New (to me) 91 in need of serious help

dont know if you saw this, but would offer $20 shipped
96 VFR 750 VFR750 Starter Switch FK : eBay Motors (item 130211287890 end time May-21-10 19:57:21 PDT)

others
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kill...2863309QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/91-H...0720404QQptZMotorcyclesQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

 

Gremlins captured on camera:

and

 

Damn gremlins!

 

Based on your picture I'd say replace it. If it looks like that on the outside what do you think it looks like inside? You could run some voltage drop tests to make sure the ignition and R/R (supplied positve power through the relay) are getting full power but I'd say for seventy bucks it's not worth the risk...this part is just too important.

I suspect that most of the heat issues in the wiring (VFR's not the only ones that melt wires occasionally) are caused by running with a weak or discharged battery. The charging system has ALOT more current running through the wiring to try to charge the battery and you can observe this with an ammeter hooked to the battery. A good fully charged battery will only draw 2-5 amps after warmup and while going down the highway. A weak battery may draw as much as 20 amps in attempt to maintain or achieve the proper voltage.

 

I had the same thing happen on my 91. My stator was bad. Replaced the stator and cut and used some blade connectors to the green block and walla. I have a charging maniac now, same RR tho after 74,000 and counting. Have a new one waiting in the wings tho if needed.

 

Appears you have quite a project there.
Will be well worth it once rideable though.
Plenty of great help here too.
Enjoy

 

My carburetor gasket set and the relay (pictured above) should be arriving this afternoon; I have heard pine-sol would be a safe way to clean really gummed up parts without damaging the rubber hoses and irreplaceable plastic bits. Is this true? If so, would I have any problems if I fill a bin and soak the whole carb unit (the assembly pictured above in front of the hammer)? All my linkages are frozen up as well and if this will work it would save me a ton of hassle...

 

never heard of pine sole. Remember it as a kid thou when the dog pissed in the house, mom used to use it to disinfect the offending pissed area. Take ur bowls off and unscrew the main jets and any other ones you can take out. Use carb cleaner on them with some wire. I like saftey wire or sometimes I use wire that I got from disecting an electrical wire. That may be gud for your pilot jets. Take out the fuel mixture screws and clean them too. There is a spring with an O-ring and metal washer. Make sure they go back the same way. I like using an old green scotch brite pad so shine up them jets, could use some bagged out 1000 grit sand paper too to shine em up. Use compressed air to blow out the carbbies and assemble the way u took em apart. You may want to get new float needles. I am doing that to just have them around. As far as the varnish in the bowl, if you have access to a sand blaster that works. You could use carb cleaner and a scotch brite pad and some patience and just work it out. Gud Luk

 

If you find the carbs are too far gone in terms of internal corrosion, it just so happens that I have a set sitting in a box in my basement $40 plus shipping and the whole mess is yours! They are in nice shape btw.

 

jethro, can I get some pictures on those? I'm becoming increasingly annoyed with the refusal of mine to loosen up and move.

 

You have a PM sir!

Just for the benefit of all others, here they are. You know I can't believe that I haven't tossed these years ago, I've moved four times and dragged these along each time. I have the pair valves too if anyone wants a set. I removed them and blanked off the ports on my heads.

 

Thanks a ton Jethro - at this point I;m starting to think I have a rod bent somewhere in mine because that sucker just won't turn loose for anything! Knowing that yours are available makes me willing to try dunking the whole unit in Pine-Sol (they can't get less functional, after all). Let me know what you figure out on shipping to US zip code 45150. There's no real hurry on this, it's more of a side project now that the ride I was hoping to be ready for has passed.

 

You are looking at about $28 for the slow service which is called "Expedited 7 to 8 business days", funny that doesn't seem too expeditious to me. The next step up is $45 for six business days and I'll spare you the name they call this one cause it just aint reality. Of course the super de duper high speed "Priority Post" with no actual guarantee of when you will get them is $191. Hows that for service!?

Nothing like Canada Post to make you feel good about being Canadian! Speaking of which, it is freaking cold outside, below freezing type cold which is just wrong even for here and I want to file a complaint but I just can't find someone who will listen!

I have had these in a box for years so I'm not in a huge rush either. If you need them, they will be sitting here.

If I were you I would remove the carbs from the intake tray and separate them so you could clean and inspect each carb. Then you could identify which one is causing the sticking if it is only one or perhaps all of them. I would be concerned about what you can't see in terms of corrosion since they sound pretty raunchy. Hidden corrosion plugs up ports that could cause lean condition and damage the engine or it just may never run right and be a PITA to ride.

Good luck and let me know if you want them.

Brad.

 

Thanks again; I'm really looking forward to getting this beast up and running!

 

Well, the carbs still havn't arrived. No points to Canada Post for speed. Can I get a picture of the wiring to the starter relay - I'm 99% I swapped pins on a pair of wires when I installed the VFRness (based on the starter engaging whenever the ignition is switched to "on").

EDIT: yeah, nevermind on that wiring bit. Turns out I'm a doofus and failed to notice the plug could be installed backwards. It works properly now - at least insofar as I'm able to ascertain without the ability to start the bike...

 

Yah Canada post can be astoundingly slow and costly. I just carried a couple of Ducati axles all the way to Dallas to ship them the rest of the way to Arizona so I didn't have to use Canada Post. Sorry but the carbs were too big to put in my carry on. Hopefully they will arive soon.

BTW I just discarded my 6th gen exhaust in Dallas cause they were too expensive to ship home. That hurt!

 

I would NOT leave the cam boxes open to the dust in the garage.
Its your engine. It is not a car. It is much more precision.

THE FIRST THING you need to do is get a SHOP MANUAL!!!

I hate to say this, but engineering students are notorius for messing engines up.

But if you get a shop manual it may save you.

THOSE CARBS ARE VERY CLEAN !!! NOT BAD AT ALL!!!

Work on one thing at a time.
First the carbs then other things.
Spray the carb throttle buhings with liqquid wrench or simular product.
DO NOT TAKE them all apart. IT IS NOT LIKE A CAR.
You do not need to replace all the gaskets. You do not need to replace the float bowl O rings.

Just remove the float bowls one at a time and make sure you can see daylight through the idle jet.
Reinstall the idle jet. Put the float bowl back on.
Don't do anything else. I'm serious. You can cause many more problems than you started with.

There is NO reason to take them all apart. READ this again.

 

Ya might want to take a look at the latest data on PineSol. Some of the formulary was modified in 2008. There are MSDS sheets for the various types. Some of those bitsas that look like rubber on bikes, aint.

IMO using it on your carbs sounds a little too much like something like a brocolli poltice for a reaction to dried figs. Maybe a good soak in WD-40 followed by a rinse might be a better solution for your stuck stuff.

Freeing up the rings with one of the penetrating lubricants is a good idea. This bike may have been fed some of the ethanol fractioned gasoline. Ethanol is hygroscopic. Sitting about may have created some oxidation on the rings.

Tons of info on fixing up those fairing parts. Yours do not look that bad from here. Avoid the "home remedy" fixups for that plastic. Most do not work well and some do not work at all. Down the road, a paintjob is looming and a Tiajuana fix when the paint alone is gonna be a couple of hundred bucks, aint a good idea.

...and read DB's post again too. The dude knows what he is doing.

 

Ummm...don't mean to be disagreeable, but I respectfully disagree with Don on a couple points. First off, those carbs are in good shape but I would hardly say they are ready to install without a good cleaning. I'd never install those with that layer of varnish inside the float bowl bottems. If there's varnish there...it's likely the jets are a bit varnished as well. Maybe I'm gettin' old and my eyes are going...but just seeing daylight through slow jet holes isn't adequate, they could be and often are partially clogged. I recommend a magnifying glass. Carb work is meticulous and I'm not satisfied with my work unless they're immaculately clean...and that's often the difference between a bike that runs excellent, and one that runs OK...or worse.

I almost always replace the float bowl O-rings. Especially on carbs that sit at an angle and the level of fuel is over the mating surface of the carb body and the bowl. Based on the pictures...it looks like they were already 'weeping' a bit of fuel when they were removed from the bike they were last installed on. Maybe you like removing and reinstalling V4 carbs...but I'd just as soon do it right the first time.

I do agree they don't look like a complete split down is necessary. But I'd definitely soak and verify slow and main jet/emulsion tube...starter jets...remove, clean and reset mixture screws...remove the carb tops and clean residue from slide needle and check the diaphragms for any tearing...and at least look at one of the air cut valves that's accessible for signs of deterioration, usually you can surmise what the other three might look like from that.

And...I'm not knocking those carbs Jethro...that's a damn nice bank of carbs for the money.

 

In defense of DB's post, IMO what he is suggesting is a total teardown of four rather sophisiticated air/fuel delivery devices is not for amateurs. The owner of the 91 may be into things he is not trained or qualifed for that will end up being more trouble than if he just stuck to the simple stuff. From what I gather this bike hasn't even been cranked over in some time and has electrical problems as well.

It would be great if we were the skilled mechanics and riders we sometimes think we are but when Ms Reality kicks us in the ass, the ouch lingers.