Very nice bike. Have you gotten a manual for it? Did you check the serial plate on the engine for the two punch marks to indicate the recall fixes were complete?

Check the date on the tires if it has been sitting long.

 

I have. I got the pdf one here and the bike came with a clymer manual.

The engine doesn't have the punch marks so I'm going to be investigating if the recall was done but not punched.

And the tires are in really great shape but do look to be a bit old. What tires do you guys recommend for these bikes?

-Andrew

 

I have. I got the pdf one here and the bike came with a clymer manual.

The engine doesn't have the punch marks so I'm going to be investigating if the recall was done but not punched.

And the tires are in really great shape but do look to be a bit old. What tires do you guys recommend for these bikes?

-Andrew

There is usually a 4 digit date code stamped on the tire. The format is WWYY. 2510 would be the 25th week of 2010.

Tires can be like asking what kind of oil you should use. Don't ask.
I just put a set of Duro's on mine. Tires, tubes and strips were about $100 from Denniskirk.com. I know you get what you pay for but they made a great difference in the handling compared to what I had. And I do not hit the curves at 75mph. I take it easy.

If you didn't yet, change the oil. First thing.

 

Yea I pretty much just use mine to get to and from school and around town so I'll have to check those tires out. I'll post up tomorrow what the date is on the tires.

And the plan is to get the oil changed out this weekend. I just got it tagged yesterday so I dont think a week of riding on this oil should be too bad. I checked it and the level was fine and it really didnt look bad at all but I'm going to change it just so I know 100% that its clean.

 

...And the plan is to get the oil changed out this weekend. I just got it tagged yesterday so I dont think a week of riding on this oil should be too bad. I checked it and the level was fine and it really didnt look bad at all but I'm going to change it just so I know 100% that its clean.

The main problem with old, used oil is the contaminants it contains....One of them is Sulfur... Add water (condensation acuumulated while sitting) and you have sulfuric acid.... This etches metals (brass, steel, and aluminum), especially when combined with heat and oxygen...and, it's not something you want to bathe the bearing surfaces of an engine with.....This happens in any engine all the time, but sitting allows a larger amount of acid to be produced (takes a lot longer to get rid of it)....Frequent running boils out the water, and just leaves plain sulfur mixed in the oil......IF the engine "sat" for awhile change the oil before running it.....

 

Welcome to the group. Seams to be in great condition for an almost 40 year old bike.

 

So that's where that little sucker went, :lol: I saw it on eBay a while back, I remember the saddle bags, I think that guy had a 750 as well but I may be thinking of another.

+1 Changing the oil ASAP, these engines will wear rather quickly with thinned or old oil in them. And it doesn't take long to ruin a head or a pistons. Make sure to follow the manual and pull the clutch cover and clean the pickup screen and the oil filter.

The cam pin recall is easy to test, pull the caps off right side of the head and see if the pin comes with them, don't pull it all the way out. If it does then you have the newer style pins, if it doesn't then you have the old style. The Cam tensioner is harder and requires the valve cover to come off. I had a suspicion with mine that it had been changed because the valve cover had been glued back down with ORANGE silicon at one time and I was right.

The cam covers can come off with a pair of pliers if they are stripped. They float around on eBay for not much money all the time.

Good luck, and enjoy the old girl.

 

Ok guys I got the oil all changed out! Also removed the sissy bar thing. If any body wants it it looks like it should just bolt right to any oem luggage rack. Just pm me.

Also does anybody know if the bags were some sort of option? The P.O. told me they have been on since new and were installed by the dealership. And they do have old style electrical connectors and they also tie into and support what I believe to be an Oem luggage rack. The only marking on them is a sticker on each that says "R7 Lead" and Made in Japan.

One other question what is the best way to get out all the bolts on the cases? One is already stripped on the generator and one on the right side case. I have a feeling a few more may get stripped getting them all out. Also should I just source the bolts individually from some where like fastenal or just buy one of the kits online?

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?category=&q=impact+screw+driver

It acts like an screw driver, but you hit it with at hammer. That creates an action that pushes the bolt in and twists it at the same time. Every motorcycle owner should have one. :lol:

As for the stripped ones, take a good punch and hammer and smack it a few times until it pushes the metal back into place. Then hit it with the impact screwdriver and out they will come.

You can buy replacements anywhere from eBay to your local hardware. I replaced all the standard Philips screws save for 3 with Allen type screws. You can get an entire set that will do all the bolts except for the ones that hold the case halves together for around 35-40 bucks, check the vender section in the forums, there are a few recommended. This is the guy I got mine from HERE .

 

So that's where that little sucker went, :lol: I saw it on eBay a while back, I remember the saddle bags, I think that guy had a 750 as well but I may be thinking of another.

Yep, me and a few friends were drooling over that bike when it sold. Nice score, I am envious.

If it were me, I'd keep the bags--those are pretty rare, and I think they look great. Pretty useful, too. The sissy bar, highway bar, etc., can all go, though.

For getting that stripped screw out, do this: spray liberally with good penetrant and let sit; heat housing with a heat gun; use impact driver to remove screw. If the head is totally stripped, do the above, but use a Dremel to cut a slot in the head and use the flat head for the impact driver instead.

 

So as of about 10 mins ago I no longer have a crash bar on the bike. The lights were hooked up straight to the battery and I think they are what has been causing my battery to drain itself while the bike is parked overnight.

The charging system has been checked and I'm getting about 14.2 to the battery at 4000 Rpm. So I know its charging while running.

So that eliminates windscreen, sissy bar, and now crash bar w/ lights

Also I think the saddle bags will be making there way over to Drones76's bike. I think the white bags will do well on his bike.

I've found them fairly use full but mostly just to carry around stuff I don't really need to have with me.

So I've only got a few more things to get this back in perfect shape. Need to get the valves adjusted and install the stainless allen head bolts whenever the get here. And then I need to clean the carb and re-sync them, clean the gas tank and I'll be good to go!

One thing if anyone is thinking of ordering bolts from StainlessCyles on Ebay be prepared to wait a while. Its been 7 business days since I've ordered and they haven't shipped or told me when they plan to ship them.

But its been very fun to learn about these old bikes and to get my hands dirty on one.

 

Stainless took almost 3 weeks to get mine to me. Just about the time I thought I needed to contact them, they shipped them and were on my doorstep. They did a hell of a job polishing all the heads so I'm pretty happy either way.

 

Nice bike! Same year and color as mine. Good taste.

I got my bolts from here.

 

Ok guys So I've been meaning to ask about this. But what is this unit in the left of this picture? The only wire that I can see that is near enough to be connected to it is the green one I'm holding.

So what is the box and what do I need to do with it?

 

Ok just read through the wiring diagram in the Clymer's manual and I'm going to have to guess that this is the horn switch. If it is that would answer why my horn isn't working. Now to just try and track down the wire that goes to the button if it is.

 

LEFT OR RIGHT?? That's the turn signal relay on the right. There are 3 wires but only 2 plug into it, the black and the GREY NOT the GREEN. You will blow fuses if you hook the green in instead of the grey I know I ruined 3 trying to figure that out. Doesn't matter which terminal they plug into, just as long as they don't touch each other. The green just hangs out.

The horn switch is in the left handle bar control, and it's not uncommon for the horn to be stuck or dead or w/e. I tested the wiring on mine and got voltage when the button was pressed but the horn would not sound. I grabbed a cheapo from Autozone and hooked it up and it worked fine. Heck the little plastic trim thingy fit over it too.

 

Hmmm so that must have been replaced by the round thing under it (I have a picture of it somewhere). The black and grey wire are connected to it and my signals work fine.

 

Found the pic. Sorry its a bit blurry.

So whats the green wire for?

 

I've been gone for a while but since I posted up my new project I figure its time to update this thread too. After countless offers of $250 from older men at gas stations I finally had one follow me home and offer me everything in his pocket. I just laughed and told him that depends and that I'd give him everything in my pocket for his new Camaro SS since all I had in my pocket was a cheap pocket knife, a lighter, half a pack of cigs, and some lint. Well he responded by pulling out a wad of cash and counting out $3800. My response was "title is inside follow me."

Two years later, I miss that bike now. So I got a new project and its in the project logs. I feel like with my new project I'm going to get to learn a lot about these bikes that I never had the need or ability to dig down to so that I could learn about them.