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Regular Guy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2017
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Location
Conyers
As y'all know, I've done a lot of stuff already to my 99 and it is still ongoing. As you may recall from previous posts I have been getting terrible mileage from the bike. She finally runs reliably but just drinks a shit ton of fuel and I always smell gas. I had flirted with the idea of taking the carbs off and sending them to Kyle or Danny but in the end didn't want to be bothered with it so I took it a local mechanic that has been in business for over 40 years. I told him the story about how the previous owner became terminally ill and let the bike sit up for a while and had his mechanic friend take the carbs out and ultrasonic clean them and rebuild and sync them and how he flushed the tank...yadda yadda yadda.

The guy up the road from me said to me initially "There are people who SAY they know how to work on carbs and there are people who KNOW how to work on carbs". He's an ornery old cuss but I like him, lol. I got put on the waiting list and told him to call me when he could get to it, that way the bike wasn't in his way. He calls me yesterday afternoon and said he's at a point he could start on it so I fired her up this morning and made the 10 mile ride to him. She was running great (that electrical stuff is now resolved) but that smell was still there.

When I pulled up, the shop owner, Dave, was on the phone but his help took my key and had me sign the work authorization form. I took him outside and he was admiring the bike and then said "Yeah, they do good in a straight line but don't like curves". This kid is maybe 25 years old at most and I doubt he's ever ridden one but I guess the VMax's reputation precedes her, lol. I told him "Well, she's not that bad really. Handles better than I was lead to believe. It handles better than a Harley!" to which he replied "Well, that's not hard to do, Harley's are super bloated pigs!". So...that was the end of that, lol.

He then focuses on the Delkevic exhaust and says that he's betting it needs a jet kit due to the pipes then I tell him that I had been told that Delkevic actually makes the stock exhaust and that Delkevic themselves say that no re-mapping or re-jetting is ever required with their exhausts. He rolls his eyes and tells me that's not correct. He says companies will say that but it's not always the case.

So I am not feeling good about this already. I go back in and talk to the owner, Dave (the old ornery guy that I like) and he heard it fire up and says that he's betting it needs rejetting just based on the sound of it. Keep in mind, the baffles are in so it's not THAT loud.

While waiting on my son to come pick me up, I start talking to him and his young helper (I'm guessing it's Dave's boy) comes in and says there is rust in the gas tank, he shined a light in it and his diagnosis is that rust is in the carbs affecting the floats. He says one is overflowing and that's why my mileage sucks! At this point, in 5 minutes it looks like they need to acid clean the tank and then line it with some fiberglass resin. I can't recall what he called it. He said there are 2 other types, one cream colored and one red but he doesn't like those. He's used them and still found red particles in the carbs.

That's where I am at with this freaking money pit. It's insane how a $3700.00 motorcycle has turned into a $6000 bike and I'm not even taking into consideration this bill in progress. I LOVE the bike, it's a blast to ride, turns heads, everyone asks about when I go somewhere but dammit man! She's an expensive, high maintenance girl! I hope this is the last of it.

I actually have her for sale but didn't want to pass any problems on to the next owner, if there is one. I have one guy interested in her but I think he's just a tire kicker. If she sells, fine, if she doesn't, fine too. I did kinda think about deleting the ad on my ride this morning. It was still cool out, a little cloudy. It was PERFECT riding weather. It made me think "Well shit, let me get her running perfect and I'll just hang on to her!" :rofl_200:

I'll keep y'all updated as I found out more info. I hope it ends up being fairly easy (cheap) to fix. Keep your fingers crossed for me :punk:
 
LOL, then go ahead and keep it. It will ALWAYS put a smile on your face.

Any one that says, oh yeah.....you need a jet kit for your vmax......run. The Vmax is slightly rich from the factory, so you can always go 1...possibly 2 steps leaner.

The Vmax has CV carbs....constant velocity carbs. So, if you have a better exhaust (which will allow more air out.......hence allow more air INTO the carbs. More air into the carbs, will PULL more fuel into the carbs....actually making you rich), actually you will need to go a little bit leaner. People with stage 7 kits have had VERY good luck with 147's or 150's, where as the stock jets are 152's.

So, see what the owner has to say. He is right, you you could probably use a re jetting, just leaner, and not richer.
 
LOL, then go ahead and keep it. It will ALWAYS put a smile on your face.

Any one that says, oh yeah.....you need a jet kit for your vmax......run. The Vmax is slightly rich from the factory, so you can always go 1...possibly 2 steps leaner.

The Vmax has CV carbs....constant velocity carbs. So, if you have a better exhaust (which will allow more air out.......hence allow more air INTO the carbs. More air into the carbs, will PULL more fuel into the carbs....actually making you rich), actually you will need to go a little bit leaner. People with stage 7 kits have had VERY good luck with 147's or 150's, where as the stock jets are 152's.

So, see what the owner has to say. He is right, you you could probably use a re jetting, just leaner, and not richer.

I agree with your assessment but that damn rust bums me out. I love the bike but wish I had bought a different one. Too late now! I'm balls deep into this one (so to speak, lol).
 
When my son got his 97 katana the tank was full of rust. We got some POR-15 and did it ourselves. Worked great. I'm sure other could chime in if you could do the tank yourself.
 
....The guy up the road from me said to me initially "There are people who SAY they know how to work on carbs and there are people who KNOW how to work on carbs". He's an ornery old cuss but I like him, lol. I got put on the waiting list and told him to call me when he could get to it, that way the bike wasn't in his way. .....

I hope he is one that DOES know carbs. I've heard plenty of stories of folks taking their Max's to "carb experts" only to find out that said experts no nothing bout vmax carbs.


...He then focuses on the Delkevic exhaust and says that he's betting it needs a jet kit due to the pipes then I tell him that I had been told that Delkevic actually makes the stock exhaust and that Delkevic themselves say that no re-mapping or re-jetting is ever required with their exhausts. He rolls his eyes and tells me that's not correct. He says companies will say that but it's not always the case.
That's sounds odd. I've never heard of a company lying to you so you WON'T but more items. (Kinda made me nervous when I read that part. But hey, lets hope "dad" is the expert, and he's just a helper.)
;)

I actually have her for sale but didn't want to pass any problems on to the next owner, if there is one. ...

I'll keep y'all updated as I found out more info. I hope it ends up being fairly easy (cheap) to fix. Keep your fingers crossed for me :punk:

Always make me a lil sad inside when I hear of a maxxer "letting go".

I've lusted for one like 14 or 15 years before I could finally get my hands on one. I can't imagine having to let go now.

Good luck on the repairs, and please keep us posted on what this ol' codger found, did , and charged ya.



T$
 
4gyIPhq.jpg


So here's the Delkevic stuff from their website.

I'll post whatever happens, hopefully I'll know something soon!
 
Did my carbs myself. =/ took a couple hours. Really not a bad job just tedious. But I've been dinking with carbs 20yrs already so it's just another rack to me. Albeit a bit more complicated do to jet block/coasting enricher and the vboost stuff. Yamaha shop wanted $1200 to do em. I said nah, I got $400 in mine. And she runs crisp AF. Thought I admit it was hard to get the idle mixture just right.

https://youtu.be/fHPT3e7yCbY
 
Well I do have some info. They got into them today and here's the findings. The tank isn't so bad so it's not an immediate issue he said. Maybe 2-3 years down the road if I still have the bike. He said that there are 2 screws bent severely and that the rubber boots are in bad shape, 2 in particular. He said there is 8 of them, one is rough and one is cracked bigger than shit! Not his words exactly lol. He said the bowls of the carbs were tarnished pretty bad, there was trash in there. I told him that supposedly the carbs were ultrasonic cleaned at the beginning of the year, he said it doesn't look like it at all! He also said something about 2 rubber blocks (I think he said blocks) that were missing completely. So, it looks like the asshole in SC that was a motorcycle mechanic half assed the carb rebuild for his dying buddy that I bought the bike from. What's done is done but damn do I hate a liar and even more a thief! He would've been better off leaving it as it was I think. The float on the front left carb has been overflowing fuel, boots are broken, rubber is missing, screws are bent. Wow!

As it stands, not doing anything with the tank, I will be $500.00 in to this repair. $180.00 of it is parts. I guess it could be worse. He said the jets seem to be fine going by what I told him about the way it runs so hopefully after that she'll be right.

People suck I guess. That's what happens when you buy used. So if I keep it, then she'll be good. If I end up selling it then whomever gets it won't be getting shit passed on to them like I did.

More later as I find out, he said it'll be a week before parts are in.
 
I've always found 90% of the time you end up with someone else's problem. Mine had horrible head shake that nobody mentioned. Couldn't get it over 40mph without a near tank slapper. Probably why it "scared the Shit out of" the previous owner (my best friends dad) and he parked it for five years. I jumped on it after the carb job tried gettin up to speed and Damn near just left it on the side of the road after that Damn wobble. Good luck on the bike.
 
Well I do have some info. They got into them today and here's the findings. The tank isn't so bad so it's not an immediate issue he said. Maybe 2-3 years down the road if I still have the bike. He said that there are 2 screws bent severely and that the rubber boots are in bad shape, 2 in particular. He said there is 8 of them, one is rough and one is cracked bigger than shit! Not his words exactly lol. He said the bowls of the carbs were tarnished pretty bad, there was trash in there. I told him that supposedly the carbs were ultrasonic cleaned at the beginning of the year, he said it doesn't look like it at all! He also said something about 2 rubber blocks (I think he said blocks) that were missing completely. So, it looks like the asshole in SC that was a motorcycle mechanic half assed the carb rebuild for his dying buddy that I bought the bike from. What's done is done but damn do I hate a liar and even more a thief! He would've been better off leaving it as it was I think. The float on the front left carb has been overflowing fuel, boots are broken, rubber is missing, screws are bent. Wow!

As it stands, not doing anything with the tank, I will be $500.00 in to this repair. $180.00 of it is parts. I guess it could be worse. He said the jets seem to be fine going by what I told him about the way it runs so hopefully after that she'll be right.

People suck I guess. That's what happens when you buy used. So if I keep it, then she'll be good. If I end up selling it then whomever gets it won't be getting shit passed on to them like I did.

More later as I find out, he said it'll be a week before parts are in.

You need to ask this "mechanic" what size jets are in the carbs and what size he plans on replacing them with. Stock are 152.5 mikunis' and with the Del pipes slip- ons not needing a main jet change then you would know if he knows wtf he is talking about by which way he goes in either raising or lowering the mains. 150 mains would be your best bet considering your altitude.You probably could have fixed this yourself after doing a "wet test" on the floats and finding one was too rich then pulling the rack and inspecting your boots then changing out your mains to the 150's-You would not even have to take the carbs apart to do that- just take the 10mm nuts off the bottoms of the float bowls-:clapping:
 
You need to ask this "mechanic" what size jets are in the carbs and what size he plans on replacing them with. Stock are 152.5 mikunis' and with the Del pipes slip- ons not needing a main jet change then you would know if he knows wtf he is talking about by which way he goes in either raising or lowering the mains. 150 mains would be your best bet considering your altitude.You probably could have fixed this yourself after doing a "wet test" on the floats and finding one was too rich then pulling the rack and inspecting your boots then changing out your mains to the 150's-You would not even have to take the carbs apart to do that- just take the 10mm nuts off the bottoms of the float bowls-:clapping:

You may be right but I don't know jack about carbs and being that it's missing parts and needs boots, I'm cool letting them sort it out. I just want it right. Not kind of right, I'm ready to be done with the gremlins :biglaugh:
 
You may be right but I don't know jack about carbs and being that it's missing parts and needs boots, I'm cool letting them sort it out. I just want it right. Not kind of right, I'm ready to be done with the gremlins :biglaugh:

Like i am saying-there is plenty of info pushing buttons on this website to educate yourself-I have had many Vmaxs and still i learn from this site researching.
You can find out easily if this is a place you would want to take your bike back to by asking one simple question. "what size mains were in it and what size do you plan on putting in?" This way you know "if" your carbs were taken apart and "if" he puts a larger "jet kit" it now you know if he knows what he is doing.
Most shops don't let you passed the door for insurance reasons and other "obvious" reason if you know what i mean.:ummm:
 
As y'all know, I've done a lot of stuff already to my 99 and it is still ongoing. As you may recall from previous posts I have been getting terrible mileage from the bike. She finally runs reliably but just drinks a shit ton of fuel and I always smell gas. I had flirted with the idea of taking the carbs off and sending them to Kyle or Danny but in the end didn't want to be bothered with it so I took it a local mechanic that has been in business for over 40 years. I told him the story about how the previous owner became terminally ill and let the bike sit up for a while and had his mechanic friend take the carbs out and ultrasonic clean them and rebuild and sync them and how he flushed the tank...yadda yadda yadda.

The guy up the road from me said to me initially "There are people who SAY they know how to work on carbs and there are people who KNOW how to work on carbs". He's an ornery old cuss but I like him, lol. I got put on the waiting list and told him to call me when he could get to it, that way the bike wasn't in his way. He calls me yesterday afternoon and said he's at a point he could start on it so I fired her up this morning and made the 10 mile ride to him. She was running great (that electrical stuff is now resolved) but that smell was still there.

When I pulled up, the shop owner, Dave, was on the phone but his help took my key and had me sign the work authorization form. I took him outside and he was admiring the bike and then said "Yeah, they do good in a straight line but don't like curves". This kid is maybe 25 years old at most and I doubt he's ever ridden one but I guess the VMax's reputation precedes her, lol. I told him "Well, she's not that bad really. Handles better than I was lead to believe. It handles better than a Harley!" to which he replied "Well, that's not hard to do, Harley's are super bloated pigs!". So...that was the end of that, lol.

He then focuses on the Delkevic exhaust and says that he's betting it needs a jet kit due to the pipes then I tell him that I had been told that Delkevic actually makes the stock exhaust and that Delkevic themselves say that no re-mapping or re-jetting is ever required with their exhausts. He rolls his eyes and tells me that's not correct. He says companies will say that but it's not always the case.

So I am not feeling good about this already. I go back in and talk to the owner, Dave (the old ornery guy that I like) and he heard it fire up and says that he's betting it needs rejetting just based on the sound of it. Keep in mind, the baffles are in so it's not THAT loud.

While waiting on my son to come pick me up, I start talking to him and his young helper (I'm guessing it's Dave's boy) comes in and says there is rust in the gas tank, he shined a light in it and his diagnosis is that rust is in the carbs affecting the floats. He says one is overflowing and that's why my mileage sucks! At this point, in 5 minutes it looks like they need to acid clean the tank and then line it with some fiberglass resin. I can't recall what he called it. He said there are 2 other types, one cream colored and one red but he doesn't like those. He's used them and still found red particles in the carbs.

That's where I am at with this freaking money pit. It's insane how a $3700.00 motorcycle has turned into a $6000 bike and I'm not even taking into consideration this bill in progress. I LOVE the bike, it's a blast to ride, turns heads, everyone asks about when I go somewhere but dammit man! She's an expensive, high maintenance girl! I hope this is the last of it.

I actually have her for sale but didn't want to pass any problems on to the next owner, if there is one. I have one guy interested in her but I think he's just a tire kicker. If she sells, fine, if she doesn't, fine too. I did kinda think about deleting the ad on my ride this morning. It was still cool out, a little cloudy. It was PERFECT riding weather. It made me think "Well shit, let me get her running perfect and I'll just hang on to her!" :rofl_200:

I'll keep y'all updated as I found out more info. I hope it ends up being fairly easy (cheap) to fix. Keep your fingers crossed for me :punk:

This also fixed my problems----A quote from the facebook page--Dave Macnamara My VMax wsn't burning fuel on at least one cylinder,it was in the exhaust and on the spark plugs,a strong smell.The cause,a loose coil lead from an old cracked set of coils.COPS from Jon Harris and no more unburnt fuel
 
This also fixed my problems----A quote from the facebook page--Dave Macnamara My VMax wsn't burning fuel on at least one cylinder,it was in the exhaust and on the spark plugs,a strong smell.The cause,a loose coil lead from an old cracked set of coils.COPS from Jon Harris and no more unburnt fuel

We'll see if that's it or not, I appreciate the insight though! I am betting the issues with the carbs they told me about are my culprit, at least that's what I am hoping for.

I was lying in bed a little while ago thinking to myself that I should call the guy I bought it from and tell him all that I've had to do the bike since I bought it from him. Keep in mind that he is terminally ill and telling him this only gets it off of my chest. I don't expect him to send me a check to cover the repairs of course but I just feel like he should know that he "got" me. He needs to know that his friend, Mike the mechanic, didn't do shit right on the carbs and cracked boots, bent screws and left parts out of them. I bought the bike thinking the carbs were perfect and they weren't.

As for the battery, he may or may not have known the R/R was fried so I can give him a pass on that. The clutch slave cylinder is another story, I bet he just topped off the reservoir with fluid and didn't get to the bottom of why it was leaking. I think he passed that one on to me knowingly.

It's all in the past, or soon will be. It just goes to show that low mileage don't always equate to good condition. My brother, who is a motorcycle junkie, went with me to pick the bike up and he told me after the fact that when he saw the bike was in below average condition cosmetically that he had a bad feeling about how well the bike was maintained. His belief is that when you keep up the appearance of the bike you're also far more likely to keep up the mechanical side of it and vice versa. Dirty bike, poor maintenance.

I told him thanks for sharing your opinion, which is why I wanted him to check it out to begin with, AFTER I bought the bike. LOL

So....would you guys call the previous owner and tell him that even though I know he's battling cancer that I think he broke it off in me? I'm torn but will probably just accept it for what it is and let Karma do what it does best. I, in good conscience, couldn't pass the buck to someone without telling them and letting them make the decision to buy it based on what I told them about the bike. That's why I am spending $500 on a bike that I am selling. I can't get that money back, I have to eat it to feel good in my soul about selling it. Maybe that's just how I roll, some people aren't as honest as others. Dying or not :(
 
So....would you guys call the previous owner and tell him that even though I know he's battling cancer that I think he broke it off in me? I'm torn but will probably just accept it for what it is and let Karma do what it does best. I, in good conscience, couldn't pass the buck to someone without telling them and letting them make the decision to buy it based on what I told them about the bike. That's why I am spending $500 on a bike that I am selling. I can't get that money back, I have to eat it to feel good in my soul about selling it. Maybe that's just how I roll, some people aren't as honest as others. Dying or not :(

Karma will get everyone, and in the end, we will all be judged for what we have done, and for what we havent done.

In all honesty, its possible that the cancer has spread, and it might have gone to his brain.....or if he is one chemotherapy, and due to the meds, just isnt thinking well.

They are people that I know that will do or say anything for a sale, death and being judged is the great equalizer.

So, the choice is yours as to what you will do.
 
Karma will get everyone, and in the end, we will all be judged for what we have done, and for what we havent done.

In all honesty, its possible that the cancer has spread, and it might have gone to his brain.....or if he is one chemotherapy, and due to the meds, just isnt thinking well.

They are people that I know that will do or say anything for a sale, death and being judged is the great equalizer.

So, the choice is yours as to what you will do.

Yeah, you're right. I'll not bother the man. The cancer he has a type of blood cancer, I can't recall which. I hate that anyone has to endure that, my own mother passed away from cancer at the ripe old age of 53, so I have seen what it does to people. God be with him, he's got bigger fish to fry than to worry about my issues.
 
Yeah, you're right. I'll not bother the man. The cancer he has a type of blood cancer, I can't recall which. I hate that anyone has to endure that, my own mother passed away from cancer at the ripe old age of 53, so I have seen what it does to people. God be with him, he's got bigger fish to fry than to worry about my issues.

+1
If its a 'karma ' thing... well.. i dont think much more can be said.

T $
 
I know how you feel reg, the guy who sold me my 85 did not disclose second gear issue. I had my buyers goggles on pretty badly and should have waited to test ride. But p.o. assured me tranny was solid never had any issues. First ride I feel a little slip, skip, around 6k rpm, I knew rite away what it was.
When I confronted the seller he said "oh that little hiccup, it's not that bad, I didn't think it was the tranny".WTF I wanted to smash his face. I offered him the bike back and to keep 300 bucks as a test ride fee and I never heard anything since. Some people have no integrity.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk
 
Caveat emptor. If you don't know your seller know your bikes. Forget the 'reach-out,' you already got the 'reach-around.' Fix the issues and move-on. Next-time, you'll know better. I have no qualms about making an offer contingent on the perceived (by ME!) condition of the item, be it a car, bike, truck, tool, whatever. My offer will be contingent on my assessment of its value, even if I want the item (or more-correctly, 'one like it') badly.

You just have to systematically work on one thing at a time, and evaluate the machine for each intervention, so you can know what the issue was. Corroded, broken wires aren't uncommon in our bikes, especially at the stator 3 wires to the regulator/rectifier, the high-tension lead to spark plug cap, and any of the wires around the battery box, because of the outgassing from the battery, though the new batteries are now sealed.

Sometimes the connectors loosen over time, and disconnecting them to check for corrosion is a good step. I'll remove the individual wires in a nylon block to inspect and to clean them, and upon reassembly, use some dielectric grease, which will retard corrosion. Crimped wires sometimes rot inside the insulation. They can be checked by hooking a continuity tester to either end, and by flexing the wire while watching the readout or the needle, or the audible continuity beep, to go 'open' (no continuity). I once had a 12 V lead to a Ford truck coil rot inside the insulation like that.
 
Yes I did get the reach around, intended or not, lol! Maybe a "happy ending" is in sight though :confused2:
 
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