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Gearhead

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Everything posted by Gearhead

  1. Gearhead
    Bike clutches are weird. Both my Virago and Venture were bought with mileage in the mid 40k's, and both got slipping clutches in the 50's. In both cases, all discs mic'd EXACTLY on spec - not the wear limit, but the actual spec thickness. In both cases the spring measured fine, right on spec. In both cases I replaced the friction discs only and the problem was solved. The Venture was recently, with factory discs. The Virago now has 130,000 miles, so close to 80k on that clutch (aftermarket, EBC maybe?) I put in, and working fine. The only thing I can figure is in both cases the PO put in some oil additive or "energy conserving" oil that contaminated the friction plates. Although I read about alot of bikes on this forum where the clutch goes in the 40-50k range. Jeremy
  2. Gearhead
    Dunno about these carbs specifically, but your formula looks good. I bet these carbs are capable of twice that. Jeremy
  3. Gearhead
    Ctraylor, when you jump on the throttle is it pretty loud? Bigin, I'm thinking that the springs on these bikes were soft from the factory, and 20 years on the road hasn't helped any. When I got my 87, both ends had to be on max pressure to achieve a decent static sag (a measure of how much wheel travel you use just sitting there). And with a full-sized passenger on the back, the rear sag really, well, sagged. Progressive suspension front and rear solved the problem. Front end was cheap, around 50 bucks. Rear not so cheap. Jeremy
  4. Gearhead
    I know for a fact that my Virago has two separate valves - pressure regulator and filter bypass. The regulator is situated inside the engine in the feed line from the pump to the filter, and if oil pressure goes over 70 psi it bleeds the excess off to the sump. The bypass is built in to the filter element and lets unfiltered oil through when the filter backpressure reaches a certain level to ensure oil flow to the engine. I just perused the manual and part diagrams for the Venture. I can't find reference to a pressure regulator valve, so I suspect it is built in to the oil pump. The filter bypass is indeed inside the center bolt, and the spin-on should include something like that. As I wrote recently, don't think of the filter bypass as an "emergency" thing that only takes effect when the filter is really plugged. Engines use the filter bypass all the time, especially when cold. Jeremy
  5. Gearhead
    I think the valve in the bolt is the filter bypass, although I could be wrong. Could the spin-on have a built-in bypass?? Jeremy
  6. Gearhead
    Hey ctraylor, you don't have any pics, do you? Did you completely remove ALL baffles from the stock mufflers? Jeremy
  7. Gearhead
    "hehe... Jeremy... my little statement at the top of this was nuthin but pure B/S .... a comeback at Kit LOL ... a "hook" to see if I'd get any "fish" :rotf: You caught one" Yes, it appears you did! JEremy
  8. Gearhead
    Mine is an 87 VR but it seems both models are rated for about the same alternator output so I put this in General Tech. I read all the varying opinions about how much extra the system can handle and finally just bought some cheap $20 driving lights with 55W H3 bulbs and installed them. Made some cool little brackets to mount them on the forks by the brakes like you see on some BMW's. I powered them with a relay off the battery. The trigger side of the relay comes off the headlight circuit, before the dimmer switch, and goes thru a toggle switch. Consequently, I can turn the lights on or off with either headlight beam, and they go off with the headlight when starting the engine. After riding this way for a couple weeks, I have a few conclusions. 1) I leave them on in the daytime for visibility to others. 2) I can't leave them on in traffic at night because they have absolutely no beam control and are blinding to others. 3) The relay system works perfectly. 4) Extra light is nice. 5) Cheap lights have kind of a crude beam pattern. Nicer ones would probably be better. 6) The charging system seems fully up to the task of the additional 110W. I've had no battery problems and the volt meter always reads close to 14 volts as long as the engine is above ~2000 rpm. I have no other extra loads on the system. I will soon install grip heaters, which are only a couple amps (24W). Just to keep load down, I think I'll install LED's on the tail and running lights which will save 7W x 4 = 28W. Does anybody have any clue what the ignition system draws? Jeremy
  9. Gearhead
    In order to drain the cylinder jackets, you also have to remove a rubber plug at the base of each cylinder. They are hidden behind the striped trim covers that install across each cylinder and head. Jeremy
  10. Gearhead
    Rick, do you make them or get them from somebody else? Jeremy
  11. Gearhead
    Consider this. I've consistently found that old bikes don't deliver full voltage to the headlight thru the factory wiring (which affects brightness), so I tried to install relays on my 87 like I've done before on my Virago. Simple job - one relay each for hi and lo beam. Got it all wired up and it didn't work right. What the heck? I don't have my notes in front of me so I don't have specifics, but the bottom line is this: I got some kind of funky reading like you are, and it all has to do with the CMU and reserve lighting unit (or some such). I wonder if your circuit is working normally for a Venture and the CMU is giving you fits? After studying the wiring diagram, I concluded that I could bypass the reserve lighting unit and probably get the relays to work, but the CMU would always think the bulb was burned out and flash the red light. I put it back to stock. Jeremy
  12. Gearhead
    "...I never noticed it before but just inside the filter, looking from the left side, you can see a little "line" in the shape of a circle on the 4th element fold. It's sorta perforated. I did some research into this and discovered that, if the filter becomes plugged, the oil pressure will force the perforations to tear, thus blowing a hole in the side of that element fold and allowing the oil to pass thru." Huh? Engines routinely hit the bypass on the oil filter. Apparently that's sufficient filtering, and making the filter so it wouldn't require regular use of the bypass would require it to be too big. My favorite motor machinst told me that an average Chevy 350 with standard size filter goes on bypass around 2300 rpm when fully warm; much earlier when cold. I think the center bolt on our bikes has the bypass inside, a spring-loaded device. What's that Rivco unit cost? Does it fasten on with the center bolt the way the standard filter cap does? Jeremy
  13. Gearhead
    Guys, Dynojet kits generally consist of a needle, main jet, and spring for each carb, as well as a drill bit to enlarge the slide lift holes. What is the effect of enlarging those holes? What if I put in the parts but don't drill the slides? It seems to me that enlarging the holes will increase the RATE of slide lift, but not the overall lift. Will that have more effect on airflow or fuel flow? Could NOT drilling it cause a lean stumble on quick throttle opening? Your opinions please! Thanks, Jeremy
  14. Gearhead
    Karras, Where does one get this spin-on oil filter adapter? Jeremy
  15. Gearhead
    Very interesting. I wonder what they gouge you for new needle jets, or if they're even available. Jeremy
  16. Gearhead
    " My fronn tire although probably in it's last 30% of tire life looked "OK" however, I did find the my tire pressure was in the lower 30s so I inflated to 40 lbs and the wobble has signifiacntly been reduced. " I'd almost bet money that the front tire is the cause. I'm not saying it's unsafe, I'd use that front tire up because the wobble is not a problem with both hands on the bars. You could also try rebalancing. But they do start wobbling way before they're used up sometimes. Jeremy
  17. Gearhead
    Yes, that's what I'm saying. Use the K&N oil for the K&N, and foam filter oil for the UNI. There are other brands of foam filter oil and I have no preference. I bought a spray can of it thinking it would go on nice like the K&N oil, but it doesn't really help, it's kind of a pain. One guy told me he pours a little foam filter oil in a gallon zip-lock bag and puts the filter in there, then works it around from the outside of the bag. Afterward he just keeps the oil in the bag for next time. I haven't tried that yet. Jeremy
  18. Gearhead
    Hi output sounds great, but my question has always been, "what about the rest of the system?" Maybe the regulator per se doesn't care, but what about the rectifier and the DC wiring from there to the batt? All the power has to go thru these things. With the alarming voltage drop I've measured thru stock switches and connectors, it seems to me that the stock wiring is barely adequate as it is How much is the 1st gen stator? Jeremy
  19. Gearhead
    I agree fully with 91 above. It's not just the Venture - it's happened on my last 3 bikes and new front tires always solve it; don't know if it's more related to wear pattern or the tire getting out of balance as it wears. Well, the new tire almost always gets rid of it. On the Venture, it is WAY better with the new tire, almost never happens, but it still will. It takes a bump from the road or (experimenting) a bump from my hand on the grip to start it, but light hand pressure on either grip stops it dead. I balanced the tire myself, but maybe it's still slightly out. Maybe the geometry of the Venture is more susceptible than others, dunno. I gave the head bearing the proper attention, and fully went thru both suspensions, by the way. At any rate, it's some harmonic that's common to most motorcycles at some level. Always worst at 30-40 mph, and worse on decel. Jeremy
  20. Gearhead
    "My 86 had a Uni Filter on it when I got it and it is just fine. I wash it out with a de-greaser and let it air dry. I do that a couple times a year or every 10k miles or so. A new one from their website is only 28 bucks. Click here That should take you to the right page. The only difference that I really see between it and K&N is that the Uniis foam. I usually don't even oil it. Maybe I should. I don't know; any comments on that out there? " Aaaaakkkk! Yes, oil it! Seriously! Both UNI and K&N have media with much larger holes than paper filters. With paper filters, the pores are tiny and particles above a certain size get blocked. Each blocked particle closes a hole, thus they quickly get more restrictive. While K&N and UNI are different, they are similar in theory - they work on "depth loading". The pores aren't small enough to block damaging particles on their own, but with the right type of oil the particles get stuck on the way by. In so doing, they don't completely block off a pore, so their flow capacity does not decrease as fast. Particles can stack on top of each other as they get blocked, thus the term "depth loading". The UNI has some thickness to it which allows the particles more opportunities to get stuck; also consider that dirt bikes and quads all come stock with foam filters. OTOH, K&N oil has some static properties such that when air flows by the oil-soaked cotton fibers, there is actually a static charge generated that attracts the dust particles. Weird, huh? At any rate, use the type of oil recommended for the filter. Foam filter oil is very sticky stuff. K&N oil doesn't look all that special but has the static property. Without the oil you are putting your engine at serious risk of quicker wear. Jeremy
  21. Gearhead
    It just occurred to me to ask - did you check float / fuel level in all carbs? Jeremy
  22. Gearhead
    I agree, that's excellent mileage, both your old and new mileage! I'm very lucky to get 40, average maybe 36. All the same, it's no fun to lose mileage. I have an idea. Did you just replace the front tire? That makes the diameter a little bigger, making the ODO read lower, meaning your indicated "miles" got bigger, so you cover less of them. As for the fuel spraying as you say, I can't think how fuel would possibly get up there. Plus, I would think that such a phenomenon would cause your mileage to be much worse. Fuel is supposed to come up from the needle jet just below the slide piston. Jeremy
  23. Gearhead
    " I'm with you, the potential catastrophic damage to the fairing is not worth the slight increase in comfort." This is a weird thread, how it started a year ago and just picked back up again! Back in about May I went thru all these arguments myself. But I live in Tucson (hot), and had received great recommendations for how they scoop air on the rider when open and went for it. Actually, I got to ride my buddy's GW1800 with a full compliment of wings. Regarding the quote above, I see the point certainly, but take issue with the statement of "slight increase in comfort". These babies make all the difference in the world when it's hot! They are nice closed in the cold too, but hot is what gets me around here, and the big fairing cuts off sooo much of the breeze which we motorcyclists love to feel when it's not cold out. I only bought the main wings, no lowers or anything. The lowers could be nice but would surely get in the way of hiway pegs. More on that later. (The lowers would also tend to scoop warm air off the radiator; don't know how that would work.) I would be happier if they mounted to frame rather than plastic, given the propensity of the fairing to crack. I gave my fairing significant reinforcement with good-sized galvanized sheet metal pieces formed to fit, then JB welded thoroughly to the inside of the fairing at the mounting points. No problems so far, but no bike-droppy yet. I'm 6-2 with 34" inseam and the wings do affect hiway pegs. I hadn't nailed down my optimum config of pegs yet, so I got the wings and figured I'd work around them. I have Markland hiway boards, but made extension bars to move them forward an extra 8". Adjustment is a juggling act between: 1) Boards low enough to avoid hitting my shins on the wings 2) Getting my legs out straight enough to be happy. 3) Getting the boards out to the side enough to put feet on them around fairing. 4) Keeping the board mounts high enough so as not to drag in corners. The boards themselves are the first thing to touch down, but they pivot up. I now have the boards in a place that makes me happy. I can bump my shins on the wings, but can avoid it if I pay a little attention. When I bought mine they were in the process of discontinuing them for our bikes. They only had chrome brackets, no black. Contact them directly to see if they still have some. Jeremy
  24. Gearhead
    Did you use a meter or test light and confirm that both sides of the fuses are hot? Jeremy
  25. Gearhead
    1) All I pulled were the side covers, fairing lowers and air dams. Carbs don't have to be pulled, but might make it easier. Front is worse. 2) I agree with Jimbob, no sealer necessary. I thought about gluing them into the covers, but instead I enlisted my 11-year-old daughter to help me. Having a person on both sides is VERY helpful for both removal and install, for cover finagling and ensuring the gasket is in place. Because the gasket has a nice ridge on top that fits into a groove on the cover, you know when it's in and when it's not with a little looking and feeling and observing whether the cover sits flat. No leakage. 3) Definitely adjust your valves while in there. It's not too hard, but you need the special tool to get shims in and out. Jeremy
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