saddlebum

For anyone in ontario the Snow birds a planning a province wide fly over today weather permitting. see attached: https://www.todocanada.ca/canadian-snowbirds-cross-country-flyover-schedule-operation-inspiration/

I started doing leak down tests back in the seventies when just an apprentice before I even knew such a test existed. I came up with the idea when doing compression tests on 2 stroke Detroit diesel engines. The procedure on these to do a compression test was to replace an injector with an adapter which in my case I made up out of an old injector, a 1000 PSI gauge and check valve. You then reassemble the engine and get a compression reading while the engine was running on the remaining cylinders which would be at approx 600 psi running compression as per spec. You had to repeat the entire procedure for all each cylinder which depending on the engine could be 4, 6 or 8 cylinders (more if you worked on stationary engines). This got to be tedious and you still had to isolate the source ofthe leak if you found a bad cylinder. I came up with the idea of connecting the shop air line directly to the adapter and with the piston at TDC listening for air leakage. Since there is always some leakage I would listen for differences between cylinders, the bad ones being more pronounced than the rest. I would then listen to see if air was loudest coming form the intake, crankcase or exhaust pipe which would tell me the root cause of compression loss. I later started using it on all engines and found I really no longer need to use the compression gauge. If air came from the exhaust I had bad exhaust valves. If it came from the intake I had bad intake valves and if I could hear it in the crankcase I had bad rings. Of course I should explain with the Detroit leaky intake valves never occurred because the Detroit did not have intake valve. so if you heard air coming out of the intake on a Detroit you had bad rings because the piston itself was the intake valve. The only down side here is that in a 4 stroke a compression test can indicate bad valve timing were a leak down test cannot. Later I got more sophisticated and made up a tool with dual gauges separated with a re-stricter in the line between the two gauges. you set set your air pressure to 100 psi on the 1st gauge and read the pressure on the second gauge the difference is your percentage of leakage. less than 20% difference is acceptable. the difference is the result of air leaking out faster than it can move through the restriction hence the difference in pressure. You can also fabricate a simple one with a single gauge and a shutoff valve after the gauge (My 1st fabrication) you close the valve, set to 100 PSI, Open the valve and note the difference.

Actually based on the position of the sensor you will see it gets its signal from the pinion gear which turns faster when you change the gear ratio in the final drive. The drive shaft and pinion then does more revolutions per mile, hence more pulses per mile sent to the speedometer. This translates into the speedometer indicating that the bike is moving faster than it actually is. This because the V-max pinion gear has fewer teeth than the venture pinion gear.

Its always been my experience that checking compression just for the heck of doing it when there are no other symptoms is just less time spent riding. Now if you happen to have the plugs out to do a spark plug change, and you are curious, well then it won't hurt to do a compression check at that point if you felt the urge (and I did say Urge not need) to do one just to satisfy your curiosity. though the odds of finding poor compression on these bikes is pretty slim (not impossible But pretty slim) and there again, if there is a compression issue, you usually will notice something off in the way the bike runs, which BTW is more likely than not, because of issues other than compression. Now to really throw a wrench in the works if I was looking into a compression related issue, I would be more inclined to perform a cylinder leak down test than a compression test because a leak down test tells you so much more than a compression test will as well as doing a better job of pin pointing the root cause and source of any compression loss should such a condition exist.

Hey who are you calling old :backinmyday:I won't be 67 for another month and 6 days

Good point Patch and those could go back to something as simple as poor/dirty connections including bad grounds. Don't trust an ohmmeter here for testing grounds and other connections. They are fine for locating open circuits but not poor connections. Ohmmeters draw very little currant and may indicate a good connection were voltage is concerned but that connection may fail once a load is requested to pass through. A better method is to use a voltmeter and a bulb such as headlight builb with a pair of wire attached. take a voltage reading at various test points and then while watching the voltage connect the test light to the same points your volt meter is connected while watching the volt meter. If the voltage only drops a volt or two when you connect the bulb your ok if it nose dives by more than a volt or two you have a bad or weak connection. Another method is to use a test light (this needs to be one with a normal bulb not one of the LED types), Use the test light to bridge connections while the circuit in question is under load. If the light stays off that connection is OK. If the light glows (and the brighter it glows the worse the connection ) this indicates the currant is using the test light as a sort of detour or added bridge so to speak and than you have found a bad connection. (Think of it as only so many cars able to cross an intersection because there is a problem at the intersection and the test light is offering an alternative route for the remaining cars, so they can all get to the other side (the test light glows) but if they can all get through the intersection nobody uses the alternate route in this case the test light will not glow)

It probably wasn't. when you change the gearing the tooth count is different. The speed sensor probably gets its signal from the number of teeth translated as pulses per mile. Change the gearing changes the number of teeth which then changes the pulses per mile. Which you then have to correct for using an add on device as metioned earlier.

Yes Just as Patch said. Also there is no fuse to the large posts on the solenoid it just goes from one post directly to the battery and from the other post directly to the starter and so if you bridge those two cable with something like a screw driver even with the ignition off the starter should turn over if your connections are good. Also the statment you made about tapping the solenoid pretty much indicates that the contacts inside have pitted and partially welded together so for sure you will have to replace the solenoid. If you touch the two large wires together and the starter cranks the engine over (and yes you can leave the key off the engine just wont start) your starter is ok Provided it sounds healthy and strong. If not than either the starter is bad or there is a bad connection to the starter (which is not likely but possible) So then just run a cable from the battery directly to the starter If it now cranks check your cables if not starter is pooched. BTW make sure in either case your ground connections are all good. The starter may have been on its way out for some time based on the fact that you said it cranks slow or not at all specially when hott and is Ok once cooled down. this usually will indicate worn starter bushings and/or bearings. As a result the starter then draws higher than normal currant causing arcing across the solenoid contacts, eventually causing pitting and finally partial welding of the contacts. So if the starter is bad or on its way out even though putting power directly to it seems to indicate it may be ok, it will eventually destroy the new solenoid. My advice here is remove the starter stick it in the vice and test it in the vice if it zings over nicely its probably ok but if turns over and sounds sluggish or growly then it faulty. If it does sound ok since you have it on the bench I would probably open it up and check it internally It would be a good time to clean up the armature and check/or replace the brushes. If its bad you wil get a nasty smell the minute you open it up.

I figure learning curves come around often enough, even the ones you don't want

Boy all I got outa all that @Marcarl, is that you just been behind the meat counter for far toooooo many years. Plus you made me hungry.

Ok now your getting picky Patch... . Your not wrong but I prefer the take it for granted method ...... in other words the bike is basically running fine so just sync the carbs, go back to all that other work if syncing fails to produce the proper results and another problem may be indicated. Lazy mans tip #1.. ..if it aint broke don't mess with it...

ok good night

Patch you could be right there when the contacts in the solenoid start to pit they initially start to not pass enough currant to the starter causing intermittent slow cranks. Eventually the contacts weld together causing constant power on both studs. but not passing enough currant for the starter to run constantly but may be enough to do internal damage.

Also just food for thought did you try putting power directly to the starter to see if the starter itself is ok. the only reason I ask is because your complaint sounds a lot like what I ran into last year which decided to happen while out on a ride and Carl ended up push starting me every time we stopped were there was no hill to take advantage of. I even tried bridging the two big studs on the starter sol which should have put power straight to the starter but no response. When I got the bike home I did all the normal checks than just fed power directly to the starter which did not respond at all. I pulled the starter out opened it up and it was fried inside.

If memory serves me right the main fuse on the 83 is a replaceable leaf it should be in a case on the left side of the battery. when it goes it is severed into two pieces. If it is in one piece it is ok. however the connection at either end of the leaf can be corroded and dirty. you can remove the leaf clean the contacting surfaces and put it back together. If it is in two pieces then it has blown. generally there will be spare fuse leaves tucked into the rubber holder to replace the blown one. It may have a clear cover just not sure anymore.

Well I am definitely not showing this post to my wife ----She comes up with enough ways to trick me as it is --- As far as Rio goes he will go for a walk anytime, with anyone, as often as you can keep up and then some

Nice collection of Pics

Don XV1100SE you are a ....

Are there any covid related updates on this event or is it just wait and see?

What year is your bike?

I find the best way to set up the bearings is to follow manufacture spec using a torque wrench, If a torque wrench and/or special wrench is not available, then the next best method in my book, is follow the same procedure you would when setting up tapered wheel bearings such as those used on a trailer wheels. With the front wheel off the ground 1 - tighten bearing while turning handle bars left to right until some drag is felt on handle bars. 2 - back off the nut until loose. 3 - re-tighten until you just reach a point were there is zero lash 4 - back off the nut approx 1/8 of a turn (this can vary from bike to bike) this will leave a bit of lash 5 - tighten the lock nut this should eliminate any lash introduced by backing off the adjusting nut 6 - with the front wheel still off the ground grab the fork at the axle. push and pull, back and forth to feel for any free play (bearing lash) .001" to .005" which is barely noticeable is acceptable but zero lash with no binding is preferred. IF - there is too much lash back off the jam nut and just add a bit to the adjusting nut then tighten the jam nut. ALWAYS keep in mind that what ever you set the adjusting nut to the jam nut will add to it and this is why you do not want to remove all the lash with the adjusting nut alone or the bearing could end up too tight.

You got to do what you got to do and so far distancing is the only weapon we have against this invisible enemy. Although I heard on the news yesterday the Dutch may be on to something. Guess we shall see.

I looked at the bottom of this post and there is only two options [thank you for this post] & [like this post] there should be third option [DO NOT LIKE THIS POST]....

Your not helping

So because my Dr considers me as a high risk of not recovering from Covid should I catch it, due to my age (67 in June) and medical History, plus add to the fact that I work for a truck dealership repairing trucks that cross borders as well as State and Provincial lines and the fact that drivers live in their trucks, My Dr has insisted I stay home, so I have been home since March 22. Well all I can say is if this is what retirement is like I need to go back to work and get some rest. I am totally exhausted by the end of the day from all the projects and odd jobs, my lovely wife is forcing me to complete. So what if some of them go back as far as 1986, whats the hurry I don't get it On top of that she is not the only slave driver:backinmyday: My dog Rio seems to think this means I now get to walk him 5 or 6 times a day. , No sympathy from either one of them for a not so young guy with bad knees