Mechanic in Birmingham AL

[jw18]

I have a 98 Royal Star that I purchased basically in pieces. I have put it all together myself and had to re jet the carbs because I could not find a replacement exhaust for the 4 into 4 factory pieces and they were not able to be reused because the previous owner had tried to do some "custom" welding which made them useless.

 

Fast forward a year and I have not only purchased the Venture 4 into 2 exhaust but also all of the factory hangers and brackets and most recently, factory hard saddlebags.

 

I had issues with the bike pissing gas out of the right bank of carbs overflow tube, so I tore them down as far as I could and cleaned everything. I then took it to a mechanic that synced them for me ( I feel as if he overcharged a bit at $90 to do it) and the bike has been running really well.

 

After a long ride last weekend, I decided that the BUB's that came with the Venture exhaust was rather loud and I had some Harley Touring pipes laying around and I have seen a great deal of guys here using them, so my dumb ass slaps them on and I take a ride. On the way back I smell gas and look down to see gas POURING out of the drain tube all over the motor. I quickly get back to the house and wipe everything down and figure maybe the Harley pipes in some way were putting to much back pressure on the carbs and reinstall the BUB's. No such luck, now the bike is still pissing gas at an alarming rate and also smoking and has the smell of oil in the exhaust.

 

At this point I have invested so much time, energy, and MONEY I just want to take it to someone and have it fixed. Or maybe just cut my loses and sell the damn thing!

 

I really like the bike when it is running properly. I know that it doesn't have the power of the newer versions, but it seems to go down the road just fine.

 

I do not want to spend some ungodly amount to get this fixed however, as I could have purchased a great running newer bike at this point, so I am reluctant to drop loads of cash on this deal.

 

Yamaha dealer that is local says that they will start at $500 and go from there. The independent that did the sync will prob be the same.

 

Any ideas? Maybe just buy a newer 32mm and do a swap? Am I missing something that it could be?

 

I hate to say it, but my Road King was way more dependable. In the three years I owned it I never did anything but oil and tires for 33K (sold it with 56K) I was hoping that this bike would even be better, but it looks like that will never be the case. I only have 30k on the ODO right now on the Royal Star and the way its going I don't think it will make it to 50k!!

[GeorgeS]

Can you be more specific on the Source of the Leaking Fuel ????

 

Should not be to hard to pin point the fuel leak, ???

 

Several chunks of fuel line on top of those carbs, could be loose and leaking.

 

If comeing from the Over flow on one carb, the obviously you need to check into the

float valve operation of just that one carb.

 

Sounds to me like your are almost there, as they say, don't give up now.

 

Post a photo if you can of where the leak is comeing from :detective:

[LilBeaver]

When you had the carbs apart for cleaning, did you also take time to set the floats?

 

A picture to see where the fuel is coming from would be helpful (as George suggests).

 

Sounds like the previous owner did not do you many favors on this bike :-\ Sorry to hear that...

[jw18]

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll188/joshwilson18/photo3.jpg

 

Its hard to see, but it is the drain hose from the left bank of carbs (sitting on the bike to the left)

 

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll188/joshwilson18/photo2.jpg

 

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll188/joshwilson18/photo1.jpg

 

 

There was a good bit of oil in the back of the air box.

 

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll188/joshwilson18/photo4.jpg

 

Again hard to see, but there is gas sitting on top of the butterfly here, almost a half inch above it.

 

 

http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll188/joshwilson18/photo.jpg

 

I pulled the plug from that cylinder and it was completely wet.

[wes0778]

Just a wild guess, but I would say the mufflers have nothing to do with the fuel overflow problem. On the off chance there is some trash under the float needle for that carb, turn off the fuel petcock under the tank and run the engine until it quits. Turn the fuel back on and see if that either washes out any "trash" or unsticks a stuck float.

 

As for the oil in the air box that is most likely from over filling the engine crankcase. If your oil level is even the slightest bit above 1/2 way of the sight glass, with the bike level, the engine will "puke" oil out the crankcase vent tube into the air box.

 

As far as reliability, I suspect you have inherited some previous owner screw ups. I have a '98 and would trust it to ride cross country if needed. Once you get all the gremlins out of it you will love it!!! For in town errands I MUCH prefer the '98 over my '99 RSV!!!

 

Have patience and you will have a very enjoyable bike!!!

[allwx]

For some strange reason, these Yam V-4's are prone to spew fuel from time to time. It is particularly bad on the Roadstar single-carb models, which spit fuel whenever it gets hot outside. However, it will also do it on the Royals. I had my 97 Royal Star do it a couple of times. Usually, it seems worse during the spring when fuel recipes are changing from winter to summer. Usually, it is a momentary thing that will stop once the motor cools a bit. Irritating, embarrassing if you're riding with others, but not a real problem.

 

However, if your carb(s) (and it probably is only one of the four) are spewing fuel all the time, then that indicates a problem. Most likely it is the float valve. When the fuel level in the carb rises to the specified level, a metal tine on the float presses against a little valve that closes the fuel feed into the carb. If the valve is damaged, it can leak. Or a piece of contaminant could get in the way, keeping the valve slightly open. This will raise the fuel level, fuel will come out of the overflow, and that cylinder will be flooded. Your flooded sparkplug indicates there is too much fuel flowing into that cylinder. Since the problem doesn't seem to go away after a few minutes, you'll probably need to go into the carbs and examine each float assembly. Make sure no float is perforated, and that the working rubberized end of each float valve is in good shape, valve seat looks good, no debris in there. It probably wouldn't take a huge piece of debris... I'll bet a single human hair could keep that valve open.

 

I think that flooded plug is the key. It tells you which carb has the problem, and that the problem is a too-high fuel level in the carb.

[jw18]

I went ahead and ordered a new needle valve kit from Boats.net and it should be here soon. I will yank the carbs off (again ) and open it up and just replace it on that carb. I hope that this will fix it for good because those things are expensive ($28 shipped for a small piece of brass?!) and I don't want to have to do the other three if it is not necessary.

[Snaggletooth]

You will be using the needle valve only more than likely. You really don't want to get into replacing the seat itself unless you want to test your tolerance level. It's a bit of a job and you will need more parts.

 

However.... replacing the needle will be fine as I seriously doubt the seat would be worn or damaged enough to warrent the seat replacement.

 

Make sure the seat is clean an blow back though the seat out to the overflow vent to clear any obstruction in the net filter between the seat and the overflow vent. Yep there is a filter in the body also.

 

Make sure to inspect the float body carefully also. In some cases the float has failed and is soaking up fuel or the tang is damaged allowing the float to move without restrictions. This causes the fuel to overflow out the vent.

 

Once you get the floats set properly and fuel flowing correctly you should be in good shape.

 

Mike

[jw18]

You will be using the needle valve only more than likely. You really don't want to get into replacing the seat itself unless you want to test your tolerance level. It's a bit of a job and you will need more parts.

 

However.... replacing the needle will be fine as I seriously doubt the seat would be worn or damaged enough to warrent the seat replacement.

 

Make sure the seat is clean an blow back though the seat out to the overflow vent to clear any obstruction in the net filter between the seat and the overflow vent. Yep there is a filter in the body also.

 

Make sure to inspect the float body carefully also. In some cases the float has failed and is soaking up fuel or the tang is damaged allowing the float to move without restrictions. This causes the fuel to overflow out the vent.

 

Once you get the floats set properly and fuel flowing correctly you should be in good shape.

 

Mike

 

I don't guess there is anyone in my area that would like to supervise my work? All the PBR you can handle! LOL

[kwisor]

my 99 rsv did the samething after my fuel pump went out. i put a aftermarkit mr gaskit fuel pump on and i kept getting the fuel over flow filling up the cycl and leaking out the over flow i added a mr gaskit in line fuel regulator and set it on 2.5 psi and the problem went away do you have a a/m fuel pump? also after you get it stoped change your oil may leak down into oil if in cycl. if you go to start the bike and it will not turn over there is to much gas in the cycl pull plug and turn over eng to expell gas in cycl keep spark away from gas need no fire

bumble bee