dlapierre

It's happened to me a few times. Everything works and spools up but the starter won't engage. In every case it is just the connection at the battery posts that aren't secure enough. Try tightening them.

I've made a few seat pads for bikes for fellows on this site. They are wool. PM me for details.

ZGUKTC0294M111158 Bought in Spokane in 2010 and brought to British Columbia, near Vernon. Givi A240-type windshield and modified LCD taillights.

Trying to find a replacement windshield for this bike. Original cracked. Just being able to replace the clear part would do. Contact me at lapierredennis@gmail.com.

I'm so good a tuning my 04' V11 using my homemade manometer and voltmeter that I now wonder if I can use the same procedure on my 1200 sport (2 valve). Anybody doing that? Is it the same procedure? What millivolts apply?

All depends, doesn't it? I made some queries and got such good advice from a shipping company, I thought it would be worth passing along. First, shipping by boat, making the bike part of a container load is the least expensive way to go. Shipping rates are based on volume, not weight, by boat. I was quoted $5.00/cu/ft. Additionally, there is a terminal fee ($90.00) and an export documentation fee ($90.00). The least expensive and least troublesome way of crating is to mooch a crate from a bike dealer and re-crate the bike. In the UK, for example, they have issues with non-certified wood, so a crate from there takes care of any worries about what kind of material the crate is made of. The shipping outfit I spoke with also offered advice about assuring the transaction is concluded without difficulties. Assuming a deposit is already made by the buyer, once the shipping company has possession of the crate, it will notify the buyer so the balance can be paid to the seller. It will not release the bike unless the debt is satisfied. Depending on traffic and what else is in the container, shipping can take 1-2 months. Rough total cost? $600.00. Compare that with "budget" air freight, less than 1/4 the price of air freight. In my case, what I am negotiating to sell is a collectable motorcycle, so it would appear that the boat freight rate just might be worth it to the buyer.

All depends, doesn't it? I made some queries and got such good advice from a shipping company, I thought it would be worth passing along. First, shipping by boat, making the bike part of a container load is the least expensive way to go. Shipping rates are based on volume, not weight, by boat. I was quoted $5.00/cu/ft. Additionally, there is a terminal fee ($90.00) and an export documentation fee ($90.00). The least expensive and least troublesome way of crating is to mooch a crate from a bike dealer and re-crate the bike. In the UK, for example, they have issues with non-certified wood, so a crate from there takes care of any worries about what kind of material the crate is made of. The shipping outfit I spoke with also offered advice about assuring the transaction is concluded without difficulties. Assuming a deposit is already made by the buyer, once the shipping company has possession of the crate, it will notify the buyer so the balance can be paid to the seller. It will not release the bike unless the debt is satisfied. Depending on traffic and what else is in the container, shipping can take 1-2 months. Rough total cost? $600.00. Compare that with "budget" air freight, less than 1/4 the price of air freight. In my case, what I am negotiating to sell is a collectable motorcycle, so it would appear that the boat freight rate just might be worth it to the buyer.

Anyone have experience shipping a motorcycle from Canada to the UK? I've had a serious query from someone in London England about a motorcycle I have for sale, but I'm having trouble finding out how to ship, the shipping options, prices, rules, etc. I live in British Columbia, Canada. thx

I'm fooling around with my newly acquired 04' V11 Cafe Sport. So, prior to following the instructions for adjusting the TPS, I took my dad's old CO analyzer and got 4% CO at idle and up to about 3K rpm. Past that, the mixture became increasingly lean and at 4K rpm was at 10% CO. I kinda thought I was burning rich because the mileage in Imperial gallons was, at best, 40 MPG. My 03' V11 gave me much better mileage than that...around 50 if I was careful. Following the instructions, I noted the voltage at 210. I adjusted it down to 150, but didn't do anything beyond that. I ran the CO analyzer then and had 4% CO at idle again, but this time it dropped to 3% CO revving up to and including 4K rpm. I didn't, or haven't yet balanced the throttles, but my question is, is this change for the better, or should I be expecting some sort of problems brought about by clearly running a more lean mixture?

08' 1200 Sport that is mostly used for business trips...gotta get there, gotta get back, 350+ km each way. 04' Cafe Sport I also let one of my boys ride. Dennis

I've not been on this site for quite a while. There's been some changes. What happened is that I traded in my 03 Sport Naked for a 1200 Sport. This was last spring. But I missed my 03. I went to buy it back, but the dealer wanted too much for it, so I shopped around and found an 04 Cafe Sport I liked. Now I'm trying to figure out how to make the front end more like a Sport Naked, with the clip-ons, instruments connected directly to the triple-tree, and headlight that turns with the steering.

This is as much a compliment to the folks at Valley Yamaha as it is a surprise to me that my bike needed no adjustments. I stopped into their shop en route home from Vancouver BC to get the bike checked over, mostly to get the tps, etc. adjusted. At a shop rate of $80/hr, I was prepared to spend a few bucks. I bought the bike, an early 03' V11 Sport, completely stock, with 6,000 miles. It just turned 14,000. Aside from adjusting the valves and changing the fluids, a brake shoe and tires, I've done nothing to the bike. I thought that by now, I should have a competent mechanic give it a look. It took all of 30 minutes for the 33 year veteran mechanic, I never got his name, to check the engine, using his Axone (pp?) gizmo and embarass me with reminders about tiny things, like lubing my kickstand and levers I have been apparently overlooking, all of which he checked while I stood there getting a full lesson on just exactly what it was he was doing with his high tech instruments. The bike needed nothing: no adjustments, nothing. That satifying knowledge cost me 0.6 of an hour. I left happy.

It's funny. You probably know the Falkland Hotel is quite a magnet for Harley tough-guy wanna-be's. It's the only bar I've seen where cowboys and bikers mix without fighting, much. I guess it used to be a legit tough-guy biker bar, but I don't think anymore. You occasionally see what appears to be a tough guy, but the dead giveaway is when you see him with a soft ice cream in his hand. The only remaining vestiges of what it once was is the sign in the parking lot that still says "horses and hogs only". The other funny part is that the Harley tough guy wanna-be's seem to need to ride in gaggles.