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frankd

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  1. frankd
    This spring, my 89 started sounding a bit different....First off, I thought I had a gasket leaking. I took it apart and found that I had what looked a bad gasket, and also, I had a broken clamp on a rear cyclinder pipe. I fixed all of that and started it up....no change. I did have another collector though. I knew for certain that the screen was loose inside this one, because it rattled when you shook it (actually this was the original from the 89). I cut this one apart, removed the completely broken screen, had a friend weld up the collector for me, and installed it. Now it sounded a lot better. I need to say though, that it is a little louder than original. This was evident when I worked on the 83 and compared it to the 89. It is a subtle difference though. I assumed that the first collector had the screen come loose on one side. I never cut it open, but it doesn't rattle and nothing else could go wrong with it. Frank D.
  2. frankd
    You could also start it up cold, let it run a couple of minutes, and spray each exhaust pipe with water. If a cylinder isn't firing, it will be cool. It it's firing, it will be hot. If you know which cylinder isn't firing, it will help fix it. Frank D.
  3. frankd
    They probably put the Bricksones on because they can get them cheaper. Frank D.
  4. frankd
    The new formula WD-40 is supposed to be non-flamibly (I haven't tested it). Other than that, just keep a fire extinguisher handy and do it outside, not in the garage. Heck, even a garden hose. Look and make sure the ports we use to sync. the carbs are plugged properly (all 3). On the MK I, the rubber plugs don't seem to get hard. On the MK ii, there is a lot more heat (the side covers close, trapping the heat), and mine were hard as rocks and one was cracked. Frank D.
  5. frankd
    The slave cylinders are still available from Yammie. Seeing as you changed the fluid and it got better for a while, it sounds to me like the problem may be your master cylinder bypassing. If the slave was bypassing, you'd have a brake fluid leak. You will see the brake fluid on the ground, and the fluid level in the reservoir will go down. With the master cylinder bypassing, the leakage can just go back into the resorvior. Now before somebody tells me I'm wrong......depending on which seal is leaking, it could also come out the shaft. I have had car master cylinders do this to me. Heck, in my 1963 Mercury it almost meant an accident. The brake pedal had gone down once, and then started working normally. I checked all of the wheel cylinders, lines and hoses...no leaks. About 2 weeks later, a stopllight went red and the car in front of me stopped. I hit the brakes and it went to the floor. I pumped it and there was no pedal. My heart's beating about 100 MPH. I pumped it a 2nd time and had a pedal. I got it stopped with about 6" to spare. I checked the brake fluid and the resevoir was filled to the same place. I replaced the master cylinder, and everything was fine. With brakes, you can feel it when the pedal drops lower than expected. When a clutch, it'll just engage sooner because you're not disengaging it as much. You can get rebuild kits for the master cylinder and the slave cylinder. You can also buy the complete slave cylinder. Frank D.
  6. frankd
    Any chance you have a vaccuum leak? Frank D.
  7. frankd
    It's not a bad job.... Remove both mufflers. Remove both front cylinder exhaust pipes. You do this by removing the 2 nuts that hold each pipe on the exhaust port (8mm allen wrench bit I think) and then loosening the 2 clamps that hold the pipes in the front of the collector (12mm socket). You may want to remove the 2 collector mounting nuts now. They are inside of the front pipes at the front of the collector and take a 12mm socket. This allows the front of the collector to drop and makes it easier to get the front pipes out of the collector. Loosen the clamps for the bottom of the rear exhaust pipes to the collector pipes. Look at the rear of the collector up at the pipes and you will see the clamps (again a 12mm socket). Then pull the collector down off the rear pipes and it will come out. Yes, I had one crack on my 83 when I was 1000 miles from home and had to listen to it for the rest of the trip. Also, I usually don't replace all the gaskets. Unless they are damaged, they will re-seal and they are expensive. The copper rings that seal the front pipes to the exhaust ports will probably stay in the exhaust port. Sometimes the exhaust pipe to collector gaskets stay on the pipe, sometimes they stay in the collector. Frank D.
  8. frankd
    Thanks everybody. I ordered a set of Longhorns and they should be here Monday. I found them for $129 with free delivery. Frank
  9. frankd
    Does anybody know what model Kuryakyn footpegs work good on a 1st Gen Mk II? Looking at their online catalog, there are a lot of choices. Thanks, Frank D.
  10. frankd
    When I found that my boost sensor hose had split where it attaches to the engine, I started to wonder what condition the rest of the hose was in. I took my Mighty=Vac pump (the same one we use to bleed the clutch and brakes) and hooked it to the hose and pumped. It held the vaccuum. I decided to test the boost sensor. I started the bike, and pumped vaccuum.....no change in engine speed. I released the vaccuum, and had my wife hold the engine speed @ 3000 RPM, and then pumped the vaccuum up again....the engine sped up quite a bit. When I released it, the speed dropped back. It doesn't work at idle, so you have to check it with a higher engine speed. I replaced the first section of hose, up to the restrictor and everything was fine. BTW, my bike is an 89, so the TCI is a bit different. Frank D.
  11. frankd
    First off, it's not the boost sensor hose....On my 89, the hose was cracked and the bike ran fine. The gas mileage was a little low, and the bike did feel better after I fixed it, but it wasn't bad enough to notice when I had zero vacuum advance. Also, the boost sensor has no effect at full throttle. It only works at partial throttle and then when the motor is above idle speed. Is it running on all 4 cylinders?? Does the motor sound normal?? If it is, I'd check out what Carl suggested----maybe a dragging brake. If it isn't running on all 4 cylinders, we need to determine what's wrong with that cylinder. The only thing that will affect all 4 cylinders is the TCI unit. Frank D.
  12. frankd
    The fuel pump only has power applied to it for a couple of seconds when you turn the key on or cycle the kill switch AND when the motor is turning over. When you unplug the pump connector and the bike runs out of gas and dies. If when you plug it in, the motor is not turning over, the fuel pump has no power applied. When you cycle the kill switch, it receives power for a few seconds. The fuel pump doesn't cycle all the time it has power applied. It only cycles when the carbs need fuel. To tell if you have a fuel pump problem OR a relay problem, connect a small 12 volt light across the fuel pump leads. Then when you have problems, look and see if the light is on or not. You could mount the light where you can see it easily, but make sure you run the wires carefully so they don't get burnt on the exhaust. Frank D.
  13. frankd
    You're also paying premium time (Saturday) labor to get it installed. It should take less than an hour to install it. Frank D.
  14. frankd
    Ragtop, Putting the driveshaft back in the U-joint sometimes is a real pain!! I figured that seeing as the U joint will drop a little when the driveshaft is removed, when you put it back in, aim a little low. Also, if you put the transmission in a gear to keep it from turning, and then rock the pumpkin so the drive shaft turns, it'll help line the splines up. Just be patient, it'll go back in. When I've had problems with it, after I get tired of fighting with it and take a break, when I go back to it it goes right in. Something important though.....AFTER you get it back in and the nuts back on the pumpkin, slip your rim back on the pumpkin and try to spin it. Seeing that the bike is in gear, you shouldn't be able to turn the wheel. If you can, the driveshaft went along side of the u-joint and you have to start over. Frank D.
  15. frankd
    Max, You have voltage at the coil, not current!!! Also this is NOT what is blowing your fuse. You have something else grounded or shorted. The coils have battery voltage applied at the RB (red with a black stripe) wires when the key is on. The ignition module grounds the other terminal to control the spark, so even if the module is not plugged in, the 12 volts will still be on the R/B wire if the key is on. The high voltage terminal of the coil is connected through the secondary winding to the primary (R/B), but the many turns of light gauge wire has 10K-15Kohm resistance, so the light glows a little bit. If I was working on the bike, what I would do would be to: 1) Disconnect the battery negative lead, and connect a car headlight in series with it. this will limit the current to about 5 amps and prevent further damage from heat. Also, if the headlight is glowing brightly you will know you still have a problem. 2) Pull your headlight fuse---this will disconnect all the lights on your bike. Even though your problem is NOT in your light circuitry, this will allow the test headlight trick to work better. 3) Disconnect the blue wire from the starter solenoid---this will prevent the starter solenoid from picking up, and the starter will not be energized. The starter draws too much current normally for the headlight. 4) Turn the key & the kill switch on and then push the starter button. If you have a problem the headlight will light. 5) I would then take a DC clamp-on ammeter (this will measure the current in a wire without opening the wire up and connecting an ammeter) and determine exactly where the current is flowing. If you can't find anybody that has one, what you can do now is to disconnect items 1 at a time and troubleshoot it this way.
  16. frankd

    Old Times

    frankd replied to etcswjoe's topic in Watering Hole

    Thanks Joe!!! I enjoyed reading those again. Frank D
  17. frankd
    Stan, You may want to check if your interference is coming from the regulator. You can tell by running the bike at about 2,000 rpm, and noting how much noise you have. Then step on the brake pedal or turn on a turn signal, or turn on the driving lights. If the increased load decreases your interference, it's coming from the regulator. The noise in my bike sounds somewhat like ignition noise, but it's from the OEM regulator. On mine with the OEM radio, I only hear it in the headphones. Frank D.
  18. frankd
    Thanks Kent, I'll take them to Pep Boys. I've only got 2, not a truck full. Frank
  19. frankd
    There is nothing in the brake light circuit that will cause the brake lights to stay on EXCEPT one of the switches. The contacts could be sticking together. When you try it with the key off, there is no current through the contacts, so they don't stick as bad. Every time contacts make under load, there is a tiny arc, and this arc does weld the contacts together slightly. If the switch doesn't have enough travel to break the contacts properly, they can stay on. Seeing that you know it's the front switch, take it apart and clean the switch. Inspect the entire switch and see if it's returning completely to the OFF position.
  20. frankd
    Brant, You're welcome, but I didn't expect it keep on running on the 'bad' cylinder. Usually it only runs for a little bit until the gas is burned. I'm glad it started to work better. I'd put a heavy dose or 3 of Berrymans that Justin suggested on a different carb problem discussion. It's supposed to be a bit better than Seafoam (not that there's anything wrong with Seafoam).
  21. frankd
    You have something plugged!!!! You turned the engine off, and then pulled the oil fill cap and had pressure?? The only way that could be is if you have the crankcase vent completely plugged. Hopefully the high pressure didn't blow the gaskets completely out!!
  22. frankd
    I found a picture showing where the carb drain screws are. Look at the top right picture on page 4-8 (page 248 of the .pdf) and you will see where the gas drain screws are. Also, make sure you use a good phillips screwdriver to pull the screws, or the head will round out. http://labs.trunkful.com/vrmanuals/8385servicemanual.pdf
  23. frankd
    No, you probably haven't messed anything up. If it's been a long time since the carb got plugged up, it'll probably have to be pulled and cleaned out. Look in the manual (available on this site if you don't have one) and locate the carb. drain screw for the dead cylinder. Remove the screw and see what comes out----hopefully there is gas in the carb. If the idle circuit AND the power circuit aren't working at all, you either have a stuck neeedle and seat (not likely, but if you don't get any gas when you remove the drain screw, maybe) OR the jets are plugged with crud, which is the likely cause. Something you could do to verify this is a carb problem. Remove the air cleaner cover and the air cleaner, and start the bike. Rev the bike up (BTW, the backfiring with the air box cover off is normal) and watch the carb slides----ithey all should move. Then let the bike idle, and drip a small amount of gasoline into the dead cylinder carb. The cylinder should fire and the idle should speed up. If the bike has been stored or left unused for over a month or two without having the gas treated with Seafoam or Stabyl, you are lucky that only 1 carb is plugged. Today's gasoline doesn't store well. Every carb engine you have needs to have the gas treated OR completely removed (and the carb drained) before storage. Frank D.
  24. frankd
    YICS=Yamaha Induction Control System. It was only on the Mk I bikes (83-85), and when I bought my 83 brand new, I was amazed at the gas mileage. That's what the manual says YICS does, increase gas mileage at low engine speeds. Then the first time I took the bike apart, I couldn't see any way this would have much effect. Above and forward of the carbs, there was a box that consisted of 4 seperated air chambers. Between the carbs and the cylinder intake, there was a small (approx. 1/8") hose and it was connected to the YICS chamber. I guess it was supposed to give the intake chamber more volume (or length?) at low engine speeds. A lot of people have taken the YICS chamber off (and plugged the port on the intake tract) and said they saw no difference. On my 83, it's still in place and connected. Did it help the gas mileage?? Maybe. Several times I did get over 50MPG with the 83, but these were low speed (40-45MPH) tanks with little throttle opening. I don't ride like this very often. Another thing, some Mk I riders have had problems with the YICS chamber cracking and leaking. This causes that cylinder to run lean.
  25. frankd
    Well, if you have spark and the cylinder isn't firing, then you probably don't have fuel. Has the bike been sitting for a while?? When was the last time it ran OK? Do a search for 'seafoam', and you will find many discussions on this board about soaking the carbs in Seafoam. Is the cylinder always dead, or does it come to life when you load the engine? Frank D.
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