Here's a few helpful hints we've picked up over the years. If you have a Good idea, or a simple trick to keep these old bikes Running that you Wanna Share, be sure and send it our way and we'll get it posted...
Line 'Er Up?
Rusty tanks can create a Lot of Issues... but before you go out and purchase a throw away in-line filter to keep the critters out of your bowls consider this..
Most Bikes are gravity fed through a 1/4" or 3/16" ID fuel Line. A Filter reduces the diameter of the fuel line greatly since it slides inside of the line..
A paper Filter reduces flow greatly, and most are designed to be used with a system using a pump. We strongly advise AGAINST using an in line filter on anything over 300 CC's or more that 2 carbs.
Several fuel valves include a built in filter system including a screen, sediment bowl, or riser tube that keeps the valve from receiving debris from the bottom of the tank. Make sure your valve is in good condition, remove it and clean the area around the seal. Never run the bike on "reserve" since this is when it pulls from the bottom of the tank, and not through the riser.
If your tank is rusty, and you're considering lining it use the complete system. Another words when using a product like Kreem, use the 3 step system, and never use the liner by itself. The kit includes a mild acid that will remove most of the rust, and then it has a cleaning agent that neutralizes the acid, and preps the surface for the Kreem Itself.
In a Very Worst case scenario, we had nothing to lose with a tank that would leak dry within 6 minutes, and a customer on a very tight budget in need of transportation..
The Kreem kit's acid needs to be diluted with water prior to use. We wore the proper gear, and seriously heated 10 gallons of water to a near boil, and mixed the acid to match. We ran the acid through the tank several times until the metal turned grey, and rust free. Needless to say, the holes got bigger, and more plentiful, it looked hopeless, but we give her a shot, and she took.
After lining the tank, we sanded the exterior, and coated it with Metalock Epoxy paint, and then put it in color. The bike is still rolling strong, with thousands of miles logged in..
It can be done, and if you need supplies, Info, Or Help Just Let me Know!...
Neglected safety Checks
There's a Few Items That Used to Be Checked on a Regular Basis When Your Bike Was New Enough to Visit The Dealer..
Check the Shock Bushings For wear, Put her up on a Mainstand and rattle them Around. The Bushings top and bottom tend to "Oblong" over the years, sometimes just from the natural weight of the bike.
Check the swing arm bushings while its on the stand, try to shift it back and forth, and watch for play, and while you're at it measure the play in the rear wheel bearing and make sure they're in spec.
Grab hold of the chain at the very back of the rear sprocket and try to pull it away from the teeth. If you can pull a couple links away from the sprocket there's a very good chance that you need a new chain since this is a sign that the pins and bushings inside the chain are worn.
While it's still on the Main stand check the steering neck bearings for looseness. Try moving the tree assembly forwards, and back, up and down, and side to side, no play should be felt. Neck bearings are rarely serviced over the years, however they do deserve the attention.
Check the front wheel bearings while you're there.
For Laced Wheels, check the spokes for tension at least once a season.
Most tires are equipped with wear indicators... Don't go there if at all possible. Change the tire when the band starts getting remotely close to the tread surface.
Double Check All Fasteners, and any safety clips, and as Odd as it may sound, double check the handlebar clamps for tightness. Its a bit of a bad, and yet popular thing for a set of bars to fold forward during an emergency stop.
Two or More Cylinders?
If Your Bike is Carbureted, and You Don't Know the Last Time the Carbs were Balanced Well...
Get-Er-Done!
Its sooo Neglected, Yet Soo Important to keep your carbs in sync, and don't think for once that they just stay that way forever. As the engine wears internally and the cylinder to cylinder compression changes, the cam wears in, or out, valves wear, carb linkage wears, muffler changes, you name it the carbs need to be rebalanced to match. As a rule of thumb once every other season is a good idea. An unbalanced engine wears everything out from the cam to the rear axel, and can be noisey, hard to start, foul plugs for no other reason, use way too much fuel, and more...
One of our best long time customers rides a 79 Wing that he knows is just perfect, and always brags on how smooth she is.. He brought her in this past summer for a routine check, and while she was here I threw in a free synch and didn't put it on the invoice.. About a week later he called me and asked me what I had done different since the bike went an extra day on the tank, and it was running a lot smoother.
A carb Synch at a shop should run around 120 dollars. With a little Practice, and less that 100 dollars in tooling you can do it yourself. There are plans out there to build your own tool.. Many years ago, as we were starting out, we did just that, and later in life we bought a portable fuel tank, and a Motion Pro Synchronizer which I highly recommend. Keeping the carbs in tune will save you a ton of trouble later, and your engine will be so much quieter..
Want to Learn to Do It Yourself, or Have Questions? Give us a Call, We'll Be Glad to Fix You Up!
Sticky Brakes?
Every Now and Then Your Disk Brakes Will Get a Bit Sticky, Especially if She's Been Setting a while...
Its a Good Idea to Check your rotors for over heating every now and then. For the most part, just riding around town, the rotors shouldn't burn the prints off your fingers.
If it Gets to a Point that your calipers need disassembled and cleaned don't put it off very long cause the job will just get harder, and could end up being even more costly.
Use the brake lever to push the piston out of the caliper as far as possible if the piston is stuck to the point that it can't be pulled out easily, make sure you keep master cylinder full of fluid. Don't Grab the Vice grips, or Any Other Tool to Pull on the Piston since you don't want to put even a tiny scratch in that little feller.. If you're working with a system that's dried up you can install a grease zerk where the bleeder goes and force the piston out that way..
Its Messy But Effective...
Check the piston for pitting, or damage. Brake fluid draws moisture, which in turn can trash the piston. Even tiny pits can be a big problem, and since you're there, doing the job yourself, and saving cash go ahead and get a new piston for the job.(We stock several)
Pull the square O ring from the groove of the caliper cylinder very carefully so as not to knick it in case you need to reuse, and really clean the groove. The fluid tends to get behind the seal and dry up, as well as on the seal itself. Both can be cleaned with a high quality brake parts cleaner.
Double, Double clean Every part including the bleeder passage, and the bleeder itself. For seal groves and other areas a match stick, tooth pick, or soft brass wire bush will do a great job of removing that old nasty dried up stuff.
Lube everything including the seal with brake fluid before reinstalling. Grease, or oil won't do.
The piston should slide in easily with your thumbs, and be able to be pulled back out as well.
If the Caliper floats on pins be sure and remove the pins from the housing cleaning everything, and recoating with a synthetic EP2 grease.
TAS Stocks Caliper, and Master Cylinder rebuild Kits For Most Applications, as well as pistons and other hardware. We're Here to Help if you Have any Questions, or if you need a hand!
Pipes Feelin' Blue???Before you stick that new set of head pipes on your pride and joy, Take a second to spray some quality heat paint inside. Dupli Color makes some stuff fortified with ceramic that will insulate the chrome, and resist blue... Works for Us!
Like Those Tires to look Shiny Wet???
Try dressings that do not use silicone as an ingredient...
Believe it or not, that stuff that makes your tires look so good, might just be helping them to dry out sooner. Most tire manufacturers do not recommend silicone. Our personal bikes get a set of tires every 2 years for safety's sake, and are washed with soap and water regularly. There are dressings on the market that are safe for the compounds tires are made from.
We'll be adding a tech article based on tires very soon... Its kind of a grey area for a lot of riders..
Bleeding Brakes??
Front Brakes can be a little tricky to get feeling right.. Be sure your lines are in good shape, replacing the soft lines now and then is a good idea if possible. It will give your brakes a firmer feel, and just because the rubber lines don't look bad outside, don't assume they are healthy inside.
Fill the resevoir to the top, level the resevoir as much as possible and using a wire tie, tie the handle in the "squeezed" position. Let the bike set overnight, and if your system's in good shape, the air will work its way to the top... Cool Huh?
Sluggish Clutch?
Before you tear into the clutch basket of your ride if the clutch is a little sluggish on the launch, be sure and check out the cable, and if it has a linkage give it a good looking over.
We see a lot of clutches fail early with a sticking cable. Take the cable loose at the clutch, it should pull easily both directions, very easily. We use a regular cable lube as part of our routine maintenance. For you guys riding older bikes that don't have "Push-Pull" throttles, its super important to keep those cables in good shape, it could even be throwing the carbs out of sync on multi-cylinder machines.. If you have trouble finding a good quality cable lube, drop us a line and we'll hook you up!
Soak The Fibers!
When You're Swapping The Clutch Fibers Don't Forget to Soak The New ones In Oil The Night Before...
Wipe off the Excess before Popping Them Into The Basket...
Its a Very Critical, and Often Skipped Step...
Drain The Bowls!!
Ethanol attracts water like a TV grabs dust...
Many of us are seeing E5 additives, or others which may not be so float bowl friendly. Try to start your bike at least once a week, and if she's going to be lazin' around for a while, shut the fuel off, and run her til the bowls are dry.. Don't let your bike get the dreaded "green disease!"
By the way... and just for your info, regular unleaded fuels average 176,000 BTU's per gallon... Ethanol is around 77,000 BTU's per gallon.
Ethanol will raise the octane level of the fuel... Higher Octanes burn slower, which means on bikes with a short stroke you will be losing even more efficiency due to the fact the fuel will not fully combust as the piston reaches BDC.
If your octane is too low, the fuel will lose its oomph before it reaches BDC, which results in pinging... Too High, and you lose power, and she'll run a bit warm.
Battery Loss?
Most Batteries Do Not Die, They're Murdered!
Keep an Eye on The water level, If The water level is neglected, and it goes below the lead plates, that part of the plate is bad from now on, meaning your battery just lost some of its capacity!
Battery Chargers That are Just Plain Old fashioned Types Never Shut Off Completely..
This Means they're Always Putting Current Through the plates, and that Generates Heat, Evaporating the water, which Could in Turn trash Your battery..
Never Add More Acid..
The Acid never Evaporates, Only The Water...
Cement Does Not Suck The Juice Outta Batteries..
Its a Myth, and it was Brought On a Hundred or So years ago When Batteries were Encased in Wood, and Seepage of The fluids would Actually Cause a Short to the Surface it was setting On and destroy The Battery..
Keep The Battery Clean!
Even a Slight amount of oil, or dirt can be conductive, and cause a slight short between the leads and end your batteries days early..
Cold Storage...
Anything below 77 degrees will increase a Batteries lifespan. Every 15 degrees above 77 decreases the lifespan by a whopping 50%. Fully Charge Your Battery before the Cold weather and You'll do fine. Keep in charged with a trickle charger and it will work out great since its just too cold for the water to evaporate.
Some Bikes Always drain the Battery a Fuzz...
Certain Bikes have Live stator fields all the time, therefore causing a slight drain always, and even more depending on the condition of the stator, and the rest of the insulation on the bike's wire logic.
While the battery is connected, check the voltage with a good digital meter.. Disconnect either lead and recheck it with the meter. If the voltage increases, even a tenth, or hundreth of a volt or so, your bike is draining the battery all the time.
If its going to be setting around a bit, its a good idea to pry disconnect the battery.
Never let the battery discharge below 80%, or 12.32 to 12.42 volts. It'll last a ton of time longer. This is why a lot of bikes seem to need a battery each year. They have a slight draw all the time which drops the capacity over time below 70%.
The Best time to check the water level is after charging, or after a ride..
Water expands when its warmed up. Over-filling, or flooding a battery is also a bad thing..
Always used distilled water
It's So Friggin' Common...
We've had several Bikes Roll in This Season With Cracked Float Bowls It Isn't Funny!
If your gas is Pouring Out the Overflow/Bowl Drain Never, Ever Try and Tighten The Bowl Drain Screw Further...
A Lot of them Are a Tapered Type Valve That Will Crack The Bowl When They're Tightened Just a Little Too Much and Its Only Repairable By Replacing the Entire Bowl..
As I Type This Tip I Have a Bike in The Shop That An Entire Half Of the Screw Head Is Popped Off Due to Overtightening..
The Float Valve Was Clogged On The Bike, and It Had Nothing to Do With the Bowl Drain Valve in the First Place...
Make Sure Your Float Needle Valves are In Good Shape... If the Spring Plunger isn't Working Right Don't Trust It.
Bench test the float Height Prior to Installing Your Carbs..
(If you're Not Sure How Just drop Me a Line, or Give me a Call and I'll Be Glad to Help!)
The Fuel Level In The Bowls Should Be about 1/8" Below the Bowl Gasket as a Rule of Thumb...
Setting Your Float Height By The Book can Be Tricky, We Like to Set it on the Bench.
If Your Bike Uses Connection Tubes Between The Carbs Bench Testing Is The Best way To Check For Leaks On The O-Rings...
If You Don't Own One Yet, an Auxillary Fuel Tank From Motion Pro is Hard to Beat, and a Very Worth While Investment...
One For My Quad Guys
TAS Sponsors and Builds a few Hot Quads a Year, and I personally Ride a Very Clean '02 660R That's a Bit of a Proving ground for a Lot of Our products. The Raptor is Known For trashing its Starter Clutch, and one of the biggest reasons is the monster 1 Cylinder 5 valve, dual carb fed engine will "kick back" from time to time and knock the one way out of the starter mechanism.
If it doesn't trash the one way, it'll bust the bolts and make a mess.
I took on the problem, and did everything I could to make matters worse in order to figure out a solution..
The first thing that needed to be done was more valve clearance. I've seen it on other hot engines, and if the clearance is not set to the high side she'll kick back from time to time either when you stall her, or just shut it off.
If your starter clutch is good now take it apart.. Double triple clean everything, check the bushings, and remove the one way from the flywheel. Flat file the area around the threads to smooth any ridges, get it hospital clean. Clean the threads with a non residual degreasor, and replace the bolts with new ones. Tourqe Them Evenly To Exact Specs.. I used Red permanent LocTite on ours, and pry wouldn't recommend anything less.
Jet her a hair rich, and I know it sounds cool at a low idle, but for trail riding turn it up just a notch so the quick release of the throttle won't let the slides bounce off the bottom and starve the mains.
Knock on Wood, Mines Running perfect no matter what the weather, or the trail that gets thrown at it.
More Tips Coming Soon....
Believe it or not, that stuff that makes your tires look so good, might just be helping them to dry out sooner. Most tire manufacturers do not recommend silicone. Our personal bikes get a set of tires every 2 years for safety's sake, and are washed with soap and water regularly. There are dressings on the market that are safe for the compounds tires are made from. We'll be adding a tech article based on tires very soon... Its kind of a grey area for a lot of riders..
Fill the resevoir to the top, level the resevoir as much as possible and using a wire tie, tie the handle in the "squeezed" position. Let the bike set overnight, and if your system's in good shape, the air will work its way to the top... Cool Huh?
We see a lot of clutches fail early with a sticking cable. Take the cable loose at the clutch, it should pull easily both directions, very easily. We use a regular cable lube as part of our routine maintenance. For you guys riding older bikes that don't have "Push-Pull" throttles, its super important to keep those cables in good shape, it could even be throwing the carbs out of sync on multi-cylinder machines.. If you have trouble finding a good quality cable lube, drop us a line and we'll hook you up!
Wipe off the Excess before Popping Them Into The Basket... Its a Very Critical, and Often Skipped Step... Ethanol attracts water like a TV grabs dust... Many of us are seeing E5 additives, or others which may not be so float bowl friendly. Try to start your bike at least once a week, and if she's going to be lazin' around for a while, shut the fuel off, and run her til the bowls are dry.. Don't let your bike get the dreaded "green disease!" By the way... and just for your info, regular unleaded fuels average 176,000 BTU's per gallon... Ethanol is around 77,000 BTU's per gallon. Ethanol will raise the octane level of the fuel... Higher Octanes burn slower, which means on bikes with a short stroke you will be losing even more efficiency due to the fact the fuel will not fully combust as the piston reaches BDC. If your octane is too low, the fuel will lose its oomph before it reaches BDC, which results in pinging... Too High, and you lose power, and she'll run a bit warm.
Keep an Eye on The water level, If The water level is neglected, and it goes below the lead plates, that part of the plate is bad from now on, meaning your battery just lost some of its capacity! This Means they're Always Putting Current Through the plates, and that Generates Heat, Evaporating the water, which Could in Turn trash Your battery.. The Acid never Evaporates, Only The Water... Its a Myth, and it was Brought On a Hundred or So years ago When Batteries were Encased in Wood, and Seepage of The fluids would Actually Cause a Short to the Surface it was setting On and destroy The Battery.. Even a Slight amount of oil, or dirt can be conductive, and cause a slight short between the leads and end your batteries days early..
While the battery is connected, check the voltage with a good digital meter.. Disconnect either lead and recheck it with the meter. If the voltage increases, even a tenth, or hundreth of a volt or so, your bike is draining the battery all the time. If its going to be setting around a bit, its a good idea to pry disconnect the battery. Water expands when its warmed up. Over-filling, or flooding a battery is also a bad thing.. Always used distilled water If your gas is Pouring Out the Overflow/Bowl Drain Never, Ever Try and Tighten The Bowl Drain Screw Further... As I Type This Tip I Have a Bike in The Shop That An Entire Half Of the Screw Head Is Popped Off Due to Overtightening.. The Float Valve Was Clogged On The Bike, and It Had Nothing to Do With the Bowl Drain Valve in the First Place... Make Sure Your Float Needle Valves are In Good Shape... If the Spring Plunger isn't Working Right Don't Trust It. (If you're Not Sure How Just drop Me a Line, or Give me a Call and I'll Be Glad to Help!) The Fuel Level In The Bowls Should Be about 1/8" Below the Bowl Gasket as a Rule of Thumb... Setting Your Float Height By The Book can Be Tricky, We Like to Set it on the Bench. If Your Bike Uses Connection Tubes Between The Carbs Bench Testing Is The Best way To Check For Leaks On The O-Rings...
TAS Sponsors and Builds a few Hot Quads a Year, and I personally Ride a Very Clean '02 660R That's a Bit of a Proving ground for a Lot of Our products. The Raptor is Known For trashing its Starter Clutch, and one of the biggest reasons is the monster 1 Cylinder 5 valve, dual carb fed engine will "kick back" from time to time and knock the one way out of the starter mechanism. If it doesn't trash the one way, it'll bust the bolts and make a mess. I took on the problem, and did everything I could to make matters worse in order to figure out a solution.. The first thing that needed to be done was more valve clearance. I've seen it on other hot engines, and if the clearance is not set to the high side she'll kick back from time to time either when you stall her, or just shut it off. If your starter clutch is good now take it apart.. Double triple clean everything, check the bushings, and remove the one way from the flywheel. Flat file the area around the threads to smooth any ridges, get it hospital clean. Clean the threads with a non residual degreasor, and replace the bolts with new ones. Tourqe Them Evenly To Exact Specs.. I used Red permanent LocTite on ours, and pry wouldn't recommend anything less. Jet her a hair rich, and I know it sounds cool at a low idle, but for trail riding turn it up just a notch so the quick release of the throttle won't let the slides bounce off the bottom and starve the mains. Knock on Wood, Mines Running perfect no matter what the weather, or the trail that gets thrown at it.
More Tips Coming Soon....
Before you stick that new set of head pipes on your pride and joy, Take a second to spray some quality heat paint inside. Dupli Color makes some stuff fortified with ceramic that will insulate the chrome, and resist blue... Works for Us!
Like Those Tires to look Shiny Wet???
Try dressings that do not use silicone as an ingredient...
Bleeding Brakes??
Front Brakes can be a little tricky to get feeling right.. Be sure your lines are in good shape, replacing the soft lines now and then is a good idea if possible. It will give your brakes a firmer feel, and just because the rubber lines don't look bad outside, don't assume they are healthy inside.
Sluggish Clutch?
Before you tear into the clutch basket of your ride if the clutch is a little sluggish on the launch, be sure and check out the cable, and if it has a linkage give it a good looking over.
Soak The Fibers!
When You're Swapping The Clutch Fibers Don't Forget to Soak The New ones In Oil The Night Before...
Drain The Bowls!!
Battery Loss?
Most Batteries Do Not Die, They're Murdered!
Battery Chargers That are Just Plain Old fashioned Types Never Shut Off Completely..
Never Add More Acid..
Cement Does Not Suck The Juice Outta Batteries..
Keep The Battery Clean!
Cold Storage...
Anything below 77 degrees will increase a Batteries lifespan. Every 15 degrees above 77 decreases the lifespan by a whopping 50%. Fully Charge Your Battery before the Cold weather and You'll do fine. Keep in charged with a trickle charger and it will work out great since its just too cold for the water to evaporate.
Some Bikes Always drain the Battery a Fuzz...
Certain Bikes have Live stator fields all the time, therefore causing a slight drain always, and even more depending on the condition of the stator, and the rest of the insulation on the bike's wire logic.
Never let the battery discharge below 80%, or 12.32 to 12.42 volts. It'll last a ton of time longer. This is why a lot of bikes seem to need a battery each year. They have a slight draw all the time which drops the capacity over time below 70%.
The Best time to check the water level is after charging, or after a ride..
It's So Friggin' Common...
We've had several Bikes Roll in This Season With Cracked Float Bowls It Isn't Funny!
A Lot of them Are a Tapered Type Valve That Will Crack The Bowl When They're Tightened Just a Little Too Much and Its Only Repairable By Replacing the Entire Bowl..
Bench test the float Height Prior to Installing Your Carbs..
If You Don't Own One Yet, an Auxillary Fuel Tank From Motion Pro is Hard to Beat, and a Very Worth While Investment...
One For My Quad Guys