New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter???

[nidyanazo]

Hey fellas' after many years running sportbikes, some of which I still have, I decided to get my all time dream cruiser which is a first GEN VMAX and boy I am not disappointed!

A few years ago I decided to pick up Honda V65 magna which I got for a killer price just 400 bucks ..I promptly disassembled carbs cleaned everything out and it ran like a dream until I moved far away and had to sell it.

I've had all sorts of bikes over the years from my vintage Norton commando to many different Yamaha in-line and parallel twin cruisers to my current stable which includes the Ducati 916 and an 08' R1.

I've been looking for a couple months for a nice clean low mileage Vmax and I picked one up a couple days ago.
She has 11,000 miles and is flawless except for one tiny little scratch.. here's some photos..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQqZSadkAsI


The problem is the battery died so I put a gel cell in and that worked for a couple days but after reading the forms I found my hot starting problem is common and it seems to be draining the battery not charging properly.. my main issue though is the grinding sound when you're holding the starter motor button down after a few seconds for little bit and the battery starts to run a bit flat I can hear a nasty grinding sound every now and then.. it's not consistent at all but it comes on for split-second and then goes away. what you guys think that that is?

Hope to learn alot about this great bike, you guys really seem to know these things inside and out! after fixing the starting problem, I'm going after some new brakes. These suck coming from razor sharp sportbike brakes. I already bought some drag bars, and some little mods but after modding all these bikes and cars to the maximum, this VMAX shall remain relatively stock- I just want her to run well.
Luckily the carbs seem to be in perfect shape, so thats good. Really smooth throttle response.

Should I be worried about the grinding sound the starter motor gear makes? Or is that a common thing is well with the starting problems these bikes have?

THANKS ALOT!

 

[nidyanazo]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Also I noticed the bike hardly gets warm at all. At least on the temperature gage it barely comes up to a quarter of the gauge, so I just figure she's pretty cold-blooded I can feel the engine the radiator everything does get nice and warm to the touch but the needle never swings past about 25% so it's almost always pointed at the 'C'. Anything I should look out for their? It's a pretty mild climate here in California temperatures around 65 to 75° ambient.... Thanks!

 

[VMAX1260]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

many of the V-max's have starting problems. if you search the forum you will find lots of mods for that purpuse , you can install another RR (many use from R1, i use from SUPER TENERE 750) better battery (odyssey pc680). from time to time the starter clutch is a problem , you feel like there is no grap to turn the engine and that makes a sound like some sprockets don't engage. these are all common fixes in the V-max. About the temp.... you are lucky. in the summer the temp gauge i think to all the v-max's out there in near the red line....

Welcome to the Forum MAN. here you will find every solution in any problem

 

[Old V65 Rider]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

I am going to guess that grinding sound is the starter clutch slipping(assuming the Vmax starter clutch is similar to a V65). My experience with the starter clutch is on a V65, none on a Vmax so what I am telling you could be incorect. But, it is not a good thing to let it slip like that. It should not happen if the battery is fully charged. Check the charging system, read this:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108
If it keeps slipping you could try replacing the springs in the clutch for a cheap fix.

 

[VMAX1260]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

I am going to guess that grinding sound is the starter clutch slipping(assuming the Vmax starter clutch is similar to a V65). My experience with the starter clutch is on a V65, none on a Vmax so what I am telling you could be incorect. But, it is not a good thing to let it slip like that. It should not happen if the battery is fully charged. Check the charging system, read this:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108
If it keeps slipping you could try replacing the springs in the clutch for a cheap fix.

+1 for the starter clutch. when i have a problem i replace 8,9,10 parts from the following diagramm and i am ok
http://www.oemmotorparts.com/oem5.a...ER&F=YA-V-MAX-1200-1_an&L2=YA-V-MAX-1200-1_an

 

[nidyanazo]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Hey thanks guys, yeah the grinding noise never happens when the bike is cold and the battery fully charged- Guess I'll start looking into the various ways to improve the starting/charging system from the posts on this forum... I just want to make the bike reliable with the least amount of effort, I really dont have much time for tinkering right now unfortunately..So if I were to do one thing to improve the system, what would it be? I heard there are some wires you can cut and some to resolder for a better connection?

Also on a side note I have some mobile 1 synthetic 20w50 oil but it's the "Vtwin" type.

Will that be okay for the clutch/transmission? I read most people go with rotella diesel oil but I already have the mobil 1 oil here.

unk:

 

[nidyanazo]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

I am going to guess that grinding sound is the starter clutch slipping(assuming the Vmax starter clutch is similar to a V65). My experience with the starter clutch is on a V65, none on a Vmax so what I am telling you could be incorect. But, it is not a good thing to let it slip like that. It should not happen if the battery is fully charged. Check the charging system, read this:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108
If it keeps slipping you could try replacing the springs in the clutch for a cheap fix.

I want to bypass this "Crimp" in the system, as written up on the page you linked in your post..


3.1: Eliminate the connector between the three black stator wires and the regulator/rectifier(r/r). The R/R is located behind the left side passenger peg. That's right, just cut the wires on either side and toss it. Strip the ends and use the blue butt connectors to rejoin them. Don't worry if you mess up the wire ends, it's AC so it doesn't matter one bit if you reconnect them in a different order. For the time being, I would not seal the connectors. (See step 4.2). However, do make sure the connectors cannot touch each other, causing a short that can rapidly damage the stator.

3.2: Find your R/R. If you have an older bike, there will be 4 wires....3 from the stator and one + output (grounded through it's mount). If you have a newer model, there will be five (grounded through a wire).
Older model: Remove the R/R and clean around the base to ensure a good connection. Grab the red + output wire and cut it, leaving enough slack to re-splice it but as close to the R/R as you feel comfortable. Find the connector between the R/R and the harness, and remove the now useless end. Tape or otherwise cover the harness end connector. Strip the end, and get a wire gauge slightly larger than what's there (I used 14awg). Use another end connector, and run the wire directly to the + post of the battery. Put a ring connector on the end and bolt it directly to the post.
Newer model: Same as above, but do the same procedure for both the + output and - ground wires. Cut them out of the harness and wire them directly to the battery.

Doing this bypasses the notorious "crimp" in the harness entirely.


Are there any photos showing the process? I cant really visualize what needs to be cut and connected just by reading the post, I'm not familiar with the bike and its wiring at all... If anybody can help out with some pictures I'd really really appreciate it!!

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Nice looking bike Nid, and welcome to the forum. Doing a search here on the forum (top icon on the right of screen) will help you diagnose and repair your starter clutch and charging issues. Just about any 4 stroke oil is fine for the vmax, although 20-50 might be a little "thick" for milder temperatures.....give it a try, you can always drain and refill it.

 

[CaptainKyle]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Welcome !

 

[Fire-medic]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Welcome, looks like a clean bike. You have some good accessories there. It looks like a cut-down stock seat, that and the pipe are >$1K together. Looks like Progressive Suspension shocks too, which suggests the forks got some new springs from the same place, I'd wager.

As to the brakes, I am gonna suggest an upgrade of the fork downtubes/sliders, & triple trees to a 1993+ model year, they are 3 mm thicker downtubes, and the 100 mm o.c. spacing for the calipers means you can use early-to-mid years R1 'blue-dot' calipers, a bolt-on. When you do that, pay attention to the location of the brake hose positioning, as you may need to change to a bit-longer hose if you have a different 'in'-location for the connection compared to the stocker. A perfect time to go w/stainless-steel hoses, Russell and Galfer are popular w/we who have changed 'em. You will also need the 298 mm rotors from the 1993+ VMax bikes. If you keep an eye open, you can find the front suspension parts in good shape for a reasonable price, I'd say in the $250-300 range is about right. You don't need 'wave-rotors,' but a lot of guys like them, be ready to pay some $$ if you buy Galfers. The ebay Chinese wave rotors are much-cheaper, and many guys here use them. I'd say the $$ you would use there would best be spent on getting a Kosman 17" or 18" modified-stock rear wheel, and running radials.

For my $, the switch to radials is the single-best difference you can make to a stock VMax. You can use the stock front wheel and get a 110/18" for it, but the width isn't optimal, but you can do it. If you try a radial bike, it steers and feels much better compared to a stocker, though if you always change-out your bias-ply tires before cords show-through (as you should) then bias ply tires will work for you as they have since they were originally-spec'ed by the factory. There are a lot of people who are surprised coming off modern sportbikes and who aren't used to the slight 'hunting' at-speed the VMax displays, primarily due to its relaxed geometry and the bias tires w/high profiles. Radials will sharpen the steering right-up, and if you rode a stock pre-1993 VMax and then one of the same vintage equipped w/the larger-diameter front-end, and radials, you would quickly-see the difference in handling. The R1 calipers are a quick swap on the newer front-end, no-need to spend $ on brackets, and a set of R1 calipers can be found on ebay for <$80 pretty-much whenever you look. You can also get the FZR1000 six-piston calipers they used at the end of the production run if you want, and the earlier FZR1000 two-opposed piston/four pistons total calipers will also fit, they are similar to the 1993+ stock VMax four-piston calipers. Some 'HH'-rated pads on any of the calipers, and you are all-set.

My suggestion, is to NOT spend any $ on getting brackets and calipers to fit your 40 mm early-style forks, take your time to locate the later-model 43 mm stuff, and you will be $$-ahead, and gain a lot to-boot in function and better handling.

For what you would commonly-spend to fit a USD sportbike fork, alone, you could go radials and the late model VMax fork, w/upgraded brakes, all bolt-on, and not have to mess-w/the difficulty of the USD fork installation which will usually-run to >$1,000+.

And you can always add Progressive Suspension Cartridge Emulators or RICOR's (which do a similar job), straight-rate springs from Race Tech or progressive ones from Pro. Susp. and a good fork brace if you want, not absolutely necessary, but many people find value in the bike's enhanced function w/these. I have all of that, too.

So, read the threads using the advanced search function about these topics, and get your credit card smoking!:biglaugh:

 

[[email protected]]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

The grinding is probably the starter clutch. Check this thread: http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=16294&highlight=starter+clutch

Sounds like you have charging issues. Check this thread:
http://www.vmaxforum.net/showthread.php?t=19108

 

[Biker Dash]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Welcome to the forums, and that's a sweet looking Max ya got!

 

[Old V65 Rider]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

To eliminate the crimp you want to cut the red wire on the regulator rectifier (R/R) and run a new wire directly to the positive post on the battery. Do not leave the white connector on the wire, solder your splice. The R/R is behind the passenger left footrest. It also isn't a bad idea to get rid if the connector between the stator and the R/R, is is the black one in the picture. Cut it out and solder the wires directly together. V65 guys call that the three yellow wire fix.

 

[nidyanazo]

Re: New gen one owner saying hi, (pics and vid of bike) + some Q's - Grinding starter

Nice! Thanks for the tips fellas'!