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SaltyDog

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Everything posted by SaltyDog

  1. SaltyDog
    Now all I have to do is decide which bike to ride- 1975 Suzuki RE5, 1977 BMW R100RS, 1989 BMW R100GS, 1989 Honda PC800 or my 1983 XVZ12 std. Hope the weather holds out for a nice day.
  2. SaltyDog
    The needle bearings I was talking about are the ones in the wheel itself, not in the rear differential. The wheel needle bearings are on the left side of the wheel inside the splined end. These needle bearings aren't part of the rear end differential but are part of the wheel itself. The inner spacer/race is a separate part that is removeable and is shown on the parts diagram as #28 and the needle bearing is #3. I have a first gen mark 1 so the later bikes are probably different. The set up is similar to the XS1100 and this link is for a replacement on that bike http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/tech-tips/repairs/other/193-rear-wheel-bearing-replacement-pictorial.html
  3. SaltyDog
    I just serviced my '83 XVZ-12 this last weekend and replaced both the wheel bearings and all the seals. The wheel didn't have any current problems, just wanted to get the 28 year old bearings out before they caused a on-road problem. The needle bearing does have a inner race spacer that can be removed for service, but you have to pull the grease seal first. It can be removed and reused if done carefully. My old bearings were a bear to remove. I had to drive out the larger ball bearing using a long punch through the center of the wheel from the opposite side. The needle bearing could only be removed after I drilled a hole through the inner flange inside the wheel to drive out the bearing with a long small diameter punch. I used a good quality waterproof bearing grease on the needle bearing and repacked the other ball bearing after carefully removing the bearing seals. I cleaned and greased the drive pins and used Honda Moly60 grease for the drive splines. The wheel spins very smoothly and shouldn't give me any trouble for a long time. The front wheel is next with the bearings and seals already purchased and waiting. Having a bike lift makes the job alot easier on the back. I also took the opportunity to grease the rear suspension linkage (grease fittings already added earlier) and inspect the welded gussets that I added in 2009 to repair a minor crack in the lower frame tube and prevent any further frame failures (all was found as I left it, no further cracks).
  4. SaltyDog
    When you get ready, I would be interested in viewing the engine rebuild DVD. Just let me know what you need for shipping to my Arkansas address (72081). I can view it quickly and get it back in a timely manner.
  5. SaltyDog
    I too have a '83 venture and when I checked my frame last year I found a crack starting on the left side of the frame above the center stand mount. My frame didn't have a spot of rust (more oil on the bottom so it was protected) and when the tube when cleaned up it was easy to see. Since it hadn't opened up, I sanded the area to remove all the paint and welded up the crack and then over-welded the area. When I compared the right side and left side where the centerstand mounts and took some measurements, I found that the gussets on the right side almost touched which strenthgened the cross tube underneath. ON the side that cracked, the gussets were farther apart and left a section of the cross tube uncovered and therefore weaker. The center stand, the lower shock mount and the rear engine mount all connect on this cross tube. It has to carry alot of weight and stress from the lower shock forces. On my bike, it came with the all air rear shock (no outside spring) and sat noticeably lower and was harder to put on the center stand. With this shock, the lower shock relay arm puts a horizontal pull on the cross tube. I have since put the later shock from a Royale version with the additional spring and this makes the bike sit higher and the angle of the shock relay arm is below horizontal and has to rotate first before it puts the same type of pulling forces on the cross tube. I would be interested to see how many of the bikes with the frame failures had the non-spring shocks from the factory. I added additional plates along the crosstube on both sides after I welded up the crack to help carry the twisting load from the shock and center stand. So far I can't find sign of the frame cracking. I will do a careful inspection this winter when I replace all the wheel bearings and have the bike up on the lift.
  6. SaltyDog
    I too have a '83 venture and when I checked my frame last year I found a crack starting on the left side of the frame above the center stand mount. My frame didn't have a spot of rust (more oil on the bottom so it was protected) and when the tube when cleaned up it was easy to see. Since it hadn't opened up, I sanded the area to remove all the paint and welded up the crack and then over-welded the area. When I compared the right side and left side where the centerstand mounts and took some measurements, I found that the gussets on the right side almost touched which strenthgened the cross tube underneath. ON the side that cracked, the gussets were farther apart and left a section of the cross tube uncovered and therefore weaker. The center stand, the lower shock mount and the rear engine mount all connect on this cross tube. It has to carry alot of weight and stress from the lower shock forces. On my bike, it came with the all air rear shock (no outside spring) and sat noticeably lower and was harder to put on the center stand. With this shock, the lower shock relay arm puts a horizontal pull on the cross tube. I have since put the later shock from a Royale version with the additional spring and this makes the bike sit higher and the angle of the shock relay arm is below horizontal and has to rotate first before it puts the same type of pulling forces on the cross tube. I would be interested to see how many of the bikes with the frame failures had the non-spring shocks from the factory. I added additional plates along the crosstube on both sides after I welded up the crack to help carry the twisting load from the shock and center stand. So far I can't find sign of the frame cracking. I will do a careful inspection this winter when I replace all the wheel bearings and have the bike up on the lift.
  7. SaltyDog
    I've had the Harbor Freight tire changer and motorcycle adapter for over three years now. I mounted it onto a small slab of concrete outside my work area. I have five motorcycles and my brother has two Harleys. I use it alot every year keeping up with the tire wear on my primary riding bikes ('83 Venture, '77 BMW R100RS and '89 BMW R100GS). My Brother brings his Harley wheels to me to change his tires also. I almost have him trained to do it himself. I also built a tire balancer so I can keep my tires rolling smooth. The wheels spin on a horizontal threaded shaft, secured with threaded cones and supported on roller bearing on the two ends. I can get them withing a 1/4 oz. weight with alittle patience. This is with spoked and cast wheels. My tire changer lives outside and has held up really well. I buy my tire lube online by the 9 lb. bucket at a truck oriented tire repair site. I also made up my tire and tube roadside repair kits by picking up the rubber glue, patches and plug kits from online sites.
  8. SaltyDog
    Last year on my '83 when I did the valve clearance adjustment, I had alot of the thicker shims left over when I had completed the measurement phase. I had bought a set of heads earlier for parts so I had alot of shims to swap out if needed. Since I work with some good machinists I got one of them to use the surface grinder to remove some material from the bottom (non-marked) side. I knew from my previous measurements what thickness I needed, so I ground the extra thicker shims to make them into "specials" to fit the appropriate valve buckets. I made up my valve clearance work sheet showing all the installed shim thickness and noted which ones were the "specials". The shims appeared to have a thick hardened case but I made sure I put the freshly ground side down just to be safe and prevent wear on the cam lobes from the unpolished (surface ground) side of the shim. With this method I got all my clearances into the middle of the adjustment range.
  9. SaltyDog
    My false tank cover would jump up on occasion even after I fully repaired the rear tab and grommet. My front rubber mount was also in good shape but the front tab while not broken or bent seemed to only engage the front mount by a 1/4 to 1/2 inch. So I extended it with ABS sheet and ABS solvent and experimented with the length till it decided to stay put. The false tank cover isn't really that stiff and the air that comes up around the steering head can really put some lifting forces on the cover. It only took one time for it to come loose at speed for me to get motivated and come up with a FINAL solution. If the front tab extension wouldn't have worked, I was going to bolt it in some fashion. Try it, start with a longer than necessary extension and trim down until the cover can just be fitted between the steering head and the tab rubber grommet mount.
  10. SaltyDog
    NOT completely true. The shindegen regulator/rectifier is only for 3 phase (3 wires) stators WITH Permanent Magnet rotors. IF the rotor is externally excited (i.e. with slip rings and brushes) then you need another type of regulator/rectifier.
  11. SaltyDog
    Sorry, it shortened the real URL when I posted the link. Just go to the nwcampers website and click on the EZ hauler link.
  12. SaltyDog
    http://www.nwcampersrv.com/minnesotarvsales/Forest-River-RV/Take-It-EZ/Toy-Hauler-Travel-Trailers.aspx
  13. SaltyDog
    This newer MOSFET Regulator/Rectifier doesn't have the higher internal resistance that the old selenium diode rectifiers had. It can pass the un-needed current to gound and back to the stator without building up a heat load. These newer R/R can run without any extra air flow, they barely get warm during operation. They are rated at 50 amps and according to their own charts don't need additonal cooling at 25 amps and 40 degrees C. So our low output charging systems barely put a load on them.
  14. SaltyDog
    It is a hotel and meeting center outside of Harrison, Arkansas. Check out their website for more details http://hubinfo.com/index.html
  15. SaltyDog
    I will be there, whenever. I love riding around that area. I really want to get more time in Eureka Springs than last year ( one day).
  16. SaltyDog
    I picked up the manual from Missionary Rider on Wednesday and got the .pdf conversion completed. Today I mailed the paper manual on to it's destination. The manual was complete and covers all the part numbers and cables for the CB and it's integration with the audio system. The manual contains the operating and troubleshooting procedures also. I have submitted the .pdf file for posting in the tech section and if any one needs the info check there in a day or so. The .pdf file came out to be 4.3 Mb (52 page @ 8 x 11 ) so I can't just attach it to a regular posting so that is why it isn't included in this posting.
  17. SaltyDog
    Just remembered a tip that I learned about setting up suspension pieces that use only rubber bushings. Don't torque the through bolt until the bike is down and resting on the supension so the parts are in the "normal" at rest position. This way the rubber mount is locked into a position that allows rotation in either direction (CW and CCW). This insures the rubber bushing won't be over stressed like it would be if it was torqued while in the unloaded position.
  18. SaltyDog
    I went out and checked my original '83 rear shock (no spring, only air suspension, non-class) and it appears to have the lower mount bonded also. I had changed my rear shock last year to a Class type (spring/air suspension) last year so I could install a Progressive rear spring and get some more ride height. The shock that originally came on my bike had the compression adjuster broken and sat really low even when aired up. Yamaha apparently figured that with the limited rotation of the shock during suspension travel, it didn't require a rotating collar like the later bikes. The online parts lists and other .pdf parts lists show a moveable collar on the '83 and later bike (first gen). Maybe the non-Class are different than the bikes with the Class system. I bought a Class style rear shock and adapted the Class airline to fit into the bracket along with the compression adjuster. The later shock has a separate collar on the lower shock mount like the parts lists illustrate.
  19. SaltyDog
    I have never liked the feel of the hydraulic anti-dive actuator. I hesitated to remove the link hose between the caliper and the actuator until I came up with a better solution. If you just remove the hose you are left with the stock soft compression damping and will likely bottom out during hard braking. After a little thought and some available time I dove in and removed the hose and fabricated a manual adjuster for the anti-dive valve. The adjuster pushes down on the anti-dive spool and restricts the fork oil flow during fork compression. Being adjustable, you can set the amount of increased compression damping on the front forks, just like on the rear shock. It only took me a couple of hours to make it up from scrap steel and can be easily improved (visually) with alittle effort. I used some 1/2 inch steel flat stock and some 6mm bolts. The ride is very smooth and doesn't bottom out when stopping. I just ran the adjuster to the bottom (lightly closed position) and backed it off a turn and a half. More riding will tell if this is the right setting. Nice thing about this modification is it's easily reversed if desired. The front brake is more positive but the rear brake with it's linked calipers is about the same feel. The real payoff is the increased front compression damping at all times when riding through the hills around my house.
  20. SaltyDog
    The collar in the bottom shock mount is supposed to be greased periodically (yeah right!). But it is rarely done, witness the wide instances of all the bushings in the rear suspension arms being dry and wearing out. Yamaha didn't put any provision for adding grease through grease zerks, so the only way they get lubricated is if you take it all apart and clean, replace and grease the bushings and collars. I had to do just that to my '83 and I replaced all the bushings and one of the collars that had been running dry and wore out. I installed grease zerks on all the pivot points and you can be sure I pump a shot of grease to them whenever I have the bike on the lift or am changing the rear tire. The collar on yours is rusted in place, probably due to lack of grease and it's location behind the rear tire and water spray. Mine was stuck also, but I got it free and cleaned up. I grease it with moly60 grease (should have added a grease zerk here also). The rear shock doesn't rotate much during suspension travel, but it does move.
  21. SaltyDog
    I can swing by tomorrow and pick up the manual. I don't have a CB on my bike but since I was so close by I thought that it would be a good resource for the other members to have on the site. It will only take me one day to get it scanned and into .pdf format ready for one any all.
  22. SaltyDog
    I only live about 30 miles from you (outside of Searcy). I could pick it up and convert it to .pdf to be posted in the first gen tech section for all to use. Your option, I can scoot over any time it is convenient.
  23. SaltyDog
    Take a look at the attached picture for the lower mounting pivot of the rear shock. There is a collar inside the lower shock eye and it shoild be free to rotate and allow the rear shock to move as needed during suspension travel.
  24. SaltyDog
    I installed a mechanical oil pressure guage on my '83 last summer. I looked at the Vmax kit online and decided to make my own. I already had a 0-100 psi guage laying around and I just removed the oil gallery plug from the right side of the engine and went down to the auto parts store for a similar drain plug. The existing Venture oil gallery plug has a recessed hex socket area and is too thin to hold many threads. I wanted to use a plug with a thicker head and tap it to fit a brass 90 degree fitting. I ran the 1/8 inch copper guage tubing up to the right side of the fairing to the oil pressure guage that I mounted in the opening for the right speaker. I ran the tubing inside of some black plastic tubing to prevent any problems with the copper tubing becoming worn by vibrating against the frame along the route. I had already removed the stereo on the left side of the fairing and turned that area into a storage pocket so the speakers were already gone. The high placement of the guage gives good readability. The guage reads about 70-80 psi at startup and runs 30-35 psi during cruising. The pressure does drop to 5-10 psi at hot idle, but that is easy to get used to seeing. I decided to install the oil pressure guage after reading the stories on the Vmax sites of the oil pressure tubing on the bottom of the engine blowing off during heavy operation. Since my bike is an '83, I decided to replace all the o rings on the bottom oil lines inside the oil pan and to verify that all the fasteners were tight. I don't ride my bike like a Vmax at high acceleration but I could. I didn't want to worry that I would have a sudden oil pressure loss and toast my engine. The oil pressure guage is my startup insurance that all is fine and I scan it regularly during riding. It isn't essential, but alot of my modifications are only to please the gadget loving side of me.
  25. SaltyDog
    It appears to me that the reserve lighting unit on the 83 model is different than the later models. On my bike (83 standard) the high beam indicator has a full time separate 12v hot wire and the ground condutor is supplied through the reserve lighting unit. In order to get the high beam indicator to work with the reserve lighting unit removed, I tapped into the yellow/green wire from the CMU that feeds the H4 highbeam. For a ground path for the high beam indicator I jumpered through the remaining reserve light unit plug and routed it to the high beam indicator. You can see the changes I made in the electrical .pdf I've attached. It looks complicated, but is a method I used and can be returned to stock quite easily. I still want to find a use for the white headlight out indicator on the dash, maybe I will figure out a way to get it to light up if the HID ballast fails. I also installed a 20w halogen daytime running light function in the stock reflector that I can use if needed or wanted. It's surprising how much light it makes for daytime riding.
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