83 Test ride today.

[KarlS]

123 mile ride. First off I'm amazed that this bike is so unbelievably comfortable, I was worried about this because of my bad back and last bike was 2003 GL1800 that I had to sell in July of 2007. Ride was rough at first, felt every bump. I pulled over and lowered air pressure from 13psi in front to 6psi and 35psi in rear to 25psi. That did the trick. Plenty of power. At 70mph gave it gas and it just takes off. Ran smooth. 2nd gear good. Everything seemed to work fine. After warming up the idle wanted to all of a sudden jump up to 3 grand but a twist of throttle would bring it down. Think it might have something to do with a whole can of sea foam in it because it got better on the next tank. QUESTION 1. I got 36.5 mile per gallon, is this good or bad? and what size gas tank do I have? I had to stop at one point for about 4-5 minutes and the bike was just idling, the temp went up just into the red. It was 50 degrees out. QUESTION 2. Does the cooling fan run all the time or is it controlled by a temp sensor? I have not yet checked coolant level after ride but it was full when I left. The turn signals seem to self cancel in a short amount of time. When at a light to make left hand turns they would cancel before the light would change. Is this normal? Still have to put new brake pads on and find an exhaust leak I have somewhere but all in all I LIKE It!!!!! Bad weather moving in and looks like it will be Tuesday before able to ride again. Very Very pleased.

[BuckShot]

I have an 86 and get 36 mpg.

My fan runs off a temp sensor (comes on and off)

I have always felt the turn signals cancel to soon.

[MiCarl]

36mpg at 70 sounds about right. Keep it below 60 and you'll be pushing 40.

 

I believe the auto canceler is controlled by distance and time. Both a certain amount of time and a certain amount of distance need to pass before it cancels. Probably what is happening is you turn the signal on while rolling, eat up the distance and then the clock runs out while you wait for the light. I'm in the habit of frequently re-tapping the switch.

[Rocket]

and what size gas tank do I have? 5 Gallon

 

I had to stop at one point for about 4-5 minutes and the bike was just idling, the temp went up just into the red. It was 50 degrees out. QUESTION 2. Does the cooling fan run all the time or is it controlled by a temp sensor? Temp sensor controlled & gauge reading is normal for when not moving (probable calibration error).

 

The turn signals seem to self cancel in a short amount of time. When at a light to make left hand turns they would cancel before the light would change. Is this normal? Yes they are auto canceling, based on time & distance, since activation. If you signal early, activate the switch again, while waiting at the light & they will turn off after the OEM preset distance.

Hopefully this will give you some insight, into some of the bikes features.

[SilvrT]

all things you've described sound pretty normal to me for a MK1 1st gen.

 

I had an '85, then an '87 ... sounds about the same.

[skydoc_17]

Hey Karl,

Glad to see you got a good first ride in! About the Radiator Fan, On the right side of your VR, There is the silver Radiator side panel with the wire mesh in it, right behind this cover is the relay for the fan. You can remove this cover and disconnect the wires and if you put power to them the fan will come on if it is good. To check the fan at temp, start bike, let Idle, you will be off the bike on the right side, when the temp gage gets to around 1/2 the fan should come on. It's really hard to hear the fan come on if you are sitting on the bike. If the fan is working, try a radiator flush and coolant replacement, I had really good results with a 60/40 mix of antifreeze and water. Check radiator for bent fins, bugs, road tar, etc. My 87'VR doesn't like to sit in traffic either. Some members use a product called "water wetter" an additive to make the coolant transfer heat better. I also replaced my radiator cap with one from a 1993 Geo Metro (13 lbs. pressure). It fit like a glove and it seems my old Yamaha cap was popping off too soon (worn out). I got the cap at Advance auto parts for around $6.00. :mo money:This was the point that I noticed a change in the running temp. After I changed the Radiator Cap.

Hope this Helps,

Earl

[Rocket]

Hey Karl,

Glad to see you got a good first ride in! About the Radiator Fan, On the right side of your VR, There is the silver Radiator side panel with the wire mesh in it, right behind this cover is the relay for the fan. You can remove this cover and disconnect the wires and if you put power to them the fan will come on if it is good

 

Are you suggesting putting power to a ground lead????? The spade connector plugs into the thermostatic switch, which closes the connection (grounds the circuit, allowing the fan to turn on), when at the set tempature. the bullet connector (behind the spade connector), is for the temp guage sending unit.

 

Some have wired in a toggle switch along with the sensor. Just run another wire to the sensor & tap in, connect the other end to a toggle switch. The other side of the toggle switch connects to a ground point. This set up comes in handy, when sitting in traffic jams. But when moving, the fan rarely kicks in.

 

[Monty]

Yes, it seems I read about the wire being green/red, and you ground it to turn the fan on. I may be wrong about the color.

[Venturous Randy]

To check the fan at temp, start bike, let Idle, you will be off the bike on the right side, when the temp gage gets to around 1/2 the fan should come on. It's really hard to hear the fan come on if you are sitting on the bike.

 

On the 83's, I think it is more typical for the fan to come on just as the temp gage gets to the red line. On later 1st gens I think this was changed.

RandyA

[skydoc_17]

I stand corrected! Grounding of the wire will turn on the fan! Good catch.

Sorry,

Earl

[KarlS]

Looks like my first step will be to get bike warmed up then just let it run to see if fan comes on and then see where on temp gauge it come on at. If it don't come on then check fan itself. with Michigan weather looks like might be Tuesday before it warms up again. No garage at my house just an awning to work under.

[Squidley]

Karl,

As long as the temp gauge goes back down and doesn't stay buried in the red this is normal. To put it bluntly the temp gauge on all the 1st gens are less than desireable, everyone I have owned has creeped right to the redline before it went back down. There is a thermo switch on the right side of the bike, just under the upper fairing and behind the chrome side piece that has a wire attached to it. Make sure that wire is correctly attached to the post as that determines the fan.

The gas mileage is also about normal, this bike has been sitting a long time and will take a while for everything to settle into place. I know many say they have gotten close to 50 mpg but I have never seen that in all of the 6 Ventures I have owned. I have gotten at best 42 and as low as 34, just depended on what I was hauling and how fast. I consistantly averaged 38 to 40 mpg on my bikes.