BlueSky

I made a carb tuner somewhat like Donvito's unit and finally got the carbs synced. I attached a photo below. it took about 50' of tygon tubing and 2 tees from Home Depot. The trans fluid, wood, nails and staples I had laying around the garage. After my mistake, they were so far out that I had to be careful not to suck fluid into the engine. Eventually though, I did get them synced. A manometer is only good for the final tune it seems. If the carbs are way out, the engine sucks the fluid into the manifold. If I buy another carb sync device it will have 4 gauges and definitely won't be a manometer. I called Motion Pro about that unit and they said it needed fluid and I should buy a refill kit. The guy was mainly interested in finding out who sold it to my wife on Amazon and if they were an authorized dealer. They were not according to him. He suggested I not buy discounted units from unauthorized dealers on Amazon or ebay. So, if anyone is interested in a genuine Motion Pro unit that needs a $6 refill kit cheap, let me know.

Ride Safely!! And Enjoy!!

I was 71 last March. I haven't been a serious rider yet, but I still have a chance. I ride often, just around town mostly.

Congratulations! Sounds like you would definitely be lost without her!

Fantastico!!!!

Sounds like a great trip! I've been wondering what you were up to. I haven't seen many posts from you lately. I suppose you have been riding and not sitting in front of a computer like some of us! Ha!

It was 98 the last two days here.

That's really bad luck! Both of those vehicles are nice to have. But, I could have been worse if it fell on the house and hurt someone. That is why I don't like trees in the yard unless they are far enough from the house and important stuff that if they fall they don't do this kind of damage. I do have trees that can hit the house but the HOA won't agree to let me cut them down. I've been trying to talk my wife into moving into the country a ways to get away from the HOA police.

I tried again today to get the bubbles out of the Motion Pro POS and failed. I called Motion Pro and was told I probably didn't have enough fluid in it. Seems it evaporates and even though this is the first time I've tried to use it, it may not have enough fluid. He offered to send me a refill kit if I provided info on the device, where it was bought and the serial number. In the mean time, I think I will make my own. I'll use a clear plastic 2 qt nut jar with a Plastic top. Put a qt of so transmission fluid in it. Drill 5 holes in the top, one for a vent. Stick 4 long clear tygon tubes in the jar to the bottom. Mount it on a vertical 2x4 with a base and it will be ready to use. No freaking calibration needed.

I hope everything goes well for you! I am looking forward to meeting you at one of the meets!

Still watching! Riding through Canada on the route you are must be something really special!!

This guy built a neat sync tool for two carbs. The same thing could be expanded for four. http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-DualTriple-or-Quad-Carburetor-Sync-Tool/

Actually it was the Motion Pro unit, manometer, and it is a POS. When I tried to use it, air bubbles kept forming in the tubes. The fix for that it to shake them down like you shake a thermometer down. Doesn't work very well. What a piece of junk. I shook them down taking a lot of shaking and tried it again only to see more bubbles form. I may have contributed to the problem by bringing it into the house to assemble and read the instructions where it is 77 degrees and then took it out to the garage to use it in 93 degree heat. Anyhow, I see myself trashing this junk and buying a gauge set or maybe I'll just get some tubing, manifold, and some tiny valves and use my vacuum gauge. I should have bought a mercury unit back when they were available. I left it hanging in the garage. I'll give it one more attempt tomorrow. Returning it 6 months after purchase is not a possibility I suppose.

Okay, the latest flubup! When I turned the idle mix screws (pilot) in to the bottom and the engine revved high, I made the dummy mistake of adjusting the idle using the wrong screw. I turned the screw that syncs the #2 carb with the #1 instead of the idle stop! So, now I have to sync the carbs. Luckily, my wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas last year and I said a CarbTune and here is the link. So, I have the tool to fix my flubup. Another thing, after the de-sync flubup, I rode it around the neighborhood and of course it wasn't running that great. When I slowed to almost a stop to make a right turn, the engine shut off and I almost dumped it. I was still moving turning to the right so I turned the handlebars all the way to the right and it was moving enough to help keep from losing it. I was lucky!!!

I owned a 2004 Kawasaki Concours for a couple years and it is the most top heavy bike ever created. The 89 VR I have now is not even close to being as top heavy as the Concours. The Concours had a 7.5 gallon gas tank mounted on top. If you go to the ConcoursOwnersGroup.org site you will see they have a section where owners tell of the times they dropped their bikes.

http://www.partzilla.com/parts/detail/yamaha/YP-90480-13398-00.html Item No. 4 or 17 are the same

Has anybody tried to remove the caliper and fill it with penetrating oil to see if it will loosen the pistons?

Okay, I just checked the fuel levels in all four carbs using the procedure outlined in the manual and they are set correctly. So I can rule out that potential problem. By the way, my 3/8" tygon tube (1/4"inside) fit snugly over the drain tubes, tight enough the connections did not leak. The only other thing I can think of to check is the enrichening valves. Is there anything else that can cause it to run so rich? By the way, when the engine is idling low, it occasionally makes a popping noise??? It's almost a metallic sound.

I haven't put the panels back on yet so mine may be the same. They are Yamaha parts according to the packaging. PS I just put the side cover back on and it fit fine. It was a snug fit but I easily pushed the panel pins through the grommets. I'm very pleased!

If your Gen 1 has lost the rubber grommets that help hold the plastic side covers on, the OE grommets are available from Partzilla. My order just arrived.

Remove the gas tank and clean it. Remove the carbs and clean them. Check the sliders and slider diaphragms. Check the enrichment devices. Flush the brake lines with clean fluid and check for stuck calipers. Flush the clutch line with clean fluid. There are many other things you could do like disconnect and spray contact cleaner on all electrical connections. Obvious things like change the engine oil and filter and rear lube. Get ready for new fork seals and fresh fork oil. Install new tires. Sounds like quite a find you have there. You just gotta post some photos so we can all enjoy your new find!

The sliders appeared to be working well when I checked them. All four seemed to be working in unison. Tomorrow I'll check the float levels using the tygon tube as directed in the manual.

So much for that bike!

I just rode to Home Depot to pick up a couple items and when I got back, I adjusted the idle screws. I turned them in until they bottomed (from 1/2 turn from the bottom) and the engine gained rpm when I screwed in each of the four idle mixture screws. It went from idling at 1000rpm to idling at 2000rpm when I turned all all of the screws in. So, something that isn't supposed to is providing fuel at low rpm. WTF

My bike has been running rich since I bought it a year ago (with 5,914 miles on it). And the idle mix screws were only one turn out from bottom. I recently switched the gas valve to reserve and rode it to Skid's meet at Hamburger Joe's. It missed a little on the way back. So, I put a half bottle of Gumout for high mileage engines in a tank of fuel and rode it about 25 miles. It started running really ragged and the fuel filter had black gas in it when I checked it. After sitting overnight, I rode it about 20 miles the next day and it ran better. The next day I ran the tank out and it ran fine the whole time. Then it sat for a week while we went on a cruise and ran ragged again when I rode it after returning. The fuel filter now has clean appearing gasoline in it. I just received a new filter to change it out with. So, yesterday I replaced the spark plugs that were really black with soot. They were NGK DPR7EA 9 plugs and may have been the original plugs. The new plugs are NGK DPR8EA 9. Now it runs great again. I think it is still running rich and I turned the mix screws to 1/2 turn off the bottom. It starts instantly and runs great with just a tiny bit of occasional hesitation when I roll on the throttle from 3K rpm or below. So now the plan it to check the fuel level in the carbs and I think someone mentioned that the fuel enricheners could cause a rich condition. Any other ideas for what to check/adjust without taking the carbs off? Thanks!