BlueSky

Sounds like you are definitely down on hp. These bikes will give you a thrill when you go full throttle. I still think you need to pour a bottle of cleaner in the gas.

If you'd like to tackle the carbs your self, there is a CD available that is very detailed and the maker of the CD might rebuild the carbs for you. I bought the CD and it's very long and detailed. it's actually a video of Vmax carbs but they are very similar. I think quite of few of the members have the CD. If you are interested I'll look up his contact info. He has an engine on a test stand that he uses for a test engine to check the carbs operation.

My wife had an irregular heartbeat when she was in her forties. She went to a specialist and he was talking about medical procedures. when on the treadmill in his office her heart beat was regular after exercising. She declined the medical procedures and took some homeopathic remedies and started walking for exercise and her heartbeat became normal and still is at 57. I was 69 when my 3 yr 7 month job in FL ended. Towards the end of that job I worked 6 12s for 14 months. I ate too much getting up to my heaviest at 260lbs and wasn't exercising. My heartbeat was irregular at the end of the day when I was tired. I came home, lost 30 lbs,got back on my exercise program which wasn't so heavy, 50 minute rapid walks around the subdivision, one set of pullovers and curls on my total gym, pushups from the knee, situps, and squats 3 times a week and my heartbeat was normal. Now, I'm almost 75 and the irregular heartbeat has returned at the end of the day and I think I have some heart congestion because I feel some pressure in my chest when I walk very fast. So, it's time to drop another 30 lbs. I'm trying to psych myself up for that. It's tough to do. I forgot to say that I ate a lot less and lost 30lbs when I came home from the job in Homestead, FL. I'm sure that helped a bunch.

Really sorry to hear you are having health issues. It's good that we have all these modern medical procedures to help us get through another decade. My BD is 3-22 also. 75 this time

I got a notice from ebay that the 7 1/2 yr old Pirelli sold for $90! Maybe the purchaser knows how old it is? Today my new Bridgestone Battlax BT45 was delivered. It has a build date of 3818, a fairly new tire. I should make a video of me installing it! Probably get lots of laughs!

A guy who attends the monthly retirement luncheon I occasionally go to got over 180,000 miles out of his HD. But, he said he never rode over 65mph even when touring out west. Right after he told me that, he traded for a new HD. Me, I don't want anything I have to baby to get the miles out of it.

26 years newer! Enjoy!

Old, tired, and worn out! I resemble that remark!

I know you said the carbs are clean, but I would still put a good dose of seafoam or my favorite Gumout for high mileage engines with PEA in the gas tank and run it through. Like Puc said the copper spark plug wires tend to corrode and by clipping the ends off you can usually get to some clean, not green copper wire. Makes a huge difference if they are corroded on the ends.

well, I ended up ordering a Bridgestone Battlax BT45V 130/90V-16 tire from DennisKirk since they were the cheapest on that tire. Now, I have to find my tire tools and see if I can install it. I've never installed a tire before....... I hope nobody is watching when I give it a try.

Or the stock carbs need synchronizing because the plug up so easily that each one is in a different stage of plugging up and syncing them makes up for some of it. In the higher rpm range, the vacuum diaphragms may not be working the same and there is no way to sync that.

We have a lady member yamagrl who repaired 2nd gear on her bike. She rocks! Haven't seen much of her since she wrecked her 83 though.

No sync would be required with the one carb setup. the 4 intake runners are the same length and volume and there is only one throttle plate. And with one larger carb with larger fuel passages, it wouldn't be prone to plug up after sitting for a couple of weeks. Seems to me an exhaust analyzer would be necessary to make sure the carb is properly metering the fuel in all the rpm ranges and load conditions. Dyno tune would be the way to do that I presume. I'm sure there is a good reason that all factory 4 cyl bikes that I know of have 4 carbs.

Motorcycle Superstore was bought by or merged with JPCycles maybe partly due to their service or maybe just the downturn in interest in motorcycles. Evidently, re-cycles the ebay seller thinks that old Pirelli is okay to sell.

My 85 Kawa ZN700 needs a new tire before inspection next month. I saw this Pirelli Sport Demon 130/90-16 Rear Tire on ebay for $99.95 which is about 2/3 of new price. Looking closely at the photos revealed a 4311 build date. So, I thought I could get it cheap and bid $60. They came back with 94.95 and I bid $30 and they came back with $89.95 which I rejected. Probably way too old,7 1/2 yrs, to be buying anyway. The existing rear tire on my bike was 5 years old when it was delivered from Motorcycle Superstores and it was installed in 2010. So, it is now 14 yrs old. It's a Metzler Lazertec which is a sport bike tire and it has amazing grip but only lasted 4k miles over 9 yrs. The bike is 500lbs with 74hp and I do love to turn up the wick. Grip is the most important aspect of motorcycle tires to me. So, I suppose I'll be looking for a newish tire, maybe a Bridgestone BT45.

I feel your pain. I tried to rebuild the calipers on my 66 GT Mustang way back when. they had two pistons per side. After that I decided not to rebuild any more. But, I think if I was doing it, I would put a plate or thin plywood where the pads were and use air pressure to blow them out. Rebuild one piston at a time. That is the way I plan to do it. But beware, it could be dangerous if a piston goes flying. There are members who have rebuilt them. Maybe they will chime it.

Glad you finally got some payback. Any Gen1 would be totaled I'm sure. They are not worth that much in the books and damage repair is expensive. Lots of Gen 1's still out there though if you get a hankering for another one!

Found an update video

I stumbled onto this video of a single carb swap for a Gen 1.

If the voltage is regularly going to 16 volts, then I don't think the alternator is the problem. You are probably correct that the ECU is the voltage regulator. High voltage might cook the battery as well as other things.

My only suggestion is that if you use fine sandpaper to polish the cylinders, make sure you do it around the cylinder and not back and forth to help prevent seal leaks.

I just googled "rebuid motorcycle caliper video" and got multiple video links. Give it a try.

FYI I was looking at Sam's Club oil for my truck recently because it is really inexpensive and posted a question on the F150online forum. A member Labnerd works in an oil co. lab and this was his response. Sam"s Club "Certified" motor oil in 5w-30 is made by Reliance Technologies out of Niagara Falls. They blend for a lot of off brand motor oil sellers. It should say Dexos 1 compliant on the bottle and is a GF-5 SN oil. Two things about it, one good, one bad. The bad.....the ASTM D5800 testing for high heat is a dismal 14.9%. The absolute max for any API oil is 15%. So it's not going to do well in a worn engine or in a high heat environment. The good....it has roughly 217 ppms boron in the formulation. Boron is an expensive additive that helps carry the load when things get hot. If you change at 3000 miles by habit, this is just an okay oil to use. I wouldn't suggest running it farther or expect sludge and varnish inside the engine. The detergent package is reasonable but weak hence the cheap price. Any Pennzoil motor oil will be better than the Sams Club. The synthetic is the best synthetic out there as of now. But frankly, why spend the bucks when the yellow bottle blend is so good. The 10w-30 is still good at temps down to -25C for cold start up. The ASTM D5800 testing yields an astounding 4.6% and that my friend beats any synthetic available at any price. I'm running it in my 3.7 F150. No drop in gas mileage and no issues with cold start ups. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best motor oil you can put in any street engine. In regards to using a synthetic or a blend. Back in the 70's and 80's when synthetics were becoming popular, the formulators did not include anything for the seals. Dino oils have natural occurring saturated fats that keep the seals supple. The synthetic base oils of the day had a great amount of solvency and therefore would clean any crud around the seals. But because the synthetic oil did nothing for the seals, leaks happened. Since then the formulators include a seal swelling agent to take care of the issue. You can literally swap back and forth all you want. FWIW, Mobil and Castrol had an issue with Castrol claiming the Gp III base oils were a synthetic. The Advertising Council found that because it does not appear in nature, that it is a synthetic base oil. Mobil has since dropped the GP IV base oils and their synthetics are now Gp III. BUT, since oil prices have gone up, there are motor oil makers out there that have stretched the definition to include everything as a synthetic base except for the solvent refined GpI base oil. Buying and paying extra for yesterdays dinos as synthetics is unfortunately more common than you want to know. Buy a name brand oil, don't pay a lot for it, and change according to the auto makers extreme service guide and you can't go wrong. ASTM D5800 testing is a test where the oil is exposed to 302F temps for one hour. The oil is weighed before and after the test. The difference or numbers you see is how much, expressed in percentages, that the oil lost due to the oil cooking off. ILSAC says 15% is max. Most synthetic oils will be around 10%. The yellow bottle 10w-30 at 4.6 is a reflection of the quality of the base oil used to make it.

Ahem, That's a 1st Gen.

Well it's been a year since I got Shingles and I thought I would give an update. My left knee that went almost completely numb is still numb a little in the front but it doesn't affect the strength of the knee that much. I still feel weaker especially in my legs but that may be due to getting out of my exercise routine. I could not exercise for a while and now I'm exercising but haven't been inspired to do as much as before. I've had a little trauma going on in my left knee since 1980 when I was jogging too much but it has never been that much of a bother. So, I think that is why the shingles jumped on that knee. Anyhow, onwards and upwards. I hope to catch up on my riding this year!