The little guy on the vespa said.....

[Patch]

You asked about the firing problem I was having at the time I started stripping the body down to get at the TCI and coils.

It developed what sounded like a misfire on the #2 cylinder. I pulled all the plugs to check them out and found that two were champion and the other two were Both. Don't remember the numbers and really wasn't interested, I just went to a parts house and bought new one per the manual.

It still had the miss but was acting a little better. I didn't like the hesitation it had devolped so I pulled the filter and synced the carbs the with a pair of vac gadges. Took a while but I got the hang of it..ran good for a while and then got worse. Sounded like one more cylinder was failing. Took it for a short run and had to baby it all the way home. The spark became very week, and began to sound like a old Chevy that had it's plug wires rotated 90'.

That's about as far as I got before the house fire put a hault to everything.

 

Well you are a long ways from needing to worry about that now..

 

With all this work you are in the middle of, did you check compression? Yes I know "low mileage"

Patch

[Captaineasy520]

Yes, mine is indeed an '84...the picture I sent of the box to a friend, said the green tag reads 41R..

[Captaineasy520]

No I haven't checked the compression, I was beginning to think about the valves needing a little tweaking. But, thank you, that's one more thing I can do in the mean time.

[videoarizona]

No I haven't checked the compression, I was beginning to think about the valves needing a little tweaking. But, thank you, that's one more thing I can do in the mean time.

 

 

Now is the time for those valves, Joe. Get that done while waiting for the coil pack from @cowpuc to arrive! I'll help you with the carbs and do have the valve tool as well....so order some gaskets and let me know when you have everything and I'll zip over and get some grease on the hands...

[cowpuc]

Wow, I don't know what to say. I'm humbled, impressed and overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you so much, I'm sure my 84 will now be CTFW much much sooner than I had ever hoped it would be. Almost every day that I am able I try to complete a different task on her. I've cleaned her tank, added a few driving and fog lites, corrected a noisy speedo, cleaned and polished covers on the block, checked every connerctor I could, started the tedious job of eliminating oem fuse box with more modern connectors and fuses. Done some needed body work, cleaned the frame and sanded, cleaned and preped all the plastic in order to give her a decent paint job. Now ill dig up a carb rebuild kit for the four carbs.

You asked about the firing problem I was having at the time I started stripping the body down to get at the TCI and coils.

It developed what sounded like a misfire on the #2 cylinder. I pulled all the plugs to check them out and found that two were champion and the other two were Both. Don't remember the numbers and really wasn't interested, I just went to a parts house and bought new one per the manual.

It still had the miss but was acting a little better. I didn't like the hesitation it had devolped so I pulled the filter and synced the carbs the with a pair of vac gadges. Took a while but I got the hang of it..ran good for a while and then got worse. Sounded like one more cylinder was failing. Took it for a short run and had to baby it all the way home. The spark became very week, and began to sound like a old Chevy that had it's plug wires rotated 90'.

That's about as far as I got before the house fire put a hault to everything.

CaptN, while I appreciate your thankful spirit PLEASE dont feel to overwhelmed, humbled or impressed by my generousity.. I gotta tell you that my spirit of generousity is born out of dealing with things similar to your experience with the bike - things like being saved by two Texas hero's when my scoot's stator took dump wayyy down in the Lone Star State when Tip (wife), Tweeks (our bike) and I were taking the long way around CTFW to my daughters graduation in Cali (gonna include a little "thank you" song my daughter and I sang for those guys = by the way,, both of them were members here who I had never met) or being rescued out in the middle of the heat of the desert and being hauled into Ventura California to have a flat tire fixed or having a Harley rider stop - tell his lady to sit and chat with my little boy while he hauled me on the back of his bike to fetch gasoline or neighbors showing up with tool belts on to help rebuild a roof on our home after a wood stove fire while the insurance company was dragging their feet trying to figure a way out of paying a claim and on and on.. Really brother,, it's more a matter of living by the code IMHO,, something thats been going on for a longggg time around here at VR..

Back to your bike.. I am taking it here that the addy I copy/pasted is where you want the items sent to?

I know I get in trouble sometimes for this and I am also at times sort of hard to follow but I wanna share a little more of my opinion (thanks again for fighting for my right to do that - I take advantage of your keeping your oath to do so A LOT ).. Please dont read anything into this,, like I doubt that the ignition problems may totally be the TCI/Coils = gonna send them regardless and if they turn into nothing more than tools for testing =we're good to go,,, but I have experienced what you are describing many times and 90% of the time it ended up being stator/regulator issues.. For some reason, my 1st Gens always run like you are describing when either the stator or the regulator is failing or weak.. If you watch the volt meter on a running 1st Gen (this is where my opinion comes into play), let it idle, turn on a blinker, pull the front brake lever so your adding amp load and then bounce your throttle you should see the needle snap right up to 14 volts.. Hesitation in that needle is a very good indicator that either you got a bad connection on the ignition wire to the battery or its stator/reg related.. Running wise = if this is happening,, even with a good battery in tow so you can turn the bike off and restart it = it can/will/may still run just like an old points ignition Chevy with the plugs wires out of firing order = cha pow,, vroom,, pow pow .. Also,,, please beware that it is possible that the bike you are working on still has the original stator and never got the updated oil bath - if this is the case - even if it tests fine - you will want to update it cause unbathed - those stators fried up like KFC Chicken only didnt smell as good.. I just went thru this whole thing,, again,, and thought it was another Stator,,, started working on it,, thought it best to not ASSuMe and BINGO - glad I didnt cause it turned out to be the regulator = funny guy that Murphy is when he is around lectricty (this case varifiable with videoarizona = he was there!!).

Another thing on that 84. The early ones came with a plastic water pump impellar (my 84 did) that liked to desolve in antifreeze. The update was an aluminum one.. If I recall, there is suppose to be a punch mark above the forward bevel gear on one of the molding circles if this was updated - perhaps someone like bongobobny or Prairiehammer would know if my thoughts on this are accurate? If this is the case and your scoot does not have the punch mark, I will see if I can come up with an xtra waterpump for yours too.. You may end up needing to redo the seals in it if I send you one because this stuff has been sitting but hey,, still a LOT cheaper than buying all new IMHO..

You speaking about Fuses and Fuse boxes reminds me,,, GLAD TO HEAR YOUR TAKING ACTION NOW:thumbsup: = those OEM fuse boxes were nothing but a headache IMHO.. One of those Texas hero's (a varmint known here as " @Squidly ") who rescued us down in Texas gave me Fuse Panel to redo the wiring terminal's that I had revamped into stand alone slide in fuses.. Worked AWESOME IMHO.. I have an xtra one of those here now that has been just waiting for me to pay it forward (thanks again Squid) and wowzy,, you two varmints being Military fellers and with what you are doing in honor of your brother/friend = I DEFINITELY wanna send that along!!

You may find that the keyed locks on your clamshells are sticky.. Word to the wise,, dont fight em, pull em off - open em up and relube em - done right the things will work like new for many many miles. Get one of those clamp on cable lubers and while ya got er down for carb work, take the time to lube ALL the cables = I use synthetic bike chain lube - one time with that stuff and WOWZY no more broken cables. Smack the calipers on the sides with a rubber mallet, pull em off, pull the pads on em, one piston at a time run them out to 1/8th inch past the width of a new pad fiber (NOT THE FULL WIDTH INCLUDING THE BACKING PLATE STEEL, YOU DONT WANNA POP THE PISTON OUT = just the pad part) and clean spotless the piston by wrapping a clean slice of rag around the piston - pinch it between your finger/thumb so it stays tight on the piston and then spray the rag wet with brake cleaner - now rotate back and forth on the piston to "polish" it.. Get it clean,, squeeze it in and push it back out with the brake lever and check for smudge marks - continue till no more marks and do em all so brake pistons work freely...

Wow this getting long... Sorry...

,, something for everyone to a little,, guess what I found out while fooling with the TCI I am sending you? The OEM plug wires on those bikes were indeed = WIRE WIRES!!! Yep,, wire core wires OEM on a bike that was a fully loaded Royale with ALL the fixens including stock/original CB, intercom, radio-cassette, cruise and CLASS. It seems like there was a discussion in a thread that @Chaharly started about this and now we know (well,, at least I do) that indeed, those bikes originally came with 5k Ohm caps and wire wires..

 

Puc

 

Singing proof of my paying it forward statement Captn!!

Edited June 25, 2018 by cowpuc

[Patch]

No not thinking valve adjustment. But yes for the cover gasket.

Post when you can- the dry numbers and then wet. This may sound odd but wet as thin as possible like dot 3 or 401 1/4 tsp.

 

Patch

[Patch]

Sorry I should of mentioned and you likely already know, as you are lifting the carbs that's the best time. Just off of 5 cranks only each.

[Chaharly]

Wow, I don't know what to say. I'm humbled, impressed and overwhelmed by your generosity. Thank you so much, I'm sure my 84 will now be CTFW much much sooner than I had ever hoped it would be. Almost every day that I am able I try to complete a different task on her. I've cleaned her tank, added a few driving and fog lites, corrected a noisy speedo, cleaned and polished covers on the block, checked every connerctor I could, started the tedious job of eliminating oem fuse box with more modern connectors and fuses. Done some needed body work, cleaned the frame and sanded, cleaned and preped all the plastic in order to give her a decent paint job. Now ill dig up a carb rebuild kit for the four carbs.

You asked about the firing problem I was having at the time I started stripping the body down to get at the TCI and coils.

It developed what sounded like a misfire on the #2 cylinder. I pulled all the plugs to check them out and found that two were champion and the other two were Both. Don't remember the numbers and really wasn't interested, I just went to a parts house and bought new one per the manual.

It still had the miss but was acting a little better. I didn't like the hesitation it had devolped so I pulled the filter and synced the carbs the with a pair of vac gadges. Took a while but I got the hang of it..ran good for a while and then got worse. Sounded like one more cylinder was failing. Took it for a short run and had to baby it all the way home. The spark became very week, and began to sound like a old Chevy that had it's plug wires rotated 90'.

That's about as far as I got before the house fire put a hault to everything.

 

I Think i have an extra set of progressives

[Flyinfool]

A few things that you mentioned.

 

There are several brands of spark plugs, replace them all with the proper NGK plugs. The recommended plugs work great and are cheap.

 

You mentioned running with the air filter removed. These bikes run absolutely terrible if the air filter is removed or even the cover off or loose some have tried to drill some holes in the air filter housing to let in more air and ended up taping the holes shut because it made the bike run bad.

 

It is not uncommon for someone new to the venture to be running on just 3 cylinders and never know it. they run really well on 3, just the MPG and power will be a bit down, but if you do not know what is normal for these bikes you might not notice that it is a bit off.

[cowpuc]

Hey you guys,

Thank you do much for the welcome and the good words of encouragement.

Sure, I was a little butt hurt my self, I took a moment to back up and smile to resist the urge to blast a person in a verbal way that would probably be as misunderstood as my first writing he tried and failed to digest.

I am here to stay and plan to be onboard for the long run. Again, I thank each and everyone of you for your kindness and I look forward to meeting many of you in the near future. Nuff said...

What I need as far as parts are concerned I've listed below. I'm willing to pay any reasonable price that I can and I appreciate all of you more than the written word can grasp.

CTI/CDI box

Plug wires

Plug caps 5k resistor type

2 coils

Probably front seals and springs (they leak worse than government security)

I'm looking for some progressive springs if anyone has any laying around. I think Cow-Puc was supporting them in a big way. I have to air them up continuously or I look like a low rider scraping the bottom. I'm not sure about the other electrical parts because I haven't had a multitester since the fire so I'm not really sure of what's what yet.

I've pulled the entire body off and am using my time to get it ready for a paint job. So, this is where I'm at and no matter what else happens I'm determined to have her up and on the road 90 days from now, that's my goal and I'm gonna make it happen. This bike is a 1984 xvz1200. Again, thank you all, you ARE a great group, huh..😁

 

@Captaineasy520 , your parts are in the mail and you should see them Wednesday unless Murph reads this and decides to play with the mail system.. USPS tracking # is 9505 5121 2688 8176 1950 14 if you have need to follow it.

Absolutely all the VERY best of hopes/wishes your way in the effort to get that bike back on its feet brother!! Please keep this thread updated if/when you have time to tinker with it and dont be afraid to post up kibbles and bits needs as you do!!

Thank you for allowing us to be part of such an honorable pursuit/adventure!!

Puc

[Patch]

Flyinfool made some valid comments (get use to it, he allows us to make mistakes on his behalf;) that are worth keeping in mind when working on the bike.

 

1st comes to mind is these CV carbs unlike the older mechanical slide carbs behave differently and will require the complete air box installed like flyinfool says, for any high rpm range off the throttle. For now till you get use to it just except that and work with it..

You can do your initial starts and adjustments with the box off and you'll be ok till 2ish 000.

 

Another good point is these fours will seem to put out well on 3 jugs but you'll notice somethin in 5th at high speeds and of course fuel mess pumped through exhaust and oil contamination providing the carb on missing jug is filling of course! Of course much more of a thrill when you're dragging a wasted 4strokes.

 

Anyways kind of cool to get so much support from, such a small club.

 

Patch

[Captaineasy520]

I don't know how to thank you Puc, you have indeed brought some very much needed sunshine into the lives of not only myself but my wife and son also. I will keep you posted on the progress of this project and will enclude some pics and possibly video.

There have been a lot of responses and offers of help from other members also. Chaharly stood up and said he might even have set of progressive springs laying around.

I'm overwhelmed by the overall generosity and the extremely positive atmosphere generated by the members of this organization, who not only alowed me to use them for a sounding board when I was overwhelmed by my personal situation, I wasn't expecting much more than a listening ear at best, maybe a comment or two, that's really all, instead they came to my aid with all they had. You talked the talk, and most importantly, walked the walk. I salute you all and will remain forever indebted, and from my heart I say a humble...thank you!

[cowpuc]

I don't know how to thank you Puc, you have indeed brought some very much needed sunshine into the lives of not only myself but my wife and son also. I will keep you posted on the progress of this project and will enclude some pics and possibly video.

There have been a lot of responses and offers of help from other members also. Chaharly stood up and said he might even have set of progressive springs laying around.

I'm overwhelmed by the overall generosity and the extremely positive atmosphere generated by the members of this organization, who not only alowed me to use them for a sounding board when I was overwhelmed by my personal situation, I wasn't expecting much more than a listening ear at best, maybe a comment or two, that's really all, instead they came to my aid with all they had. You talked the talk, and most importantly, walked the walk. I salute you all and will remain forever indebted, and from my heart I say a humble...thank you!

 

Awe,,,,,, you and your family are more than welcome CaptN:thumbsup:,,,, always more than happy to stand by a fellow biker in need - especially one who stood by/for me in supporting our precious way of life my brother!!!

[cowpuc]

Anything appear in the mail yet @Captaineasy520 ?

[Captaineasy520]

Not as of yesterday. I was at the doc's office most of the day and have not been home as yet. It may arrive a little late cause we live so far out in the desert most things are delivered by a three legged mule. Not to worry though, I've got a lot of little things to keep me busy. I.E., paint job etc., Etc.,

[cowpuc]

Not as of yesterday. I was at the doc's office most of the day and have not been home as yet. It may arrive a little late cause we live so far out in the desert most things are delivered by a three legged mule. Not to worry though, I've got a lot of little things to keep me busy. I.E., paint job etc., Etc.,

 

Thanks CaptN,,, hope all is ok with your health brother!!! I just ran that tracking number thru USPS and am seeing this message (see below). Might not be a bad idea to check with your post office when you have time or go to their web page and fill out the forms I am seeing there....

Puc

 

 

[h=3]Status[/h][h=2]Delivery Attempt: Action Needed[/h]June 27, 2018 at 7:49 am

Notice Left (No Secure Location Available)

TUCSON, AZ 85736

 

 

[h=3]Status[/h][h=2]Delivery Attempt: Action Needed[/h]June 27, 2018 at 7:49 am

Notice Left (No Secure Location Available)

TUCSON, AZ 85736

 

[Captaineasy520]

I see what you are saying. Yes there was a screw up. I am in the process of taking care of it right now...thanks again. .joe