V7Goose

You should NEVER need to touch the choke unless it is quite cold out. If you need to use it to start in warm weather, that is a primary indication that you probably have some blockages in you primary jets or other problems with your fuel mixture (such as vacuum leaks). Properly set up and tuned, with clean carbs and no other mixture or ignition problems, that engine will ALWAYS start with just a momentary touch of the button and nothing else. A hard acceleration at 60 MPH does call for a downshift, at least to fourth, and maybe even third. But even in 5th gear, that engine should not "chug", it just won't take off very fast until you finally get the revs up where they should be (of course, your definition of "chug" may be different than mine). If you are really getting a "chugging" with significant increased vibration that indicates the classic lugging of an engine, then I'd be more inclined to believe you are only running on three cylinders, or your carbs are way out of sync.

New Mexico is probably too far away from where the bike is now, but I have the space here if you can use it. Goose

Well, I am late to this game, and I only quickly scanned all the posts after the OP - but just based on the initial information (started fine and died when put into gear), it seems to me to be almost certainly an issue with one of the interlock switches (clutch, sidestand, neutral), or the starter relay (which actually contains three relays related to the interplay of those three interlock switches). There are also a couple of diodes in those circuits. One big disclaimer here - all this is just from faded memory - I have not pulled out the schematics to refresh anything! I have never seen one of those diodes go bad, and it is very rare for the relay to go out. Smart money here is on either the sidestand or neutral switch. Goose

I have absolutely no idea what the "shotgun method" is or if it would work for a 2nd gen - I was simply making a joke about how much damage you would do to any engine if you shot it with a gun. I'll admit that I also editorialized a little bit by indicating that I think some vehicles deserve to be shot. None of that was actually germane to the OP's request for help, so I apologize for the short side trip. Goose

If you fire a shotgun into that engine, I'm pretty certain that you will have more (and different) problems. I would not do that. Although I can certainly see it having a wonderful benefit for an ugly V-Max. There are about a billion threads on this site dealing with the carbs and general tuning issues. I know that finding those might be a bit of a challenge for new members, but spend some time in the tech library . . . You have mentioned doing a temperature check - problem is, there ain't really any places on a water cooled bike that you CAN actually check individual cylinder temps. You could try the exhaust header bolts, but I do not even find that reliable because you cannot get consistent aiming on the identical spot for all four cylinders. The only reliable way to check for cylinder firing on startup is the fingertip test, where you have to reach in UNDER the header pipe to touch the real pipe near the exhaust valve in the first 30 seconds or so after the engine starts from COLD. That pretty chrome pipe you see is just a heat shield, so any test there is of zero value. I have never seen a 2nd gen that actually needed a carb "rebuild" (in the old time sense of that term), but virtually any one of them that hasn't been ridden daily DOES need the jets cleaned. Seafoam is a wonderful product, but it can do absolutely NOTHING at all if the idle jets are totally plugged. The jets do NOT sit submerged in fuel, so if there is not fuel actually being pulled through them while the engine is running, NOTHING can clean them. The ONLY way to be sure those jets are clean is to pull the carb assembly and pop off the bowls to spray a strong carb cleaner directly into the jets after you remove them. Again, this is covered in great detail in the tech library. Find my tech article on adjusting the carbs - follow it to make certain the idle air circuits/jets are clean, then set those air screws to about 4 turns out - that is a good static setting IIRC, but I think I cover that in the tech article. Last comment is about the vent hoses - that engine will NOT run correctly if those vent hoses are not open and properly routed to the opening in front of the air filters (AND those lower fairings MUST be in place). Goose

Just going on old and weak memories, but I do not recall any stock relay in that location. From your picture, it looks more like an aftermarket horn relay that someone did a very poor job of installing. The obvious answer is to track down the wires that connect to it. IF it is stock from yamahaha, the wires will go into an existing wire bundle, if aftermarket, they will probably just be flapping free as individual loose wires. I THINK the fuel pump relay is part of the starter relay, but I am REALLY NOT sure of that - those memories are old and dusty, and I don't feel like digging into the schematic to find out! I do know the starter relay has multiple parts and diodes, and one piece is for the side stand cutout; other than that, I have only sketchy memories.

There are only two vacuum lines on an RSV - one goes to the front AIS valve near the radiator, and one goes to the rear AIS valve below the right rear of the engine. these lines are very important, as the high vacuum shuts off the air induction into the headers when you close the throttle, thus eliminating popping and after-fire on deceleration. You must make sure that these hoses are not cut or nicked at the intake nipple, as well as making sure the other two vacuum caps are soft and have NO age cracking when you bend them. It is common for ham-fisted mechanics to nick those lines with pliers when taking them off to sync the carbs, and the caps need to be replaced every 3 years or so due to heat and fuel contact aging.

This makes no sense to me at all (pushing in the slide? leaking air?), but it does hint at where you problems probably are. First of all, the issue IS your carbs, not the spark. While there are certain conditions that can cause a weak spark to fail good ignition (including low-RPM loads), this is so unlikely that I would personally totally ignore it at this point. Your description of bogging on an open throttle until the RPMs build is a classic carb problem; typically low fuel availability, but also can be air related. CV carbs use differential air pressure on each side of the diaphragm to raise the needle and supply more fuel as the butterflies open. This differential air pressure comes from the carb vent lines that run to the front opening of the air filter. If those lines are plugged (can you say mud dauber wasp?) or kinked, the slides will not open correctly. And obviously, any damage to the diaphragms or seals around them (watch that little o-ring under the cap on the air passage) will certainly cause problems. Despite your insistence that the carbs are clean, this type of problem can just as easily be caused by plugged air passages in the idle circuit. Do the RPMs drop off at idle as you close each air screw in turn? If not, they you HAVE a problem with the idle circuit in that carb. If the idle circuit does not work correctly, then the carb cannot provide the needed extra fuel in the transition to main jets as the butterflies are opened to let in more air. But the effect is rarely as bad as you describe, so although it might be a contributor, I doubt that it is your main problem. Before you do anything else, you need to get that bike to idle properly at 1,000 RPM with all air and enriching circuits working well and the carbs synced. Then you have a chance of actually finding your real problem.

You DO have a fuel supply problem. If all is normal, the pump will never click when the key is turned on soon after the last shutdown (the carb bowls will remain full until enough time has passed to allow some fuel to evaporate out).

Pull the petcock and clean the screens. Then rinse the tank to get other debris out. Then change your fuel filter.

You say the clutch issue is resolved - not sure I follow how you came to that conclusion. The large nut holding in the clutch basket should NEVER come loose - that is why there are lock tabs on the base washer! Finding it loose is a huge problem, and I strongly suspect it was the original cause of your issues. My only assumption is that some incompetent goober was in there changing the clutch basket, and the boob never bothered to properly torque and lock the nut?? Hopefully nothing is damaged. At this point I would remove the basket and carefully and slowly inspect EVERYTHING for any scratches or other wear marks as a clue to what damage MIGHT have been done. If the clutch lever hit a hard stop, SOMETHING was hitting that should not have been. The clutch rod does NOT need to move far to release the clutch pack - if you measure any movement at all, I'd bet all is fine there. There is a rather complicated interplay between the side stand switch, the clutch switch and the neutral switch (there is also a diode involved in that circuit if I remember correctly). It always takes me a while to trace out the schematic wires to each of those switches and and logically put together the multiple states that all have to be tested to determine the exact problem (in gear, neutral, stand up, stand down, clutch in, clutch out - make a matrix and you see how complicated this gets). Start by using an ohmmeter (with key OFF, of course) to check the function of all three switches. The best thing to do is locate and pull the plugs to each switch and measure there - that totally isolates the circuitry to anything else on the bike and gives you the only really positive test of switch operation. Note that the neutral switch is also the OD switch, so you need to make sure you are measuring the correct wires there. With any luck you will find that the problem is simply a mis-adjusted side stand switch! Good luck, Goose

Yes, it would take a LOT of pressure to push that rod to move the pressure plate - no way to do it by hand. I cannot really tell from your pictures, but something doesn't look quite right on the bottom left one - almost like the end of that rod is bent down? Be sure to carefully check the parts breakdown for all the specific parts and the order before you re-assemble. Goose

From what I read here, the problem seems to be either a frozen slave cylinder (very rare if not a bazilion years old and sitting long time) or something stuck in the clutch pack/pressure plate. I have seen the exact thing happen if the pressure plate is not properly engaged with the clutch basket after replacing the clutch plates. But I cannot think of any way that could happen gradually after the clutch was already working properly unless something broke in the clutch. I would start by making sure you have good resistance at the lever (if not, you need to get more air out). Once you are back to the point where the clutch lever stops moving without reaching the bar, then pull off the clutch cover and pressure plate. The rod that sticks out through the center of the clutch is what the slave cylinder pushes against the pressure plate and spring to move it out and release the clutch. With the pressure plate off, it is a simple matter to put your finger on the end of the rod and see if it is moving in and out with the clutch lever. If it is, then the problem is in the clutch pack or pressure plate. One caution, however - do NOT just keep squeezing the clutch lever with the pressure plate off! After each squeeze, you need to push the rod back in, just like the clutch spring would do normally. If you just keep squeezing without pushing the rod back in each time, you are liable to push the slave cylinder piston clean out of its bore (just like you could do with brake pistons if you tried to activate them without something in place to stop them from being pushed out. If the rod does not move, then the problem is your slave cylinder or the rod itself. Goose

The tap up & down function has always worked perfectly on my bikes. I regularly change speeds up or down 5 MPH with 5 taps when adjusting to speed limit changes. Goose

This is not a significant issue. I have noticed on all three of the RSVs I have owned/used, that the cruise switch does not always self-center (two of the bikes were brand new, so not a contamination problem). It bothered me not knowing if that could cause some sort of problem, so I took a look at the cruise schematics. Just going from old vague memory here, but I recall that the cruise system uses a self-latching relay when you turn it on. This means that the power is only momentarily supplied by the switch, and then when the relay activates, it disconnects from the switch and provides its own power loop to stay activated until the power (or possibly ground) is removed. Uh, no, it does not. Step 2. says to press "SET/DEC" to activate. Period. The "SET" indicator light comes on at this point to show that it is "SET", not that it might become set if you do something else. End of sentence and end of step 2. Step 3. then describes how to set the desired traveling speed by either pressing "RES/ACC" to "increase the set speed" OR press "SET/DEC" to decrease the speed. By definition, you increase the set speed AFTER it is already set. Goose