Loud mouth '78

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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#16

Post by Easter »

Pulled the center stand off this evening and with the help of some muffler repair tape used as a gasket, mounted the muffs directly to the headers. I hammered out the hangers from some 3/16 x 1 flat stock I had on hand. Still need to drill the holes and mount to muffler and passenger peg. Looks clean but is really close to the rear tire, hope there is no conflict.
Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#17

Post by Easter »

Got the mufflers mounted but still waiting on the seat. Took it out for a run the other evening before the cold front blew through. Lots of fun to ride. I had just gotten off the 1200 standard that I have been fiddling with and it was a big difference. I like this bike! Unfortunately when I pulled in the garage and shut it down, smoke was drifting out of the front of the shelter. At first I couldn't find a cause but after a more careful exam I realized the fuse box was melting! I haven't had a chance to chase down the cause but i am suspicious that it is overcharging and heating up the main connection to the fuse panel. But the box is probably going to have to be replaced so I am looking at blade type fuses. I need to watch the gauge more carefully to see if it is actually overcharging. I know it was reading around 16 at first but I assumed that it was going to settle down after warming up. Apparently not. OR it could be something else altogether.
Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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desertrefugee
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#18

Post by desertrefugee »

I don't think an overcharge condition would manifest itself in the fuse box first. (I could be wrong). Those are "service circuits". They'd see overvoltage, but the slightly higher current shouldn't cause a meltdown. The charging current goes direct from stator to r/r and battery. Sounds like you have something else going on, too. Like a short. Hopefully, a GL guru will weigh in on this.
- Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It's about learning to ride in the rain.
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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#19

Post by Easter »

A short would seem obvious except no fuses blew out so I was looking for something else. Will dig deeper in the next few days. Pretty cold here by South Texas standards, not a good time to be in an unheated garage.
Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#20

Post by Easter »

I hesitate to mention it but today was a beautiful day here in South Texas with afternoon temp near 80. But--we will get to suffer a little bit along with the rest of you as the cold front is to hit here sometime tonight with an overnight drop of 60 degrees or so.

Well, this isn't meant as a weather report or "too bad you don't live down here" but I did get out for a 40 mile ride in near perfect conditions. This was the first time this bike has been out of the neighborhood and I was quite pleased with how it did. The seat is quite firm and the rear shocks don't, and I really can't recall if I ever put oil in the front forks after rebuilding them (!!) didn't feel like it. That is something I will have to check into. The volt meter was showing a steady 16 volts the whole time, but fortunately I had a spare regulator and it is now showing a much healthier 14 volts.

I was able to get some photos with the new seat and a couple of other details like the Harley mufflers and the idiot lights mounted in the headlight. Still having a problem with the neutral light, as it stays on all the time. Not sure i am up to pulling the engine a third time just for that. :drunk
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Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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Roady
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#21

Post by Roady »

Very slick. Looks like a good sled from over here.
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#22

Post by NCScooter »

Lookin' great. I had a question about those straight (30 degree?) pipes you had on at first, or straight pipes in general. I like the sound but worry that the lack of back pressure will damage my exhaust valves. Tell me in a nice way that I'm out of my mind. I had Sportsters on, they didn't do anything for me, personally.
I need to remember to keep my expectations tiny so I don't end up so whiny.
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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#23

Post by Easter »

I really can't say one way or the other about the valves. I agree the Sportster pipes are a bit too quiet but the straight pipes were over the top for me. I have a set on my orange bike that are early Sportster and they are not nearly as restrictive as these.
Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
gary496
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#24

Post by gary496 »

love the look of your bike, I also have Dyna mufflers and I drilled out the baffle with a step drill 3/4 hole. I love the sound, bad when your on it and when cruising, you can barely hear it.
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#25

Post by HOTT »

Looks great! Sorry I missed this. Did you solve your Neutral light?
I would have suggested a false or redundant ground.

HOTT tumb2
If we can't fix it, we can fix it so no one else can.
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Easter
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#26

Post by Easter »

Thanks Hott, no haven't worked on it much since. But will look into that. It would be nice to get it to work properly. Right now it just serves as an indicator that the key is turned on!
Bikes at present:

83 XL 600r with a 2004 XR650L engine
And a slightly worse for the wear BMW GS adventure bike awaiting repair
83 GL in process :IDTS:
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HOTT
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#27

Post by HOTT »

... just serves as an indicator that the key is turned on!
lolol lolol lolol
Yeah I gotta few of those too..

HOTT
If we can't fix it, we can fix it so no one else can.
the Condor BOTY 2011
Ol' Sparky BOTM Dec. 2011
Lucky #13 BOTY 2018
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#28

Post by HOTT »

Well Hey Hey Hey !!! Congrats on BOTM
action1 action1 action1 action1

HOTT
If we can't fix it, we can fix it so no one else can.
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#29

Post by wingrider »

Congrats on BOTM! anim-cheers1
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Re: Loud mouth '78

#30

Post by flyin900 »

Congrats on BOTM too. I really like the colour combination and the electric fuel pump is a nice addition.

The neutral switch can be removed without removing the motor if that is what it turns out to be. I did one on an 80 Standard using the FSM procedure of flexing the frame to get some extra room.
Current Bikes:

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1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
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