What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Consider me interested in the Carb Sync.

 

Yesterday I did my first bike wash. Looked fairly nice after.

 

Ooooooo, shiny

 

Positioned the carbs in the neighborhood just to see how it’ll look. Made the mistake of ordering the diaphragm cover screws from someone other than XJ4Ever. The screws arrived 6 weeks after I ordered them.

Lots of nut, bolts, washers & lock washers came in from Chacal (5 days from order, Thx) Battery box, air box, starter solenoid are complete and correct for the first time in who knows how many years.

Thought I had a missing bolt on the clutch/mirror bracket. Turns out it wasn’t missing, it’s sheered off halfway in. No luck drilling and tapping. A new clutch bracket is in my future.

 

Ignored Mammy’s Yammy (the wife is calling the bike her’s now) funny how that works, she sure wasn’t calling it her’s 4 months ago when I pushed it home for 2 miles.

Did order a few more parts from Len, then I took the Magna out for 190 miles and my favorite semi-local road. FM455, about 25 miles of it is pure-tee awesomeness. Old East/West farm road that weaves between farms north of DFW. Big Fun.

 

Took it for a ride...........

 

415 mile ride out to southeastern Colorado. Main goal was to go to lower elevations to check/adjust tuning for higher pressures. It was a high pressure day, and I got to reach 90KPa pressures, as opposed to my native 78KPa. That was good experience for tuning, and quite a bit of baro adjustment was needed. Averaged about 50MPG during the trip, which is a bit lower than I would have hoped for. On the trip back, though, the bike was running really nicely. I was planning to ride to Holly - the lowest town in Colorado - but I ended up settling for Lamar (27 miles from Holly) after making a wrong turn in Lamar and then deciding that it really wasn't worth it to fight anymore with the crazy winds out there in nearly-Kansas.

I used an Android app (MSDroid) to do the tuning this time. It's not as friendly as the laptop, but a lot more convenient to carry.

This was also a shakedown outing, and the new seal for the oil cooler adapter plate worked great... on the other hand, the intermittent low oil warning is back, as is an intermittent low battery warning, and, when I got cut off by a car that didn't want to slow down for the guy in front of him, I found out that the horns aren't working again. I think these are probably all related. Going to lift the tank in the next few days and see if I can find where that ground from the headlight bucket isn't as good as it should be.

 

Well my Vermont license plate finally came in wooohoooo!!! Even if the plate is for a Harley Sportster.

 

Picked up some bits this morning, the guy was throwing them in the skip if they weren’t collected.

I’ve been looking for a set of from callipers as well!

 

Well done! I've had some stuff from Yambits in the UK, brake calliper and m/c rebuild kits are good, some of their electrical stuff not so - the copy fuse box isn't worth bothering with, and if you buy a new ingnition switch be prepared to upgrade the red and brown wires. How are your back shocks - original ones were rubbish and may well have been replaced numerous times by now, I've bought Hagon (ebay, looked scruffy but had the plastic tube covering the chrome rod - they were like new), also Ikon adjustables are around if you can find a set. I made this to dismantle them:-

 

Tested the ignition coils secondary resistance and got no readings, but primary were in spec. Still getting spark but am confused if they need replaced.

going to do some research tonight!

 

Thanks, I’m over the moon, such a good find! I’ve had a look through Yambits, looks like they’ve got some decent stuff! Back shocks are chrome replacements.. I picked up a set of Marzocchi shocks today with my other freebies!

That’s an interesting contraption, as long as it works!

 

You clamp it in the vice, put your shock in, pull the lever and take the top collar out - 30 seconds. It's adjustable and self locking, can't go wrong.

 

Got the frame back from blasting and powder coat today. Looked good. I was a little worried about some rust on the lower crossbar but it came out nice. Now I need to get busy doing the other work to get it back together and functional again.

 

I had the same thing on one of my coils. When I took it off, it had cracks underneath. Guessing it let moisture into the windings. It ran and had spark too, but really crappy ones. Got another set (used) and the resistance is spec and the spark is much better. I’d suggest at least one coil.

 

Pulled the tank to see what I could find with the horns not working. The ground to the frame by the coils seemed good. The horn was cooperating, in that it was still not working after I'd pulled the tank. Jumpering ground from block to the ground point, or block to the black wire in the loom, made no difference. The horns did start working when I probed the pink wire near the modular plug near the coils. So I pulled the three modular plugs apart, brushed the contacts with a wire brush, tried to clean out the other side contacts with a Dremel bit, and added some dielectric grease. The horn is working again... hopefully that will help the oil sensor too... Guess I'll need to go on another long ride to see for sure.

Also checked the intermittent battery warning. That turned out to be that the sensor had broken, again. Soldered the wire back (it got eaten away right at the top of the sensor a while back), and we'll see if it holds up better this time.

 

If there's just a small break in the secondary winding, I could see it arcing across that break, just like it arcs across the plug gaps. I would definitely replace them, though.

 

I got my bike back from the shop. They got my broken bolts out of the intake manifold!!!

I want to install my new boots, get the carbs on, replace the fuel lines and get it running!!

Any recommendations on replacement bolts for the carb boots? Should I use cap head again?

 

yes, stainless steel with anti-seize, don't over tighten them

 

81-83 HONDA CB750 coils swap right in and have replaceable wires and can still be bought new Cycle Recycle part 2 sells these 40$ each been running these for 3 years with no problems

 

I did a valve check a few days ago. Only 2 out of spec. Took care of those. Also replaced the rear brake shoes and replaced a broken exhaust header stud, replacing all of the hardware and gaskets. Today I replaced the clutch perch and master cylinder to the flat bar versions from XJ4EVER and replaced the tach and speedo cables which very much improved the tightness of both gauges. A little while back I tried my hand at HVLP painting my tank. Looks pretty crummy so one of the next things I might do is take it to a local paint shop and have a nice, simple gloss black sprayed on. Thing is, I don't want the paint to look too nice or else I'll have to take care of the rest.

 

I took my cylinder head to the engineers today (as Chacal advised). They are going to repair the head where the two studs at the front of the cam tunnel secure the head to the cylinders.

 

Replaced my gas cap and removed the old lock cylinder to put in the new cap. Didn’t want an extra key. Everything works like a charm and thanks to XJ4Ever for the great tutorial!

http://www.xj4ever.com/gas cap.pdf

 

you only see the tank and cluster back of headlight when you ride, those are he only places that need to shine

 

I can dig that. Fortunately the cluster looks great. The top of the tank, well...

 

I got a tank cover made for my bike. Bagster manufacture them. Might be an option for you?

 

Looks like they might be tough to find in the US. Do you have a picture of your bike with it on?

 

I need to check tomorrow and if see l can find a photo of it. At the moment the bike is stripped down.

 

Could only find this photograph before it was finished but the cover cost little to make and was made out of an old jacket. Gives you a rough idea what it is like. If your wife has a sewing machine or you know someone perhaps you can get one made. And the seam above the Yamaha badge was the original one which is the same on the other side. Basically the jacket was centred on the tank and that reduced the number of joints required. You can also cut out cardboard templates of the sections of the tank transfer them to the material and work that way.

 

That's interesting. Thanks for the suggestion and finding a picture!

 

I don't use it all the time but it is good if I want to put a tank bag on if I am going on a long run to protect the paintwork.

 

Order a set of carbs, starter motor and relay.. Hopefully I can see if this engine works!

 

Took possession of this last night and took it out for a shake down ride today and it was great. Did about 50 miles actually. Needs a bit but not much. Will do greats as a rideable parts/testing bike as I rebuild the 81 midnight. Seat has to go though...

 

Rode the Seca 30 miles yesterday. That thing just works and is a joy to ride! My helmet on the other hand... I'm a long oval and didn't realize that and that when I got my helmet 4 years ago. Been a problem before but the achy forehead has to stop. Need a new lid. Long oval choices are limited. Thinking of this LS2 model: https://www.amazon.com/LS2-Helmets-Unisex-Adult-Helmet-X-Small/dp/B07GJZBSXM?th=1

 

Love the smell of new rubber in the morning!

Dunlop RoadSport 2 for the big bike.

 

Finally install the carbs, along with a new throttle cable (was frayed at the throttle) new clutch cable, new clutch/mirror bracket. All from Len, on time and as advertised.

Question - Something is not correct on my carb install. I’m 100% certain that the boots from the carbs to the cylinder intake are fully seated and they’re tightened down. The boots coming off the Airbox to the carbs are fully seated at the Airbox and the tabs are straight up and in between the markers on the Airbox. The boot seating ON the carbs (coming from the Airbox) is not the greatest. I think it’ll probably work, but I know it’s not correct. Here’s the thing, I had to remove the bolt that bolts the Airbox to the frame, in order to shove the Airbox waaaay forward. So all of the boots are on, but I can’t bolt the Airbox to the frame now. If I pull the Airbox back far enough to bolt it to the frame, it will definitely pull the rear boots off of the carbs. It’s an 82 XJ650. Hitachi 32 carbs. I’ve replaced the air filter, the air chute and the cover for the airbox with parts for an 82XJ650. They all fit perfectly.

I guess my question is, can the boots on the carbs shrink so much that they become too short?

 

Unfortunately, yes. A new boot will have these deimsions:

short side length 54.4mm
long side length: 68.4mm

 

Nice bike you got Joe.

 

Thx for the quick replies. Thx Franz, she’s a work in progress. She was in sad, sad shape when I pushed her home in Feb.

Guess I’ll be ordering some more parts.

 

She is REAL pretty!

 

Yes, they can and do shrink. Try warming them good with a hot air gun. While they’re soft, you may be able to pull the box back enough to get the bolts in

 

I have watched some videos on bringing old rubber back to life and it looks that soaking in a oil of wintergreen solution will restore the suppleness and cause the item to swell a bit but then goes back down after some time. So maybe a good cleaning and few days soak then put them back on swollen and they will shrink back to size in place. One test I have wanted to do is coat the part in Icy Hot, or other sore muscle balm, Oil of Wintergreen (Methyl salicylate) is a main component of most of those, to see if that would de-fossilize rubber. Try it on a trash part first of course

 

I actually did that. I’m also on a V4 site, one of the V4 carb gurus swears by this technique. He uses one part oil of wintergreen and 3 parts alcohol. He says the alcohol opens up the rubber and the oil of wintergreen then infuses into the rubber. I’ve used it on lots of different rubber parts with noticeable success. It’ll leave the rubber parts smelling minty for weeks and months. You have to keep mixing the solution because the oil and the alcohol want to separate. A closed container and shaking is best, but just stirring does work. And DON’T GET THAT OIL IN YOUR EYES. It burns like nobody’s business and it is super persistent. It’s very pure oil, so it doesn’t just rinse off easily.

In this case, it didn’t have a huge effect. My boots were badly misshaped from years of being improperly seated. I also suspect that they endured years of gasoline leaking on to them. The wintergreen trick does work, but there’s a limit to how much it can rehabilitate old rubber. I think my boots have reached their limit.

 

yes it works but it only stays soft for a short time

 

I reshaped the boots on my vmax by taking them all off, heating them individually and clamping them on a carb one at a time. It removed the "belling" where they sat on the carbs.

 

I’d say based on chacal’s info, I’m just waaaaaay outta spec. Time for new boots.

 

So today Friday is my unpaid day off , fantastic weather no wind and sunny in the 70s . While my wife was in dialysis, took off for a "little" ride , the longest so far this year. Rode 336 miles stopped at parents house and back , bike was almost flawless ( starter clutch slips when hot eventually catches) . Figured out I'm not as young as I used to be, I once rode 600 miles in one day left at daybreak and got home at 4 am on my 84 Kawasaki 550 LTD F1 shaft drive , slept 5hrs and went to work ( got to love night shift) . To tired to clean bugs off bike get with that tomorrow. Cheers

 

Today I removed the center stand, battered it with a wire wheel on the angle grinder, painted it with Krust, primer then 3 coats of paint, cleaned up the bolts and spring.
Also got a new battery so going to start her up tomorrow.

 

Technically, it's not something for the Yamaha, but something I use with the Yamaha(s). New lid... light, fits properly fitting it w/ a coms system (to talk to my phone for nav, etc).

 

Engine strip going well. Found out that oil spray nozzle is not damaged.