83 Repairs

[frankd]

I've been working on the 83 Venture for the last couple of months. My brother has been riding this and a lot of problems developed, and he brought it back for repairs. This bike has 140,000 miles on the clock. The stator was bad, so I changed that and now it charges fine. The clutch was slipping a little, so I installed one of Earl's kits and how it's great. The right half of the fairing had a lot of broken/cracked tabs as did a lot of other plastic, so I dug out the Plastex kit and went to work. New plugs made it run a lot better, and I also pulled out the TCI module and checked it for corroded diode leads....still looks perfect, and the diodes are fine electrically. I installed a new rear tire, and fought with the mess that the old formula Ride-ON left. I serviced the driveshaft and also changed the oil in the shaft drive unit. I'm sure I fixed several other things that are slipping my mind now, but it was ready for a test ride. Now, when Mark brought it to me, he told me that the low brake fluid indicator has been on for quite a while. He says he filled up the rear master and it had been empty and the fault went out. I bled the brakes, including the top line near the top steering bearing, and I've haven't been able to get what I call a good brake pedal. It has a lot of free play, although when it does finally apply the brakes, the pedal is firm....no more air in the line. I looked at the rear master cylinder, and I can see where the paint has bubbled off. It looks like that's where the brake fluid went, although nothing is leaking now (it might leak during winter storage). I suppose I should add that this bike has braided brake lines, and the anti dive has been disconnected, so the brake pedal was high and firm when Mark took the bike. I've got to decide how to take care of this.

 

Another thing that became obvious....the shift lever has a lot of play in it. Yesterday when I watched my brother shift, I saw that he's not at all gentle, but pushes and lifts the lever aggressively. Anybody have any idea where to look for something in the shift linkage wearing out??

 

Then I"ve got to figure out what's not correct with the center stand. The small link that the spring attaches to keeps on bending. This bike isn't really an 83 anymore, because when the 83 frame broke where the center stand and rear shock attach, I installed all of the 83 pieces on an 84 frame. From the beggining, I 'assumed' that there was something different here and I just lived with the fact that the center stand didn't come all the way up when it was not being used. I looked in the Yammie parts fische, and 83 to 93 all use the same part numbers for the center stand, link and spring....no changes made when they redesigned the frame. My son and I inspected the center stand and link, and my son saw that the link was bent. We removed it and straightened it out, and then re-installed it. Then the center stand released all the way up against the frame like it was supposed to. That was until I put the bike back on the center stand and then the link bent again. I've got to determine what's bending it.

 

I want to get this bike out of my garage again.

 

Frank D.

[KIC]

When you say "link" are you talking about the flat half-moon piece the spring connects too ? I think that is what you are referring too. Do you think a different link from a 83 would work ? I can take one off of one of my parts bikes and send you the link. if it hasn't been bent it should be stronger than yours that has been bent. Or what about welding the two side by side and making it twice as thick ?

[frankd]

Yes, that's the part I'm talking about. According to the Yammie parts fische, 83-93 are all the same. Let me determine is something on the bike is causing it to bend OR if it is just weaker because of the damage it sustained when the 83 frame broke. Thanks for your offer, and I will get back to you in a bit and let you know if I do need it.

 

Thanks,

 

Frank

[Prairiehammer]

Frank,

Make sure that the muffler clamp bolt isn't running interference with the link. Several examples of the mispositioned bolt catching the link and resulting in a bent link or in my case, the bolt caught the link fully and the spring was stretched too far when the center stand was deployed. Ruined the spring. The link showed some scrapes from the clamp bolt.

 

Speaking of the ruined spring: KIC, I received the spring and link this afternoon. Thanks very much. PM me with your PayPal account address and I shall send you the postage costs.

[KIC]

 

Speaking of the ruined spring: KIC, I received the spring and link this afternoon. Thanks very much. PM me with your PayPal account address and I shall send you the postage costs.

 

Your welcome. No problem. Don't worry about the postage. Just ride safe.

[Prairiehammer]

Your welcome. No problem. Don't worry about the postage. Just ride safe.

 

Paying it forward, then.

Thanks.

[frankd]

Well, I lifted the bike with the floor jack, and put jack stands under it. This took all the weight off of the centerstand and allows me to move it by hand. My son straightened the link again, and then re-installed it. It's not hitting anything, so I'll "assume" that it was originally bent when the 83 frame broke, and now needs to be replaced.

 

I also checked the shift linkage. There's quite a bit of play where it goes through the left engine case, and the shifter itself is also worn quite a bit, but what do you expect after 29 years and 140,000 miles. I also saw that the shift lever wasn't adjusted correctly, so I fixed that.

 

Frank

[Marcarl]

Your rear brakes; hose coming from the reservoir to the master maybe need a bit of attention, and the master may have the little hole plugged,,,,, sounds about right so I said it.