Alabama)
Secondary
seal removal/replacement
Quick question: I never
worked much with seals. Can I use a screwdriver to pry/tap out the old
seals? They seem tight.
T- Yep. That's the way I do
it. On the rear (driveshaft), I drive the tip of a pretty fair size flat
blade into it and pry it right out. The shifter shaft seal is the real
bear. It comes out real easy if you have the clutch cover off also and can pull
the shifter shaft out of the seal. If the shaft is still through it, you can
drive a couple of #12 wood screws into the face of it and then use those to
pull it out. It's still a bear. I haven't found a perfect way of getting that
one out with the shaft still through it.
Q- New ones I guess will
be a tight fit also. Think I coat the outside with a thin layer of Suzuki
bond, then use a small block of wood and hammer to tap them in using a circular
hammering pattern? I don't have a seal driver.
T- That's about right. I use
a short length of 2" SCH40 PVC pipe as a seal driver for the motor to
secondary seal and also for the rear (driveshaft seal). It fits just right for
both.
Q- Would I release the
shifter shaft from the clutch slide, and then tap on it to drive the seal
and shaft out the left side?
T- No. You would just pull it
out until it was free of the seal and then prying the seal out becomes easy
with no shaft in the way.
Q- Then, re-drive the shaft
back in with the new seal on?
T- No. You can just drive the
seal in and then push the shaft back through it until it's back in place.
Grease the inside of the seal.
Q- Is there a seal though on
the Clutch side I would be up setting?
T- No. It's just where it
drives the shifter barrel through a couple of gear teeth. Line up is real easy
and you just push it back in place.
Do you want me to get you a
water pump and clutch side gasket? I have both in stock. You might as well put
in Barnett clutch springs to alleviate any clutch slip tendency especially if
you switch to superior synthetic oil. I have a set of those in stock as well.
~Tracy
AIR COMPRESSOR HAS 3 MODES OF OPERATION 1) To inflate the seats - When a seat button is pushed (front or rear) the compressor runs and a dedicated solenoid valve opens that sends pressure (albeit low pressure that has it's own pressure pop-off valve) to all of the seat valves. However, only the specific seat valve that's open at that time will send pressure to an air bag. If you take off the front bladders, you don't need to do anything with the lines if you don't want to. The rear seat and backrest will still work fine. If you want to disconnect the front seat buttons, there is a 3 way fitting just behind the button array. You just take it out and put a splice in its place. 2) To air the shock absorbers - When the auto-level button is pushed, the compressor runs and full pressure is sent through a dedicated solenoid valve to the shocks. There is also another solenoid that controls bleed-off when the rear is sitting too high. 3) To provide compressed air from the tank - The compressor can be run on it's own without any solenoid valves operating. This is done with an add-on switch that was sold as an option. However, you can wire in any good quality on/off switch to do this. There is a plug-in on the wiring harness already and, if you don't use the factory button, you can simply put your own connector on it. This mode it used to air tires and the like. ~Tracy
CLARION AUDIO SYSTEM
I have looked
at the tape mechanism and I wished that Clarion had done something a little
different. When you insert a tape, a micro switch makes contact and starts the
cassette motor. But, in order for the head to come up in contact with tape (as
well as the pinch rollers); the drive belt must pull the mechanism up in place.
The problem with that is that if the belt is slipping any at all (stretched or
just dirty), then the mechanism won't be pulled up into place and it won't play.
You can FF and REW because those functions actually happen with the head and
pinch rollers pulled away from the tape. Also, since the radio sits straight up
and down, the belt must pull against gravity as well as the return springs.
The belt is
fairly easy to get to and some alcohol would probably solve the problem. Rubber
has plasticizers in it that bleed out over time and make the surface of the
belt a little slick. The alcohol will dissolve them and make it grip better on
the pulleys. The cassette mechanism is on the bottom side of the unit and can
be pulled off as an assembly and the belt is somewhat accessible for cleaning.
~Tracy
INTERCOM SYSTEM
Q- Do you have any advice on how to hook-up the intercom
system on the '86 LXE? I am looking for
suggestions as to what products to buy. I know I need a cable kit to
wire the helmets into the bike. Do I need a second kit to equip the
helmets with speakers and mikes?
T- The headset junction
kit is what gives you the cable to plug in the headsets. The headsets
themselves are separate and you get one for each helmet. JM makes good stuff
and Chatterbox has a line also. Make sure you get dynamic mics set up for 5 pin
connection. 6 pin like on later Harleys and some Euro bikes won't work. ~Tracy
BATTTERY TENDER
Q- I have my bike battery
tender hooked directly to the battery terminals and the battery is hooked up in
the bike. Am I doing this wrong? T-
No.
Q- What do you mean by hooking the battery tender to ACC terminals?
Which Ones?
T- There are 2 screw terminals at the top of the fuse box. That's the ACC terminals.
Q- And what will it hurt to leave the battery hooked up to the bike and the
battery tender hook up directly to the battery. T-
Nothing.
Q- One last question I start the bike while the battery tender is still
hooked up to the battery to give the battery that extra BOOST of energy.
Is this wrong too?
T- Not wrong, however, battery tenders generally don't have much capacity
(less than an amp or 2) so I wouldn't expect to get something that one could
label as "boost". ~Tracy
OIL PRESSURE PROBLEM
As some of you may recall,
Mike was having a problem similar to what Virgil Flaherty had. When I first
tested Mike's pressure, it was rather perplexing. On a cold start, the pressure
would rise to near 100 psig at 3K RPM and would idle (as quickly as the motor
would settle down and idle) at about 20 psig. However, after about 5-10
minutes, it would be about 50 psig at 3K and about 5 psig at idle. The book
calls for 60-100 at 3K so something was definitely wrong. But, I didn't think
it was severe enough to be the steel plug that Virgil found in his oil pan.
So, after removing the oil
pan, clutch side cover and clutch assembly, I could rotate the oil pump with my
finger and when I did I noticed that there was oil coming from the pressure
relief valve. Of course there was no way that my rotating it a few turns could
possibly build up enough pressure to cause the valve to pop off.
After removing the relief
valve, I found a 1/4" long length of thin wire that had a couple of bends
in it holding the valve open slightly (there are 4 holes drilled around it's
circumference and the wire was lodged in one of the holes). The
wire resembled that used in the inlet screen of the oil pickup
assembly. When I talked to Mike to share the good news, he admitted to
using a rotary wire brush to clean the old gasket off when he did his clutch
springs. The little bit of wire was exactly like that used for rotary wire
brushes.
So, luckily, Mike's
problem was not due to the plug like Virgil's. Unfortunately, I won't get a
chance to find out where the plug goes until I can get a motor in here that has
the problem and can get it on the bench and locate the internal bleeding while
driving the oil pump. If there are any takers to submit such a beast, I'm up
for it. The moral to this story is you can use any tool you wish to clean stuck
on gasket material except for a rotary wire brush (or any wire brush for that
matter). ~Tracy
PS: I also tested my bike as
a reference and after warming up it would hold 40 psig at idle and around 80 at
3K. That's with almost 117K miles on the ticker.
SAD NEWS
Harlan Speidel died December
14, 2003 of a heart attack. Just last night, he and his wife called
us and spoke of his recent health problems with blocked arteries. He
was scheduled to go in for treatment tomorrow. Unfortunately,
he didn't make it that long. I am truly saddened by this as he and
his wife Barbara stopped by our house this last summer to have me work on
his trailer and his Cade. They are truly nice people and we had a great
time visiting with them. They loved to ride together (she rides a Honda
shadow) and were really looking forward to Branson next year.
He will definitely be missed
by all that knew him. He didn't chime in on group discussions often but he and
Barb would call me from time to time for lengthy conversations about Cades and
things. I will miss that.
If you would like send
your sympathies to Barb, the address is listed below. ~Tracy
Barb Speidel
1107 Wisteria
Wharton, TX 77488-5719
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PARTS
Floorboards
Are Available
?
1986 Cavalcade, blue
and silver. Only has 28,837 miles on it. Looks good and runs great. Tires are good,
everything works, has a radio, cassette player. Has a small crack on the left
cowling. Paint is in very good shape, never been dropped or wrecked. It has
always been stored inside. I am asking $3800.00 or best offer. I can be reached
at: lonewolfbearcub1@yahoo.com or gatorbear@earthlink.net.