Dan M

I'd say something is shorted internally. The regulator provides ground for the warning lamp circuit and opens the circuit (shutting off the light) when the unit starts working. If the light glows, there may be a faulty diode. Sometimes when the bearings fail there is contact inside the case shorting components. Any noises? What year / model? How many miles?

Doesn't seem likely the drop would crack the cylinder, especially down low like that. I wonder if whatever got in there to score the piston and bore wedged momentarily and caused the crack. Surprising the piston is not cracked. Any telltale bits in the sump?

Well, I was reading and comprehending your entire post. You should be careful Hubert, it doesn't take much around here to get dinged for a personal attack. I'll let this one slide so I don't get a second mark on my license.

The bike pictured has turn signals and a license plate mount. Not a street version? Wouldn't mind one myself.

Or maybe Dennis Gage sticking his head out a car window.

I'm currently considering my next set. I have had NO issues with the Diablo Stradas, and may be a fool to stray but I'm always willing to try something newer or better. As has been said, most all brands have excellent supersport and sport touring tires in their line. I've always leaned toward the sport touring but now, many brands are putting out something in the middle. Pirelli has no less than 4 in the Diablo line: Diablo Strada, Diablo, Diablo Rosso, Diablo Corsa III. Besides short life of the sticky sport tires, the other trade off of the more sporting tire is decreased wet performance. Still, I'm thinking the compromise of the plain Diablo may be the way to go. The one down side of this being the "golden age" of motorcycle tires is with all the Diablos, Pilots, Ms & Zs, Road Attacks & Sport Attacks, Venoms & Vipers, Sportmaxes and Battlaxes; Choosing a tire is kind of like choosing house paint. The more choices there are, the harder it is to choose.

+1 on the ProGrips. They are great with summer gloves, much better feel than foam.

This is correct but you did not add that the right thumb, index and middle fingers have to be pulled together and stroked in an up and down motion with each syllable.

Is it still dripping? How much have you run it? I'd add about 8oz to a full tank. You may notice smoke from the exhaust, the more concentrated the mix the more it will smoke. Don't worry it'll go away with the next fill up.

First off, it does the job. Secondly, Pete gets to set the price at what ever he wants it to be. He certainly deserves to make a profit. Who here works for free? Pete, I'd up the price. If you are going to have a reputation for stabbing people you might as well carry a knife Quote: Maybe St. Peter-Of-The-Goose? How about "Roper, Patron Saint of Geese"

It is true. Rich's gel insert does noticeably retain heat. That said, I have them on both my V11 and my RT. The comfort level is worth the added heat. I always try to park in the shade anyway.

Hi Nanc, not wierd, but not optimum. I always change tires in pairs and use the same model front & rear. They are designed to work together so best performance will come from matched pairs. That said, there should be no danger in mixing two radials. I would be concerned as to how old that front tire is. They do harden over time. When I bought my V11 it was three years old with only 900 miles on the clock. The Bridgestones looked brand new but the traction was terrible. A new set of Diablo Stradas made all the difference.

Hey Scott Just do a tire search here and be prepared for some reading. I currently have the Diablo Stradas on my LeMans and love them. Quick warm up, confidence inspiring and great in the rain. My buddy has those Michelins on his Ducati, great grip but the rear has squared off in about 3500 miles. Many here like the Metzler Z6 too. I'm sure more here will chime in with opinions.

Likewise from me, Dave & others, I didn't intend to cross any lines. I'll keep my posts tech related if this last discussion was considered a personal attack.

I'm contemplating these when (if) my Marvic wheels arrive. I'm afraid of too short tread life and poor wet performance, so I may go with the regular Diablo. I'm thinking it's inbetween the Rosso and the Strada in terms of life vs performance.

Don't worry. If the bike has been sitting there may be deposits in the injector allowing it to leak, fouling the plug. It happened to me once after a winter lay up. Cured itself. You may want to add a de-carboning chemical to the gas to clean things up on your first tank of the season. I recommend Seafoam. Don't over do it. Loosen the exhaust collars and wiggle the pipes around then re-torque if they are leaking. I doubt you'll need another gasket.

Are we feeling sensitive today Dave? We're talking about cartoons for Pete's sake. Why do you always have to start an argument? What makes you think you were even on my radar? I did not insult you. Seems you always find yourself insulted though. My comments about those old cartoons being PI is substantiated on your favorite internet information source, Wikipedia. Like this: "Controversy - Stereotypes A handful of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from the World War II era are no longer aired on American television nor are they available for sale by Warner Bros. because of the racial stereotypes of African-Americans, Jews (especially in the earlier cartoons, despite the fact that all four of the Warner Bros. were Jewish as well[11]), Japanese, Chinese people, and Germans (especially during WWII, as in "Tokio Jokio") included in some of the cartoons. Eleven cartoons that prominently featured stereotypical black characters (and a few passing jokes about Japanese people, as was the case with Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs and Jungle Jitters) were withdrawn from distribution in 1968 and are known as the Censored Eleven. This has caused dismay among some animation enthusiasts, who feel that they should have access to these shorts. There has been some success in returning these cartoons to the public; in 1999 all Speedy Gonzales cartoons were made unavailable because of their alleged stereotyping of Mexicans, but because the level of stereotyping was minor compared to the World War II era cartoons as well as the protests of many Hispanics who said they were not offended and fondly remembered Speedy Gonzales cartoons from their youth, these shorts were made available for broadcast again in 2002. In addition to these most notorious cartoons, many Warner cartoons contain fleeting or sometimes extended gags that reference then-common racial or ethnic stereotypes. The release of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 includes a disclaimer at the beginning of each DVD in the volume given by Whoopi Goldberg which explains that the cartoons are products of their time and contain racial and ethnic stereotypes that these days would be considered offensive, but the cartoons are going to be presented on the DVD uncut and uncensored because editing them out and therefore denying that the stereotypes existed is almost as bad as condoning them." I'm quite sure most children didn't get it. I can comment on the content of these cartoons because I'm old enough to have actually watched them. I'm not however going to be pulled into a political arguement with you about it. Another thing, Ratchet is not my brother... He may be a cousin though....

Like I said, way over the head of young children

Hello Paul, Perhaps this post should be on the tech board. Anyway, the thottle bodies each have return springs. Are you saying the throttle twists freely, the t-bodies open and do not close? No spring action? If you turn your throttle it will just stay open? Is there any type of throttle lock? Give us a little more detail.

I've seen this one - great stuff, accurate too!

Those are all so great compared to what kids get today. Many had clever dialog that was way over the heads of young children. Looney Toons favorites were often "politically incorrect" and terrific. Bugs, Yosemite Sam, Pepe LePew, and of course Foghorn Leghorn to name a few. Oh yea, don't forget about Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale.

As with many things, you get what you pay for. A reasonably accurate multimeter that does basic functions can be had for about $50US. If you want top quality and durability, ones designed for automotive use are the way to go. I use a Fluke88, and have been bouncing it around for probably fifteen years or more without a hiccup. They have less expensive models that cover most common testing, ac-dc volts / amps / ohms, all over various ranges. The better ones will measure frequency (Hz) which is needed more and more when testing new CAN systems. Flukes range from $150 - $500.

As Ratchet said, it is not a terrible job, time consuming but straight forward. Your post did jog my memory though. Maybe two years ago I noticed a rather heavy oil leak there on my bike one evening. I had intentions of riding the bike the next morning so I decided to try a "temporary fix". I cleaned the area up and found that part of the timing cover gasket was split and pushing out. I pulled the loose piece out, cleaned all oil residue from the joint and injected silicone at the seam. Wiped the excess and haven't thought about it since. Two years later and still "dry as a bone" as they say.

Good for you Nancy, enjoy. Please report as we from the north will have to ride vicariously through you for the time being.

Sigh... Just tighten them. If you feel the need to break out the torque wrench so you don't leave them loose or strip them out completely you can use this chart for "rule of thumb" torque values. http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/bolts/M_bolts.html