Service
SERVICE
Stop fueling around
PAUL DEAN
Q I could not sleep until I had my Harley dealer install a Vance & Hines 2-into-1 Pro Pipe, a V&H Fuelpak and an H-D high-volume air cleaner on my new ’08 Heritage Classic. Riding home from the dealership, a trip of 230 miles, I watched in horror as the fuel gauge fell to empty much sooner than it ever had with the stock pipes and fuel-metering setup. I had been getting between 48 and 52 mpg at 65 to 70 mph touring speeds, but with the new pipes, I now get 30 to 32 mpg! Is this normal? I called V&H and they thought I had lost too much mileage and that I should get at least about 42 mpg. What do you suggest? If such a loss in fuel mileage is the result of aftermarket pipes, the consumer should be told this prior to the installation of these products. Charlie Beckett Alpine, Texas
Aí seriously doubt that the pipes are the culprit, and ditto for the air cleaner; instead, the Fuelpak is likely misadjusted, resulting in your Heritage’s greatly reduced fuel mileage.
A Fuelpak is an electronic box that plugs into the ECU’s circuitry and allows adjustment of the fuel-air ratio throughout the entire range of rpm and throttle openings. If the person who installed your Fuelpak somehow-either inadvertently or through lack of knowledge regarding the proper adjustment procedure-dialed-in too much fuel at some or all of those settings, your H-D’s mileage would suffer accordingly.
Thankfully, you can easily check and, if necessary, adjust those mixture settings yourself. Log onto Fuelpak’s website (www.fuelpakfi.com) and click on the large “American V-Twin” button. That will take you to a “setting lookup” page which, through a series of dropdown menus, allows you to select the year and model of your Harley, and to establish that it is equipped with a Pro Pipe and a high-volume air cleaner. You then will be sent to a page that lists the exact Fuelpak settings for 18 combinations of rpm and throttle position. That page also instructs you how to use the Fuelpak’s three adjustment buttons and
two LED displays to punch in all the required numbers. It’s a process that you should be able to complete in a matter of minutes with no tools other than a Phillips screwdriver to remove the Fuelpak’s outer cover.
Understand, however, that the purpose of the Fuelpak is to improve an emissions-compliant (i.e., lean-running) engine’s performance by richening the fuel mixture at most of those 18 settings. So, even though the engine thereafter is more efficient in terms of performance, it also will burn more fuel. Vance & Hines’ suggestion of around 42 mpg seems like a reasonable number.
Cheng Shin feng shui
QThe rear tire on my Honda VT500C Shadow rubs on the drive side of the swingarm. It rubs uniformly all the way around, and I cannot find anything mechanically wrong with the bike. The tire is the correct size, a 130/90-16 Cheng Shin Marquis. Everybody tells me it is the tire, but have you heard of this problem? Is there a tire I can purchase for this bike that has a smaller profile so as not to rub on the swingarm? I don’t want to buy a new tire just to find I have the same problem.
AI Seger
Posted on www.cycleworld.com
A The problem indeed would seem to be with the tire. I know very little about Cheng Shin street tires, and specifications for them are very difficult to obtain now that the company has decided to stop selling road-going tires in the U.S. But I do know that thousands of owners have installed major-brand tires on their 500 Shadow V-Twins since the bike was introduced in 1983, and I am not aware of any problems that have arisen due to tread width when the correct size tire, 130/90-16, was fitted.
I suggest you measure the Cheng Shin tire on your VT500C to determine how wide it actually is, then go to the websites of the major tire manufacturers (Dunlop, Bridgestone, Metzeler, Michelin, Avon) and look up the widths of the 130/90-16 tires in their specifications pages. I did a quick check and saw that the widths range between 5.1 and 5.6 inches. If logic prevails (which usually, but not always, is the case), those tires all should be narrower than the Cheng Shin that is currently on your Honda.
The light side of lighting
Q Greetings to the Greasy Scribe at Cycle World: I have a 2005 BMW RI 150RT that’s not acting very bright right about now. The headlight’s two bulbs, one each for low and high beam, quit working simultaneously. The highbeam indicator stays on, and the bulbs are not blown. I installed accessory lighting previous to this failure, but thorough testing has shown no short in “my” wiring or the bike’s wiring, and there are no blown fuses. A look on the Internet reveals that some 1150RT owners experienced fried ground wires due to the wrong bulbs being installed at the factory, but both of my bike’s headlight ground wires test fine. On top of that, two BMW dealers haven’t been able to fix the problem. I’m experiencing my own brown-out over this issue, so if you could, please illuminate on my bike’s problems! Riley Anderson
Dorset, Ohio
A Enough with the lighting metaphors, already! And Greasy Scribe? Flattery will get you nowhere.
All seriousness side, the best way to track down a problem like the one plaguing out your Beemer’s headlights is to
use a logically structured process of elimination. The current obviously flows along a predetermined route to get from battery to light bulbs, and tracing that
path, junction by junction, is the key to finding the source of the problem. So, using either a 12-volt test light or a small voltmeter, start by checking for voltage > at the headlight connector, then work your way backward on the lighting system’s wiring harnesses until you find either an unplugged or fried connection, a broken wire or a malfunctioning switch. A wiring diagram is a huge help, as it allows you to find any given wire’s exit after it enters a long, partially hidden, tightly wrapped harness. Somewhere between battery and bulbs, the power has gotten lost, and if you’re both patient and logical, you will eventually discover where.
Frosty the snowjob
QDude, seriously, do you think anybody who has ever held a wrench is gonna fall for your snowjob about “compromised sealing qualities” and grease being too thick to get between a brake caliper and piston (“Through thick and thin,” January Service)? Even if the guy’s caliper had no seal left, that’s a real snug fit, and pressurized brake fluid would’ve probably been good enough for the job. Your response came off like a really pathetic attempt at a CYA maneuver, IMHO. Joe Terzano
Posted on America Online
A Dude, seriously, think about it: Mike Giebler, owner of an old Yamaha XS Eleven that had a seized piston in one of its front-brake calipers, removed the caliper to try to break the piston loose. As described in his November, 2008-issue “Homebrews” letter in Service, he used a grease gun to ultimately force the piston out of its bore.
So, let’s look at the big picture here:
The caliper is off the bike-which, by the
way, has two front disc brakes, so there’s still another caliper in place-Giebler is struggling with it on a workbench, and you think he should use brake fluid to push the piston loose. Okay, where does the brakefluid pressure come from? Does he put the caliper back on the bike, fill the system with fluid and completely bleed it (air entered when he removed the caliper), then try forcing the piston out by squeezing the front-brake lever? Even if it would work, there’s likely to be brake fluid squirting all over everything near the front of the bike, because the piston is loose, there’s corrosion on the walls of the bore and the seal definitely has been damaged. Seems to me like a lot of work and cleanup. Or does he buy/borrow another master cylinder, lever and brake line, attach it to the caliper on the bench, then fill and bleed it before attempting the piston removal? Still a lot of work and time, with the same messy, squirty results. Or does he do what he did and force the piston out with a grease gun? Simple. Effective. Handy. Quick. Easy. No plumbing. No bleeding. And not quite as messy. Even if you are correct in your assertion that brake fluid would not have leaked past the seal, Giebler still would have needed to come up with a way of getting pressurized fluid in there in the first place. As far as I can tell, none of those would have been nearly as efficient or as easy as the grease gun method.
I had no reason to CMA (cover my ass), Joe; the idea was not mine. In the November issue, I just thanked and congratulated a thoughtful man for sharing a good idea with me and all Cycle World readers. And in my January response to another reader,
I merely explained the advantages of using a thick medium to force out the piston rather than a thin one. If those are snowjobs, well, just call me Frosty-or Greasy Scribe. □
Got a mechanical or technical problem with your beloved ride? Cant seem to find work able solutions in your area? Or are you eager to learn about a certain aspect of motorcycle design and technology? Maybe we can help. If you think we can, either: 1) Mail a written inquiry, along with your full name, address and phone number, to Cycle World Service, 1499 Monrovia Ave~, Newport Beach, CA 92663; 2) fax it to Paul Dean at 949/6310651; 3) e-mail itto CWlDean@aol.com; or 4) log onto www.cycleworld.com, click on the "Contact Us" button, select "CW Ser vice" and enter your question. Don't write a 10-page essay, but if you're looking for help in solving a problem, do include enough in formation to permit a reasonable diagnosis. And please understand that due to the enor mous volume of inquiries we receive, we cannot guarantee a reply to every question.
Recall Roster
NHTSA Recall No. 08V638000 2007-08 Ducati 1 098. 1098 Trico lore, 1098S; 2008-09 1098R. 848 Number of units involved: 7130 Problem: The charging system may be adversely affected by engine heat and thus stop operating. This results in damage to the voltage regulator and an ensuing battery discharge, thereby creating a potential hazard to the rider and increasing the risk of a crash. Remedy: Dealers will replace the voltage regulator, install a heat guard between the regulator and the engine exhaust system, and install a modified battery support. Owners not receiving this free remedy should contact Ducati at 800/23 1 -6696.
