luvmy40

So, I finally found the right pair of bent nose needle nosed pliers, got the wife to hold the flashlight, bit my tongue just right and managed to get that pesky cotter pin out and removed the clevis pin from the brake actuator rod! YAY ME! Then I pulled the rear brake line, removed the MC mounting bolts and lifted the MC straight up off the actuating rod. Leaving the rod right it was. That pin never needed to come out!

Rebuilt the rear brake master cylinder and found a hose that needs replaced. The short hose that connects the MC to the steel line that runs to the front end. I'll have to have one made as it is not available through Yamaha or any of the usual suspects. Also wondering, while enjoying 3 fingers of Laphroig on the rocks if the Old Pucster was having a little fun with the new guy:rasberry: That cotter pin and clevis did not need to come off the brake lever. I finally got it all off and when I pulled the MC out the rod and clevis stayed right where they were! The MC just lifted up of the actuator rod. Another lesson learned the hard way!

I ordered a different set, still on Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/CREE-COB-H4-HB2-9003-1080W-162000LM-LED-Headlight-Kit-Hi-Lo-Power-Bulbs-6000K/272321333014?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 The numbers/ratings seem to be cut and pasted between all the lower priced LED conversion lamps, so I went with the one that says it uses 2 of three chips for low beam and all three for high beam with the top chip cutting out for the lows. It makes sense to me but I'm not a lighting experts so I could be wrong. Even if they're junk, I'm only out 20 bucks and I'll have learned another cheap lesson. Next question is do I use electrical tape or split the dash to take care of the warning lights?

once I get that sucker out of there, it's going back in with the cotter pin to the outside!

Ill let you know. This is the first time I've used it.

Congratulations! I still haven't seen the TC first hand. Wave as you go through Youngstown, OH on the turn pike.

Sprayed the interior of my trunk with Flex Seal. I've been trying to figure out where it's leaking but have had no luck pin pointing it, so I just sprayed the entire thing. Hopefully that caught the leak.

Has anybody tried these LEDs? https://www.ebay.com/itm/323174362227 They seem too good to be true, so... I've never felt the need for a brighter headlight but my head light bulb shattered and the fuse blew at 11:00 pm and left me stranded. I had fuses but no spare headlamp. It got thinking that LED would be better just for the longevity and being able to keep a spare onboard without worrying about it getting broken.

I don't see any way to get a hold of it with anything. I tried needle nose pliers and a couple different hook tools. I can't even see it without an inspection mirror and a flashlight. How tough is it to get the return spring back in place if I remove the pedal and push the pivot shaft through to pull the entire assembly off?

The factory service manual is useless for this. It basically says "Remove mounting bolts, disconnect brake rod and remove master cylinder". Am I going to have to disassemble the entire brake pedal assembly and remove the pedal shaft with the MC?

Why in Hell would anyone install the clevis pin on the rear brake master cylinder with the cotter pin to the inside??!!! Is there a trick or a special tool to get that cotter pin out! I tried a pair of bent needle nose pliers. That ain't happening! I'll see if a have a hook tool I can get around the back, but I'm not holding my breath.

The grips are typically installed with some kind of adhesive. Kuryakyn sends a cyanoacrylate type glue. I'm fighting a loose grip right now too. The old stock ISO grips I got from ebay had the factory supplied glue, but the tubes were dryed rock solid. I tried pure silicone adhesive but that just peeled away with little resistance. Then I tried 3M automotive weather strip adhesive and it appeared to work but has since loosened up. I'm going to pull it, clean it up and try Gorilla's cyanoacrylate gel.

I'm a shovel head man. My last Harley Davidson was the last year they produced the shovel head. It was the 1984 FXST. 1340cc, carburated (Mikuni), chain primary drive, belt final drive. That bike and I went cross country many times. It only once gave any trouble, and that was my fault. I let the top end go too long and fragged a valve on the highway in Jackson Mississippi. That was the only time I paid anyone to work on that bike. I can't speak for the newer HDs. I wrote them off after a a bad experience at a local stealership left me with blood shooting out of my eyes. To say I was pissed would be the understatement of the century. I would by a vintage HD at a decent price any day. The after market support is far better than the factory support ever was, and it was good at one time. HD's corporate attitude is why I'll never give them any of my money again. They forgot about the working class guys that kept them alive during the AMF fiasco, though they came back strong(and with the right attitude) in the early eighties. These days they don't care if real "bikers" or riders buy their product, they target the RUB crowd with their branding status and give little thought to reliability and customer service. Sign up for the newest model, wait for it then shell out the $ for factory service until the thing falls apart and they forget you. If they don't come back to being customer service oriented company, they won't be around much longer. $0.02, YMMV

FULL DISCLOSURE: I am an Auto Zone employee. I run the ETX series batteries from Auto Zone in my motorcycles, and have since before I worked there. ETX18L is the battery for the Gen1 bikes. https://www.autozone.com/miscellaneous-non-automotive/motorcycle-and-power-sport-battery/duralast-gold-powersport-agm-battery/350084_0_0?&searchText=ETX18l

Star Tron enzyme treatment claims to be focused on ethanol problems. https://www.autozone.com/fuel-and-engine-cleaners-additives/fuel-additive-and-cleaner/star-tron-16-oz-ethanol-treatment/455620_0_0

That bleeder is still bleeding brake fluid, it's just from the anti dive valve. It may be fork oil leaking from the seal between the anti dive and the fork tube...

s.tyler, I may be misunderstanding what you are saying, but the anti dive system operates with the brakes and, as MiCarl stated that fluid looks like new, clean brake fluid rather than fork oil. You should be able to pick up a bleeder valve at any auto parts store. They usually have many different sizes on the shelf. Take it with you to match up. Is the radiator drain tube you are talking about the one that comes off the elbow on top of the coolant overflow tank? If so, that elbow is replaceable and again, most auto parts stores will have something in stock to replace it. I had to replace mine when I broke off trying to remove the drain/vent hose the first time I pulled the fairing an The Beast.

I voted 300 because that's a realistic average for me, but my goal is actually 400 or better. I usually end up spending more time sight seeing and visiting new friends than I plan on. This, of course depends on whether the goal is the ride or the destination.

I ordered a rear brake master cylinder rebuild kit, part # 26H-W0041-50-00 for The Beast. Suddenly the pedal will collapse when sitting with the brakes applied and sometimes needs pumped when braking. No leaks that I can find and the fluid level is good. 35 years is catching up the old girl. BTW, She pulls like a, well, like a beast with the new TCI! At first blush(about 60 miles on the odometer) it looks like the fuel economy is up where it should be as well, around 40mpg, and yes, the fuel gauge seems to working fine again!

I think the beast is haunted! The fuel gauge is working! So, when I went for the first shake down ride this season I filled the tank. It was as I was pulling out of the gas station that the fuel gauge went wonky. First it dropped to 1 bar then bounced back up to full then down to no bars and the fuel pump icon lit up and the warning light started flashing. this was all over about 30 seconds. It has been that way since that moment. I took her out for a longer ride this evening. I stopped to fill the tank and she was nearly bone dry. I put 5.25 gal. in the tank. when I started her up, the fuel gauge read full! Go figure.

I forgot to mention that I checked the fuel level sending unit today as well. It seems to be working. I get about 2.5 ohms at "full" and 331 ohms at empty. I'm reading 265 ohms with it installed. The gauge and alarm are still reading empty. The gas pump icon is lit and the warning light is flashing. I almost pulled the gauge cluster to try to ohm out at the connector but I ran out of motivation. The turn signals have not glitched again.

Like I said in the "What did you do today" thread, my #3 carb was pouring gasoline from the vent line. This came on suddenly. I had a couple hundred miles on the odometer after rebuilding the carbs with no problems. Any way, I pulled the carbs and broke the rack to check out #3 and fix the enricher fork issue. I didn't find anything obviously wrong with #3 so I just hosed the bowl and fill valve down with brake parts cleaner and put it back together. The float level bench checked perfectly and I couldn't get the bowl to over fill even with a gallon of head pressure. Got everything put back together, including installing a new to me TCI that had been gone over and the caps replaced(thanks mralex), synchronized the carbs and I have to say, I believe I have had a bad TCI from day 1. As much power as she has had and as smooth as she's been running compared to what it's like now? There's no comparison. I hope this was the source of my low MPG problem as well.

That's going to be a great resto project. Sorry to hear your friend is gone, OrlinEngh. Did all the Japanese bikes do a 900 with a high/low transfer in that time period? I almost bought Kawasaki 900 spcl that had the same type of trans. a few years ago.

I also saw a drill bit kit that showed a nice divided box and about 50 twist bits then over on the side were the 13 bits with 1/4" hex drive shanks that your are actually bidding on. Be careful. I did order(bid and win) on several small items just to see if there is any quality to the products at all. Things I can use if they turn out to be decent. Thanks Randy!

Went for a ride today to blow the last remaining flu bugs out of my system and noticed a strong scent of petrol emanating from under my feet. Stopped at an intersection and sure enough, gasoline running down the left side case! Oh well, I needed to pull the carbs to fix the enricher fork I stuck in there backwards the last time I had them apart anyway. The fuel is coming fro the #3 carb vent pipe so either the float is sticking or the float valve isn't sealing up. They all float checked on the bench and I've ridden around 200 miles since putting her all back together with no issue. I put new fuel line on from the pump to the carbs last time as well.