rjmalizia

Great Idea! Question though...did you completely drain the tank prior to punching the holes or did you use some spark resistant tools? [or just got lucky?] Ron

Finally had a chance to top the tank off and roll off some miles....[drum roll please]....no change on mpg. Still holding at 42mpg. verdict: I don't know if it really did any good. Actually thinking about putting the caps back on. Hope this is helpful.

Well I gave it a try anyway.. This is what I did…I lifted her up and spun the wheel. There was a slight clunking noise very time the wheel rotated to the same general location (valve stem at 3 O’clock). So…I proceeded to loosen the four nuts, spun the wheel, gave the rear wheel and differential a couple of good soft palm smacks and tightened her back up. Gave the wheel of fortune another good spin…Noise still there. So lets do it again. This time I also loosened the rear axle pinch bolt too and placed a bottle jack under the shaft/differential joint and applied some gentle pressure. Repeated the same process, even unknowingly threw in a quick rain dance. Anyway…same soft clunking noise. It was very late, so I called it a night. … next morning, woke up early, eager to take the bike on the road to test her out: only to find out that it was now RAINING! Needless to say, I got Trigger off of the lift and rolled her around the garage only to discover that the rear end noise was still there. I guess at some point this winter I’ll have to pull the rear tire off and go through the rear end as the above thread suggests. More rear end noise: (continued) In the past, while riding without the saddle bags (both before and after the above procedure) there is an awful rattle coming from the rear end. Sounds like I’m dragging a piece of flat bar, that or my non-stock, exhaust falling apart. I’ve tried numerous times to locate the rattle, but I can’t find it. Could that noise be coming from the differential? While I had her lifted, I took the time to change the rear end oil…The oil looked good to me. I couldn’t see anything nasty in it. No shiny flakes, no tiny chunks. I still think it’s the exhaust, but now I’m just a little paranoid. FYI: Trigger only has 7000 miles. Other events of the weekend: Tightened the heads set: Handles so much better now. Tip: used a bicycle spanner wrench to tighten the head set nut…it was just thin enough to slip in between the head set cover and the tank; it worked great. Cut and inch and a half off of my wind screen. Tip: went cutting, cut from the back side of the shield. It will be much easier to hold down, reducing the vibration while cutting. Turned out good. Oil change (from Hell) – please don’t laugh. Where to begin…Friday went to the local Yamaha shop, asked for an oil filter for a 97 RS and I grabbed 4 quarts of SAE 10-40 yamalube off of the shelf…31$ bucks later I’m heading home. The next day, Saturday, I proceed to drain off the old stuff, pull the old filter and one, two, three…wait a minute the fine print on the oil jug says “for water craft and out board motors” that dirty rotten [beep beep beep] sold me the wrong oil [Yes it’s my fault…I grabbed the wrong stuff] Anyway called them back, but of course they are now closed, until Tuesday. Called the next nearest Yamaha shop. They suggested draining it immediately, flushing the engine with different oil, drain that off and then refill the engine with the correct stuff. But they close in 15 minutes and are 45 minutes away. With my last chance, I called Paulsen’s in Olympia, turns out they are open for another hour, just enough time for me to drive the 40 miles to get the oil. [Thank you again Paulsen’s] So drained the bad oil. Went for a drive and back. Flushed the engine with some other motor oil. Let that drain for a couple of hours. Moved the oil pan grabbed the oil filter (with my oily hands) and proceeded to drop the oil filter in the dirty bucket of oil. @#$%! That’s how the day was going. Needless to say, Sunday morning I was at Walmart buying a Fram oil filter. Please don’t chastise me, but I’m desperate at this point. I leave early Tuesday morning for my ride and none of the shops around here are open on Monday…please forgive me. So…the saga continues. Thanks all and sorry for the long, winded message. Just thought someone out there might get a smile from it and a 'been there, done that'. Later. {have photos...but no url to save them too, sorry can't add them here. I guess I'll try to add them to my photo gallery.}

Thanks! I was hoping that's answers I was going to get. After I sent the original message last night, I decided to check the 'acorn' nuts and low and behold, one of them was...well not as tight as the other three. I was able to turn it a couple of degrees without much effort. where as the other three didn't move. so...I do have access to a cycle lift. I think along with changing the oil, I'll try to re-align. Stay tuned.... (thanks again all)

Wow, thanks 'freebird'. got my 97 RS home tonight and notice a creaking noise as I was pushing it in the garage. Sound like this thread is exactly what I need to follow up on. I recently bought my bike (used) from someone that stated that the tires are very new...so my question is why would someone loosen the four Acorn nuts to the differential, just to change the tire...or can I 'assume' that, that someone took it off to grease the splines (i hope). OK...so how do I fix it? should I go ahead and remove the rear tire and diff as stated above...or can I get way with simply loosening the four differential bolts and then retightening them as suggested in another thread of yours (see the ending of your thread titled 'rear wheel removal' 8/21/2006, 10:43 : thread# 515) And the bigger question is: just how pressing is this issue? I was planning on a good 300+ mile ride next week. Do i need to address this now? or could I sit on it until after the ride? [i think I know the answer to this one...but I have to ask ] Once again I'm in your debt...thanks all and enjoy!

Well I did it and well the hardest part was getting that small piece of hose connected to both ports...they're rather close. I simply connected ports 1 with 2 (Left side) and 3 with 4 (the other side). I still need more testing, but Trigger doesn't appear to slip the clutch as badly from a standing start and it's, also as if, I don't have to push her as hard out on the highway to keep her at or above the 65 mph mark. but then again maybe it's all in my head (but that's all that really matters now ... right:)). anyway...no appearant downside to the "jason mod", but then again she's not popping wheelies at this point neither. It's all good! Thanks again to all and enjoy! (I'll post again after a good long ride)

Ok..I admit it, I'm a Newbie to the Royal Star world. So with that said: "what is this generation thing?" I have a 97 RS, 1300cc. So am I a 1st generation RS or a 2nd generation Venture? Question #2: I went home and looked at my bike only to discover that all 4 ports are capped. I don't see this ignitor hose anywhere. Does this mean that someone has already disabled it? or could it be stock this way? Question #3: with the absence of this "ignitor" hose on manifold #2 can i simply crosslink manifolds 1&2 and 3&4? as always thanks for the help and input. Ron

Thanks for the warm welcome...I don't know if I'll ever be able to post anything of value, but I'm sure enjoying what's out there to be read [thinking about trying the Janson Mod] anyway...everyone, here's Trigger. Trigger...everyone. [My pics should now be out there] later all and thanks again.

Thank you very much. Those were the answers I was hoping for. And Yes, I do, truly love the bike (put 700 miles on her in just two weeks). … I’m coming off of a seven year love affair with a 89 zx10. I ended up rolling her Odometer over the 34K mark, so I tend to compare the two; but I’m adjusting well. Again…many thanks Sincerely, Ron Malizia

Hello all, I've been a rider for a good many years now, but I'm new to the RoyalStar Family. I recently picked up a 1997 RoyalStar with only 6600 miles, so I would think that she is still fairly fresh for the most part. So, my question comes from an observation following an eighty (80) mile ride the other day. After the ride I decided to dust her off a bit, and in doing so, touched the rear differential only to discover that it was very warm. Not hot enough to cause a blister, but uncomfortable warm just the same. I did pull the filler bolt far enough to see some oil start to ooze out of the filler hole...so there is oil in there. Question: is this a normal characteristic of a shaft drive motorcycle? All of my prior bike where of the "chain & sprocket" type. Many thanks Ron Malizia