Runnin' like New

New fuel line.. done. New rear brake light switch.. (no more hangin' up and
stuff) done.. Adjusted valves for the first time in almost 65,000 miles
and almost ten years.. done.

Spent nearly the whole day in Grapevine Kawasaki.. Dennis and I ate a
barbecue lunch at Spring Creek.. good barbecue.. Jimmy Snow, the tech who
worked on the Green One, finally had it all back together about five PM,
paid the bill and headed back to Irving, via the scenic route..

Jeez .. it was hotter that blazes on the road, but I couldn't help but
notice the difference in the way the Green Vulcan was performing.. Just a
bit torquer and smoother sounding.. hmmmm.. Couldn't find much on the bill
to chisel on, so I can't complain about that either.. Looks like we'll get
somewhere around another ten years on this old Green motorcycle.. lol..

For anyone interested.. there will be a group ride out of Grapevine Kawasaki
in the morning, leaving at nine AM.. Dennis Wagner, the owner will be
leading the group and there have already been about forty riders signed up
and committed.. Should be a good ride out to Tioga, wherever that is.. They
do this once each month.. Everyone is invited and it is open to anything on
two wheels.. Due to prior committments, I won't be making this run with
those good people, tomorrow.. but, next month I expect to do the ride..
Regards

Bill Walker
Irving

 

hmmm.. I've ridden this Vulcan pretty hard for the past almost ten years..
This is the first time that anyone other than me, has touched that engine..

Needless to say.. those valves needed to be adjusted and were shimmed ..
After all these miles and years of service, who'd expect anything else.. As
a matter of fact, considering the kind of riding that I have done with this
little motorcycle, I'd suspect that I'm pretty lucky to have had the kind of
service I've gotten from it..

In my opinion the valve adjustment schedule that you describe for your own
motorcycle would be excessive for a bike that I ride.. Saying this is by no
means critical of your schedule.. if it works for you, it suits me fine..

The Vulcan 800 that I ride is a Kawasaki model and it is a water cooled
engine.. For the past ten years, the little bike has surpassed all my
expectations for it . and then some..

Bill Walker
Irving

 

Bill W. I imagine that is a good feelin' of getting the Bike in top
shape. Like the ole cowboy days, taking care of the Hoss.
happy trails to ya' pard~bjay~

'Ya'll take care'' --BJAY--

 

The old Green Vulcan is kinda long in tooth, like me.. Almost ten years of
good riding.. That valve adjustment is long overdue and seems to have been a
shot in the arm for that little bike.. It will bury that speedometer needle
again and sure has smoothed out.. Shoulda done the valve adjustment sooner,
but my philosophy has always been.. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"..

Not that it was broke, mind you.. the Green One just wasn't performing like
I have been used to.. Nothing specific, just a feeling that I got when we
were on the trip to Mena.. Other than minor maintenance type work, the
motorcycle has never needed any repairs of any kind.. Runs well with any
motorcycle on the highway, and has been dependable for all these years..
Can't ask for more than that..

Bill Walker
Irving

 

Got mine fixed also. A friend of mine and I did the work on my bike on
Friday and Saturday. It was the pick up coil that was bad. I replaced
that damn thing at around 12000 miles and now its at 24000 and it went
bad again. We didnt see anything ovious that would be the cause of the
pick up coil going bad. We put the pick up coil in on Friday and
Saturday morning we did a valve adjustment. All the valves were more
less in spec but we adjusted them all anyways to the middle of the
spec. Hopefully that thing will stay together for the trip to Mena in
October..LOL

Glad your bike is back in tip top condition.

Redshad

 

Walker responds:
‘‘ It runs well with any motorcycle on the highway, and has been
dependable for all these years.. Can't ask for more than that..
Bill Walker
Irving''



''You can say that again'', I'll attest to that.
(Bowie County Bjay,all day.)

 

I've been giving some thought to that problem of yours with the pick up
coil.. I think I've isolated it down to one possibility.. It has to be
something to do with that Mustang seat that you put on the motorcycle..
<grin> I'm sure that there will be quite a few who would disagree with my
diagnosis, but hell.. what do they know.. Regards

Bill Walker
Irving

 

Well if thats the case then its all you fault that I am having all
these problems. That Mustang seat came highly recommended by you sir so
you will have to skip sending President Bush your monthly contribution
and just mail me a check for $96.50. O yea..and buy that seat from me.

Redshad

 

You don't grasp the entire significance that is represented by that Mustang
seat..

Now that you mention it, though.. And, to minimize my own responsibility,
here.. he's also installed a windshield, floorboards and saddlebags.. Any
one of which could very well cause a pickup coil to malfunction.. Regards

Bill Walker
Irving

 

He has that loose nut at the end of the handlebars.
That causes a bunch of problems. Indeed.

BTW, I just got back from a second shakedown cruise to SC (via Deals Gap).
Got to finally evaluate the add-ons I didn't have ready for the first
shakedown cruise (Mexico). I'm liking the 6 speed overdrive tranny. And I
have to admit it's easy to be hooked on the utility of a good GPS. We wanted
to go to the Cowpens Battlefield (read up on it...an amazing Patriot
victory). It was listed as a point of interest in the mapping software, so
point and click and I had a route and was navigating those backroads like a
native.

 

Dang.. sure glad to hear that you are out and about, again.. Aside from the
shakedown of all those Gucci goodies, I'm wondering about the "shakedown" of
that knee.. I'm hoping that it works just fine and there are no problems
there..

As to the problems with the pickup coil on Redshad's motorcycle, there are
several conclusions that one might consider. First, as I mentioned.. the
Mustang seat might be a great contributor to the problem.. The windshield,
saddlebags and floorboards probably have played a very minor role ..

It would seem prudent for Redshad to immediately consider installation of a
top of the line cigarette lighter.. The influence of one of these little
life savers on the electrical system of a bike, would minimize furthur
problems of this type..

Your recommendations in this area are eagerly anticipated.. Regards

Bill Walker
Irving

 

LOL..Yea right..I install a cigarette lighter and I might start burning
pistons or valves.

Redshad

 

Say, (redshad)
I've been giving some thought to that problem of yours with the pick up
coil.. I think I've isolated it down to one possibility.. It has to be
something to do with that Mustang seat that you put on the motorcycle..
<grin> I'm sure that there will be quite a few who would disagree with
my diagnosis, but hell.. what do they know.. Regards
Bill Walker
Irving

Red-Shad responds:
Well if thats the case then its all you fault that I am having all these
problems. That Mustang seat came highly recommended by you sir so you
will have to skip sending President Bush your monthly contribution and
just mail me a check for $96.50. O yea..and buy that seat from me.
Redshad~



Red-Shad, dont you worry about that seat, good Buddy, if anything it
would enhance the performance of the so called ''pickUpCoil''
why you might say? Cuz them mustangs (seats) provide alotta ''reCoil''
benefits, I have hurd. Regular old Yammy seats, dont have as much
reCoil in the butt compy dept. Ma' Gal wants us one on the big V.
regards, BJK

 

Well by golly if the woman wants one, you better whip out your wallet
and get it on the way. They arent cheap but there worth the money for
sure.

Redshad

 

The ride sounds great and that's one heck of a shakedown cruise!
I'm also very glad to see that you're back on 2 wheels.

Say "hi" to Mouse for me.

Y'all ride safe,

--
Sunny Williams
sunny will at tx vets period org
IRPK, ISRA #7123, Deerslayers
Director/Webmaster for
Texas Veterans Assoc., Chapter 3
http://www.txvets.org/
"... if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place
shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor
defeat."

~Teddy Roosevelt

 

Thanks much! The ride was great until the trip back. It was a grueling 950
mile all day run. The Mouse got too dehydrated and started feeling bad. I
wasn't feeling too good myself.
14 hrs in the sun with temps soaring into the hundreds of degrees. I started
to have to add "cool down" breaks every hour and coerce more liquids into
the Mouse. We made it in at 10 pm with only a tease of the promised isolated
thunderstorms to break the heat.

 

Geez, I know how a trip like that (and longer) [1] can be, even in a cage...
both with and without AC. BTDT. I can't imagine riding a motorcycle in
temps like that, for that long and that many miles. Plus, you must have
been flying low.

I'm glad you got Mouse to take in more fluids. Sometimes a person doesn't
realize how dehydrated they are, until it's too late. It can sneak up on
ya.

As for the rain, you're right about the teasing part. It has rained all
around us and we haven't seen a drop here. I've been listening to the
scanner and that fire in Palo Pinto county (Caddo) has burned since early
Saturday, taking out over 6,000 acres and no telling how many buildings. We
all need to do a rain dance.

[1] My longest non stop trip was from Ft. Lewis, WA back to Texas. 2038
miles in 32 hours. Only stopped for gas, ate once at a place in Boise, ID.
Won't ever do that again!

--
Sunny Williams
sunny will at tx vets period org
IRPK, ISRA #7123, Deerslayers
Director/Webmaster for
Texas Veterans Assoc., Chapter 3
http://www.txvets.org/
".. if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place
shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor
defeat."

~Teddy Roosevelt