[Hobie1]

imported post

Greetings,

I recently installed Progressive's fine products on my 83I and love the improved ride. A couple of things that I did with the installation was 1. I put the air valve in the plastic that goes around the gas cap area. This way I can check and adjust the air while sitting on the bike without having to remove the side cover. It works very well. 2. Since I was routing the tubing to the valve along the frame on both sides, I took some clear 1/8" plastic tubing and ran the airline inside of it all the way from the shock to the valve. Then I gently wire tied the tubing to the frame. I was kind of surprise'd to see how tiny the air line is that came with the shocks and I was worried about rubbing a hole in it.

Another thing that I did for maintenance was to lube my clutch, throttle cables, tach and speedo and choke cable. I was in a quandry how to get the lube into the cables since the cables fit closely in their outer housings. I didn't have access to one of those gizmos that clamp on the end of the cable so I got tubing(really like the stuff) that would fit (about 3-4")over the piece on the end of the cable, clamped it down on the housing, positioned the cable(s) so they were pointing straight up and squirted some cable lube into the tubing and let gravity take over. After a little while the lube starts coming out at the other end. When it quit, I did it again. The second time the lube was much cleaner looking. Oh yeah, I did put a towel under the end that was dripping.:clapper:And of course, I didn't need to do allthat with the speedo and tach cables.Just pulled the cables, wiped them down, flushed the housings and re-lubed.

:11redshe feels much better now!)

Hobie

 

[BRowan]

imported post

It's the little details like that which make a difference.

 

[Renegade]

imported post

Great idea Hobie... I lubricated my throttle cables last weekend with very little success.. Should have thought of your idea..

 

[Guest]

imported post

Hey Hobie1 :waving: Do you dress like that on the wing or are you a ghost. :baffled:

:walker: :18red: :walker:

 

[Hobie1]

imported post

Redwing. wrote:

Hey Hobie1 :waving: Do you dress like that on the wing or are you a ghost. :baffled:

:walker: :18red: :walker:

No, my robes keep getting wrapped up in the rear wheel.:cheeky1::grinner:

I thought I'd change my avatar to more reflect my personality.Muha ha ah eh.

:11red:

The force is with us.

Hobiewan

 

[exavid]

imported post

Hobie,

I hope you like your 416s. I just took them off my bike, both developed leaks. I got new seals and installed them but decided to try the bike with OEM shocks since I got a pair thrown in when I bought a used rear rotor. On the 1500 that's a spring shock and one air shock. I thought the 416 had an overly harsh ride on my bike but I think if it had the -1623 springs instead of the -1633 version it might have been more the way I like it. I just hate it when road bumps make my quiche fall in the oven, or crack my stemware. It's hard enough to keep road dust off the wine glasses!

I've rebuilt the 416s so i can put them back on if I don't like the OEM shocks. I don't think you have to worry about rubbing that little tube through, it's a very tough plastic, quite thick walled for it's diameter which also makes it stand much more pressure. Mine were connected to the bike's compressor, the small diameter does make the pressure changes slower to accomplish and put a little more load on the compressor but with your rig that won't be a problem.

 

[Hobie1]

imported post

I too have found the ride to be quite a bit firmer than I was used to with my stock shocks on my 83. But that hasn't been all bad. BTW, I wasn't aware that there are different types of 416's for my bike, but I seenow that they come in varying lengths.Vencowings herein the states is a well reputed vendor and I just told them that I need 416's to fit my '83 Interstate.I don't seem tosit much higher off the ground but actually I think my original shocks were very tired and sagged, even with 50lbs of air in them.

Consequently, I love the way the bike handles. Firm but confident. I feel like it handles more like a sport bike now, which I like. With my wife on the bike, and a little extra air in the back, stilla good ride.

I know that I've already stated some of the things that I've done to my bike. But to recap what I recently did in the month of March, I added a Superbrace, new SS brake lines, Progessives all around, cleanedout the calipers and put innew brake pads, AGM battery, hard wired the stator wiring, replaced the"dog-bone" fusible link with an inline 30 amp fuse,new fork seals, re-wired some cr^p stuff that the previous owner had installed, rebuilt the fairing on the right side, after discovering that pieces fell out when I removed the fairing:shock:, installed new fuel lines and filter, lubed everything I could lube, new rear wheel bearings and seal, greased the drive spines with Moly 60 , new AVON VENOM X tires, waxed, polished and buffed everything I could get to, and enjoyed every(most)minute I spent doing it. :waving:Now it's time to ride!!
It's nice to know that I've done everything now that I can do to make this classic live on.



:11red:

Hobiewan