Clutch feels dead...broke? loose?

[PMaxx]

I just tried out that Shell 15w40 diesel oil and it seems like the bike takes longer to warm up now. I need to keep the choke on, otherwise the idle is too low and it will die sometimes. With the regular oil it would warm up to 1000rpm a lot faster and I'd only use a little bit of choke to start the bike. Shifting/finding neutral seems happier though.

 

[radley]

I just tried out that Shell 15w40 diesel oil and it seems like the bike takes longer to warm up now. I need to keep the choke on, otherwise the idle is too low and it will die sometimes. With the regular oil it would warm up to 1000rpm a lot faster and I'd only use a little bit of choke to start the bike. Shifting/finding neutral seems happier though.

Hmm, thanks for the input. I'm used to choking for a bit to get warm, so maybe not a big deal for me...we'll see. I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

 

[radley]

Update:

I spent Saturday working on the Vmax.

-Changed oil with the Rotella mentioned above. New filter K&N.

-New spark plugs. 2 were real bad...some corrosion, etc.. way overdue...

-bled clutch....well, tried to..
I picked up one of those cheaper but good reviews, vacuum pumps and finally figured out how to properly use it through manuals. I have 4 service manual-type documents, each printed off in their own binder, except for the Clymer, which I purchased on Ebay.
There was always air coming through from the bleed valve, and I had a hard time getting a good seal over the bleed valve, the pressure would immediately fall, slowly though, but I think I was pulling air from just outside the valve, into the slave cylinder a tiny bit even when I thought I did finally get a good seal on the bleed valve.....but, I think I finally got a good firm clutch now...not sure if it's as good as could be...

-bled front brakes, same thing, always seemed like I was pulling air in, it never got totally fluid on the draw with the pump... I could see tiny air bubbles coming up from tiny holes in the master cylinder...again though, seemed to finally acquire a firm pull and clear fluid.

-replaced final gear oil with the Lucas stuff. manual suggested that I replace the washer on the drain plug. didn't do that cuz I didnt have one, so maybe next time..

-cleaned air filter, should be replaced. I'll look for one right now, hold on...ok, which air filter should I buy? the K&N for $65.00, the OEM replacement UNI for $30.00 or the Hiflo for $20.00 ? the Hiflo says meet or exceeds OEM on the Ebay description...
WHICH ONE?

-Bled rear brakes. This was easy, the seal on the bleed valve was good, and I just had a tube going into a container.. I did this manually cuz everything is right there in front of you. Between pushing the brake down, opening valve, closing, repeat etc while keeping fluid in the master cylinder, I bled the nasty old fluid (looked like an amber beer) out and got new fluid in. I imagine that's how bleeding should go...so that was nice.

-I plan on draining and replacing coolant. I need to get some distilled water though to mix with coolant. Manual said never to mix with tap water to get the 50/50 mix...

Started the bike up Sunday morning and she fired right up, seemed to run way better, even cold. So things looking good so far.

-I need to rebuild forks, will do that over winter as long as they aren't real bad riding..

-I need to do the transmission 2nd gear fix, maybe this coming winter or next...

-I need to sync the carbs and get a good fuel/air mixture going.. I plan on riding the bike 10 miles and coast in (not idle much) so I can check the spark plugs for indication of air/fuel mixture. Should I do this before sync? or sync, check plugs, adjust fuel/air screws, sync again, ride, check plugs? repeat? I'm not sure the best way to go about obtaining good fuel/air mix and proper sync. I have a manometer I made.

I think that's it for now.. any advice is much appreciated.

*also, I took off my little wind screen/shield thing off that did nothing but keep the bug guts away from my speedometer...and immediately direct them all to my face.. Bike looks a little more badass.
**I'd like to get some more edgy/cool mirrors and clutch/brake levers and possibly turn signals, maybe try to give the bike a more rockNroll/hardcore look... any suggestions? I'd like black levers and maybe even black mirrors...

 

[radley]

Update...

Got some distilled water and new coolant. Drained coolant as per manual directions... I have found that having multiple manuals printed off has helped me tremendously. One manual says this and that, but leaves out something obvious that I'm oblivious to, because this is my first time really servicing this bike. Another manual will mention the missing piece of info, so I recommend having multiple manuals available....
Flushed the system with garden hose through the filler, behind the right side cover.
Filled with new 50/50 mix(must use distilled water due to aluminum, as per manual) .


I ran the bike 8 miles or so after all this work. She ran better than I can remember since I got her back in '99. Felt good to put a few miles on. I drove mostly county road and kept the rev's up so I could coast in to check the spark plugs.

Pics show what I found out. THESE ARE BRAND NEW PLUGS, maybe I didn't put enough miles on yet.....tough for me to determine fuel/air mixes.

I think carbs are numbered (when sitting on bike) 1 = front left, 2 = back left, 3 = front right, 4 = back right.

Based on that, IMG_4452 = #3, 4453=#4, 4454=#2, 4456=#1.

As you can see, cylinders #3&4 are more "white", the others are clean or a little bit darker.

How do I proceed with SYNC and Fuel/Air mixture to optimize engine performance?

Also, another thing I can do is look into the V-Boost issue. Sean has shared probable solution, maybe I'll follow up tonight with more pics/stuff to fix.

Thanks guys, please let me know what you think and how to proceed!

Thnx
-radley

p.s. in pic 2 you can see some nasty crap on the plug...when I took out the old one, there was corrosion on it and it was pretty gross..not sure how to clean it out in there as these plugs are tough enough to get at, etc..... advise? Or am I looking at a larger issue within the engine....?

 

[Traumahawk]

This will help get everyone on the same page as far as cylinder numbers.

 

[Traumahawk]

I would just do a shotgun....just for good measure.

http://vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm

And here is how to sync.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=3959

 

[radley]

I would just do a shotgun....just for good measure.

http://vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm

And here is how to sync.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=3959

Ok, thanks Traumahawk. I'll do the shotgun and sync afterwards.

Now, how do I know what to do with fuel/air mix screws? Sorry for the carb number mixup, I have it somewhere, just took a guess...got it now tho....

 

[Traumahawk]

Ok, thanks Traumahawk. I'll do the shotgun and sync afterwards.

Now, how do I know what to do with fuel/air mix screws? Sorry for the carb number mixup, I have it somewhere, just took a guess...got it now tho....

Thats ok....it throws a lot of people, because even though its the #2 carb, its still the master carb.

Some people set all of the A/F screws at 3 turns out, and they will turn the screws back in until the bike stumbles and then go back out half a turn. I originally set mine about 2.5 turns out, and then would take it out to test ride. The A/F screws basically cover 0-4000 rpm, and no throttle to 1/4-maybe 1/2 throttle.

What I found out works best for me (after using a temp gun on the exhaust....it has to be aftermarket exhaust) I set the A/F screws due to exhaust temps at idle. All that I was trying to do was to get them "balanced" instead of shooting for a particular temp. I found out that I had to turn the rears about 1/2 a turn out more, to get everything about the same temp....well within 50 degrees of each other. So if I had the fronts at 2.5 turns out, I would put the rears at 3 turns out.

Some people just have them all set at 2.5 turns out, and the bike runs well enough, and so theyve left them there.

So, try them all, or which ever-one you want to, and see whats works best for you.

EDIT**** If you havent turned the A/F screws in a LONG time (they are brass) spray in some PB blaster into the holes where the screws are....and WALK AWAY.....for several hours. let it do its job at freeing up the A/F screws. You dont want to strip any of them out.

 

[radley]

I would just do a shotgun....just for good measure.

http://vmax.lvlhead.com/tips/shotgun.htm

And here is how to sync.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=3959

Bummer guys......

Thanks and no-thanks for the shotgun suggestion..... Thank you cuz, yeah, I can see this being a quick-type fix to carb blockage, potentially, especially with that carb cleaner squirting around everywhere.... Ol' Faithful up in the house.....

But now for a HUGE RESOUNDING 'NO THANKS' for the suggestion because you have now surfaced more fricking $$ out of my pocket! Kidding aside, it was good to do the procedure. I feel confident to be able to go in there fairly quickly and clean stuff out now.

BUT, when I took out diaphragms from cylinders 3 and 4, they both looked like the pic below.

Can I repair these two? They don't have holes in them, it's the black part missing, the material is still there underneath, if I'm stating that correctly.
I don't want to have to fork over another 200+ bucks...this bike is turning into a money pit..

In addition, I think I need to rebuild the carbs completely anyways, possibly... I did this 2 years ago, but may have to again... When I blasted air to remove the Fuel/Air Mixture Screw (FAMS), it seemed to take quite a bit... ONLY ONE screw came out with the spring and o-ring. All 3 others, just the screw came out. I tried to get the rest of the stuff but no dice. So, when I put these 3 back in, I had to really push and hope that the FAMS found it's way back inside the spring, through the o-ring (if not missing), and etc.
There's no way to guarantee, and also, the spring that DID come out was kinda rusty in a sense. I'm assuming I need to buy another carb kit and rebuild the carbs...thoughts? I probably need new FAMSs, springs, o-rings for them, etc. The little o-ring visible when you remove the diaphragms all seemed in good condition.

What else can I do to clean, check, anything else while the carb rack is off the bike (if needed)?

 

[Specs95t]

I have read about folks repairing pinholes on the diaphrams with a dab of silicone...

haven't had to do that myself...

If it were me - considering my VMax is a long term keeper, I'd rebuild the carbs and replace all of the tired parts...

 

[blaxmax]

Bummer guys......

Thanks and no-thanks for the shotgun suggestion..... Thank you cuz, yeah, I can see this being a quick-type fix to carb blockage, potentially, especially with that carb cleaner squirting around everywhere.... Ol' Faithful up in the house.....

But now for a HUGE RESOUNDING 'NO THANKS' for the suggestion because you have now surfaced more fricking $$ out of my pocket! Kidding aside, it was good to do the procedure. I feel confident to be able to go in there fairly quickly and clean stuff out now.

BUT, when I took out diaphragms from cylinders 3 and 4, they both looked like the pic below.

Can I repair these two? They don't have holes in them, it's the black part missing, the material is still there underneath, if I'm stating that correctly.
I don't want to have to fork over another 200+ bucks...this bike is turning into a money pit..

In addition, I think I need to rebuild the carbs completely anyways, possibly... I did this 2 years ago, but may have to again... When I blasted air to remove the Fuel/Air Mixture Screw (FAMS), it seemed to take quite a bit... ONLY ONE screw came out with the spring and o-ring. All 3 others, just the screw came out. I tried to get the rest of the stuff but no dice. So, when I put these 3 back in, I had to really push and hope that the FAMS found it's way back inside the spring, through the o-ring (if not missing), and etc.
There's no way to guarantee, and also, the spring that DID come out was kinda rusty in a sense. I'm assuming I need to buy another carb kit and rebuild the carbs...thoughts? I probably need new FAMSs, springs, o-rings for them, etc. The little o-ring visible when you remove the diaphragms all seemed in good condition.

What else can I do to clean, check, anything else while the carb rack is off the bike (if needed)?

I've used just enough black electrical tape on both sides of the hole. $19.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEMBRANE-Di...ash=item2817ac506e:g:BWoAAOSwT6pV3dzm&vxp=mtr

 

[jfeagins]

If ordering new diaphragms, beware of Hong Kong knock offs, and buy only genuine Yamaha replacements. You want them to last a long time. If it comes to that, I'd suggest giving Sean Morley a shot at providing them to you. [email protected]

 

[Traumahawk]

I believe there is a sticky on here about how to replace diaphragms. Joe Lorio had a good write up about it.

 

[radley]

I've used just enough black electrical tape on both sides of the hole. $19.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/MEMBRANE-Di...ash=item2817ac506e:g:BWoAAOSwT6pV3dzm&vxp=mtr

I may go the cheap route. I plan on pulling the carb rack out and draining/cleaning/drying it before storing the bike for winter, so I'll be in there here and there anyways to check on the status of the diaphragms. I can't find the write-up on replacing the diaphragms. Does anyone know where it is?

I DO need new FAMS with their oring, washer, spring.
What about this item?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321924797768?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

While I am in there I might as well clean out the jets in the jet block, etc...so I'll be putting in all new gaskets throughout? Maybe this one is better then...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-VMX1...57594624:g:QRsAAOSwBahU3iVL&vxp=mtr#vi-ilComp

 

[blaxmax]

I may go the cheap route. I plan on pulling the carb rack out and draining/cleaning/drying it before storing the bike for winter, so I'll be in there here and there anyways to check on the status of the diaphragms. I can't find the write-up on replacing the diaphragms. Does anyone know where it is?

I DO need new FAMS with their oring, washer, spring.
What about this item?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/321924797768?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

While I am in there I might as well clean out the jets in the jet block, etc...so I'll be putting in all new gaskets throughout? Maybe this one is better then...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMAHA-VMX1...57594624:g:QRsAAOSwBahU3iVL&vxp=mtr#vi-ilComp

I've heard the Keyster is not worth the trouble-- I use these---- http://www.ebay.com/itm/4x-K-L-86-0...m542c186785:m:mauZ9W9kvlN1NnHNO4dUWcA&vxp=mtr

 

[blaxmax]

Also check with dannymax at the bottom of the page for your carb parts. BRC

 

[Traumahawk]

Here is the post about changing diaphragms.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19788

 

[radley]

Here is the post about changing diaphragms.

http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19788

Thank you sir!