Gmc28

I did the lipo thing a few yrs back, gave it an honest try, got bit, and changed back to agm. But since then I “inherited” a couple lipo batteries, and they’ve been working great. And something rarely mentioned is that not only is the lighter weight of some value (not much to me, but still a good thing), but the smaller size. Much less tedious to remove and replace the little lipo’s than the agm’s that are usually a real tight fit. Small thing, but desirable. Just put a lipo in my sons cagiva last winter, and the inherited lipo in my 1200 Duc is doing great, on year 3. Both have the roadster cycle VR’s.

My nomar bead breaker works great, but is mounted to the whole setup in concrete. that yellow thing.... in theory I see how it works, but how does it provide leverage for the more stubborn beads? (Thinking could be an interesting road kit tool?)

Darn clever of you! I shall shamelessly copy, and leave the alligator clip setup for the unwashed masses....

Very good, and thanks for quick re-enlightenment! Thought about it, and I’ve got 5 of those starter switches now on bikes that are in my “sphere of wrenching” (in my shop or my sons garage). Only one currently has the PITA factor right now of being in need of some cleanup, thanks to some good clean living.... But I thought i recalled last time i pulled one of those starter switches apart that a thing or two came shooting out. But either it wasn’t that bad or maybe I’m thinking of something else. Red had the “wiggle the bars” symptom when i first bought her and was enroute cross-country from OK, and you lightened my load by chiming in with that good advice in near real time to make that issue very short lived! Quick fix back then, then followed up with a good fix back at home, and all good. Now that you mention it, I’m assuming Goldie has the clutch pull safety feature jumpered. I’ll inquire from my amigo who I bought it from, and who is still talking about buying her back. Will run through all this soup-to-nuts next winter with the Greenie sitting in the shop, awaiting some TLC. Lucky Phil got me some good intel on best options for painting the nylon tank, then will do the usual Italian wiring system complete “makeover”.

Docc (and all)- Rode red to work this week, as the sun has been showing itself a bit, after keeping red caged most of the winter.... she ran sweet. But seeing this thread it caught my attention about the neutral light relay (?) you refer to. I had ignored the fact that I have to pull the clutch to start red, but occurred to me that I don’t on Goldie. Sounds like I have a relay issue, but that’s not one I’ve paid attention to. Neutral light works fine, all the other suspect connectors and grounds (that I know of) are clean and well cared for, but this relay for the neutral (or is it sidestand?) I hadn’t thought of. Where is that one hiding? I assume it’s not hard to find, but looking for the proverbial easy/quick answer if anyone is willing to chime in. Also need to pull a couple of those starter switches apart to clean them up. The old Ducati’s and the guzzis all have that same switch, and I cleaned up one on my Gran canyon years ago, but it’s been a long time. Any surprises or reminders on pulling that apart? Goldie and my sons gran canyon both need the switch cleaned up soon....

Some gorgeous country! Had to race past central cal on last trip north a week or so ago, and it truly hurt to be on I-5 instead of over on hwy 1.

Some smart folks in this group here generally are not in favor of the velocity stacks for mechanical reasons, and i've followed that advice with my V11's, partly on its own merit but also based on experience in other machines (which arguably are relevant for comparison). But i recently acquired a very low mile greenie to "supplement" the 2 Lemans in the garage (gotta keep them company...), which has the velocity stacks installed from the PO, and next winter when i go through it i'll start off with keeping those velocity stacks in place, partly because they look neat, and mostly because i don't have a stock airbox to install at this point. Fun to play around, and everyone has different tastes and "needs".... i'm not sure what i need from this greenie, but should be fun going through it, and maybe it will end up going back to clean/stock because it has such low miles, or maybe i'll make it more of a one-off since i already have a couple of dialed-in Lemans (Lemans's, Lemans's's...) Anyway, if you get to where you're trying to tune out any anomalies in how she runs (many of us obsess over that at some point... its a disease), the air intake is something to keep in mind, but that said if she runs good (or great), and/or looks great, then you've got a winner. how about a pic to share of the '04?

+1 on the advice given so far, from my perspective, of about 10years with the slightly more basic, older, cheaper model of the cycle hill. I’m a fan, and it works, and the tricks noted seem spot-on. But to double down on the touring tire comment, the no-mar clearly ain’t hydraulic, so a stiff touring tire, done in winter when it’s cold, is too much hassle for me. Dirt bike tires are easy, basically mimicking the videos u see of folks using the NoMar so effortlessly. But a stiff walled K60 in a cold shop in winter (I try and time mx when I can for winter, non riding season), forget it. And yes, I heat the tires next to wood stove, but for some reason it just isn’t the same. Doable, and I did it for a while to justify my purchase early on, but now it’s summer only, and even then there are certain tires I just bring to the shop (hydraulics). Mine is mounted to the concrete, works great, and I’d buy it again. But while a tkc80 is no sweat, a Shinko 705 or K60 for the rear of a big ADV bike has me inventing new curse words.

Multi enduro and Ktm 990 are both fantastic. Couldn’t decide, so ended up eventually having one of each. 990 is most definitely a better off road machine, although still nothing like a true dirt bike. The multi is magnificent beast, but at the weight and just overall size is brutal off-road. Realizing that you’ll need a helicopter to lift it out of a ravine if you dump it makes you ride nervous, which isn’t good. But it’s a fantastic road bike that also does fire roads with glee. The Ktm lives in Alaska, and the multi is my daily rider. As a properly obsessive Motörhead I have more to offer on all that, if you’re looking at either of those for your garage, but will stop there on this thread. The v11’s are my beloved mid summer bikes, and the ones I most like to futz with all winter.

Love that Borrego springs run. Been a while since I’ve been down that way, but that’s a sweet route and area. And love the 8gal (7.9) on the multi enduro. Takes the stress out of fuel stop planning. Rode through Death Valley on Friday, with lots of long stretches of no fuel, and no cell reception (at least not on ATT), and 8 gallons made it easy to just enjoy the sun and scenery. I rented a stelvio in mandello a couple years ago.... do they all have the 8 gal tanks? Seemed like the tank on the stelvio I rented wasn’t that big, but thats just my lousy memory banks...

not enough caffeine in me yet, but i'm thinking 1000 Lire back then would have been closer to $1.50 (600-700 Lire per dollar in 70's?), and gas was likely down around .30 cents/gal (?), so she probably got a decent top-up for the top-off....

Does an 02 lemans tank fit a 2000 greenie? Wondering if I want to “practice” the paint process on an old tank, for the bead/material blast through the paint match process, before I do it on the existing green tank.

Thx docc- u jump-started my slow but decent memory, regarding the “joining of the streams”.

Ah, lovely. Is the usual “customization” to use a portion of the existing fuel line in its current position/routing for straight through vent, or do folks reroute the vent line if there’s that much of it?

(Smile) ha! When I first saw a greenie many years ago, I wondered who would pay for such a color. But then I developed a “taste” for them.... gonna definitely keep her green. Must have been an Irishman in Mandello at some point, leaving Ireland to sneak in for the wine, pasta, sunshine, and “meccanica”.... I would.

Bought a greenie. Or almost did... seller forgot the title, so bike is in our hangar, and we’ll do a money and title swap next week to finish things up. Very low miles, runs decent, but needs lots of little stuff, and the big thing (that I know of) is the clear coat coming off the tank. Right side valve cover leaking oil. He converted to pods. Lots of light surface corrosion. Etc. any wise words on things I should know about the red frame, vs my (2) longer frame Lemans? I think it’s mostly all laid out well enough in the pinned topic that compares the models... under the seat are two black cylinders with fuel lines. Are those of charcoal cannisters? Just noticed them and didn’t take the time to trace the lines to confirm. will likely make this a project for next winter, to thoroughly go through the greenie.

Appreciate that Phil. But wait, you have an ST2? I knew you had the 1000SS, but just saw the ST2 noted there.

Agreed. Common in the story of my life, I often don’t see the best stuff where I live until I move away. Had to leave Oregon for 15 yrs before I recognized a lot of the great things in Oregon, and left Santa Clarita before I realized how great those LP national forest roads were. Like an old country song about needing to get away from home... Red is up on the lift at home, waiting patiently for me to get back there to grease/lube/service her up. And maybe she’s hearing rumor of a greenie coming into the harem.

Excellent. That’s more or less what I figured, that it’s a matter of either minor touch up, or full repaint. Have done the Caswell (sp?) lining on other tanks in the past, so assuming that’s a fine way to go. And know a couple decent sources for bead blasting. But what remains is the question of whether I’d spray it myself. Comfortable enough spraying, but usually with a couple coats of same paint then some clear coats. If it’s that ER4 paint noted, then I may do it, but if it’s layered colors I’d be hesitant. Have a new HVLP sprayer to in theory replace my trusty but very old traditional Devilbis spray gun, but don’t have experience with that HVLP gun yet.

Helicopter crew for FS.... fire crew? I’ll be at Lancaster for our spring training for LAT crews late March, and that’s my excuse to be down there. Lived in Santa Clarita for a short while about 25yrs ago, so based on your advice maybe it’ll shoot over from Lancaster, do a fast cruise down memory lane of where we lived, then out 126 and up 33 from ojai. hate to bypass that Frazier park and pine mountain area coming out from Gorman/Lebec.... but a change would be good.

I haven’t seen the tank in person yet, but are we asserting here that the bubbling may be from an issue that’s more “evil” than just some surface issues, like maybe ethanol or something along those lines that could be compromising the tank from the inside? In short, should I be more deeply concerned about paint issues on one of these tanks? the machine has a lot of surface corrosion, mostly cosmetic from the pics, but it’s very low miles and price seems attractive, so am leaning toward taking the chance with it.

Some beautiful, great riding over there (los Padres NF). Hoping to swing through that area in early april on my way north, but not sure yet.

Anyone used the newer pro version of rever? Combo of offline maps, butler map views, easier saved routes, and then some things which may or may not prove to be of value (3D views, etc), seems it might stand out from the crowd of not-so-great map apps. I hate recurring charges, but $4/mo can be palatable for the right thing... I’ll probably try this pro version on the free trial.

Hmm. Sounds slightly less precise with some of the techniques and adjectives used, but given that it’s to match a 20+ yr old faded color, this could be good. since the tank is the overwhelming majority of the visible paint color that’s seen, I should have a little more leeway, vs trying to find something for touch up. But of course if the touch up happens to be really dialed in, I could avoid the repaint, which would be a home run, but I’m not holding my breath. My personal spray technique and skills would be fine for any typical white paint, and maybe an “ER4” single color, but multi layered paints mean I’d likely want to farm-out the work to someone more gifted and/or experienced. But damn good intel... thank u!

Looks like the ER4 may be well close enough to where I could paint the whole tank and end up with a winner.