Todays Upgrades

[YellowJacket!]

Started and finished two small projects today that took less than 2 hours to complete but made a WORLD of difference in YJ.

First, I traded a set of tank badges with Tiger for a custom set of plug wires to replace my 27 year old set.  The ones I took off were pretty much dry rotted and cracked in several places.  Tigers set looked fantastic.  He really did a top notch job in building them!!  It took me about 30 minutes to install them which included removing my tank and doing a little prep/cleanup.  His wires were sized perfectly for front/rear cylinder and are pretty much turnkey install.
After getting them all set up I decided to try a little experiment.  YJ has sat for the last week or so due to bad weather.  I put the petcock on prime and rather than going through my choke/3 throttle snaps, I just truned the key, gave a slight throttle twist and hit the start button and it fired up like a new bike.  Idle was absolutely smooth and throttle response seemed much better.  Couldn't ride it yet as it was pouring outside.  So, I savored the exhause fumes and CO for a bit more and smiled.

So, If you are running your original plug wires, give Tiger a shout and order up a set of his custom wires.  They're well worth the investment.

Project number 2 turned out to be much easier than I immagined.  I had been putting off replacing my 82 shock with an 83 for a couple years thinking it would be an all day - or more - project.  It ended up taking less than 30 minutes!  With the tank already removed, I put a 2 x 4 under the rear tire to shim it up and removed the upper bolt.  Next, I poppped the rubber plug out just next to the TCI so I could get at the cotter pin and removed it.  Swung around to the other side of the bike and moved the battery a bit to get at the retaining pin.  Expecting to be a big job, I had my mallet and steel rod ready to knock the fire out of the pin...but I didn't have to.  I was lining up my steel rod and the pin just slid right through.  YAY! the gremlins hadn't eaten the pin yet.  I'm glad I took the time to properly clean and lube it when I did my restoration several years ago.
Next, I lifted the old shock out  and slid the new one in.  Lined up the holes and slid the bolt and retaining pins back in place.  Replaced the cotter pin and tightened up the upper bolts and I was done.  Finally, I replaced all the little rubber covers, my side plastics and the tank, wiped everything down and did a little Vision dance.
By now the rain had stopped, so I geared up, rolled YJ out into the sun and fired her up again and went for a short ride.
There definitely seems to be an improvement in how she runs with the new plug wires from Tiger.  I really couldn't get into her hard though since everything was still pretty wet, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to really test out the monoshock but, my butt tells me that going over the few bumps that I regularly hit on my street, things are better.

Tomorrows project: Finish wiring my lights.

David

[arthurdent510]

It's amazing how much of a difference wires can make....  I have a 2004 Miata that I run in scca autocross, and one of the first things I did was to replace the spark plug wires...  It's surprising how much it helps - in the miata throttle response improved a bit, I've even seen dyno reports that show 1-2 hp gains on Miata's.  I can't even imagine how much the copper in 27 year old wires has degraded...  resistance is evil!

[h2olawyer]

resistance is evil!

No, resistance is futile . . .  ;)

Haven't seen the Tiger plug wires, but I will say his battery cables are incredible.  Fat & pliable (sort of like me  ::) ).  Shouldn't be much resistance in those!

When I did my rear shock, the pin was a bit stuck, but not bad.  A couple raps with a woodcarving mallet & a wood dowel got it moving without much persuasion.  I did coat the pin with a thin layer of anti-sieze when I reinstalled it.  Noticed the improvement with the first ride.  More modern would be better, but for just one year's difference, the improvement in ride quality is stunning.  You're gonna wonder why you didn't do this sooner since you had the shock lying around.

H₂O

[kwells]

I have a triumph TT600 shock I need to work on installing.  Ah the spage age dampening of a 2001 monoshock...

[Tiger]

 :) Thanks YJ & H2O... 8)

I have, by request, opened another thread regarding the plug wires/caps in technical...

                 8).......TIGER....... 8)

[The Prophet of Doom]

I have a triumph TT600 shock I need to work on installing.  Ah the spage age dampening of a 2001 monoshock...

Hey Kwells,
Glyn has the same shock and is very happy with it
I have a TT900 ready for fitting - length is only 5mm than XZ stock, and 10mm wider  Here it is next to the XZ550 shock
I got a lower bushing to fit from a suspension place no problems, but found that the thicker top end clips the frame, and won't fit.
I must get an adapter made, similar to the one Glyn made for the TT600

[Glyn]

Drop me a mail if anyone wants my 2c on how I made my adaptor mounts. It was quite easy and I think worth the effort. I have a few scanned instructions and diagrams..

[vadasz1]

send  them to me at 82vision@live.ca

Thanks

[YellowJacket!]

Got a decent ride in today to really get a feel fo rht esuspension upgrade as well as the plug wires and I must say that I am quite impressed.  The bike definitely handles much better with the 83 shock and severl aof the highway expansion joints that I regualrly have to ride over - that usually give me a  jolt - were significantly better.  I used to feel several bounces afterwards but it was just a single bounce.  Dips feel much better and cornering through a large cloverleaf was much smoother.

As for the plug wires, wow!  The motor runs much better now and the bike seems much more responsive.

I was smelling some gas today though but nothing is dripping so I wonder if its either my gas cap vent or I'm running rich.  Smelled more like fresh gas than unburned gas though.

David

[YellowJacket!]

Dare I say I think I'm done?!  I removed the old shark fairing bracket and replaced it with an NOS one that I got last year after YJ fell over.  I thought the other one was toast but it turned out it wasn't, but I liked the looks of the new one anyway.  So, My shark fairing is complete with its new mounting hardware and foam dust seal - which is a bitch to get on and line up.  I have yet to replace the rubber seal around the glass but I think I'm going to wait on that until I really need to as the one thats glued on at the moment is doing its job.  (another project for another day).
I Also finished tidying up the wiring for the lights I just added with a smaller size splitloom.  Cleaned up some things in my headlight bucket while I was in there too.

I found some heavy duty fuel line too that can bend back on itself and not crimp off.  I replaced my current fuel line with it as it has been getting crimped when it gets too warm.

After all that, I did a little cleaning up and now its off to get some gas and go for a ride. :D

Oh, if anyone is interested, the fairing brackets came with the original yamaha instructions; theyre not scans but original 3 ring binder printouts.  I may scan and post them as the ones I've seen in the past are a bit difficult to read.

David