What did you do to your Yamaha today?

Stripped down the swingarm and steering head for new bearings.... that i THOUGHT were gonna show up in the mail today

 

Installed 4 valve shims. And installed a new on/off petcock, no more leaking from that thing!

Man she is VERY responsive now! Thanks to everyone for their help and big thanks to Fitz for his outstanding tutorial. Removing horn, pulling the valve cover, pulling the shims, replacing the shims, putting back valve cover, reinstalling horn, less than an hour! I feel accomplished Took her out for a 40 mile ride and am very happy. Carbs are still dirty, still working up the courage for that. Next up, complete front brake rebuild (MC, Caliper, SS brake lines, new pads) Looking forward to it!

 

Finished valve shim service after having received and installed two shims from hogfiddles' shim pool. Thanks for the prompt shipment!

Cleaned off the old valve cover gasket material (what a bear)!
Now, I may repaint the valve cover.
About ready to inspect the steering head bearings, replace the fork preload spacers with longer ones, install some eurobars, and lightly sand on the brake disc.

 

Finished the last of my frame mods; now its time to blast, paint, and put the engine back in!

 

Finished the front brake rebuild, finally. Turns out I did NOT lose the anti-rattle clip for the brake pads that goes on top of them, it was just stuck to the part of the fork where the caliper is mounted! So, I'm not an idiot, but do have a brand new anti-rattle clip that I don't need.

I then put the gas tank back on, and started it up, and it fired right up. I had the choke on, and it would die when I took choke out, until it warmed up a bit. Once warm, she runs fine and holds idle at proper rate.

Also installed some new-to-me mirrors, tho I will need to strop them of a the lousy black paint job done on them. Along with the mirrors I got a new set of handlebars too, but am not installing them until I polish clean them up. Went to auto parts store and got a mini mothers polishing ball, a scuffing ball for cleaning up some rust, some touch up paint, and sea foam. Thinking tmrw I'll get that done.

This concludes the safety and basic check part of my work on the bike. On to performance and cosmetics!

 

Sweet man, you took the gas tank off to do the brakes?

I'm about to rebuild my entire braking system, interested in why you took the tank off.

I still have no idea how to remove the caliper lol. Did you go with SS brake lines? If so, how will that affect your new handlebars as the SS lines don't twist at all!

I don't like the handlebars on my bike, they hurt my back after about 20 miles... Need to get new ones quick!

 

Got the bike out of long term storage. Pulled carbs, completely cleaned, new battery. Today, put new sportster mufflers on the bike, first time it has been running in a long time, final synch tomorrow, and time to take it on the road tomorrow.

 

yet another oil change. After making my xj my daily driver, I'm racking up the miles quick.

4000 miles in just under 2 months.

 

Did an oil change today. Then rode to a bar about 30 miles away. Great day!!

 

Rebuilt front brakes, replaced brake pads. Easiest thing I've done yet, pistons were stuck pushed them out with a grease gun attached to the bleeder.

 

No, I had it off to do the valve clearance check and shim replacement.

There is a bolt on the bottom of the caliper, you unscrew that and the caliper drops down. It's on a "pivot" so it has some side to side play, which is essential. I suggest you get the Haynes manual, it will make life much easier.

I went with SS lines as well. There was no issue with the lack of twist, as the banjo bolt heads are properly aligned when they are made. As for turning the bars, there is no change in the relative orientation of the cables when that happens, so no issues at all. It really just means you gotta pick the right cable with the right end up and facing the right direction when putting the system back together. Good pics along the way make this trivial.

The whole process was really easy, in retrospect. I psyched myself out a few times along the way tho, and made it take much longer than it should, just because as a programmer, I tend to work my way thru problems by overthinking and making a big mental model and avoiding committing to a course of action. It appears I can get alot more done, alot faster, and without any significant drop in quality if I let it rip.

I have to finish moving the bike to my new insurance before I can take her out and break in the brake pads, harhar.

Your arms are maybe shorter? I have ridden it for days at a time without problems. I'm 6'1 and ride bicycles alot (lower back strength makes a big difference).

 

Got my new brake lever, clutch lever, clutch cable, choke cable, and speedo cable in the mail, ordered EVERYTHING to rebuild my carbs, paid for my new Canadian issue gauge cluster and found 2 nice feeler gauges that will work splendid for checking the old Turbo's valves!

 

cbrozefsky, thank you!!

And no, my arms are very long! I'm 6'2 185 pounds with long ass arms! Do you sit back enough to extend your hands? My arms are very bent at the elbows when riding.... I get this "C" shape in my back with those bars.

 

I went and got my license... well the 2nd step of the learners anyway! Now to actually get some highway riding in, I cant wait!

 

I recommend taking a MSF course training, if you haven't already.

http://ridertraining.org/gearing-up/british-columbia

 

This weekend is my course!

 

Best money you'll ever spend MC wise

 

Finished wiring... getting close

 

Strange that's what I hear. I'm really looking forward to it actually. I think I'll have the carbs out of the bike by the time this weekend hits, I was gonna ride my own bike at the class, but I'll just use their 250's

 

82New, what kind of wiring are you doing?

 

Seriously, I almost died last August in a bike wreck, I did EXACTLY what they taught me, and it would have worked in any other circumstance!

Ryan

 

full rewire, bobber project so i used the simplified wiring diagram

 

Wow, glad you're alright man... Now I'm really looking forward to that class.

 

I did the MSF course here in Chicago as part of getting my license, and it was indeed very valuable even if I felt like it was slow moving.

I recently did a Lee Parks Total Control course here, and that was extremely useful for some of my touring on the east coast, since you know, in the midwest there are no curves anywhere. I recommend the TC courses if you want to learn alot more about making the bike go fast around corners.

 

Yes I am saving up to get it done. I'm also riding with 2 others who did the local course within the last year, using their study material and riding with them with intercom/bluetooth systems on our helmets. I've already taken in so much, even before I started riding. It's all great tips and tricks to stay alive and seen!

 

Pulled the carbs on my bike tonight. Step 1 of the terrifying process ahead lol. Taking them out really wasn't bad at all, quite easy actually!

 

on my way to work this morning (riding the 550) I felt like a tiny midget when I pulled up next to a Boss Hoss at the stoplight.. if you've never heard of them look it up; the engine is a V8 and the width of the rear tire alone is probably close to half the width of my entire bike. I knew they sold them near my employers' location, just never been that close to one before. And damn, they smoke ya when the light turns green!

 

Glued gasket to Valve cover and installed on engine, installed load equalizers from SDC and wired to LED turn signals.

Slow and steady wins the race. Plan on installing engine back in frame this week.

 

Within the past week I took off the rear fender and added a trailer fender (unpainted so far), put on a temporary solo seat, added a bar to hold my mountain bike fork so I can haul my bike to the trail head, made two seat pans out of fiberglass to be made next week, changed the rear 1157s to LED, made a bracket and fitted 2 Hella Driving lights (which i might switch back) and today I swapped out the original bars for some of Bikemasters Daytona bars and they are AWESOME!

 

Chucked the tank back on and started it, run for about 5 minutes. Getting ready to paint it before summer kicks back here in NZ.

 

Phase 2 of carb cleaning. Actual cleaning of everything. Next up is removing these drain scews somehow and replacing them. Then it's on to wet setting.

 

Got a parking ticket for refusing to park the bike on hot asphalt.

 

I went to adjust the angle of the front brake lever, so it's more comfortable to reach. Loosened the two clamp bolts, adjusted lever, tightened clamp, CLAMP SNAPPED IN TWO!!

The joys. I have this bike a week and can't get near it! Painting kids bedrooms takes priority after using up all my brownie points to buy the bike in the first place. :roll:

 

Crossed the border to pickup parts ordered from Chacal, great service! Didn't get charged taxes on import to Canada which was a bonus.

Pulled clutch apart to inspect, looks like a new order for clutch parts will be in the works.

Oh yeah, and actually went for a short ride through the neighbourhood.

 

Removed exhaust from my Venture Royale 1300, need to replace the collector and probably rear exhaust pipes.

 

Painted the fairing, side covers, rear end and front guard.
Finishing the tank today, then she's almost ready to ride again!

 

solo seat fabrication. wrapped my seat pan with foam for my bobber project.

 

Mark, do you have pics of the project? I would LOVE to solo seat mine as well...

Today I got the bike to start by just pushing the start button. A dream come true!! Had to endure the nightmare first though

 

Prepped for fuel sight gauge, installed new grips and cried/moaned because my SS brake lines didn't show up.

 

I will take some new pictures today. I have the leather sitting in the sun to soften it before wrapping the seat.

 

I finally got the carbs rebuilt and put back into the bike, thanks to you guys on here!

Took her for a 100 mile ride today, got into the twisties in the mountains for the first time. Lots of traffic so couldn't go too fast, but it sure was fun to take her out knowing that some of the issues have been solved!

 

wrapped me solo seat with a piece of leather

 

Put her back together after the new paint job

 

Put in the All Balls steering bearings. I don't think that lower race will ever come out not because it's so tight but because there is absolutely no shoulder to get a dirft on to tap it out. I doubt this will be an issue.

 

Started a thorough clean to get rid of 15 years of grime, only got the front fender and the top half of the engine clean. Toothbrush and rags are slow going, but satisfying

 

Put on some 10.5" Stubby shocks for a sportster, finished up late so ill take it for the test ride tomorrow!

 

Wrapped the exhaust with some white 2 inch wrap, gotta spray the collector and dremel out the inside where it meets the headders to get the rust out before i put them back on with the new exhaust which will be tomorrows job!

 

bought a bike cover so my 9 month old Black Lab Staffy cross cant chew my brake lines again!

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but the problem is I couldn't bring up temp of the engine block to 730F to melt the rod using either propane of mapp torches. XJ block acts as a giant heat sink. Oxy Acetylene torch will probably work, but I'm not ready to take that plunge yet.

Tried about 10 different epoxies, but none could handle the heat and oil pressure at the same time. JB welded the crack as the last resort, will see if it is up the hype in the next few days. I heard people used it for this exact purpose, so that's my last hope before going to the welder

Also fixed the kickstand cutoff issue by cleaning the relay terminals with fine-grit sandpaper.

 

Well she's back together! Vacuum sync'd which wient well then color tuned, not so much. Odd results, maybe from previous carb condition. Gonna put a few miles on her to see if something breaks loose. Anyway, gettin tired of workin on her and not ridin her. Need bugs in my teeth.