Question about Bike's Year and Fuel used

[D-Max2012]

There is a vmax guy (Paul) that makes precision made shims in 1/2 and 3/4 thickness's for more fine tuning.

Thanks.. I created a set last night.. I plan to try them by the weekend.. Looking at my needles, there's already a 1mm washer under the e-clip. It’s kind of hard to make out the diagram in the manual. I was wondering if that 1mm washer is normal and you're to add an additional .4mm washer, or replace the 1mm with the .4.. If it’s a replacement, then the needle would actually seat lower than it is now.

 

[dannymax]

No, the washer is added. The normal config is the plastic spacer, 'E' clip washer, spring, plastic threaded cap. Washers usually come in 1/2 clip thickness or about .018"

 

[D-Max2012]

OK,
Then the previous owner had a 1mm in there already. So, I plan to take the ones in there out, and replace with the .4's and see how it runs.

 

[one2dmax]

Which of the needles do you have? It's common for the stage 1 kit (and even stage seven) to include shims that only make the rich problem worse.

 

[D-Max2012]

Which of the needles do you have?

Out of all the needles I've seen on this forum, this one looks identical to mine.

 

[sdt354]

Just in case anyone was wondering, the needles blunt end is 3.0mm in diameter. So your shim should be at least 3.2mm Inner Diameter x .4mm thick. 6mm OD or less should work fine as a shim.

#4 stainless washers work great. The thickness will not be uniform enough for what we want, and the wahers need to be sized.
Steve-o

 

[m-cman]

Dale Walker used to sell shims for the Max. Don't know if he still does. Had a set in my 95. This was around 1998. They were perfectly sized and polished.

 

[D-Max2012]

Dale Walker used to sell shims for the Max. Don't know if he still does. Had a set in my 95. This was around 1998. They were perfectly sized and polished.

Cool beans.. Thanks


I’ve been noticing that no matter how tight I clamp down my Air Box, it still tries to rise up off the carbs intakes. So this time, I've re-seated them and put a 1 inch piece of packing foam under the Faux tank lid and now the Air box is locked down.. I noticed today that the ride is much smoother and the lag between 4-5K is almost gone.. unk:

Anyone else can post thier fuel octane used and V-Max year?

 

[sdt354]

View attachment 38530

Out of all the needles I've seen on this forum, this one looks identical to mine.

Looks like the Titanium F.P. needle to me. I've got some but haven't got to try them
yet.
87 octane for me. Stock compression engines will eventually have carbon build up on
the valves from higher octane.
Steve-o

 

[D-Max2012]

Looking at my needles, there's already a 1mm washer under the e-clip.

Correction those shims that were in there were .53mm thick.. I ended up taking them out to try and see if my 4-5K stumble would change (Better or worse).. It did not..

This is now my 2nd full tank of BP Regular (E10) :-( and the bike is not pulling any harder, or running any smoother than when I was running premium.
Only difference is, my wallet is tad fuller.. $13.30 to fill her up instead of $15.56.

 

[D-Max2012]

I want to check out two things..
1, if the plug wires are leaking spark to the engine or frame.
I don’t think this would be the case simply because, if more fuel got into a piston and did not burn, then on the next compression stroke, you would have more fuel than normal and you should get a backfire once it does ignite. Not heaing any backfires.
2, Sync up the carbs at 4K instead of 1K, since the cruise RPM is around that 4K mark..
I'm hoping not to have to pull the carbs again. But a life form's gotta do, what a life form's gotta do..

 

[D-Max2012]

Gotten off topic.. Sorry..

Please post if you have not already...

What year Bike and what Octane used????

This simple poll can help out many people.

 

[D-Max2012]

Correction those shims that were in there were .53mm thick.. I ended up taking them out to try and see if my 4-5K stumble would change (Better or worse).. It did not..

Well, after beating myself up trying countless remedies to get that 4-5k stumble out, I decided to try and make a set of baffles, since the P.O. removed them.
I cut them out from some scrap aluminum door kick plates I had laying around. Same stuff I used to fabricate new Scoop inserts.
I ran down to Harbor Freight and picked up a riveter tool.. Cheap.. On sale for $4.99 that came with 100 mixed rivets.
After feeling better from being sick earlier today, I decided to get to work. After installation, took a quick ride to get some fuel.. OhhhhhhBooooooy She's quieter, faster, and NO bogging down.. I let her run at 4500 RPM in 4th, just to see if it would start bogging down.. Smoooooooth running now.

 

[D-Max2012]

Going by the design of the stock muffler, I don’t know why the Previous Owner made modifications to the muffler without knowing the consequences that can occur with the way the bike breaths.

 

[soundguy]

I've got a 89, we have 91 or 95 here in NZ, I use 91. It goes good.
Nz$2.15 per litre for 91
Nz$2.35 per litre for 95

My other broom is a diesel van, nz$1.49 for diesel.

 

[Karmakatt]

Gotten off topic.. Sorry..

Please post if you have not already...

What year Bike and what Octane used????

This simple poll can help out many people.

2006 Shell canada 91 (0 ethanol) otherwise I'd use the 87 but in the end i want as as little as Ethanol as as possible.
I have 7200 kms on her and she runs mint.

 

[Miles Long]

Gotten off topic.. Sorry..

Please post if you have not already...

What year Bike and what Octane used????

This simple poll can help out many people.

2003. I have always used regular (87 octane), as the manual recommends.
Yes, most brands of regular have 10% ethanol, but this has never caused a problem, as long as the bike is used on a regular basis, and an additive such as "Seafoam" is added - perhaps every second tankful.
Winter layup is another story. I try to run one or two tankfuls of Shell 91 (no ethanol) thru the bike prior to layup, then top it up with 91 , with Seafoam added, when it is finally put to bed.
The bike is kept in a semi-heated (above freezing ) garage. I start it once a week, letting it run until the cooling fan kicks in. The PC 680 battery is never removed, and requires no charging during the layup.
Cheers!

 

[SFCMcGan]

They manufacturer will post the fuel the bike needs under the harshest conditions. Meaning the hottest it will get and under the heaviest throttle loads. The higher the octane fuel the harder to ignite and the slower it burns. You want to run the lowest octane you can get without detonation. This makes the most power (and efficiency).

Even 1428 and 1500 engines will run fine on 87. Long rod or high compression engines should consider the 91 as the standard fuel unless the tank of fuel they will be running is used for normal driving around. The demands on the fuel will be far less and even octane of a much lower rating would work.

The gen 2's will also run on standard 87 fuel with no problems. (detonation). But, if you're going to be racing it or in conditions that will get it at the hottest levels AND racing it then you for sure want the higher octane fuel. Even the reflash takes advantage of advancing the timing curves to put more strain on the fuel so the 91/93 fuel will work better in those conditions. BUT, still - for normal riding even with that flash work the 87 will still work just fine (and run cleaner with better economy).

Absolutely! The Octane debate always shows up on forums... Octane numbers relate to the amount of compression an engine has... Octane ONLY prevents detonation (the point where the fuel ignites itself rather than from the spark plug) 87 octane is good for all engines up to aroud 10.5:1 compression (I will look for the article to reinforce these numbers) after that... you will get detonation under a load. then you need to bump up to 89 octane... to caveat Sean's information... this is under normal conditions... you start hammering on the rpm's, then you might want to bump up the Octane to help prevent detonation from the combination of heat, timing and pressure. Octane does not increase power, or makes your engine run cooler in any way... it only prevents detonation....

http://www.aiada.org/news-and-events/industry-news/847-top-8-automotive-myths

Top 8 Automotive Myths
Les Jackson
AIADA Contributing Editor
Throughout history all societies have embraced beliefs that eventually were proved to be untrue. Even in this modern era with its printed, broadcast and internet sources, many people still believe "truths" that are, in fact, incorrect. Some of these urban myths involve the automobile and it's time to separate the facts from fiction. Take a look at these popular myths

Gasoline Myth: The higher the octane rating, the more power the fuel will produce.

Truth: Octane-boosting substances in gasoline actually retard the burning rate so that the heat of compression won't pre-ignite the mixture, causing "knock" or "ping." There is no measurable performance improvement to be gained by using higher-than-specified octane fuel in your car. The engine's compression ratio primarily dictates the octane requirement, along with some internal component designs, and manufacturers always show the grade of fuel required for each model. Using higher octane fuel in an engine designed for lower octane simply wastes money and can result in less complete combustion, resulting in lower fuel mileage.

Gasoline Myth #2: Octane Isn't As High As It Used To Be

Truth: Octane content is basically the same as it always was, but the numbers are lower. That's because there are two methods of measuring octane level: Motor and Research. Gasoline used to be rated solely by the Research method, which yielded higher numbers than the Motor method. Today's fuels use an average of the two and are therefore numerically lower. 100 Research (RON - Research Octane Number) is 94 octane in today's rating system. Octane levels used to be managed with the addition of Tetraethyl Lead. Lead was phased out in the 1970s and gasoline now is mixed with less harmful substances such as methyl and ethyl alcohols.

 

[Rusty McNeil]

The least amount required to stay out of detonation.

Anything more gives away power.

1999
87 octane always, when it was stock.

Highest pump octane I can find now with 13:1 compression, at least till its sorted.

Do EU and Canadian octane ratings use the same system as USA?

 

[pjmac5]

Absolutely! The Octane debate always shows up on forums... Octane numbers relate to the amount of compression an engine has... Octane ONLY prevents detonation (the point where the fuel ignites itself rather than from the spark plug) 87 octane is good for all engines up to aroud 10.5:1 compression (I will look for the article to reinforce these numbers) after that... you will get detonation under a load. then you need to bump up to 89 octane... to caveat Sean's information... this is under normal conditions... you start hammering on the rpm's, then you might want to bump up the Octane to help prevent detonation from the combination of heat, timing and pressure. Octane does not increase power, or makes your engine run cooler in any way... it only prevents detonation....

So based on what I am reading, I have a question. Would higher octane fuel contribute to a Rich condition and Plug fouling?:ummm: