My Intro followed by a VBoost question.

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Thank you all for having me. Proud new owner of a 2007 VMax. 19XXX miles as of the typing of this post. All stock by whats known except for a couple cosmetic items. I am the second owner of the bike. I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Also known as the Land of Enchantment. While this is my first VMax, by no means is it my first bike. Been pretty dedicated to the Yamaha label for over 20 years with a previous Yamaha hitting 100,000 miles and earning a BunBurner 1500 from the Iron Butt Association.

My question is about the VBoost Servo. The bike was sold to me cause the VBoost did not engage. I checked the basics of connections and corrosion but being from the American Southwest, corrosion was a highly unlikely culprit. I was right. Connections were clean and tight. Has good power and ground going to the controller. So....presumably, the controller is toast. Now....Based on the wire schematic, the 5 wire round connector is labelled as 2 wires for the servo motor and 3 wires for an internal potentiometer.

Now....I do not plan on modifying the engine, jetting carburetors or leaving the VBoost wide open, I do have an idea. Has anyone tied in a dual momentary (on off on) switch for the servo? Something like a power window switch for a vehicle? That way VBoost can be activated electrically. I have used your search function and have found people using manual setups, finding lucky controllers and whatnot. But nothing on using a dual momentary switch. The reason I am entertaining this idea is I am not really of fan of carbs and carbs are the enemy of engines when it comes to overfueling. Having the VBoost always on(in my mind) will flood the engine at low RPMs such as waiting at lights or driving in slow traffic. I would like a way to cut the VBoost on and off and have it mostly selectable with infinite steps of the servo.

Has anyone done something like this and where did they source a switch and make a relatively clean install?

Thanks for helping and if no one has done this....I will take photos for this site to show what I have done to achieve what I hoping to do for a failed VBoost.

 

[one2dmax]

Try to bend of flex the vboost control box and see if that makes it work. They develop microcracks in the solder joints which can sometimes be repaired by simply remelting them (mostly where the wires enter the board). I have used OEM units should you want to go that route. I also have ignitech CDI boxes that can take control of the vboost and run it from the main box (as well as other tuning and rev limiter options).

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Thank you one2dmax. I have neglected to say in my intro that I am extremely mechanically inclined with the ability to read wire schematics. One of my "quick tests" was in fact flexing wires and the board. I even tried to remove the rubber that the board is covered in but after about 15 minutes, I gave up. But truly, thanks for your answer.

The search function revealed the controllers and Ignitech CDI boxes but it would seem they price those to the moon. While not out of reach for me.....I was kinda leaning towards a manual means via an electric switch to gain my VBoost. Reasons are mainly for fuel efficiency and not diluting the engine with fuel at low RPMs. I also like the idea that I can leave it kinda cracked to wide open and back again. I have seen people using the old Venture Royals handle bar controller, but I kinda want to step away from that and go with something electronic. Be that little bit more different.

Again, thanks for your reply. I look forward to sharing what I know and find with my bike with the group and look real forward to gaining more knowledge about these beasts.

 

[cwkerr007]

I remember a post that gave the increments of the voltage that the controller produced if you look through the threads in the 1st gen electrical I think there is a post explaining what your looking for but i can't remember who it was but it's there

 

[cwkerr007]

when you get that multi stage controller working I would love to see the end result

 

[cwkerr007]

I looked for that post and couldn't find it sorry. But someone on this forum will know try fire medic he is really good with fact's and info

 

[Zeus36]

As a last resort you can bypass the entire electronic/electrical aspect of the system and make a manual V-boost with a lever near one of the hand grips. See this rider's setup:

 

[Woody]

Or just go stage 7.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Kicking myself now for not taking pics, but warm weather means riding weather and if you are all like me.....once its running....youre riding, LOL. What I did.....Since my servo still operated when jumped with 12V both ways...is installed an on-off-on switch. I wanted a momentary like a power window switch, but none of my parts houses had a clean enough switch that would look good on the bike. So I opted for that in the mean time. All the wires I cut were on the Controller side of the harness. That way if I stumble upon a Controller, I can install it without having to modify my modifications. I installed the switch on the left side of the bike near the front of the scoop. Flick the switch back Vboost activates. Flip it forward, Vboost is off. Middle, no power is supplied to the servo. Like the manual levers folks do....Gotta baby sit it but its working VBoost.

I Put in an LED H4 today for the head light....Gotta say, definite improvement over the halogen. As for longevity....Dunno yet. I will let you know when it burns out. Claims its good for 30,000 hours. Did the same for the tail/brake lights. Tossed in some LED reds with rapid blink. Definitely brighter especially with our bright NM sun. Took her for a ride after it was all together....She pulls hard and strong. Now....In my state, interstate speed limit is 75. 80-85 is not uncommon. At 80mph, stock tire size, 5th gear, I was pulling 5200(ish) RPMs. Normal? High? Low?

While running at 80, dropped to 4th, activated Vboost, hit 120 in about 5-6 seconds. Didnt push no more as this is a new to me bike and I need to learn what she likes and dont like. She likes to pull that front wheel up still in first with no Vboost and hammering down on her. She will break interstate speed limits in 2cd gear easily.

So again, thanks for the help and suggestions. I have a product that I am happy with and hopefully will give years of trouble free service as Yamahas often do. I hope to offer my expertise as needed when things come up and will be looking forward to seeing and hearing from all the forum members.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

I will post a couple more in better settings and angles in a few days. But here is loading and taking home day.

 

[one2dmax]

Unless you are cruising at 5800 rpm you'll not begin to engage the vboost normally anyway. And, bringing in the Vboost earlier doesn't necessarily make the bike ACTUALLY faster though it can give you a false sense of being faster. You can expect 40+ MPG with a full header and tune and similar with stock.

 

[cwkerr007]

damn Sean somebody stole some of my mpg's I wish they would bring em back I miss them

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

@one2dmax Absolutely agree with your words. When I activated the VBoost manually, I was in 4th gear at 80mph and pulled it to 120 which was beyond the 6000RPM. I am not the type that will leave the VBoost "on" all the time. I am concerned with over fueling the engine that way. And too much gas will wash down any engine. And when that VBoost was activated.....compared to no VBoost...there was no false sense, LOL. It was an extra punch to the bike beyond 6000RPM.

For the fuel mileage, Cause I was kinda babying it and horse whipping it at the same time with playing with the Vboost, I cant verify that the bike actually had a full tank, but I put 100 miles on it when the fuel light came on, added 3.03 gallons of fuel to it. About 33mpg if it was full. I rolled the trip to zero so I can actually get an accurate number. As with EVERY motorcycle I have ever owned....Nothing but 91 or 93 octane(Most in my state peak out at 91 octane due to climate and elevation).

As I get more comfortable with the bike, I will play more with it to find its happy spot.

 

[SpecOps13]

I had 2 bikes, a 89 Hot Rod that was quicker than crap on stock carbs. I got 33 miles per gallon with it average of driving fast and cruising 70 or 80. Also had a truly mint 94 with an Ignitech set on the most modest setting. Bike was still quick but made about 20 less HP. It's average MPG was 42 Plus in the same driving situations... Both had the carbs set up perfectly for what they were. 91-93 octane. Over a 6 to 10 year or more period. Used fingernail polish to lock the carb adjustments and they stayed for years...Hope this helps someone here. Gen 1 Vmax's are the best of the 47 bikes I've had...

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

I have a doofy question....I downloaded a Yamaha Service manual. Appears to be the actual factory manual but not sure....Anyway...according to the manual, to adjust idle it says to pull on some screw for the cable. Is that true? Or is there some screw in the linkage that brings up the idle? She runs perfect, just too low of an idle where she will sometimes stall. Figure if I can bump it to 1000RPM, it will be cherry. Also....if someone has a pic of a screw that will turn up the idle....Most appreciative. Thanks again.

 

[MaxMidnight]

Page 2-13 describes how to adjust the idle speed and includes a picture of the screws location.

It says 'Warm up the engine and turn the throttle stop screw (1) to adjust'.

It goes on to say 'Before adjusting the throttle cable free play, the engine idling speed should be adjusted.

Not sure which part of this you don't understand.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

@MaxMidnight Thank you....thats what I was looking for. Incredibly clear now that I get to see where it is located. And yes, I know it was incredibly stupid to ask but I was under carburetion (6-11) is where I thought I would find it and it looked like it was operated through the cable. Thank you again.

 

[MaxMidnight]

@MaxMidnight ...I know it was incredibly stupid to ask..

Not stupid, it's perfectly reasonable to ask a question for something you don't know.

 

[rebeltaz83]

Nothing really wrong with leaving v boost on all the time. It makes it idle like it has a lope in the cam. Allot of the guys that run the Stage seven jet kit, or Morley's muscle kit leave the v boost on. Now running with only 3 of 4 cylinders I would be concerned about washing a cylinder and burning the rings, or scorching a cylinder wall. I had a 4 to 1, and I would switch the v boost on, and all eyes turn to see what's coming. Had a couple gentleman ask me to rev it a few times, and they smiled and said it sounded like a car lol. If only the second gen sounded as good.

 

[Pighuntingpuppy]

Nothing really wrong with leaving v boost on all the time. It makes it idle like it has a lope in the cam. Allot of the guys that run the Stage seven jet kit, or Morley's muscle kit leave the v boost on. Now running with only 3 of 4 cylinders I would be concerned about washing a cylinder and burning the rings, or scorching a cylinder wall. I had a 4 to 1, and I would switch the v boost on, and all eyes turn to see what's coming. Had a couple gentleman ask me to rev it a few times, and they smiled and said it sounded like a car lol. If only the second gen sounded as good.

I plan on keeping it mostly stock. Unless theres a reason to pull the engine and do something to it or the carbs....I am of the mind to leave well enough alone. Better reliability in my opinion that way. And while that may not be bad leaving them open, in my mind, 2 carbs worth of fuel isnt providing a complete burn at lower RPMs. The unburnt fuel is going somewhere. But with everything, its a, "to each his own" thing. Since I live in the American Southwest, I can burn up a tank of gas in a couple hours just normal driving. I am more than impressed with the bikes performance to monkey with it now. In a few years....who knows what will happen.