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thylacine posted:I'm also feeling weird about my bike's handling. It feels like the front wheel starts oscillating when I'm leaned over. The tires are about a month old (80/20 so the tread is deep) Normal wearing in? Ideas? 9 times out of 10, wrong tire pressure.
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Apr 12, 2012 00:13
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Tire pressures? Edit: OLAAAAAAAA Oh poo poo new page.
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Apr 12, 2012 00:31
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Correct, I checked them and they were both down 5-8 psi. Stupid valve stems fault I think.
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Apr 12, 2012 00:57
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Found an awesome deal: pristine, 1300mi 2007 Ninja 250...that's been sitting since 2008. With gas & battery connected. The chain is more than a bit rusty as well. My plans for some TLC: - new tires - new battery - new chain - new brake fluid - new gas + seafoam to see if I'll get lucky and not have to pull the carbs and... - pull + clean the carbs if I'm not Should I tackle any other maintenance items that I'm not already planning on? Service intervals seem to suggest that replacing the fuel line & brake lines wouldn't be a bad idea...
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Apr 12, 2012 01:08
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thylacine posted:Correct, I checked them and they were both down 5-8 psi. Stupid valve stems fault I think. I was saying it in the crash thread but I'll  face here. Check your tires, bros. At least once a week.
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Apr 12, 2012 01:56
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Alright I got a friend to check out my VFR, the battery is testing at 11.5 volts at idle, but goes up to 13 with throttle. He says it has to be the regulator/rectifier, seems super easy to change. Local shops are quoting me 120+ for the part. Anyone know a trusted place I can purchase it online? Good ebay sellers, or websites?
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Apr 12, 2012 02:03
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AncientTV posted:He can still do this. I wasn't able to find time to ride around in a parking lot, but I was able to lean the bike way over on the side stand and get the front tire in the air. When I spin the front tire, I hear a very light intermittent scraping noise from the brake disk dragging against a pad, but the front wheel spins easily and spins for a long time with one push. I suppose this indicates the front brake isn't binding? I also checked my tire pressure. High in the front (34), low in the rear (26). I bled the front to 28, and I'm going to stop by Quick Trip on the way to work and push a little bit of air into the rear. The manual calls for 21/28, but a lot of folks on ADV Rider think that's a poor compromise between street and dirt.
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Apr 12, 2012 12:32
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Nitramster posted:Alright I got a friend to check out my VFR, the battery is testing at 11.5 volts at idle, but goes up to 13 with throttle. He says it has to be the regulator/rectifier, seems super easy to change. Local shops are quoting me 120+ for the part. Anyone know a trusted place I can purchase it online? Good ebay sellers, or websites? I'd visually check the wiring and stator output to confirm that it's the r/r. Could also be a dying battery.
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Apr 12, 2012 17:49
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I've got a 98 CBR600, and I can't get my gas tank open. Like most tanks, it uses the bike key to open the lid. However, the key hole is pretty well coated in a whiteish chalk substance, and when I try and turn the key, it just won't go all the way. Can I shoot some WD40 in there without causing any issues?
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Apr 12, 2012 19:41
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The Wonder Weapon posted:I've got a 98 CBR600, and I can't get my gas tank open. Like most tanks, it uses the bike key to open the lid. However, the key hole is pretty well coated in a whiteish chalk substance, and when I try and turn the key, it just won't go all the way. Can I shoot some WD40 in there without causing any issues? You could try WD-40. Liquid graphite works pretty well for sticky locks.
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Apr 12, 2012 19:44
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I'd recommend skipping WD-40 and going straight to something like PB Blaster. That white poo poo isn't rust, it's calcium deposits from rain/ who knows, WD-40 isn't going to dissolve it. Be prepared to douse the mechanism repeatedly over the course of several days, and gently work the lock back and forth over and over (taking care not to break the key.) If it's good and seized you may just have to cram a big flathead screwdriver in there and break it. If/when you do get it open, disassemble the lock and moving parts to your level of comfort, clean out the white crap and use graphite lube all over before reassembling.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:00
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A neighbour of mine has an old Yamaha Enduro 150 in his garage with about 3500 miles on it, but it's been sitting without maintanence for 5-10 years now. Is it worth the hassle to fix it up, either to turn around and sell or to use as a learner's bike?
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Apr 12, 2012 20:06
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Meister Otter posted:A neighbour of mine has an old Yamaha Enduro 150 in his garage with about 3500 miles on it, but it's been sitting without maintanence for 5-10 years now. Is it worth the hassle to fix it up, either to turn around and sell or to use as a learner's bike? I'm dying for something like this to fall in my lap. It's going to depend heavily on whether or not you want to wrench on it. I bet it'd be fun as poo poo when it's running.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:15
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Meister Otter posted:A neighbour of mine has an old Yamaha Enduro 150 in his garage with about 3500 miles on it, but it's been sitting without maintanence for 5-10 years now. Is it worth the hassle to fix it up, either to turn around and sell or to use as a learner's bike? It'd be a pain in the butt. A whole lot can go wrong when a motor sits that long (not necessarily, though.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:18
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Safety Dance posted:It'd be a pain in the butt. A whole lot can go wrong when a motor sits that long (not necessarily, though. Would you mind explaining a bit on that? What all could go wrong with the engine? Keep in mind, this is the first bike I've ever been able to get my hands on, I don't know much on how the entire setup works that well with regards to this sort of thing.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:22
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In the best case, all you'll need to do is clean the carburetors, change the oil and put in new gas, and it'll fire right up. In the worst case, the pistons will have rusted to the inside of the cylinders and the entire engine will need to be taken apart, sent out for machining, and rebuilt. Are you getting the bike for free? [e] if it looks anything like the bike in this thread, run away
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Apr 12, 2012 20:25
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I have a problem! With the new SV650. Why can't I have glorious electrical perfection? I haven't used my new SV650 much - just a couple times since I got it. Today I went to start it, and the power was awfully low - it gave off a little noise as I attempted to start it, and then stopped doing anything. So I took out the battery and saw it was older, and texted the P.O. It was indeed 3 years old. So I decided to just get a new battery. Popped it in, and tried starting it up. Nothing happened - no turning over or anything - all lights were on, neutral, etc. So I texted the P.O. again... he said he had to replace the starter relay last year and suggested I try jumping it. So I used a screwdriver upon the terminals of the starter relay while pushing the starter button at the handlebar. It started up. I rode around a bit, and turned it off, and tried starting again. Same stuff. He says that it's the new ($10 from eBay) starter relay flaking out. Is there any advice anyone could give me? I have a multimeter but its batteries are dead. Curses! Is it okay for the starter relay if I kept on jumping the bike a few more times to get around? the walkin dude fucked around with this message at 21:31 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:26
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Sagebrush posted:In the best case, all you'll need to do is clean the carburetors, change the oil and put in new gas, and it'll fire right up. In the worst case, the pistons will have rusted to the inside of the cylinders and the entire engine will need to be taken apart, sent out for machining, and rebuilt. Yep, bike's free. neighbor just wants to clean up some space in his garage. And alright, that seems pretty good, actually. I'll have to pull it all apart to check to make sure the pistons haven't rusted out though?
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Apr 12, 2012 20:27
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So a debate came up with some friends lately. How many of you that change your own tires balance them?
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Apr 12, 2012 20:28
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Nitramster posted:Alright I got a friend to check out my VFR, the battery is testing at 11.5 volts at idle, but goes up to 13 with throttle. He says it has to be the regulator/rectifier, seems super easy to change. Local shops are quoting me 120+ for the part. Anyone know a trusted place I can purchase it online? Good ebay sellers, or websites? Sounds like a properly functioning charging system. Motorcycles often times don't do any charging unless you are giving them a bit of throttle.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:29
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Meister Otter posted:Yep, bike's free. neighbor just wants to clean up some space in his garage. And alright, that seems pretty good, actually. I'll have to pull it all apart to check to make sure the pistons haven't rusted out though? Do it. I had a sr500 that sat for 14 years in a garage and was fine after a carb clean. Drain the oil, if it comes out looking like oil you're probably fine. I mount my own tires, don't bother to balance. I do carefully ride it on the first ride though. I changed tires on half a dozen bikes in the last month or so, no problem, and never had an issue with all the tires I've changed in the past. I'd probably balance the rim if I had rimlocks on a dirtbike though. Z3n fucked around with this message at 20:34 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:31
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Meister Otter posted:Yep, bike's free. neighbor just wants to clean up some space in his garage. And alright, that seems pretty good, actually. I'll have to pull it all apart to check to make sure the pistons haven't rusted out though? You can check that the engine isn't seized by operating the kick starter a few times -- if it goes around without any horrible grinding noises (it will go putt-putt though) then that's good news. You want to check the compression too, by taking out the spark plug(s) and putting your finger over the hole and cranking the engine, and making sure that it pushes your finger off with a loud pop. [e]: I don't know if this technique works with 2-stroke engines and I don't know if what you're looking at is a 2t or 4t, so someone else will have to confirm that. Basically if the engine turns over and has acceptable compression, it's likely that it will start up without anything more than a good cleaning. If either of those are bad then you're looking at a rebuild. the walkin dude posted:He says that it's the new ($10 from eBay) starter relay flaking out again. Is there any advice anyone could give me? I have a multimeter but its batteries are dead. Curses! Does the relay make a clicking noise when you press the button?
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Apr 12, 2012 20:34
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Gotta ask the gf to listen after she finishes school (deafness). Would I be abusing the relay if I jumped it a few times more? :O
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Apr 12, 2012 20:36
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Meister Otter posted:Yep, bike's free. neighbor just wants to clean up some space in his garage. And alright, that seems pretty good, actually. I'll have to pull it all apart to check to make sure the pistons haven't rusted out though? This will be a fantastic resource for you: http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm , specifically http://www.dansmc.com/troubleshooting.htm and http://www.dansmc.com/troubleshooting2.htm (feel free to ignore the religious bent. Loving Jesus is, as it turns out, not a requirement to work on a motorcycle.) You can change the oil and try to crank/kickstart the engine (use a car battery to jump start it, if it has an electric starter), or even put it into top gear and try pushing it down a hill. If it makes the right noises (whir whir whir or putt putt putt or whathaveyou), the bottom half of the engine is probably pretty okay. If it refuses to turn over (i.e. the kickstarter is frozen or you can't make the back wheel spin with it in fifth gear or whatnot), the pistons are probably seized and you're in for a headache.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:36
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Here's a few pics of the bike, ipod quality though, sorry. http://imgur.com/a/MTnNp
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Apr 12, 2012 20:38
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The K&N air filter for Ulysses just came in. Do these things come pre-oiled and ready to go or am I going to have to prep it before installing it? It says nothing about prep, so I'm leaning toward drop in and go.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:39
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Meister Otter posted:Here's a few pics of the bike, ipod quality though, sorry. Looks restorable to me -- I definitely would take it if it's free. And that's a two-stroke, so you don't actually have engine oil to deal with; it's mixed with the gasoline. Unless that particular model has oil injection, in which case it's a separate tank, but you still don't have "oil changes" and such. Perhaps Sir Cornelius can help you out? He seems to know a lot about two-stroke Yamahas. It'll be a lot of fun, though. Get some of the strawberry-scented oil. Ring-a-dinga-dinga-ding [e] also cmon dude, it totally says 175 right there on the side Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 20:44 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:42
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Sagebrush posted:Looks restorable to me -- I definitely would take it if it's free. And that's a two-stroke, so you don't actually have engine oil to deal with; it's mixed with the gasoline. Unless that particular model has oil injection, in which case it's a separate tank, but you still don't have "oil changes" and such. Perhaps Sir Cornelius can help you out? He seems to know a lot about two-stroke Yamahas. How is the gearbox lubed on those? Separate gear oil?
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Apr 12, 2012 20:44
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Safety Dance posted:How is the gearbox lubed on those? Separate gear oil? I think there's still an oil pan/reservoir/something for the gearbox and clutch, but it's separate from the crankcase, yeah. @ Meister Otter: just think, this could be you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Xopc_Nwlo#t=13s Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:46
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Sagebrush posted:I think there's still an oil pan/reservoir/something for the gearbox and clutch, but it's separate from the crankcase, yeah. Ha, knowing my luck? Probably! Thanks for the info guys, I'll drag it home and check it out tomorrow here.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:52
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Meister Otter posted:Here's a few pics of the bike, ipod quality though, sorry. Do it, take it, you'll love it. The DT175 is rad. Do you know what year it is? I have a '76, same color. That looks like a '74 or '75. I got mine in neglected-but-running shape and all I've really done to tune it up is a new spark plug and running fresh gas through it, hard. Mine:  For what its worth, I wouldn't call it a great beginners' bike. I mean, it's not a huge power machine and it is light, but it has a peaky powerband and only really likes to be rode at 6k+ (out of 8k), below that you're stalling it out and fouling plugs. Kind of a handful for a newbie. If you can kick it over and feel/hear compression, that's a good start. If not, it isn't too much of a project to pull the cylinder off and re-ring it. Those old Yamaha 2-strokes are bulletproof.
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Apr 12, 2012 20:53
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the walkin dude posted:I have a problem! With the new SV650. Why can't I have glorious electrical perfection? I found a new battery for the multimeter and tested the starter relay with the bike in "ON" (testing both black/red at same time) - it shows 11.7 volts. Is the starter relay the culprit? the walkin dude fucked around with this message at 21:30 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 20:55
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the walkin dude posted:I found a new battery for the multimeter and tested the starter relay with the bike in "ON" (testing both black/red at same time) - it shows 11.7 volts. Battery is low. Charge it up.
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Apr 12, 2012 21:12
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I jumped the starter relay again and ran the engine, doing tests of the battery. At idle, it shows 12.1-4, and when I rev it to 5-6k, it shows 12.1.
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Apr 12, 2012 21:23
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The battery only shows 12.1 volts? Sounds like either the alternator or the R/R is dead. That should be getting up around 14v when you rev the engine.
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Apr 12, 2012 21:39
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Wandered back over there and tried to get it to turn over and it's all locked up. Any idea on how much it would cost to fix that thing? He also has a little Honda 90, looks like this to a T, turns over just fine and has really low mileage as well. Any thoughts on that?
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Apr 12, 2012 21:42
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If the engine won't turn over, then at the very least you are looking at new piston rings and a cylinder hone (not cheap). It could be worse than that, though, in which case you'll need to get the cylinder bored oversize and a new piston as well (even less cheap). On top of that, the main reason that engines seize after sitting is rust; that means that water got into the cylinder somehow and there could be a whole lot of other serious problems. Nearly anything is repairable given the time and money, but I sure wouldn't pick a bike with a seized engine as your first. That CT90 looks sweet though. More scooter than motorcycle, but they're cool nevertheless. It has a 4-speed transmission and everything. If it's free, absolutely pick it up, and then I'll buy it from you for 200 bucks. VVVVVVVVV If it turns over and the carb isn't completely shot, I can pretty much guarantee that you'll be able to get it running. My old Honda sat without running for thirty-two years and it only took a month of on-and-off work, including waiting for parts in the mail, to get it fired up again. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 22:06 on Apr 12, 2012 |
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Apr 12, 2012 21:56
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Sagebrush posted:That CL90 looks sweet though. More scooter than motorcycle, but they're cool nevertheless. It has a manual transmission and everything. If it's free, absolutely pick it up, and then I'll buy it from you for 200 bucks. If I get it running, I'm going to see about keeping it. But if I can't, Absolutely. Might as well let someone have the thing, maybe they'll get some enjoyment out of it. I'd be more comfortable riding/learning on a little thing like that than the Yamaha bike.
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Apr 12, 2012 21:58
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Sagebrush posted:Nearly anything is repairable given the time and money, but I sure wouldn't pick a bike with a seized engine as your first. That's the thing, I'm almost more interested in wrenching on bikes than riding (rainy day/sunny day I guess) and I don't see why rings and a hone are a hard or expensive fix if I do it myself. It's home-garage material until you get into decking. I'm shopping for my own first bike (not too hard since I still need a jacket and gloves, but still trolling Craigslist in case something neat pops up), and I keep waffling between the CA advice of "don't get a first bike that needs work" and "but I'm jazzed about the work". I also don't have much budget to work with, I did get my extra car sold but not for what I wanted. 
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Apr 12, 2012 22:15
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Splizwarf posted:I keep waffling between the CA advice of "don't get a first bike that needs work" and "but I'm jazzed about the work" My first bike was/is a non-runner, and I'm having a great time cleaning it up and putting it back together. I took a risk getting one that didn't run, but the engine turned smoothly and had solid compression, and as it turns out it does run without having to tear into the cylinders themselves. At the end of the process I'll definitely have spent more money than if I just bought a running bike to begin with, but to me it's worth it to have a bike that I have personally resurrected from the dead. If you truly do enjoy the work and can tolerate not riding for some number of weeks or months while you do it, then I'd say go ahead! It worked for me.
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Apr 12, 2012 22:33
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