How to Cure a hot running 2007 Harley Davidson?

That question must have been asked 10k times or more since the 2007 model line of Harley Davidsons were introduced. The mystery of the hot running 2007 models grew to almost a cult like issue on the Harley boards and Harley forums around the internet. Owners who didn't realize they had a hot running Harley Davidson suddenly agonized over the "problem" and demanded answers.



Being the owner of a 2007 FXSTB Nightrain I was obviously interested in the answer to the question. My bike didn't seem to run all that hot....I wondered aloud if some of these guys realized their motorcycles were air cooled and that they WILL run hot. I also questioned how many were first time riders and simply didn't realize that a hot engine 6 inches from your legs is going to produce heat. I am sure a number of new owners or riders succumbed to the phenomenon of the hot running 2007. They jumped on the bandwagon as so many people often do, but then I am positive of others that actually did experience a hot running Harley Davidson motorcycle......


Friends of mine that I am positive know what they are talking about were experiencing the hot running 2007 issue so it wasn't that the issue was non existent, I just think it might have been blown out of proportion. I decided to get to the bottom of the issue and see what I could find out about the problem. After a few days of digging around and talking to people in the know, I think it was clear what was the culprit.

Lean and Mean

After a lot of discussion and research it turns out that the new 96 cu inch Harley Davidson engine had to be tuned extremely lean in order to get it to meet government emissions requirements. The stock factory tune was set very lean by design, and as you know, a lean engine will run much hotter than a well tuned or even rich engine. Different riders reacted differently to the hot running condition as some didn't even notice and others it was enough of a problem that they wanted to trade their motorcycles in for a different year.

I also noticed a trend that it seemed to be the bagger crowd complaining the most vocally and the most frequently. I don't know if it is because the bagger crowd tends to be older and more demanding or if the models were more susceptible to the hot running condition. I think probably a little bit of both actually. If you take a look at the front end of some of the bagger models, the fairings restrict air flow across the engine dramatically compared to the more open models. So regardless of this issue, the lean condition seemed to be the culprit.



The Fix

The fix is rather simple.

Most riders that I was in contact with reported that a Stage 1 upgrade resolved the issue. A decent set of pipes combined with either a Stage 1 download or a fuel control system like a Power Commander or something similar cured the lean condition. They not only reported a much better running motorcycle but a much cooler running motorcycle. The addition of the pipes likely made for a much better looking and sounding motorcycle as well.

The Stage 1 kit will bring your motorcycle back down to a more normal heat range, at least normal for an air cooled Harley Davidson. The reflash will make for a richer mixture which will lower the operating temperature and make your Harley Davidson a much more enjoyable machine to ride.

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If you want to check out a pretty cool selection of Harley Pipes or read more about Harley Exhaust then feel free to check us out. We not only write about Harley Davidson's, but we ride them too.

Does Your 2007 Harley Davidson Run Hot? - Here's the Cure

There are many things you should think about when you are purchasing teen auto insurance. Many things you should think about are paying annually, the type of car your teen is driving, adding a named driver, and more.

Finding cheap auto insurance can be difficult. So your teenager finally got their driver’s license and you now need to find them good insurance. There is a Pass Plus exam that is offered right now. The Pass Plus is an intensive driver’s training course that is aimed at teens and new drivers becoming better drivers. When a teenager passes this exam you will automatically receive a 35% discount on your auto insurance. This is a big deal because teenagers are very expensive to put on your insurance......


The car your teenager drives will make a big difference to what your premiums are for them also. You can find the lists on the Internet which cars are the most expensive to insure and which cars are the cheapest to insure. If the car is not on the highest stolen list then it will be cheaper to insure for your teen. The theory is that the cheaper the car is then the cheaper the teen auto insurance will be.

Although you are looking for cheap auto insurance you also need to realize you must have the appropriate coverage for your child. Statistics show that teenagers have more accidents than adults because they have less experience driving. This is a proven fact. If your child is in an accident you should be sure that your insurance will cover the damages your teen may have done to the other vehicle. You don’t want to have an insurance claim that you cannot afford to pay and your insurance didn’t cover. Be sure of all of the coverage you have opted for your child. Don’t be looking for only the cheapest because this might put you in a bad position.



If you have a teenage daughter then you are in a little bit of luck. It is proven that girls and women get in less accidents then teenage boys and men. Because of this statistic, females are cheaper to insure. However, just because of the gender doesn’t mean that the insurance will remain at a low rate.

Maintaining a low auto insurance rate for your teenager also means that they are driving without being pulled over for traffic violations. The first ticket is usually a freebie and your teenager will be sent to defensive driving school. That is of course if the violation is something simple like speeding. Your rates will begin to drop every six months as your child drives without any tickets on their license. If your teenager begins to get tickets and pulled over then your insurance rates will begin to increase and you may not be able to afford to insure them.

When you are looking for cheap auto insurance for your teenager you need to think about many things. Consider the type of car your teenager will be driving and be sure your teenager is driving responsibly not getting pulled over.

Photo Credit: 1, 2

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Kian Chew is a car insurance expert and owner of Car Insurance Hot Zone. Car Insurance Hot Zone helps those who wish to lower their car insurance cost for life by using a few basic rules and some strategies which few people know. You can instantly view the secrets by visiting http://www.CarInsuranceHotZone.com

What Should You Look Out For When Getting Teen Auto Insurance?

Let's assume, that you own a farm. You produce grain and have a lot of straw. You'd like to make your energy on site from the biomass you have available. You might plant your fields with rapeseed or canola and produce biodiesel. But you'd need to get methanol and lye first, since both of them can't be made there! And you can use your biodiesel only in compression ignition (diesel) engines. And what if you have an old genset powered by spark-ignition (gasoline / petrol) engine? I think I might have a solution for you...

You'll make use of a technology that's more than 200 years old. It's greatest development took place during World War II in 1940s in Europe. At that time most of petroleum-derived fuels were used by military and there was no fuel left for civilians. So they made their own fuel, the wood gas from wood or charcoal. In some countries 95% of civilian transport (trucks, buses, even fishermen's boats) were fueled with this gas......


What is this wood gas?

From chemical point of view it's a mixture of combustible carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4), dilluted with some water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2). This gas can be easily used for almost every internal combustion engine. Well... except for the most modern ones, they'd require to have their electronics to be modified.

How wood gas is made?

When you heat wood it is pyrolysed, i.e. all the tars vaporize. When you add some oxygen, the carbon bound within the wood cells is burnt to carbon dioxide. The vapors burn too. When those burnt gasses pass through a layer of very hot char, they are reduced to carbon monoxide and hydrogen. A small amount of methane is also produced. When the gas is cooled and cleaned of any tars and particles, it can be used in internal combustion engine, boiler or any other device!

What do you need to produce your own wood gas?

You'd need a device that's called gasifier. It consists of fuel hopper, gasifying chamber and a set of filters. It's very easy to build, the people during WWII made it out of old water heaters and stuff like that.

Is wood gas safe?

Well, if you don't inhale it, you'll be OK. Carbon monoxide is very toxic and poisonous, so caution is required when using wood gas. From the engine point of view, if it's clean, it's safe. The tars might condense inside the engine, for example on valves, which might cause the engine to fail. The particles would probably destroy the contact surfaces on pistons and cylinders. If the gas is too hot the engine will not work (hot gas is diluted and has small energy content per unit volume), but it will not harm it.

Any drawbacks?

One that's worth mentioning. Petrol engines will suffer 1/3 power loss -- the wood gas does have small heating value. Diesel engines will not suffer such power loss, since they work on stratified mixtures and because of that you can introduce more wood gas to recover the power loss. You'd need to leave some small amount of diesel to be injected to the cylinders to ignite the wood gas.

Interested?

One liter of petrol / gasoline can be replaced with 2.5 - 4 kg (5.5 - 9 lbs) of wood. How cool is that!

Photo Credit: 1

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Krzysztof Lis is MSc of mechanical engineering, graduated on october 2007, and lives in Poland. For 5 years he owns a site on biofuels (especially biodiesel and wood gas) and other alternative energy sources. He started translating this site to english http://alternative-car-fuels.com.

Wood Gas - The Future Biomass-Derived Fuel

You may have heard rumors that it's possible to get paid to drive your car, or in some cases, get a car to use for free. While participation is limited and luck is needed along with living in the right place for a particular campaign, it is possible to get paid to have your car (or a car given to you) turned into a moving advertisement. If you drive 800 miles or more a month along heavily populated routes in your normal driving habits, you may want to check out the companies that offer car wraps.

The concept is fairly simple. Advertising space on billboards along busy roads and highways is limited and in some places not allowed at all. It's possible, however, to reach many of those people another way. Companies advertise on the outside of cars to reach those same people. The problem is that purchasing an entire fleet of cars for an advertising campaign can be overly expensive, so a solution was developed......


Instead of purchasing their own cars, companies will sometimes "rent" space on individual private citizen's cars. In return for letting a company "wrap" your car with their advertisement, they will pay you a monthly fee. The fees can be as high as $400 a month for a full car wrap and lesser amounts for a partial car wrap or a window wrap.

Another option that some of these companies offer in place of car wraps is giving you a free car with advertisements already on it. You usually don't get paid in this deal or get to choose the type of car provided, but you do receive free use of the car for the period of the campaign. Your only costs are gas and insurance meaning that you are getting transportation at a fraction of the cost of owning your own car. There are some rare cases when you can get paid when receiving a free car. Some companies will pay you to drive the free cars along certain, specified routes each day.

So what is the catch? The main one is there are far more drivers wanting the positions than advertising campaigns available. If you don't drive a lot of miles or live in a highly populated area (large college campuses seem to be an ideal location) where the advertisement will be seen by a population the advertisers crave, your chances of being chosen are slim. Most companies require you to drive a minimum of 800 miles a month. Not driving enough miles can negate the contract and most companies utilize global positioning systems (GPS) in your car to track the miles and places you go each month.

Most programs require you to be 18 years of age, have a clean driving record and your own auto insurance. Traffic violations will in most cases prohibit you from being considered. Contracts vary in length and amount paid depending on the type of advertising in the campaign involved. Most companies don't let you pick the advertiser, but will let you bow out if the advertiser goes against your moral values (cigarettes, alcohol and sex).

With the concept there are a growing number of websites that don't actually offer the service of car wrapping, but claim to be a data base for advertisers to find people willing to advertise on their cars. Many offer free sign up, but then encourage you to purchase a "premium package" that is supposed to move your name higher up on the list. The fact is that you are very unlikely to be picked from these services so it isn't worth the time (and definitely not the money) signing up with them.

While the chances of being picked are slim, they are better than playing the lottery. If you meet the requirements and live in an area you believe would be desirable to advertisers, it could be worth the 15 to 30 minutes it takes to fill out the online forms. If you are lucky and do get picked, you will significantly reduce your driving expenses with little effort on your part.

Photo Credit: http://trafficz.com

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Author: Jeffrey Strain has published hundreds of money saving articles. You can read more about auto wraps at http://www.paidtodriveautowrap.com

Get Paid To Drive Your Car

As you very well may know, your vehicle is identified by a unique number found on your automobile's dash, windshield, and various other parts. But have you ever given thought as to what these numbers are actually used for? Just what purpose does this number serve? In fact, your car's VIN is used in several very important ways.

What is a VIN?

Every vehicle that is manufactured is given a unique identifying number, referred to as a Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN. This series of 17 alpha-numeric characters is basically your car's automotive fingerprint. It is what distinguishes your particular automobile from all the others, and provides a form of identification that is used throughout the lifetime of your auto, from the factory to the scrap yard......


The VIN is used to track everything related to that automobile, including insurance coverage, warranty claims, thefts, recalls, and registrations. Without the VIN, there would be no effective way to track all of this information.

History of the VIN

The roots of this coding and tracking system can be traced back to the mid 1950's. It is then that Detroit automobile manufacturers began stamping and casting identification numbers into cars and their independent parts. This practice began in an effort to accurately describe vehicles as they began to be produced on a large scale.

In the early 1980's the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration effectively required all automobile manufacturers to provide a 17 digit identification number for every auto produced. This resulted in the modern 17 character VIN in which we are familiar with today, giving every individual vehicle a unique "fingerprint".

VIN Meaning

The VIN on your vehicle is not just a random set of characters, nor are VINs simply sequential. Rather, each individual digit of the VIN has a specific purpose. For example, the first character of the VIN identifies which country the car was manufactured in. If the means of transportation were produced in the United States, the first digit would be a 1 or 4. Japanese cars' VINs begin with a J, Korea with a K, Germany with a G, and so on.

The second character of the VIN identifies the manufacturer. As with the manufacturing country, each manufacturer has a specific character symbolizing it. Chevrolet uses a 1, Chrysler-C, Ford-F, General Motors-G, and Pontiac is identified by a 2 or 5, etc.

The third digit refers to the vehicle type or manufacturing division, and digits 4-8 are known as the Vehicle Descriptor Section, or VDS. This section describes individual attributes of the auto, such as body style, engine type, model, etc.

Each of the 17 VIN characters describes yet another aspect of the automobile it is found on. It is these codes that provide the vehicle identification number, giving your car, truck, motorcycle, or moped its own unique fingerprint.

Photo Credit: http://www.windowsticker.us

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Author: Mr. Oliver is a marketing agent of Heat Reward. The auto theft prevention program provides help to eliminate auto theft throughout Virginia. For more information on their Auto Theft Prevention please visit their website.

About Your Vehicle's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

We're on the Road in the 2008 BMW 1 Series

The GOOD: The stellar driving experience you've come to know and love behind the wheel of a BMW continues in this latest outing - an entry level sports coupe (or convertible) that starts under 30k! Yep, we said BMW and Less than $30,000 to get in to a new one that drives every bit like BMW, solid!

The BAD: You wouldn't expect legroom in the back for adults in this vehicle, and you won't find it. Forget about cargo space as well, but that's not what this vehicle is about. What it is about: style and performance, where you'll find it excelling!

Overall: If you're looking for a vehicle that excels in it's own identity, you'd be hard pressed to find one that's more adept at being itself than this new 'entry level' sports coupe (or convertible) from BMW.

We GO on the Road in the 2008 BMW 1 Series......




You got peanut butter in my chocolate, you got chocolate in my peanut butter - two great things, that go great together. The same is true of 'entry level' and 'BMW'. Who would have thought you'd ever see them together, but alas, the words fit solidly as does this stellar performing sports coupe (or convertible) from BMW engineers in Germany.

It's back to the future for the 1 Series, which is built on BMW's classic 2002 coupe. BMW's latest entry in the market attracts second glances, and some nods as drivers in other BMW's and other cars drive by and check out the new lines. A nice new pronounced shoulder line in the 1 series! The styling is unique whether you opt for the coupe or convertible, while still holding true (overall) to BMW's classic styling. The shoulder line runs parallel to the road from the hood to the trunk lid and it makes the car look like it could ride up onto a boat dock! Very nice lines!

Other highlights (some optional) include: stellar powertrain options, Boston Leather seating engineered to stay cooler, the adaptive tail lamps, the quick opening (and closing) convertible (at speeds of up to 25 mph); a connected driving experience you'd expect; and a deep growl from the powertrain (the devils bees) that are unleased at 1400 rpm all the way up, Driving excitement is very much a part of this new 1-Series from BMW. If you like the convertible, you'll probably like the cool moonlight black soft top, which is interwoven with shiny metallic fibers and gives off a shimmery silver light. For those more reserved, of course the top is also available in taupe or black.

Whether you opt for the coupe or convertible; you'll choose from two transmission and powertrain options. The 128i offers BMW's 3.0-liter, 230 horsepower inline six-cylinder engine with 200-lb feet of torque. The 128i features Valvetronic valvetrain management and aluminum / magnesium cylinder block construction-core elements of BMW's EfficientDynamics.

The 135i ups the anti with a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline six cylinder, that produces 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque. According to BMW the 135i coupe jumps from 0 - 62mph in 5.3 seconds. Believe! Worth noting for the speed racers among you, top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph - good luck finding a safe strip of land to test that. We should provide a legal disclaimer here: We would not encourage anyone to drive at such a speed (if you're going to anyway, can we catch a ride?).

A six speed manual transmission comes standard, while the six-speed automatic with manual shift control is a worthy upgrade. Paddle shifting can be a nice change of pace on your next weekend retreat in the mountains.

It's difficult to find a vehicle to compare side by side with this rear-wheel drive coupe (or convertible). The 1 Series may have a limited audience waiting to take advantage of this entry level two door BMW, but those that accept the keys will enjoy stellar sharp handling, an agile responsive sports car that will have you once again - 1/w the road. It's easy to enjoy the driving experience behind the wheel of BMW's 1 series and though we searched for shortcomings, other than limited space (a hurdle when you're building a small car!), we found nothing that made this car less BMW. Though it's ture, you can buy a 1 series for less than 30k (to start), by the time you equip it, you easily find yourself in the mid to high 30s, a range that might have you looking to the 3 series, but keep your eye on the 1, it does not disappoint!



SAFETY

The 2008 BMW 1 Series comes with a full compliment of standard safety features, like: four standard airbags (multi-stage); antilock disc brakes (with brake drying and standby feature); seats that are 'crash optimized' with specially padded headrests and backrests; dynamic traction control and stability control (which can be disabled); the convertible features two pop up rollover bars (which deploy in a fraction of a second from behind the rear headrests); Additional rollover protection is offered by the stability of the A pillar and windshield frame.

Driving Impressions

We kept expecting to find something that made this 1 series, less of a BMW. Maybe handling, fit and finish, we looked and listened then looked again, for anything which makes this entry level BMW, less of a BMW than it's older siblings. Get in this 1 Series and you'll find it to be every inch BMW, from the razor sharp handling that puts you in touch with the road, to the fit and finish, this Series will no doubt carve out it's place in this new niche segment.

Standard equipment on the 128i includes: 17-inch alloys; automatic headlights; sunroof (coupe); rain-sensing wipers; a tilt-telescoping leather-wrapped steering wheel and 10-speaker stereo with CD player and an aux audio input jack; cruise control; leatherette premium vinyl upholstery, and the 128i convertible adds the power-operated soft top (up or down in 22 seconds, totally automatic) and an upgraded climate control system.

Standard equipment on the 135i includes: a more powerful engine, a sport tuned suspension, xenon adaptive headlights; 18-inch wheels.

Options for the 1 Series convertible include the Moonlight Black soft top, which has shiny metallic fibers (looks metallic in the sun or moon light); optional leather upholstery features BMW's exclusive sun-reflective pigments which can lower the surface temperature by 20-degrees.

The Way You Feel inside

When you get into a BMW, you immediately notice the build quality. The rule: The vehicle is solid. The 1 series is no exception. Though the 1 Series is a four seater, the rear seats are not good for adults, except on the occasional short ride. That said, we wouldn't look to this vehicle for rear space. Eyes in the Front (cabin) where driver and passenger are greeted with heated seats, his and her climate control; a unique, large storage bag that extends into the passenger compartment (from the trunk) and can accommodate two snow boards or a golf bag without soiling the interior upholstery (pretty cool); front engine, rear wheel drive delivers stellar traction and great control, but of course limits seating. The iDrive system remains a challenge for most to learn and use. There's a great deal to enjoy inside this new 1 series BMW, Coupe or Convertible!

By The Numbers

2008 1 Series Coupe - 3.0-liter I6 Manual/Auto - RWD

128i $28,600

135i (turbo) $34,900

2008 1 Series Convertible - 3.0-liter I6 Manual/Auto - RWD

128i $33,100

135i (turbo) $39,100.

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Author: Brian LeBow, is the original author of this new car review. More information about LeBow Media, LLC is online at http://www.LeBowMedia.com and our automotive review site is online at http://www.GoontheRoad.com

BMW 1 Series Coupe-Convertible Review

Electric cars are getting commonplace day by day thanks to the fact that they have become very efficient to run and very cheap to maintain but just like any other vehicle, electric cars also suffer the wear and tear of time and the electric car parts need to be replaced and repaired. This means that people are on regular hunt for electric car parts needed for repair and replacement work. Most of the electric car manufacturers and electric car kit makers also sell high quality electric car parts which are easily available now in markets because of increasing demands and improving supply streams.

Electric car parts are generally of two types firstly those which are meant for electric conversion kits and secondly those meant for factory made electric car models. In fact battery is one of the most sought after electric car part. Both types of products are easily available provided you look for them in the right places. Generally the quality is very good but if someone sells you electric car parts like battery at prices too good to be true, it’s the best option to stay clear of these products as they may either be totally substandard or their quality must be subject to suspicion......


The electric car parts for factory made electric cars are generally available from the original equipment manufacturers. These products go through a number of hard quality checks and also certified by many quality assurance companies. If brought from an authorized dealer, the genuineness of the electric car part is almost every time guaranteed. These kinds of electric car parts may be made using proprietary technology and may not be available in open market from other manufacturers, thus if the original equipment manufacturer stops making the product, these kinds of electric car parts may be very hard to find.

The other kind of electric car parts are those meant for vehicles using an electric car kit. Unlike the electric car parts meant for factory made cars, these kind of electric car parts are generally available from a bunch of makers unless its a specific part of the car kit itself in which case this kind of a part may only be available from the car's electric kit maker. Being available in the open market from a number of manufacturers, these kind of electric car parts are generally easy to find but you must exercise caution and discretion while spending your money because the quality of the product is not something worth taking any risk.

It must be kept in mind that with proper market research and consultation of experts any one can buy an electric car part, what needs to be kept under consideration is that the quality of the product should not be compromised for a lower price and the buyer should always make every effort to make an informed decision.

Photo: http://www.inhabitat.com

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Author: Author is automobile engineer. Visit hybrid car information to get latest information on gas and electric hybrid car

Importance of Electric Car Parts in Hybrid car