Replacing My Clutch Cable

[kiawrench]

i hate to sound like i am a real pain to be friendly with, bu tyou need to clean that thing up some so you can see where you really are. a dirty oily bike will do things that can make yo urun in circles and chase your own tail. take an hour, some dawn dishwashing detergent and a bucket, along with a good scrub brush (round one is fine ) and clean it up, you may find things arent so bad after all.

once that is done, you can move on to running, shifting, charging problems with a much greater sense of being able to find the problems.

(the longer a vision sits, the harder it is to use the clutch) - fill it with correct amount of oil, get it to run, allow oil to clean up clutch basket, change oil , should be fine.

[YellowJacket!]

Up to the line is full for the case but probably not the whole system.  If it hasn't run in a while, you proably have a quarts worth of channels that need to have oil in them.

Kia's point is good.  I thought at first that I'd just try to get the bike running and not care about the aesthetics of it, but the further I got, the messier things got...because the parts had 12 years of crud on them.  I stopped what I was doing and started cleaning things up.  Whatever I took off, got cleaned.  It's more work but it paid off in the long run plus it makes you feel better.  ;D

One tip, I wrote notes about everything I did and kept a journal of it as well as a lot of pictures.  I also made a list of things (with lots of spaces inbetween the lines) of what I had to do and needed to do and tried to follow that list as best I could.  Of course my original intention was just to get the bike running but I eventually ended up with lots of organized parts boxes in my garage and a few more months time spent that I wanted to.  ;D  ;D  It also sounds cool to say, "Dad, this is what we are going to do next....".  ;D

David

[ithinkitsbroke]

I guess the big thing, which my dad also understood, is that I was just hoping to get it to fire a few times to get a sense of hope (because there's barely any there with a bike that looks like this) before I put 50+ hours into the bike to get it ready for the street.  I understand that things will be easier to find, etc. with a clean motor.  I just want reassurance that it's all going to be worth it in the end.

I'm going to go look for my scrub brush now so I can make some people happy.  :D

[Lucky]

if you just need to hear it breath fire for a few seconds, jump it to a car (not running) spray a shot or two of carb cleaner down the throats, keep your head from over the carbs & hit the start button. see what happens...

[ithinkitsbroke]

if you just need to hear it breath fire for a few seconds, jump it to a car (not running) spray a shot or two of carb cleaner down the throats, keep your head from over the carbs & hit the start button. see what happens...

That's what I've been trying to do the last few days, but I don't have jumper cables.  :D  I'm stopping by my dad's in an hour or two to grab a battery from him...  That should get me to where I need to be.

Oh, I also just came in from emptying a can of brake parts cleaner on the entire engine... Cleaned off the heavy buildup pretty damn good - Time to get another can. ;D  I'll scrub her up tomorrow when I get a little more time.

[QBS]

Oil capacity for The V engine with a filter change is 2.9 quarts.  I personally don't get real concerned about over filling it .1 quarts when I do a filter/oil change on my '83.  I just dump in 3 quarts and declare victory.

The first thing I do when begining to work on any of my car or MC projects is give them a very good bath with Gunk engine degreaser followed by soap and water.  This is a no brainer when begining work on an old unknown MC.  Working on clean things is much cleaner than working on filthy greasy things.  It also gives one a sense of cheap and easy early project progress gratification .

[h2olawyer]

Overfilling the V's oil isn't a big deal.  I have noticed that it may leak out the clutch adjustment inspection access if way over full.  Was happening on the Pumpkin when I got it.  It also leaked a little at the stator / pickup coil wiring grommets.  When I changed the oil & filter and made sure it was just to the top of the sight glass (top fill line), all the leaks went away.  Have no idea how much over full it was, but it had over 3 quarts in it.

H₂O

[YellowJacket!]

Well, I decided to practice what I preached a few posts above.  After I posted it today (while at work hijacking a corporate wifi signal  ;D  )  I thought to myself... self, its been a while sinve YellowJacket! has had a good bath.  Now don't get me wrong.  Im a whimpy rider and don't even think about riding if theres even a chance of rain, so she stays pretty clean.  But, dust and grim can accumulate, and did.  So,I rolled her out into the driveway and lathered her up and scrubbed away with rags and brushes and, Man! does she look good!  All the black plastic with the exception of the tires and seat got the satin plastic/rubber protectant.  I got out the detail brushes and got into all the little nooks and crannies.  And after about an hour and a half in the fading 78 degree East Tennessee sunshine, I stepped back and said Wow, she looks good.
The weather is supposed to be perfect tomorrow and I have to work, so it'll be another ride to work day and I'm looking forward to it.  Maybe Vicki will do something crazy for her 40th birthday and finally go for a ride with me.  :o

Hang in there ITIB, you are on the road to progress and it'll be very soon when you can steb back too and say Wow!  Even better than that is the first tim eshe fires up and growls at you and I think you are getting pretty close.

David

[h2olawyer]

I used to avoid riding in the rain, too.  However, after last Summer, when it either rained or snowed on me on every ride over 100 miles I did, I am now less inclined to avoid it.  It does make a mess of the bike, but it also helps make you a better rider & if you should get caught out in the rain, the fear factor is greatly diminished.  Thanks to the riding I did llast Summer, I now know I can ride on slushy roads at a pretty good clip - even on fast sweepers.  Figured out I could maintain speed limit or a little over (65) on the sweeping curves and the V didn't feel the least bit unstable.  Those Super Venoms are great wet weather tires!  Too bad they've been phased out.   :'(

H₂O

[YellowJacket!]

I used to avoid riding in the rain, too.  However, after last Summer, when it either rained or snowed on me on every ride over 100 miles I did, I am now less inclined to avoid it.  It does make a mess of the bike, but it also helps make you a better rider & if you should get caught out in the rain, the fear factor is greatly diminished.  Thanks to the riding I did llast Summer, I now know I can ride on slushy roads at a pretty good clip - even on fast sweepers.  Figured out I could maintain speed limit or a little over (65) on the sweeping curves and the V didn't feel the least bit unstable.  Those Super Venoms are great wet weather tires!  Too bad they've been phased out.   :'(

H₂O

You're right and I really do need to get out and ride in the rain.  I have saved up enough to get a decent rain suit and now that I have the saddle bags, I have someplace to keep it.
I'm glad you have the same tires I have...makes me feel better about the handling.  I did get a MC catalog last week that had tires in it.  Inthe Avons, it had a set marked "NEW" that looked very muck like the tread pattern on the SV's.  I was going to post about it and got distracted and forgot.  I'll look for the catalog and post something and see what everyone thinks.

David

[h2olawyer]

The new Avons are the Road Riders.  All "V" rated.  Avon claims they're still a grippy tire, but the construction has been updated.  Tread looks like it mimics more modern radials.  They are a whole lot less expensive than the Super Venoms, though.  I'm planning on getting a set for the (current name) Pumpkin later this year.  Have to wait for the funds to come back up after restoring that bike, putting the 83 fuel system on my Silver V and paying for the 25 year party.

If I don't get those, the Pirelli Sport Demons still look like a possibility as do the Metzeler Lasertecs (if I can get a straight answer on the rear tire sizes & availability).

The Super Venoms were amazing in 1/2 inch of slush.  I started slowly & gradually increased speed until I was going as fast as I cared to go.  Never felt a hint of a slide even at 65 in a 55 MPH rated corner.  In the last two riding seasons, I've managed to get some good mileage in rain, sleet, hail, snow & slush.  However, a vast majority of miles have been on nice, sunny, dry pavement.  The trip down to Blackhawk a couple days ago, I had rain & wet roads.  The thing that scares me most is the sand / pea gravel they spread during & after snowstorms.  It takes a few weeks for that stuff to get clear of the pavement.  There is still quite a bit of it in the foothill roads around here.  It snowed up there last weekend & will likely see another snowstorm or two before June.  At elevations over 10,000 ft. it can snow in any month of the year.  The slush I rode in last year was in late August @ about 10,000 ~ 12,000 ft.  The joys of riding in the Rockies!

H₂O

[inanecathode]

Probably a good (better?) idea to run jumper cables from a non running car to your bike. The spare battery (although nice) will get burnt out pretty quickly, plus you wont be able to handily recharge it.
Once you get it cranking, take off the air box and filter, pour some (tiny amount, maybe an eye dropper full) of gas down the throat of either carb, dive behind your anti-vision-backfire bunker and hit the starter. If you've got any spark at all (and compression) she'll fire right up for about 5-10 seconds.

[ithinkitsbroke]

Probably a good (better?) idea to run jumper cables from a non running car to your bike. The spare battery (although nice) will get burnt out pretty quickly, plus you wont be able to handily recharge it.
Once you get it cranking, take off the air box and filter, pour some (tiny amount, maybe an eye dropper full) of gas down the throat of either carb, dive behind your anti-vision-backfire bunker and hit the starter. If you've got any spark at all (and compression) she'll fire right up for about 5-10 seconds.

Well, I was thinking that, too.  But I do have a nice car charger handy which is what I've been using to check the electrical things on the bike, but trying to start the bike over and over again with it is going to burn out a $100 battery charger and I don't really want to do that.

[Night Vision]

if you just need to hear it breath fire for a few seconds, jump it to a car (not running) spray a shot or two of carb cleaner down the throats, keep your head from over the carbs & hit the start button. see what happens...

I know what happens.... hope this isn't one of Tiger's quiz questions I'm giving away.....

.... it blows the bottom of your rusty pipes right onto the garage floor  :P

or was that starter fluid?

[ithinkitsbroke]

if you just need to hear it breath fire for a few seconds, jump it to a car (not running) spray a shot or two of carb cleaner down the throats, keep your head from over the carbs & hit the start button. see what happens...

I know what happens.... hope this isn't one of Tiger's quiz questions I'm giving away.....

.... it blows the bottom of your rusty pipes right onto the garage floor  :P

or was that starter fluid?

Hahaha!  That's probably what's going to happen to mine since my pipes are quite rusted.  We'll find out...  I'm going to go try this now...  :D  I'll take my cameralady/wife with me so she can get it recorded. lol

[ithinkitsbroke]

Bah, it was a no go.  I have electrical issues that I need to work out.  When the battery's connected something just doesn't seem right.  I get occasional clicks from the TCI module or whatever it's called on the right side of the bike...  I think there's a bad connection somewhere so when I get some money, I'm going to go get some wire and order up one of those aftermarket fuse blocks and trace wires and make sure everything has a good connection.  I believe that was already suggested somewhere about that being one of the first things I should do, so I think it's that time. :)

[inanecathode]

Bah, it was a no go.  I have electrical issues that I need to work out.  When the battery's connected something just doesn't seem right.  I get occasional clicks from the TCI module or whatever it's called on the right side of the bike...  I think there's a bad connection somewhere so when I get some money, I'm going to go get some wire and order up one of those aftermarket fuse blocks and trace wires and make sure everything has a good connection.  I believe that was already suggested somewhere about that being one of the first things I should do, so I think it's that time. :)

Can you make a video of what happens when you try to start it? Do you have a DVOM?

[Night Vision]

the clicks you hear are coming from behind the TCI box. There are relays behind there for your starter and sidestand.

Have you taken the cables of the starter solenoid and cleaned them? the starter solenoid is a small can in a rubber cup on the side of the battery box . red and black cables. the red goes to battery, black cable is the long one that goes to starter. clean them all. clean the black cable that goes from the battery to frame too.

when you have the right side cover off and the TCI box swung away, you can see the relays... you should be able to hear them click when you pull in the clutch, swing the sidestand up and down, and also when you turn the ignition on or rock the kill switch...


if one doesn't click, pull the relay and clean the connection. one at a time, don't mix them up...

suspect all or any of your connections could be corroded and need to be cleaned...there's another heap of connectors in the headlight bucket too...

all it takes is time, and a can of WD-40....

get that fuse box up to snuff too!

[Lucky]

these relays & the area they are in are not waterproof.  often thy can be LOADED with crud.  Bend back the tabs on the covers & clean them out with CRC electronic cleaner.

--Lucky

[YellowJacket!]

The Haynes manual has an excellent section about testing the relays.

so does Lucky's CD

David