01-02-2017, 07:03 AM
The last two week's have been working on my Yamaha XV535 Virago which hasn't been running right for a while and needed some money throwing at it. This has been great fun, out in the cold and mud ( in the front "garden"). I would have brought it indoors but that would have involved lifting it physicaly and getting older has robbed me of my youthful strength, I once shifted a Honda 250 trial's bike up the stairs to my then 3rd floor flat, but that's another story.
Firstly the carbs needed a look at as it's been backfiring and running on one pot most of the time. I bought two new OEM diaphram's off ebay being £40 quid cheaper than a genuine Yamaha part. I noticed that the new diaphrams were thicker and the "pistons" didn't fit into the carb body, after some work with 2000 grit W&D I got them to fit. Stripped the carbs, blew out with compressed air, but had a fuel/air mixture screw seized on one carb. spent hour's trying to unseize it, even vintage unseizing oil (now banned probably) and heat didn't shift it. As it's brass, it kept breaking, lot's of drilling of small holes to get a slot, carb body in vice and molegrips on screw driver couldn't shift it.. It's still in there and will have to be drilled out. Refitted the carb's which involves much yanking and tugging, swearing and pleading. Bike now goes a lot faster but all not well. It sounded like one pot was only firing part time. Replaced one new diaprham with an old one, worked a lot better. So new OEM diapram's no good, £100 down the pan. Still not right though. Checked plug's, spark and swapped over the coils, they checked out ok. In the end I bought some more carb's off a scrapper, but one diaprham was shot. Long story short, bike now run's a lot better but is still backfiring due to the exhaust having gone.
This is exhaust # 3 since I've had the bike. On this bike there are two pipes from each pot that go into a box. The box acts as a balancer, because the XV535 is a V twin one down pipe is longer than the other so needs this box which sit's underneath the bike so gets all the crap off the road and get's hot too, so big holes keep needing welding up. It really needs either a stainless box or stove enamelling, more £'s.
I've also changed the front and back brake pads/shoes but forgot to reattach speedo cable. Got home no speedo cable inner, which is somewhere out there on the road. Doh, new cable, more £'s. These new brakes though may have saved my life. I was heading home the other day started to go into a right hand 90 deg bend when a car appeared half on my side. I say appeared, because if you've ever been in a crash or had a near miss, things slow down and get a bit trippy. I remember the car coming straight for me about five foot away, the bike rear sliding as the brakes locked up, then I was round the bend, heart going like bejesus. The consequences if I hadn't have survived don't bear thinking about, what with being a single Dad with a young daughter. Not to mention seven big Tek 500 series scopes in the shed and lot's of other electronic "rubbish" to clear out if I'd met my demise. Been doing some thinking as a consequence.
Lastly, I changed the clutch plates; it's been slipping at high revs. Clutch plates were in tolerence, but the free play had been incorrectly set. Bike back together, start, engage gear, bike stalled! WTF!! Took bike apart again, could see nothing wrong, much head scratching and confusion. I realised after a while that the bike automatically cut's power to the engine with the side stand down, doh!! What a dolly head. I'm slow sometimes.
Anyhoo, bike running a lot better so to test it I nipped over to see Frank Mcvey off t' forum when we had that cold snap last week. One T shirt, 1 norgy ( army sweatshirt), two jumper's, two coat's, joggy bottom's and jean's couldn't keep the cold out. My hand's hurt like hell on the way there and were even worse when I got back, which saw me unthawing in front of the open fire and dancing round the living room when the pain from chill blains got too bad. The journey was dodgy as all the crap off the road got on my visor so I couldn't see too well ( no wipers and washer on lid), it was also slippery as hell on corner's. Ah,the joys of motor cycling, poop poop.
Andy.
Firstly the carbs needed a look at as it's been backfiring and running on one pot most of the time. I bought two new OEM diaphram's off ebay being £40 quid cheaper than a genuine Yamaha part. I noticed that the new diaphrams were thicker and the "pistons" didn't fit into the carb body, after some work with 2000 grit W&D I got them to fit. Stripped the carbs, blew out with compressed air, but had a fuel/air mixture screw seized on one carb. spent hour's trying to unseize it, even vintage unseizing oil (now banned probably) and heat didn't shift it. As it's brass, it kept breaking, lot's of drilling of small holes to get a slot, carb body in vice and molegrips on screw driver couldn't shift it.. It's still in there and will have to be drilled out. Refitted the carb's which involves much yanking and tugging, swearing and pleading. Bike now goes a lot faster but all not well. It sounded like one pot was only firing part time. Replaced one new diaprham with an old one, worked a lot better. So new OEM diapram's no good, £100 down the pan. Still not right though. Checked plug's, spark and swapped over the coils, they checked out ok. In the end I bought some more carb's off a scrapper, but one diaprham was shot. Long story short, bike now run's a lot better but is still backfiring due to the exhaust having gone.
This is exhaust # 3 since I've had the bike. On this bike there are two pipes from each pot that go into a box. The box acts as a balancer, because the XV535 is a V twin one down pipe is longer than the other so needs this box which sit's underneath the bike so gets all the crap off the road and get's hot too, so big holes keep needing welding up. It really needs either a stainless box or stove enamelling, more £'s.
I've also changed the front and back brake pads/shoes but forgot to reattach speedo cable. Got home no speedo cable inner, which is somewhere out there on the road. Doh, new cable, more £'s. These new brakes though may have saved my life. I was heading home the other day started to go into a right hand 90 deg bend when a car appeared half on my side. I say appeared, because if you've ever been in a crash or had a near miss, things slow down and get a bit trippy. I remember the car coming straight for me about five foot away, the bike rear sliding as the brakes locked up, then I was round the bend, heart going like bejesus. The consequences if I hadn't have survived don't bear thinking about, what with being a single Dad with a young daughter. Not to mention seven big Tek 500 series scopes in the shed and lot's of other electronic "rubbish" to clear out if I'd met my demise. Been doing some thinking as a consequence.
Lastly, I changed the clutch plates; it's been slipping at high revs. Clutch plates were in tolerence, but the free play had been incorrectly set. Bike back together, start, engage gear, bike stalled! WTF!! Took bike apart again, could see nothing wrong, much head scratching and confusion. I realised after a while that the bike automatically cut's power to the engine with the side stand down, doh!! What a dolly head. I'm slow sometimes.
Anyhoo, bike running a lot better so to test it I nipped over to see Frank Mcvey off t' forum when we had that cold snap last week. One T shirt, 1 norgy ( army sweatshirt), two jumper's, two coat's, joggy bottom's and jean's couldn't keep the cold out. My hand's hurt like hell on the way there and were even worse when I got back, which saw me unthawing in front of the open fire and dancing round the living room when the pain from chill blains got too bad. The journey was dodgy as all the crap off the road got on my visor so I couldn't see too well ( no wipers and washer on lid), it was also slippery as hell on corner's. Ah,the joys of motor cycling, poop poop.
Andy.
