Clear skies...

I'm amazed that this late in the year I am still able to ride the Max. I'm going to take it out again today and perhaps visit some of the smaller towns surrounding Lansing.

There's a bike show coming up in Novi, MI on the 5th through the 7th of January that I'm considering attending. I received 2 complimentary tickets in the mail yesterday as well as a slew of $2 coupons towards the price of admission. I'm hoping to attend a lot of bike shows when the weather gets nicer.

I got an air compressor for Christmas and it has a bunch of attachments. Now, I only need to buy a paint gun and I'm set! The possibilities are endless as to what I can do with the compressor, including buying a grinding wheel/tool, and other air driven tools. I am going to go to a paint store and buy some decent paint for the tank, maybe something a bit more extreme than what I have currently. Royal purple? I don't know. I want the bike to stand out.

This spring we're supposed to have a clinic for the bikes (possibly in Ohio) and it's then I am hoping to get the carbs fully tuned.

Takin' a ride...

Took the bike out for a spin today. Yes, the weather is still holding. I changed the spark plugs because they are still getting fouled. I had taken the iridiums out due to the fouling, but after cleaning them, I put them back in. boy, what a difference. I drove through the old neighborhood and checked out the old house. Still in decent shape. I took the bike out on the highway for a run, and it really responded well. It was pretty cold though.

I'm looking forward to getting the bike tank re-painted, I only need an air compressor and a paint gun to do the job right. I can borrow one from Bill.

I also need to get a new front tire this spring. It's due.

Anyhow, more later.

Wow...

Yeah, it's Dec. 15 and I could, quite possibly, ride my bike to work tonight. It's 38 degrees F but it could be done. The weather as of late has been oddly warm, warm enough that I have taken the bike out for short rides. I am having some serious fouling issues, however. I started the bike every other day or so, just to keep the battery charged up and found it getting more and more difficult to start. Pulling the plugs, I found all of them fouled. Not sure if that's because it's cold, requires more gas to get things started? Guess that carb clinic in the spring will be a definite trip.

Haven't heard much from Doug regarding it, so early spring I will be giving him a call.

I know the snow is coming... it's just a matter of time.

Not quite yet...

Oddly enough, the weather has been decent enough the last few days to ride the bike to work and around town. I'm glad I haven't winterized it completely yet because I know I would be banging my head at all of the missed opportunities.

I also spent about $40 for those iridium spark plugs I mentioned a while ago. Holy crap, what a difference! The bike handles like... well, a whole new bike, although plug pulls have shown that I am running very lean. That will be something for this spring definitely when I attend the carb clinic in Ohio. I am having difficulty adjusting the screws to the proper setting. Maybe someone with a bit more experience in tuning can give me a hand.

Something odd happened on the way to work last night. As I was getting close to my destination, the bike's rpm's suddenly jumped to about 4000rpms at a stoplight. The bike started running very oddly (try starting off from first gear when your rpms are at 4000 and see if you don't have the same problem). It stayed up in the 3-4000 range until I shut it off. I turned it back on and it bounced right back up to 4000 so I adjusted the idle screw and that seemed to fix it. Not sure what caused that malfunction; seafoam treatment? I doubt it would have such a dramatic effect all at once. I am going to post this to the list and see if anyone has a suggestion. You can't accidentally "bump" the idle, it's in a very difficult to reach place. Hopefully this is not a significant problem. I rode it today without any problems, however, riding out to my favorite little breakfast place in GL.

I plan on riding the bike tonight and possibly tomorrow a little bit. The temp is supposed to be in the 60's! But, it's going to get cold this weekend...

Will I put the bike away???

Irksome...

Well, I've put the bike away for the winter... almost. The tank is full, seafoam in place and I may pull the battery out in a week or so. It's supposed to be nicer tomorrow, and I just may go for a ride. I still have work on it that I need to do, and will probably toy around with it a bit (including that maddening colortune that I am finally getting the hang of...) I would like to do a complete tear down of the bike, getting it cleaned up and shiny for the spring.

I am going to have to repaint the gas tank and find some sort of sealant for it. I dripped gas onto the paint and it ate into the clearcoat. I sanded it out, but it's not the same. I feel I can do a better job the second time around, now that I have experience with it. I like the color... but the next time I think I am going to do a bit more sanding.

I took the plugs out again and took a look at them. It appears to be running a bit lean. I don't know if that's because of the weather change or what it is. I need to do a fuel adjustment.

It's been a great experience working on the bike for much of the fall, and I look forward to this spring. I'll still post here a bit, whenever I work on the bike, and post pics as well.

Painting the bike

Just a few photos showing the paint job. I've done a lot of work on the bike since I last wrote, including doing a colortune on one socket on the bike. Frankly, I didnt have time to pull the tank off, again, to do it all right. But, I did get some practice with the whole system, and was able to avoid getting the plug stuck in the hole.

The painting was a big job, and I am glad I am done with the tank. What a pain in the ass! But, it's done, that's all that matters. I think the tank really came out nice, as did the front fender. I still have to paint the rear fender, and sand down the side covers,, but after that, the bike will be all one color.

Beats the heck out of the various shades of red.

So here it is, the nearly finished project. I am going to get a new front wheel next spring... but I think it's nearly time to winterize this vehicle. I keep reading about groups that try and ride during the winter months, but I just can't stand the cold.

The final ride...

I took the bike out for one final ride today, rode out around the airport. It's a shame I didn't do that sooner. There is a cool place to sit and watch the planes fly over. (Ok, it's in a cemetery, but who cares?) As I was riding back, snow began falling as if to say, get it home, laddie... you've had your summer fun.

So, I took the tank off, drained the gas into a couple of 2 liter bottles (hey, there was a lot of crud in the bottom of that tank. No WAY was I going to re-use it). Not sure what I am going to do with it. I made the mistake of bringing the tank into the house to take it apart... hey! It's cole outside! Well, I quickly took it back outside, since the house smells like 92octane hi test fuel. Anyhow, I removed the gas cap, the petcock and the fuel sensor (not sure of it's true name) and set it all aside, waiting for it to air out. You have no idea how much I wanted to get started on stripping that tank. The doubts began to set in... "What if there are a couple of nice days? What if it warms up and I miss out on riding?" Yeah, I'm done for the year.

So now, the color. I've really been considering painting it black... but since I have all of the burgundy/cherry red/garnet red paint, I guess that's what I'm going with. I've already spent a lot of money on things for the bike. No sense spending more.


I thought about taking some pics of me disassembling the tank, but am going to wait until I am ready to start stripping it. I think everyone who has a bike out there can figure out what everything looks like. The petcock is a weird looking piece of machinery... I handled that with kid gloves! They're hard to find, and rebuild kits are expensive and rarely work to expectation, according to everyone who has done it.

I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Riding with Bill

Took a ride with Bill today out to Eaton Rapids. Had lunch at that same lousy Chinese restaurant. The ride was cool though. It was nice hitting the road with someone who appreciates a bike as much as I do. He has a nice Honda 1800cc bike... not sure of the name though. It whoops the heck out of mine.

The bike is running fairly well, although I still need to tune the fuel air mixture. I also rode it to work (since the next door neighbor rented a huge dumpster and blocked my car in) and it fired right up, with a little egging of the throttle. That makes me very happy that I am weaning it off the starter spray.

I am taking a trip to see Erik today because he is really failing in school. I am going to have a talk with him though I don't know what I can do this late in the game.

More later this weekend. I will colortune that bike!

Takin' it apart...

I pulled the plugs from the bike today and took a few photos of them to see how well the bike is doing as far as fuel is concerned. I think 2 carbs may be running lean. An adjustment via colortune is in order.

I wanted to add iridium plugs to my bike, ordered some from FTMS and then they tried to rob me by changing the price from $7 a piece to $10 a piece. Crooks. I'll order them from the net. Average price seems to be about $7. Of course, there's nothing wrong with these plugs It's just that the iridium plugs are better.

I received the diaphragm today, gratis via Trukerjim. Great guy, him. The diaphragm fit perfectly, and I adjusted my carbs based on the new diaphragm and I must say, the bike is running great. I also just bought a set of carbs for $66 from ebay. I plan to dissect these so that if I ever need to pull my carbs from the bike (or need parts) I'll have them handy. I could have have gotten these for $9.99 is a couple of non-serious bidders hadn't raised the price. Ah well, free market economy.

Supposed to go biking tonight with that group from GR. Hope the weather holds.

Riding on the range...

Yesterday I took the bike out for a ride, and I must say, other than the hard start, it's running like a gem. I still had to use the starter spray to get it going (even tried hooking it up to my car battery as Hap suggested to see if it might be a battery problem) but no luck. I am going to start it again this morning just to test it, and see how much difficulty it has in starting.

I have a bit of a cold which is making me a little sluggish. Or, perhaps its that flu shot I received the other day. I don't know. They say you can't get the flu from the shot, but you do get mildly sick (usually low grade fever, possibly other symptoms).

I joined the Total Motorcycle World, a forum of motorcycle enthusiasts with reams of information about bikes in general. It's not bike specific like the XJ list, but I've already corresponded with someone about 2 hours away that might hook up for a ride. Their forums are massive, and it is going to take me forever to work my way through them.

I waxed the bike yesterday, cleaned it up a bit. The tank really needs attention. There are spots that have the potential to generate rust, so until I get the thing painted, I am going to have to keep an eye on it. (as if I wouldn't...) I plan to run up to College Bike Shop and see if they have the caps I need and the plugs I want to get. Those iridium plugs are the shizznit, or so I've heard. Perhaps that's part of the problem. Even though I fixed the bad conduction issue with the caps, it's still starting hard. Then, I'll have 3 sets of plugs.

I painted my horns yesterday, but in retrospect, I don't know if I like the color or not. It's cherry red. Here's a pic:
Time will tell, I suppose. Maybe when the tank is the same color? I don't know. Perhaps I'll just paint them black. While the color is fine, I've always wanted a black motorcycle.

I tried starting the bike and of course, it wouldn't start. I had to use starter spray on it. It fired right up after that, which leads me to believe it might be related to the fuel or the air mixture. I haven't yet tried it without the choke... maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I plan on taking the bike to work tonight, if it doesn't rain. Not too many days of good riding left, I think, although the RIDE Motorcycle club plans rides through November. I wrote the chapter coordinator about joining them for the next ride, which is this Thursday. I don't know why he would say no, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

You can tune a piano, but you can't...

I got a lot of things done on my bike today. First things first. I got my Carbtune II! I am amazed it arrived so quickly. That and the colortune were both on my porch when I got home from FTMS. But first...

So I tested the primary and secondary coil resistance. Everything is within spec. Getting to the wiring wasn't so easy. I had to shift things around a bit, and it was closer to the handlebars than I thought it would be. It was wedged behind the radiator cap housing. I was finally able to check everything, and it looks ok. The other setting was 3.2ohms, but I am not going to post that picture. It looks just like this one, 'cept the numbers are different.

I then removed all the spark plug caps (thanks Hap, for the terminology tip) and tested each one for resistance. The lowest number I got was 8.2. (It's within specs, but still a tad elevated for something that is supposed to be rated at 5kohms or less). This one, however, was tested at 32.0kohms. I'm surprised it was even sending a spark to the coil (probably wasn't.) Another tested at 18.6 so I decided then and there to call Hap. He recommended getting new spark plug caps, model # SD05F, so I hustled my butt up to FTMS and picked up 4. I could have gotten away with buying just 2, but I wanted everything even steven.

Here is the new cap. Just for giggles, I tested it's rating and it tested right where it was supposed to. The only problem: These caps are for a 14mm plug, and I have 12mm. I was assured by the good folks at FTMS that this one would work, and the 14mm (the B in the code) was for the threads. I switched orange boots and slid them into place. The clickety click click of the plug being seated was a clue, as was the fact the bike fired right up.

I also ordered the 12mm from them, and will probably return these just because. I ordered the iridium plugs, which will be in on Wednesday. No sense messing with size differences when I don't have to.

Here it is, sitting snug as a bug in a ... well, spark plug. The plug is seated firmly and the bike turned over sans problems. All four were easy to install, and had no problems with the wiring. I was warned it might be too short, but things have worked out so far, and have a bit of slack to spare. I am hoping the 12mm fit as well.

Man, that engine looks dirty.





So, I got the Carbtune all put together, hooked up my gas supply (made by yours truly) and hooked up the carbtune to the bike. Easy cheesy. This first pic is a shot of my carb vacuum before doing any adjusting. The bike is running at operating temperature, (app 1100rpms) and seems to only have a problem with carb #4. I was really expecting things to be way off, but lo and behold, only that one had a problem. I haven't hooked the colortune up yet, this is just the carbtune.



Kind of anti-climactic, to be honest. I was really expecting armageddon with massive changes needing to be applied. So much for that. This bike is really surpassing all of my expectations as to how it's holding up. Little corrosion, mostly quick fixes, inexpensive. It almost made me think this was an expense I could have done without.






Here it is after adjusting one lousy screw. One screw! And only about a quarter turn (if that). Running like a top. I gave it throttle, and it dropped right back to where it was supposed to be. I don't really know enough about reading the settings... the manual states the levels aren't important, and to check with your vehicles manual.

The colortune is another issue. I don't think I can use it correctly yet because the caps are 14mm and the colortune plug is 12mm. I tried hooking it up, but saw nothing down the tube as far as the pretty blue bunsen burner color was concerned. I guess I am going to have to get those 12mm caps after all.

All in all, an excellent day of tinkering. I have learned a lot, like: stochiometric: the perfect mixture of fuel and air to form the perfect explosion. (14.7 air:1 part fuel)

Tomorrow, more tinkering. I may even hit other motorcycle shops and see if they have the 12mm SD05F caps I need. At least then I'd be able to work with the color tune. I am hoping the hard start problem might be corrected as well, but that may be a lot to ask for. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

Resistance is futile...

FINALLY! I removed the plug caps from the wiring and was able to test the resistance of each. The 12.18 reading comes from wires 1&4 and the 12.29 comes from wire 2&3. After removing each boot, for good measure I clipped off about a 1/4" of wiring at the end of each, in case there was any corrosion. I didn't actually see any except on one screw in a spark plug cap. I cleaned it up as best I could and applied dielectric grease to all points. Put it all back together and fired it up. Now, as far as I could tell, there wasn't a whole lot of difference in the start (still required a spray of starter fluid) but if definitely idle'd better, especially when cold. In fact, I am beginning to suspect a faulty choke lever. Why? Well, before I started the bike, I turned on the prime lever on the petcock, then turned on the choke. I tried starting and it caught, albeit briefly for about 3-5 seconds, then died. So, I applied starter spray to the airbox and it fired up. It was running pretty rough but I turned off the prime (I am apt to forget it if I don't), so on a lark, I shut off the choke and it seemed to idle better. It was a lot smoother than before. I don't know if its a combination of things, or the choke, or the prime... but at least now I think it may be fuel related (either too much or too little fuel). In the case of the last problem, it was obviously a result of too much fuel and not enough spark. New plugs fixed that problem, however. I'll figure it out, by trial and error, but eventually, I'll figure it out.

Here's the bike, everything plugged back in and running. The idle is set at about 1100rpms, the bike is moderately warm, everything apparently hunky dory. Now, if it only it were warmer outside!

I think I am going to upgrade the coils this winter at some point, probably after I paint the tank, and with the weather being what it is, that may happen sooner than I think. The coils are a little pricey, but I think this is a step in the right direction.
Jim from the list is going to send me one of his used diaphragms, to replace the one that is damaged on my bike. Since tuning the carbs is moot without proper vacuum, I'm hoping this will solve this one small issue The carb tune is set to arrive any day now, and my heart beats a bit faster each time I think about it, about a smooth sounding bike, tuned to perfection.

But the list keeps growing of things that I want to do to the bike. New steel braided brake lines, new front tire, complete tear down of the carbs and cleaning, engine cleaning, bike painting...

sheesh... I may never get it done.

Then again, if I was done, what fun would it be? I mean, all I'd be able to do is ride it around, and who wants to do just that?

Cold and windy

Really windy today, about 25mph. That and the cold... I guess I'll wait til another day to ride the bike.

I am, however, going to check the resistances on my coils. Hopefully this is the cause of the poor starts. Some of the reading I have been doing seems to point in this direction. And dynacoils are only about $135.00 (not including the plug wires). It's only money, right?

I got an interesting email from Hap who basically stated that working on the bike, for him, is a labor of love. He doesn't mind the servicing, the tuning or the small things that pop up on occasion. I can relate to that. I do enjoy doing all these little things, getting my hands dirty (horror of horrors! dirt under the fingernails!) and smelling like exhaust. Sometimes it seems a bit much, but all I have to do is take a break and come back to it later. It's not like I depend on the bike as my main means of transportation. I've already spent probably close to $600 on the bike in the past 4 months. It is my hope that after the coils, all that will remain to do are minor things.

Checking the resisitance of the coils involves removing the boot of the spark plug wire (which requires twisting the boot until it comes off) and exposing the wire underneath. This has to be done on plugs 1&4 and 2&3 respectively. Using the multimeter, you can check to see how much resistance there is. The higher the resistance, the poorer the spark and resulting hard starts.

I'm going to print out the instructions Hap sent me, just to be safe. Shouldn't take too long.

I'll post more in a while.

Old Man Winter

Stupid weather! I was so hoping to get a ride in today, but looks like I am going to have to wait a while for the snow to completely clear up. I'm not sure I'm ready to brave the roads with slushy snow on them. However, I did go out and buy the stuff for my external fuel tank. Talk about a hassle! I thought for sure, since I printed out exactly what I needed, I could just walk in to any hardware store and pick the stuff up. No luck. I had to go to 3 different stores, buying items from each to make one complete system.

All I need to do is drill a hole in the bottom (or roughly the bottom) of the can, attach the hose adapter with rubber seals in place (to prevent leaking) attach my fuel line, attach the petcock, and I'll be ready.

I hope. I figure I might as well get this done since I can't tune my carbs without some sort of fuel system in place. That little petcock was almost $7! Outrageous! But, All in all, the whole setup is going to cost less than $20.00 whereas a fuel supply bought from somewher ranges about $49.00-60.00.

I started the bike today, just to see how it would react in truly cold weather. Of course, it did it's usual runs for about 3 seconds, then quits, then requires a spritz of starter spray. After that though, it ran pretty well. Oily whitish colored smoke is jetting from my exhaust, which I hope is the seafoam. I've been hitting it pretty hard with the stuff, hoping to get the carbs cleaned out. Hap told me it might run terribly until the carbs are clean.

I'll post some pics of the finished product (the alt. fuel supply) when it is finished. Since I've never been overly mechanically inclined, I think these kind of projects are good for me.

(Insert 3 hour block)

Okay, here is the final product. While it is a bit rough, I think it will work for what I need it for. I drilled a hole in the bottom then made the hole bigger by moving the bit back and forth, enlarging the opening. I tested it with water and of course, it leaked. So, since I was unable to add the additional washer on the inside of the container, I added a silicone sealant, thereby sealing up any holes.

I cut off a 4 inch piece of tubing, added the petcock then stuck it back together. In a couple hours, it'll be dry and ready for action!















Now I just have to wait for the carb tune to get here.

Dyna-might!

So I've been looking into dyna coils to replace the stock coils on the bike. I'm hoping it will improve the starting (and end the bike's dependence on starter fluid). The problem is, they're expensive. They seem to run about 130.00US, which is a lot of moola for something I don't necessarily need (at this point). It's definitely something I am going to have to do, but I think I have spent too much money on the bike this year.

The weather is getting cold, so I'm not sure how much more riding I am going to be able to get in. I'm hoping to take a nice roadtrip this weekend, and if the weather holds, this might be the last weekend to do so. I also need to burn off some more gas so I don't have to drain as much. Then, off comes the tank.

I'm hoping to get the carbtune II in the next week or so, and plan to tune the bike at least once. At least to become more familiar with it. I imagine this spring, the bike is going to fly.

I got notification of my membership with RIDE Michigan, a motorcycle club that seems pretty cool. I am the local chapter captain for the Lansing area! Wee! I plan on doing some stuff this spring with the club, recruiting members, etc. I'm also a member of the DRC (Dewitt Riding Club) a local bike club. Seems like a nice group of folks. I don't think I'll ever be one of those guys that wears dirty leathers and covered in tattoo's, but hey, if thats your bag, more power to you.

Nobody knows the trouble I've seen...

I'd noticed over the course of a couple days the bike getting boggier and boggier. No acceleration, lousy starting, as if the bike hadn't been tuned at all just a week previously. It was annoying, really. I rode it to work one night and when I got ready to leave, the bike wouldn't start. No matter how much starter spray I put in, it refused to turn over. This was 3:30am, freezing cold outside, and I was tired. Well, I finally got it started, but by then I had done something to it because the bike ran horribly. I hobbled home, and shut it off, leaving it to sit for the entire next day.

When I attempted to start it again, it was seriously resisting my efforts. I drained the battery trying to get it going, and had to jump it with my car. It finally started, but it was horrible! Absolutely no pick up, the throttle was sluggish and it sounded like it was trying to move a ton. I took it back home and decided to pull the carbs and see if they weren't clogged.

The first one I pulled (#4, I believe) exposed this little beauty. There is a tiny puncture in the diaphragm and will need to be replaced. While not entirely crippling, it does affect the vaccum, therefore affecting overall performace of the bike. The good news? Yamaha still makes the part. The bad news? $100.25
IN this period, I also broke down and ordered a carbtune system. Yes, it's expensive, but necessary. I am sure the bike is out of tune already, what with new jets being opened and more gunk being forced through the system. I have been pummeling the system with seafoam and it is my hope that by the time winter gets here, the seafoam will have done its job.

Well, I remembered that the socket wrench I had wouldn't fit the well, so I had to find one. I tried several different auto parts stores, and while they all carried spark plug sockets for cars, none had one for my bike. I was becoming increasingly frustrated, and finally decided to try Menards. Surprise of surprises, they had one.

I'll need to figure out a better way to remove those park plugs. The clearance is pretty small, and it took me much longer to remove them than it should have.

Guess what? Completely fouled! I must have soaked them in gasoline the previous night, flooded it out, and ruined the spark.
They smelled like gasoline too, high test octane. :)
So, I changed the plugs, armed with my new deep well, 18mm socket. While I was at it, I did an oil change (having the foresight to pick up a couple extra oil filters only days before) . I also changed the filter housing bolt. I was happy to get that old one off, rounded though it was.

It was getting late at this point so I filled the bike with oil, crossed my fingers and tried starting it up. Viola! It fired right up, with some gentle coaxing from me, of course. I took it up the street and it was as if it was a brand new bike. Amazing what something like properly conducting spark plugs will do for an engine.

I bought a cool blue flaming skull decal for my bike, applied it, then realized it doesn't really go with the burgundy color scheme. Oh well, I hung it on the window.

Beautiful day today. Took a short ride on the highway just to test him out, and he ran beautifully. Bill called me earlier and asked if I wanted to ride with him, alas, I was busy with other things, so I missed out. Perhaps there will be a few more nice days before the snow falls. However, they are forecasting rain and possible snow showers for Thursday. I'll need to burn off that tank of gas in the next couple of days, I guess, in preparation for the tank paint.

Few rides...

It's been a few days since I posted anything, and also been a few days since I really rode the bike anywhere. I took a trip to Eaton Rapids a couple days ago, had lunch at a little Chinese restaurant, but probably wouldn't go back to eat there again. Kind of blah. Took the bike to work tonight, and although it ran fine on the way there, when I went out to start it, it was a really hard start. I used starter spray, had the prime on, choke open all the way, but for some reason, it just didn't want to start. When it finally did, it ran horribly. Not sure what is going on, but am going to investigate it a little more closely tomorrow. I hope it's not the carbs. Maybe it's just the cold weather? If so, looks like I won't be riding it much more this year. Even after it was warmed up, it still ran terribly.

It's a little irritating, especially after the trip I just took to Canada, but I'll get to the bottom of it.

Thats all for now.

SOCC Part II

When last we left The Mad Max-im, the forks were removed, the wheel was laying horizontal with it's guts torn out and new tools were being fashioned to get it in running shape. 270 miles from home and the picture to the left was what I was dealing with. Looks sad, doesn't it? I suppose if I had lost my front legs, I'd be feeling the same way.

As you can see the brake calipers were being held back with plastic zip ties and the front end was being held up by an axle stand. I tried this at home with mixed results. While the bike was held loosely by a rope to the ceiling pulley system, I was constantly checking to make sure that the bike wasn't going to just tip over.
Here's Dwayne, aka Yoda, using a table vise to hold one of the front fork tubes in place. Again, worried parent that I was, I'm sure I nagged him near to death with my questions about the pressure in the vise damaging the tubing, shouldn't there be some sort of buffer between the tube and the vise, won't the chrome get scratched... blah blah blah. The vise worked great, I needn't have worried. The top of the tube held a small screw in piece called a front fork cap that held all the inner workings inside. I was told there was a big spring just below, and that care had to be taken in removing the piece. Strip that baby and you need to buy a new fork tube. I also imagined the tube as one of those trick cans of nuts that explodes outward with a accordion style snake. Luckily, that wasn't the case.

The fork cap needs to be rotated counter clockwise, not pounded out as was first thought. Once the idiosyncrasies were worked out, rust notwithstanding, the cap was removed.

A special word of thanks goes out to Louie and Mano, the dream team when it come to work that needed to be done on my bike. While Mano was there to learn how front fork seals were done so that he could do the same with his bike, Louie was just a big help. He had a peculair knack when it came to cleaning parts up on a rotary grinding brush, and I was amazed to see the parts that were originally rusted and clogged with corrosion actually look brand new again with Louie's expertise.

I haven't really spoken too much about Ross's garage. Absolutely amazing. And clean! He owns a motorcycle, which he confessed he hadn't ridden more than a few meters in the last few months. Of course, he doesn't own a vintage, eclectic bike like the XJ series, but his bike was pretty nice. He also owned a kick ass Pontiac Solstice. Beautiful car.

As punishment for not owning an X series, he was forced to clean my bike from top to bottom with a toothbrush, as shown in this revealing photo. Actually, he's applying anti-seize compound to the areas where the forks will rest. Thanks Ross.

About half way through the day, pizza was ordered and Ross's beautiful girlfriend brought out some delicious barbeque wings. There was also coffee, beer and a yummy cake and cookies. Beer and cake. Is that a Canadian tradition? :)

Things were progressing rather smoothly at this point, and I began to think that perhaps I might make it home after all. All these great guys working on my bike. Years of experience, the kind you can't learn from a book or learn in a school. I was in heaven!

Of course, without heaven, there's hell. Shortly after these photos were taken, it was discovered that the speedometer cable was clicking against the brake rotors on the front and had damaged it almost beyond repair. The cable was fine. The housing the cable sat in was not.
I guess that explains the clicking I was constantly hearing. Funny thing was, the noise was intermittent, so I could never nail down exactly where it was coming from.
A new housing had to be created. Dwayne took it upon himself to create something that started out as a piece of brass tubing, and ended up a work of art. The pieces fit together perfectly.

Finally the bike was put back together, with no extra pieces left over. Mine was the last bike to be tuned, and since it was raining, I was unable to take my Wa-hoo ride until the following morning. Dinner was excellent, with Lasagna, rolls, cole slaw, mixed vegetables and hotter than hell peppers my colon is still screaming about. Thanks to Marina and Ross for the fantastic time.

All in all, the SOCC was a fantastic learning experience. I encourage everyone to go, or even hold your own and see who shows up. Doug and I are going to be setting one up in the spring for people in surrounding states to come and show off their masterpieces. I learned a lot at this clinic and although it was a very long way to travel, the XJ held its own and stood up to everything I threw at it. Thanks for reading!

Here are a few other random photos of goings-on at the clinic.

Here is a steel drill bit, supposedly unbendable, bent by Yoda. He used this to bore out the center of a pipe, making it wider in diameter to fit the 22mm hex bolt that eventually slid into and helped release the front fork retaining bolt.

Brass tubing was used to break the bearings free from the wheel. Hey... that looks a lot like the tubing used to make my speedo cable housing! Well, those Canucks sure are thrifty, enterprising fellows!

Thom Stagno gets up close and personal during a carbtuning session with his bike, while Doug Rojek does the same in the background. Hey Thom! Hurry up! I got a bike to dismantle!

Canada Trip part I

I arrived at the border to Canada at about 4:30pm, far sooner than I thought I would. The trip from home only took about 2 hours. While I was afraid that the border guards might hassle me about the multiple bottles of Seafoam I was carrying, I was actually asked for advice when the border guard wanted to know what he should do about bloody sputum! Giving the patented answer "See your doctor" I drove off, happy to have passed the first hurdle.

I probably spent, all told, $20.00 in gas getting here. Well worth the trip. I finally met up with Hap outside a Home Depot store when he pulled up on his bike. We, or rather he, decided to take the scenic route which rattled my cage a bit since he took me through twisting turning back roads that probably would have impressed me more had it been during the day. As it was, my butt was sore from just having ridden 270miles. Ah well, when we finally arrived at his house and I had some food in my belly, we got started on the bike.

Let me just say, first off, I knew the bike was in bad shape. While it ran fine enough to get here, I had a feeling that there were things waiting for us. I wasn't wrong. When we drained the float bowls, a LOT of sediment drained out with the fuel. Rust, most likely. All four were ejecting large amounts of crud. "Holy shit that's a lot of crap!" Exclaimed Harald. He wasn't joking. The battery was nearly bone dry and the negative post bolt was ill fitting. That was easily fixed by a new bolt and a couple washers. Distilled water went into the core and the bike actually brightened up considerably. We tuned the carbs sans colortune, and the bike ran much better, as in better throttle response, better pick up and the lights didn't dim every time I rolled back on the throttle.

We decided to call it a night, and Harold escorted me to a cheap little motel called the Royale. It smelled a bit musty, but was clean. I got about 4.5 hours of sleep and for $60 CDN, that's expensive. In the morning I was able to take a shower, great water pressure and it was hot. It was nice to be able to get the road gunk off me. My jaw was incredibly sore from the tight fitting helmet since it wasn't completely broken in yet. After the shower I packed up and got ready to meet up with Harold and his wife for breakfast before heading out to the clinic. We stopped at a little restaurant called Russell Williams and had our fill.

Starting the bike for the first time that morning was a treat because normally I would have to douse the air filter box with starter fluid. This time, however, the bike fired right up, even though it had rained hard the night before. I had an excited feeling in my gut that today was going to be a very productive day. I was to learn how true that thought was.

Harold's wife was a darling creature, intelligent and funny. We all shared a few laughs before packing up and heading out on our journey.

The road to the SOCC was a perilous one. While I had driven comfortably on 2 and even 3 lane highways, the trail to Toronto was a 5 lane nightmare, with the posted speed limit ignored by just about everyone. My fear was being a foreigner in Canada and breaking the law. I needn't have worried. I didn't see one OPP officer the entire trip to our destination.

We finally pulled in around 10:00am and were greeted by several bikes already stripped of their gas tank and in the process of being tuned. I wandered around for a while, introducing myself to the various characters in attendance, of which there were a few. Thomas Stagno had a bike almost exactly like mine, same make, model and color. It was the first look at a bike with the tank off and for a guy like me, who knew very little about bikes in general, it seemed a daunting task.

I introduced myself to Ross, host of the clinic and previously had asked if a front fork seal change was a possibility. He said "Sure! Do you have any fork oil?" Of course, I didn't so he directed me to a local ATV shop. I hopped on my bike and drove into town. The road was incredibly busy and at first I thought for sure there was some sort of festival going on. Nope. Just regular traffic. I was a little nervous driving, but I finally made it. 13.99 for a liter! I felt for the Canucks at that point. Everything is so damned expensive. Anyhow, I made it back to the garage and found several more bikes in line.

The beauty of being a guinea pig bike is that a bay was created just for me. I pulled the bike in and we quickly got to work. I was completely at the mercy of the more experienced Xer's at that point. I gave up all rights to the bike and prayed I wasn't making a mistake.

Our first hurdle was when we attempted the removal of the front forks. As the bolt was threaded out, the forks began spreading. Definitely not a good thing. If it had kept spreading, eventually damage would have been done to the forks. After a few more attempts, it was decided that more aggressive measures would have to be taken. The bike was tied by the frame to a pulley system, bolts were loosened and both forks were pulled out.

The problem still remained of getting the front wheel separated from the forks. After some finagling, one side was removed. The wheel bearings were exposed, and exhibeted severe rust. I doubt the bearings had any viable grease in many years. The axle was still seized inside the old bearings, so it was decided to heat the steel to help loosen it. It worked. The axle, with the help of a rubber mallet, finally came loose. I was a little nervous at this point because literally, my bike was in several pieces and everyone had something and were headed in opposite directions.

With the wheel finally off, the fork seal project began in earnest. The forks were disassembled, the old oil drained off and the pieces laid out. There is a hex bolt down inside the forks that must be held so that the allen bolt at the base of the forks can be loosened. The main guy that helped tried everything he could to get it out and finally ended up fashioning his very own hex bolt tool out of some steel tubing. It worked, and the forks were finally apart.

The bearings were removed during this process and replaced with sealed bearings that are supposed to be impervious to rust and deterioration. After applying some anti-seize, the bearings were lovingly pounded into place. The wheel was done.

It was noted, however, that the speedometer cable had been rubbing against the disc housing of the brakes, which eventually broke. It needed to be repaired. Mano, a nice guy from the clinic repaired it, however, it was broken again accidentally by someone. A whole new speedo cable housing had to be created. This process took nearly an hour and a half, and I applaud Dwayne for taking to it so vigourously.

This ends part one. Part two will have more info and more pics. Thanks for reading!

One more day

The time is drawing nearer. I'm really feeling rather apprehensive about going to Canada. I've always been a bit of a homebody, so this trip, by myself, to another country, is a bit disconcerting. I'm sure I'll be fine, but I can't help worrying about what might go wrong.

The bike seems to be running fairly well, so I think it will make it ok. I have all of my seafoam and parts packed, but will recheck everything once more before I take off. I plan to leave about 4:00, and if time is on my side, I'll be to my destination in 6 hours. That'll put me about 10:00 when I pull in, but then again, I may arrive sooner. I still need to pack my clothes and essentials, but that will only take a few minutes, really.

The countdown has started... T minus 1 day, 12 hours to go...

Grand Ledge, MI

Probably one of the most perfect little towns I have ever seen, Grand Ledge sits quietly outside Lansing, MI. A beautiful river flows through the town, with small shops dotting the aptly named Main street to add to it's idyllic nature.

The sky was a bit overcast when I snapped these pics, but you can see the storefronts and their old town originality.





Although it's not as close as I would have liked, there sits my bike in front of a shop called The Red Salamander, a supply shop of home brewing supplies. American Flags fly everywhere, patriotism in abundance on passing cars and trucks. Just a few minutes after I snapped this shot, a police officer strolled past on foot, probably wondering what the heck was this helmeted stranger doing taking pictures of downtown GL.




Grand Ledge is growing. In fact, it is one of the few communities that housing values have not felt the bite of a buyers market. It's expensive to live here though, even though goods and services seem fairly priced. It's also home to Sophia's House of Pancakes. If you don't have a Sophia's near you, you are truly missing out. Here are a couple of reviews of this fabulous restaurant.

1
2

Definitely worth a return trip on a beautiful sunny day.

99.9%

99.9% of the helmet looks great. The part that doesn't is right in front by the vent. I'm going to see if I can do a bit of touch up. The damn tape came wasn't seated correctly (or I did a crappy job taping it off) so I missed a couple centimeters of primer. It's pretty obvious, but hopefully the touch up will fix the problem.

On the other hand, I forgot to cover my bike while priming, so now there are little grey specks of paint on the chrome . I'm such an idiot sometimes! I'm hoping I can use something to get the paint off, but who knows. Perhaps I should leave well enough alone and just accept what I have.

Can't do it.

I'll always strive to make the bike look better, even if I make mistakes in the meantime. When the clinic is over, I'll know how to tear down the engine and then I can really get to work cleaning things up. The engine is still dirty, but I think with a little elbow grease, It'll turn out nice.

My dreams of having the tank done by clinic time have come and gone. I'll just wait til this winter and get it done. I have to remember to bring the paint and bondo into the house before it gets too cold. I'm not sure how that stuff will fare in freezing cold conditions.

Considering the age of the bike, I am really surprised at it's condition. I have seen newer bikes in worse shape.

I'm seriously considering that lift for the bike as a X-mas present.

As I said, not much chance for riding today, maybe just a short trip around the block.

Keepin' the oil barons happy...

Changed my oil today. It didn't look horrible, but it was pretty dark. I figure it can't hurt. I may want to think about ordering some oil filters ahead of time just so I have them on hand... not that I'll ever be able to get that damned oil filter housing off again.

I attempted to remove the housing and ended up breaking 2 12mm sockets. BROKE THEM!! I'm guessing the sockets are cheap as hell pieces of crap. I'm going to have ot buy a replacement since I need that size. Luckily, they are not too expensive.

I also re-painted my helmet today, the same color as the bike so at least now I match. I hope it turns out well. The helmet is actually pretty beat up, but it still has a few good months left in it. It's a garnet red color now, and if I do say so myself, it looks pretty sharp.

So I filled up my tank today. I think the reason I was getting some weird noises from the bike is because the fuel was getting low, and it was heavy with seafoam. That was evidenced by a cloud of white smoke that blasted out of the tail pipe when I was revving it. The bike was really running badly, so the gas was a necessary thing. As I was pulling out of the gas station parking lot, I noticed, too late, that I was heading the wrong way on a one way street. Not a big deal, right? As long as I could get out of the way in time, no harm, no foul. Well, the cop that was heading towards me thought differently. Of course he pulled me over. I realized what a stupid mistake it was as soon as I had done it, so it wasn't an intentional breaking of the holy law of the road crime. Luckily, the cop was sympathetic and let me off with a warning. As he is lecturing me, another cop pulls up behind him, lights flashing. Then, not 3 minutes later, someone else gets pulled over right across the street from me! What was going on!? It was like cop convention week!

Well, I should consider myself lucky I didn't get a ticket. Our insurance rates just went down again, so I want to keep it low. Stupid mistakes...

Not much time for riding tomorrow, though I do need to run it a bit to get the oil circulating. I have school in the morning, then work the evening. Only 4 more days til the trip!!

Weird Noises..

I rode my bike to work tonight and on the way home it was making some funny noises. I wish I could have pinpointed where the noises were coming from, but I'm not sure. I'll have to keep an ear out for any other strange noises. It did get down to 42 degrees, and I wonder if that doesn't have something to do with it.

I also rode the bike to Eagle, MI and Grand Ledge. I took some great pictures of GL, an idyllic little town with a small town feel. Very picturesque. I'll be posting those later today.

Short post. I'm tired. Long night at work.

Is it possible?

It's hard for me to process, but I may actually get some riding in today! The rain has stopped, the sun is shining! Of course, there are lots of other things to do, including laundry that has gone un-washed for a while, a lawn that is starting to get a little too long and a dog that is in serious need of a bath. It is my hope that all this rain will lead to perfect weather this weekend, no rain, not too cold... I know, end of September, a lot to ask. One can dream though, can't one?

Tried starting the bike this morning, sans starter fluid, no luck. With all the rain, I am not surprised. I am hoping the carb clinic will take care of that problem. In some ways it's irritating because here I'll have this perfectly running maching, lovingly tended to by those far more experienced than I, only to park it for the winter.

It's a little confusing as far as storage is considered. Full tank with stabil added? Empty the tank, coat the inside with oil to help prevent rust? Perhaps at the clinic I can bring these issues up and get a concrete answer. I'm definitely leaning towards a battery charger and a bike stand. It'll make things much easier come this spring. Geez... the first snowflake has yet to fall and already I am thinking of Spring.

I took a look at google earth today and the directions provided me by Hap. It's going to be a long trip, certainly longer than any other I have taken on the bike. I'll be passing the dreaded exit where my spill occurred, but shoot right into Port Huron then into Canada. Hap says I should fill up every 75 miles, rather than wait til the last minute. I agree. I don't want to get stuck somewhere gas-less.

Man, Canada is a huge country...

Seafoam, how I love thee...

That little white can with the bluish green contents really does the trick. Today, since the weather has been sucking big time (has it ever rained as much as it's raining now or am I just more aware of the weather now that I want to be out in it?) I cleaned up the Mad Maxim, polished everything that's supposed to be shiny and dumped an entire bottle of seafoam into the gas tank.

Yes, an entire bottle.

Not one to follow directions, I am preparing myself for the journey into the wilds of Canada. Someone on the list said, "Get your bikes ready now. You don't want to have to spend hours cleaning out your carbs after the tune up". Truer words never spoken. After pouring an entire bottle in, I took it for a short ride (in between downpourings of the elixir of life) and perhaps it was my imagination, but the bike responded really well. Fired right up even after sitting for a day without being started. Idle'd well, acceleration excellent, if only the weather would hold out. True, you can ride your bike in the rain, but those wet pant legs and mud caked shoes don't exactly scream "ready for work!"

I'm going to do an oil change tomorrow... just the oil, not the filter. Figure I'll add a bit of seafoam to the crankcase as well. I want the bike to run uber well on the way to Canada and even though my 1000 mile anniversary hasn't arrived yet (will surpass that on the way to Canada) I figure it can't hurt.

The parts for my bike should be in by Tuesday. I'll do a front brake pad change (maybe stop that squealing...) and make sure I pack my bearing and my fork seals to go with me.

My heart is beating a little faster... come on next Friday!

It's been a few days

Haven't had much opportunity to ride lately since the weather has been so lousy, although I did get a little riding in on Thursday. The bike was a hard start first thing in the morning, but the afternoon, with a bit of milking the throttle, got going without a blast from the starter fluid. I hope that the clinic fixes that problem. My poor seat is getting torn up (the brace that holds it steady). I wonder what the effects of that starter fluid on the air filter is having... ? Perhaps thats a question I should pose to the list.

I am making mental preparations for the trip. It's hard to believe that in a week I'll be hitting the road for Canada. Lots to do before then, including getting my stuff packed.

Thats all for now. Hopefully I will get some riding in tomorrow, though the forecast is predicting rain... again.

Parts ordered...

Beautiful day, albeit a bit cool, for riding. I called Full Throttle Motor Sports and ordered my front fork seals which could possibly be replaced at the carb clinic in 2 weeks. I sent an email to Russ (host of this years carb-fest) and he said it's possible to get them changed, along with the front wheel bearings. I sure hope so. I think if I saw it done once, I could figure it out. My bike is running a little choppy, but it's probably that new air filter and the leaner mixture of gas and air. I have a feeling I'm going to have what amounts to a whole new bike come weekend after next.

I am going to print out the best way to get to Haps house and make sure that map gets put in the tank bag. Friday night at a hotel then Sat. morning we take off for the clinic. Saturday night I'll be staying at Russ's house, then taking off early Sunday morning back to Hap's (maybe).

It's a little scary going that far on my own with no back up. All I'll have is my cell phone, and Dan won't be able to come and save me...

That's all right. I have faith in the XJ.

The Rubbing...

Well, it was a lot of hard work, but the end result is pretty decent. I followed the directions to the letter regarding the mirror type finish you are supposed to be able to achieve, but I still think it could use some work.

Ah well, I am happy to let it stand as is. No chips or scratches, nothing to marr the paint, so I guess I'm happy. :) It is a very nice finish, and it wasn't as difficult as I first thought it would be. I'm eager to get started on the tank as soon as possible. Once that's done, then I am going to figure out a way to paint the frame of the bike without taking the whole bike apart. I should probably do it the hard way, but...






Well, here's my impromptu workshop. I have a nice view of the pond I put in right outside my window. Notice the many bottles of seafoam. I usually buy a couple of bottles every time I make it out to Murray's or Menards. Menards seems to have it for less. $4.88 a bottle. I plan on running a couple of bottles through in the next couple of days, mainly because the bike is running a little choppy. I bought and installed that K&N filter, but it isn't doing much for roughness. I'm thinking the only thing that is going to fix that problem is the carb clinic in 2 weeks.

I think I have enough paint to do the tank. The rear fender... well, I will get to that sooner or later, but it's actually in really good shape. The front fork seals definitely need to be done, as well as the front wheel bearings (though to be honest, I haven't heard that weird clicking since the spill... :-?

I also received the XJCD's! I'm very excited because now I have a definitive source for all the parts I need to make the bike run and look fantastic. I am thinking of taking the bearings with me to the clinic and see if it can't be done there since they will have all the tools. Also the front fork seals. I don't want to push it, but...

Painting over the Mona Lisa...

Well, here it is. Paint stripped off the front fender with Aircraft stripper, part sanded with 400 grit sandpaper (a bit harsh, but it worked) and washed. If you are thinking of painting your own parts, be sure to wash them quickly. The rust started forming right away, and although I have read that this is not harmful, all I could think of was huge rust bubbles breaking the surface of my paint job.





Ok, let me start off by saying this is my 2nd attempt. What happened to the first, you ask? Well, I had gotten to the clear coat part, everything looked pretty good except for a couple of small spots where the bracket sits when the unthinkable happened... the part rolled over on the bracer I had it sitting on! Perhaps it was the wind, perhaps it was bad luck... whatever the cause, my beautiful part was marred beyond repair! (scratched it right down to the metal beneath, although how this is possible is beyond me... the base coat was dry!) Anyhow, I waited for it to dry then tried sanding it out. No luck. It looked like crap. GrrrRR!! &%#@@!! I was so pissed. I wanted the first trial to come out perfect.
Well, as fate would have it, I'm glad I re-did the part. Even without the gouges in it, there were a few spots that looked like indentations.
Held here by the support screw, you can see how smooth the surface turned out. Not a mar to be seen anywhere. I made sure to primer coat the underside as well. I was handling the part with kid gloves, but it seemed every bug in the universe wanted to land on the wet paint.






Here it is, ready for painting. Having learned my lesson, I hung the part back on the wall and sprayed away. I decided to use Garnet Red, the closest to burgundy I could find... why don't they make burgundy? I don't know. The results are below:

Finally! Painted! Egads! What is that?!? A small scratch between the holes in the middle! ARGH! Yes, I bumped it taking it off the wall. At first, I didn't think it would matter because the support goes across the top anyway, so no one would ever see it, right? Wrong. I can just imagine the start of my rust problem right where no one can see it. I waited til it was dry, buffed it out a bit with sandpaper (2000grit) and finally came out with this:





Ahhh.. smooth as glass and shiny as the dickens. For my first (sic) paint job, I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. I learned from my mistakes fo sho, and know what not to do the next time. This gleam is pre-rubbing, so I can't wait to see how it looks after I am all done.

I used nearly half a can of spray paint ( about 4 coats) and 3 layers of clear coat. The directions tell me to use 2000grit sandpaper on the finish, making it all hazy. I'm scared. I like the way it looks, but many have gone before me and their paint jobs turned out like mirrors. Yeah, I know it's just the front bumper, but hey, if you worked on your bike, wouldn't you want it to be the best it could be?

I spent a large part of the day ticked off, unnecessarily. I hope that I don't make the same mistakes the next time. I plan on doing the rear bumper next, and finally finishing off with the gas tank this winter. That is going to be a trick and a half. Hell, just getting the tank off proved to be fruitless. But, it's just going to take some manipulation and good intentions and the bike will be gleaming in time for next spring. Part of me wanted to get the whole thing done by the time I go to Canada, but that doesn't look likely.

Thanks for reading (if you are).