Wednesday, 21 February 2018 |
The Road Star Clinic lives on!
With huge thanks to several members of our existing membership, and in cooperation with the good people at Rock River Powersports, the clinic now has a solid future. The larger collective membership has been supporting their efforts, and a brand new version of the Road Star Clinic is now emerging at www.roadstarclinic.com. Note the domain name used is the same one you see here, but now has www prepended onto the beginning of its name.
We will not be transferring user accounts to the new site. If you would like to join us there, please follow the link above and once there, look for the "Login or Sign Up" link on the upper right side of the page.
If you find that clicking on the link above returns you back to this page, you have a cached redirect stuck in your browser. In that case, you will need to search on Google for directions on how to clear the cache in your browser. Be aware, this process will usually log you out of sites you may be logged into now, so take care and make sure you know how you can log back in afterward.
To follow the news of what the new clinic will include, and what efforts are being expended to archive and preserve the contents of this one, please tune in there.
We will be making several changes over the next couple of days to turn off features that we don't want to have included in any archive. Some things will be disappearing (classifieds, site contact forms, the directory and the gallery among others).
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. It is necessary, to ensure we don't end up storing broken forms or bad links in the archive.
On a personal note, please join me in thanking BubbaKahuna for getting this started, and to Doc_V and Tykes_Place for getting in behind him and providing a lot of needed heavy lifting. Also, take note, these three are the beginning of the new admin/moderator crew for the new clinic. Things are off to a great start, and the future looks bright again!
TAKE NOTE: We will be turning off logins at 7:00 PM US Pacific time on Thursday February 22nd. If you want to get in a final post before we disable your login, now is the time. Logins are being disabled to provide more headroom for a site archive crawl we anticipate starting soon thereafter.
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Wednesday, 29 November 2017 |
This has been a very sad note to pen, but we will soon need to shut down the Road Star Clinic. It has been a great run, and we have created one of the very best motorcycle forums in existence. Our example of "respect first" has been adopted by many others and we think it was a very valuable contribution to DIY forums generally.
The RSC has only enjoyed a short period of positive cash flow (a few years ago now, for about two or three years), and for the majority of its life has been cash flow negative. With my retirement looming on the horizon, I can no longer expend the funds needed to keep the site online. I have to put my family first, in spite of how much this community has meant to me.
To continue the clinic we would need to rewrite our software completely from the ground up, and I just don't have the time to do it. It would involve a personal loss of tens of thousands of dollars in lost productive time that I have to preserve. This is not optional, as aging software becomes increasingly less secure as time passes.
We briefly entertained a replacement with newer/different software, even formed a committee to discuss, but those conversations have fizzled out now. We never got to any form of consensus that would have provided the needed technical support to move forward.
So with a shout out to all members here, and especially to the admins and moderators who gave years of selfless service, I must sadly now announce the impending closure of the clinic. Time for that shutdown is still to be determined, but sometime in the next month or two would be a good guideline.
For now, I plan to retain the assets (files, code, database, and domain name) of the clinic. They will be held in my private storage pending any determination of a possible replacement (with others at the helm).
Thank you, everyone, for your participation, and your contributions. I am very proud of what we accomplished here and will keep this experience close to my heart for the remainder of my life.
Discussion thread in the forum is here:
Announcement: RSC to close down soon.
Discussion thread on forum for options to stay up:
Options for the RSC to continue, stay tuned.
The Road Star Clinic Group on Facebook will not be affected by this site shutdown. If you would like to find the clinic on Facebook, go here:
RSC on Facebook
Steve Graham (Gram) |
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Tuesday, 30 August 2011 |
As a new RoadStar Clinic site has been initiated, registration for this site is now discontinued.
Information regarding registration for the new site can be obtained here ....
RSC
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Monday, 02 March 2009 |
Introduction
Exhaust Header, Showing Warped Flange
I went to remove my aftermarket exhaust pipes the other day, but they wouldn't come off. At first, everything looked normal:
- The exhaust header-studs looked fine.
- Those four, chrome, exhaust-flange nuts weren't rusty or visibly damaged. In fact, they were new this year.
- The flange--that part that rattles around when the pipe is off--looked good to me.
Nevertheless, after easily removing the flange nuts, I simply could not coax the flange of either pipe off the header-studs. I wiggled; I prodded; I pulled; I angled; I even pried a little. Somehow, it seemed the exhaust-studs had become wedged tightly against the outer edge of both flange bolt-holes. It actually appeared that the exhaust-studs had become bent in a direction away from the center of the exhaust-port.
Ultimately, I decided to use a hammer and cold-chisel on the end of one exhaust-stud, to bend it back toward the center of its exhaust-port. This released the flange, and the pipe fell into my hands with relative ease. Of course, I was now committed to replacing the exhaust header studs, since I had just ruined one of them.
In any case, when I examined the previously flat, quarter-inch thick, solid steel exhaust flange, I could see it had been bowed to a very large degree. Then I knew what happened.
I remembered that the nuts went onto the studs much further than with the stock pipes (which have thicker flanges). I had dutifly torqued the nuts, which was something I hadn't done on pipes before. In other words, I followed the service manual specs instead of my 'feel.'
The thinner steel (true for most aftermarket exhaust flanges for the Road Star), combined with the fact that they are made from mild steel, meant that I should have used much less torque than Yamaha specifies.
In addition, because my flanges bent so far, they bent the exhaust-studs, too. In the end, I had to replace all the studs and un-warp (re-flatten) the flanges on my new pipes.
My exhaust flanges are not removable from the pipes, and no trustworthy muffler or machine shop was handy, so I did it myself. This article describes how I straightened my own exhaust header flanges and replaced my exhaust header studs.
Note: This article assumes you know how to normally remove and install the exhaust system, including how to remove the right-side floorboard for the front pipe. If not, refer to the Road Star Service Manual and/or the manufacturer's installation instructions for your exhaust system.
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Saturday, 20 March 2010 |
Take a look at this bike. I have never seen anything like it, at any bike show, anywhere. Having seen this bike in person, I can tell you that the pictures do it no justice. Its an unbelievable work of art, with so many examples of one off engineering and special touches that you will be taking notes and looking at every little detail for hours.
Introducing Nehmesis, multi award winning custom Road Star built and engineered by Sam Nehme and crew at BMS Choppers. The Clinic's members will be interviewing Sam and his crew over the next week or so in our forum. We are going to find out what makes this crew tick, and maybe get some ideas for projects of our own. Stay tuned to our forum for more details on how you can participate and what other custom builders have signed on for this new series.
I recently had the opportunity to be very close to BMS on a business trip and decided to take the time to check them out for myself. It was a day filled with so many surprises that I didn't want to leave when the time came. So to give everyone a proper introduction to this crew of over the top builders, read along and learn what I found out when I payed them a visit. I can tell you right now they are not who you think they are. And after my visit to their shop I lost my objectivity. So this isn't an objective news article. I am going to try really hard not to sound like a pre-teen girl talking about her favorite boy band rock star.
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Thursday, 27 August 2009 |
Introduction
All Road Stars built before the fuel injected, 2008 models vary their ignition timing via a small sensor attached to the carburetor. This sensor is called the Throttle Position Sensor -- or TPS. Theoretically, the more you twist your right wrist, the more demand is placed on the engine, and the less the ignition timing should be advanced. In real life riding this theory has a few holes, but in my experience the TPS still out-performs other available methods for the Road Star carburetors, including V.O.E.S. and M.A.P. (See the Installing a V.O.E.S. article in this website for more information on VOES and MAP). The TPS offers the potential for better torque at all speeds, better fuel economy, and longer engine life.
Unfortunately, few aftermarket carbs include a way to connect the TPS. Carburetors built for high performance (racing) applications have no need for variable ignition timing since it is assumed that the engine demands will always be maximum, and therefore the mechanic just sets the timing to a fixed point.
For many owners however, the temptation to upgrade from the stock carb to achieve more power, quicker response, more reliability, and easier tune-ability outweighs the benefits that the TPS provides, and so the TPS comes out with the stock carb. In an effort to have both a better carburetor and proper ignition-advance, a few ingenious owners have fabricated custom brackets for certain, popular, aftermarket carbs to adapt their stock TPS. However, most have simply ignored the engine's needs for variable ignition timing in their thirst for more peak horsepower.
My design has one moving part: an axle. The axle is rotated via an integrated pulley that accepts the throttle pull cable -- which has been slightly shortened. The end of the little axle is fastened directly into the TPS, which moves the same way as it did in the stock carb. Another, tandem pulley, integrated into my axle, accepts a very short cable that, in turn, actuates my aftermarket carb.
My project construction boiled down to just seven, simple, yet time consuming steps: (1) Fabricating the axle, (2) Fabricating a basic pulley, (3) Finishing the pulley for dual cables, (4) Fabricating the framework or plates, (5) Fabricating a mounting bracket and cable receiver, (6) Ordering new throttle cables, and (7) Fabricating a dust cover. |
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Sunday, 06 September 2009 |
Introduction
Some Road Star owners love the stock, 40mm Mikuni, CV carburetor. Others favor their aftermarket Mikuni HSR 42mm or 45mm, while still others are sold out to the S&S Super-G, using an aftermarket manifold.
However, it is hard to argue with the incredible performance of the Genesis Big Air, 48mm carb from P.S.I. It is an enormous improvement, as others have also written. See Appendix-A for more information and my experiences with this amazing carburetor.
This is not an inexpensive project, compared to some others you could do. However, in terms of cost per power improvement, it begins to look very reasonable. Prepare for sticker shock in the neighborhood of $1,500 for the privilege of escalating yourself into the realm of fuel injection equivalent power.
Now, with my Genesis carb, I can more than keep up with the fuel injected models, without unduly sacrificing gas mileage. Frankly, when you compare the performance and price of fuel injection to the Genesis carb, it doesn't look so pricey anymore.
Here’s what I did to install my Genesis Series IV carb on my Road Star.
Note: This article applies to model years 1999-2007. If your Road Star is a model year 2008 or later, your bike is fuel injected, and has no carburetor.
Important Note: This article assumes you have some mechanical familiarity with the carburetor of your bike. If you question your skill in working with the intake systems of motorcycles you should not attempt this project (in my opinion). |
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Sunday, 01 November 2009 |
Items Needed:
- Kelsey Hayes type master cylinder:
L 1979-1983 Harley FX or 1980-1981 XL Sportster
Product Link
- 3/16”x 1” flat stock approximately 4” long.
- 2 bolts 5/16”x 2 ˝”
- 2 5/16”chrome acorn nuts
- 1 5/16” x 24 banjo bolt
- 1 5/16” solid rod (purchase at hardware store)
- 1 brake light switch for 67-79 Chevy Nova OEM# 1261219
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