Some questions on my 84

[raybear71]

• As some of you already know I bought my bike as a basket case. On my first weekend on it I lost a pin in the shift segment and came 15 miles home in 1st gear. I got it back together after waiting for the parts and went out on Easter Sunday for an 80 mile ride. It ran great. I'm going to put new brake pads in it and do the starter upgrade this weekend and have a few more things to work on. 1st. My choke will not stay engaged on its own. I can give it full choke and it fires right up, but when released the choke rotates off on its own. Is there an adjustment i'm missing or is something just worn out? 2nd. Idle...after my trip home in first gear when I lost my pin in the shift segment it helped my carbs a lot, but now it's idling at about 1100 rpm, what should it be set at? 3rd. Rear air, My bike is a standard and i'm wondering what pressure I should be running it at. I'm 350#s and will be the only person on the bike. Also should this be set with me on the bike or freestanding? 4th and last...for now. Lighting, I am a truck driver and work overnights, I live 30 miles north of Minneapolis. My trip home in the morning is opposite of traffic but a lot of people cross the northbound side to get to the southbound lanes. I'm thinking of some simple driving lights for better visibility but would like to see how those of you who are running them have them mounted. Pics would be helpfull. Thanks to everyone on this site, putting this bike together and getting it into good riding shape has been a breeze with all your help.
  

[bongobobny]

OK idle should be 800- 900 RPM. There is a master idle adjustment, looks like a minature water spigot. As far as the choke, there may be worn out plastic on the handlebars. You can tighten it up a tad by loosening the master cylinder and try pushing it closer to the handlebar grip. As far as rear air, I assume you mean the rear tire, which should be probably around 40 psi depending on what the tire recommends. If you mean the air shock, then try around 42 lbs. For either, you just have to play around with the actual pressure until it feels right to you.

 

As far as driving lights, a pair of cheapie Wally world lights should serve you well enough. Mounting is pretty much up to your imagination, browse the photo gallery for ideas. You want to use a relay to power the lights, don't let the brunt of the current go thru the on/off switch. Now here's a tip to make your stock headlight brighter. Remove the glass cover, and then remove and clean the rubber bezel around the headlight. Then, with the proper paint, paint that bezel gloss white! White reflects light, black absorbs light! That and a silverstar 9004 or nighthawk 9004 bulb and you will be seeing and be seen much better!!

[Bob Myers]

Remove the glass cover, and then remove and clean the rubber bezel around the headlight. Then, with the proper paint, paint that bezel gloss white! White reflects light, black absorbs light! That and a silverstar 9004 or nighthawk 9004 bulb and you will be seeing and be seen much better!!

I don't mean to hijack this, that is some good info on the painting deal. Would it work better or less good if you painted it with Mexican Chrome spray?

[utadventure]

Ray-

 

Glad you're enjoying the bike.

 

The idle screw (see above) is on the left side and is a thumb screw that it pointing downward. If you kneel down and look up behind the sync screw and carb bowl drain tubes. The maint book says between 900 - 1100 is the right setting when warm.

 

If you add lights, per Bob's directions, watch your volt meter. The stator has a limited output and if you overwhelm it, you'll end up with a dead battery.

 

I like the idea of painting the light bezel bright white.

 

I also run my rear tier at 40-42 and the shock around 40.

 

Dave

[GaryZ]

You have got some good info so far . . .My 2 cents:

 

I run my rear shock at 50psi (I'm 250lbs) and the damper is set at '3'. Rear tire is run about 42psi. I like my idle around 1000. Here are a couple pictures of my driving lights;

[bongobobny]

I don't mean to hijack this, that is some good info on the painting deal. Would it work better or less good if you painted it with Mexican Chrome spray?

Not really. Even though it's shiny, it is silver which is like grey, white with a little BLACK mixed in. I remember a company I worked for in the '80s spent a lot of money on changing the reflectors on the overhead florescent lights from white to silver metal, and the result was it was then darker than before they started...

[raybear71]

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I was referring to the suspension pressure not the tire. I don't have the class system, my pressure adjust is manual. I like the idea of painting the headlight bezel, i'll grab a can of bright white when I stop at wally world to look at lights. One more night of work and then I get to start tinkering, it's supposed to rain all weekend anyway.

[Yammer Dan]

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I was referring to the suspension pressure not the tire. I don't have the class system, my pressure adjust is manual. I like the idea of painting the headlight bezel, i'll grab a can of bright white when I stop at wally world to look at lights. One more night of work and then I get to start tinkering, it's supposed to rain all weekend anyway.

 

They make rainy weekends so you can get to know your bike...

[Condor]

I'm also #350 and run my rear shock at #72psi, and the front at #17psi. The only year Y made the rotating choke was '84. '83&'85-'93 all had the slider. If I remember correctly I felt an indent when setting the choke on my '84 but it's raining and I'm not going to go find out... . The choke's not worn out, but somewhere in the linkage it may be loose and need to be tightened up....