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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    I did some measurements once, but I don't think the rear shock displaces anywhere near 3" for the 4" wheel travel due to the leverage of the linkage. CLASS centerstand issue: If you try this on the front suspension it's really obvious. The bike, when on the centerstand, compresses the suspension a little. (Front definitely, rear probably not as much). When you compress the suspension, you reduce the air space inside the fork or shock and drive the pressure up. Therefore, if you put 20 PSI in the forks on the sidestand and then put it on the centerstand you may only have 15 psi, with possibly a similar effect in the rear. On the centerstand, both suspensions are fully extended and unloaded, which is how the CLASS was designed to operate. I don't think it's hard on the CLASS to do it on the sidestand, it's just not consistent. Yeah, I dunno how 2nd genners are supposed to do it. Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    Just wondering, are you perhaps courting trouble? Was it working OK? Making weird noises? Why are you replacing the clutch - because of clutch slipping? How many miles on the bike? If it was working normally except for slipping, you might just be OK. The basket freewheels on the shaft with its own bushings, so it will have a little endplay and wobble. Removing the clutch boss and basket to inspect are fine, but be careful. I've busted a clutch boss before; pried against the wrong thing trying to loosen the nut. I had to make a special tool that engages the holes at the back of the boss to hold it from turning. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    Can't you assemble the carbs and bench test the fuel levels with a gravity-feed can for supply? Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    Well, I don't think the engine is "too hot" per se when the fan kicks on. Per the manual, the ON temp is about 220F which is not bad for the engine. What I find a little disturbing is that when cruising on the Interstate at high speed on hot days, the fan is on somewhere from often to always. I know high speed puts the engine under more load, but it also should cause increased convection over the radiator without the fan. This makes me wonder if the radiator is getting sufficient airflow behind the front wheel at speed, or maybe if it's a little on the small side. Those little scoops on the sides of the grill, I don't think they're there for looks, I think the engineers needed a little more air flow at speed. And in the desert, it may need a little more still. I also find it puzzling that I get 2.5 mpg lower mileage in the heat on average, sometimes worse. I compiled numbers from the last year to determine this; it's not just some off-the-cuff wag. I mentioned in London Greg's mileage post that sometimes average mileage would just go up or down for no apparent reason; well, I've correlated it to Autumn and Spring. Don't know if that's due to intake air temps or coolant temps. Nothin' wrong with turning the fan on sooner, though. Maybe it would help mileage. More load on electrical system, though. Squeeze, I have nothing conclusive yet. I haven't installed a decent temp gage. I did change the coolant to about 20 or 25% antifreeze, the appropriate amout of Water Wetter, and the remainder distilled water. I don't think overall running temp is affected, but Water Wetter's main claim is reduction of "hot spots" in the head which is pretty hard to measure. It's possible that such hot spots cause more pinging which could reduce mileage, increase temp and not be good for the engine. I have run about 4 tanks of gas since this change and mileage MIGHT be up, but need more data before I'll commit to that. I still notice light pinging under certain conditions; can't say if it's reduced or not. I did pull into the garage one hot day with the temp gage at 2/3 and the fan running and got out the IR thermometer. I shot it at the alum collector where the switches are, as you suggested, but I didn't take the time to remove the side cover first so I shot through the triangular piece of grating that covers it. I measured about 196F, which sounds too low. Maybe the grating affected the reading. Then I shot the upper tank of the rad and got about 208F. Tucson is now in full summer swing, which is to say it's freakin' hot, so I have plenty of opportunity to test stuff. I'll give a mileage report after a few more tanks. I may try extending the scoops on the grill. I never did call about a thicker core replacement. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    Yup, the rear springs are too soft I think. If I ran my 87 with max air it was good for single, but 2-up we used most of the suspension travel just sitting there. You have two options from Progressive Suspension, and neither are real cheap. For 95 bucks you can get a replacement spring that fits on the stock shock and it supposed to be stiffer. Downside? What happens if, a month after investing in that spring your stock shock takes a dump, leaks air or oil or something? For about 350 you can buy a whole replacement shock/spring assembly which is what I did. It doesn't use air; preload is a manual adjustment that is hard to access, so you set it once and leave it. I ended up with the preload on max and it rides real nice 1 or 2 up, with no bottoming. Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    BJ, I don't remember exactly how, but I removed all that linkage once and I've never pulled the collector. I may have removed a muffler, but that's no big deal. It can be done! In fact, I need to remove mine again and replace the bushings 'cause I have some play too. In fact, I have the most play at the bushings on shaft #29. Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    Except the o-ringed piece is metal, so it wouldn't be much of a cushion. My guess, FWIW: If I recall correctly, the air hose connects up above the o-ring. The hole in the middle of the metal piece is there so the air from the CLASS can get into the fork tube, but it has to go around some corners and, IIRC, thru a sintered filter piece. I'm thinking this prevents the fork oil from freely entering the CLASS system air hoses. Thus, omitting it and using the PVC spacer instead would probably be OK, but some oil might get into the CLASS system. Jeremy
  8. Gearhead
    Interesting, you guys interpreted the instructions as requiring the spacer with the o-ring AND the PVC spacer. When I read it, I thought Progressive was saying to discard ALL the stuff under the cap, including the o-ring piece. Hmmm... The PVC spacer in my kit was 1.25" long. My stock o-ring piece was closer to 1" long. Since I thought I was supposed to leave that puppy out (per Progressive) but wondered if its function was important, I opted instead to use the stock piece (with a washer) and leave out the PVC spacer to end up with maybe 1/4" less preload than Progressive recommended. I use just a smidge of air, I'm average weight (190) and the ride is pretty nice. I do get occasional bottoming still on my dirt road, but only when I ride through a big pothole too fast. And let's face it, it's not a dirt bike! Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    Two things I forgot to mention. 1) I find it easier to loosen the lower pinch bolts thatn the upper. The upper bolts are very hard to get to unless you remove the plastic grilles, while the lowers can be accessed without removing anything. 2) If you get away from an actual torque spec and adjust the bearings by one of the "feel" methods mentioned here, you don't need the spanner socket. Just use a screwdriver or punch and a hammer to tap it around. Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    I always drain the pint or so of oil from the tranny as Squeeze mentioned. Even so, my oil gets dirty quickly as you say. Yes, there must be some trapped in there. I wish it were not so! Jeremy
  11. Gearhead
    Jim, You don't have to remove the forks to torque the bearings, but if you want to CHANGE the bearings it all has to come out. You DO have to loosen either the upper or lower fork pinch bolts when torquing. I made a ring nut socket with my welder. Handy to have around. Then I used a short ratchet and fish scale for torquing. That said, opinions vary on torquing. Many say the 2-point-something foot-pounds in the manual aren't nearly enough, you need way more to dampen steering head oscillation. I disagree. I've always tightened head bearings just tight enough to get rid of the play, and no tighter. With the front wheel off the ground: if the bottom of the forks wiggle, they're too loose. If the handlebars don't fall to the stop after being bumped off center, they're too tight (although all the wires on the Venture's handlebars adds friction that impedes the bars falling freely to the side). I think this approximates the factory torque spec. Most folks on this site disagree with that, however, so pick a method and take your best shot... Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    Squeeze, what exactly was changed which might account for losing the shake? And did you really mean 250mm on the fork oil level? That's 10 inches, which sounds like an awfully low level. Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    Uhhh...well...a tuneup's always good, but that sounds pretty strong to me... I've never taken mine over 100 - my limit, not the bike's. They will sometimes develop a weave at speed, though, and sometimes unexpectedly. Make sure your tires, wheel bearings, suspension bushings and steering head bearings are good. Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    Hey Sgt, do you mean just inside the LH control pod on the bar? Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Condor, your readings sound pretty good. You don't always get higher voltage at higher rpm; the v-reg keeps it in some range. But it is unusual I think to get such good charging voltage at idle. I don't have a wiring diagram in front of me, but I've read recently that the dash volt gage is on the blinker circuit. I dunno if the brakes are on the same circuit. So, if there's some problem with the blinkers and perhaps the brakes, that will show up bigger on the volt gage that it is on the whole system. Hope that makes sense. Finally, that ground isn't under the seat. It's below, forward and to the left of the battery. If you remove the battery and box, you can just get to it with and endwrench but it's hard. It's really designed to be accessed with the LH upper fairing off. I did manage to remove the bolt, clean up the ground and reinstall, but it was tough access. You could just add a couple extra ground wires, from the batt to the frame, and from a harness black ground wire or two to the frame. Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    The bad ground for the flasher could be consistent with flashing with engine runnng but not with engine off. If the bad ground is consuming some of your voltage, maybe the charging output takes the total available voltage to the unit into the operating range, while shutting off the engine causes voltage to be too low to flash. Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    You can get a Dunlop E3 tire online for about 100 bucks, and it will last you 20k+. You can mount and balance it yourself, I learned how online. I break the bead with a press that I already had. You know how to mount. Use cut up pieces of antifreze or oil bottles as rim protectors. Balancing is cool. Set the tire up with the axle bolt resting on identical buckets on both sides. I use kitty litter buckets. Remove old weights. Now just tap or wiggle the axle continuously. This breaks the bearing friction so the heavy spot drops, and it's quite sensitive and accurate. Add weight to the top and try again. You need a few weights to play with. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    How much gas do you have to put in after 250 km? Carbs that have sat as much as yours are often gunked up. Strong doses of Seafoam work for some people, but you may be looking at a thorough carb disassembly and cleaning. Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    Yup, what he said. You can also lick a finger and quickly touch a pipe as the bike warms up. An IR thermometer is more sophisticated! The TCI problems are usually not a bad TCI itself but the connectors or solder joints, esp. if yours is not that old. Don't cross the TCI bridge until you've elimintated ALL other possibilities. I've heard alot of people say these bikes can miss one cylinder and it's hard to tell except you lose the top end power and the gas mileage suffers. What mileage are you getting, under what kind of riding conditions? On the ignition side, you have plugs and wires to check. Then of course there's the possibility of gunk in the carbs and / or bad slide diaphragms. Question: did the bike sit for a long time between your dad riding it and you starting to ride it? Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    Pull the cap off the end of the pump and check out the contact points. Corrosion there could cause flaky operation and smoke. It might be that a good filing and a little grease on things will make it good as new! Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    The fact that it started after a wash makes me think electrical, water in the TCI connections, either at the TCI under the battery or in the connection near your LH calf behind the side panel. But that is often accompanied by the tach acting weird, and your bike has had plenty of time to dry out. That said, your fuel pump is not acting normal. The pressure switch stop at high pressure only; the pump itself will pump forever with the line open. The circuitry in the relay and control system only allows the 5 seconds though, with the bike not running. Let me clarify. The pump controller gets voltage when the key and kill switch are on. It also gets a signal from the TCI that tells it if the engine is running. When the key or kill switch is turned on, if the engine is not running, it turns on the pump relay for 5 seconds and then turns it off. This is intended to top off the bowls as you start the bike. Once the engine is running, the controller turns the relay on and leaves it on. The pressure switch is contained within the pump assy, consisting of a set of contact points connected to the pump diaphragm. If the carb needles are closed (bowls full) and some amount of backpressure builds in the fuel line, the diaphragm doesn't return to it's stop and the points don't make contact. As the bike uses fuel and the pressure gets released into the carbs, the diaphragm returns to the stop, points make contact, and diaphragm does another stroke. So, the pump will (or should) run with zero backpressure. You must either have inconsistent power to the pump or the pressure switch is not working right. Your voltage check to the pump will tell you which. If it's the pump itself, remove the cap off the wire end and see if you can spot the problem. On my Virago I had the points get rusty. Filing them fixed the problem. Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    Greg, as for the o-rings, make sure you are using some that are fuel resistant. Buna-N (nitrile) are typically used for oil applications, like inside the engine, but I'm not sure if they're suitable for fuel. Hardware-store o-rings are definitely NOT suitable, in my experience. They are for water. I had in inconsistently flooding carb on my Virago. It wasn't the needle and seat, but the float! I don't know how the plastic floats are constructed - are they hollow or solid? Anyway, mine was either leaking or absorbing fuel and was heavy. When I took them both out and floated them in a cup of gasoline, the heavy one barely floated, distinctly different from the other one. I once read a post from a guy who said you could bake the floats dry again, then coat them with model airplane dope which is totally fuel-proof. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    I found EBC standard pads for more like 20 or 22 per disc, maybe at Ronayers.com. 2 or 3 bucks more for the HH sintered pads. I'd recommend these on the RF disc to enhance the braking with the hand lever. It worked for me; I still have the standard pads on the other two discs. Some say HH pads wear out the discs too fast, so I mic'ed the rotor before and then after 2500 miles and the measurements were the same. Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    Greg, FYI I'm still following your link. I admire your tenacity with this. I can supply the numbers from my 87, but not right now. I wouldn't say the needles and jets wear out a lot, but I've seen it on other bikes. On my Virago I could tell visually, as well as two other ways. One, I took the biggest drill bit that would fit in the jet and it would rock in the hole farther in one direction than in the other. Two, I could use my 6" caliper and actually fit the ends of the ID measuring tangs in the jet and measure bigger in one direction than the other. On the Venture, I haven't taken them out. When I replaced the slides I shone a bright flashlight down to the emulsion tubes and looked carefully. They looked round after 55k miles. I've wondered about wear on the needles and how to detect it. I've always just inspected them, looking at the ramped sides for wear and never found any obvious wear. Here's another variable. The Virago, which wore out the tubes, has had a Dynojet kit in it for quite some time. DJ needles are stainless, factory needles are aluminum. I wouldn't expect the needle to totally close off the emulsion tube. As for that needle seat in the pic, it sure doesn't seem to be threaded. That's new to me! FWIW, I've never replaced MC needles or seats. They've never worn out in any obvious way. I figure as long as the carb maintains a consistent fuel level then they are working. Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    The bulb I bought from Autozone was in fact the 9003. I didn't see the H4 there. I assume, then, that the H4 is more vibe resistant? Jeremy
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