| Author | Message | ||
     Acav80 |
Some may already know this but the wife and I are headed out tomorrow for about 10 days on the uly, heading from GA to NY. I've been working this week to get the bike tuned and serviced. I just took it around the block and here are my two concerns. The rear brake (see previous thread from yesterday) is down from normal power after changing fluid. I bled it thoroughly but there must be some air still in there. Not too concerned really, the front is good to go. The other more concerning one is that my headlights were surging with the motor idle when i started the bike. It seemed to go away after it warmed up. I haven't noticed it before but that doesn't mean it hasn't been happening previously. Today I took apart the 77 connector according to the write-up on here, did a light clean job on the pins (everything looked good to begin with) and sprayed a bit of plastic-safe electrical lubricant on them. Does the headlight surging sound fishy to the experts here or am I just getting paranoid? Otherwise I think we're set. Primary chain and clutch adjusted. Fresh oil and filter. Cables lubed. New brake fluid. Fresh Michelin Pilot Roads (with handy internal rim-protector storage). Bearings good front and back. Fresh anti-sieze muffler paint job (  ), and a bath to make it sparkle. | ||
| Sleez |
i would at least check the voltage on the battery before starting it, while starting it and after running. if it drops a lot while starting, it may be going south. | ||
| Acav80 |
Ok, now after researching on badweb I'm getting more uneasy. Does this sound like the stator is going? I don't know about loading up and hitting the road for 10 days with this kind of question mark.  I've got nearly 20k on the bike now with the original stator (as far as I know). | ||
| Hughlysses |
It doesn't sound like a problem to me, but I'd do the voltmeter test to be sure. Measure the voltage across the battery with the bike running. It should go from a little over 12V at idle to maybe ~14.5V at high RPM (check the manual for specs if you have one). If it goes higher than this, you probably have a bad voltage regulator. Even if it turns out to be OK, I'd highly recommend installing a voltmeter on the bike (the single LED ones are nice) when you get a chance. It'll let you know you have a problem long before the battery's dead and will help keep you from getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. | ||
| Blk_uly |
don,t forget your BRAN list print it out & put it in your wallet. | ||
| Etennuly |
Does that old Uly have it's original battery? The test with a volt meter should show about 12.5 to 12.8 volts across the battery. The spike when cranking should not drop below 9.2 volts or so. It should show between 12.8 idling up to 13.9 revved up a bit. While you are in there clean and tighten the posts. Then ride that thing! If you have any problems find a 'puter, or a phone that goes to a friend that has a BadWeB link. Help is there no matter where you are. (Message edited by etennuly on May 16, 2009) | ||
| Acav80 |
I think it is the original battery, but hard to say since I'm the third owner. The first two didn't give it much lovins. Yeah BRAN has saved me once before. It's a great network and it makes long distance road tripping less daunting. I'll see about the voltage this morning and unless it looks like a problem, we are still heading out. Thanks y'all! | ||
| Acav80 |
Update- went to Advance this morning and they ran their battery tester on the Uly. Battery at 12.78V, 14.23V when running without load and 14.11V with load (high beam). Everything looks good. We're on our way!  | ||
| Xb12xmike |
I am at exit 4 on NJ turnpike, if you need anything when u get up this way, i sent u pm with my cell. Barbs Harley/Buell is 15 min away. mike | ||
| Acav80 |
WE'RE BACK! Whew, a long but great trip! 2,850 miles all in all. I will post up a report soon. The bike ran perfectly except for a broken muffler strap (replaced with a ducting strap from Lowe's) and a surging/sputtering fan that was resolved by cutting out and bypassing the ol' 77 connector. I had never had a problem with that little piece before, I guess when I took it apart to clean/inspect it I created the problem. It got us home fine but I am a bit suspicious of the VR. Badweb catch-up time! | ||
| Tootal |
If you have the shop manual then check the stator with an ohm meter. Check all three wires and see if any are grounded. If that's ok then check resistance between the three wires. Should be 1 to 3 ohm's. Lastly check the AC voltage. If all these are meeting the specs then check the voltage at the battery. If it's roughly 12.8 to 15 at 2000 or more rpm then it's good. They make a new connector to replace the original 77 connector. Glad you had a nice trip and hope all is good. |
