What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Rode the XJ through a serious down pour.
Rain gear held up well.

 

did some frame painting , Tightened the chain, Fabricate front turn signal mounts, Sent off to the DMV for title and plates, Buffed/ shined some of the aluminum covers /fork/carb parts. adjust idle to 1200rpm.

I want to get a new drive gear, i want to lower the rpms at highway speeds.

currently runs 4200 rpms @ 55mph in 5th gear. is that normal/

 

Took the freeplay out of the brake lever. Didn't know you could do that.

Tried to get my seatlock rekeyed to match the ignition key. Oops, they take incompatible key blanks, no go. I actually have 3 keys for this thing: seatlock, gas cap, and ignition and none of them will take a blank from the other so I can't even get it down to 2 keys. Ah well.

 

last night I cleaned my first carb.
In my haste i used last time waaaayyy to much instant gasget to seal the float bowl... the excess gastget kept the float from shutting down the gas input. flooding the airbox...

To night i will change my oil... it's been about one and a half year ago... and have the risk of having gasoline in my oil...

 

I pulled into a local store where they had a vendor doing pin striping work. Well I took a chance... ( I just painted my tank again)
and I let him do his artistic work, I didn't even tell him what I wanted in the way of a design.

I LIKE IT!
I'll post a pic later on this thread.

 

I can't wait 2 see what u got there...

 

Click for big pic

 

today all i did was took my clutch apart and fixed it up the clutch was sticking and got a new speed-o for the bike

 

took the front wheel off, dropped it off at my tire guy for a new Dunlop 404.
Changed the oil & filter, changed the plugs.

 

I had an annoying little glitch in my bike. When I rode it, it felt like there was something that was not quite tight and would give a little flex once in a while. I had recently replaced wheel bearings, front and rear and was worried something did not get seated right. I tackled the problem today and since I had recently posted a couple times on chain related threads, I pulled the chain off first. My problem revealed itself in short order. The master link had broken. $8.35 for a new link and I was good to go. After the chain was back on, I leaned the bike over onto the side stand... only problem was the stand was up. Bike fell over and smashed my front turn signal lens. Bad language was then heard. Crazy glue and clear packing tape will do for a short term fix.

 

Bought a used seat from a local graveyard and took the carbs off the bike. Guess what for... Yep a good ol' cleaning.

 

today finished fabrication of front signal mounts , Signals are done, Brakes are done, only 1 more thing to do,

Get the rest of the headlight assy and install. used a 1986 xv700 virago headlight bucket and mount but still need the lamp ring.

 

Hey flash, can you pm me a pic of your front signal mount?
I did one for mine a while ago, but I'm not happy with it... looking for a better idea to work with my aftermarket signals

 

The piece was made from a exsisting fairing/headlight mount frame cut and ground down for the signal mount.

 

Took a look at a bunch of parts I got from eBay. Bleh. Most of them are practically junk. The 750 airbox parts are good, and the right side engine cover is brand new (shiny!). But the headlight parts are practically junk.

I have a feeling that the poor 650 is going to sit in dry dock most of the summer again. Wah. All that work last winter just for her to sit again. Grrr...

 

thanks flash..

 

No problem Its fairly simple it mounts om the fork bols under the headlight. i had to trim between the bolt holes to make it fit with the virago headlight. had to go to ace hardware to get new fork bolts m12 1.25 pitch needed longer bolts for it all to work right.

haven't done a thing to the bike today and may not for a week or 2 because , I am waiting for my plates so I can ride this bugger

I guess you can never do too much buffing or cleaning. maybe clean the plugs again.

 

I picked up the stuff to make a manometer today, but ran into car troubles on the way home from the store, so now I'm gonna drink beer until I have a full pyramid of empty cans on the desk and call it a day.

The bike runs well except for the occasional attempt to stall while sitting at idle, and a bit of stumble coming off idle. Above 1500 rpms though, she runs great, shifts smoothly, brakes well, all that good stuff.

I spent about 45 minutes on the bike today after limping the camaro home from the store, needed to clear my head, and riding definitely accomplishes that!

 

Yesterday I tried to find my oil leak (I had cleaned everything under the left cover last week so the leak would be obvious). I found the leak all right -- all my seals are fine, it was leaking between the cases on the left rear side. I removed and retightened that bolt right there as much as I dared, but the torque never increased so I became afraid it was stripped and stopped. Still leaks, too. Anyone know if an XS400 has a rubber gasket or a fiber gasket? If it's rubber maybe I'll attempt to tighten it some more.

Fortunately, that engine case bolt is a through-hole so I can get a longer bolt and put a nut on the bottom if those threads are/get ruined.

 

The case halves do not have a gasket persay. They typically use Yamabond 4 when going together. I'd be leary of tightening that bolt any more... I've cracked a case on an XS400 by being to generous with the torque.

You MAY have to split the cases to fix the problem.. that would suck!

 

Passed my rode test today.
:mrgreen:
All these years and I'm finally legal.

 

Congrats!!!

 

Adding floorboards as passenger pegs later today, added backrest bag, going to modify the rear turn lights to led's after I do my test on thursday. (Just like above, finally legal after way to many years... Woo WHOO). Have some liguid flames to add to tank and side covers as well. And then finish modifing side bags thursday as well. Now to finish scouring the site to find out about foot pegs for me.....

 

Went to find some various bolts for the 650, like the bolt at the bottom of the fork that holds the damping rod (M10x1.0x30mm). No dice. Bolt that holds the instrument cluster in place (M6x1.0x45mm, about 30mm unthreaded). No dice. Bolt that holds the headlight bracket to the lower clamp (M6x1.0x35mm, about 20mm unthreaded). NO DICE.

<grumble grumble>

FINE. Went back home, did some more examining of the fork I took apart and decided that in addition to seals and boots that only that bolt and the bushing at the base of the damper rod needed to be replaced and I will have a servicable spare left fork.

Then came the REALLY good news. I've been trying to get my headlight reassembled since the crash. After much disappointment shuffling through eBay and spare parts, I FINALLY got an entire headlight assembly together. Still needs a little work to make it perfect, but everything works! Pics to come.

One thing I got from eBay is a headlight bracket. Thing has a bolt sheared off in the top right... WITH the tip of an easy-out bit in it. Any ideas on getting THAT sucker out of there? I doubt I can drill through it...

 

I decided to leave it in the garage..... :cry:

 

This weekend I synchronized the card on my Seca and boy is she running smooth now. I had a problem with sooty plugs, hard starting and running poorly. I think most of my problem was the idle set way to low, about 700 where should have been 1050 PRM, according too my manual. I also added in the battery sensor bypass, no more blinking warnings and constant battery message.

 

I feel for you! I was ticked when I saw this a month and a half ago.

 

I had my frame powder coated. Now I need to reassemble my bike. Hope I remember where everything went?

 

I ripped the forks off trying to remove oil seals.

 

Got the fuse panel mounted to the back of the battery box:

Flush Screws
Fuse Panel 1
Fuse Panel 2

I'm really happy with it.

Yesterday, I was working on removing a stuck bolt from a headlight mounting bracket that I got from eBay. My screw remover bit broke off without much to grab onto. Today I used the Dremel to grind most of it out (like a very slow drill), only to run out of room and end up having to try another tack.

... Ever work really, really hard at something, only to find out an hour later that you could have been done in about five minutes? Yeah. Well, apparently, I have some really, really hard steel drill bits that I hadn't tried. They cut through that broken-off screw remover and the rest of the stuck bolt like butter. Increased the bit size to get out as much of the bolt remnants as I could and tapped out both holes.

Good as new! Yay for one more discontinued part reclaimed from the terrors of rusted-in bolts!

Now I just have to disassemble my headlight all over again, since just about nothing is really where I want it. At least I have most of the parts I need to make it go.

 

Took offf the fork tubes cleaned them and reinstalled with fresh oil

tomarrow i will take out the plugs and see how they are looking

 

I ceramic coated my pipes. Here's how they started out:



After Shotblasting:



Then the Ceramic:

 

What did it cost you to do that?????

 

The shot blasting I did in my shop for free. The ceramic cost me $80 and a case (12) of beer, which in Canada costs about $30. So $110 less the 4 beers I drank out of the case. So an even $100.

I called a lot of places and if you bring them in cleaned up you can expect $100 to 125

Add another $75 for sandblasting.

You can get the ceramic done in a chrome finish as well.

I just liked the satin black for what I'm doing.

I also powder coated my frame. That cost me $150 and a few more beers.

Take a look:

 

Ordered a bunch of replacement bolts from Fastenal.

 

Dove into the X; replaced the bits on the petcock, and surgically extracted the carbs to redo the float levels.

Now, about that fuel injection kit someone was working on...

 

A light blue frame could get you arrested in some former Soviet countries.

 

Was cleaning up the garage and decided to start up the 650, just to make sure she still would. Took a long time to start and ran rough. Has a lope that I don't like and that doesn't stay the same. Runs even, then rough, then even, then rough.

Likely: time to pull the carbs. :/

 

It's actually Green. The picture is a little washed out. Green with a cream flake in it.

 

Do you have a list of all the bolts needed? Or am I gonna have to do it the hard way too?

 

(Sunday)

Changed the oil (not filter) and rode twice around the parking lot. Oil in sight glass too black to see already (#%**!! P.O.)

Local bike shop closed on Mondays so no filter.

Also drained the final drive and refilled with Red Line MT-90 (it's what I use in my VW's and they shift like the case is full of melted butter).

And, put in new plugs. Suddenly it idles right (although high) and the front wheel will come off the ground in 1st (oops). It was only firing on 3 before.

The guy I bought it from found it in a barn where it had sat for 8 months minimum (probably MUCH longer). He rebuilt the carbs and changed the oil/filter ONCE in the 1000 miles he drove it after getting it started. Said he could never get it to idle right and suspected fuel tank crud causing starvation at low rpm. He never checked the plugs <sigh>.

(Tuesday) Other work intervened. Made it to parts house in the afternoon and bought filter and oil and a sprocket/lock ring for my 3-wheeler that I need to sell. Never looked in the bag, back to office and dropped it on the counter.

Went to change oil/filter Tuesday night --- wrong filter. Counterman transposed last 2 digits of part number and sold me a 28410 instead of 28401.

(Wednesday) Back to parts house. Traded the 10-28410 for *2* 10-28401 filters and a $2 refund. They only had EMGO filters. Plan to use these two in the next 1000 miles to flush the system with clean oil then put in a K&N.

Wednesday night (cooler to work) changed oil and filter. Fired it up to check the level. Luckily I had a helper and HE fired it up while I watched. 2+ quarts of oil on the ground in under a minute.

I went to buy kitty litter and more oil while he checked the filter. It seems that when he tightened it up the first time the spring "caught" on something so it didn't tighten all the way down even though he reached about 12 ft/lbs on the nut. The vibration of the running engine snapped the spring out and loosened the cover plate.

2 hours of cleanup later. 2 quarts of fresh oil added to what was left from the spill -- fired it up and took it around the parking lot a couple of times again. Looks OK this time.

The bike also started to give me trouble starting. Seemed to be a bad battery connection as tapping around there would get it to start after a couple of tries.

(Thursday)

Received my new (old) replacement turn signal switch assembly to replace the one that had busted wires and enough stripped/seized screws to prevent me repairing it.

Went out after dark and installed it.

Bike wouldn't start again and no amount of wiggling/tapping around the battery would make it go. Since I had the headlight bucket open I checked wires in there and discovered the starter wire is QUITE warm. So, I broke out the screwdriver. Crossed the solenoid posts and it fired right up. I either need a new starter switch, new wiring (or wiring cleanup) from the switch to the solenoid, or a new solenoid. I'll probably replace the solenoid and clean up the wiring as I can get the parts quickly, locally. Replacing the switch assembly will be a "whim of the EBay gods" thing.

Got the bike idling. Good headlight. Good horn. No freakin' TURN SIGNALS!!!

So, I have to take the new (old) switch apart and find out why not. The air is heavy with potential rain. Too muggy to work out there tonight. Will go out and suffer in the sun during the day Friday (my arthritic knees will thank me anyway).

Need to dig up a part number for that solenoid and for a generic *NEW* turn signal/headlight/horn switch assembly in case the one I bought is beyond repair.

Life goes on.

G2

 

put the clutch covor back on and went 2 start the bike nerly lit it on fire lmao damn fuel tank lol

 

I should probably make a list at some point, but no, I don't have a comprehensive list.

I'm ordering the bolts that secure the grab bar for a second time (M8-1.25-35mm, if I recall). I got hex cap screws last time when I should have gotten socket set cap screws. Also got replacement hex cap screws for the gauge mounts. M6-1.0-55mm, partial thread.

Tried to get generic replacement bolts for the forks, but the bolt that holds the damper rod in place (also a socket set cap screw) is a fairly rare spec: M10-1.0-25mm. It's that 1.0mm pitch that is odd. M10s are normally 1.5mm pitch. Probably going to have to order those from BikeBandit.

I usually get stainless steel, if it's available, or plain finish. I've never seen any advantage to zinc. (If there is any advantage, I'll bet you'll see a reply to this post soon.)

 

Walked past it on the way out the door to work this morning. Poor thing looks like some sort of eviscerated animal. Made my wife promise not to sell it in the garage sale today.

 

(Friday)

Bought new starter solenoid/relay. $37 for a $7 part because it has the word "motorcycle" in the description.

Replaced solenoid. Starts first push every time now.

Took the new (old) turn signal switch apart. I'm pissed off now. $27 for a part that was broken in the SAME WAY as the one I am replacing. The 3 wires for the turn signals broken loose at their solder points.

PLUS, someone filled the damn switch casing with bearing grease. Nasty clean up before I could even get a good look.

At least this one didn't have stripped screws preventing me from taking it apart (which was the main problem with my old one) so I dismantled it and re-soldered the wires.

I now have turn signals, headlight, and horn again.

Now I need an endorsement.

 

Finished cleaning up the carbs. Put in new parts and getting ready to adjust the floats.

 

Growled and cursed at it a bit
Working on a better front turn signal stay, still not happy......

Also noticed some brake fluid has seeped out around the cap/gasket, guess I need to work on that before it becomes an issue

 

Made a bike-cam mounting bracket out of an M5 x 0.8 screw and nut, a random chunk of spare metal drilled, heated, bent, and ground, and a 1/4"-20 bolt and nut. The little screw goes where the reflector threads on, and the bigger bolt fits the tripod mount for a camera:




Turned out ok. I was afraid the spot-welded nut that the reflector threads into would snap off the first bump I went over, but the 'Yamaha' sheet metal badge has some give to it for shock and vibration absorption. It also means the video ends up being a little wiggly but not too bad (you can just barely see my fender shaking at the bottom right of the video). Skip ahead to 15 seconds in, the first bit is really boring:

Clicky: http://tinypic.com/player.php?v=21j3y4z&s=3

I don't have a really cool video yet, unfortunately... just this proof of concept.

 

Sat on my Maxim 400, looked at my Maxim 400, daydreamed...and then thought about the fact I'm one week away from my motorcycle safety course, and two weeks away from the bike being insured. Made doubly hard by the purchase of additional gear yesterday. Until then, stuck on the Honday Ruckus for two weeks.

 

Nothing today. I looked at its nice new tires, contemplated a ride. Then left it sitting in the garage and rode my 2000 Venture 470 miles round trip to my nephew's high school graduation. It was a long HOT ride there and back, but it was the least I could do. My brother named him after me.

Before I left, both of my nephews were talking about getting motocycles.
What can I say...I'm an influential uncle. Ha!