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Re: What did You Do to your C-10 Today?

L
Installed highway pegs and fairing extenders. Good wind protection, but in summer I think the extenders will come off for comfort and cooling.
Love my extenders. Makes all the difference riding @50F. Wish I had them when I lived in Northern New England
D82D822C-EF0E-404B-9771-8E1F0ACCC4F5.jpeg
 
Not today, but last week,,,
I got my spare C-10 out of the garage and hauled it to Arkansas {Horseshoe Mountain Rally} for Doug R to ride.
#1) I wanted Doug to be able to ride with us.
#2) I wanted him to evaluate the work I did on my suspension. {Using Steve Sefsik's Recipe}
,,,,,Cut springs, changed oil level, drilled holes in emulsion tube, added spacer and Emulators to the front.
,,,,,Installed C-14 shock and a Lowering rocker to the rear.
,,,,,,,,Adjusted sag and rebound damping on both ends...

We all had a GREAT ride!
Doug rated my mods as "It's perfect; Don't change a thing"...

Ride safe, Ted
 
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Fixed the pinhole in the tank fixed with solder and no leak. At same time lined the tank with POR -15. Set aside a whole day to
perform this. I asked POR15 staff if I could leave the degreaser in longer and they said 24 hours wouldnt be out of question if tank was
really dirty as it doesnt affect metal. So I left it in for couple hours and really cleaned up tank. Then did the de-ruster for good hour but kept
moving tank every 5 minutes to make sure the top(inside of tank) got a good dose. Tank looked really clean of rust. Then poured in two
pints of the liner which needed for 7.5 gallon tank. Got a good coat with no excess. Let it dry for whole week. Re-installed petcock with new gasket and fuel sensor and overflow tubes and remounted. No leak from pinhole but I didnt tighten down petcock good enough so really minor leak from one of the bolts. But Connie fired up and ran well but stumbled on high rev which i think is due to fuel starvation due to fuel filter. Now that tank is
lined I will pull filter off and run one continuous fuel line. Have pulled off tank and tightened up petcock. Will re-install new fuel line and
mount tank and put enough gas in to see if petcock still leaks and fire her up again. Just in time for winter riding.
 
I hit an oil slick on my way in to work this morning, and laid the bike over at about 35mph. Luckily, the crash bars saved my legs (no injuries at all). Looks like I'm going to be joining the ranks of the naked C-10 club this winter since the fairing is ripped up.
PSA-Crash bars are awesome devices, and you should definitely have some!
 
Another test of the extenders this morning. Rode to work in Hendersonville NC where the temp was 37F and with my electric vest on low and a balaclava, I was toasty as could be
 
I took Zeetha for a ride before WI. Weather hits winter. We already had 4" of snow. It was bad for about 3 1/2 weeks. I put 140 miles on. I love this ****en bike! Seen at least 9 bikers go the other way. I guess I might have gone the wrong way. Anyways, maybe I will get to get access to the picture of other members rides.
 
Reassembled the carbs with the sisf-modified float bowls today.

Also did the valve adjustment. First owner did a valve adjustment at 8k but the 2nd owner did not do it after that. Now at 40k. Good thing as the #2 exhaust had closed up to a shade under .003. The other exhausts were around .005 to .006 Replaced the plugs and serviced the K&N air filter while I was in there.
 
Nice weekend in VA. Got in a 200 mi ride and saw another c-10 in my home town. It was going the other direction so just a quick wave.
 
Dry today so went for a test ride post-tuneup. Vibration is noticeably reduced after the valve adjustment and carb synch.
 
Well, pulled tank and finally tightened up the petcock now minor leak has decreased to almost no leak. I think I am using wrong washers for
petcock bolts. I think originals were hard plastic and now they are rubber. Will order these along with some other minor fasteners and washers.
Filled tank half-way and fuel gauge works. I removed the fuel filter and ran on length of fuel hose from carbs to petcock. Fired her up and now
no stumble when revving. Rode her around the sub-division and no issues. Today drove her around the neighborhood where I could get her past 50 no issues. So when weather co-operates will take her 20 miles into town and fill up the tank and ride her back. Im being careful cause she had been laid up for 7 years and already besides the tank rust the main connector to Jbox was corroded and no power to Connie. Fortunate to find this while I was de-rusting tank or else would have been sitting on side of road. Installed connectors for trickle charger for winter charging and replaced a belly pan bolt that was too long (6x25 mm) as it was denting the exhaust pipe leading into the muffler. All thats left is to re-install inter
fairings (with comparments) and tighten up all fairing bolts. This winter hope to get grip heaters installed by PO working, maybe find some wind deflectors for side fairings, back rest. Locate rear bag and tank bag from storage and ride ride ride.
 
Nothing, but about to put her up for the winter.

Today and tomorrow are supposed to be 50 to 60, then rain and snow heading into the inevitable TG time 'now its winter' snow Michigan thing.

:cry:
 
Well, pulled tank and finally tightened up the petcock now minor leak has decreased to almost no leak. I think I am using wrong washers for
petcock bolts. I think originals were hard plastic and now they are rubber. Will order these along with some other minor fasteners and washers.
In summer 2019, found a slow leak out of the petcock on my '93. Weeping. Hard to see where. Turned out the plastic washers on the petcock bolts were deteriorated, and one was leaking. Picked up two nylon washers from Lowes. Easy to reach the bolts, to feel if any weeping. So far, so good.
 
In summer 2019, found a slow leak out of the petcock on my '93. Weeping. Hard to see where. Turned out the plastic washers on the petcock bolts were deteriorated, and one was leaking. Picked up two nylon washers from Lowes. Easy to reach the bolts, to feel if any weeping. So far, so good.
Ya. Leak is so slow and intermittent that I think it gathers on bolt head until its large enough for gravity to take over. Have ordered new washers. Gonna run tank down to near empty then I think I will be able to replace without having to empty tank.
 
Finally rode her to work. Its been 7 years since she went down n a parking lot but the 45 minute ride was worth the expense of getting her
back on the road. Next up figuring how to rewire the PO grip heaters, cleaning up the OEM windscreen. Either buy or make a taller windscreen for rifle base for winter riding. Cleaning up the patchwork on fairings. And just general maintenance this winter. Life is good
 
Started work on a bracket to mount a 85 GPZ900r gauge cluster to the naked 95. Also installed a Corbin seat on the 01 pretty bike. Thanks to John Larmon for a reasonable trade for the seat , and a very enjoyable brunch while sharing stories.
 
Changed clutch and brake fluids. I just bought this bike in Sept and looked as if no one had done this in a very, very long time. Wired a battery tender wire in, now looking to change oil & filter and also change coolant and ride, ride and ride.
 
Cleaned and treated hardbags. Bought some stuff to clean n polish. Washers for petcock bolts and carb plugs arrived. Replaced two belly pan bolts with shorter ones that won't dig into exhaust pipe. Connie cover arrived. Pulled all misc parts and hardware together will buy tool case to store them all. Working on winter list of DIY replace lights for tach n clock. Finish fairing repairs. Fix heated grips from PO. Locate rearbag and tank bag from storage.Look into lowering Connie. Doing the igniter power mod. Ride ride ride
 
"#2) I wanted him to evaluate the work I did on my suspension. {Using Steve Sefsik's Recipe}
,,,,,Cut springs, changed oil level, drilled holes in emulsion tube, added spacer and Emulators to the front.
,,,,,Installed C-14 shock and a Lowering rocker to the rear.
,,,,,,,,Adjusted sag and rebound damping on both ends...
Ted"
What was your final oil level in that SS recipe? And how much do you weigh when riding?
 
I used 15 wt hydraulic fluid, set the level at 6 1/4" (with forks compressed and no springs in the tubes).
The Top plate in the emulator now has 4 holes. (Originally had 1}
The Emulator (spring) preload is now set at 2 1/4 turns.

I weigh about 210 without gear, and ride will helmet/mesh jacket/riding pants/boots/gloves.
(So, mebbe 230 with gear?}

Ride safe, Ted

PS: The springs I cut were Progressive "Brand". (Not OEM)
I removed (I think) 5" of the tightly coiled section, and (to set the sag) the front end requires very little preload adjustment.
NOTE: We tried cutting the same 5" from a set of OEM springs and felt it was too stiff. {too little sag}
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,{we shortened the spacer to improve sag/decrease stiffness}
 
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Slowly, but surely whacking on a Unigo hitch I was given so it would adapt to the Delkevic slip-ons I won at the Helen National a few years back. My original HitchDoc had to come off because the up-swept config. of the pipes interfered with it. Not so sure it would have worked anyway with the OEM mufflers because of the oversize rear bias Shinko I mounted after repeated failures of the Avon Azaros. The main body of the HitchDoc sat between the tire and the inside of the fender. Made for a nice neat installation, but I still had to use a shorter bolt in the hitch where one of its bolts would rub the rear of the tire on suspension compression.

Some thick walled tubing and flat bar were ordered earlier today, so once those items arrive we’ll be back in business to try and get it finished up.

Originally began this process with a note in the Accessories thread trying to identify the hitch, With that problem solved, we moved on.
 
Slowly, but surely whacking on a Unigo hitch I was given so it would adapt to the Delkevic slip-ons I won at the Helen National a few years back. My original HitchDoc had to come off because the up-swept config. of the pipes interfered with it. Not so sure it would have worked anyway with the OEM mufflers because of the oversize rear bias Shinko I mounted after repeated failures of the Avon Azaros. The main body of the HitchDoc sat between the tire and the inside of the fender. Made for a nice neat installation, but I still had to use a shorter bolt in the hitch where one of its bolts would rub the rear of the tire on suspension compression.

Some thick walled tubing and flat bar were ordered earlier today, so once those items arrive we’ll be back in business to try and get it finished up.

Originally began this process with a note in the Accessories thread trying to identify the hitch, With that problem solved, we moved on.
Best of luck on the project.

Ride safe, Ted
 
I used 15 wt hydraulic fluid, set the level at 6 1/4" (with forks compressed and no springs in the tubes).
The Top plate in the emulator now has 4 holes. (Originally had 1}
The Emulator (spring) preload is now set at 2 1/4 turns.

I weigh about 210 without gear, and ride will helmet/mesh jacket/riding pants/boots/gloves.
(So, mebbe 230 with gear?}

Ride safe, Ted

PS: The springs I cut were Progressive "Brand". (Not OEM)
I removed (I think) 5" of the tightly coiled section, and (to set the sag) the front end requires very little preload adjustment.
NOTE: We tried cutting the same 5" from a set of OEM springs and felt it was too stiff. {too little sag}
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,{we shortened the spacer to improve sag/decrease stiffness}
Thanks for the summary update Ted! Always a pleasure.
 
Went for a last ride before the snowpocalypse hits tonight, 40 miles, I went an embarrassing 1800 miles this year on the Concours, many things conspired against me regarding riding this year, it was not the virus, I have 5 other bikes but I didn't ride them much either. Anyhow, changed the oil, took out the battery, washed it, parked it and put the cover on it. Next year will be better, I'll have my new Seth Laamb seat and the open road will be begging my name.:)
 
Bought Flambeau tackle box and gathered all Connie parts and wonderbar they all fit. Now I dont have to tear up the garage
looking for a part I safely stored. Rode her for about 10 miles. Re-arranged/re-organized garage so no I can get both bikes inside.
Will start polishing windscreen and all plastic and bodywork. Polished the chrome pipes and makes a big difference
 
Making a little progress with the modification of the Unigo hitch. I cut the arms off each side that connect to the rear pillion peg/muffler supports so I could easily manipulate each one, individually, to clear the Delkevics and the bags. Fabricated new ears (originals were too short and on the wrong side) that will ultimately be welded to each arm and bolt to the pillion peg supports. Going to hold off doing that because they will need to be formed to insure that the arms clear everything as they extend to the rear. The ends of those will be welded to the, now, U-shaped piece that has the hitch plate welded to it. The tubing and bar stock will be here on Monday, and once that stuff arrives, we can move forward and piece everything together and, hopefully, have a functional hitch in short order.

Did take the time to replace all the trailer rear incandescent bulbs with LED replacements. If you will recall, I swapped out the bike’s brake and tail with LEDs awhile back, and installed a flasher so the brake light would cycle for a period of time before going solid. That device isn’t compatible with incandescent bulbs, so they had to come out. Figured I might as well change them all out (brake, tail, turn, & license plate). The corner running lights are specialty lamps, but they don’t affect the brake lights. Had to clean up the harness plugs, since they hadn’t been joined together for a number of years. Once that was taken care of, all worked as advertised.

Now, we wait.
 
Making a little progress with the modification of the Unigo hitch. I cut the arms off each side that connect to the rear pillion peg/muffler supports so I could easily manipulate each one, individually, to clear the Delkevics and the bags. Fabricated new ears (originals were too short and on the wrong side) that will ultimately be welded to each arm and bolt to the pillion peg supports. Going to hold off doing that because they will need to be formed to insure that the arms clear everything as they extend to the rear. The ends of those will be welded to the, now, U-shaped piece that has the hitch plate welded to it. The tubing and bar stock will be here on Monday, and once that stuff arrives, we can move forward and piece everything together and, hopefully, have a functional hitch in short order.

Did take the time to replace all the trailer rear incandescent bulbs with LED replacements. If you will recall, I swapped out the bike’s brake and tail with LEDs awhile back, and installed a flasher so the brake light would cycle for a period of time before going solid. That device isn’t compatible with incandescent bulbs, so they had to come out. Figured I might as well change them all out (brake, tail, turn, & license plate). The corner running lights are specialty lamps, but they don’t affect the brake lights. Had to clean up the harness plugs, since they hadn’t been joined together for a number of years. Once that was taken care of, all worked as advertised.

Now, we wait.
Not sure if Unigo is still in business. Email questions have gone unanswered, trying to place an order through their site comes back with some IT error response, and their Sales office has never returned any of my calls. The main line does pick up, but it’s a recorded message saying to dial such and such a number for this or that.

1607210443625.png

Frustrating.

Wanted to see if their (pricey) ball mount piece was available to adapt the rear of the hitch to a conventional coupler/ball arrangement, but if not, I can fab my own for a 10th of their price.
 
Worked on removing scratches and haze from windshield. Used rubbing compound. Then turtle wax - diluted then polishing
compound. Much improved but also revealed more scratches. Will be a winter project to see how clean I can get it. Not a major item as
screen is 19" and I can see well over it. But will try to locate a 21" for winter riding that needs come TLC and cheap and working on my present
windshield is practice for next used one.
 
Worked on removing scratches and haze from windshield. Used rubbing compound. Then turtle wax - diluted then polishing
compound. Much improved but also revealed more scratches. Will be a winter project to see how clean I can get it. Not a major item as
screen is 19" and I can see well over it. But will try to locate a 21" for winter riding that needs come TLC and cheap and working on my present
windshield is practice for next used one.
Make one. It's been done.
 
I have had good luck with the plastic polishes specific for screens. Lots of polish on polish off with elbow effort. Best to work 2 inch areas at a time with overlapping areas. Usually watch a couple of movies over a couple of winter nights. I use an old pillow in lap for support. Is it worth it? Yes for me anyway. But hey, I like the stock screen just fine. Sure want it to last a lifetime if can.
 
I have had good luck with the plastic polishes specific for screens. Lots of polish on polish off with elbow effort. Best to work 2 inch areas at a time with overlapping areas. Usually watch a couple of movies over a couple of winter nights. I use an old pillow in lap for support. Is it worth it? Yes for me anyway. But hey, I like the stock screen just fine. Sure want it to last a lifetime if can.
Thanks. Thats a great idea about the pillow. Mine was so bad that I used a drill and buffer attachments. It worked so now only the deepest
scratches are left. Since this will be my spring,summer and fall windscreen, will see how more power rubbing and buffing will work to remove the deeper scratches then will use your idea to really get it to shine. Thanks
 
Not sure if Unigo is still in business. Email questions have gone unanswered, trying to place an order through their site comes back with some IT error response, and their Sales office has never returned any of my calls. The main line does pick up, but it’s a recorded message saying to dial such and such a number for this or that.

View attachment 28289

Frustrating.

Wanted to see if their (pricey) ball mount piece was available to adapt the rear of the hitch to a conventional coupler/ball arrangement, but if not, I can fab my own for a 10th of their price.
Very close to the final config. (sans the protective rags) for the modified Unigo hitch. Still want to shorten the rearward arms about an inch, tack things together for a final fit, mount the two support arm brackets, then cut and drill them to fit. Once happy, we’ll weld it all together.

Final piece of the puzzle will be the actual ball mount support bracket that bolts to the back of the hitch. That chunk of metal is on the way and we’ll form it once everything else is done and mounted.

IMG_6617-X2.jpg

IMG_6618-X2.jpg
 
Time to take the bike out for a ride and fill and treat the fuel today, mid 50s for temp. Snow coming tomorrow and bigger accumulation on Thursday, so not sure when it will be back on the road this winter, ugh. Once they treat the roads with the calcium stuff I don't like to ride it on the road unless it gets rinsed off with a good rain.
 
Modifying the Unigo hitch to work with my Delkevic pipes continues, but like many projects of this type where fab work is required, they don’t always move as fast as you’d like.

Got the basic frame and mounts for the hitch welded up. Amazing that it’s basically straight. Fab’d the down supports and mounts today and tack welded them in place. We’re happy. Need to transfer the existing hole pattern in the rear pad to the chunk of metal the ball is now mounted on, drill clearance holes, then bend it up approx. 90 deg. so it can be mounted to the rear pad. Will have to re-weld the pad to the frame first because I partially cut it loose so it could be tweaked back into a vertical position. The basic configuration of the hitch changed drastically and the pad just wasn’t useable as a result.

Finish/clean up the welds, hit it with an aggressive bead blasting, then give it a coat of paint. Like to think it’ll be done before the end of the week.


IMG_6634-X2.jpg


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IMG_6645-X2.jpg
 
I replaced the front tire and two bolts that hold the front fairing in place. I also ordered a manual tire changer from Ebay for the next time. Then I took her for a nice ride. Later I started making some leather glove box covers as one of mine is gone. I felt like it was a good productive day.
 
Rode the damn thing for two hours through hill and dale locally. Rode an hour or so few days prior. Always amazed at what a fine machine a C10 is. Makes me smile, makes my day!
 
My wrists are still problematic with carpal tunnel even at 90% improved. Figured something out about it though. If I tuck my elbows where there is no buffeting behind screen and forearms. The wrist angle changes for the better. Much better. Makes a dramatic change in symptoms. Wow! Changes my arm leverage on bars however and forces more use of body shift in turns. Small price to pay and can be mastered if I can still avoid the surgeries. Step in right direction would opine.
 
I have a Rifle base and finally ordered the windscreen in 21" for winter rides. It came in last night
so will have something to do this weekend...plus installing petcock bolt washers to hopefully take care
if minute leak from petcock bolt. Then talk to shop about installing lowering links.
 
Started bringing Vrooomm back to life after neglecting her several years. Of course the tank is a mess, so cleaning that is priority one. No leaks, so not that bad yet. Petcock screen is torn, so just gonna replace it. Need to check the fuel level sender to see if the gunk killed it or if its worth trying to save. The battery is toast <duh!>. Gotta check if my then fresh carb clean is now carb dirty again <sigh>. Check if the fluids are there and 'ok', then run it a little and change 'em all. It's been inside the whole time, so maybe the tires will be serviceable, or maybe I'll have to renew the tire list...
 
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Installed new Rifle windscreen on existing Rifle base. Tested it and much better wind protection for cold Texas days.
 
New rear wheel bearings, new brake rotor, new rear brake pads, replaced rear final drive. Cleaned underneath.

Scott.20210109_181900.jpg
 
Changed oil using SPOOFAK for first time. Used KN - 240 filter (I like fact that they have a nut welded to filter for easier removal. Filled with
Valvoline MC Oil 10/40W. Will check coolant this weekend
 
This is usually a fun running post on most automotive boards, sorry if there is already one here.
I did do a search and came up empty.
Ok here we go, since my bike is multiple colors needing body work paint and I am currently not able to ride it because I am waiting for a new cooling fan. I have decided since I have to remove all the body panels in order to replace the cooling fan anyway I will start on the body work and panel repair while they are all off. I have cut my riding season short in order to Do complete maintenance and a repaint. I plan on adjusting the valves, possibly removing the carburetors and sending them off to Steve oh and of course replacing that cooling fan that started screaming at me the other day. To complete the project I ordered a complete Hardware kit from Murph as well as caliper rebuild kits, fairing extenders and a new windscreen.
Installed the Fuel Level Sensor fix (resistor) I guess will need to run full tank to see if it works. I have the necessary items in hand to attempt the Free power mod. Gonna ride her today before I make this mod in case I screw it up and render Gold Rush powerless. Finally if that works gonna attempt to get grip warmers from PO working. Also put tank bra on. Future farkles are a manual petcock, installing either a remote fuse block or relay.
 
R/R oil and OEM filter for 5k miles change out. Ordered parts for my front end upgrade:
Racetech .90 springs
Racetech Gold emulaters
All seals(OEM) for forks
Upper and lower (OEM) steering head bearings. Parts arrive, I’ll be ready
 
R/R oil and OEM filter for 5k miles change out. Ordered parts for my front end upgrade:
Racetech .90 springs
Racetech Gold emulaters
All seals(OEM) for forks
Upper and lower (OEM) steering head bearings. Parts arrive, I’ll be ready
If you're going that far, you should replace the bushings as well.
 
If you're going that far, you should replace the bushings as well.
44065-1114 BUSHING-FRONT FORK,IN (Kawasaki)
2​
44065-1115 BUSHING-FRONT FORK (Kawasaki)
2​
92022-1298 WASHER,FORK OUTER TUB (Kawasaki)
2​
92033-1036 CIRCLIP (Kawasaki)
2​
92049-1494 SEAL-OIL,FORK OUTER T (Kawasaki)
2​
92055-1050 "0" RING,FORK TOP CAP (Kawasaki)
2​
92093-1472 SEAL,FORK OUTER TUBE (Kawasaki)
2​
92116-1009 BRG,ROLLER,HR320/28XJ (Kawasaki)
1​
92116-1056 BEARING-ROLLER (Kawasaki)
1​

I believe I have the correct parts but am always open for suggestions😝
 
Thought about installing the cut down center stand in prep for shop installing lowering links. But
it was a nice day so me and the wife cut the grass, removed old mulch and leaves, layed out new mulch,
emptied two large containers with frost killed palms and dug up some river rocks that had been buried in prep for re-creating a dry riverbed. What fun.
 
Modifying the Unigo hitch to work with my Delkevic pipes continues, but like many projects of this type where fab work is required, they don’t always move as fast as you’d like.

Got the basic frame and mounts for the hitch welded up. Amazing that it’s basically straight. Fab’d the down supports and mounts today and tack welded them in place. We’re happy. Need to transfer the existing hole pattern in the rear pad to the chunk of metal the ball is now mounted on, drill clearance holes, then bend it up approx. 90 deg. so it can be mounted to the rear pad. Will have to re-weld the pad to the frame first because I partially cut it loose so it could be tweaked back into a vertical position. The basic configuration of the hitch changed drastically and the pad just wasn’t useable as a result.

Finish/clean up the welds, hit it with an aggressive bead blasting, then give it a coat of paint. Like to think it’ll be done before the end of the week.


IMG_6634-X2.jpg


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PARTING SHOTS:

Overall, it took almost a year, but finally done.........

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Off to get another load of groceries:
IMG_6806-XL.jpg
 
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It has been raining for about two weeks in Texas so really not a damn thing. I am planning on installing fairing extenders and back rest when I stop being depressed about the weather.
 
Actually made these last night but still want to show them off.

I’d love to make a throttlemeister style throttle lock but not sure exactly how I’d do it.
 

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The bike has had a crappy idle issue for quite awhi;e, and it got really bad a day or so ago, so decided to pull the carbs and give them a thorough cleaning. Nothing was really evident, but while they were off I replaced the Dynojet slides with sdjustable needles from my '86 I installed a couple of years ago. Went back to the OEM slides/needles. All the jets were "standard issue,' so left them alone..... other than pulling a thoroughly cleaning after soaking the carbs and blowing all the passages with carb cleaner and compressed air. Set the mixture valves at 2-1/2 turns out.

Pulled the plugs and bead blasted them. Also decided to reinstall the COP arrangement that a fella gave me a couple of years ago. I tried them then, but my Audiovox cruise stopped working. Tried a couple of things to try and remedy the issue, back then, but nothing worked so took the COP setup off and went back to the OEM coils. Figured my long distance riding days are over, so put the COP stuff back on. Also didn't feel like fooling with the throttle cable noose for the cruise that's such a PITA to install and usually result in a rise of my BP reading in the process. A kind soul sent me the rear wheel mag pick up sensor I couldn't find here, so one day whn the weather is really crappy, I may try and get the noose back on the card pull cable and see if I can get the cruise working again with the COP arrangement.

Idle was 95% better, as was a smoother acceleration, so basically happy with the carb work, but think I'll probably tweak the mixture screws out that extra 1/2 turn I put in when they were off. Fortunately, I have a couple of those long-reach 90 deg. screwdrivers so I can access them "fairly" easily.

Decided to make one finaly check since I was in the mood, so pulled the valve cover to check the valves. I usually haven't done this, this soon (~6400 miles). Normal checks were always in the 30,000-40,000 mile range, and that's what they mostly were - checks; no adjustments needed. I set them at the upper limit, and only found one cylinder (#4) whose exhaust valves had loosen up to a slack 0.010" gap. All the other intake and exhaust were still at their respective .007" and .009" settings.

Cover back on, mixture screws back in that 1/2 turn. Those little tweaks seemed to make things better. The louder Delkevic pipes tend to let you hear every little burp and bobble the engine might produce, so some of my "issue" may have had me tilting at windmills to try and achieve perfection.

Stuck the plastic stuck back on and we'll get the bike out on the road a little later if the rains holds off..
 
Yesterday I attached one of those windshield winglets, fairing extenders and the peg lowering kit to my '95. Tested the changes out with a 150 mile ride around the northwest corner of Georgia.

The windshield wing really cleaned up airflow. So much that I was worried about an increase of engine noise. Figured out fairly quickly that it was just that there was just a lot less wind noise. The pegs should work out well... I was too lazy to readjust the brake and shift levers, but apart from that it was an improvement. I didn't notice a dramatic change with the fairing extenders yet, but we'll see once it rains. I bet they'll show their worth then.

I think the only thing left on my list is a preemptive strike on the J-box before it fails. I'll wait till I get my newly-acquired Road King up and running, then send it to Larry Buck.
 
Have to ponder the recently-added peg lowering brackets. Both sides touched down on my ride home today. Haven't felt that in a while.
 
Tired of the anemic horns on my ’95, I finally found a set of loud (130db) on Amazon that looked like they might fit. Been this route before with a Wolo Big Boy (air horn) I picked up at HF, but couldn’t find a suitable spot to mount the thing. I had put one on my KLR and it’s certainly loud enough, so I was hoping I could fit one on the Connie. No such luck.

Next attempt was a set of air horns that had separate trumpets. Got the compressor mounted, but had to cut the trumpet lengths down a little so I could shoehorn them into a spot I thought would work. Unfortunately, cutting the trumpet lengths down destroyed its design and that made them worse than the OEM ones I was trying to replace.

The ones I just got from Amazon had a Seineca brand name (made in China – natch!) looked promising, even tho’ they were just slightly larger than the OEM versions. After pulling the fairing apart so I could access the horns, I mounted them on the OEM bracket and bolted it up in the stock location. Unfortunately, they were just a touch too big and interfered with getting the main fairing back in place. Rats.

Came this far (again), and I was determined that I could make them work. After pulling them off the bracket, I finally figured that if I laid them down at an angle, there was hope. They came with thin spring steel mounting pieces (to allow good internal vibration), so I only put one on each horn, and tweaked their shape. Doing that allowed me to drill a couple of holes in the black plastic shield that protected the back of the instrument cluster (and headlamp) so I could bolt them in place, one on each side. The fairing went back in place with no interference and/or contact. The existing wiring worked perfectly so I didn’t bother to add in an interposing relay to provide a (more) healthy fused 12v from the battery, because they were certainly loud enough as is. In addition, the load is intermittent so I’m not concerned.

In my haste I didn’t take any in-process pix because I didn’t want to pull the fairing back off (again) to do so (my apologies). I did take a couple once the fairing was back on, and you can see them through the grill.

Finally! After 22 years I actually have a set of horns you can hear. Pretty pathetic, huh?

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Well done.
I wasn't able to find loud that fit in the original position, so I went another route.
Was a PITA. I think your method the best.

Ride safe, Ted
 
I applaud your tenacity and successful efforts!

I did similar to mount some Bosch horns from a German luxury car. The horns were a little bigger but a lot louder.

Lots of measuring, modifying and fitting as space was so very tight. Photographed all.

Got er done! The test sounded great! Till I had to refit dash cluster on the 87 that is.

For all my best efforts and fab work. After I seemingly lacked a quarter inch or so of bringing instrument cluster to original position.
Spacer placed underneath mount tabs worked but then cluster interfered with steerage!

Had to abandon project and return to stock.

Yes well done sir! Few will know how truly difficult was your task..............
 
Future project coming up – replace the fuel level meter in the instrument cluster.

Just noticed that the one on the bike started to read really erratic. Reads full, reads half, reads something less than half, depending on the attitude of the bike when stationary, or under way….. all this with a slightly less than ½ full tank. This just started for no apparent reason. Not sure of the actual cause, but I found a NOS gauge on eBay for a really good price, so figured I’d better scarf it up while it was still available. It’s on the way and we’ll swap it out once it arrives. If that’s not the issue, and it’s the actual sending unit, we’ll deal with that if I can find one at a reasonable price.

Secondary reason/excuse to pull the cluster – swap out the colored plastic inserts for the turn signal/emergency flasher indicators. My original instrument cluster’s speedometer faceplate was really faded in the upper quadrant due to a bulb I stuck in there. It apparently had too high a wattage and the plate couldn’t handle the added heat. I found a replacement cluster a local was selling that was really clean and reasonably priced, so went ahead and picked it up. The replacement cluster only had 35K, or something on the odometer, but since my bike was close to flipping over 200K, I wanted to have the correct, indicated mileage on the display. I sent it out to Palo Alto Speedometer Repair to have them advance the mileage. I looked at doing it myself, but the mechanism wouldn’t allow simple rotating the wheels, so I backed off not wanting to damage anything. The remote effort was a little pricey, but they got the job done in pretty short order. Once back, the cluster was swapped out and I was a happy camper.

Almost.

My original cluster had amber turn signal indicators, the ones in the replacement were green. I didn’t think that would make any difference, but they do – at least for my eyes. I find that the greens don’t stick out in the daylight as well as the ambers did, and I find myself going along fat dumb and happy after making a turn leaving the turn signals on doing their thing. NOT a safe thing to do if a cage mis-reads your intentions.

I dragged out my old cluster to see how hard it was going to be to swap out the fuel gauge, but to also see how hard it was going to be to swap out the indicator lens. Fortunately, it looks to be pretty easy for both. The three connection screws on the back of the cluster housing secure the gauge. Remove them and the gauge lifts right out. The lens are held in place by thin metal caps. Slip them off, remove their respective bulb sockets and poke through the hole with a pencil (eraser end) to dislodge the lens. Fit the replacement in position and replace the caps. Done.

I’ll shoot some pix for this adventure.

Honest.

Old cluster escutcheon/cover removed:
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PARTING SHOTS:

Overall, it took almost a year, but finally done.........

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Off to get another load of groceries:
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Can you tell me where you purchased your exhaust hangers? I'm working on adding some harley sportster slip-ons and would like to use a similar hanger. Thanks
 
Can you tell me where you purchased your exhaust hangers? I'm working on adding some harley sportster slip-ons and would like to use a similar hanger. Thanks
Those hangers look like the ones that come with the Delkevic exhaust. Might be able to go to their website and access them???
 
Those hangers look like the ones that come with the Delkevic exhaust. Might be able to go to their website and access them???

If you
Can you tell me where you purchased your exhaust hangers? I'm working on adding some harley sportster slip-ons and would like to use a similar hanger. Thanks
If you find that those Harley slip ons are not what you were looking for research Bafflectomy here . You may get better performance from that than the slipons .
 
Added tcw 3 to the tank and did a last ride around town before spring. Love the Connie. Filled up the tank and putted on Center stand in the Garage.
561 kilometers this year ...
2 of my best friends died. 59 years old ...
Next year will be better, I hope
 
Future project coming up – replace the fuel level meter in the instrument cluster.

Just noticed that the one on the bike started to read really erratic. Reads full, reads half, reads something less than half, depending on the attitude of the bike when stationary, or under way….. all this with a slightly less than ½ full tank. This just started for no apparent reason. Not sure of the actual cause, but I found a NOS gauge on eBay for a really good price, so figured I’d better scarf it up while it was still available. It’s on the way and we’ll swap it out once it arrives. If that’s not the issue, and it’s the actual sending unit, we’ll deal with that if I can find one at a reasonable price.

Secondary reason/excuse to pull the cluster – swap out the colored plastic inserts for the turn signal/emergency flasher indicators. My original instrument cluster’s speedometer faceplate was really faded in the upper quadrant due to a bulb I stuck in there. It apparently had too high a wattage and the plate couldn’t handle the added heat. I found a replacement cluster a local was selling that was really clean and reasonably priced, so went ahead and picked it up. The replacement cluster only had 35K, or something on the odometer, but since my bike was close to flipping over 200K, I wanted to have the correct, indicated mileage on the display. I sent it out to Palo Alto Speedometer Repair to have them advance the mileage. I looked at doing it myself, but the mechanism wouldn’t allow simple rotating the wheels, so I backed off not wanting to damage anything. The remote effort was a little pricey, but they got the job done in pretty short order. Once back, the cluster was swapped out and I was a happy camper.

Almost.

My original cluster had amber turn signal indicators, the ones in the replacement were green. I didn’t think that would make any difference, but they do – at least for my eyes. I find that the greens don’t stick out in the daylight as well as the ambers did, and I find myself going along fat dumb and happy after making a turn leaving the turn signals on doing their thing. NOT a safe thing to do if a cage mis-reads your intentions.

I dragged out my old cluster to see how hard it was going to be to swap out the fuel gauge, but to also see how hard it was going to be to swap out the indicator lens. Fortunately, it looks to be pretty easy for both. The three connection screws on the back of the cluster housing secure the gauge. Remove them and the gauge lifts right out. The lens are held in place by thin metal caps. Slip them off, remove their respective bulb sockets and poke through the hole with a pencil (eraser end) to dislodge the lens. Fit the replacement in position and replace the caps. Done.

I’ll shoot some pix for this adventure.

Honest.

Old cluster escutcheon/cover removed:
Img_0106-L.jpg

The replacement fuel gauge came in the other day, so decided to do the deed. Accessing the cluster requires you to remove the left and right inner panels, the winshield, disconnecting the clock leads so the instrument shroud can be pulled, unplugging two connectors that provide power/signals to the cluster, removing two bolts, and finally, disconnecting the speedo cable.

The instrument's cover can be removed by unscrewing the reset knob CCW, removing the metal mounting bracket on the rear, and 4 (four) screws that hold the cover in place. As mentioned above, three screws hold the gauge in the housing. Remove them and the gauge falls right out.

The turn signal lens can be swapped out by slipping off their respective covers, popping out their bulbs from the back, then, using a pencil (eraser end) to dislodge the lens. Snap the replacement (amber) lens in place, replace the covers, pop the bulbs back in place, and you're ready to put stuff back together.

The series of pictures seen HERE show the basic sequence.

Unfortunately, the pictures don't really convey the difference in lamp brilliance between the green and amber lens. I took the bike out to run a couple errands after I was done, and the difference is amazing; definitely well worth the effort.
 
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Did this change fuel monitoring? Was the problem resolved with this replacement? Thanks for posting all.
It did. The gauge is now as steady as a rock. I had about ¼ tank when I first installed the gauge; steady reading on a quick test run yesterday. Topped it up to close to full after I got back, then took the bike out again today to pick up a load of groceries. Still steady and pretty close to the actual fuel level now in the tank. If I get motivated, I may drop the fuel level down in a catch can with the petcock in the MAIN position using my MityVac until fuel flow stops. Using a 10-turn shunting resistor across the sending unit leads, I can tweak the gauge so it reads as the needle is about to enter the gauge’s red level. That’s anal, but may do it just for grins.

Another re-visited happy moment was the brilliance of the amber turn signal indicators. The green ones look nice after dark, or in dim lighted environs, but the ambers are so much more vibrant during the day light hours and much easier to see.
 
Good deal! Yeah, I like the resistor tuned to run out at the red, too. Keeps out of the surprise mode, and better timing my refills..........
 
Sadly, because it might snow this weekend which means TONS AND TONS of salt and brine will be placed on the roads:(, I put the bike away till next Spring.
 
Today I did some air pressure testing. I have Shinko 011s on my 95. Yesterday I checked the tires and they were about at 39 PSI. Rode a bit. Today I aired them up to 43 and went for another short ride. I could be imagining it, but it felt a bit easier at low speeds and a bit more on-center rolling along. Also more neutral with steering. In sum, it made the bike a bit better behaved. Would think additional pressure would make it "livelier" but more the opposite.

Need to try again but back-to-back to see if it's repeatable.
 
The center wore through the rear Shinko 011. My new Michelin Commander 2 showed up at Cycle Gear yesterday so I pulled the back wheel and got the new tire mounted. Added a right-angle valve stem.

Pulled the final drive and popped in a new o-ring. Cleaned off all of the splines and gave them a good coating of greasy grey stuff. Splines all look good without undue wear. Freshened up the lube in the final drive and took a moment to squirt some grease into the rear suspension links.

The Commander 2 seems ok with a short 15 mile test ride. Should last a good bit longer than the Shinko.
 
Had a new PR5GT sitting around from when I bought the (rebated michelin) set over the summer mounted on the 17" front rim, installed it Saturday.
What a wet, warmer than usual New Years week we had.
Yesterday late afternoon the roads dried up enough to take a ride and fill up the tank with fresh gas, laden with Stabil and a couple ounces of Synthetic 2
stroke oil for the ever possible long winters nap.
Looked at the odometer on the way to the filling station and 38 miles to turn it over to 70k.
It was near 50F with that midwest cold front approaching so I took off and had some fun until the sun went down and headed home.PR5GT.jpg70K.jpg70K.jpg
 
I reached over it to grab the snow shovel and broom. Only 5 inches of snow for all of December, which is weird, but probably 10 inches of salt if it was possible to gather it and measure it.:(
 
Unstuck the sidestand switch so I could go for a ride. Going to have to address that before it gives up entirely.
 
Yup about 10" of snow Friday. Now the salt and whatever else they put down keeps me off the road till we get a couple of good rains to get it off the road.
Yes, what Dan said, WD40 under the switch boot with the red straw cleans up that switch, I never hear of them going bad just stuck.
 
Switch boot was pretty hard and has some cracks. I pulled it off. WIll have to come up with some type of replacement.
 
I trailered my C-10 through winter storm Garrett ... or was it winter storm Hatcher? Got the bike totally covered in salt spray, road grime, and ice. Turned all three disks the highly desirable gold tint.
 
Mounted my Zumo XT.
I wanted it “up” in my field of view.
Madstad base facilitated that pretty well.
Power connection tomorrow.

If I recall correctly there is a switched line line in the dash???
 

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Mounted my Zumo XT.
I wanted it “up” in my field of view.
Madstad base facilitated that pretty well.
Power connection tomorrow.

If I recall correctly there is a switched line line in the dash???

There would be for the instrument lights. There may be others, but I don't have the bike's schematic handy at the moment.
 
This is usually a fun running post on most automotive boards, sorry if there is already one here.
I did do a search and came up empty.
Ok here we go, since my bike is multiple colors needing body work paint and I am currently not able to ride it because I am waiting for a new cooling fan. I have decided since I have to remove all the body panels in order to replace the cooling fan anyway I will start on the body work and panel repair while they are all off. I have cut my riding season short in order to Do complete maintenance and a repaint. I plan on adjusting the valves, possibly removing the carburetors and sending them off to Steve oh and of course replacing that cooling fan that started screaming at me the other day. To complete the project I ordered a complete Hardware kit from Murph as well as caliper rebuild kits, fairing extenders and a new windscreen.
Seems like missing during idle. Dies when choke is turned off. Have remove tank and ignition coils. Will check plugs and coils. Need to find instructions on how to test coils. Also need to check kill switch on kick stands. One of the mounting bolts was lose on a coil and one of the plug wires was lose where it was connected to coil. Plug connector was bright and shinny. Haven't seen any corrosion anywhere.
 
Just installed a new duralast gold battery. Made in USA. They have a 20 percent off sale on ship to home orders right now. Free shipping. Arrived next day. Topping off the charge before I take old blue for a ride.
 
Started at the end of October last year with a carb rebuild by the guys in Florida. Did a valve adjustment, new plugs/wires/caps and carb sync after re-installing them, and finally got my Delkevic 18" carbon fiber slip-ons installed last week. Put a couple hundred miles on them this past weekend and OMG my bike has never run and sounded so good.

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There would be for the instrument lights. There may be others, but I don't have the bike's schematic handy at the moment.

There is a 10 amp “accessories” feed near the gooseneck. White blue( +)and black yellow(-)
Comes directly off the main fuse in the Jbox.

Unstitched. But, meh it’ll work for now
 
Dutton, that is one clean machine! Very nice. Glad you got it sorted, plenty of years and miles left on it, it's going to be hard to sell my 2001 C-10 as I know it inside and out.

I walked around my C-10 when I got out the cornhole game to play when we BBQ'd. I treated my Corbin leather seat with conditioner. Still waiting for my seat from Seth Laam.
 
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