What did you do to your bike today?

[gene]

Second thing I did was quite the project. I installed a CBR900 choke for the ZRX1200 carb I had installed a couple months ago.


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[3Phase]

The 'tick' came back in my XJ11 engine and the brand new Mikuni float needles/seats were leaking.

The engine had been running rich and drinking fuel, only 29 mpg. Even though the octy was working, the clear fuel filters let me see that the fuel in both of the fuel lines was draining out and slightly overflowed after the engine was shut off. The leak made the engine start on two or three cylinders when it was overnight cold until the carbs refilled, then it flooded the engine when it was hot so the kicker wouldn't work and I had to use the electric starter.

I checked the valve clearances on Friday and the #4 Intake clearance was too wide. When I put the engine together before the Colorado rally I left it at 0.007" and it hadn't budged when I checked it at the campground during the rally. I guess I did such good job lapping the valves that the valve was totally happy, it didn't need to seat itself so the clearance didn't close and after the engine warmed up it made the 'tick'. I swapped the 270 shim for a 275 and the 'tick' is gone.

Next, I pulled the carbs and removed the float bowls, then flipped the carbs upside down and put them in a large pan with the fuel tank hooked up on Prime. I blipped the floats to get rid of the air in the lines, then let everything sit overnight. Saturday morning I could see that both #1 and #3 float valves were leaking and I was not happy. I removed all four needle assemblies to clean the o-rings and the seat assembly bores in the carbs, then I used some Q-Tips and Simichrome to polish all four needle seats. I cleaned the needle valve tips too just for grins and giggles, then let the carbs sit overnight again with the fuel tank on Prime. There were no leaks on this fine Sunday morning.

I put the carbs back together, reinstalled, synch'd, and reset the idle mixture screws. As I was finishing, I noticed some smoke wafting up from the engine. Oil was running all over the front and right side of the engine from the valve cover. Bummer... I had to pull the valve cover again, then put in a new gasket because the old one had broken when I checked the valve clearances.

I'd had some problems with the o-rings on the YICS tool sticking in the head and tearing when I removed the tool so this time I put some silicon paste on the o-rings. The silicon worked, it kept the o-rings from sticking in the head and the YICS tool was easy to remove without damaging the o-rings.

I just got back from a nice little test ride and everything is working perfectly. The engine is quiet, it doesn't leak oil and the kicker will start the engine even when it's hot after it's been parked on the side stand. I'll have to do some more riding to see if the fuel mileage is better but I'm done for today.

Whew!

[TopCatGr58]

Well, I finally tore in Godzilla to investigate the massive right side engine oil leak that had developed on my return trip from XSSE 2016. Had hoped that it was just the main oil galley plug O-ring, but even though it was a Harbor Freight Viton Ring, it seemed to still be snug. And I could see a faint trail of oil running down from the crank shaft seal area. So, I had already pulled the ALT cover, the mini-race alt, bracket, and so it wasn't much trouble to pull the rotor. I had used JB Weld to try to secure the no lip seal in the engine.

This is what I found:


I appears that the seal had actually rotated because the JB_Weld didn't line up with the crankcase. Pulled the seal, and there was OIL all around the outer edge of it, and it appears that I had inadvertently plugged the drain hole with the RED RTV AND had pushed the seal in too far.



So apparently with the plugged drain hole, the pressure was too much and blew out the seal since fluids don't compress! SO I cleaned it all up, applied a fresh coat of oil on the crank shaft, and the inside lip of the seal, and then used Threebond, just a thin film on the inside mating surface of the crankcase, and then just pushed the seal just far enough to be flush with the crankcase, and then applied a fresh layer of JB Weld again to try to keep it in place.



I then continued to take stuff off of the bike in preparation for flipping to peform the 1st/2nd gear dremmel fix AGAIN! Turns out the 1" square tubing that I had put on for some makeshift cruise bars wasn't up to supporting the weight of the bike when trying to roll it over on it's back!



I had removed the rear turn signal on the left side, but with the cruise bar, there was plenty of clearance before it would make contact with the handlebars. But as the cruise bar collapsed, it landed on the headlight turn signal and broke it's mounting shaft!

And so with my advancing age and possibly reduced strength, along with NOT wanting to take everything else off of the bike to try to flip it, I've decided to HOIST it up from the front/handlebars.

I had built a fairly solid wooden frame structure last year in anticipation of using it to help hoist the ENGINE during my frame swap, but didn't have to use it since I was able to cut the old frame into pieces, and then used the bike lift to position and put it on my engine stand. Then had George help me slide it into the new rolling frame.

I would prefer to be able totally flip the bike, but will have to see how hard it it to manipulate the gears and forke with the bike upright like BA80/Greg said he has done it. To be continued!

T.C.

[BA80]

Washed it for the first time in 2017.

Spent an hour trying to get it started. Time to seal up the pick up coil plug behind the fuse panel again.

[XJkid]

New speedo

Anything under 80 mph is kinda boring, and my 80 mph speedo was howling and bouncing and no amount of lube changed that, so I got a '77 xs750 140 mph speedo off Ebay for $15 and did a ham-fisted swap, but it works great!

[Geezer]

Actually it was a few days ago but I brought all my bikes home from storage 30 miles away and they're now home. My XS11 is sitting on my sun porch waiting for me to get started on it...

Geezer

[jetmechmarty]

Actually it was a few days ago but I brought all my bikes home from storage 30 miles away and they're now home. My XS11 is sitting on my sun porch waiting for me to get started on it...

Geezer

Tony,
I'm just wondering what you do with a sun porch in western Oregon.

[3Phase]

Tony,
I'm just wondering what you do with a sun porch in western Oregon.

You put a solar collector on it during the day when the Sun's out so you can use it for the other 364 days when it's not?

[jetmechmarty]

You put a solar collector on it during the day when the Sun's out so you can use it for the other 364 days when it's not?

I was thinking he'd have a rain porch!

[Geezer]

You guys clearly have never experienced an Oregon summer... It was around 90 degrees today and typically we only get a few rainy days in the summer. On untypical years, it can rain all year long...

Anyway the sun porch is a great feature. My house faces west and on days with only a little sun, it's still warm on the sun porch. During the summer I leave all the windows open and the extra shade keeps the main part of the house cooler. It's like inside space outside...

Anyway I have to walk by my bike on the way out every day so I'm more likely to get to work on it. Now if I can just remember where I last saw those damn keys...

I'm thinking, a carb clean, new battery and an oil change and the old girl will be back on the road again...

[3Phase]

I was just pulling your leg, Tony, I've been to The Great Wet North. It wasn't bad here today, it was only 110 and the mercury's supposed plummet all the way down to a balmy 106 by Saturday.

While your bike's down for maintenance, when was the last time you changed the brake fluid, flushed the lines and bled the brakes?

[Geezer]

You were mostly right about winter and spring around here but it makes our summers all that more precious...

I rebuilt the rear brake caliper with a stainless steel piston and put on a braided stainless line a year before I moved. I rebuilt the front calipers and put on a Mike's XS master cylinder the year before. I had the front breaks apart a few times since then trying to get the 4 pot calipers figured out. The only good thing about it being in storage all this time is I'm pretty sure I figured out the problem with the 4 pot calipers and I also hope to have the hydraulic clutch installed by the time I get the rest taken care of.

The big problem is I have about 50 boxes of bike parts that I have to go though and mostly sell off. I collected a ton of spare parts that I'll likely never need. For example, I have at least 3 sets of extra ignition pickups, 2 vacuum cans (one is new old stock) and at least 3 ignition boxes but I'm clueless about what boxes to find them in.

I know I've seen the the keys since moved but I can't remember where...

Geezer

[motoman]

Glad to have you back on here on occasion Tony!.

[3Phase]

So the brakes and brake fluid's good to go and you can still remember that you can't find your keys -- you're stylin', man!

[Geezer]

I know I've seen the keys since I moved so they're not lost... I know I'll find them after I've given up and I'm desperately trying to find something else that's lost.

I've been looking for my digital game camera for the past 3 years and I'm about ready to give it up for lost in the move. Maybe I'll find it when I'm looking for the keys to my bike.

Now that I'm tinkering with bikes again, I'll be back a bit more often. Even if I give up riding, I have ore more Yamaha that I want to fix up even if I never ride it. I just have to see my R5 back in running condition...

Geezer