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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    I would add that this can be hard to judge. Three of mine were pretty badly cracked and leaking, with the one good one having been replaced by the PO. I could not visually tell a difference by watching them dance. Another classic symptom is bad top-end power. My top-end power was not that bad either, but I did certainly notice the improvement with the new diaphragms. The slide and diaphragm come as an assembly and are put together with some sort of crimper. I don't know how you'd separate them without special tools. Keep in mind that these are 20-yr-old diaphragms that are going bad. If yours are old and original as far as you know, remove the slide covers and check them, which is an easy job on this bike. Once replaced, they should last another 15 -20 years. Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    What's a Cee Bailey? Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    Dunlop E3 (rear only) - the best wearing tire by far, handles fine. Check Ronayers.com Oh, what is the model of Avon that y'all like for a VR? Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    FWIW, my volt gage checked against a digital was pretty acurate. My bike acts close to what you are describing. The brakes, besides lighting the brake lamps (2), also activate some stuff for the EANDS which seems to draw some significant amount of current. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    I think you will run into problems with the thread. All aftermarket CB antennas, mounting studs and accessories have 3/8-24 thread mounting (if not ALL, the great majority do). Factory stuff, for some reason, always has to be different. I've read specifically that Gold Wings and big Harleys have different threads, and I'd bet the VR does too. Mine already had been converted to other antennas when I got it. You're probably gonna need a new stud mount and cable for each antenna, or just one with a splitter. I'm told that if you go under 3' the CB performance will suffer. I had two very short, like 16", fiberglass antennas and the CB worked but the range was short. I installed a 3' Wilson Flex (like a Firefly but thinner) with a splitter and a fold-down mount for covering. I haven't really used the CB since, though, other than eavesdropping.
  6. Gearhead
    Yup, I agree but would add the following. I've had the SAME symptom on my 87 Venture and also my 87 Virago (which has 1/2 of the same ignition system). In both cases it was bad connections in the wires from the pickup coils to the TCI box. On the Venture it was the connectors on the TCI itself, corroded from battery acid leakage. On the Virago, the wires coming out of the LH case cover were kinda flaky, bad insulation IIRC. There's another connector on the Venture behind the LH side cover, just aft of the engine. Actually, there are more than one connector, and they all should be cleaned and greased. Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    Randy, what's the Avon of choice on the front of a VR? And how long do they tend to last? Thanks, Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    Backpressure affects the jetting requirements, but the question is, does the change you want to make SIGNIFICANTLY affect the requirements? In theory, and engine likes as little backpressure as possible. Could the backpressure requirement you are referring to have to do with creating a lean condition? I know that a bunch of guys here have installed Mac pipes, and some have Jardines. I don't think they are straight thru, but probably have a perforated baffle with one diverter plate in the middle. The guy I referred to who made his own - that should be here somewhere, but I couldn't find it in a quick search. We had a big server crash a couple years ago; maybe it was pre-crash and now gone. Jeremy Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    Well, good news! JEremy
  10. Gearhead
    Also try Zanotti Motorsports. I find them to be the cheapest on factory parts. Jeremy
  11. Gearhead

    New Toy

    Gearhead replied to cpudoc's topic in General Tech Talk

    I agree that even if it's not siezed (which strikes me as unlikely that it would be), some oil in the plug holes would help it be gentle on the cylinder walls and rings for the initial start. Also, if you don't fully clean the carbs, at least open the drains up and spray carb cleaner up the drain, catching it with a rag as it drains back out. You might get the crud out of the bowl before it finds its way into the jets. Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    A few have adapted other mufflers. something about the angle of the pipe at the header joint is a little unusual. One guy here made his own mufflers from straight pipe which he made some sort of baffle for. I don't think he had to change the carb settings. Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    I've never had to replace the cables, but I've never had one so stretched that I couldn't adjust it. That doesn't sound right. Why do you say the noise is your "own doing"? What did you do? How did it start? Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    You said you measured the cap OK. Did you unscrew it from the end of the plug wire? Then did you measure secondary resistance from one of the coil terminals to the exposed end of the plug wire where the cap goes? Are you on the correct meter scale? Should be at least a 20k ohm scale. Can you see corrosion on the copper wire strands at the end of the plug wire? There could be corrosion on the other end of the wire, where it goes into the coil. This corrosion could be enough to register no continuity, but a spark could still jump across it intermittently. The wire comes out of the coil pretty easily Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Do any of you know of an epoxy or similar glue for plastics that is black? My favorite, JB Weld, mixes up gray, and I want to do a little gluing on the CB dash panel where the glue may be seen a little bit. Thanks, Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    Well, Yammy did design the engine, sump and lube system to work together under a wide variety of circumstances. As long as you're operating in conditions that are not extremely abnormal (like running gear oil in your engine, or something weird), and the oil level is anywhere between the marks on the sight glass with the bike vertical, there should be oil at the pump pickup. I find it interesting that your light flickers. Does anybody else's? My oil level light on the Venture never comes on. My Virago, OTOH...it's well known with those bikes that they come on all the time. The sender is in the front RH corner of the engine, so if you're accelerating, or on the kickstand or going uphill it tends to come on. Plus, I think it's just too sensitive. But the sump pickup is in the bottom middle of the engine, so it's not subject to these conditions. Only Yamaha, as far as I've seen, put a LEVEL warning system in rather than a PRESSURE system. That means on every other vehicle you own you have the same scenario, but you just don't have a light to worry about. Personally, I like the LEVEL system because if you're running at high rpm and heavy throttle and your oil PRESSURE idiot light comes on, I think it's too late at that point because that's gonna mean somewhere under 2 psi. With the LEVEL light on the Virago I have learned to interpret how much it comes on to know if I need to check the level at the glass. Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    Thanks for the tips. Yeah, it does seem like it's missing except it's pretty smooth to be running on 3, and there's no sudden point where I feel the other cylinder come back in. I'll try pulling plug wires one-by-one while idling. I checked the battery the same night which was still up to level so it evidently didn't leak much. I went ahead and poured some baking soda solution around it and then rinsed the whole area very well to wash away any acid that did leak. Haven't yet checked the air filter. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    Right. On my Virago (same manufacturer, same vintage) I know for a fact that the indicator is only valid when idling a warm engine, bike vertical. I strongly suspect the same applies here. Any of the following conditions causes more of the oil to linger in the top end and thus the level sender in the sump triggers a low level: -Cold engine (and oil) -Higher viscosity oil -High rpm If the bike is leaning away from the sender or accelerating or braking hard, that would also cause a false trigger. Trust your sight glass. Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    Did you have any black spark plugs? Fuel level too high would cause rich. As for the weak coil, could also be a weak plug wire. In that case it would put on a light show under load in the dark as it sparked to ground. Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    Well, I guess I'm not gonna find out how long the Dunlop E3 will last on the back of my VR. It's got over 18k with some life left in it, but... WAY back I picked up a nail and plugged the hole with a Monkey Grip plug. I know some don't like doing this, but I've put at least 15 of these in MC tires over the years and the only problem I've had in the past was that they often develop slow leaks. This was no exception; it held air for awhile and then for a long time was a slow leaker - a once-per-week kind of thing. Then on Friday night leaving church it backed up like I was in sand or something. Yup, tire almost flat. Well, traffic was mellow and a station with air was about a half mile down the road, so I rode it slowly down there. Boy, did that feel weird, esp. in corners. Aired it up and was fine going home. Next morning it was flat again. Got out the soapy bubbles and, viola, the old plug quickly grew a little bubble-beard. So I pushed it into the tire and installed another (done this on other punctures, too). Checked the air Monday AM, fine. Rode to work, checked the air, fine. Before I left work I checked the air again, fine. Now most of the time I have the radio going on this bike, playing through the headset. But for some reason, going home Monday, I was just enjoying the quiet ride, the whine of the gears, etc. I had gone probably 17 of the 25 miles home and was on the Interstate doing about 80 when I heard a quick WHOOSH (or was it a HISS?). I made the "tire connection" pretty quickly in my mind, looked around for some other source (kinda like when I fart and look around to cast the blame elsewhere :-), there was nobody around and absolutely nothing that would make a WHOOSH or a HISS. Nothing but that tire. The bike still felt fine but I figured I'd better pull over and take a look. It never handled poorly except for when I had slowed most of the way and pulled across the rumble divots; then I knew. Sure 'nuff, flat as a pancake. Actually, not quite that flat. I learned that the sidewalls are stiffer, compared to the weight, than a car tire as it still held a little shape. Anyway, that new plug I put in was plumb gone. MIA. AWOL. Don't know if it went in or out, but it sure wasn't there where I had put it! So my dad brought my trailer and all is well. I already have a new E3 for it, just wasn't planning on using it quite yet, but I'm sure not putting another plug in that hole. I'll still use plugs, but I think when the tire wears down it's less reliable. Plus, this hole, while a simple puncture down in the carcass, widened into more of a split or cut near the surface. That could have been really ugly at 80 MPH. Thanks to God that I heard the noise, made the connection, and pulled over before things started shredding or jumping around. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    You've probably already thought of these, but could be fuel level, a blown slide diaphragm, air filter. Maybe a main jet fell out in the bowl. Just wild ideas. Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    Do you have reason to suspect damage? I wouldn't think this happens very often. I'd say put it on the centerstand and eyeball it carefully from different angles, esp. from directly behind. Is the wheel vertical? Does everything look normal? Then it's probably OK. If it wiggles side-to-side the main pivot bearings are bad or misadjusted. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    Check the kill switch. Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    Mine does this too. I get gas smell after shutting down from around the carbs and wonder if I have a fuel bowl that's not sealing. My plugs run on the dark side of normal. Have you checked your fuel levels in the bowls? There's a guy here with a RSV who goes by Goose, and he picked up 3-4 mpg by lowering his floats. I noticed that the service manual for my 87 calls out a certain fuel level (which my bike is set at), while the "service specs" page at the end of the factory parts fish calls out a level 2mm lower. Hmm... Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    Wow, you must have tremendous control on how you use the throttle! Jeremy
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