dna9656

I live not far from Rich's; about an hour's ride, a little less. He did my seat, rider's and passenger back rests and the pad around the travel bag. He got me and the wife on the bike, sized it up, extended the back end of the seat for her, lowered the rider's height for me (I'm 5' 7" and a little short on one end to comfortably get my feet on the ground); installed gel pads front and back to avoid the monkey butt and we had the riders end heated as I ride year round. Rich is NOT on a island, he's in Kingston, WA. Not far from Silverdale/Bremerton area. NO he's not cheap, he does excellent work, and backs it up. You get UPGRADES to your butt's experience (never a bad thing) and so far as I know is done in 1 day. Let's say you want the full benefit of Rich's work; that would be CUSTOM FITTING to your back side...but you're outta town (from far away); well Rich has his own rooms for rent to travelers who are having their seats done! Nice place! It's upstairs above the shop. Think of staying at your parent's except the kitchen is there outside your room. Nice beds, Internet (lap top there for everyone's use) TV, living room (a common area), in a secure area. There are restaurants, grocery, and drug stores all within walking distance. So staying there won't cost a lot like say staying at Days Inn and eating at the place there. You can get groceries and cook your own food right there. Just clean up after yourselves. The place is SPOTLESS. Rich's is a family outfit. Hos wife runs the office, the daughter does (by my observation) most of the sewing, the crew shape and contour the pads at Rich's personal direction. It's quite a process. There are others there getting seats upgraded/repaired, re-covered. You can hang out in the shop (just stay outta the way of course) or in the waiting room out front in the reception area. I have a post here some place of my seat....

Yes it it. I connected the gray wire from the TCI to the gray wire in the bike's wire harness,,,, no joy ... so I'm thinking I may have separated a plug some where. Tomorrow I will run a jumper from the gray wire on the TCI to the terminal on the back of the tach and see what happens.

OK I installed the Ignitec TCI, I did not use the bike's wire harness but made my own to connect to the COPs I installed at the same time. So I abandoned the bike's circuits leading to the OEM coils; apparently that kills the tach. Now I know there is an input to the tach from the 8 pin plug that now plugs into the TCI. I have tried following the leads from the tach through the 6 pin connector. The tach on my XZV12DKC2 (83.5) had 3 wires from the tack, GND (Blk.) Brown (It goes to a 9 pin connector, and the gray (Gr) enters the 6 pin and leaves a Green/White (G/W). Neither the G/W or Brn. Lead to anything that looks like it would send a signal to a tack. I am tempted to reconnect the bike's harness to the Ignitec and use the leads that go to the OEM coils to feed extentions to the COPs. BTW with a fully charged battery the bike starts really fast!

I think the starter gear system is getting tired but it's NOT shot through yet. I will start rounding up the parts on line and get all of them so I can start (pun intended) out fresh!

Give Dick the big Kewpie doll! YOU are THE MAN! Not exactly but the judges will take your answer! The GRAY wire goes to THE FRONT LEFT cylinder. The ORANGE wire goes to the Left REAR cylinder NOT the other way around! I know I are been there!

VERY CLOSE but no cigar!

FALSE ALARM! All Fixed! So as to have a TEACHING MOMENT (after 1 minute of silence) WHO can tell me what was wrong? MOST info to determine what condition caused this is listed above. HINT: After suspected problem was corrected she started right up; no noise either. New issue: NO TACH. Is there a tach connection I could have disturbed while making the TCI to COP (Coil Over Plug) wire harness? Much fooling around with bike side of TCI plug....

Started clutch huh?! I never thought of that! I have synthetic Lucas M/C oil in it, no additional additives. I have had the Lucas in there for for about 3k miles. I Never had that racket using the (natural) Shell oil or other synthetics. 10W 30 M/C oil is hard to find around here, The Lucas is the only one around besides Amsoil and that is a pain in the butt to find unless you go to The Yamaha Stealer. The bike was run regularly till this past weekend, so the battery shouldn't be that down however I did add a substantial amount of distilled water last week. The engine spins just fine, no low speed churning during start and all the lights glow merrily away when you turn the key. So I should change the oil before I run out and buy the cam drive components? That's way cheaper and easier that tearing down the engine. On Partszilla.com and Boats.net the chains are sold 1 each. UPDATE: I spoke with Ryan at Lucas Oil, long story short he thinks It could be in the starter gear train. I agree. the "Bendix" action not retracting of going forward far enough due to a tired spring, a too thin thrust washer or worn gears is a possibility. I found the cover gasket on Amazon for cheap so I'll order it and when it arrives I will remove the cover and inspect the starter clutch assembly. I am also going to check put the starter. I ran out to the shop and found BOTH gaskets are ON HAND!!! How cool is that? I have the '85 for parts but in this case I think new is better than used. Advice, comments, warnings all appreciated.

After installing the Ignitec and Coil Over Plugs Ign. coils today I (of course) had to start it. I got this sound like dice rattling in a heavy aluminum cup. I think it's coming from the top, left side, front of the engine. I think it's the cam chains; they are so loose that they rattle against the valve cover. Sounds like rocks bouncing around off the cam as it turns and hitting the valve cover. My odometer is showing about 65-67K miles. HELP!!!!

That's even funnier! ROTFLMAO!

That's the warm up/practice round....

SilverT: No I'm using what seems to be the only solder available for electrical work any more.. It says it's rosin core but the core is so small...Back in the day the solder was thicker and you had to press the end shut to keep the rosin in. The most I ever saw was 1 drop, probably from heating more than gravity...anyway...so I bought a can of paste rosin a long time ago and as trained I use just a little...

Venturous' (Gary's) post belongs in the General How To Tech library edited into a "How To" format. Heck maybe the entire thread!!! It's excellent technically, (at least to what I was taught in trade school), well written and is very helpful! The reason first I posted was really a fishing trip I suppose. I have run into crud under wire insulation on vehicles before and I don't like what it holds for our future with our bikes. It (the crud) can get so bad that current won't flow yet the circuit will pass a continuity test with no problems, I didn't do a Resistance check (because as every one knows Resistance is futile) at the time because it didn't occur to me, I just replaced the wire. It wasn't bundled up in a harness like most wires are in a vehicle; it ran from one head light to the other across the core support so no problem. I was expecting an answer talking about the nightmare some of us will face when the corrosion under the wires on our bikes get to a point where the bike's operation is affected. I was afraid I would get a response that said I better be thinking about building a new harness! I think most of us here are aware of this and have had similar exps. like mine. Maybe the fear factor of this issue is so high we don't want to talk about it? No amount of flux on my wires would remove this black corrosion, I had to strip back further than I would have liked to get to shiny wire so I had to go to my spare XVZ harness and harvest some wire to restore the length I needed. I put a soft wire wheel in the drill (sorry Jeff I am out of any fine grit paper!) press and held the exposed wire against the brush while it spun. it was enough. I learned how to make what my teacher called a "Bell Telephone"(?) joint. Well, I think that's what he called it. It is the same joint Gary (Venturous) described above so well. In school we did it with house wire (14? AWG solid not stranded) and it was HUGE as wire joints go. Those joints were so strong it would take a LOT of tension to break the joint; I think the wire would have broken before the joint would have. Anyway another point o bring up here is WHERE are we going to find wire that is marked like the wire in our bikes to replace the corrosion riddled harnesses some of us have. I'm starting to look around, I bet some of you already know where (on the Internet) we can find bulk wire so marked. One last thing why are the crimping pliers for installing blade connectors so expensive? $100.00? REALLY? Do they crimp the barrel (round hollow tube/ pin style) type or any other style terminus used in molex type connectors? I bet it takes 22 different style crimpers to do it properly. Or a wire stripper used very carefully....

I learn more cool stuff here... dang I never heard of any coating over a solder joint that would perform like that! Well except for solder rosin, can act as a grease sealant in butt-connectors but putting die electric grease ona solder joint prior to shrink tubing, I don't know how that would work. I do KNOW that TOO much rosin gets all over the soldered joint and shrink tube can slide off the joint. I think I saw isopropyl alcohol used to strip rosin off a joint and to clean the surrounding wire insulation...yes? So Jeff where does one find this until now "un-obtainium"?

Dang TYPOS!!! But it is funny! By-ass relays? I know what a relay is...what did you by-pass?

Dats OK!

No I do not believe the hype that's why I use dthe term :"super duper" and quoted "Like New" a term often used in advertising verbiage. According to the Federal gov't (see http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0210-paying-premium-high-octane-gasoline) and I quote: About Octane Ratings What are octane ratings? Octane ratings measure a gasoline's ability to resist engine knock — a rattling or pinging sound that results from premature ignition of the compressed fuel-air mixture in one or more cylinders. Most gas stations offer three octane grades: regular (usually 87 octane), mid-grade (usually 89 octane), and premium (usually 92 or 93). The ratings are posted on bright yellow stickers on each gas pump. Now according to wikipedia Octane is a chemical not a rating. The amount of octane in gas is rated but the term "octane is not a rating. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octane or more info. Quote: Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH3(CH2)6CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane (isooctane) is used as one of the standard values in the octane rating scale. Octane is a component of gasoline (petrol). As with all low molecular weight hydrocarbons, octane is volatile and very flammable. Use of the term in gasoline "Octane" is colloquially used as a short form of "octane rating" (an index of a fuel's ability to resist engine knock at high compression ratios, which is a characteristic of octane's branched-chain isomers, especially isooctane), particularly in the expression "high octane." However, components of gasoline other than isomers of octane can also contribute to a high octane rating, while some isomers of octane can lower it, and n-octane itself has a negative octane rating.[3] Metaphorical use Octane became well known in American popular culture in the mid- and late 1960s, when gasoline companies boasted of "high octane" levels in their gasoline advertisements. These commercials disappeared by the time of the 1973 Oil Crisis, which spared gasoline companies the need to compete in advertising. "Octane" was rarely cited in non-technical contexts over the next two decades. The compound adjective "high-octane" is recorded in a figurative sense from 1944.[4] By the mid-1990s, the phrase was commonly being used as an intensifier and has found a place in modern English vernacular. "Octane" is a slang term for trihexyphenidyl, because of its similarity to its trade name Artane. According to Wikipedia. More IAW Uncle Sam http://mn.gov/commerce/weights-and-measures/images/OctaneFacts.pdf

I've read that all gasoline is the same when it leaves the refineries and enters the National Gasoline Pipe Line System. What makes the difference(s) in brand name fuels are the chemical compounds (additives) added at the local terminus. I am not familiar with how that works... I'm sure some one here can explain all that. Point is we all use fuel additives put in the fuel by the distributors; be they Octane, Alcohol, Boron (Standard Oil), Cleaners, (Chevron is big on their cleaning additive). Here in the NW Fred Myer (a retailer) gas has a HUGE campaign to get customers to add cleaners to the gas at the pump. Sun Oil Company (Sunoco) used to have several grades available at their "Custom Blend Pump" At Sunoco you could get gas that was so hot that sodium filled valves (the valve stems) were recommended. Who remembers "Sunoco 260"? So far as I know MOST gasoline sellers have a super duper cleaning additive that will return your engine to "like new" performance. I think my source for this gas additive debate is the Book "Drive it Forever" by by Robert Sikorsky and George A. Hague. there IS some out dated info in it. Like the Slick 50 recommendation. (I use it with good results.... anyway) and some other things. In the book you will find lots of knowledge that is reliable and some that isn't just like any other how to book. I will say now that my copy was loaned out and never returned so I don't have it on hand to CONFIRM what I said about gasoline, I read the book back in the 80s. I'm sure it has been edited since then. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Forever-Secrets-Long-Automobile/dp/0965757706/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432488851&sr=8-1&keywords=Drive+it+forever

So I want to solder some OEM wires to OEM wires. When tinning the ends and then heating the 2 ends and adding solder the wires ends don't stick! WASSUPWIDDAT? Do I have to butt connect the wires?

Yep; that's about it.

Aww; Geeze! He's got dirt under his fingernails!!!! He's no "Sir!" I bet his parents were married PRIOR to his conception...He's just a regular person (rem. to be pol. corr.) even IF he doanlike "MECHANIC IN A CAN!!! All kidding aside; I get yer point, but I just gas up when she's half down. So I buy gas every other day. There is NO feelin' LIKE the feelin' o being in B-F-E (NONE of YOU should have to ask where THAT place is) and LOW on GAS.... no not THAT kind ... The OTHER kind....) at night, in the cold rain and your cell is dead... It's night, you have a 1/2 a tank of gas, a pack of cigarettes and you're wearing sun glasses...Hit it.

Also while you're there check those front wheel bearings, you can get sealed ones from Balls Are Best on Ebay. Comes with new seals too. The listing may be for another year I called and asked for MY year and no luck so I checked the P/N of the year (listing) they offered against the P/N I needed on my bike and they were the same...

Octane is a additive that increases the flash point of the gasoline. Premium gas does not have more energy in it than regular gas. Engines requiring premium gas have higher compression ratios than those that have 8.5 to 9.5 compression ratios. Increased compression is where the extra power comes from.... NOT the gas it self. Were it NOT for octane we'd have pre-ignition (engine knock) from hell in "high" compression engines.

The reserve is just a fuel outlet or feed inside the tank that is placed lower (relative to the MAIN outlet or feed) in the tank than the "MAIN' outlet or feed. So when the fuel level falls below MAIN feeder the lower (RESERVE) feeder then supplies the remainder of the fuel in the tank, There is no separate reserve tank. There is no crud in there because of it's not being tapped into and flushed out. IMHO using that main/reserve valve (because o it's age) is asking for a leak. The O ring(s) in there are OLD, the gaskets are just as old. I have rebuilt them "JUST BECAUSE" and regretted it. Mine is set to the RESERVE position and there it stays. Watch your distance traveled (be it Kilos or miles) asnd the gauge. Clean all the contacts in the ignition, make sure you have the proper Ign. spark plug wires, plugs are properly gapped. Check the compression, maybe you got a leaky valve or head gasket, maybe a spark plug is loose (happened to me) just make sure you don't over torque anything.

I do not believe in "Mechanic In A Can" most days. Transmission sealers, power steering sealers, crank case sealers, Radiator Stop Leak ALL BAD IDEAS for use on a vehicle you really can afford to fix. On a vehicle you know you're going to fix just not NOW maybe then it's a good idea. They chemically attack the seals and make them swell up ruining the sealing material, they attack the bad seals as well as the seals that aren't giving you a problem. Eventually the seals get weaker because the sealing materiel is chemically breaking down due to the addition of a leak fixer. Now you got a REAL mess because all the exposed seals are FUBAR. This is why you were trained to not use additives Chemistry technology expands Every day; sometimes beyond our current level of wisdom, but Sea Foam dissolves the oil based stoppages in the fuel system, rather slowly Sea Foam doesn't do this. It's a solvent that doesn't effect rubber type material. Some fuel system cleaners are VERY aggressive and can dissolve the floats in our (XVZ12 and 13s) bikes. I don't know anything about the Harley (bet I get into trouble over this) looking Ventures. I don't know much about the 1st gen 1300CC bikes either. If you haven;t looked up the coat of the parts alone to rebuilt the carbs hold on to your butts,,,,if you can find ALL the parts I'm sure it's going to be over $100.00 PER CARB. Right now at my local Wal-Mart I can buy Sea Foam for less than $7.00 per can. You get 3 treatments per can. I have plugged pilot jets, under acceleration the bike shudders like it's in to high a gear for it's speed. I was advised to use Sea Foam first; by those that have been through this before. That was Spring of 2013. i still have the issue and i still add Sea Foam at least twice a month. More experience: When I got the bike it had sat for 2 years. Fuel system un-drained. (cretins!) At the PO's (prev. owner) location we installed a charged battery, added new gas, hit the ignition switch, the pump came on and while filling the bowls it urinated on to the ground through the over flow on the carbs. We got it started, and shut it off to avoid a fire and I paid the man his asking price less $300.00. I got her home (I live in Puget Sound; I bought her in Oregon) on a trailer and was in a quandary about where to start. This is my 2nd XVZ12, I had a service manual at my Ex's house...I went on line and found this forum. Stated my issue(s) just like you did and learned that SEA FORM is like the Holy Grail. I followed Prarriehammer and Sky-Docs advice (and others) and treated the carbs to Sea Foam. The floats might have got un-stuck per use of a generic carb cleaner, (Wal-Mart's a buck a can, about 12 cans) and Sea Foam; I think it was the Sea Foam that did the trick... You add it through the drain hoses into the bowls, let it sit for a time and drain, repeat like shampoo. Sorry for the lengthy post BUT I agree with your premise on additives... HOWEVER you can try a few cans of Sea Foam, no harm in that. If no satisfaction by all means get your $400.00+ out and tear the carbs down. There is an excellent DVD available here from time to time that is a walk through of the process on V-Max carbs, they are very similar to the carbs on our bikes. I'm looking at my copy because I have to run a guitar string through those damn pilot jets that won't un-clog. My mileage ranges from 50 (doing 55 to 60/single rider) down to the 30s depending on my speeds. The bike really devours gas over 60 MPH. I fill up at around 130 miles usually 3.? per fill up. I think I'm doing ok. I travel 26 miles each way to work every day. My Yukon gets 20 MPG at 55 mph, 15 at 60. The Yukon was killing me in gas, $400.00 per month and more when gas was really high. Now I spend no more than $100.00 in gas. I ride rain or shine, hot or cold so long as there is no ice or snow on the ground.