If the fuel gauge is out, too (both gauges reading either full-scale or 0) suspect a bad 7 volt regulator (WingAdmin sells 'em). If just the temperature gauge, disconnect the sender unit and ground the lead with the ignition on, should go to full scale. If it does, you have a bad sender, if it doesn...

Might be a way to add a Tee fitting to that to allow oil drain without disturbing dipstick tube....

Where it screws into the oil drain, is that just a threaded nipple with a compression fitting? Seems you could shop the necessary parts from hardware stores... Hmmm... I hate the sight glass.

My '77 wasn't fully dressed, but it did have a Vetter fairing on front. And even riding 2-up never had any handling issues....

Lighted Buttons and Knobs too....

Good info for me, too, as I have been intending to order one.

These marks never line up perfectly when the timing is correct... but if you have the belt one cog off-time, the marks will line up "even worse". My trick for the right cam which always wants to rest about two cogs to the left of the timing mark is to simply turn the crankshaft "two cogs" to the lef...

My guess is the odometer has probably "rolled over" at least once.... This bike can easily go 200,000 km....

In 1980 I relocated from Michigan to Colorado and was surprised to find Colorado did not have a helmet law. Somebody said that Colorado and Alaska were the only two states that didn't. Nowadays it appears there's only a handful of states left that DO have helmet laws, and most of those only apply to...

Not at all, in fact a good number of us are using 5w40 synthetic Diesel oil (Rotella).

Check to confirm the bottom half of the API donut is blank (no friction modifiers), or the clutch won't like it.

Any thoughts on if submersion to that level will affect cylinders 3&4? If the starter clutch actually engages and starts turning hte crankshaft, will the solvent potentially run through the cylinders, past the exhaust ports into the pipes? I may start at lower levels to see if some benefit happens ...

A little off-topic, but a race-car driver friend gave me a hint to stop brakes from squeaking on my 1100.. I guess they do this on race cars.... The '80 1100 has solid rotors (no slots or holes in the brake surface) and the brakes would squeal like hell when applied. I guess the slots and holes help...

After reading the oil filter threads I'd go with the WIX (NAPA) filter.. But that's another thread...

Made several cross-country trips on my 1100, and one on the 1500. The 1100 is comfy enough that the trips were very pleasant (no cruise, I just use a throttle lock) and the 1500 an absolute joy! I've never ridden an 1800, but at 60 yrs old and only 50K mi on the bike I figure the 1500 will outlast ME!

You will need to fill engine roughly up to the blue line I drew to submerse the starter clutch, which is roughly where I drew the circle. Might be a good idea to pull the sparkplugs with the engine that full to prevent possible hydrolock....

All AC current, those wires are 'mix-n-match'

I'd say if the RPM's fall off quickly to the correct idle RPM (no stalling) you are fine.

Might try adding a quart of ATF (transmission fluid) and go another 100 easy miles. ATF is a lubricant, but it is also very good at dissolving gunk (35 yr old bike with only 30k mi probably has a lot of gunk), being overfilled by a quart won't really hurt anything but you likely will get smoky exhau...

40-70 volts is fine, this is open circuit voltage, with the bike's electrical system attached this will be loaded down to around 15 vac but putting out some good current... I'd be checking any connectors (rectifier, regulator) for burnt connector pins, and also check all the GROUND connections for t...

I doubt you'll find a mouse that has ANY interest in your exhaust pipes, and he couldn't do any damage to the exhaust anyway.... But they have been known to get into the air intake and make a nest in the air filter. There's a thread here somewhere about mices in the air filters.... Some people have ...

Jack up the radiator cap and put a new bike under it.

There's throttle cable adjusters at the hand grip, loosen those to give as much slack as possible in the throttle cables and that *MAY* give you enough slack to disconnect the cables from the hand grip. If not, you will need to disconnect the "pull" cable (the one that goes tight when you twist the ...

True enough, but not much fun camping alone So we always travel two-up with the camper. And it's nice to know I CAN change a tire along the road if needed.

Having said that, I believe good tires on the camper are of paramount importance, reducing the likelihood of a flat on the road.

The Trav-Lite trailer has a long tongue, with the rear stands down there's only maybe 75 lbs on the end of the tongue to get the wheels off the ground even with the trailer loaded to 550# total. (leverage factor). All (most) of the weight on the rear stands. The tongue really isn't that heavy when r...

Ya know, the bolt prolly would have just laid there in the bottom of the oil sump and not bothered anything..... But ya never know.