V7Goose

Possible or not, I do not understand the reason for this post - I don't think anyone mentioned a number higher than 30 inches? Goose

Very VERY unlikely. You would actually have to submerge the lower part of your bike in a pool of oil for that to happen! Goose

The spec for the RSV is 280mm or 11" at idle (there is no spec at any other RPM). The service manual says the difference in vacuum for each carb should not exceed 10mm or .4" Hg of each other. A 2" difference would be HUGE. As for the original post - not sure where to begin my comments. OP said he "noticed this after running a tank of gas with a dose of seamfoam and resyncing the carbs afterwards." That makes no sense to me, as syncing the carbs by definition makes ALL EQUAL in vacuum. Furthermore, you cannot have a problem with leaking vacuum lines that would show as low vacuum since you must remove the two vacuum lines to measure. A vacuum leak around the carb boot (intake tube) COULD cause the problem, but that is extremely rare on a 2nd gen of any age. Here is some general information on RSV vacuum: As stated above, the spec is 11" at idle; however, it is not that common to find one that reaches the full 11" in normal running trim. In general, consider 10" good and anything below 9" a real problem. Of course you cannot take any meaningful reading unless the carbs are synced since the very process of adjusting them changes the vacuum! There are only two things that affect the actual potential vacuum from the engine at a specific RPM - 1) the condition of the cylinder rings and condition/adjustment of the valves, and 2) any restriction in the intake tract. The carburetor adjustment screws you use to sync the carbs simply change the vacuum by opening or closing the butterfly valve located at the "base" of the carb. The slides in a CV carb do not move at idle, so their position is effectively the same for all carbs and cannot affect the sync. Having equal vacuum simply means that the air flowing through all carbs is the same - it does NOT mean that the gas flowing through all carbs is the same!! The biggest reason for low vacuum at idle on these bikes is blocked idle jets in one or more carbs. When any idle jet is even partially blocked, the engine cannot reach minimum idle speed without cranking open the idle speed knob under the right side of the tank - this simply opens all four butterfly valves together just like rolling on the throttle. And as you pull the butterfly valves open, you reduce the intake restriction which lowers the vacuum. In the worst cases, where the idle jets are totally blocked, the engine can only idle when the throttle is opened so much that the carbs start feeding gas through the main jets. It is theoretically possible to have one of these engines in complete sync but only running on a single cylinder (either because of carb problems or even bad ignition). Finally, if you really think you have a problem with significantly low vacuum on a single cylinder, the first thing to do is to run both a compression check and leak-down check on the engine. If those tests show the correct compression for all cylinders, then you can try to measure the maximum potential vacuum on each carb by following this test: Start by adjusting the engine idle speed to 1000 RPM. Now go to the first carb and adjust the sync screw in either direction to reach the HIGHEST possible vacuum. While adjusting the carb, keep changing the idle speed knob as necessary to maintain 1000 RPM (when you reach the highest possible vacuum, the butterfly valve on that carb will be closed and you will be essentially running on three cylinders). Note this highest vacuum, then readjust that carb to be in balance with the other one on the same side and repeat the test for each cylinder. If this test confirms that one cylinder cannot reach the same level of vacuum as the others, despite a good leak-down test, then the only real probability is a significant leak in the intake tract or something causing the slide to stay partially open. I know that is a long post, but I hope the information helps. do not hesitate to ask if any clarification is needed. Goose

In my opinion it is a very stupid thing to do - there are numerous cons and absolutely ZERO pros. I have covered this ad nausium in many older threads, so I won't go into any further details here. goose

Based on everything I think I remember from this thread, I do not think you have actually removed the petcock from the tank. If not, then I would bet many $$ that you have crud and water in the tank that is blocking the screen. This sort of thing does not STAY blocked, and blowing air back into the tank doesn't prove a thing - it simply pushes the crud away from the screen for a short while. Remove the petcock and let all gas drain out the hole. Do not pour ANY of it back in without letting it settle for an hour or two to allow the very small water droplets to coalesce into a pool at the bottom. If you do try to re-use the gas, be very careful not to let some of the water and other crud in the bottom pour out. Goose

This is ALMOST correct - yes the problem is too much oil, which causes a lot of it to be blown out the crankcase vent (this is covered in great detail in many older threads). However, this oil is never up front. the vent hoses are two of the cluster that hangs down below the battery just above the tip of the side stand. the main oil is coming from the one that connects to the left side air plenum above carb #1. Goose

Yes, those are the carb vents/overflow lines, and their proper routing is important on a constant velocity carburetor - they must not terminate anywhere that has abruptly changing air pressure, such as wind or the air-stream at speed. That is why they are stuck up there behind the lower cowlings. Goose

I never ride without protective gear, and for me that usually means leather, with the exception of the Joe Rocket mesh jacket I favor in the summer. I have chaps, overpants, and leather "jeans". I like them all for specific times, but frankly the chaps get the majority of use. I almost never wear the leather jeans. I personally think the chaps give PLENTY of needed protection. True, your butt is not covered, but the times that you might slide directly on your ass are frankly just danged rare. You roll and tumble, and on contact, your butt is heavily padded anyway so nothing digs in. I've been down, and my chaps show the scuff marks, but I have never had a tear in the uncovered parts of my Levis. The chaps have one huge benefit in the summer - putting feet on the highway pegs allows lots of air to rush through the chaps for ventilation. The overpants are exactly opposite - since they are closed at the top no air gets pushed up the legs, making them the preferred option in cooler weather. The downside to the overpants for me is that they are slightly more laborious to put on/off, they are considerably heavier and more bulky for storage, and I am forced to take stuff out of the pockets to put in my Levis when I take off the gear. Goose

Sounds like a bad electrical connection to me - start with the main engine ground just above the clutch cover. If that is good, focus on the battery connections and the starter connections. Take the cables off the battery and SCRAPE them with a knife - often they can develop a hard CLEAR coating much like glass that is an insulator. Goose

In the past there were many owners that reported broken antennas from this until we got the word out to NOT put flags on the RSV antennas. Haven't seen a post on that for years now. Goose

You should NOT hear the fuel pump when you first turn the key on unless the bike has been sitting for many hours or days. If you hear it after only a short shutdown, then it indicates a problem with your fuel supply. Either tank vent, tank screens or fuel filter. Goose

Yeah Don, but at least the RSV actually has a drive train that can stand up to the pull of a couple of flags at highway speeds. According to the MANUFACTURER (not just somebody bashing the HD, but the stupid people who actually build and service them!!!), you have just been told that your little "toy" is either too poorly made or too weak to handle such a slight increase in load on the drive train. So enjoy your HD logos - the brand is obviously made for looking at and NOT for real world riding. Again, that is now a pronouncement officially made by HD themselves! Goose

This information is NOT correct. The fuel pump is only activated by the lack of back-pressure on the line from the carbs. If they are full, as they always should be for at least a few hours after the last time the key was turned off, the pump never activates when the key is turned on. One cause of this problem is a stuck float valve where the gas just gets pumped out the vent line so pressure never builds, but that should be obvious if it is happening. In your case, if the petcock is turned on and the tank has gas, then I'd suspect a dirty fuel filter has prevented the bowls from filling. Even so, if the bike will start, then there must be SOME gas getting through, right? So let the pump go through the 5 second cycle several times by turning the key on and not starting it multiple times. If the carbs ever do fill, the clicking will slow down as the pressure builds. If that never happens after about 5 cycles, I'd look closer at the pump for a problem. A good final test is to pull the hose off the carbs and let it pump into a bowl or jar to prove it is passing gas, then put finger over it to prove it stops on pressure. Goose

I believe a 1 1/16" open-end will fit perfectly. Just going from memory here, but I'll try to remember to check the actual wrench when I go out to the shop. Goose

See page 8-73 of the shop manual. Goose

I have a set of used stock mufflers from an 05 RSV - one has some road rash, but they will at least get rid of the noise for you. You can have them if you want to swing through the Ruidoso, NM are on your way to Texas. Goose

My experience with an analyzer has shown that the best setting is closer to 4 turns out. on a completely stock bike. If you aren't going to try to properly set the screws, go at least to 3.5 turns out for a static setting. In other threads within the last year or so I have described how to set the screws using just a tach. This method gets you reasonably close to the actual setting with an analyzer and results in an excellent running engine. Goose

As you know, not all of these engines have this problem. Even more importantly, there is no universal fix, such as a basket "x". What works on one engine often has no discernible effect on another. But since you already own two of these engines, why not try simply swapping the clutch baskets to see what happens on each? Not that hard to do, and it won't cost you a thing except maybe a couple of gaskets. Goose

Yup, always a "best practice" to replace any gasket or o-ring any time it is removed. But I've done the floats on well over 30 of these bikes, never replaced a bowl o-ring, and never had one leak. Goose

I'd be very happy to sell mine- been used just the one time. Goose

Yeah, this has nothing to do with worn gears, it is just a worn thrust washer (may not be technically correct, but that is the gist of it). Lot of work to fix, but fairly easy. Goose

Very unlikely the front would be removed and not the rear- the rear is easy to get to, but the front is tucked up behind the radiator and not easily found. Goose

Neil86 is correct. I will also note that there is absolutely no point in ever plugging that vacuum line, so that suggests that whoever was dicking around with your AIS had no idea of what they were doing. [onRant] Now for my PERSONAL opinion (which you can find in much greater detail in many OLD threads) - there is ZERO value to you or your bike in disabling or removing the AIS. It cannot improve the way the bike runs or increase power or increase fuel mileage. It DOES increase pollution from unburned hydrocarbons and give you NO benefits in return. If plugging it causes popping to stop, then it simply tells you that your bike has significant problems that you chose NOT to fix (the problem is still there and will probably get worse, but you are just hiding the symptom). Sticking your head in the sand because you simply do not want to be constantly reminded that you have a problem is NOT a benefit in my book. Bottom line is simply this - in my personal opinion, disabling the AIS on this bike is one of the least intelligent things anyone can do. If all the parts are still on your bike, I strongly advise you to fix it correctly. [/offRant] Goose

You simply remove the pin from the top of the strut where it connects to the lid, then it will pivot out of the way. Goose

My 05 RSV had damage similar to that when I slid into a curb and high-sided - the shop estimate to repair was about $13,000 and the insurance company totaled it - I refused to accept that and stalled them with ongoing negotiations about value, buy-back cost and things that did or did not need to be repaired. I insisted they pay me the full totaled value, got a great buy-back cost, and refused to accept any settlement until they agreed NOT to make it a salvaged title. I did all the repair work myself and ended up fixing it for about $1,000 TOTAL. Yes, there were many minor things that I chose not to replace, such as the floor board mounts that had scratches on the bottom, etc. I even left some chrome pieces that still have some road rash on the bottom sides where they are not particularly visible. But since I had them pay me instead of doing repairs, it was all MY call about what to spend, not theirs. If they had not totaled it, I would not have let a single thing slide, nor would I have done the work myself. If you try to go this route, extended negotiations and refusal to accept the insurance company offers are important - you usually can get a much better deal as time drags on and they get antsy to settle the claim and close it. As for your specific bike - it doesn't look too bad - frame is probably OK, but I'd be reall sure about that and/or fork damage before I decided to keep it. Good luck, Goose