What did I do to irritate the motorcycle gods?

[luvmy40]

I just finished the valve adjustments, cleaned, tuned and synchronized the carbs and got the Venture all back together. Did about 150 mi. shake down then changed the engine and final drive oil. Another 60 mi. ride and parked her last night.

 

This morning there's a puddle of oil under the old girl. I'm hoping it's a just the plug seal in need of replacement. Tonight I start her up to move vehicles around and the front bling lighting, the volt meter, tachometer, neutral indicator and bright light indicator are not working. Then I notice copious amounts of smoke coming from the exhaust. This bike has never smoked even a little bit.

 

The last time I had a bike smoke like this was when I first got my Katana. The PO had "Cleaned" the carbs and left one of the main jets loose and it worked its self out completely and was dumping raw fuel down the intake. I guess I'm pulling the carbs again to make sure I didn't do the same thing.

 

Will it never end???

[Black wing]

sounds like you may have over filled it a bit. ive found if these bikes are filled over the half way line they get super cranky

[luvmy40]

Well, I certainly filled it past half way on the glass. The XJs want a full sight glass and I filled to the manual's spec of 3.5L which did fill the sight glass completely.

[camos]

Well, I certainly filled it past half way on the glass. The XJs want a full sight glass and I filled to the manual's spec of 3.5L which did fill the sight glass completely.

Over filling will likely result in oil being blown into the air filter box. Easy enough to check. I always fill the oil to within 1/8" of the top of the sight glass and have never had oil blown into the air box. So there is a bit of leeway when it comes to over filling. Half way up the sight glass is a good enough level unless the engine tends to burn a bit of oil the it will have to be topped up prior to the next change.

 

The smoking is most likely due to oil leaking out and getting cooked on the exhaust. My 90 had leaks around the valve cover gasket before I did the valves and replaced the gasket. It used to smoke for a while after starting until the leakage got burned off, although it never left a puddle on the floor. Anyway, might be a good idea to do a close inspection of the valve cover gasket with a good light. It is really easy to misalign the gasket when installing.

[bongobobny]

Hmmm, if you put 3.5 quarts in you should have been OK. As far as the site glass goes, until you get the oil filter full of oil the site glass will look overfilled. When doing a final check you need to run the motor for a minute or two to get oil into the filter, while looking underneath for possible leaks, then shut it down and wait a couple of hours before checking the level, to allow the oil to slowly return from the top of the engine to the pan.

 

You may have put the spring and washer on the oil filter in wrong, or maybe the new o ring gasket got pinched, etc etc etc...

 

 

Uhhhh, you did drain the old oil first??

[Flyinfool]

When you changed the oil, did you drain it on the center stand the side stand or a lift?

Did you drain the transmission?

Most of us do not drain the trans unless you are flushing out a problem like water or gas in the oil, but the oil left in the transmission will require less oil for the refill. Mine always takes a bit less than 3.5 quarts.

[luvmy40]

Yes, I drained it first. Drained on center stand. No I did not drain the transmission.

 

It's possible but not likely that the o-ring is pinched or the spring/washer are wrong. I keep a pretty close eye on that as I've been changing oil with these types of filters for many years.

 

The smoke seemed to be coming from the exhaust rather than off the muffler, but it was dark so it's possible that it was not from the engine per se.

 

I haven't had time to really look at anything yet. I'll pull the air filter and do a visual inspection some time this weekend.

 

As far as the electrical issues go, I did attempt to install new horns the other day. One did not work OTB so I took them off and in the process, found a bare wire on one horn line. It's extremely possible that it shorted out during me puttzing with it and I blew a fuse. Again, I'll check that out sometime this weekend.

[camos]

As far as the electrical issues go, I did attempt to install new horns the other day. One did not work OTB so I took them off and in the process, found a bare wire on one horn line. It's extremely possible that it shorted out during me puttzing with it and I blew a fuse. Again, I'll check that out sometime this weekend.

Since you are messing with the horns, consider installing a relay. That is, of course, if you have not done that already.

 

As bongobob mentioned, an empty sight glass looks about the same as an over filled one which is why I like to leave at least 1/8" at the top. When doing this the bike is always on the centre stand on level ground. I like to buy my oil by the 5 gallon bucket and never measure it. Just fill to about halfway up the sight glass then run the engine for a few minutes to circulate the oil and check for leaks. Particularly after a filter change. After sitting for a bit check the level and top up to about 3/4 of the glass which is my preference.

[Venture n Dixie]

I like to buy my oil by the 5 gallon bucket

At the risk of hijacking the thread with an oil war debate, inquiring mind wants to know. Tried searching your posts for the answer but "oil" is such a common term.

[luvmy40]

I've been running Shell Rotella T 15/40 in my wet clutch Nipon engineered bikes for years. No problems as of yet.(Hopefully this is not an issue with the oil its self.)

[bongobobny]

I doubt it, lots of us use Rotella T...

[Venture n Dixie]

Didn't want to hijack with an oil discussion. Just got my attention that Clive buys 5 gallon buckets of oil. Wow! ???

[luvmy40]

Well, I keep at least 5 gallons of oil on hand. Usually in gallon jugs but with 3 bikes, 5 gallons is a slow season.

[camos]

At the risk of hijacking the thread with an oil war debate, inquiring mind wants to know. Tried searching your posts for the answer but "oil" is such a common term.

This is probably a hijack but your question is regarding why 5 gallons? When the oil I use (Rotella T 15/40) is on sale I buy the 5 gallon bucket and hope it will go on sale before it is finished. If there is no sale on I still get the 5 gallon bucket just because it is still less expensive in bulk and save me having to go and get some when I decide to change the oil again.

 

I'm a bulk shopper and buy everything I normally would use in quantity particularly when on sale. Not only is bulk normally cheaper per lb/gal but it's even better when there is a sale. I love Costco for the about 15 to20 things they sell that I use. Buying in bulk not only saves dollars on the items but also at the gas pump and saves time for more interesting endeavours.

 

Plus one on chest freezers and pantries and buckets of oil.

[luvmy40]

So the electrical issue was indeed a blown fuse. Fixed(and new horns installed[no relay, too lazy today]).

 

I also pulled about 1/3L of oil to get to about 2/3 sight glass. She's not smoking anymore so it must have been oil burning on the exhaust as suspected.

 

I'll take a good long ride tomorrow to verify that all is well.

 

Next issue. I topped off the rear brake reservoir as I had been getting intermittent warning lights for it and now the front brakes are dragging just a little. Just enough to make noise but I can't feel the drag.

 

Here we go again.

[videoarizona]

((Next issue. I topped off the rear brake reservoir as I had been getting intermittent warning lights for it and now the front brakes are dragging just a little. Just enough to make noise but I can't feel the drag.))

 

To full. As the oil heats, the extra pressure pushes on the brakes.....dragging is the result. Needs room for expansion.

 

Get an old, clean rag and twist it on one corner. Stick that into the rear reservoir. Wick some of the oil out. Or use a turkey baster to take some out. You can use a strip of paper inserted into the hole to guess how much you are leaving in. I don't remember how far below the fill hole the level should be, but had to do this with mine last year. Took quite a bit out...been fine every since. U can search the older posts, somewhere is the info...

 

On our oldie Ventures, two things we shouldn't ever fill completely: 1: Engine oil 2: Rear master brake reservoir. The manuals seem to be wrong on both counts.

 

[camos]

Next issue. I topped off the rear brake reservoir as I had been getting intermittent warning lights for it and now the front brakes are dragging just a little. Just enough to make noise but I can't feel the drag.

I don't know what other people do but I have recently made a resolution to always clean the pistons when changing the pads. In the past if the brakes seemed to be working OK I just replaced the pads without cleaning the pistons.

 

Dragging is not good. If the rear or left front brakes heat up to the point they seize then there is a problem. If the fluid in the rear reservoir is 1/8" lower than the bottom of the filler hole that should be fine. If yours needs more room than that indicates there is also a problem. Whether you can feel it or not, a dragging pad will at best wear out faster and at worst, seize up.

[luvmy40]

Found the rubbing noise. It was not the brakes. Not sure if it's always been there and I just did not notice it or what. I can't imagine what could have changed to bring it on suddenly as I have done nothing at all to the front end since getting the bike.

 

It was the mounting screws for the front fender chrome extender rubbing on the tire intermittently. There's a nice groove in the tire right at the tread line. Not deep but certainly there.

 

She seems to running fine now except the fuel efficiency is terrible. 33mpg on the last 2 fill ups. I'l probably do a proper rebuild on the carbs this off season. All I've done to date is a thorough cleaning with new pilot screws and bowl gaskets.

 

I hope it's not the TCI.

 

Would the Boost circuit effect the mileage this drastically? I haven't checked to see if that is working properly.

Edited September 28, 2016 by luvmy40
sp

[Flyinfool]

Nice catch on finding a loose screw....................

 

Your mileage sure sounds like it is running on 3 cylinders.

These bikes run incredibly smooth on 3.

There have been people new to this bike that ran on 3 for over a year and never new it thinking it was running great, except for the gas mileage.

 

The quick check is to start the bike cold and see if all 4 exhaust headers heat up at the same rate. That does not mean that you are not dropping a cyl at speed.

[luvmy40]

I was able to get good color tune on all 4 cylinders so it is hitting on all four at idle. I seems to be even smoother at mid to WOT.

[luvmy40]

Has anyone tried this ignition module?

 

http://www.regulatorrectifier.com/catalog/1984-1985-1989-Yamaha-XVZ12-Venture-1200-CDI-Ignitor

[videoarizona]

Has anyone tried this ignition module?

 

http://www.regulatorrectifier.com/catalog/1984-1985-1989-Yamaha-XVZ12-Venture-1200-CDI-Ignitor

 

No. Never knew they existed. Interesting that they make it for the 83-85 years and the 89.

Thought they were different....

 

I like the added benefits to this unit...

david

[DblTrbl]

Well, I certainly filled it past half way on the glass. The XJs want a full sight glass and I filled to the manual's spec of 3.5L which did fill the sight glass completely.

 

3.5L ????? I think that is almost a quart too much.....

[bongobobny]

Hey, nice catch!!! Yup, should be 3.5 QUARTS, not 3.5 Liters...

[luvmy40]

Yamaha's factory service manual specs 3.5L/3.7Qt for oil change with filter. Obviously that's too much, though someone stated earlier that it would probably be correct if the transmission galley was drained as well.