Stupid Question Looking For Good Answer!

[79specialdude]

What is the hole in between exhaust 2 and 3 on the front of the engine? I noticed that it leaks oil. I know this is a very dumb question, but I figured what good is a forum if no one wants to answer questions. lol.

[Danny Crawdad]

You are probably looking at the cam chain tensioner. They can and do leak -- there are some repairs on the site, but you may want to research switching to an automatic cam chain tensioner (ACCT) from another bike if you are going to take it out. It's a relatively common swap.

Whatever you do, don't mess with it until you know what you're doing, if you pull it out without following procedure, you may end up with a head full of bent valves.

[CaptonZap]

What is the hole in between exhaust 2 and 3 on the front of the engine? I noticed that it leaks oil. I know this is a very dumb question, but I figured what good is a forum if no one wants to answer questions. lol.

Jeeze! If it is a hole, that means that the cam chain tightener is not there, and You SHOULD NOT RUN THE ENGINE. If you don''t, pretty soon it will stop
leaking. If it has a funny looking bolt and lock nut on an aluminum tower looking thing, with a black round rubber plug on the front face, it is the afore mentioned cam chain adjuster, and should be resealed, or replaced, depending on whether you run 36 or 40 psi pressure in your rear tire, (with or without DynaBeads) and use auto oil or motorcycle oil.
Do a search on CCA and educate yourself. CZ

[79specialdude]

thanks guys, after researching, it turns out that it is in fact the tensioner. The plug is actually missing so guess i need a new one. While I have you guys on the thread, anyone know about the fuel lines, like what happens running only one petcock? thanks guys.

[ddragon63]

For about $10 you can get a Auto Cam Chain tensioner off a Raptor Quad... check ebay. They match up with your XS. I did the swap on mine with a Raptor ACCT, along with some other forum brothers. I've got 1200 miles on mine now with no leak, and no more needing to adjust it

Just search Raptor CCT and you should find my post and others. its an easy swap and you'll never have to mess with it again!

[ddragon63]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Yamaha-Rapto...r#ht_500wt_842

apparently they have caught on to our little deal... cuz when I bought mine it was $9 free shipping. They raised the price on us...

[natemoen]

thanks guys, after researching, it turns out that it is in fact the tensioner. The plug is actually missing so guess i need a new one. While I have you guys on the thread, anyone know about the fuel lines, like what happens running only one petcock? thanks guys.

Well, if you are still using the octy then 1 petcock can flow enough fuel to feed all four carbs.

If you do not have the octy anymore and the petcocks run straight to the carbs, then no you can't just rub one because each petcock only feeds the 2 carbs that it is hooked up too. I run both petcocks but I also fav a connector tube that connects both carb pairs.

Also when you only run 1 petcock you loose about a 1/4-1/2 gallon of fuel capacity because it is trapped on the other side of the tank tunnel and it can't get to the other side.

[79specialdude]

thanks for that. here is what it looks like the previous owner did to the fuel system... Riders left petcock, two fuel lines connecting to fuel filter though a T fitting, fuel line then runs to another T fitting where two more lines branch out to carbs or diaphram? Riders right petcock, 1 fuel line run back to itself, therefore eliminating itself. Could this affect my mileage? I am getting 63-65 miles a tank(excluding reserve). i do know that i need to go to stock airbox because they put on filters and never jetted the carbs, and the carbs need to be adjusted.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Dude,

Sounds like the PO had a leaky petcock problem with the right one, and so plumbed it to itself, and just plumbed the left one to feed both carbs. 1 petcock can easily feed all four carbs. Your mileage problem isn't due to a lack of fuel! There are many factors that contribute to poor mileage.

You said it has "filters", I'm assuming you meant individual pod filters. There are inexpensive EMGO brand cone shaped pod filters that have a prominent lip that can interfere with the air flow thru the carbs intake ports, and cause an overly rich condition, folks have reported not being able to get the rpms much above 5K as well when these pods are restricting! See the tech tips on carb pod filters for photos and such.

Dirty carbs, dirty air filter, UNSYNCHED carbs...they need to be vacuum synched/balanced to each other for optimal performance, vacuum leaks, silpping clutch discs, dragging brakes, underinflated tires, weak ignition system or spark, even running on only 2 cylinders, stuck timing plate or damaged vacuum adv. pot or vac. leak in hose to vac. adv. pot, dried leaky intake boot synch port caps. An average of 30mpg is closer to the norm, folks have reported as high as 40mpg but they are often tuned a bit lean!

Good luck!
T.C.

[ManagerMike]

Hey Dude,

An average of 30mpg is closer to the norm, folks have reported as high as 40mpg but they are often tuned a bit lean!

Good luck!
T.C.

I CAN get 40 MPG, if I keep my metacarpals mostly horizontal

[79specialdude]

thanks yet again for the valuable information! The filters that are on there are the cones and I trimmed the lip already to allow more free airflow into intake, as it was exactly what you said, blocking airflow, after trimming the rubber, I noticed a slight increase in low first! Guess I need to just start from the top of the list and work my way down, this gas every other day is killing me. lol. My wife was joking with me saying that we own the two worst fuel hogs in the city. lol. She has a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP Supercharged that gets about 14 miles a gallon in the city. Will look into the ACCT this week, Carbs I think just need a rebuild, need to find the airbox, and the list goes on. lol.

[bikerphil]

FWIW, I run single left fuel tap on my 79 Special and can get 3.7 gal. to flow out (150 miles), tank holds 3.8 gallons. I use a block off plate where the right side tap used to be.

[ddragon63]

I average 32-36 riding 2 up and bike is full dressed. Sounds like you need a good carb clean and tune. And maybe check your timing. YAT.

[DGXSER]

Do be very careful on following procedure for the CCT replacement, the warning on bending valves is very real. However, the procedure is not overly complex, put the bike on the centerstand (so it is sitting relatively level, not the side stand where it leans) and remove the left side timing cover, turn the negine till the C-mark lines up with the timing pointer. Now your ready to remove the CCT. Once removed, do not turn the engine until the new or repaired on is back in place.

Like TC stated, there are alot of things can effect your milage. I was ride with a fellow XSive once, he got 54 miles out of a tank of fuel. (Special model, we filled up together before we took off). He had tried to correct for a carb issue by adjusting the gap on his plugs. He re-gapped them when we got where we were going, back up to 30 miles per gallon. Running POD filters with poorly jetted carbs will also do it, dirty carbs can cause it, but with these carbs it will also run like total crap typically. Could also be electrical, poor spark from weak coils. Just have to keep after it till you find it.

[ddragon63]

Do be very careful on following procedure for the CCT replacement, the warning on bending valves is very real. However, the procedure is not overly complex, put the bike on the centerstand (so it is sitting relatively level, not the side stand where it leans) and remove the left side timing cover, turn the negine till the C-mark lines up with the timing pointer. Now your ready to remove the CCT. Once removed, do not turn the engine until the new or repaired on is back in place.

make sure you turn the motor clockwise ONLY! never go backwards... if you miss your mark, go around again. If your going to put in an Auto CTT the next step is simple. remove the factory CCT by removing the 2 mount bolts, clean off gasket and mounting area. I used RTV for a gasket on mine, some have said a ford 2.3l therm gasket works pretty good. Remove the large bolt and copper washer from the end of the auto CCT and the spring that will come out with it.Depress plunger all the way into the body of the auto CCT. Mount the housing of the Auto CCT to your engine with gasket or RTV and tighten bolts. Insert spring and and bolt into body of Auto CCT... as you collapse the spring you will hear the Auto CCT ratchet outwards and make contact with the chain guide bar. Tighten Bolt with copper washer into the Auto CCT body. Roll motor over by hand to verify there is no binding in engine. Let RTV dry, Fire, Ride, and enjoy.

The Auto CCT can be a little noisy... its not too bad, its just a different noise that you will have to get use to.