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frankd

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Everything posted by frankd

  1. frankd
    I went to change the rear tire on the '83 for my brother, and when I finally got the tire off the rim, I saw that the Ride-On in the tire had dried up and turned into a big mess. First when I went to break the bead loose, it was much harder than normal to break, and when it finally gave in, a big cloud of dust came out of the tire. It seemed that the Ride-On had glued the tire to the rim. I worked on cleaning the rim with water and a wire brush, but the Ride-On didn't disolve comletely. Anybody have any ideas on what to use to help clean up the rim? On the Ride-On web site, they say that it wont dry up, but obviously they aren't telling the complete truth. In their defense, the Avon tire has been on the bike for 8 years and 22,000 miles, but......
  2. frankd
    Carl, Make sure the relay(s) are plugged in all the way. If they are, unplug the relay and plug it into it's socket a couple of times to clean up the connector. Frank
  3. frankd
    Great little bikes. They're real spunky for a 125. The motor has a rotary intake valve, and the carbureator is in the left front cover!! This setup gives the tiny motor quite a bit of low end torque and still has a good top end (for a 125). I used to carry one of these bikes on the back of my camper for exploring. As i remember, it weighs less than 200#.
  4. frankd
    I had a small nail go into my brand new rear Avon. I only had about 75 miles on the tire, so when I say new, I mean NEW!! I was at my sister's house when I saw the nail, and that made me about 55 miles from home. I decided that I needed to pull it and if it leaked install a Stop & Go plug to get it home. I pulled the nail and found that it was bent to the side and didn't actually puncture the tire. I had NO air leaking out. I wore that tire completely out without a problem. When you had the tire plug come flying out, it opened up a pretty big hole, and the air escaped quickly. If this opening eventually starts leaking, it'll be a real small leak, and the tire won't go flat fast. Leave it alone and ride it, just keep an eye on the tire pressure.
  5. frankd
    Does anybody know which type of grease that Yammie uses in their left rear wheel bearing? It's reasonably clear on a new bearing, so I'd suspect that it's lithium complex grease but..... Frank
  6. frankd
    Before you tear the whole thing apart, pull the boot off and verify that the oil leak IS the shaft seal. When mine went bad, it wasn't a big leak, it just made a mess in the garage. I ride it a couple of years with the seepage. My 83 (my brother's been riding it) has developed a pretty big leak on the left side. I sure do hope it's not the intermediate gear again. I've got to install a stator anyway, so I'm hoping that it's the clutch slave cylinder or something else easy.
  7. frankd
    If you have an oil leak on your slave cylinder or alternator stator wiring gromet, fix that before you worry about the driveshaft seal. The forward leak may be blowing back and looking like a leak out the intermediate gear shaft. On my 83, I did have a leak from the intermediate gear seal. To pull that apart, you have to remove the drive shaft. You may have to pull the rear swing arm, it's been a while and I don't remember if I had to pull it to get enough room to slide the intermediate gear out. Then you loosen the 2 engine case bolts (if you have to do this job, I'll take a picture showing which bolts) that are near the intermediate gear. Remove the 3 bolts that hold the intermediate gear and be carefull of the shims that are between the engine case and the intermediate gear. Now you can slide the intermediate gear out. The Yamaha manual wants you to measure the force required to spin the gear so you can adjust the bearing preload to the same place. Mine had over a 100K on it when I did this job, so it spun freely. So freely you couldn't measure the force required to turn it. I marked the nut and the shaft with a punch mark and counted the turns required to spin the nut off (I seem to remember it went 14 1/2 turns). I replaced the seal and a slightly worn U-joint, and installed the nut, turning it the same number of turns and to the same position (also re-aligned the punch marks). Then you put everything back together, making certain to re-install the shims correctly. That's why I say fix the other leak first!!!
  8. frankd
    George, I'd like to see a picture of that installation. Did you tie it in with the radio/CB so you use the mike in your helmet, or did you keep that seperate? How well does the HF antenna work? Frank--KA9J
  9. frankd
    Tight.....94 ft/lb Glad things worked good with the tap....
  10. frankd
    I just went out and measured the stator current on my bike with a clamp on digital ammeter. At idle, I had about 9.5A, and at 3500 RPM, I had about 23A. This is with a heavy duty stator and a stock Yammie regulator. The DC output in the red lead between the regulator and the battery was about 10.5 A With a series regulator, I would think that the stator current would stay reasonably constant compared to RPM, not go up like mine does. Does anybody have a Shindengen MOSFET regulator installed and also have access to a clamp on ammeter? This would be an answer to a lot of our questions. I live about 50 miles SW of downtown Chicago, and if there is anybody with the MOSFET regulator installed around here, we could get together and make this measurement. Frank
  11. frankd
    Jeff, I think the Shindengen web site has some translation problems.... the FH012 regulator (the FET version) is not a shunt regulator, but they call it one. But in the same description, it says it has lower loss. The two don't go together. The schematic looks to me like the FETs act both as the negative portion of the diodes and also provides the regulation by only conducting as much as necessary for the proper output voltage. Frank
  12. frankd
    I know there was a group buy for the Shindengen voltage regulators, but I didn't buy one then. Now I see that the Shindengen is a series voltage regulator, not a shunt regulator like the original. This means that the stator will be cooler because full current won't always be flowing, and should last longer. Does anybody know a good place to buy one?? http://roadstercycle.com/images/Shinde1.jpg
  13. frankd
    If the clutch isn't disengaging all the way, try bleeding the clutch before you try anything else.
  14. frankd
    About 2 weeks ago, I bought a new AM42 Avon 140/90B16 for my 89 Venture (it's not installed yet). This week, my brother brought the 83 around, and now it also needs a new rear tire. I looked, and couldn't find anybody that had the AM42 now--what they have is the AM72, and it costs about $200. Isn't the AM72 a radial tire? The one I have came from Chapporal Motorsports, and when I called them today I was told that the AM42 was discontinued and replaced with the AM72. $200 is too much for the little bit my brother uses the 83 for. I imagine I should just order a Dunlop E3 for it, but I also see the Metzler 880. Has anybody used them? How do they feel and how long do they last? This whole thing kind of upsets me....we find a tire that we like, and then they discontinue it.
  15. frankd
    You CAN tell if a diode is open.....I had a regulator fail on my 83, and when I checked the diodes, I could 'see' the open diode on the ohmeter. I also measured it again today. It's developed a weak charging system. The stator measured good (no grounds and all 3 lead to lead resistance equal @.5 ohm. When I checked the regualtor diodes, all 6 measure good, forward and reverse. Now, I usually use an analog ohmeter, but I'd imagine that a digital meter in the diode check position would also see an open diode. When you get your new regulator, I'd be interested to know if you can detect diodes by measuring between the stator leads and the RED and BLACK output leads. You'd have to use an analog ohmeter or a digital with a diode check position. Also, I've got an after market regulator here that appears to be just like the Yammie regulator electricially, but it's got 2 red leads coming out. Normally you connect both of these leads to the positive battery terminal, but today when I was testing it, I could detect the diodes on one of the red leads, but the other appeared to be open. I'd guess that one red leads is the diode bridge positive lead, and the other is the shunt regulator.
  16. frankd
    Jeff, Actually, the stock regulator is a 'shunt' regulator, and how it regulates is by dissapating any extra power coming from the stator as heat, or you could just say that it shorts the extra to ground so the voltage doesn't get too high. The rotor is a permanent magnet, so the output of the stator is dependant on the engine speed. With an ohmeter, you can measure the 6 diodes in the stock regulator, so that means the the regulator will rectify the AC from the stator and send it to the battery, until the voltage gets up to about 14.5, and then it starts shunting the extra power to ground to prevent the voltage from going too high. This creates heat in the regulator. Now I'm wondering about these new regulators....everything I've been able to read says they run real cool. I'm wondering if they aren't series regulators, or only allow enough energy to flow from the stator to maintain 14.5 volts. If they are series regulators, I'd think the stator would run a lot cooler because there would be less stator current, and therefore, less heat created in the coils. If the oil on the stator doesn't get so hot it 'cokes', the stator would last a LOT longer.
  17. frankd
    Mike, In a previous message, you wrote "Not the latest addition to my bike but I did the upgrade stator about 3, 4 years ago using the one from Rick at Buckeye Performance. Never an issue and I had the case open a year ago for look see and the stator looked new. Not even a dark spot. Nice compared to the OEM I took out. 2/3's black and nasty. I added the Shindengen Mosfet R/R this last year and they are the perfect combo." The darkness and crud on the top stator coils is burnt oil, and the fact that you don't have this on your stator made me wonder......what oil do you use in your bike?? The reason I ask is that either your stator isn't making as much heat as the the others, or the oil you use is better at not carbonizing. Unless the stator doesn't get as hot with the Shindengen regulator (but it looks like you had the stock regulator on it for a couple of years). Frank D.
  18. frankd
    Dennis Kirk's sale appears to be over, but they had one of the best prices anyway ($138) for the 140/90X16 (First Gen rear), but when I pushed the order button, they let me know they were out of stock. www.chaparral-racing.com has them for $142 with free gound shipping so that's where I ended up ordering mine from. Everybody else wanted about $155 + shipping.
  19. frankd
    The rear wheel roller (left) bearing inner race (aka collar) won't pull out easily from the bearing, and I'd like to grease that bearing. Do you usually have to push it or tap it out from the right side? I'd like to get it out without damaging the bearing. Thanks, Frank D.
  20. frankd
    Charge the battery...a fully charged battery will crank it over a bit faster, and also have slightly slightly more voltage....this will make a hotter spark, and the bike will start a bit easier. Did you pump the carbs full by turning the key ON and rocking the kill switch ON and OFF until the fuel pump quits pumping?? Is the bike level (on the center stand)? If it still won't start, I'd give it a small shot of gas or either spray (take the top of the air filter OFF and pull the air filter) directly in the carbs. But to have any chance of running correctly, you'll have to put the air filter back together....a great running Venture runs terrible without the air filter. Also, when you are trying to start it, turn the choke full ON, do NOT turn the throttle grip and crank for about 6-8 seconds. If you don't hear any life, open the throttle slightly above idle. Stop cranking and let the starter cool off for a minute or two so the starter can cool. Now open the choke and hold the throtle open flightly (about like a fast idle) and see what you get. Leave the charger ON while you're cranking to keep the voltage a bit higher. Also is the gas reasonably fresh? Frank D.
  21. frankd
    Look at the broken piece and see if there's a chance that there is enough left in the motor to grab with a channel lock (or vice grip). If there is a chance, you may be able to pull the valve cover and then unscrew the broken bolt. Then just buy a new bolt and put it all back together. A lot of us have been down the same path....let's just tighten it a little more.......snap. A torque wrench is a bit of a PITA, but there is a reason for them. Frank D.
  22. frankd
    Yamaha has eliminated the plastic impellors and replaced all new ones with the metal version. What that means is that if you order a new repalcement for YOUR bike, you will get a metal one. When I rebult 2nd gear on my 83 @ 86,000 miles, I took my water pump apart and when I saw that the impellor was cracked, I replaced it. I installed new seals and @ 150K it's still leak free. That 90 degree plastic fitting is indeed sealed with O rings, so yes, it's not a problem getting it apart. It may not be a bad idea to replace ALL the O rings in the cooling system because sooner or later one of them will start leaking. You'll have the system drained and apart, so it's easy to change the O rings now. Both of my bikes still have the original thermostats, but then I never worried abouit a thermostat failure. I feel that it if sticks in the open position, you can come home fine. If it sticks in the closed position, I'll notice the heat gauge rising abnormally and I can open the thermostat bypass and come home just fine. Some have changed the thermostat with an automotive equivelant. It's been a long time since I've had the water pump apart, so I can't answer your other question(s).
  23. frankd
    Every First Gen gas gauge is slightly different, but.....both my 83 & my 89 are pretty close to each other. When my reserve lights come on solid, they both need about 3.9 gallons to fill them up. That means (on my First Gens) that I still have almost 1.5 gallons left, so I usually travel another 50 miles before I fill up, and they will need abut 5 gallons and I'll have about 210 miles on the odometer, as long as I'm travelling less than an indicated 75 MPH (72 on the GPS). On your bike, the reserve light was almost on solid, and you had 120 miles. If your gas gauge is calibrated about like mine, it would have needed 4 gallons to fill, and you would have gotten 30 MPG----which was about what you found out when you filled it up. The needle leaking and the carb bowl overflowing isn't new. You've been smelling that every time you parked it in your garage. Keep an eye on it and if it re-occurs, turn the fuel tank petcock to OFF and ride it on side streets until the carbs are completely empty. Then turn on the petcock turn the key ON and rock the kill switch back and forth to keep the pump running until the carbs refill. THis may flush the garbage that's making your carb overflow off the needle and seat. If not, you'll have to pull the float bowl and clean it out. Curing this will help your gas mileage quite a bit. Frank D.
  24. frankd
    Anybody planning on going to the Moonshine (IL) lunch run this year?? http://moonshine-run.com/Moonshine/ Frank D.
  25. frankd

    So educate me

    frankd replied to Bubber's topic in Watering Hole

    Steve, A battery tender charges with a lower voltage, usually about 13.6 volts. This low charge rate prevents the battery from being overcharged or boiled, but prevents the battery from sulphating, and it actually restores the battery (within reason). A battery charger usually will charge a battery until the voltage gets up to about 15 volts, and after it gets completely charged, you can hear the battery gassing (bubbling). An AGM battery doesn't self discharged as quickly as a conventional lead/acid battery. A lead/acid battery in good condition self discharges approximately 1% per day. An AGM battery self discharges about 1% per month, or about 1/30 as quickly. Of course, you have to remember that your bike does have a small drain on the battery all time for the clock and radio memory. If you have a burgler alarm, you have to consider that also. In a perfect world, an AGM battery would like a little higher charge voltage than a conventional lead/acid, but let's not worry about little things. I live a little south of you (Near Joliet, IL) but with the mild winter we've had this year and with the AGM battery, my bike hasn't spent very much time on the tender. In the first part of the winter, I had it on the tender for a couple of weeks, but with the frequent rides I've taken, it hasn't been on the tender since early December. I think it was about 5- 6 weeks between my last two rides, and the bike cranked over just like it was ridden yesterday. Yesterday, it probably ran 1 1/2 hours and I'm not going to worry about charging it unless April gets here before I ride it again. Hope that helps, Frank D.
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