First real ride on my '83

[lwinders]

Well, a year after buying my ’83 VR, I finally got to get her out and put a few mile on her. I had been on a few short rides but not enough to really tell if I had any major issues with the bike. I know that I needed to go on a long ride before I would know what needed to be addressed. I rode about 30 miles on different types of roads. As expected, a few problems showed up.

The first thing I noticed was every now and then I would notice a faint smell of antifreeze, so I may have a very slight leak somewhere. It wasn’t enough though to see. After about 15 miles or so, I noticed that the temp was a little higher than I thought it should be. It never got up into the red zone of the gage, but it was near the upper portion of the green. I really don’t know what is normal on this bike. It also seems that the cooling fan is not working.

The next thing I noticed was when I got out on a good 4 lanes highway. I had been riding on some slower roads and it seemed to handle pretty well but when I got out where I could let her stretch her legs a little the handling wasn’t a good. At about 70 mph it seemed began to feel unsteady. Almost like I was riding on a ridge in the road, if that makes sense. It felt like it was about to go into a wobble. I just put new Shinko tires on it. Running at 42 psi. I had the air pressure in the shocks set to the low settings on both front and rear. I weigh about 165 lbs. so I thought the low setting would be good.

The last thing I noticed was after a few mile of holding it at about 65 mph, the rpm’s began to increase slightly. It didn’t seem like the rpm’s matched the speed I was running, based on what I had been seeing up to that point. Then I turned onto a secondary road and went through the gears, it just didn’t feel right. Then in 5^th gear, at about 50 mph, I rolled the gas on pretty heavy and the clutch slipped. If I rolled it on easy it was ok, but when I got on it hard it would slip again.

Well, that’s how the ride went. I would really appreciate some help in addressing these issues. I think I’m really going to enjoy this bike when I get all of the bugs worked out.

[Trader]

The highway issues could be steering head bearing needs adjusting.

Too tight and the bike will tend to wander...too loose and you might get the shimmy you describe.

Put the bike on the centerstand and push the handlebars to one side. They should "bounce" off the stop by just an inch or so. If the steering head bearing is too tight there will be no bounce...or might not even reach the stop....if they are too loose it will bounce back too far.

 

The clutch is really easy to change. You don't even have to drain the oil to do it....just lean the bike over on it's side stand.

The hardest part(Tedeous...not difficult) is removing the old gasket!

I'm not much of a wrench at all and I was able to do it at Don's MD last year.

 

The temperature guage on these bikes often runs on the high side. As long as it is not in the red you are good to go.

Just let it run (when stopped) for awhile and you can check to see if the fan will come on. Without air flow to cool it the fan should kick in after awhile unless it is really cool outside.

 

Skydoc17 (on this forum) can supply you with the parts you need and is a great resourse for tech help too!

 

Not sure what to suggest about the cooling system...someone else will probably jump in on that one.

[Flyinfool]

Well, a year after buying my ’83 VR, I finally got to get her out and put a few mile on her. I had been on a few short rides but not enough to really tell if I had any major issues with the bike. I know that I needed to go on a long ride before I would know what needed to be addressed. I rode about 30 miles on different types of roads. As expected, a few problems showed up.

The first thing I noticed was every now and then I would notice a faint smell of antifreeze, so I may have a very slight leak somewhere. It wasn’t enough though to see. After about 15 miles or so, I noticed that the temp was a little higher than I thought it should be. It never got up into the red zone of the gage, but it was near the upper portion of the green. I really don’t know what is normal on this bike. It also seems that the cooling fan is not working.

 

There are a lot of places that you could have a coolant leak, some of the popular ones are a tiny crack in the plastic elbow at the very front, lower, right corner of the engine. This gets cracked if the bike was ever dropped on the right side, the bracket for the crash bar will move back far enough to crack that elbow and then spring back to its normal position. The rubber o-rings and freeze plugs in the system dry out and shrink with age, although this normally shows as a leak when cold that goes away when things get warm and expand.

 

The gauge does read high most of the time, the fan does not come on till just below red on the gauge. My fan never comes on while riding, only while parked/stopped and idling for quite a while.

The next thing I noticed was when I got out on a good 4 lanes highway. I had been riding on some slower roads and it seemed to handle pretty well but when I got out where I could let her stretch her legs a little the handling wasn’t a good. At about 70 mph it seemed began to feel unsteady. Almost like I was riding on a ridge in the road, if that makes sense. It felt like it was about to go into a wobble. I just put new Shinko tires on it. Running at 42 psi. I had the air pressure in the shocks set to the low settings on both front and rear. I weigh about 165 lbs. so I thought the low setting would be good.

 

Sorry I cant help much here

The last thing I noticed was after a few mile of holding it at about 65 mph, the rpm’s began to increase slightly. It didn’t seem like the rpm’s matched the speed I was running, based on what I had been seeing up to that point. Then I turned onto a secondary road and went through the gears, it just didn’t feel right. Then in 5^th gear, at about 50 mph, I rolled the gas on pretty heavy and the clutch slipped. If I rolled it on easy it was ok, but when I got on it hard it would slip again.

 

This is a common issue on both the first and second gen bikes. If you have caught it early enough all you need to replace is the clutch spring. If it has been slipping for a while you may need new friction disks as well. Contact Skydoc_17, he will set you up with what you need to fix this permanently.

Well, that’s how the ride went. I would really appreciate some help in addressing these issues. I think I’m really going to enjoy this bike when I get all of the bugs worked out.

 

It is a great bike, I think you will like it to.

[lwinders]

Thanks so much for your input. After hearing your ideas, it sounds like I really don't have any problems that can't be solved fairly easily. This is such a great site. Best $12 I've ever spent.