Just a warning shout out to all fellow riders, with the nice weather and us all eager to jump on the bike to take a cruise... remember to tighten down the license plate. I headed out of Lexington, ky. today for some scenic horse farm cruise only to return home with out my license losing it somewhere in the middle of nowhere... I just do not want this annoying problem to happen to anyone else. Secure all objects. Ride strong.

GReg

already dropped a plate of the stock one... last sat...  I've had a few vibratae and fall off as well...

once rode from denver to salt lake city w/o having a plate... didn't realize it till I got to SLC...

also, a good time to check other stuff like lights, oil, BRAKES...

and watch out for SAND in the road still!

Weird this thread came up.  Two evenings ago I was coming home and suddenly there was a loud metalic buzzing noise from the back of the bike that got more intense when I accelerated.  Of course I start thinking worse case.
A minute later I had to come to a quick stop when the lady next to me decided she liked my lane better.  I let off the clutch and the bike died.
Now I'm thinking things have really gone to hell; the sound was a prelude to disaster.  I scoot over to the median, got off the bike to to take a look; not that Id really know what WTF I was looking at.  
I had to smile.  The buzzing came from where one of the reflector/bolts that hold the plate on had fallen of.  Hence the buzz.
The stall?  Guess the ol' bike didn't want to go from a stop on a steep grade in 4th gear.  Nothing like feeling both stupid and relieved at the same time.

Yes, that's what I use now, a chrome frame.

Folks,  Nyloc nuts, that's what they're made for ....  most hardware stores carry them in metric sizes too.   Don't want to lose that shiny chrome frame.....

drharveys - FSO wrote on 03/06/08 at 19:40:40:


Oh man, I think I should buy stock in loc-tite.  I use the blue on most stuff I reassemble.  Of course, there is always something to be said for aircraft style safety wires.

Once again being an old geezer I have a story - the first lock nuts we not nyloc but solid steel just smashed a little on one end - I used some lock nuts (a lock nut is a lock nut right?) on some exhaust studs - well these were indeed nylocs - guts melted and they fell off real quick

steely wrote on 03/06/08 at 19:55:08:


It sucks being an junior engineer with a better idea....  A few years ago, we designed and built a slim profile network switch that someone had the marvelous idea to use a passive heat sink on the processor and venturi cooling by drawing cold air through the front and exhausting it through the back with a set of 40mm brushless fans.  A wonderful idea, very quiet.  That is until the front panel openings clog with dirt and goo and the thing overheats and shuts down.

When they unveiled the prototype switch in a training class for technicians, I pointed out the potential problem.  The lead engineer stated that would not be a problem because the customers would be made aware and would periodically clean the fronts. Besides, the switch was intended to be installed in a 'clean room' so my concerns were moot.

Fast forward 13 months.  We had deployed about 600 to a major package delivery company.  Within a span of 2 weeks, we had trouble calls on 400 of the 600 switches.

It turned out my prediction came true.  Not only did the front clog with dust, but so did the heat sink, then the rear fans.  Much to the engineers surprise, the customer installed the switch under desks, in closets, anywhere they could find room and had a free power plug.

On my own, I went out and purchased a bunch of 1U low profile cpu coolers and installed them on my switches.  Immediately, the problem went away.  Did I get any recognition for my efforts?  Did I get a congratulations?  Did I even get a hand shake from the engineering team?  No...  I got written up for putting non-approved hardware into customer machines that could have voided their warranty.

I hate engineers.....