Messages

We all miss Ratman, and as someone said, makes it tough to come here knowing there won't be any snappy comments from him..lol His trip to NS went extremely well as we did the Cabot Trail together. Yep! He will be missed!

Looks like a H-E double hockey sticks of a time.    Very sorry we couldn't make it !

M & l .....  in NS

Last year I was whining about excessive vibration on my 800 as I approached 95kph or about 57mph. This year I solved the problem and now can take the bike up to 130kph before any vibration begins.
How??...I changed the spark plugs !

This may or may not work for you.

Mike in NS

I'm happy to hear Seedman has picked up on these bag mounts.  There is no reason to think his would be of any lesser quality than the previous manufacturer.
They are excellent quality and fit like a glove on my 800 and for the price, a true bargain !  I highly recommend them.

If you put a heat shield on the bottom of the right bag you can mount any brand bag within an inch of the exhaust pipe. It really doesn't get any better!

Mike in NS

I'll look to see if I can find where I got them...and better yet, I THINK I made a tracing  of one of them before I put my bags on..both are the same of course.. lol
They both bolt to the two chrome (10M) bolts on the bottom of the factory single seat as shown in an earlier picture.

Keep at me with threatening and harassing mail to get me to find the stuff ..I'm busy and slack and the poster boy for Procrastination ! 

Mike in NS

Lord Man

Isn't it busy enough avoiding pedestrians, cars, delivery trucks and buses ?
Now you want us to " stay safe, stay sane, keep the sun on your back, the rubber on the road"  lol

I'm still waiting for Scootworks to let me know when they will have theirs in stock. Looks like they forgot about me..  LOL
Since I shouldn't get any satisfaction out of Scootworks, I ordered the ones I have now for less that half the price and they fitted perfectly !  Others have made their own!

These were $99.00 AND sent the next day!

I'm afraid you're on your own for that one, my fine feathered friend... No time for that venture. We've got grank kids to babysit, a kayak the Missus has to finish, company coming (including yourself I hope), cars to get finished and an RV to get up to snuff for a winter south.   I'll not bother mentioning work needed on the other bikes and that I have yard work and maintenance around the nest to do in my spare time...lol

I guess the finished product would be in order..

I think what I did to make a heat shield for the bottom of my bags might be useful to someone on here.
I started with a trip to the local muffler shop to pick up a piece of heat shield from underneath a car....in this case I don't know what it came from but it was stuck in a corner of the shop.
I wanted an air gap between the exhaust, the heat shield and the bag itself.... the shaping began !

I held the remolded shielding material to the bag with self tapping screws to the inside lip of the bag itself. If you look at the pic with the bracket to the bike, you can see the screws. The other pics are just more of the same shield from different angles .

There is about a half inch between the bag, shield, and the exhaust..I used it like this last year and could keep a water bottle in that bag and it was quite drinkable after a long ride. This worked for me !
In the past, I have burnt a hole in a bag from a pipe on a different bike...embarrassing to say the least and burning leather does not smell like a well done steak ....just in case you were wondering. lol

Any questions or if I forgot something, let me know.

I used to have the part number for 800 oil filters from Wix...however they now are having them made in China instead of Poland. The Polish filters were excellent but the Chinese filters are a hair off and have to be forced on...I'll look to se if I can fins a part number.  My oil is off the shelf at Walmart...sorry ..lol

I'm not Driftin' Girl..I'm her mechanic, gardener, dog walker and husband. We put an ad on Kijiji and within a week some guy dropped a note and said he had said Voyager kickstand. I don't remember why he had a spare, but he did and for $10,  I didn't care..lol
Solves the problem on an 800 that has been lowered and as someone already said, a 10 minute or less job to change .
I don't have the part number but it is mentioned in a previous message(s) .
Works great...both the lowering and the Voyager kick stand!

Is there a chance someone would have a matching tank and fender bib for an 800 ?  If you don't have a matching set, do you know where I could get same...?  Thanks !

Greenbarn

Thank you for the education.. lol
Normally if something is working well I like to take it apart to see why. In this case, I may just leave well enough alone !

Thanks

Mike

Bikers...

It had been a while since I've been on here and the first thing I noticed tonight is the 8 million (approximately) references to Grampsizing !

What in H E double hockey sticks  is that ??

Thanks...obviously in need of an education..
Mike

Ratman
The snow must first come and then the snow must go...then we ride.
The 'Hell Hound' has your number, you should be careful, very careful if you come next summer! She has grown as well..now standing 10" at the shoulders and possibly 25" long..a force to be reckoned with..just ask 'L' and that busted leg of hers !
Around here...3 Drifters = biker gang

Right you are Greenbarn..
I was allowed to sit on her bike but only while supervised...I'll let you know what it feels like on the road,  next Spring !
I'm sure she'll loosen up a bit once the speedometer on hers passes 3500 miles..lol

Excellent !!

Some time ago I thought I read on here that Corbin was not making Drifter solo seats any more. It appears that is not the case, I just today ordered a KN-8-S.
I added a 'trim' package of studs and fringe and was on my way.....Free until the end of the month when my credit card bill arrives !

Soon mine(red) will look like Driftin'Girls...

https://www.facebook.com/553434574765728/photos/a.553460864763099.1073741828.553434574765728/773054482803735/?type=1&theater

I think this is what you are referring to....

Currently recommending Osprey mounts for 800 Drifter bag attachments.
Put the finishing touches on mine today...including a heat shield between right bag and exhaust. Works well.

Osprey mounts are not showing on their website but call them and they have 'em in stock for $99 US dollars plus shipping.

Mike in NS

I see further testing is required..lol
I'll determine the type of vibration, and with and with out the windscreens. 04 is lowered, mine not.

Thanks for the comments and I'll get back when the rain stops..and I might even try a different brain bucket..

Mike

Mr Ratman

The vibration is the kind that vibrates your glasses to the point of getting blurry vision from 60mph and up.....
Both bikes have new tires both different brands and were installed and balanced by two different places. Driftin'Girl has 3,100 miles on hers and mine has less than 8000 miles...

So what gives?  Am I the only one?  What have others done for a solution ??

Thanks

Last summer I took Driftin' Girl's '04 8000 out for a run . There seemed to be a slight vibration at 60mph and above.
This year I took my own '03 800 and it was the same thing...vibration beginning around 60mph...

So is this the nature of the beast or do I have both bikes with  undesirable  conditions.  I'm no stranger to both vibration ('50 Panhead) and the lack of ... up to sonic speeds(BMW Brick).

Is it the chain/sprocket arrangement, the rpm of the 800, or something completely different??

Any  thoughts are appreciated......

and thanks..

Geeze
30 years of teaching English and can't read myself..
Tks
Mike in NS