The Motorcycle Discussion Thread

[Dayze]

I figure there are some motorcycle guys/gals on CP, so I thought we could have a place to talk all things Motorcycles.

Tire Mount and Balance Prices (as of 10/29/16)

Prices based on if you remove the wheels yourself and bring the wheels and new tires with you:

Cycle Gear - $35 per wheel if you buy tires from them. $58 per wheel if you buy tires elsewhere
Rawhide - $65 per wheel (assuming it would be the same at other HD dealers. they book it at 1/2 hr per wheel)
C R Cycle Tires (DeSoto) - $30 per wheel

Cheapest I've found my Michelin Commander II's. Seem like they have good prices on other brands too.
http://www.jakewilson.com - Free 3 day shipping on orders over $75

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Dayze

Yep. I never new how much I was missing w/out one. I mean, my sporty and other bikes without one were fine around town, but a nice 200-300 mile day with tunes.....can't beat it.

My brother just bought a '12 SG with quite a bit of goodies . It has a nice after market radio with a folding face plate and a spot inside it for a USB drive etc. Man, I don't know if it's the radio, or if it has an amp or upgraded speakers or what, but his radio sounds awesome. WAY better than mine (Stock set up...I think my buddy I bought it from upgraded the speakers though). I have a little hard time hearing mine at 65+ w/out totalling cranking it. I rode my brothers and it's nice and clear and you don't have to crank the volume. Mine has almost zero bass (not than I'm looking to thump down the road or anything). His you can actually hear the beat of a kick drum etc. Hmmm.

I have looked at aftermarket radio setups for on the handlebars of my Road King. Do you know what is the brand of your brother's?

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by Lzen

I have looked at aftermarket radio setups for on the handlebars of my Road King. Do you know what is the brand of your brother's?

I don't. He does, however, had a after market inner fairing painted to match, and that fairing has two additional spaces for speakers up near the top of it. other than that, it looks stock - in terms of speaker placement.

My brother did mention he heard the guy describe the speakers in it; I can't remember the specifics, other than i had never heard of such a thing . the gist I got from it was the speakers sort of had layers and reduced in size like a cone? I'm describing it terribly here - but it sounded like it was different than just a plain 'ol speaker sitting behind the fairing. I'm pretty sure I also saw a small amp in the saddle bag so maybe that has something to do with the better sound?

I'm not up to date no speaker or radio technology / goodies at all (in case that wasn't already obvious lol)

[kcfanXIII]

In my opinion, unless you are wanting to drop a couple grand on a custom stereo, you are fine with one of the handlebar mount kits. I bought mine off amazon and shipped was under 100 bucks. 1000 watt, 4 chanel amp, 4 speakers that are 3 1/2". With my fairing, I could hear clear as day at 90 mph. Now, they DO add clutter to the bars, so if you like the clean look, you may want to look into a higher end design. My stereo would get louder than most stock stereos.

here's the amazon link:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You won't win any sound competitions, but they are plenty loud.
Here is a youtube video of mine, that gives you an idea of the sound quality:

[kcfanXIII]

Also, here is the trip home from BBB in 2015. The MO 125 section is right after the ferry ride

[kcfanXIII]

Here she is. I put over 350 miles on her this weekend. So much power.

[SAUTO]

I think I know a guy who works there.

[kcfanXIII]

[kcfanXIII]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

I think I know a guy who works there.

A good buddy of mine is the salesman.

[Dayze]

Nice bud. Congrats on the new scoot.

[kcfanXIII]

Originally Posted by Dayze

Nice bud. Congrats on the new scoot.

Thanks. I'm really excited about it. Put 350 miles on her this weekend, and I loved every minute of it. This thing is ridiculously fast too. Pretty sure there's been some work done to it. Geared almost like a sports bike. Also, its one of the loudest bikes I've ever heard, haha. My brother said he could hear me, inside, from about 3 blocks away.... It's going to be a fun summer.

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

A good buddy of mine is the salesman.

jon or steve?

[kcfanXIII]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

jon or steve?

Jon.

[Dayze]

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

Thanks. I'm really excited about it. Put 350 miles on her this weekend, and I loved every minute of it. This thing is ridiculously fast too. Pretty sure there's been some work done to it. Geared almost like a sports bike. Also, its one of the loudest bikes I've ever heard, haha. My brother said he could hear me, inside, from about 3 blocks away.... It's going to be a fun summer.

Toque do what it do. I think I read you previous bike was a metric? I can't recall for sure, however.

My '13 Street Glide was bone stock, and I loved it. My current '09 SG has AC, pipes, bigger cams, and has been legit tuned, and it's not even in the same universe as my stock 103. It rips. Not that the stock 103 was under-powered or anything, it's just different. When I approach and get into the power band, it's like a whole new personality comes to life from the motor. Both audibly, and in power.

I absolutely love the cams. my brother's '12 SG is great, but we were at a light and I look over at him and his bike is just idling nice and smooth. I yelled "man...why is yours idling so smooth...your bars are barely moving" and he goes "well, you'rs has those big ass cams in it". "Oh....oh yeah, I forgot ( honestly did)" lol. He came from a Softail Nightrain which had a counter balanced crank, so it idled like a Honda. Compared to Sportys, Dynas, and RG/SGs that shake your fillings out.
He's told me "Man, I don't know if it's the Thunderheaders your running, or the cams....or the combination of both. but that bike has it's own unique sound. It sounds like a hot rod. Doesn't sound like any other bikes out there in general". I think that's the best description for my current bike. Hot Rod. It's not overwhelming or anything like that, but it's just a nasty little sucker.

maybe the previous owner of yours put in some cams and had it tuned . Or, you're just experiencing a new and meatier torque /power curve (especially coming on so low in the RPM range). Either way....torque is good.

[kcfanXIII]

Originally Posted by Dayze

Toque do what it do. I think I read you previous bike was a metric? I can't recall for sure, however.

My '13 Street Glide was bone stock, and I loved it. My current '09 SG has AC, pipes, bigger cams, and has been legit tuned, and it's not even in the same universe as my stock 103. It rips. Not that the stock 103 was under-powered or anything, it's just different. When I approach and get into the power band, it's like a whole new personality comes to life from the motor. Both audibly, and in power.

I absolutely love the cams. my brother's '12 SG is great, but we were at a light and I look over at him and his bike is just idling nice and smooth. I yelled "man...why is yours idling so smooth...your bars are barely moving" and he goes "well, you'rs has those big ass cams in it". "Oh....oh yeah, I forgot ( honestly did)" lol. He came from a Softail Nightrain which had a counter balanced crank, so it idled like a Honda. Compared to Sportys, Dynas, and RG/SGs that shake your fillings out.
He's told me "Man, I don't know if it's the Thunderheaders your running, or the cams....or the combination of both. but that bike has it's own unique sound. It sounds like a hot rod. Doesn't sound like any other bikes out there in general". I think that's the best description for my current bike. Hot Rod. It's not overwhelming or anything like that, but it's just a nasty little sucker.

maybe the previous owner of yours put in some cams and had it tuned . Or, you're just experiencing a new and meatier torque /power curve (especially coming on so low in the RPM range). Either way....torque is good.

Yes, I've always rode metrics. Last year, my friends started putting the pressure on. Giving me a hard time about my yammerhammer. A few friends even let me ride their's. First was a 1200 sporty. Blah.... gimme back my road star. Next was a Road King. Nice bike, but still preferred my metric. (My roadstar, on a scale of 1-10, is an 11 for comfort. Hard to beat.) Then my buddy let me ride a 2012 fat bob that had some engine work done. I made it two blocks, flipped up my visor and said "**** you asshole. I was perfectly happy on my yamaha until now." So, I was looking for the Fat Bob, not necessarily a HD. When I brought it home Friday, I called him so he could come take a look. The mechanic at the shop said "I think its had some work done." so I asked my friend to ride it and compare to his. He came back and said "It's had something done to it, there is no way this is stock." I take it in for a 15k maintenance here pretty soon, so I'll have them take a look and tell me what's been done.

At an idle, she shakes. A lot. But through acceleration she's as smooth as silk on your balls. She handles like a dream too with those fat ass tires on the front and back.

[Dayze]

They Sportys, Dynas, and RG/SG Touring all shake pretty good at idle.
Mine REALLY shakes compared to the same bike in my brothers '12 SG.

So, if it's got some thump to it and a different cadence (for lack of a better term) than a bike you know is stock....it's probably had bigger cams put into it. Probably nothing major as if you go too big of a cam, you have to reinforce the top end etc. But you can get pretty good performance with a little bigger cam while keeping the valves/springs etc stock. I have upgraded pushrods on mine, but i think that's mainly due to it's easier to just snip off/through the old ones when you're getting into the cam plate etc / upgrading cams, and just putting in new push rods (rather than re-using). My brother's shakes, but when you visually see how much mine shakes and how much his shakes at idle...you can tell one of them is not like the other lol.

I'd say besides pipes and AC, cams are the next in line in terms of easy mods to the bike. Fairly common IMO. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if they open the cam/timing cover during maintenance to check the timing chain and chain tensioner and discover upgraded cams. I "think" the size of the cams is stamped on the end of the cam so you could see it. Not positive though.

what year is the scoot? Post 2007?
if so, you probably don't have to worry about the sporadic potential failure of timing chain tensioners like people had to on the twin cam motors from like 1999 - 2006. I think in 2007 they went from a spring tensioner, to a hydraulic tensioner. The spring loaded ones were hit and miss in terms of wearing out/failing. Some wore out at early as 10-15k miles and would flake/brake off and foul the oil pump, and some went to nearly 50k. If you're in that '99 to '06 range, I would definitely have it checked during your service, just to see how much wear in on them (inner and outer) / peace of mind.
The odd thing is, I don't 'think' that checking the tensioner is called out in any maintenance interval anywhere. I "think" I read that once ( though I should never be surprised with HD....they do a lot of shit that is like WTF?). So, you might have to specifically tell them that you want it checked. (assuming if you're in that year range etc. If not, your probably good until around 30k and you could check it)