Sexagenarian

Man, have I been waiting a while to say that.... The new needle assemblies did their magic as when I fired it up this time there was no gas flowing anywhere but where it was supposed to... woooo hooooo... I was also able to get the carbs synched utilizing my new Morgan carbtool... Oh man, Oh man, I love the sound of this engine as it purrs away... Have a lot of little things to tidy up on this beauty before leaving the driveway with it, but I just had to give a shout out to all of you that have helped me on this journey... Although I was too intimidated to do anything with the mixture screws, my confidence level has risen exponentially since beginning this ordeal... Maybe that will be a winter project in this cold land of Minnesota... thanks again to all of you for your great suggestions, responses, and most importantly, your patience with my entry level questions...As I have said before, this forum rocks!!!! thank you!!!

can you identify the individual mixture screw in the image below?

I checked them per this posting: float adjustments ....They were all around 8mm-9mm when measured as that method suggests so I left them alone... The method mentioned in the clymer is way too confusing for my current experience level...Unless someone can explain it better than the manual did? Interestingly, when I first looked at that page in the Clymer, the view seems backwards to me, which is why I asked.. I cannot access the carb1 and carb2 synch screw as shown in Figure 46 of that reference. It shows the left side of the bike but I need to be on the right side of the bike to access the synch screw.. Figure 47 appears to also show the left side of the bike... Which would mean the synch screw towards the rear of the bike (A) should synch carb 4 to carb 3. The screw towards the front of the bike (B) should then synch the left pair (two) to the right pair (four)... Correct?

I took your advice and ordered the new needle valves and seat assemblies for each carb. Wow, what a difference! Wow, what a price! The good news is that the old seat assemblies easily slipped in and out of their housings, the new assemblies actually had to be seated with a slight push and then "popped" into place. They then were not able to be easily slid out anymore. I already feel better about no more leaking o-rings on this assembly. Also placed the new needles onto the floats and placed them back together. Raining today and was hoping to synch the carbs but I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow to bring the RSTD out of the garage. Speaking of synching the carbs.. this is a great thread on synching carbs but it does not show the correct locations of the synching screws for a 1997 Royal Star Tour Deluxe. Does anyone have the correct procedure with those screws?? thanks again for everyone's help... --Wayne

Ummmm.... it is in the original post... it is all hose except for the filter shown in the item number... I can blow air through the hose in both directions.. this is why I asked its' purpose...seems to me you could just eliminate the filter assembly as long as it is allowing air in both directions... Would be nice to know what the parameters are for this thing... ride safe!!-Wayne

So, if I blow through both ends, should it block the airflow one way and allow the other?

What exactly is the function of the little filter assembly, item #21 in the image below? Does it ever need replacing? I see the bottom part of the hose just dangles beside the oil filter. Remember, I am new to the world of maintaining my own bike. thanks...

Well I finally was able to start the RSTD up yesterday and am having a similar problem as Summerbreeze (also see his thread requesting carb help). Maybe someone out there can help us both. Quick review: Prior to my carb separation and cleaning, the only way to keep the motor running was at full throttle and it was dumping a lot of gas via the overflow tubes as well. After separation and cleaning, it is still running way too rich (?) as I have to give it just a little throttle to keep it from flooding out. My idle screw was then adjusted Clockwise (maladjusted may be a better word) to keep it from flooding out. When I try to set the rpm with the idle screw, anything less than 1200 rpm will flood it out. In order to get to 1200 rpm I had to turn the idle screw CW almost all the way in. When I try to lower the rpm to 1000 with the idle screw, it jumps from 1200 to 900 with hardly any CCW movement at all. What was done: With the carbs separated, the floats were individually checked for buoyancy by dumping them into a container of gasoline and submerging them to make sure their was not air infiltrating the floats and also that they would then indeed 'float'. I did notice that the floats were sitting anywhere from 7 to 9 mm when checked by this method: float adjustment used I then set them all to 8mm using that method. I then proceeded to remove all components from the carbs as I did not want to expose any rubber components to the carb cleaning spray. The needle valves themselves were inspected to make sure the plunger was nice and springy and did not stick. Before removing the main jet from the main jet holder, it was noted that all four were bottomed out. I neglected to check the main jet holder position but bottomed them out also upon reassembly after all the cleaning. The pilot jet on all 4 carbs was in varying degrees of having their pinholes clogged. They were noted to all be bottomed out prior to my removing them also. The needle valve seats were also cleaned and inspected. The needle jet was not removed but was sprayed thoroughly with the carb cleaner. All four diaphrams were inspected and one was found to have pinholes. It was replaced with new rubber using this method: siruusconinc.com The jet needles and their assembly were also cleaned of a varnishy type buildup. Although I am somewhat proud of the fact I tackled this task, my ego has suffered severely as I have failed monumentally somewhere along the line. Hopefully one of you seasoned pro's out there can get me on the right course again. As always, thank you for your inputs, no matter how small or large you deem them to be. Ride safe!!

lacking any responses to my post just above this, I spent a couple hours researching on google. Always remember, Google is your friend !! Here is what I found on setting the positioning for the TPS module: This is what the Clymer manual should have had in it to begin with !! The correct way to position your TPS sensor --Wayne

not sure if this is the correct part of the forum for this sort of posting but here goes.. I thought the following article was a good read, even though they do not mention wet clutch characteristics: Automotive vs Motorcycle oils

thank you for the heads up!! I was not aware of that. I am learning there is so much to learn when doing your own maintenance. The temporary oil does not have the JASO designations nor does it mention wet clutch anywhere on the bottle so I am going to say it is NOT wet clutch compatible. Now what? The only purpose of this oil was to be in the machine while it warms up. It would not be moved anywhere and the clutch would not be operated. My thought process was to use this as a flushing oil since there was such a strong odor of gasoline in the oil which was just drained. This temporary oil was then to be drained and replaced (along with the filter) with yamaha-4 if the gasoline aroma was greatly reduced. Do you think I will be causing unintended problems? Do you think I should drain this oil before starting it up later today when the bike is all reassembled? thanks for your thoughts!! -Wayne

yup.... that phillips head inside the 17mm head was the oil drain plug. tested it for magnetic properties but there was none... too bad.. thought that would have been a great idea... the drained oil had a very strong gasoline aroma so I am glad I changed it.... Purchased some inexpensive 10w-30 SM oil (had to google what all the designations were) and it will be in there just long enough to do a carb synch so as to flush it all out some more and then the filter and oil both will be changed out again to the specified yamaha brands (expensive!!)...

I Did a search and found this older posting on the TPS: I had to separate the carbs which of course means removing the TPS. You are correct V7Goose, something is wierd with the Royal Star Clymer manual also. Like V7 mentioned, it is also backwards. I can't find anything definitive which corrects the manual so here is my POA (plan of attack) unless anyone can correct me .. I will compute the math mentioned in the manual to find the high/low range for adjustment. But I will be reading the Yellow and the Black/Blue wire instead of the yellow and the Blue wire. I will then adjust the TPS for the adjustment range derived from the previous steps in the manual utilizing the readins on the yellow and Black/blue wires instead of the solid blue wire and yellow. I also removed the darned security screws, lockwasher, flatwasher combonation holding the TPS in place and replaced them with an Allen head, lockwasher, flatwasher combo. Thoughts anyone?

thanks for the replies everyone... this forum rocks!!!!

thank you for heads up!! I went back and they gladly changed switch them to the 7's for me.. thanks again!!

Let me preface this question by stating I am officially this site's oldest newbie when it comes to maintaining their first ride. Unfortunately I waited until I was in my 60's (thus sexagenarian) before going through the course with my wife. My previous experience on anything involving internal combustion equipment was by turning the keys over to the automotive mechanic and paying the ransom when I wanted the vehicle back. I started my motorcycle training by separating the carbs and thoroughly cleaning them and replacing all the o-rings and gaskets located in the float bowls and fuel pipes. Also had one diaphragm which I replaced and put back together using the sirius web site. Now have removed the radiator for flushing and I will pressure test it by dialing back my compressor to about 10 psi. Do not want to remove the right side muffler to drain the water pump after reading there is little fluid in there once the radiator has been drained. Will instead fill with water, run the engine for a minute and drain the radiator again. I figure doing this a couple times would get all the old coolant out. Then refill with a 50/50 low silicate or zero silicate anti-freeze solution. Another reason is that I am having trouble locating the correct drain plug for the water pump (newbie, remember)! I will also be changing the oil and filter which is the reason for this long post. I believe the oil drain plug on the bottom of the oil pan appears to have a phillips head inside the actual nut...Does this sound right? The dog-goned Clymer manual assumes a person knows their way around a motorcycle much better than I actually do. If the drain bolt has such an identifying characteristic as the phillips head center, why not divulge that? Oh well, thanks for any feedback, and I am prepared to take my teasing on this newbie question from all you seasoned pro's out there. Thanks again.

My 97 RSTD manual states that the proper plug to use is the DPR7EA-9. Yesterday, I went to my Honda/Yammy dealer and told them I need plugs for a 97 RSTD and they gave me DPR8EA-9 which I didn't notice until this morning. Other forums state that the 8EA-9's are approximately 150 degrees colder than the 7EA-9's. My riding style is a lot of city traffic, 55mph county roads, and seldom do I get above 70mph. Should I take 'em back and ask why I didn't receive the 7EA-9's to begin with. Or is the difference minimal?

My RSTD doesn't have the fuel gauge, just the idiot light that is supposed to come on when some idiot (me!!) forgets to look at the trip odometer

this is good info as I also wanted to drain the coolant and refill it prior to restarting the RSTD after I have finished cleaning all the carbs. Does everyone go for a 50:50 ratio on distilled and the antifreeze?

Good point and it appears to be you two against only me, so I shall heed your advice... ... There appears to be a diaphragm replacement procedure which is easier for some models than others. Has anyone replaced the diaphragms on the 97 RSTD or a model utilizing similar diaphragm assemblies? Is their a procedure for getting the old one off as well?

One of my diaphragms definitely needs the new diaphragm. But for one tiny pinhole, rather than spending another $136 on up, to replace the complete diaphragm assembly, I am looking for a more economic solution. As we know, just the small pinhole in this diaphragm already reduces the efficiency of this carb. I am curious if anyone has tried the seal-all product as a temporary fix. I see by reading this and other forums that there is a plethora of product being used to alleviate the pin-hole effect on carb diaphragms. Most of those however, were not gas resistant. This product states it is. I think I will apply it to the pinhole and when cured, immerse the assembly in gas for a few days to see how it holds up. Any other thoughts?

Wondering if anyone has tried this item (Seal-ALL) for covering the pinholes in the carb diaphragms? Was thinking about cleaning the diaphragm with fiber optic alcohol (90% alcohol solution) and then applying the Seal-All. Thoughts anyone?

I was hoping that to be the case also, RSTDdog. Alas, the way the carbs are oriented, there are 2 screws in each float bowl inaccessible to remove unless all are separated. So separation was inevitable. On the good side, it appears all the carbs need a really good and careful cleaning. Update: All carbs separated and have been visually inspected. The diaphragm for carb #1 slide is full of pinholes. Do you all suggest buying the new assembly for approx $150 or go for the diaphragm only for around $30 and try to replace it? Any experts on just replacing the diaphragms for the 97 RSTD? Also, the O-rings on the fuel nipples between the carbs are deteriorating severely. Gaskets on the bottom of the float bowls appear as if they have almost teleported to another planet while the gaskets around the bowl look like something has been eating away at it. Don't know what the previous owners were using in the tank but apparently the inside of the carbs don't like it. There is also a fine whitish residue all over everything in the float bowl. Interesting. The Bright Side: I am getting a thorough education on carbs. Thorough cleaning of all carbs will have to wait until next week when my schedule permits. Besides, all the darned parts are 7 to 10 days out anyways. Helpful hints in this process are heartily encouraged !!

looking to purchase a carb synch tool but am really hoping there is someone close to wright county here in Minnesota to show me how to use one. I have never done one before and the price the dealership wants to synch carbs is pretty steep for me. This is also the reason I am teaching myself how to separate and clean the carbs myself. Just curious if anybody is close. I also brew beer and have won a few awards. May trade your carb synch knowledge for a few home brews as long as one doesn't over-indulge... -Wayne

I find this place useful for obtaining the correct yamaha part number. I can then check their price against other vendors by doing a google search of that part number. Yamaha Parts ... -Wayne