[Poncho]

dang! I don't know what to make of this new sled, other than maybe its just loosening up at 2.5k miles. I ran another tank of 93 octane thru it. Just my daily rides to the lake thru the benders. that's what I call the twisties, benders, cause you have to bend her over to get her to carve. anyway, my avg speed is 40-50mph, mostly 3rd sometimes 4th gear if I'm not paying attention.
but the fuel bar thingy finally flashed one bar at 269.5 smiles. I stopped at the next station and did my little dance. put a chunk of 2x4 under the side stand makes her sit almost upright. Topped her off with another tank of 93'tane doing my usual burp, top, burp, top, burb, top off. same same. I even squeezed in another dollar because I like whole numbers. 5.3 gal at 271.6 miles. the Red Barron is now getting 51.2 mpg.. yikes! and the last 2 day runs have been with this new snow, er I mean wind plow batwing fairing up front.
I know you don't believe me. so I took pics of the speedo and gas tank and gas pump and even that chunk of 2x4. I wouldn't believe me either. So now how do I get these pics to fit in this little box?


btw, my lil chunk of 2x4x4. I painted flat black and put industrial velcrose on it and also on that black plastic behind the left side muffler. It nestles in there like a glove and has not budged in 500 miles of twisty benders and bumps. you wouldn't know it was there if you was looking right at it. just blends in with the background. flat black, I call it invisible paint. poncho

 

[Afta]

I gas mine up sitting on it and I Use 87 I get far better mileage then I did with high test. Mine hates high test low compression motor I think.

 

[Poncho]

I gas mine up sitting on it and I Use 87 I get far better mileage then I did with high test. Mine hates high test low compression motor I think.

I agree. these are 9.5:1 comp ratio. not really high. but a tight motor and breathes well for a 2 valve head. Unless your motor needs the Retarded fuel, lower octane is actually a better fuel as it ignites quicker allowing a longer more thorough burn. probably why EPA endorses it. but DOE cruds the stuff up with 10-15% corn oil which loves H2O. water can burn, but our motors aren't that hot.


this particular bike appears to be an anomaly in the sea of flat sixers. most report sub 40s even 30s mpg. me thinks it is the pilot not the motor the culprit. but mine has been just peachy from mile 1.
I would use the cheap stuff if it yielded results. so far nada. the impaired fuel is turning out the big coins. If I find a station w/o ethynol, like I did in Montana and Idaho mountains, I will run a tank lowest grade and see if it performs as compared to same high test stuff. If it does outperform , then it is for sure the corn oil that is impeding performance and not the octane.

 

[Afta]

most of what I run is corn free in NH we have both. Mine loves ethanol free I average High 40's most all the time but drops quickly with higher fuels as you well pointed out why. Enjoy this beast. Sounds like you ride the way I do. Tires are most of my expense. MY front is mostly toasted at 3500 miles

 

[Poncho]

afta what? NH, live free or die.! you can get the good stuff w/o the corn oil. it must be what they call winter blend? I can only find that stuff up in the mountains near canukistan. maybe they don't put corn in their gas there? all that freedom and cant change the color of your blinkers.

 

[Afta]

You can make the ethanol free stuff at home. I never did but had some buddies doing it a while back you basically set up a separator and take the water out. They then used the fuel for small engines and used the water blend for windsheild cleaner in their cars.

It's plentiful around these parts and Canada. I have two places near me that sell it. however, it is more money at $3.00 per gallon. But honestly, I only run it if I start having problems with any of my stuff or bike.

 

[Poncho]

Ethanol aka corn oil is promoted by the DOE but is pushed by the Farm Bureau to get subsidies (aka welfare) from the Feds. it is garbage fuel, but it makes farmers happy (free money) and the feds get to stick there hands in more of the peoples business and skim off the top, 83cents of every dollar. so for those two crooks it is a win win.

 

[Geepers]

Hey Poncho, you're a tease - we can't SEE that thing! If you can't work out how to post a bigger pic, your granddaughters probably can

 

[Poncho]

Hey Poncho, you're a tease - we can't SEE that thing! If you can't work out how to post a bigger pic, your granddaughters probably can

I'm going to have to recruit one of my techs to show me how to squeeze pics in this little box below. though my girls are my delight, they are only 3 and brand spankin new, so its going to be another 5yrs before I can do some serious traveling again. I have standing Monday play dates and music lessons with big sister. pics when I can get one of these fellas to slow down and fix me up.


I have been studying the radiators vs the new fairing. I could either fab new rad covers or trim the fairing. So I put the stock angel wings back on this scantily clad model strutting in her under wares. aka the wings are on the red baron. And I noted conflict of real estate that the batwing and wings don't want to share when turn full left and right... Soooo, I started trimming the batwing. first just a little. remount and retry. then cut a little more. remount and retry. then cut a little more. shampoo, rinse, repeat. you get the idea. I am working toward good fitment and side clearance when turning.
am almost there. but I have trimmed a sizeable amount of batwing off both sides so that conflict is minimized. it sorta works, not happy with all the cutting on a brand new 6 Benjamin fairing. but hey, this is how it gets done. I will eventually get it dialed in and trimmed up. I would share pics with you if I could. maybe one day soon? I will start a new thread and call it the poncho project. then slow walk you thru the process, step by misstep, pics and all commentary. ponchout

 

[Geepers]

So what happens if you:

a) take photo with phone
b) email photo to self
c) drag photo out of email on to computer desktop
d) drag photo from desktop into the dotted square

This works fine for me with Apple phone/computer...don't know about non-Apple of course.

 

[STLLOU]

Hey Poncho, you're a tease - we can't SEE that thing! If you can't work out how to post a bigger pic, your granddaughters probably can /forum/images/smilies/tango_face_wink.png

I'm going to have to recruit one of my techs to show me how to squeeze pics in this little box below.

I use the camera on the phone. There is a setting for how many MP you want to take photos with. I have mine set at the lowest setting 2 mega pixles so a website like this will accept the photo.

 

[sanmo]

Hey Poncho, you're a tease - we can't SEE that thing! If you can't work out how to post a bigger pic, your granddaughters probably can

You're being charitable. I'm suspecting a photoshopped hoax........
As our fearless leader frequently spouts, there is fake news all around!

 

[Poncho]

let see if this works. ok, the email method allows me to save pics in teeny tiny small format to fit this box. my phone takes pics at 1.8meg each way too much detail for this system.


here is a pic of my "chunk of 2x4" I keep discretely hidden next to the left muffler. it holds the bike up almost straight, so I have 2 hands to gently top off the tank. And of course is the gas pump, I rounded up my fuel cost, squeezed another .3 gal in there. the Odo reads 271.6. the blinky one bar did not flash till 269.5. I tried to get a pick of how full the gas is. it is in the neck and most all the way to the top, bike sitting straight up.


so this small format saving tip might be the trick to sharing all the cannibalization I do to these sleds.. it aint gonna be perty. poncho

 

[Poncho]

let try this size email pix. my eye phone setting , all pix are 8.7meg.

 

[Poncho]

ok now I am just playing with my phone.. I think I need to email these pics another size up, if this system can handle them.? will try again

 

[Poncho]

RW, here are pix of that Viking Trunk. I just did a quick mount using 1"alum L channel until I can fab a steel bracket. I don't love those rear saddle horns.

 

[Geepers]

Man, this guy is GOOD at Photoshop, Sanmo

Much better Poncho, we can see.

Lose the batwing; goes contrary to everything else you're doing. The top box too.

Make a piece of steampunk ART outta that thang!

 

[Poncho]

Man, this guy is GOOD at Photoshop, Sanmo Much better Poncho, we can see. Lose the batwing; goes contrary to everything else you're doing. The top box too.
Make a piece of steampunk ART outta that thang!

reality does kind of make foto chop look... chopped.?


The batwing IS everything I am doing. this is MY sled and I will do it my way.. I don't need to do another Rat'mo. have done several and they are fun to do and ride only short hop but not for the big road. That is why I acquired this Flat6 , I retired the chief to the museum (nephew) and will fit this Red Baron flyer for the long haul road.


yeah the box on the back is just a quick and dirty locker until I chop the backend and put some real bags on her. that is why I didn't bother with a fancy mount system. I was going to put it over the back seat/fender but then decided to just push it back. jack.


I did make a mistake last night and put those plastic fairy angel wings back on the bike and started trimming the Batwing for turn clearance. I don't like the results. not yet anyway. yes I know the headlamp needs adjusting up, is not a problem, I can move anything on my bikes. I will continue to push the fitment-function-form envelope. I may wind up buying another batwing and shitcan those wings for good. the bike looked so much more better and trim w/o them.

 

[gr8bond007]

Will schedule my 8,000 mile pre-paid service in the morning. Since I average 16,000 miles per year in my commute I come out ahead with this plan. Thinking I might have to change tires soon, as on Tuesday I rode home in the rain and had hydroplane issues. Still looking over all the comment on tires to figure out replacements. Averaging 41 mpg. and hoping it improves.

 

[Poncho]

007, what is your riding style / habits? do you wring you bike out? much? is all that power on tap just too much to NOT play with? these are just the beginning things that make a diff in overall efficiency. I can understand IF you NEED to Spank Her. some of these babes just need to be shown the floor. I have others bikes that I don't mind tossing around. This one I picked up in the middle of bad weather. had been riding 2 days in wet wind. I was so careful with all this NEW power on tap that I rode it gently for a week 2k mile home trip. I had bad weather on the front and back end of that original bonding adventure. She delivered 50mpg right out of the gate and has maintained it all but one tank of gas. I do take her a few evenings a week and weekends for a dance thru the benders just to scrub the chiken strips off the tires. I don't push this bike near as hard as she is capable of. I don't need to. been ther, done that. I need to be here for them 2 little girls are going to need me for a long time. who else is going to tell them whopper stories about fighting bears, mountain lions and sleeping with wolves. No I am not referring to their g'ma.. or am I.? anyway, how hard you ride your bike defines how well it serves you down the road. mine is a very long one. poncho