Putting the original engine back in soon.

[a1bummer]

Ok, so I'll be putting the original engine back in my 84 soon. But before I do so I'll be taking care of the second gear issue. It has never had the slipping yet, so I wanted to do some preventative maintenance before I put it back in. I figure it would be less costly if I took care of the problem now than if I wait until it starts slipping out of second gear. You know what the mechanics say,"You can pay me now, or you can really pay me later". But anyway, is there anything else in there I should address while I'm in there besides just the defective thrust washer? While I've got it apart I was also going to put in one of Buckeye's higher output stators. Can I still get one of those stator cooler upgrades somewhere? I'll also be putting in one of Buckeye's spin-on oil filter adapters and solid engine mounts as well.

 

Am I missing anything? Any other suggestion while I'm in the process?

 

Thanks, Bill

[mrich12000]

What engine was in there and what happened to it.

[a1bummer]

Nothing wrong with the engine that's in her right now. I had taken the original engine out because I thought I had spun a bearing or something. Only to find out later after swapping in the engine from my 83 parts bike, that it was the collector making all the racket.

 

So now that I'm back to work, I can afford to add some of those mods everybody keeps chatting about in here. So I figured why not do it to the engine that's been stored in my shed so I can reduce the amount of downtime. Plus, it has less miles on it than this engine does and gave me better mileage. I just got an estimate for all the parts from Rick over at Buckeye Performance, so I can get started as soon as I get the parts delivered. I can work on the engine as I feel like it on my days off and still be able to ride back and forth to work.

 

Later, Bill

[skydoc_17]

Hey Bill,

You seem like a forward thinking kinda' Guy, depending on the mileage on the exhaust, I would open up and gut the exhaust collector since it will be removed from the bike during the engine swap anyway, Nothing worse than a newly worked on, great running engine and a rattly, crappy sounding exhaust collector. Shift Shaft Seal, that whole mess where the gear selector sensor is. (who designed that mess) And just a note about solid motor mounts. I have had the 86'VR with the rubber mounts, I currently have the 87'VR with the solid mounts. I can absolutely say that tyeing the engine to the frame with the solid motor mounts Turns the VR into a different machine, much more stable in the turns, less frame flex when you drop the hammer on it, If I was 25 years old, it would be a mod one step away from sex for our machines, at 54 years old, shock and vibration that was once absorbed by the rubber engine mounts is now transfered into my "less than youthful body". I'm not gonna' say it beats you up, but you do feel it. BUT I gotta admit, when you are winding up 2nd gear on a freeway on ramp, and the engine and frame are rock solid, you bang third gear in triple digits, (and you may even have seen a moment of "blue sky action") That still gives this good old boy a "chubby" every time. As with most mods like solid motor mounts, there is a give and a take. I am personally one of those people that like my "take list" longer than my "Give list". If you are too, buy the big bottle of Ben-gay and "drop the hammer" on that sucker every chance you get.

Just my thoughts,

Earl

[Dano]

You've got to pull the tranny shaft out and disassemble it anyway to replace the c-clips, might as well pull the gears off and undercut them to reduce any chance of slippage. Second and fifth barely engage anyway (the 5th gear dogs barely go into the second gear slots) and the undercut will eliminate that possibilty by actually pulling the gears together under load. That way you can fully enjoy the 1st-2nd shift without any worries!

Also be a good time to adjust the valves and replace the cover gaskets and the cover bolt gaskets.

Heres a couple of pics of how I did it, last pic is a nice addition that would help out those 1st to 2nd shift changes!

[a1bummer]

Hey Bill,

You seem like a forward thinking kinda' Guy, depending on the mileage on the exhaust, I would open up and gut the exhaust collector since it will be removed from the bike during the engine swap anyway, Nothing worse than a newly worked on, great running engine and a rattly, crappy sounding exhaust collector. Shift Shaft Seal, that whole mess where the gear selector sensor is. (who designed that mess) And just a note about solid motor mounts. I have had the 86'VR with the rubber mounts, I currently have the 87'VR with the solid mounts. I can absolutely say that tyeing the engine to the frame with the solid motor mounts Turns the VR into a different machine, much more stable in the turns, less frame flex when you drop the hammer on it, If I was 25 years old, it would be a mod one step away from sex for our machines, at 54 years old, shock and vibration that was once absorbed by the rubber engine mounts is now transfered into my "less than youthful body". I'm not gonna' say it beats you up, but you do feel it. BUT I gotta admit, when you are winding up 2nd gear on a freeway on ramp, and the engine and frame are rock solid, you bang third gear in triple digits, (and you may even have seen a moment of "blue sky action") That still gives this good old boy a "chubby" every time. As with most mods like solid motor mounts, there is a give and a take. I am personally one of those people that like my "take list" longer than my "Give list". If you are too, buy the big bottle of Ben-gay and "drop the hammer" on that sucker every chance you get.

Just my thoughts,

Earl

 

 

ROTFLMFAO! Thanks for those images that are in my head now.

 

As for the collector, I gutted it when I figured out it was that making noise and not the original engine. It was making a strange howling noise after getting on her last week. I wasn't sure if it was the one baffle that I don't remember if I left in there or not. But I ended up thumping the bottom with my little big hammer and popped the center in slightly today and that made it go away. I'm guessing that the center being domed out slightly was allowing the exhaust to resonate at just the right frequency to cause the loud howl. I'm also guessing that maybe when I got on her, it may have build up enough pressure inside the collector to pop the center of the collector out far enough to make it start howling when it hadn't before. It makes me wonder just how much power is being uncorked when we put on aftermarket mufflers. Which will be coming later. And I plan on getting rid of that collector all together and replace it with one of those Markspipes collectors made for the VMax. But the last time I heard he was wanting somewhere in the neighborhood of $800 for them now. When I called him a while back, he wanted $250. If that's the case I'll have to build my own.

 

Those shifter linkage seals and a few other miscellaneous gaskets, seals, hoses, and o-rings are already in the plan as well.

 

Thanks, Bill

[friesman]

The solid motor mounts made a big difference in handling on my 85. It just feels more like a newer sports tourer now, but it has some power!.

 

I would also replace your water pump if you havnt already done that, as I think the originals had a plastic impeller that would break up,( mine had a crack in it when it was pulled).

 

And there is no better time to bite the bullett and put in SS brake lines they are pricey but my brake distance dropped by at least a third. Now I know they will hold, the old lines were starting to make me clench my teeth every hard brake, thinking they might blow. The new ss lines also add a bleeder up at the triple tree to make bleeding a lot easier.

 

Brian

Edited August 8, 2010 by friesman

[Rocket]

I would also replace your water pump if you havnt already done that, as I think the originals had a plastic impeller that would break up,( mine had a crack in it when it was pulled).

 

Brian

 

Brian, just a couple of slight errors here, no need to replace the waterpump assy. Just replace the impeller & seals. I usually change out the waterpump bearing too, while I'm in there. The upper bleeder point added in with the Buckeye SS lines, makes bleeding the linked brakes much easier. I see that he now, puts in a speed bleeder up there, as I just got a set in, for an 86 VR.

 

I know you had mostly, just paid the invoices, while I tweaked your scoot over a winter & been happy since. Consider this guys, when Brian picked up his scoot, he was wondering if he was getting the same bike back (after a test ride). He said, it felt more like my scoot.