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[Zeke on Wheels]

Hey Zeke,

That's some newer design and technology compared to some of the regular styled LED bulbs that have been tried before! However, if you'll look around their site... IIRC truck or boating or such, you'll find some with a bulb socket attached to wires that connect to a large ARRAY Printed Circuit Board with a nice wide spread of LEDS, 36 or so count that can be simply hot gun glued to the inside of the brake light reflector, so can be reversed and retain the OEM sockets, and are probably much cheaper than those fancy high powered tower design bulbs!?

T.C.

Thanks T.C. I will have to check them out.

[Special Ed]

Welcome ladd!

I didn't have time to read all the post, but I like to welcome new members. You will find lots of useful info and comeradery here.
Special Ed

[natemoen]

Really Nate. . . we're talking about the usually Unobtainium large left rear bearing that will probably again be Unobtainium once James sells his "cluster" of 22! Repacking them to possibly rejuvenate them to possibly help them from wearing out may help keep many XS's on the road instead of being sidelined for lack of a replacement bearing.

Thanks Motoman!
T.C.

If you read the quote from motoman, he never once mentions the left rear bearing, only the other regular sealed (left rear is not sealed as you just found out) bearing in the wheels.

Last year when I replaced all the wheel bearings I ordered the other 3 bearings for about $9 shipped to my door.

[motoman]

Really Nate. . . we're talking about the usually Unobtainium large left rear bearing that will probably again be Unobtainium once James sells his "cluster" of 22! Repacking them to possibly rejuvenate them to possibly help them from wearing out may help keep many XS's on the road instead of being sidelined for lack of a replacement bearing.

Thanks Motoman!
T.C.

Welcome T.C......was just something I had done many years ago out of curiosity and it worked...........and Nate, was referring to sealed bearings in general. Just was offering an option to those who by their location may not be able to just run out and by a replacement bearing when the one they have rotates smoothly and could use a re-packing. Most sealed bearings have a minimal grease in them anyways, and I commonly choose to do this with a new one anyways if rotation is too easy. Having said that, remember, being the net, you actually have no real knowledge of my mechanical backround, nor do I of others......tread lightly.......

[TopCatGr58]

I seen somwhere here where someone modified the tailight with LEDs. Wondering if anyone has just simply tried the LED replacement bulbs like these?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...8-T.htm#photos

Hey Zeke,

That's some newer design and technology compared to some of the regular styled LED bulbs that have been tried before! However, if you'll look around their site... IIRC truck or boating or such, you'll find some with a bulb socket attached to wires that connect to a large ARRAY Printed Circuit Board with a nice wide spread of LEDS, 36 or so count that can be simply hot gun glued to the inside of the brake light reflector, so can be reversed and retain the OEM sockets, and are probably much cheaper than those fancy high powered tower design bulbs!?

T.C.

[TopCatGr58]

Why bother when a couple bucks buys a new bearing.

Really Nate. . . we're talking about the usually Unobtainium large left rear bearing that will probably again be Unobtainium once James sells his "cluster" of 22! Repacking them to possibly rejuvenate them to possibly help them from wearing out may help keep many XS's on the road instead of being sidelined for lack of a replacement bearing.

Thanks Motoman!
T.C.

[natemoen]

FWIW T.C, the sealed bearing CAN be re-packed. Just pop them in one of the two piece cone type wheel bearing packers from NAPA and pump away. Grease goes by the seal and no damage to outer seals of bearings. Haven't found a sealed wheel type bearing that this doesn't work on.

Why bother when a couple bucks buys a new bearing.

[motoman]

Hey James,

Thanks for chiming in...my CRS got to me and I didn't try to open another browser tab to find your name! Again, I get to talk and prove that I'm just a shadetree survivalist....I haven't actually had my left rear bearing out of my wheel. I've had the rear wheel off many times for tire changes and work on the swingarm and such...but I didn't know that the bearing wasn't SEALED...that you could get to it to remove old grease and repack it??? I could have sworn that the NEW one you sent me was sealed!


T.C.

FWIW T.C, the sealed bearing CAN be re-packed. Just pop them in one of the two piece cone type wheel bearing packers from NAPA and pump away. Grease goes by the seal and no damage to outer seals of bearings. Haven't found a sealed wheel type bearing that this doesn't work on.

[cywelchjr]

The guy I bought it from had put the original factory seat on it because he didn't like the looks of the custom seat. However, I found the custom seat way more comfortable. The sticker was still on the bottom of it where it was custom ordered in Brighton Mich when the bike was brand new. Now I need to see if I can get the same color leather to cover the backrest with.

The guy at the cycle shop who mounted the tires said it was a really nice bike and you could tell it was well cared for. I am certainly loving it!

I seen somwhere here where someone modified the tailight with LEDs. Wondering if anyone has just simply tried the LED replacement bulbs like these?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...8-T.htm#photos

I'll say if you only have the stock light, they replacement bulbs won't be enough light in daylight. They were enough with my tailtrunk with the 4 extra lights, but when those started to flake out because of age I found replacement light units and replaced the 4 in the tailtrunk with 2 LED units that are a LOT brighter than the LED bulbs.

[jimbyjimb]

Zeke, beautiful XS!

While I'm on the side of thinking that seat is an eye-sore it looks very, very comfortable. I do just fine on my stock seat but I'm only 27 so if Alberta is still around in a couple-a-few I might be sitting on a different seat myself!

Otherwise that bike is beautiful and the color is fabulous. Good find/purchase and make good use of the resources on the site to keep it running as good as it looks!

[jwhughes3]

LEDs

I tried some of Supbright's LED bulbs....changed out flasher to electronic type.

Had too many issues trying to get and keep a good enough ground. They would periodically stop working. Didnt seem as bright during daylight. Wife noticed difference while following. At night seemed equal. Hard to tell really.

In the end I switched back. Just not enough reason to switch.

And they were way expensive.

John

[Zeke on Wheels]

I have never seen a seat like that!

Very chic

Welcome.

John

The guy I bought it from had put the original factory seat on it because he didn't like the looks of the custom seat. However, I found the custom seat way more comfortable. The sticker was still on the bottom of it where it was custom ordered in Brighton Mich when the bike was brand new. Now I need to see if I can get the same color leather to cover the backrest with.

The guy at the cycle shop who mounted the tires said it was a really nice bike and you could tell it was well cared for. I am certainly loving it!

I seen somwhere here where someone modified the tailight with LEDs. Wondering if anyone has just simply tried the LED replacement bulbs like these?

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&category=CAR&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F1156-x18-T.htm#photos

[TopCatGr58]

Hey James,

Thanks for chiming in...my CRS got to me and I didn't try to open another browser tab to find your name! Again, I get to talk and prove that I'm just a shadetree survivalist....I haven't actually had my left rear bearing out of my wheel. I've had the rear wheel off many times for tire changes and work on the swingarm and such...but I didn't know that the bearing wasn't SEALED...that you could get to it to remove old grease and repack it??? I could have sworn that the NEW one you sent me was sealed!

Zeke, there's been recent discussions regarding tire pressures, most recommend using the values printed on the tires...not necessarily the max values, not the OLD owner's manual values, but adjusting according to your preferences...ride comfort and such. Many run at or close to the 40 psi for the rear. If too low, will heat up too much when riding, and can cause excessive premature wear.

You'll want to document your miles, and keep track of how long the 501's last, the rears usually last half as long as the fronts. Another recent discussion on Elite 3's came to a conclusion that Dunlop may have softened their formula, because a long distance rider has gotten quiet a bit less life/mileage out of a recent set of E3's vs. previous E3's. Others have suggested other brands because they are now giving similar tire life as the much more expensive Dunlops, with similar performance, wet/dry grip and overall handling.

Now you've got to give your bike a NAME. You haven't had much trouble with it YET...so I guess "grapes of wrath" won't apply!

T.C.

[jwhughes3]

color coordinated

I have never seen a seat like that!

Very chic

Welcome.

John

[Zeke on Wheels]

Congratulations, you've got a great old bike. We need pics around here. You need to open a photobucket.com ablum and then copy your pics into it in order to post them here.

Here she is: