Seaking

A lot of it will depend how you're riding it as well.. I just got back from a 5200 mile road trip and keeping track of my mileage through various speeds and what a difference it makes. Opinions may vary but if you ride your stock bike in too high a gear for the speed and it starts lugging ever so lightly or more, you may actually be burning more fuel.. But keeping the bike inside the power band tends to give better mileage. Before putting on the VMax rear diff, I found I got better fuel mileage running at 65 mph in 4th than in 5th gear.. smoother and more responsive but well inside the powerband.. Now with the VMax rear diff, 5th gear is in the sweet spot again and my mileage hasn't dropped and a lot more consistant on the highways (75 mph around here)

Thanks Billmac.. I do my carb synch right after I get back from a ride, the bike is nice and hot.. From the propane tests I did, nothing seems to be leaking as there is no change in rpm when applying propane near and around the carbs, boots, hoses, vents or caps. To synch the carbs I have to leave the bike at 1500 rpm so the engine doesn't quit.. If I attempt to bring the idle down, I need a third hand to hold the throttle to keep the engine alive while adjusting the screws.. Even then, with the carb synch adjusted properly it won't hold idle long enough to say it's stable.. it'll hold.. and falter.. blip the throttle to keep it alive.. holds.. falters and will die if throttle not attended to.. Starting the bike from cold, all four jugs make heat so there isn't a dead cylinder to note a bad spark feed or bad coil.. even when it starts at 1000 idle.. but it won't keep long before faltering and conking out. At this point, I don't think it's the carbs being out of synch that's causing the issue. Nor do I believe its an air leak or vacuum leak.. I leaning towards something caught in the idle circuit in one of the carbs.. As it stands now, leaving the idle at 1500 renders the bike useable, as the bike rides like never before.. smooth power, tons of power.. but a higher than normal idle.. I'll be visiting a professional mechanic friend of mine who can properly check for leaks in a way I can't do it.. maybe it is.. maybe it's not.. But the good news is that while doing all this work I finally discovered what was making that light ting ting ting noise in the front of the bike.. I could only hear it while sitting in a certain position but not if leaning forward or sideways.. and it could only be heard while riding.. annoying.. Turns out one of the screws holding down the front left valve cover had decided to go on it's own with the second one packing it's bags as well.. the cover was fluttering a bit.. Oddly enough, no oil was leaking from this cover.. but this would have no effect on the low idle weirdness.. Note: check your valve cover screws.. I would wipe mine down but never noticed it being loose.. only by spotting the open screw hole was I able to discover it. Fun and games..

It just has a red light to tell you when it's on.. I swapped out to the OEM ingniter box and the problem persists. New spark plugs, same story.. Can't find if there is a vacuum leak or intake leak with use of propane around the boots etc. Starting to think that something got into the carb causing an issue with the idle circuit. I had the fuel lines at the pump and carb body off to check for obstructions and its possible that dirt got in the system.. Though the bike will idle fine at 1500 rpm, its still ridable, starts ok.. awesome running. When I have the time I'll have to pull the carbs out and give them a proper cleaning.. or it will clean itself out with some Seafoam for the rest of the summer.. Impressive how well the bike runs on the highway and back roads.. smooth engine, lots of power.. no popping or backfires.. just smooth power.. its only at idle that there is a problem.. I'll give the carbs another synch tomorrow, see if it's displaced at all since the other day..

With over 200,000 kms on my 06 Midnight, there's a lot to check over in the course of time and distance.. Looks like you already went through some of them with the fuel pump and rear shock.. Both had to be replaced on mine under warranty, the shock twice.. Though it may seem like over-kill to most, I changed my wheel bearings every 2nd tire change, which is around 60-70,000 kms. I did the swing arm bearings at 130,000 kms when it showed sings of being loose. Though they are still good now, I'll be changing them this coming winter. Quick check of the swing arm bearings is having the bike up on a stable jack stand and working the swing arm side to side to see if there is any play with the wheel off. If any play at all, times to do up them bearings. Neck bearings are easy to check, but you need a stable jack stand as you have to pull on the front wheel to see if there's any movement or knocking, and no sign of notching as you swing the handle bars back and forth, and check for bounce back against the stops. Don't bother repacking the bearings, installing new ones aren't that expensive and you'll know you have new ones installed. Its the same amount of work to pull the old ones out to repack, might as well put new ones in. There's also a write up here about doing the 'poor man's version' of neck bearing tightening to tide you over to a proper bearing change. Have you had the valve clearances checked yet? If I'm not mistaken the book calls for them to be checked at every 26,600 miles? Fuel filter, air filters etc.. rear diff oil and shaft lube etc.. Sounds like a fun trip! Best of luck!

Thanks Neil, I had a look at the Dyna before putting it back in to make sure I had the same settings, it's set on curve 3 as before. I have the OEM igniter unit and tried putting it back but for the life of me can't get it to fit in.. Its a bit larger than the Dyna and for all intended purposes, acts like the cables are way too short to slide down and onto the two studs.. I'll be taking the bike apart again this afternoon and may swap it out and manage somehow to jumper the battery to the leads on the bike since there's no room for the battery in the box with the OEM igniter unit not properly installed.. I had the bike out this morning and it started right away on the first go of the starter button, but wouldn't hold a low idle.. if I keep the idle up at 1500, it will idle fine.. sometimes dip to 1000, but won't die.. set it any lower than 1500 and the bike will idle fine for a bit and then falter... and die if not attended to.. Other than that, wow does the bike perform well while riding.. it's just that grrr idle issue causing the remaining grief.. I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again

Thanks Neil.. That did cross my mind.. it also occured me to me that I did change spark plugs but honestly can't remember if it was before or after this last stint.. (so many parts, so little memory).. I'll check those tomorrow and hopefully find something.. Apart from burning more fuel letting it idle at 1500 rpm, is there any other harm that can come to the bike by leaving it as is for the time being until a fix is found? It runs great while riding, lots of power, no backfire or anything amiss other than the idle issue..

After replacing a dead Key switch, dead starter circuit cutoff relay (aka side stand relay) and the starter relay (why not, everything is changed), I then had to change a dead pickup coil a week later. Before the bike died, it idled well, ran well and when it did, would start well, then the pickup coil died so that got replaced.. All went well, no extra parts left on the bench, nor missing any parts, bolts or screws.. The bike starts ok, choke not required. It will drive like a bat out of hell, making good smooth power throughout the gears, speeds and powerband.. But it does not idle nice.. If I set it at 1500 rpm it will idle smoothly, albeit high.. and start reasonably well.. If I set idle at 1000 or so, starts are a little wonky sounding.. If I turn the idle adjust screw (right side under tank) to adjust idle, it doesn't seem to play well with others.. Once the idle drops below 1500 it really plummets to 1000 where it won't stay idling well.. adjust it up a bit and its hit and miss until it sits at 1500 rpm.. the sweet spot it would seem. When the bike idles at 1000 rpm, it will run kinda smooth, then not.. it sounds like it wants to stall.. then not.. then maybe.. then.. ok die already.. sheesh.. If I blip the throttle a little it will go up in rpm, hang around 1500 a bit and down to 1000 where it sounds like it doesn't want to be there at all. I synch'd the carbs. Though they were done the week prior to the pickup coil dying, they were really out of whack.. each pair and the two sets were out by a good bunch. Now they are set properly, but the problem persists. I did notice the idle change a lot during the synch process.. needing to go up and / or down until 4 carbs were synch'd.. and idle set at 1500 again. I checked the choke mechanism for smoothness and the 'pistons' it operates.. all come out and all go in properly, as far as I can tell. All 4 cylinders are putting out heat so nothing amiss there.. The air filters were done a week before she died of the pickup coil when the bike was running properly, and nothing suspect would cause concern there. I went as far as passing an unlit propane torch in and around the boots to see if the revs would change, perhaps indicating a leak but nothing changed. Somewhere along the line when I re-installed everything, something went pooched up again.. The fuel line is clear and free, all the vent lines are clear and free (not clogged or pinched).. Fuel has been Seafoam ad nauseum.. fuel pump tested Ok and new fuel filter. I can leave the idle at 1500 and ride away.. but it's masking a problem.. The wonky start is probably attributed to the same issue.. once resolved this bike will be awesome again.. I'm out of ideas after going through the search features in the forum.. Any thoughts or ideas that I may try next?

New pickup coil installed. No adjustment on those, straight bolt off, bolt on and re-install everything.. Well that's making it sound TOO easy.. but it is.. a biotch to get at.. (something like doing valves) The old pickup coil is deader than door shyte.. the new one metered at 222 ohms, even after soldering the connector. And the bike starts every time.. awesome.. not bad for $23 vice $150.. Unfortunately, though the bike starts ok, rides well (very well!), the idle is crap.. no poppping or backfire what so ever.. but at 1,000 rpm it will hold idle for a bit and then start to falter and engine dies if not attended to.... but a shot of gas keeps it humming.. but it doesn't hold.. If I set idle at 1,500 rpm then there's no probs.. it'll hold idle for quite a while.. but that's not correct.. Hmmm let's check carb synch. Though I did a carb synch not long before the bike died, it was waaaay off this time. Each side was off a few notches but the two banks were way off.. Though I have it synch'd for 1,000 rpm, the idle still won't hold.. its a little better but not something I would say is good.. setting idle at 1,500 (or somewhere in between where it won't falter) gives close enough to the same readings.. SO, close but not quite yet.. Checked all electrical connectors, fuel, vents etc.. can't find the problem.. yet..

Point taken, however both the arm and the coil onto the arm are both straight bolt on application.. comparing the two for alignment should resolve that issue.. Thanks for pointing that out.

So you're installing the shaft in 'dry'? Good luck with that.. But please do refer to service manual pages 7-84 and 7-91 before you install your drive shaft..

Thanks Neil, I actually found a new one in Quebec, $40 overnight shipping included.. Fun part is that the pickup coil is a two piece part.. the coil and the arm.. Yamaha puts the part number against the arm.. not the coil, so its harder to locate what it is.. However, a savvy electrical guy was able to sort this out for me and is having just the coil shipped out.. all I would need to do is replace the coil itself onto the existing arm and solder on the connector to its wires.. easy peasy.. Or at least that's the plan. I'll have a look at the old one to see what went wrong with it, a broken wire, squirrels, gremlins.. Still trying to figure out how to get a tool onto the inside exhaust pipe bolt to remove it.. never taken the exhaust off before.. hmmm

That is a very good point indeed.. Since there's a 'national backorder' on this part, I'll have time to hunt around to check it out.. Since this is a $150 CDN part, I am hoping that when I pull the old one out that I may indeed find it's nothing more than a cut or broken wire than can be repaired and hey, fix and reinstall.. Wishful thinking but I've got time on hand while waiting for the part.. sigh Cheers

I had already done all those connector tests as you recommended, thanks for the confirmation though. I've established that the black and grey wires coming from the depth of the bike and connected to the white/red stripe and black/blue stripe wires of the 8 pin ignitor connectors are indeed the same. Which means these are the wires to the pickup coil.. and since there is no continuity from it, I will deem it to be deader than a doornail.. I tried all the settings on the meter, 200 2000 ect and nothing.. even tried an older analog meter and it didn't show anything at all.. So I'll be ordering a pickup coil and gasket and go from there.. sigh.. On the bright side, once I get this bike up and running properly again, it should really last a long long time.. all these new parts.. Now to read up on how to get that pickup coil out of the bike.. pipe, floorboard, pop off cover.. yeah.. seems simple enough.. Too nice to work in the garage this afternoon, time to jump on the other bike and go order parts.. Again, many thanks for the walk through.. much appreciated.

TESTED: I was able to find the white wire with red stripe and the black wire with blue stripe on the 8 pin connector to the ignitor unit and metered that and also ended up with an open circuit.. So for all intended purpuses, a dead pickup coil according to the book and what we've been discussing..? Photo is the tester I'm using and the settings I'm using. Since they are asking to check for 189 to 235 Ohms, I have it set at the 200 ohms range setting on mine. The way I was trained on this is that if there is resistance, you'll get numbers to the right side of the gauage, but an open circuit will give you the 1 to the left as shown in the image.. But please do tell me if I have it wrong..

I'm going to have to dismantle the whole harness to see where the wires are to test them.. dunno who did the cabling on this bike but man, they went at the wraps with a vengeance!! I tried test fitting in the OEM igniter and it's not going in.. can't see what's holding it up, either the 3 cables attached to it, or something else.. another set of hands or pair of eyes would help.. It would appear I have to take apart more of the bike braces and supports just to reinstall the damn thing.. Giving up for the night.. argh.

Well this is not fun.. Of the wires coming out from behind the drive shaft when looking at it from the left side of the bike, there are two connectors with 2 wires on them, the rest all have multiple wires to the connector and go into a massive harness which doesn't tell you where these pop out of again and what they are connected to.. Of the two connectors with two wires each, on has the grey and white wire at both ends of the connector while the other has two green wires.. when metering these for continuity with the meter at the lowest setting, it reads 1 to the left which means open circuit.. So I'm baffled.. Can't find the black grey wire that you mentioned.. I can find no other wire bundle or leads coming from anywhere near there that would show these colours or another 2 wire connector anywhere near there.. In the photo below, the front of the bike is to the left, the fuse box is upper right of photo.. coolant tank is removed.. Thoughts?

Yep, followed the wires down to under the engine and not the end leading up to the box.. and even tested both ends with the same results (nada).. So does this mean I tested it correctly and that this indicates the pickup coil is dead and needs replacing? Thanks for the info. Cheers

Alrighty then.. a couple of hours of colourful language (I'm bilingual so you can imagine what THAT must have sounded like...) and a couple of cuts on the hands.. here's where I am.. I finally found my OEM ignition unit.. took the Dyna3000 one off and then went after the pickup coil testing.. Removing the coolant overflow tank, battery and box and displacing the fuel pump, I was able to find the two wire connector for the pick up coil.. One white wire, one grey wire.. It would have been nice to have wee hands to get into that hell hole but I got it apart.. Connectors were dirty as hell but after running a pin cleaner through them, I got the pickup coil end a little brighter.. and so begins the testing. All I know about testing this is from what Neil provided.. Find the right connector (grey and white wire) and test it for continuity of 189 to 235 ohms. Ensuring I actually have the tester's pins on the connectors I end up with an open circuit.. nada, nothing, busted.. I even went as far as putting a couple of wires into the connector to ensure that I did indeed have a proper touch onto the connector ends and same thing. So, does this mean I have a pooched pick up coil, or am I doing the test wrong? The other annoying this about this is the frikken manual.. it states in it to check POS on the green/yellow wire and NEG on the black wire, and on the next line refers to the grey and black wires.. geesus, they can't be consitently wrong in the manual.. On the bright side, the fuel line from pump to engine is clear, no pinch, no kink and no obstructions.. so fuel and air OK.. just this GRRRRRRR lack of proper spark.. Cheers

Thanks! Since I have to dig into the bike to get to the ignition unit anyway, I'll be checking the pick up coil at the connector which I have been told is down there, tucked away and hiding.. More work..

Thanks for the reply Steve.. I have the Dyna3000 in my bike now, and have been looking for the OEM one for a while now.. (online store sent me the wrong one when I bought it for the VStar but never asked for it back, this is before I even bought the RSV, it just worked out..) Point taken on the waste spark.. what you describe is possibly what's going on here.. But gees, it worked fine and then stopped working all of sudden, again? Hopefully I can find that ignition unit. As far as the fuel line goes, the fuel line from the tank to the pump is free and clear, no pinches, kinks or obstructions. Mind you, I will attempt to pull the line from the engine side just to make sure there is no obstruction inside that line. Ya just never know. My fuel filter had been relocated for a couple of years now with free flowing lines, no pinches, kinks or anything to restrict the flow of fuel.. and it's replaced frequently.. Thanks again..

Here we go again.. After replacing the key (ignition) switch which was faulty, and the Starter Cutoff Circuit Relay (diode tested bad) and just for spite, the starter relay, I did get the bike to run fine, and it did for over a week now, powerful starts and smooth running.. until this morning.. GAH!!! Pulling out the spark plug I couldn't see spark until tonight when I could get the garage pitch black.. and the ultimate check, yes it frikken hurts when that jolt of electricity hits you.. Ok so I have spark.. I have air.. must be the fuel.. When I turn the key on, I can hear the pump tick away as it should.. but no start after a lot of cranking. Thinking perhaps I had flooded the engine with use of choke, I let the bike sit for a few hours but to no avail, crank crank but no catching.. Let's check the pump properly now.. I checked the fuses in the left side panel and all were good. I pulled the feed end of the hose to ensure fuel was indeed flowing from the tank to the pump.. that's good.. really good.. no restrictions.. I pulled the hose off the engine feed side of the pump and connected a long hose to it to drain to a bucket.. When I turn the key ON, the pump works and squirts out a bunch of fuel and then stops pumping.. basically what I would assume it's doing when all is working well.. BUT when I hit the starter button, no fuel is being pumped.. Having read somewhere about back pressure, I capped the end of the hose with my thumb but still nothing coming out of the pump while the engine is cranking... So, is this pump pooched or is it operating properly? According to the 'manual', all the checks I have done checked out fine, and the last line is "replace ignitor unit" huh?! All it says about pump pushing fuel is that when power is connected, the pump will pump fuel.. but doesn't say how long, how much etc.. Ok, so I'll bite.. what exactly IS the "ignitor unit" on this bike (where its located, what it looks like etc please). Is this fuel pump somewhat dead, somewhat working, does it need replacing? It annoys the hell out of me that the bike woudl run so ever so perfectly well and suddenly decide not to.. what gives.. Anyone with sound knowledge of the pump and how it should work under the listed conditions, please do drop me a line.. Cheers

If the two little holes were for lubrication by the final gear oil, and NOT greased, would the cap housing then not be filled with oil upon removal? Would the lubrication oil then not contaminate the lubricating grease? Would the lubricating oil then not leak out of the cap housing since there is no seal or gasket on that part (the part held on by the 4 acorn nuts). Regardless, the front and rear splines are lubricated by grease, the rear diff lubricated by oil and never shall the two intertwine.

Unless someone is refering to something entirely different as to the OP's wanting to grease the end of the drive shaft that fits into the rear differential, here's a photo of my 2006 RSV final drive (aka rear diff, pumpkin etc). It is not lubricated by the hypoid oil in the rear diff. It is lubricated with grease on the splines, same as the other end. It is accessed by removing the 4 acorn nuts to pull the cup end housing. It may be difficult to pull apart but that's usually the old grease hanging on tight. When I did the VMax rear diff mod, mine was a little difficult to pull apart but it did come out without losing any of that lubricating oil.. (?) Hope this helps. Cheers

As everyone is saying, if the bike is properly maintained it will last a long time. I have an 06 Midnight with over 126,000 miles on it that I'm riding out West next week with, with no fear or hesitation on the bike's performance (after the recent maintenance I just did, the bike actually rides a hell of a lot better than before! My goal is to push the bike to 250K miles and beyond if possible.. cheaper than buying a new bike.. Ideally, have an experienced RSV owner take the bike for a test ride as he / she would know what to look for during the ride to see how well it rides and runs.

Finally got around to changing my fuel sender unit. Though the fuel gauge hasn't indicated proper fuel quantity for a couple of years, last month it started to do the 8 blinks and some other weirdness. But this wasn't constant, it would kinda work or not work.. mostly not work.. Changing the sender is simple easy to do, takes longer removing the tank and re-installing it than it takes to pull out the old and install the new sender. Drainning as much fuel as possible out of the tank makes it less of a mess. Once the 4 bolts are removed and the wire bundled unclamped, all it takes a tilt and a turn to worm the works out of the hole.. Re-installing is simple as following the same tilt and turn in reverse. A new gasket to ensure no leaks. Examining the old and comparing it with the new sender showed that the wire swing arm of the float is loose at the pivot point and allowed to lean away and break contact from where the points touch on the unit to indicate swing arm position. This would explain why the fuel gauge readings were so helter skelter.. Not sure if tightening the swing arm in some way would bring it back to life as new again.. Regardless, the new sender wasn't expensive and it was easy to replace. With the sender out of the way, I was also able to retrieve the lost gas cap bolt that fell out earlier this year. I also observed that the fuel in the tank had some black stringy particles floating around in it. Large enough that the fuel valve strainer would catch it but none the less, the tank will come off this winter and get a proper steam cleaning to get it all out. Test riding the bike and running a couple tanks of gas through it shows that the new sender works. No more flashing, it showed 0 fuel on the gauge and fuel light illuminated on my way to the nearest gas station to fill up and once topped up, the gauge read full.. Once past 55 miles on the ODO the gauge dropped one notch, then at 75 miles another notch and so on.. until 175 miles the fuel light came on and at 185 miles the engine coughed to go onto reserve. Not bad. Everything works as it is supposed to.. Though I'm wondering if it's reading a little high.. The last time it worked properly, I would see the first notch around 40 miles or so on the ODO.. After so many years just relying on the ODO for fuel management, it's nice to have a working fuel gauge again. Attached is photo of old and new fuel sender..