[Andro]

Hello, Riders.

I've been doing a whole slew of upgrades (mostly cosmetic) to my bike recently, and I've run into some difficulties with figuring out how to access / remove / install some of the parts.

Here's the list of things I did so far:

• Corbin saddle
• Dry / Maintenance Free Battery
• Replaced damaged turn signal
• Installed turn signal grilles & visors
• Replaced damaged air filter cover
• Installed brake light grille

Now, here are some of problems I've run into:

• Removing Tach & speedo covers
  - Those plastic chrome covers on the tach & speedo are scratched, and I'm planning on painting them. However, even after some bold forrays with phillips screwdrivers and hex keys, including disassembly of headlight and the 'control panel', I can't figure how to remove the covers - namely, Tach cover and that wire cluster entering it... help?
• Replacing Brake levers
  - I haven't actually worked on this yet, but my initial browse of Clymer didn't come up with a procedure for removing old levers and installing new ones... and since the brakes and clutch etc are some of those things that better damn work well... any advice on how to do that?
• Replacing handle grips
  - Same as with brake levers, I haven't started working on this yet, but seeing how whole throttle thing is a dangerous one to mess with, I'd welcome advice and guidance before I tackle this.

Thank you all in advance for all the insight and advice you might choose to toss my way.

 

[RepairmanSki]

Removing Tach & speedo covers - They, the covers, don't come off. You can perform a can-opener type operation on them which is mentioned here somewhere, but they are not meant to be disassembled.

Replacing Brake levers - Just loosen the clutch/brake cable, align the adjusting nuts (at lever) and remove the cable. Note where the pivot of the lever is and remove that bolt. As for what else fits...I dunno.

Replacing handle grips - Left grip: Open the control box where the choke elver and directional signal switch are located. It comes apart clamshell style and has a locating pin on the underside of the handlebars. Slide the assembly away from the grip. Using a plain blower attatchment on a compressed air line peel up the flanged end of the grip and insert the tip of the blowgun. Grab the grip throttle style and rock it back and forth as you blow air under the grip. This will create an air bearing (like a hovercraft) and it will zip right off. To reinstall, if using the same style rubber grip, just slide it on while covering the hole in the end of the grip to use the same air bearing effect.

Right Grip: Open the control clamshell as above. Loosen both throttle cables and remove at the control end. This may require some working of the throttle to get them in position to remove. Once the cables are loose and the clamshell fully open the grip will just fall off.

 

[Andro]

Wow, thanks!

Re: Speedo / Tach housings : Damn. These forums gave me an impression it is doable, as a number of people talk about painting them, and I didn't think they'd do that with the damned things still on the bike.

Re: Everything else: Thanks a lot! Hopefully, I'll have all those worked out this week... baby has been sitting dormant for too long!

 

[Dianna]

What they painted on them was the bevel ring around the face. The brushed aliminum usually becomes pitted and rusted if left to the elements.
The plastic chrome bucket do slip off easily once they are removed from the support brackets.
If you are wanting to paint the buckets that is easy. You will need to remove the back of the instrument panel to disconnect the wires, then slip the bucket down the wires/cables. Painting the ring, just mask off the body and face of the meters,
What year is your bike? 85-91 reguire specific levers for the brake lever. If you have a rectangular Master Cylinder you will need the older style brake lever. If the Master Cylinder is round, any of the newer ones will do. Check to make sure the lever will fit your year bike. Putting a newer lever on the older style will result in your brake light being on all the time.

 

[Andro]

Hey, Diana.

I was looking at painting the plastic 'buckets' of Tach & Speedo, not the alluminum rings themselves - I actually discovered the way to make those very shiny ( Vacuum-molded epoxy-attached .2 mm steel/chromed foil). The part that confused me was that bunch of cables going into the Tach through the hole in the cover - I couldn't find an easy way to disconnect those to remove the bucket.

My bike is A10 - '94 . Round master cylinder, and I'm putting new HH wide levers on it.

On a side notice, I finally did it - left the stupid bike in Park instead of Locked position... then spent an hour troubleshooting, trying to figure out why the bloody hell is my brake light on. By the time I realised the error of my ways (I just installed a new turn signal before it started happening, so I was suspecting some weird crosswire) battery was pretty much drained. Go me! :BLAM:

 

[Dianna]

This should help..
http://www.ronayers.com/fiche/400_0286/meter_s/meter_s.cfm?man=ka&groupid=10710&parent=10700

Once you loosen the buckets from the brackets you should be able to undo the wires from the back of the units

 

[fergy]

On my 80 kz550 I put it in park one evening, just to try it out. Took me an hour to get it to unlock out of park. Key wouldn't turn and lock was stuck. Of course, I ran the battery which was weak anyway, down. It was also the only time I ever tried park.
A couple months ago the guy I sold it to called and was wanting to know how to get it out of park...:doh: Guess I forgot to tell him when he bought it.

 

[InsuredDisaster]

How did you get it out of park?

 

[fergy]

I'm not sure. I wiggled the key (carefully cause I only had one key) and shook the forks by the handlebars, shot it with wd40, reached under there and tried to help the lock let loose, and after all that time sweating bullets it just came out of park as easy as it went in, for no apparent reason. Needless to say, that was the only time I ever tried it.

Interesting how one bad experience can marr you for life. I've never tried to put my cop bike or my Vulcan into park until I was on a trip a few weeks ago and my best buddy asked me why I never lock the forks on the 750. He talked me into trying it and it works fine and is easy to unlock. I only tried it cause I didn't want to look like a wimp! Funny thing though, both times I locked the forks, I left the key in the bike and had to run out of the restaurant to go get my keys! Talk about defeating the purpose!:BLAM:

 

[Andro]

Well, Fergy, what confuses me is the purpose of 'Park' - on VN750, turning key fully left will turn off the bike and lock the forks. Park (kind of rightmost?) seems to lock the forks - but leaves power on (i.e. headlight, turn signals, stop light)... what is the purpose of that powerleech mode?

 

[fergy]

Oops, I meant Lock, not Park. Although it was Park on my 550 that locked up and wouldn't unlock and ran my battery down...

Park must be a "feature" that they make sound like a wonderful thing to have in the manual but I don't think I'd ever use it.

 

[Loran in Npvl IL]

If you are stopped on the side of the road on a dark and stormy night, the lights will be on (I don't think the headlight is on) so pasers by can see the bike before they hit it.

 

[Alkb]

I had asked the guy that painted my bike about the rings on the top of those housings, he had told me that he could not paint on them to both of our disapppointment.

 

[fergy]

Hey Andro, I see you have a 2002. Just curious, have you ever checked/lubed your splines?

 

[Andro]

Alas, Fergy, I'm afraid you see wrong - As can be read from 'VN750A10' in my sig, Hephaestus is '94 - were he '02, it'd say A18. What made you think 2002?

(On a side note, no, haven't checked the splines yet. That's top item on my to-do, though.)

 

[fergy]

Well, for the love of God! I guess I'm losing my mind. I thought I saw someone with a 2002 on here. Must have been me