I'm really looking to upgrade from a V-star 650 to a Warrior. I have a few questions though. Are there any "known" or "common" problems that crop of with the Warrior? Anything to really check out/for before making a purchase?
What oil weight to you typically run when using synthetics?
I like to do some distance riding (not iron butt) but maybe 400-600 miles from time to time. I know this will require a different seat than the stock one and of course some saddlebags/luggage. Do many of you ride distances? Have you noticed any major comfort issues with the warrior for such distances? The 650 did fine.. little weak on some of the hills and when passing but otherwise it worked fine after adding forward control extensions and a mustang seat.
I've got a couple of things I want to do, but the first are going to mostly be about functionality.
1) Going to order the adapters so I can put the Swingwing Pegs on.
2) Rig up the mirrors
3) Will be ordering the Custom Dynamics integrated tail light to clean up the back. Probably keep the plate on the very back. To do that, do you need a new license plate light? Is there a specific mount for doing so?
4) Will be getting some saddlebag supports
5) Rig up something for a luggage rack/sissy bar so I can attach the tail bag I have.
I don't plan on using the saddle bags all the time, but I want something for longer/overnight rides. I have a pair of saddlebags that don't look too bad when they are held up next to the bike so we'll see how that works out - but I definitely prefer the 'no saddlebag' look.
#5 will be the most interesting. I really like the luggage rack that lastchance put together. Unfortunately those racks on Ebay are pretty expensive to buy just for the sake of chopping. I wouldn't mind a sissy bar, but I certainly want one I can quickly remove. I don't carry passengers very often and would prefer to only have the bar when "needed". Unfortunately I can see where a traditional quick release probably wouldn't be the best for attaching a large tail bag to. I saw a pretty cool design that someone came up with using bolts and wingnuts and a "standard" sissy bar. Not a bad idea, may have to look into something like that.
Going to check into cleaning out the kickstand hinge. The shifting already feels very smooth, but that kickstand is a bear. Not too sure about the idea of putting a bolt on it.. maybe if someone has some pictures of what they did.
Just realized...hmm gonna need a new guardian/gremlin bell!
Gonna have to man up on the clutch thing! I'm sure you're right though - after a few weeks and some miles on it, there shouldn't be much of a problem. Good to know about the cable stretching thing! Something to be prepared for.
Thinking the stock seat should be good for a few hundred miles or so. I did fine with the stock 650 seat and only upgraded because 1) got a good price and 2) was planning a trip across Oregon and back.
In time I'll have to look into a BAK of some form and adjust things for comfort. Won't really know what to adjust till I put some miles on it. Got my Kuryakyn ISO grips I can transfer over too!
Oregon has some awesome roads, really enjoy riding there. Couple of years ago my son and I went for a ride there. Started in Portland, Interstate down to Bend. From there we rode through Sisters, Redmond, Madras, Antelope and then spent the night in Fossil. Next morning out to Hepner, Condon, then through the National Forest to Sumpter. Last day out through John Day wilderness and Granite, back up to Portland. Great trip, I envy you having all that in your backyard.
Planned almost the whole route on Scenic Byways, of which there are many. By the way, ever been to Mitchell on Hwy 26? Nothing town, but there is a place called the Sidewalk Cafe that has the best pie I have ever eaten. Made fresh daily! Try it, you won't be disappointed.
That's the quick release I was referring to - it's nicely done and I like the trick with the spikes. May have to really consider something along that design. I'll have to go through the other mods listed there too.
Gonna have to look at that kickstand suggestion offered up there by Churchkey as well... might be an easy fix!
What I meant by rigging up the mirrors, was that I need to figure out what I want to do there. The bike currently has one cr*ppy a** mirror on it. I did get a set of Kuryakyn Turn Signal mirrors to install. If I choose to use them I'll have to order the adapters so they connect. The concern here is that if I install these, I would want to remove the stock turn signals on the bike to clean up the front. However, looking at those it appears that you have to take apart the triple tree to remove the stock turn signals. Is that right? I realize there's a split on the inside of the ring that holds them on but I can't image it'll open far enough to take the off easily. Any thoughts?
CA Cruiser -
I can't agree more with you on the roads around here. Specially the scenery in Eastern Oregon. Every year they have the Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally in Baker, Oregon. We've gone the last two years and are looking to go again this year. So far we've taken a different route there each time we go.
First time we pretty much took 26 all the way from Portland (Sandy area) to Madras and Prineville (near Bend) and then east through Mitchell and John Day and then worked our way into the backside of Baker.
Second time we took I-5 south to Salem and then 22 over Cascades, through Detriot and into Sisters and Bend. Continued on to Burns and then worked our way up the 395 into John Day and then finished out the last leg the same as the first trip.
In both cases we returned doing the reverse of the ride through Mitchell. I haven't seen Sidewalk Cafe - but I'll have to make note of that! The first time we went that route I took a friend to the Painted Hills as he had never seen them. On the next trip we are planning to go through Mitchell again to take another friend to the Hills - may have to see about getting some pie! Did you ever get a chance to see the Painted Hills?
The second horn. To remove the front signals you don't have to mess with the trees. You do however have to almost take the headlight bucket off. The brackets for the signals is rubber..ish. They will open all the way once the top bolt is removed which is were the headlight bucket is in the way. There is no stupid questions btw. It's how you learn.
being a new bike and all, you might want to simply lube the cables. see if that makes a difference. might be time for new ones. the barnett "never lube" clutch cable is a good one.
Yes, definitely check out the Sidewalk and the pie. By the way there is a little coffee shop in Antelope too that has awesome huckleberry cobbler!
Missed the painted hills, what I learned about the byways was from an article in Motorcycle Cruiser and it wasn't mentioned. I do plan on going back some day though and will have to check that out, thanks...
Also National Forest Rd 052 through the Umatilla National Forest to Sumpter is beautiful.
CA - Will really have to consider checking out the Sidewalk. Antelope might be too far out of the way for the trip we have planned, but I may have to keep that in mind for some random day/weekend ride.
Leader - I'm in Beaverton, it's a suburb of Portland. Pretty good location.. 60-90 minutes west and you're at the beach, 60-90 miles east and your at Mt Hood and northeast takes you to the Columbia Gorge.
Okay, I've got a few questions about some of the mods I want to do.
First one should be easy to answer. I really like the idea of painting the 102 on the right side cover. What's behind this though? I saw one thing that said it was covering the decompression solenoid. Looking at the service manual it appears that there's a chain behind there. If there's a chain I suspect there would be oil. Would I need to drain the bike? What should I have to deal with when I remove this cover?
Next issue - LED lights. From reading some of the entries on here, it appears that replacing the stock turn signals introduces the possibility of receiving the "dreaded COD". It sounds like you could wire in a resistor or relay to prevent this from happening or you could shut the bike off in specific ways... can someone break this down for me? I'd be looking at putting the Custom Dynamics integrated tail light/turn signals on and removing the rear turn signals. I'm also considering the installation of the Kuryakyn turn signal mirrors.... these have LEDs in them as well so I could remove the front turn signals. It sounds like the front and back lights are on separate runs.. so you need two relays?
You can pull the 102 cover off without worrying about leaks or seals. It's just a cover.
If you put the bike in neutral and turn it off witha key - not the kill switch - you don't have to worry about the COD. I have the integrated tail and stock front. The signals blink faster. If I were to go to LED front I'd have to add a relay. You only need one. Do a search on COD or read up on it n popular mods.
Btw - the chain is behind the large oval cover next to the 102 cover.
Thanks for the information. I may hold on then on doing the front turn signals and just go with the integrated tail light for a while then. I'll have to order that kit and then some decide on some other mirrors to use for a while.
I used 50w resistors for the rear turn signals, but for the blinkers I am pretty sure you could get away with the 10w resistors to keep it happy. I already had the 50w jobbers....
Hmm you don't have any photos of how you wired that in do you? The faster flashing might get people's attention better.. but I do prefer the slower if/when possible.
no photos, but you can't really mess it up, at least on the rears. The front requires a bit more diligence, however. To keep the blinkers nice and slow, all you need too do is wire the resistor from the + to the - side of the circuit used to activate the blinker(remember there are three wires, a common, running lamp, and blinker). You need to use the common and the blinker wire.
Not entirely sure that this will cure the cod, but others are far more knowledgeable than myself regarding the warrior. There migh be something else you need to do as well. I only replaced my rear blinkers, and even before I wired in the resistors, I had no Cod. You may need a total of four resistors for the front if you want to keep the running lamp circuit happy as well.
i'm sure all you need is a little bulb in the headlight bucket. there are a bunch of write-ups on this. COD only occurs if you do the front blinkers. fast flash occurs if you change the rear blinkers. no COD.
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