bike caught fire

[fastestz1]

im new to this board, hope i posted in the rite section,
i bought a beautiful 1990 vmax on sunday this morning i went to dmv got my plates,,so i take it for first real ride,,feeling great after about 15mins street riding
i jump on hyway,,start getting on it a bit,,finally got to feel vboost in action,,
got off the first exit look down smoke is everwhere! i get off bike a see big orange and blue flames by the shaft drive/front of rear wheel for a few seconds and the flames went out thankgod!,,,i had no tools on me, so i waited about 20mins
hit the button it starts rite up,,, i rode it home kept it at normal speeds 45/50
no smoke no flames,,got a couple of blocks away from my building and she shut
off,,wont start ,,,,i know it hard to diagnose over internet,,but if anyone has any
thoughts on why it happened please post it,,,thanks for any help/info

 

[Dragmaxster]

im new to this board, hope i posted in the rite section,
i bought a beautiful 1990 vmax on sunday this morning i went to dmv got my plates,,so i take it for first real ride,,feeling great after about 15mins street riding
i jump on hyway,,start getting on it a bit,,finally got to feel vboost in action,,
got off the first exit look down smoke is everwhere! i get off bike a see big orange and blue flames by the shaft drive/front of rear wheel for a few seconds and the flames went out thankgod!,,,i had no tools on me, so i waited about 20mins
hit the button it starts rite up,,, i rode it home kept it at normal speeds 45/50
no smoke no flames,,got a couple of blocks away from my building and she shut
off,,wont start ,,,,i know it hard to diagnose over internet,,but if anyone has any
thoughts on why it happened please post it,,,thanks for any help/info

The first thing i would check is the offset "T" on the carbs and the rest of the gasline especially linked to the carbs. They tend to crack from setting.
Sorry just looked again and saw WHERE the fire was coming from. More than likely ga_max is right. r/r are in that exact area and know for getting to hot and going out.

 

[wayne z]

First, try to figure out what started it, electrical? Mechanical?

I recently had a fire while riding and it was a harrowing experience. Never have I fought so hard as that day. bike was saved though and I just broke my pinky nail.

Here's the thread:

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=36741&highlight=caught+fire+riding

 

[ga_max]

I'm thinking the RR burnt up. Then the battery lost it charge on the ride back. Just a guess but I know they get very hot when they go bad. It's right behind the mount for the left passenger peg.

 

[Dorney]

i'm thinking the rr burnt up. Then the battery lost it charge on the ride back. Just a guess but i know they get very hot when they go bad. It's right behind the mount for the left passenger peg.

+2

 

[Fire-medic]

Don't buy the stock reg/rectifier, get a MOSFET unit, cooler operation and good regulation of stator output & battery charging. Probably run you $50 or thereabouts. Search for threads about the change. You can start here:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108&highlight=mosfet

 

[fastestz1]

thank you all for the info/replies
i spoke with frank at powerhouse performance in long island
he has dyno'd couple of bikes for me over the years,
im gonna bring him the bike on weds,,,
i will post the results,,
again thankyou guys,

 

[fastestz1]

i got a call today my vmax is up and running beautifully!!!
mechanic explained it to me over the phone was hard to hear,
but seems the battery had gotten low on acid, the charging system
attempting to charge it over heated the regulator/rectifier which completely
melted,,sum wiring got heated/burnt bad,,they went over the bike front to back,
everything else is great,,just want to thank everyone again and look forward
to being part of this great forum,,

 

[Dragmaxster]

Great news.

 

[Fire-medic]

SO, the Big Question is, "did you get a MOSFET replacement R/R?"

Glad they got it done quickly, and for what sounds like a reasonable price.

 

[fastestz1]

he told me he upgraded it to a 1998 vmax R/R

 

[Fire-medic]

I think the later models do use a MOSFET style R/R. I'm not sure when the switch was made. I checked the history of model year changes on the vmaxoutlaw website, but didn't find the info.

If it's finned (take a peek) I believe that's the MOSFET design.

 

[fastestz1]

its finned

 

[Bill Seward]

Hopefully they did the job right and installed a MOSFET unit. I'd keep an eye on both the battery water level, and the 3 wire connector between the stator and the voltage regulator.. These get corroded after a while, the resistance goes up, things get hot - you know the rest....

 

[ga_max]

Do I get a prize for my correct guess 8^), In all honesty being a member of this forum has rewarded me more than enough. Glad the bike is on the road again.