[itrider]

Glen & his garage – A rider’s review of Glen & his tools


So here I am pulling the air box off my bike, disconnecting the vacuum hoses and attempting to adjust the A/F screw without pulling the tank. After about an hour of fiddling around, I finally adjusted the screw. So I commute to work the next day and still notice a smell of excess gas. I shake my head and start blurting out many choice words since I have to adjust the A/F screw some more. I think to myself…seriously, could Honda have placed this adjustment any further into the engine?

So now I am going through the threads on this forum and come across many positive reviews about Glen’s VTXGarage and the tool he made for adjusting the A/F screw. I go to his website http://www.glensvtxgarage.com/ and browse around. I think, damn, I really want to try that tool if it does half of what other users say. I look at the contact us section and see that Glen’s garage is just a few miles from where I work…can it be! I was excited, so I send Glen an email asking if he was okay with me stopping by after work one day this week. Later that day I got a response to stop on by whenever. So on Wednesday, I sent an email early in the day and decided to go over there.

Glen greeted me openly and welcomed me into his garage. We talked for over an hour and he showed me all the modifications he made to his X. There were some really sweet mods that I asked many questions about. He showed me the A/F tool and we talked about other items he offers; most importantly to me, the clutch relief bracket. I was a little skeptical on how much of a difference that bracket would make, so I tested his clutch pull and was impressed. So we agreed that I would get one.

To my surprise, Glen then rolled my bike a little further into the garage, pulled out some tools and proceeded to install the bracket for me. I was very appreciative since I could now test this new mod during my +1 hour commute home in suburban Chicago traffic.

With the clutch relief bracket installed, I immediately noticed that the pull had about 30-40% tension…it gets better! So after we squared up on the cost of parts, I pulled the bike out and got geared up for the ride home. Once the bike is running and the clutch actually engages/disengages, a big smile became plastered on my face. I was impressed about the 30-40% decrease in tension, but with the bike running, the tension was further reduced to somewhere between 50-60%. After thinking about the mechanics of how this and the clutch work, it made sense. Simply changing the fulcrum point of where the clutch is connected makes a world of a difference. I compare the pull now to my friend’s Yamaha (to me these bikes have always had the easiest clutch pulls).

So after 3 days of commuting to and from work, I have a good feeling of how the product works and feels. I am very satisfied with the clutch relief and my forearm no longer feels like Popeye during the 1 hour and 25 minute traffic commuting (distance is only 27 miles if that gives you an idea of how much traffic is out here). Glen and his garage have helped me out even more, so keep reading!

I was curious on how easy the A/F adjusting tool worked, so the night I got home from visiting Glen, I stuck the tool into the left side of the engine and proceeded to tighten the A/F screw all the way (I really didn’t know how many turns out I was originally set to ) and backed it out 2 ½ turns. The next morning the air was moist and dense (slightly cool @ 54 degrees – perfect weather for seeing how well the carburetor is truly adjusted). I pulled out of my garage and saw that I needed gas. While on my trip to the liquid gold dispenser, I had an excess smell of fuel and then about crapped my pants. A large pop inside my Cobra longs scared the you know what out of me. It sounds like a gun going off and always startles me. The excess fuel burned off, inside the pipes!

I sighed and shook my head, wondering if I remembered to put the new A/F tool in my backpack. I did! I moved my shoes, work shirt, book, and there it was. I had to struggle, but I pulled the “J” shaped tool out and kneeled down next to my bike at the gas pump. Since I was more familiar with what the adjustment felt like, I dialed the A/F screw in about ¼ a turn. I put the tool away and went to work.

The severe smell of excess gas and popping is now gone and the best part…it took me longer to pull the tool out of my bag than it did to actually adjust the screw. I estimate that I adjusted the screw in under a minute. A much better ROI compared to my first adjustment!

To summarize this long write-up; Glen is very nice and welcoming. His products are simple, well priced, and work! If anyone has been on the fence on whether to purchase from Glen, I recommend that you do it. IMHO the two products described above are well worth the money. If you would like more detailed pics or further information, please let me know.

-itrider

[Tulsa]

Great write up.

After reading the threads here on the site about Glen and his A/F tool, I purchased one. I've not had a need to use it yet as I've not put any pipes or other performance mods on that would require the adjustment and bike shows no needs to be adjusted.

But I have it and when I do pull the trigger on new pipes, I'm already ready to go.

[headcase]

nice to hear things like this....just proves once again how willing folks are to help out someone else...the more i read here the more i learn....

thanks to you glen (and others) for all the things you have done for us here.....

[Bono]

Very nice story! That tool made my life alot easier! I don't think Glen is in it to make money just to help us all out with better then offered stuff and of course a great mind!

[Tulsa]

We're lucky to have guys like Glen and Steve (from Hicks) that give us affordable options and really stand behind their products.

[Zentenn]

Originally Posted by Tulsa We're lucky to have guys like Glen and Steve (from Hicks) that give us affordable options and really stand behind their products.

+1111

[glendevries]

Thanks guys for all the support.
itrider, come over any time.

[tkjones2]

+5 stars, i have Glens A/F tool and a 4 in headlight ext currently, and have bothered Glen 2-3 times on the phone and he is a very stand up guy. his stuff works and he is one of us, not just another vendor.

[pardee]

Just order my A/F tool this weekend looks and sounds like a great tool
have some carb tuning, so for me this tool is perfect!

[wren]

Gotta give a thumbs up to Glen. Had an issue with an item from him and the man dived in and took care of the problem pronto. Doesn't get any better than that.

[vtxbikerman]

I got the tool a few weeks ago. It works great. I kept getting a pinging sound that I couldn'd figure out. Turned out it was too rich. Tool made it veryeasy to adjust without taking anything apart. Bike is running great now without any pinging noise.

[pme5280]

+1 on kudos to Glen. He could easily jump on the 'charge double, cause it's for a bike' pricing, but he doesn't. Great guy, not in it to become a millionaire; just wants to help folks out and give his son some business experience. I spent some time speaking and consulting with him when he was developing the tool, and he actually took advice, had me send the original back, and made the improvements at no charge.

PS: Don't forget about his signal beeper.
P

[BG-Pete]

Couldn't agree more. Couple years ago, I met Glen at his place to pick up the turn signal beeper and headlight extension. Great guy with a wealth of knowledge and is more than willing to share it with anyone.

Glen, you going to be at the Des Plaines Honda open house this weekend? Saw you there last year but you were pretty busy.

[bowman]

Great tool! My a/f screw was a really hard to turn. But it did finally break loose and turn with ease. This is a great tool and well worth the money. It sure beats taking the bike apart.

[VO Mike]

I feel the same way... Glen and his staff are doing it right~

[glendevries]

If you guys keep this up I'll have to buy a bigger helmet. LOL
We search the internet for the best prices on material to keep the cost down. We have the shipping cost as low as possible. If the US Postage goes up, and I hope it doesn't, then we would have to adjust our price. Thanks for all the support and great posts.

Enjoy the ride,
Glen

[pme5280]

Originally Posted by glendevries If you guys keep this up I'll have to buy a bigger helmet. LOL We search the internet for the best prices on material to keep the cost down. We have the shipping cost as low as possible. If the US Postage goes up, and I hope it doesn't, then we would have to adjust our price. Thanks for all the support and great posts. Enjoy the ride, Glen

No better marketing than satisfied customers. Customer service is just so rare now, it really shines when someone acts as if they really care.
P

[md88]

Just ordered my A/F today, can't wait to try it out. I installed Cobra Speedster Longs on my "S" last weekend and have been putting some miles on her with this nice weather we have been having. Thank you guys for all the great information you post on this site!

[FlyDiveRide]

Installed Glens CPR a couple weeks ago and I love it!

Reduces the force required by a ton..really helps on long trips! With the rivet remover he provides install took 20 mins. Would definitely recommend, thanks Glen!

[salesguy]

Do you have to pull anything apart to use the A/F tool? Is it easy enough for someone with no mechanical skills to use? How about the clutch relief? Thanks.

[Gonzo1970]

For the A/F Tool, you have to remove the Air Box, which requires you to remove the Fuel Tank.

Not a horrible Job, really.. I just installed my Permanent Mount A/F Tool last nite. Works like a champ.

-Gonz

[knightrook]

the tool they are referring to doesnt require any removal of airbox or tank. it just goes in on the left side between the heads...over the a/f screw, and easily adjusted "on the fly". takes just a few seconds to do.

by the way...from experience...the a/f tool is definitely not fireproof. if i had one request for it, it would be that it needed to be fireproof. i dug some tools out of the ashes of our home...and the a/f tool was nothing but a piece of cable. looks like i will have to order another sometime in the future...but i definitely recommend getting one to make adjusting the air/fuel mixture much easier...great tool glen