carlitos92

I think all three colors look good on that white 8th gen, not so much on the RWB - but to each their own. For me, "tame" is relative on a bike with flashy metallic stripes and (in my case) a gutted exhaust. Anyway, I like the black wheels on my RWB mainly because i'd rather ride than clean.

Gotta be something else causing your leaks. You should never, ever need a wrench to tighten a filter.

Too bad the 45-LED versions that were in my OP are discontinued... FWIW, they are still going strong.

Nice Duconda, sir.

Sorry - by "cowlectomy" I just meant taking it off. It's not difficult, but is more work than usual for something as simple as swapping bulbs. The issue is not the bulb inside the lens, it's just maneuvering the bulb and socket assembly back into place. You need more clearance between the housing hole and the seat subframe. By moving the cowl and housing away from the subframe (you probably only need an inch more), you can get the bulb and socket back into the hole. You need to remove the seat, grab handles, and the hex head screws I mentioned to pull the cowl back a bit. You have to do the same for swapping cans etc.

This. If you are using a wrench to tighten an oil filter, "you're doing it wrong."

I have owned my $120 Murray lawnmower since 2001 and it has run nothing but E10 fuels since we live in an emissions non-compliance area. My 2-gallon gas can sometimes goes all winter and into the summer before I add new fuel; my fuel purchase is not necessarily seasonal or annual. It sits for months. No leaks, no backfires, no issues. I change the oil, I change the spark plug, and every once and a while I change the blade... it just works. Ethanol may be completely unnecessary in the grand scheme of things, but it isn't necessarily the bad guy, either.

I believe coderighter or someone has a thread on modding a flasher or a replacement flasher that works... Try a search. I found it when I was looking for LED into but don't have it now. Just so you are aware, with those 45-LED SMTs like mine above, you can definitely make out the "points of light" of each LED, even through a colored lens. It's just an aesthetic issue, but just didn't want you thinking the light was quite as blobulous as my video makes it seem.

So, after seeing a few recommendations for superbrightleds.com, I decided to give them a shot at replacing my sucky 7443 dual-intensity incandescent taillight bulbs. The OEM replacements aren't hard to find, but lately the Sylvania version has been burning out on me nearly weekly. I find that more annoying than expensive, but still, I have better things to do than pop my seat off and change bulbs. After the last bulb burned out, I decided to nip this crap in the bud and look at LED options. Superbrightleds.com has several that will fit our 7443 wedge-base socket, but I decided to go with the biggest and baddest, at about $25 each: These are red 45-LED SMT devices that put light out in pretty much all directions. Remember to use the same color as your lens (trying to be clever and shine a white LED through a red LED means you get washed-out, pink brake lights.) Superbrightleds shipped fast and I have no complaints whatsoever. I tried installing the bulbs yesterday, but found that the fact that the LED unit is about 1/4" longer and not rounded like the glass bulb creates problems with the bottom socket. I futzed with it for about 10 minutes and just could not get it in, so I figured I would have to at least loosen the rear cowl to make some room. I ended up doing the cowlectomy this evening and it takes all of 10 minutes in itself. It's really 8 bolts in two hex sizes. No big deal. I got both LEDs installed and to my eye, they are every bit as bright as the OEM bulbs. More importantly, they are dramatically faster in their illumination; so much so that it is undoubtedly safer to some degree. Overall, I'm happy with the setup and the service I got. If I don't have to jack with these for a few years, I'll be real, real pleased. Here's a quick vid; LED on top, half-spent incandescent on bottom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgCEh24EGdo

Surely there is a way to rig up a V-4 blender for TMAC. Or maybe a VTEC Barcalounger.

Sounds like one of your little gremlins might be running around with his hair on fire. Sorry, mate. Good luck.