Afew days ago I sent a e-mail to Sirius Consolidated the company that distributes Keyster carb kits, this was there reply .
?Sir, if you can send us a Micro fiche or and old carb I will ask Keyster to start making them... It may take a few months, but if there is a demand they will produce them for around $15.00 - $17.00 US/each
Thanks Martin
Is any body interested enough to pick up the ball on this and either provide a couple of carbs or sacrifice a microfiche for the greater good of the group of vision riders of the world?
This is there e-mail- siriusconinc@sprint.ca
Sirius Consolidated Inc
49 hillbrook Cres
Kitchener, Ontario
N2N 1J4 ?Canada
Martin,was my contact dont know last name.
Remember, every time some thing is discontinued for these we all lose.
Bikehandle
Hey, Kitchener Ontario! That place is just 45 minutes from me in Toronto. Those Canadians love making things for American dollars. Tell them to do it for 15-17 Cdn. and then we have a decent deal. Currently, the exchange is 1.58 to buy one US. dollar or about .64 cents for each Cdn. dollar. What would they include in the kit and how much demand do they need?
Louie
the kits i've seen from them have been complete, jets gaskets, springs,needle&seat, air screws, every thing for a complete rebuild,
If you are in there backyard could you give them a call and see what you could find out?
It would be in everyones best intrest to get some thing going and I will give all the support I can from this end. Right now I'm looking for a microfiche to send them,to get started.
Bikehandle ::)
Well, for the price you quoted that would be outrageously good news. Somewhere along the line it will probably take some commitment from a solid club like an order of say 500 kits. You know there are about 250 members on this site. The originals are pretty sturdy but they are getting seedy after 20 years. I am bidding on a set of carbs on ebay, if I get them cheap enough I could have some pieces for them to use as pattern.
We would need to confirm if there is some standardization to include both the 82 & 83 model carbs. I think the 83 has a different gasket (Lucky could confirm that). I will leave this up to Lucky for comment. It would not cost them much to put the paper gaskets for both and thus cover two models.
The gaskets are aesy, I makem all the time, the other stuff is all 'off the shelf', that is to say, readily available, even if it has to be ordered. Thhe problem is everything is seperate and in diff spots, so you have to find sources all over town for one "kit". there is nothing interchangable between 82 & 83 carbs, save for poss some rubber bits, hoses and o-rings.
I have pretty much a complete list of everything needed for an 82, using the latest model. (there are 3 versions of the 82 carb i've identified so far). It's been so long since anyone has needed an 83 rebuilt, that it was before I started keeping records of 83 parts.
one other thing.. I would prefer to change the throttle shaft seals when rebuilding a carb, but the throttle plate screws are staked on. removing them would require replacement, which I haven't been able to find. (you don't want to reuse the old ones and risk them backing out and getting into a cylinder)
The carb dip seems to have no effect on these seals, so when I rebuild, I leave 'em in. repositing the throttle plates back in the bores is a tricky thing, i'm not sure a novice would want to deal with it, but I think the seals and replacement screws should be included if possable.
I'm sorry I do not have actual old parts to contribute, save old 82 gasketts, but I can put together a list of part sizes and dimentions if you get a go ahead from the company.
--Lucky
I'm going to try to call siris tomorrow if I can find a number and see what they rquire to send to keyster. like I said the keyster kits are very complete. When I talk to a live person insted of e-mail I'll post results
Bikehandle
I'll loan a complete 83 carb to this effort. I wonder how or if it differs from the 84 and 85 Euro models. Maybe Humber knows or can find out. You out there buddy?
I don't know, my friend has both, your 82USA and eurpean 83. He couldn't find any differences exept from the thickness of throttle valves. Your USA are a little bit thicker. Stilll, european versions don't have this air filter element, and moreover there were no improvements such as Air mod or sth else (RK carbs completely unknown in EU).
When I dissasembled my 82 carb, the hayness (RJ) description completely matched my carb, My friend who lives in a different part of Poland has 84, the carbs are indentical.
Moreover, here in poland a local motorcycle parts dealer has recently started to sell XZ550 needle valves ($4 per piece) and intake manifolds $50 for two of them. I don't know the quality but I will find it out soon....
OUr european bikes are 11U and 11V. I believe that 11U is truly EU model - this 11V was sold probably in GB and I have never found it in here. Next, actually the label on my frame says 81, and of course there is 11U. But all sources I have found didn't mention 81 XZ550. Stil, 85 Xzets are also 11U. Nothing was ever improved or changed.... strange isn't it?? A dinosaur or maybe just a buffalo???? ;D
I called sirris the distributers for keyster carb kits today and they said kester is constantly looking for new kits to produce. he also said that around two hundred kits would be enough to start makeing them. thats what they would shoot for at least,no commitment on our part.(good news)
He ask if there was a web site he could get pictures of the carbs, I turned him on to luckys site. He said if he couldnt get the info from there he would call me back to set up a way to get a microfiche or a 82&83 carbs to him.
I dont think a lot of you realise just how complete there kits are, Its a hell of a lot more than just gaskets.
Bikehandle
Heck, if they were $20.00 I'd buy two, one to use and one to sock away for when they aren't making them again.
Rob
So it seems that US RK model carbs are one year only one country only? Groan. Guess that puts my new float search in the trash barrel. Thanks for the help anyway Humber. Keep your Buffalo outside, otherwise you will have American Gas problems right there in Europe. OK?
Martin from sirris e-mailed last nigh late he should have a reply by mid week! keep your fingers crossed, he said if keyster goes ahead with this it would take a month or two to go into production, I'm like the others, I would buy several just to have them.
Thanks everyone for your input and support on this project!!!
Bikehandle 8)
Update Re: Carb Kits
Yesterday I sent Martin at Sirius Consolidated inc. a note offering an 83 Carb for Kit research, He phoned today and we firmed up the offer. Martin advises they may have the carb up to three months while developing the Kit.
I will forward the Carb within the next couple of days, and will keep you up to speed on the results.
Cheers Ken Stuart
yes!!
thanks, man!
now has any body got a 82 they could send in for a few months?
We just might get this thing to work!
Bikehandle ;D
I would be happy to pick up the next set I see on ebay and take it down to them. If we can keep the ROV wolves from the carbs for the next set I would be happy to pick them up. No sense in paying top dollar here.
I set up a trade in the Swap Shop also so maybe something will work out. We might want to ask George in Ottawa about a set. He has some parts. X-ray Vision may also have a set among his collectibles. Come on you Canadians loosen up!
We have a new guy here (JRR) also (I need to find his handle) that I was helping with his web cam who has a set that he might send to me. Keep shaking the bushes and maybe a set will fall out.
There is a junker here that has a set, I might see how charitable he is feeling these days ;D.
Gee fellas, do you really think we ought to bother with this after Bernie already found out we need to be running 535 Virago carbs? I guess I'm just joking again, please forgive me. I think we ought to get up a collection so we can hire a dream team of shark lawyers to attack Yamaha for stealing Bernie's engineering ideas, whoops! There I go again! Help! I can't stop joking! I better put some nuts and bolts in my shoes, I'm having too much fun.
Hey!bikesinyourass or is it your head up your ass,they didn't steal any thing I offered info,Iwas just hoping they would produce a new V with what they saw in which I built(they took a lot of pictures of the bike & I removed the fuel tank to show the complete fuel sys.set-up)they loved it!As for float valves&seats sudco or carb.parts whs. in ohio.It was funny to see where they applied the carb.set-up you dumb-ass!FTW
Bernard Bikesundermyass, actually, for 42 years now. You don't know who I am, what I know, what I've done,where I've been, what I've built, what I've raced, what I've won. Cool the insults and this might go somewhere. I don't doubt your experience. You start out by telling people to wake up, calling them ladies and twits, where's that coming from? Cocky people are some of my favorite people, as long as they have the competence and experience to back it up. I even like arrogant people that know their stuff, I've learned better from them than almost anybody, and you REALLY find out what somebody is made of when you stand up to or compete against them, but insulting vast numbers of people you've never met is probably not the best way to approach this gig. Tips like the GS pistons help a lot, and I AM gonna get a set of 535 Virago carbs in my hands because they're downdraft CVs, and might be made to work. You have mechanical moxie, I'll listen, try it, and thank you for it, maybe trade you for some of my own, but who needs to be insulted for riding an imperfect bike that they like? Some of my favorite bikes are obsolete oil dripping wobbly junk campared to the latest and greatest. No old biker wouldn't understand THAT. C'mon man!
Bernard does this to all the newbies here, well, ok, everyone here. I just ignore him, Personally, I wouldn't care if he had Gods address, if you can't be civil, it's not worth my time.
--Lucky
Okay, ricks 83 has agreed to donate a set of carbs for the 82 Vision kit development. ?It will probably take a few weeks for me to get the carb and I will probably take a drive down and see what they do at Sirius. ?I did notice that they are developing a whole line of motorcycle kits even the Honda Dream is there.
They make all their kits available through ebay, so everyone will have easy access to these. ?This will help Lucky's turn around time for carbs if he does not have to make a gasket or go looking for the right jet sizes. ?We might be able to get them to add a jet or two for tweaking.
Thanks to all, ?;)
Louie
Has there been any dicussion with them about accelerator pump and fuel pump/regulator diaphrams? these are important parts that ae no longer available and very hard to match up. 82 & 83 are not the same either. also, a replacement for the plastic drain tubes would be nice, they break off easily & often.
Gasketts are no big deal, but if I don't have to make them thats fine.
Do they only sell on Ebay? if I use their kits, it'll be a bit hard for me to set a rebuild price, ($60+ shipping now) if i'm never sure how much the kit will end up costing... i'd rather buy direct, or have the person i'm rebuilding them for, include the kit when they ship me the carbs.
Just so you know, There isn't much that I replace, other than hoses & gasketts when I rebuild them (mostly due to a lack of a kit) usually all the hard parts are fully cleanable, unless something like a jet is so frozen, that removing it destroys it in the process.
If a kit is available to me when I rebuild I will prefer to use it, but that will be at the customers descretion. what I charge to include the kit will only be the price of the kit. Period.
If you can get me a deal on the price, then I can pass that directly on to you guys. That way, even if you want to rebuild your own carbs, which is fine with me, you won't have to pay full price for the kit. (let the dealers do that) just send me a check, and i'll order extra's for you. sound good?
i'm self employyed in a totaly unrelated feild, so I doubt they will accept a tax number from me, so the point might well be moot, but it's worth a try.
what think yee?
--Lucky
I dont know where this kit thing is going but I do know keyster is easy to get to on the net, the phone # is 515-585-3929 the E-mail for sirius who imports kester kits is siriusconinc@sprint.ca and all kits can be bought on there web site or over the phone (a lot like dell computers!)HA. You dont have to watch Ebay. they sell kester,k and L and napco.
Also air cutoff valves, O rings and other carb parts. Its been my experince(for what thats worth) that new beats old and abused any day so long as all parts replaced are equal in quality to oem. As far as fuel pumps and other parts are involved, first I'm trying to get some kind of response through Sirius from keyster to atempt manufacture of any thing for these.
Saveing a buck or two is allways of great importance in these matters but there will be a day not long down the road where all the money in hell wont be able to buy a part for these bikes
and we need all of the resources that can be found. Not only carbs but all the rest as well.
(disclaimer follows!)
I could be wrong about the proceeding views as they are mine alone. Judge for yourselves.
Here is a sample kit manufactured by this company. If you choose view sellers other items you can see a lot more kits.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2402941431&category=6755
They do not seem to include anything that is difficult to get like the acclerator pump diaphragm, floats, etc. They include mainly float bowl gasket, needle & seat, air screws, O-rings and jets.
As Lucky has said, these parts are available or doable (gaskets) but not necessarily conveniently located (I.e all in one place).
I am not the one handling this project, "bikehandle" is the initiator, but I do support his idea and hope to get my hands on an 82 carb and deliver it to their plant nearby. It seems that there is nothing to lose by giving them the means to assemble this kit, and the effort is minimal so I wish them good success in this endeavor.
I would suggest sharing any sources of carb parts and requesting items that you would like to see in the kit and just maybe they might pleasantly surprise us.
Thanks for the interest shown by everybody for this project,
As a famous Canadian celebrity has often said, "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy (The Red Green Show)."
I love Red Green! Some of my favorite moments: How to change a headlight, with an ax, making a satellite dish out of an umbrella and empty potato chip bags, and making a bicycle out of a car. Classic stuff.
Rob
Thats one thing I really miss, about Minnesota. We could get Red Green there, here no one knows what your talking about. :-/
Just received e-mail from martin at sirius-
keyster is looking forward to receiving the carbs, as soon as martin gets them he is sending them to japan to start the kit makeing process, Its starting to look real good!
;D
Hi All, Update on 83 Carbs:
One complete set of 83 carbs sent off to Sirius Consolidated Inc. for Kit research. I hope within two or three months an overhaul kit will be available.
On another front I'm reworking our other 83 and so far it has been painted bright yellow,red frame, tank has been lined with Por15, has a fork brace, stainless steel brake lines, and a works shock.
We are fitting Dorothy's red"n"white 83 with a set of white Krauser bags it will be a solo machine as the bags are mounted just fwd of the stock rear signals.
That's it from the "freezi'n North".
Cheers Ken S.
Kenny, krauser makes a three cases rack for XZ, if you are an European you won't be able to use their 83 carb KIT.
Guys, what about 82?? Is SIrus going to make us 82 Kit??? If not, where I can buy it??? Has someone started to make it???
yes, the 82 is in the works also, Louie is rounding up the 82s for sirius, to be sent to japan to keyster. I'm also looking for a fuel pump for each year to send. while we are at it we might as well ask for the moon!
Lets hope for the best
expect the worst
and take what ever happens!
Bikehandle
;)
would be grade
Hi Guys,
Just a quick note these 83 Carbs are "Totally Complete" and include all parts accel pump,fuel pump, vent filter, fuel hoses. You could bolt these on your bike hook up the fuel petcock,choke cable, throttle cable, vaccum lines and go riding.
One Question for Humber: Why does he suspect an 83 kit wouldn't fit in a European model ?
Cheers Ken S.
Stupid question:
are they giong to combine the 82 and 83 kits or will they be seperate?
Because there were no modifications on carbs in EU models. Every year has your 82 carb. That's why I would like them to make full kit for 82
I guess we complained louder than you did...
I don't know, I Have had Vision for 3 years. Everything is rather OK, but at the end of the last season I noticed that my needle valves don't seal properly.... Maybe some of us here suffer......
Very pertinent question Lucky. ?Would you be able to outline what parts are common and what parts are not.
I would be guessing that they will have to do separate kits (based on information you have shared previously). ?Or if they combine it will be more expensive than it needs to be.
I think it is a good deal to get a shot at maybe smoking out an accelerator pump diaphragm if they can find one. ?Of course there are no guarantees.
Someone might want to expound upon the European carb situation as has been pointed out here. ?Is there a difference or not? Ok, I just noticed your note Humber about how you only have the 82 version.
We Canadians share both the 82 & 83 US version for better or worst.
Lucky
in the carbs
are any parts shared with both years or entirely diffrent?
and does anybody know where the bulk of the visions are? US? europe? and was there a japanese version? or even sold there? or was the vision there way of getting even with us?
Bikehandle
There are no "soft" parts interchangable between 82 and 83 except possably the accelerator and fuel pump diaphrams. might be a couple of misc. seals or orings. Actually, the only other soft parts that might be included in a kit are gasketts. unfortunatly I don't have an 83 to compair them with. even the zccelerator pump parts might be different, as the 83 incorperates the regulator with the acc pump to prevent it from pumping when the engine is off. (so i've read)
Hard parts such as jets, pilot pins, emultion tubes etc are completely different & not interchangable.
My thought was that if the kit included both years, it might be more $$, but I like having the extra spare parts around. (from a rebuilders point of view)
North America got the Vision in 82 & 83 only. Europe, Africa, Austraila & Asia got them thru 1986. possably South America too, I'm not sure...
--Lucky
lucky
Do you know of any up grades, carbs or otherwise in the three years we didnt get them or were they static with our 83s?
Bikehandle
Needles and seats interchange with my 83 and two sets of my 82s, with the previously mentioned upgraded 83 1100 Maxim Yamaha.
your right, the needles & seats do interchange, my brain is half frozen and soon to be buried under 9-12" of snow...sheesh! enough of the white shit already!!!
I've never seen anything newer than 83, so i couldn't tell you if 84-86 is any different.
--Lucky
Here is the picture of the needle I found on the web which is supposed to fit XJ1100, I don't know bike why you call it interchangeable - actually my needle is completely different.
https://www.partsnmoreonline.com/PNMSite/XV%20Virago%2048-5014%20Needle%20&%20Seat.htm
Seat is similiar but I am not able to take any measures... so???
Guys you are complete nuts. Lucky I told u that our carbs didn't change. I have '84 carb in my home since I bought spare parts bike. The carb match your 82.
In Germany all years were 11U - no changes, no additions, they were equipped with double disc brake from the beggining.
Maybe there is a difference but on 11V which was sent to GB - any guy from there???
I never said your carbs changed, just that you guys got xz550's 3 years longer than we did. and yes, with all this snow, i'm getting completely nuts...
Humber UPGRADED needles shouldn't look like the old ones. Replace them with their matching seats,together,new,and you're done.
Bike how??? there is some stupid wire attached to the end of the valve... looks weird...
https://www.partsnmoreonline.com/PNMSite/XJ1100%20Carb%20Parts.htm
Just a guess Humber, the wire goes around the tab on the float to use the weight of the float to pull the needle down (not just relying on gravity) and to keep it from getting stuck in the seat.
Rob
Humber, the wire fits over the metal arm of the float by the adjustment tab when the fuel level drops. it's job is to pull the needle away from the seat. this prevents it from sticking closed. Admitadly, this isn't a big problem, and you could pull it off with no ill effects.
--Lucky
Humber Think of it as a Desmodromic needle, not subject to Gumbo crap, and as a vibration dampener, it will only willy around a little bit if it's contained... plus, it does moderate LATERAL movement somewhat. MAN , These things vibrate, it's an internal combustion engine! Plus, the neoprene tip seals better, and even absorbs MORE vibration, making your fuel feed calibration more accurate. NO ONE makes the old type of needles anymore, unless they're too cheap to do the right thing. The upgraded needles and seats are the best float bowl calibration in motorcycle evolution. Now the world moves onto injection, complete with electronic TPS, heat sensors, ping detectors, and hot rod brainboxes that speak to the injectors. In Visions, upgrade the needles and seats, and you're there. OK Bub
Ricks 83 has confirmed sending off a set of 82 carbs to me today. I hope to pick them up States-side and deliver them to the lads in Kitchener within a two week time frame, so they won't be too far behind the 83's.
My only thoughts are what jet sizes to include in the 82 Vision set (not the same as the 83). There has been a range of discussion on this topic in the past. It seems that it is hard to find a Vision that has not had its jets tampered with.
The Yamaha manual suggests 122.5 front and 127.5 rear main jets and 130 for both pilot air jets (on the top of the carbs). However, all Cdn. models that I have seen have 120 on the air pilot jets. They may have updated the Cdn. Visions later I am not certain. I ran out of time last fall/early winter to check out the 130 air jets, but I definitely have some stumble with the 135's.
Bikehandle recently went through some jetting changes and he suggests that the these stock settings with the 130's work real fine, so if everyone is happy with these I will include those sizes with the sample carb.
Louie 8)
Louie,
I'm running the stock sizes with no hesitation or stumble at all. (130's, 122.5, 127.5)
Rob
Louie
I'm actually running 130F-135R. full power no stumble. I'm guessing by what I read on here there is no two carbs jetted the same?
Bikehandle
fuck.... I have just searched bikebandit for accelrator pump diaphragm.. they have it but the price is damn high $25
"Update on 83 Carbs"
Today I talked with Martin from Sirius Consolidated and He confirmed the 83 Carbs had been sent off to Japan this past week.
Nice to see somethings happening other than Bagfull's of Snow and Cold temps.
Cheers Ken
Guys, what about 82!!! I insist on sending them twoo.. A lot of people won't manage without them...
Hi Humber,
You need to check with bikehandle (see Post #28) as louie is rounding up 82's to send off to Sirius. Or see Post 19 as Rick's 83 has a set of 82's he forwarded to Sirius.
Any chance of an update on 82's being sent to Martin at Sirius.
Thanks Ken S.
guys
I fired off a e-mail to louie, he should have some feed back soon.
Bikehandle ;D
Hi Guys,
Been out-of-town for a week, so late in responding to the anxious ROV family.
Good news, got the 82 carbs from Ricks 83 tonight as I walked in the door. Now I need to supply jets for the set so I will need to pop out on Monday or Tuesday and pick some up. Everything else is complete enough for the kit measurements so we are in business.
I will take the set down next week or ship them depending on my schedule and they will be happily off to Japan for a 2-3 month vacation.
Thanks to Ricks 83 and Kenny for responding to our appeal.
Louie 8)
Well guess what? ?The ?82 carb kits from keyster just arrived from Japan!
That was certainly a drawn out project but we have brought it to completion and it looks pretty good. ?I will email anyone the pics of the kits if you want a look. ?I will try to put them on the site if I can get a link established.
We also have a gasket kit for the fuel pump available (separate kit) so that's not a bad deal either. ?I am not sure of the prices yet, but there is one kit for each carb. ?I think your going to get a fuel pump diaphragm in each one as it is included.
Anyone who needs a kit may want to grab one just in case they get bought up as he probably only ordered about 250kits to keep costs down.
I hope you all will enjoy the convenience to being able to get the parts in one place. ?The diaphrapm for the acclerator pump is one thing that we have not been able to locate and that is included.
Cheers! ? ?:)
Louie
Ok, so the big question: how much for the kits?, & can I get a quantity discount? (how many units?)
--Lucky
Darn , louie you scooped me I was just going to break the news . Lucky there is a good picture of what is included on ebay
Guess what Louie, that kit is for an 83, no question about it, but it's mis-labeled, RJ (82)
I sent Sirrus a "bidders question" to advise him of the mistake...
BTW, here's the URL everyone: http://cgi.aol.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2430695438&category=6755
Also, I might be cheap, but at $35 starting bid, $37 'buy it now' for ONE carb (2 required to do a set) it's going to cost you $70 plus shipping JUST FOR THE PARTS.. You guys know i'll do the whole thing for $60, & there's very little I generally need to replace, although if it was $35 for BOTH carbs, I think that would be well worth it.
--Lucky
Also, I think I see a new pilot needle, but I dont see a replacement plug for the one that needs to be drilled out to remove the needle. and I can't tell if there are throttle shaft seals included, but there should be, along with 2 butterfly screws, 'cause their staked in & sometimes brake off
Also, the #125 jet should be #140... ?& what happened to the $15-$17 price? Sheesh!
(yeah, I know, all I do is b*tch, moan & complain huh?)
I noticed in this mornings Ebay email, Keyster dropped the carb kit prices to $27.50 for the carb Kit, & $17.50 for the fuel pump kit. Better, but lets see if the go any lower...
--Lucky
I've been looking for vision carb kits....dsid you find them on ebay? where would I look to find them.....thanks for the help
They only have them for the '83, so far and they have the wrong jets! The url is 5 posts back on this thread. Best to read the whole mess!
The kit is for the 83, & not 100% correct, but useful, here is the ebay url: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=35597&item=2434094033
the 82 kit is not available yet (as far as I know)
there are few interchangable parts between the 2 kits, and each kit only does one carb, not a complete set.