twhitaker

http://www.speedbleeder.com makes bleed screws with little check valves in them. I believe there was a discussion a couple months back in wildguzzi. Our bikes take the M6 size. I believe my California takes the M10 size. I'm getting ready to buy 4 for the LeMans and 3 for the Cali. I doubt I'll install them before March though. At $7.00 apiece I figure I can't go wrong. I'm not looking forward to dealing with the clutch bleeder. I suppose you removed the tire to gain access?

My bikes have Vista Cruise units on them. They cost about $20

The reasons it was such a kick in the ass were as follows: The bike sat for a month while I was trying to figure out what was wrong. It died on the way to work. I had to borrow a truck to get it home. I bought a HD TPS. I had to borrow another truck to haul it 4 hours to the dealer. We spent a night at a motel to get an early start on fixing the bike at the dealer on a Saturday morning. Joe Eish and his brother spent about two hours checking the electrical system out. He replaced the relay and voila, the fuel pump came on. His bill came to $12.00 He accepted the TPS as payment and a satisfied customer was on his way on another 4 hour trip home. I now carry a spare relay on each bike. Costs: 1 month downtime. TPS $45 Motel $85 Gas $37.50 4 meals for two people $80 Embarassment for not replacing the offending relay in the first place.....Priceless

The frame number is the one used for VIN most everywhere. I was thinking along the same line as Steve G. Fortunately, we're not talking about a H.D. here. I could imagine a motor without a serial number being attractive to a thief.

I had a very confounding problem with my California 1100i last summer that I was certain it was in the fuel system. I replaced the fuel filter. It had 56,000 miles on it and it was almost as clean as the new one. I was making plans for rebuilding the injectors. I considered replacing the TPS. My wife got the best of me (I hate to admit defeat) and we took it to the dealer. Their investigative efforts centered on the relays. Sure enough that was the problem all along. Mine acted like it was starving for fuel. As it was, the ECU relay was cutting in and out, causing the symptoms. On my Cali there is a brown wire coming out of the relay socket that provides power to the fuel injection pump. I have to jiggle it every once in a while. I wrote on the blackboard a thousand times, "I will never assume it is the fuel system. It's the electrical system that controls the fuel system."

Are they going to do anything about a serial number? Don't want you to eventually get into something you may regret.

After futzing around with the OEM oil filter on my California for a couple years I bought a socket that I thought would fit from Auto Zone. When I tried it out it spun on the filter. I went back to Auto Zone and bought a Mobil 1 filter M1-103. It fit the socket fine and also fit the bike. When I got the LeMans the first oil change required me to remove the sump for an inspection. I tried the old strap wrench and it spun on the filter. I drove a screwdriver in the filter and banged off the offensive piece of s**t. I now have two bikes running on Mobil 1 filters and dino oil. I know the filter is almost as expensive as the OEM part but from the reports I've read I'm confident it is one of the best on the market. It's an easy enough job I change filters on both bikes every 3000 miles.

The hex nut on the rear axle is also the right size for removing the filter access cover. Just use the nut in combination with the box end wrench to loosen it.

When the shifter spring went south at 6000 miles, I bought an extra spring and attached it to the bike like a voodoo charm to ward off the evil spring spirits. It was only $3 You might want to do the same. Carry a spare relay (Bosch) as well. 24 degrees F here with freezing rain.

The S100 cleaner is the best stuff I've ever used. It's available at any HD shop. Ten minutes spraying the bike followed with ten minutes flushing with a garden hose. Think volume not pressure here. Blow dry with a leaf blower and the bike is the cleanest it's EVER been.

I believe the push pull forces in combination with the small rotational movements inside the bearing as the rear of the bike moves up and down cause fretting of the elastomer in the bearing. Maybe a bronze lined spherical bearing would work better. That's likely what Paul has on his. They make them as press fit units like ours as well as rod end units like Pauls.

You didn't happen to get your bike from Rich Maund, did you? If that's the case, you can trust it to be completely optimized. You lucky devil.

Todd Egan at www.guzzitech.com is the maestro og custom maps for the PCIII.

Oops. I meant to say spherical instead of swivel. They are used in all kinds of control arm and motion control applications.

I went out and looked at mine and sure enough it is disintegrating too. It looks like it may be a swivel rod end bushing. I would suggest taking it to a bearing supply house for a cross-over. INA makes some high quality bushings. My guess the bearing house price would be a third of what the dealer wants.

Sometimes the use of a heat gun will facilitate removal of parts. Aluminum expands at a far greater rate than steel. heat the hub around the bearing and it should fall out.

I too have had the bad spring demons visit upon my LeMans. I now carry a spare spring ($3.00) to ward off those naughty guys. My Karma bell works for my tires too, so far. The Karma spring has been working for a little over a year now.

Foot pegs from a 98 Kawasaki will fit, sort of. Go to Guzzitech.com and see Rich Maunds tip in the comfort section 9.08.02

Try roughing up the edges of the dipstick with coarse sandpaper. Makes it a lot easier to read.

The surging may be a symptom of the charcoal cannister soaked with fuel from overfueling.

There are a bunch of different bearings in this range. For example: 61804 = 20 x 32 x 7 61904 = 20 x37 x 9 16004 = 20 x 42 x 8 6004 = 20 x 42 x 12 6204 = 20 x 47 x 14 6304 = 20 x 52 x 15 61805 = 25 x 37 x 7 61905 = 25 x 42 x 9 16005 = 25 x 47 x 8 6005 = 25 x 47 x 12 6205 = 25 x 52 x 15 6305 = 25 x 62 x 17 Only as you get into the larger cross section bearings do you have room for a seal in the bearing. Their selection of bearing was limited by the hole in the wheel. You might be able to substitute the 6205 for the 6304 and use a stepped axle. If you use a wheel with a 47mm bore you must be aware of the difference in widths of the 6204 and the 6005 assuming it is available with seals.

How about the hydraulic lines. Were the existing lines long enough?

I've never considered taking the rack off. Most of my riding is with my wife on back. The cross bar is kind of a security blanket for her.

I seem to remember reading an article in a trade magazine about this a few years back. There was a stink about the cost overruns and the outrageous price for the motor. Something like $75,000. They were made in a small production run and the propeller drive was totally special.

Here is a shot of the cross brace.