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Hello everyone. My name is Bob. I live in Columbus, OH. Last spring I bought an 81 special. I had a blast on it last summer. These really are some great bikes! This is a really great forum and I am impressed with the amount of information that can be found here. I do have a few questions though.
1) I bought some used engine guards on ebay. They are the 2 point ones. I was wanting to put them on this spring. My questions concerns the installation. The bolts that need to be removed look like they support the engine. Do I have to put something under the bike to support the engine before I remove these bolts?
2) At the end of last fall, probably early October, I put my bike in my sister's unheated garage for the winter. I removed the battery and the gas tank. I did not do much to drain any of the gas from the carbs (like I said, I am new to all this). My question is, is it likely that the carbs will be gummed up when I try to start her up sometime in late April?
3) After removing the battery from my bike, I took it home and it sat (not on the ground) for about a month before I bought a battery charger to maintain the charge over the winter. When I hooked up the batter to the charger, it showed that it was charging for only about 2 seconds and then the green LED lit that means it is fully charged. I was thinking that I read somewhere that if this happens, there is a good chance that the battery is bad. Is this correct? I would say this battery is only about 2 years old.
4) One of the POs of the bike had painted the exhaust manifolds with a gray paint. It looks like the manifolds are rusting through the paint a little bit. I was considering taking the exhaust and manifolds off and painting them with some black duplicolor high heat paint to help stop the rust and to approve the appearance (I like the blacked out look). Is it relatively easy to remove and reinstall the entire exhaust system? Will I need to buy replacement gaskets?
5) The PO painted my gas tank with some really crappy paint and clear coat. I am going to repaint it this spring. I am also going to remove the little bit of rust that I have noticed inside the tank and seal the tank. My old lady bought me a kit from por15.com for Christmas. Have any of you ever used this kit before and did you have good results? I was also wondering what sequence I should do the coating and the painting. I was thinking I would have a local body shop remove all the paint, fill in the gaps on the side from the Yamaha emblems, and then put a coat of primer on it. Then I would coat the inside of the tank. Then I would paint and clear coat the tank last so that the chemicals do not mess up the paint job. Is this what you all would recommend?
6) Late last fall, I began to notice a problem with my clutch or tranny. What happens is that it slips under hard acceleration. I crank the gas, and in the past I would be rocketed forward, now I just hear the RPMs shoot up and I no longer take off like a bat out of hell. Is this a common problem with this bike and what needs to be done to remedy it? I don't really think I would trust myself to go digging into the tranny or clutch. What can I expect a repair like this to cost? Anyone know of any good bike mechanics in the Columbus area that works on these old bikes?
Wow, that was a lot of typing. I hope I have not overwhelmed you all. I appreciate any info you can give me about these questions. I thank you all in advance..
Bob
1) I bought some used engine guards on ebay. They are the 2 point ones. I was wanting to put them on this spring. My questions concerns the installation. The bolts that need to be removed look like they support the engine. Do I have to put something under the bike to support the engine before I remove these bolts?
2) At the end of last fall, probably early October, I put my bike in my sister's unheated garage for the winter. I removed the battery and the gas tank. I did not do much to drain any of the gas from the carbs (like I said, I am new to all this). My question is, is it likely that the carbs will be gummed up when I try to start her up sometime in late April?
3) After removing the battery from my bike, I took it home and it sat (not on the ground) for about a month before I bought a battery charger to maintain the charge over the winter. When I hooked up the batter to the charger, it showed that it was charging for only about 2 seconds and then the green LED lit that means it is fully charged. I was thinking that I read somewhere that if this happens, there is a good chance that the battery is bad. Is this correct? I would say this battery is only about 2 years old.
4) One of the POs of the bike had painted the exhaust manifolds with a gray paint. It looks like the manifolds are rusting through the paint a little bit. I was considering taking the exhaust and manifolds off and painting them with some black duplicolor high heat paint to help stop the rust and to approve the appearance (I like the blacked out look). Is it relatively easy to remove and reinstall the entire exhaust system? Will I need to buy replacement gaskets?
5) The PO painted my gas tank with some really crappy paint and clear coat. I am going to repaint it this spring. I am also going to remove the little bit of rust that I have noticed inside the tank and seal the tank. My old lady bought me a kit from por15.com for Christmas. Have any of you ever used this kit before and did you have good results? I was also wondering what sequence I should do the coating and the painting. I was thinking I would have a local body shop remove all the paint, fill in the gaps on the side from the Yamaha emblems, and then put a coat of primer on it. Then I would coat the inside of the tank. Then I would paint and clear coat the tank last so that the chemicals do not mess up the paint job. Is this what you all would recommend?
6) Late last fall, I began to notice a problem with my clutch or tranny. What happens is that it slips under hard acceleration. I crank the gas, and in the past I would be rocketed forward, now I just hear the RPMs shoot up and I no longer take off like a bat out of hell. Is this a common problem with this bike and what needs to be done to remedy it? I don't really think I would trust myself to go digging into the tranny or clutch. What can I expect a repair like this to cost? Anyone know of any good bike mechanics in the Columbus area that works on these old bikes?
Wow, that was a lot of typing. I hope I have not overwhelmed you all. I appreciate any info you can give me about these questions. I thank you all in advance..
Bob
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