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Snaggletooth

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  1. Snaggletooth
    There ya go. Dingy is a little quicker with fingers but those pics should help a bit. And I'm going to say this. While you have the tank out....remove the fuel level sending unit and take a look long look at the inside of the fuel tank. If you have rust....now is the time to deal with it. You probably are not going to want to go this far again in the near future. A good time for reseal the tank if needed. Or at least get it cleaned out real well. Mike
  2. Snaggletooth
    Ok you're in for it now. LOL! Ok. Start with this thread by Dano. He's doing rear end work but it's start on removing the rear subframe......which is required to remove the fuel tank. http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=52626 Once you have the side panels, saddlebags, seat and other odds and ends off you will see the 4 points where the subframe bolts on. Unplug and disconnect all the lines for the electrical and C.L.A.S.S. system if you have that. And the bolt on top of the bracket for the fuel tank. I think Dan forgot about that until the last minute. It's easier than it sounds. Once you get all the bolts loose, if you have a friend handy, you can slide the bolts out and lift it up and off. From that point you're golden. The tank slips back from it's brackets and you can lift it off. I don't know how big a guy you are but it can be done by one guy with some effort. Ask my back. Awkward to do but possible. Don't forget the bracket that the false tank cover bolts into. It has four bolts to hold it and it has to come off to slide the tank off. By simply unplugging everything on the subframe you can do it without removing all the stuff attached to it. Save a lot of time coming off and going back on. Less parts to misplace to. As you still have gas in it .......... use all caution ok. Drained and vented is the safest way. Mike
  3. Snaggletooth
    I'm guessing this is the one you looked at on eBay? 360229671520 There is one from an '84 with a "Best offer". I'd offer $20.00 and see if they take it. 400073315533 And one off and '86. 130422678860 Even the NOS one at $59.00 is cheap. New ones sell for about $85.00 I think. I think they are all the same mounting flange. Maybe somebody can confirm that. With the '84 or newer you would get the reserve setting as well. I think some newer models have the fuel output that points towards the front of the bike. As all these fuel tanks are the same, it should work. Anybody? And yes..the tank needs to come off to do it. Not that bad to do. It's a learning experience. Yep. Mike
  4. Snaggletooth
    I use Startron for winter storage. Give it a good dose of that and fill it up with Premium gas and park it for 4 months. Fires right up in the spring. Can't say if I increased my MPG as I run of the winter gas out and dose it with Seafoam and off I go for another season on regular gas. What ever the reason I'm getting 43+ on and average and best to date MPG was 48 MPG on a 565 mile day. Mike
  5. Snaggletooth
    I got an old one off my '84 but I'm not going to offer it up as I like ya. It's probably as bad or worse than what ya got. Check with Pinwall. They have petcocks all the time for around $10.00. Got one there for mine and it was in fine shape. The '83 did not have the reserve setting if I remember right. So it's just on or off. A small set of vice grips would get ya turned back on. That's all ya need. These bikes, with the fuel pumps, don't need to be turned off all the time. Most guys never shut them off. That's is why the get stuck so bad. Mike
  6. Snaggletooth
    It's ok Squidley.....I added some 2 stroke oil to the gas and stuffed a couple of taters in the Macs so I can refill it. Should be fixed by tomorrow.
  7. Snaggletooth

    ??????

    Snaggletooth replied to Trader's topic in Watering Hole

    It's raining again and I got bored.
  8. Snaggletooth
    Keep us posted on how the ABS plastic responds to it. Mike
  9. Snaggletooth
    Earl....You keeping count of how many of your "backup parts" are on my bike? I lost track.
  10. Snaggletooth
    Yep....not something you want to smell when you are not within pushing distance of the shop.
  11. Snaggletooth
    Ok, this is pretty much a story of cause and effect. Earl and Dano know what happend but now I think I can explain why it happend. About a week ago I had an electrical problem. Lost my charging system out on a ride. Voltage was dropping like a rock but I was able to get it back home before I lost power. (thank you DEKA AGM) When I got home I saw smoke coming out from the left side by the swing arm. Well, that is where the R/R is mounted. Tried to start the bike again in the garage and blew the main fuse. Long story short....tested the stator, a 2 year old Buckeye upgrade, looked for shorts in the wiring and found none. Replaced the main fuse and tested the system. Looked like everything else was fine. Pulled the R/R I installed about 3 years ago. It was an aftermarket unit, (not the upgrade Shindengen upgrade), and it pretty much started to fall apart as I removed it. As you can see from the pics it is more square and thicker than the OEM unit so I had to fab up a new mounting bracket to hold it in place. That was where I went wrong. I lost my main fuse because the R/R shorted to ground. On a three year old quality unit....why? Not supposed to happen. Looking at all the pieces now I'm pretty sure I know what happened. The new fabbed up mounting bracket left the new R/R hanging a bit lower than the OEM unit. I had room at the time and had no reason to be concerned about it. BUT.....about a year later I bought a new set of MAC pipes and installed them. Still had room for clearance on the R/R but it was closer to the MAC's than it was with the stock pipes. About 3/8 of an inch was all I had. And these things get warm all by themselves. Didn't need to add to that. SO.... when I pulled the R/R off I saw the bottom section of the rubber electronics potting was burned and brittle. Pieces came off in my hand as I removed it. That was the section that was closest to the pipes. You can see the damage in the pics. Heat ....pure and simple. I opend it up and the R/R is singed all the way through. So, in my opinion, I caused the failure by not making sure the unit had more distance away from the pipes. If anybody else has a better explaination I'm open to your thoughts. D'oh. Next time I'll have a better plan...... Just call me Sparky. Mike
  12. Snaggletooth
    Just a side note on the DEKA ETX18L. I bought mine a couple of years ago now. Got almost two full seasons on it. Been great and absolutly reliable. A week or so ago I was out riding and I noticed my voltmeter in the dash was kinda low so I flipped on the digital meter and it was only showing 12.8, then 12.6 then 12.4 and kept dropping. I was about 25 miles from the house and headed back. By the time I got home the digital was showing well under 12 volts all the time. Pulled it into garage and THEN I noticed the smoke coming from under the swing arm. R/R. Dang. Toasted. I shut it off and tried to start it again and had no power. No dash lights, no head light, no cranky. Dead. Battery check with meter was showing enough volts to crank but not happening. I found the main fuse, the 40 amper was blown. Ok, Replaced the main fuse and got power back on line. Tested the stator, a Buckeye upgrade, tested fine. Got my hands on a used R/R from Skydoc_17 and installed that. But this was supposed to be about the battery right. Ok, it's been several days since the failure. A 25 mile ride home without a working R/R and how many miles before I noticed the failure? Who knows. I had a spare battery standing by incase the DEKA was too low. When I hit the meter it showed 12.8 volts. Well ok, surface charge...maybe a false reading so I load tested it. It showed 96% charge!!! Hit the key and it spun right over and fired. After a twenty minute ride it was showing back to 100% charged. I rode it to KC today and back with no problems. That battery is tough!!! DEKA will be my battery of choice for as long as I can get my hands on one. Mike
  13. Snaggletooth
    Congrats on your move to go into business. I don't know about your area but around here with the economy the way it is, the demand for an experienced mechanic to do work on bikes, and the older ones at that, is showing to be very profitable. EVERYONE around here is buying used older bikes then finding out they cannot find a shop to work on them or cannot afford the shop rates. I've had a different bike in my garage about every week for odds and ends. If I had a larger place to work I'd probably give up the part time job and do something I enjoy doing. The one question I always get about my '84 is "Who does your work for ya?" When I answer "I do" the next question is "Can ya take a look at mine?" Good luck and hope they come flocking in the door for ya. Mike
  14. Snaggletooth
    A 7.62mm mini gun on each side of the fairing is helpful.
  15. Snaggletooth
    I suppose it would be possible using low air pressure. My concern would be the possiblity of damging the spring loaded plunger in the needle itself using too much pressure. But that would show if you are getting flow through the intake elbow and the net filter.
  16. Snaggletooth
    If it is just one carb that is suffering from lack of fuel it might be the one filter that is a bear to change. In the body of the carb, on top of the body, by the fuel intake elbow there is a plug. It looks like a casting mark at a glance but it is the plug that seals the hole to remove and replace the needle seat itself. If you remove that plug there is a small net filter under it and on top of the needle seat. Not many folks replace the seats as it's not an easy job and few realize there is a filter in that position. It's possible that the filter itself may be plugged with debris. To check it, open the carb and blow air back through the needle seat from the inside of the carb and watch to see what comes out of the fuel intake elbow. Maybe...maybe not. Just a thought. Mike
  17. Snaggletooth
    Nice job Dan. I did that "subframe as a unit pull" when I removed my fuel tank to coat it. I was standing there grumbling to myself as I knew how much time it would take to pull the light bar and all the goodies. I looked the subframe and asked myself "Why not pull these bolts instead?" Huge time saver and a lot less parts laying around. Every shortcut helps. Later Mike
  18. Snaggletooth
    mlew..... A pretty wide open question. A lot of good suppliers are available. You looking for anything in particular? Mike
  19. Snaggletooth
    Yep, dat's da one.
  20. Snaggletooth
    If it was creaking when you tried to turn it.....it would most likely NEVER fall out on its own. LOL!! Use a set of channel locks or vice grips to grip the outer section. Squirt a little oil around the valve and gently work it back and forth while pulling it towards the front of the bike. Sooner or later it will slip out. Don't forget about that spring and ball bearing. Hard to find once they are on the move. Clean the inner part of the housing up with a piece of Scotchbrite pad and do the plastic valve body also. Install the new o-ring, a little lube and slide it back together. No more drips, easy to feel the detent when changing the position on the valve. That's one problem on it's way to being solved! Now as a added bonus......if the time ever comes when the thermostat sticks shut causing you to over heat......just move the valve to the "On" position. That as said, will allow the coolant to bypass the thermostat and continue moving through the system until you can make proper repairs and replace the thermo. Not a fix..but a "get by" in an emergency. Mike
  21. Snaggletooth
    The screw is missing? You're not the first one. Been a few that the the spring loaded ball bearing, (the detent) was about the only thing holding it in. You might try a few drops of oil in the top hole in the housing to loosen up the drain valve. If and when, if even possible, that you pull the drain valve out you will find the the plastic valve itself has a groove in it that the screw rides in, and it is a special screw, that retains the valve in place. There is a hole in the plastic body of the valve that has a spring and a ball bearing in it that is what's holds the valve in the correct position. (the holes you mentioned in the housing) Wrap a rag around it when you pull it out to avoid chasing the parts around the floor. And the issue of the screw being broken off, that can be a bugger. The valve body is not going the slide out of the housing if the screw shaft is stll engaged into the groove. Take a pick or a small nail or such and see how far in it will go into the screw hole. If it goes in about 3/8th of an inch you are missing the whole screw. That would be a good thing. If so, you can remove the valve and clean it up and reseal it. If the screw is broken off....that's another headache. Now....if you get it loosened up and able to slide the valve body out...get ahold of Skydoc_17 and order the drain valve kit. New O-ring, SS Allen head screw ground to fit and install them. A good fix to avoid future leaks. And as mentioned the valve is only to control the flow of coolant through or around the thermostat. The drain plug to drain the entire system is on the bottom of the water pump. Valve to "ON"....to drain. Valve to "OFF".....run the bike. Kind of like Windows. Push "Start" to "End". D'oh! Mike
  22. Snaggletooth
    Stainless is not as tough as many people think. Consider the Grade 8's for safety. Mike
  23. Snaggletooth
    I thinl George hit it. We have seen that plug before, CA models had some sort of recovery cannister on it.
  24. Snaggletooth
    Hiya Don.. I will poke fun and laugh as well....er....I've seen worse. On mine!! It's a PO thing I tell ya. You should have seen some of the "Mods" the PO did to mine. No wonder it was stored for nine years. LOL!! The guys around here will get ya through it....they always do. Their help kept me from being called "Sparky". The time comes when ya quit asking questions........we will know you're out riding it. Later Mike
  25. Snaggletooth
    Yikes!!! I smell ozone...... You carry a fire putter outter thingy right? Call Earl....call Buckeye Performance......call somebody.....call now!
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