What did you do to your Yamaha today?

I managed to get another 30 miles on today before the weather turned sour, cold front blew in and with it a good sprinkle that made the roads slick from the accumulated crud & oil drippings. We've not had any significant rain since early September and it's bone dry and our temperature dropped 24F in just 45 minutes and is now sitting at 41F as of this post. Gotta tell ya I'm dreading winter this year.

 

I hear ya, @Brhatweed. Sad, sad, sad, time of year. Put away the bikes and dig out the snowblower. Sucks.

 

We'll see how things go, the head will be in Howard Lake after the first snow for a valve job and I might do rings as well but it's going to be a long winter with the Toro regardless. I'm a rural carrier that runs a 145 mile route on municipal roads so I really dread the snow & ice.

 

Today I took my XJ for a 40 or so mile ride, put stabilizer in at the gas stop, and parked it until sometime in the spring. Two weeks from a knee replacement, so I'm getting things lined up for a multi-month nap. Later this week the Himalayan will get its end of season oil change and be put away until spring... or until I trade it in on the new liquid-cooled model. The Harley will probably get its last ride of the year on Friday. Sigh. Winter...

 

Snowglobe SECA

 

Now that the majority of the snow has melted from the seat I did get a few miles on today, officially we picked up 6.3 inches of slop. Bike really didn't want to crank this afternoon, running 20W50 conventional in the box now and it was 48F... honestly I didn't want to crank this afternoon. Might get a few more rides in this week, possibly early next week but a spot in the garage has been made and the battery tender is plugged in and waiting. Really don't want to hang up the helmet.

 

Well the end of the bike season has arrived here. Pulled the tank and drained it out then sprayed the interior with WD-40 and closed the cap, drained the carb bowls leaving the screws out for the winter and brought the battery in to hibernate on a 5ma charger. 7,798 miles this year on the same rear tire, still shy of the wear bars but I most likely will replace it next year anyway... lets see how the economy goes. Might do some work on it during the winter but bike funds are a little thin at the moment, right now it's tucked away in the garage on the center stand next to the snow blower.

 

Sounds like a great season!
Road today in southern New Hampshire but not many days left.
Already starting a list of upgrades for spring time.
List includes but not limited to
Replace front brake caliper,master cylinder and line,
Clutch,
Fork seals
Change gear lube,
And a few more I am sure.
Have a safe winter
Paul

 

Hey Brahtweed
Not sure how to get the word out to everyone on this site but I just ran across a Craigslist post today for a 82 xj550 in Marlborough Massachusetts. Looks complete the guy wants 100.00 or it going to scrap if no one grabs it
Thanks Paul

 

Post the link.

 

Here is the Craigslist ID 7800037940
Type in search and it will pop up

 

https://worcester.craigslist.org/mpo/d/marlborough-82-yamaha-550-maxim/7800037940.html

 

A minor oil leak brought on the need for a periodic valve clearance check followed by new cam cover gasket and bolt seals. I live in South Florida so there was a nice ride, too, to check my work. All was well.

 

Finished cleaning, replacing all the rubber and incorrect parts, and reassembling the carbs for the XJ900. Still need to align them, check the fuel levels, install, and sync.

 

In the process of rebuilding the quad downdraft mikunis on my vmax. They are a right pain to set the float levels - you have to do them individually because the float cambers face inwards - even then it's a bit of a faff. Maybe I'll make a jig to clamp the top face to the underside of a level surface - holding the carb whilst flushing fuel out and holding the clear tube needs three hands. One thing I did find helped, I marked the setting on the body with pencil before testing. And after the first one was spot on I found a 7mm drill shank between the main jet and the float was a good starting point for bench setting.
Other issues was a lack of rubber bungs for the jet holders - despite a uk supplier sending me a kit with them supposedly in there, ended up making my own from ptfe rod.

 

Replaced my rear brake shoes today. I neglected to read the safety-critical thread while riding all summer, so I was mortified when I realized my drum could lock up at any time. My bike came to me this year with only 3900 miles on it, so the brake shoes were probably the original 1981 units!

When took off the rear wheel, there was no sign of delamination, but there was SO MUCH dust. The shoes seemed pretty crusty and old, so I was happy to replace them. I was told to expect worse braking performance for a bit, but it actually seems better. Old shoes must have been in pretty bad shape.

 

Not much in the way for ventilation on the rear drums for these, mine did have a delamination and it got caught up and dragged by the rust & dust inside on the highway. No damage but it made quite the mess.

 

So, learned my oil like works on Saturday.
I have been laxed in checking oil window it seems. I put 800 miles on the bike this summer (I keep it at another location where my boat is).
Took off out of the neighborhood and the oil light came on). I stopped to turn around and it then went off. I took it slow to the house, Put it on the center stand and saw no oil in the window. Took another bike out, came back and a little sliver of oil was showing near the bottom.
Put in about 1/4 quart I think it was , not sure to bring it back to 75% of the window. Took it out later that day for an hour and then again on Sunday for 60 mile ride to and from a bike meet up and all was good.
Nice to at least know the oil switch works
Bike has been a dream all summer. But I'm going to be selling it Making room for something else. Really wish I could sell to either someone I know or at least someone who will appreciate the work I went through. I'm keeping my 78 XS650 though as my vintage UJM.

 

Project loading, will update tomorrow or thanksgiving day..

yes my center stand is absent, no I don’t have a good excuse as to why

 

Ya know if you need some extra space on that top shelf I could put some of that R22 to good use

I do like the bike and it looks like you have a great assistant.