Divide, Conquer, and Desmodromic

[DivideOverflow]

Previous owner got the carbs open, said it looked like clay inside... which can never be good. I hope that they are the only problem! He is going to clean them up, and Im going to run over there tomorrow to help out/see how to get them off/on.

Learning time!

[Ninja Geoff]

clay is only fun to ride in, not to send into the bike

Good luck with carb cleaning, it's fun and easy (for the most part). At least Keihein carbs are...

[BuzZz]

Clay? That can't be good.

Was the tank ever coated with Kreem or anything? It could be that stuff coming off......

[DivideOverflow]

nope. No Kreem in the tank. Although the bike was originally from Pennsylvania, and from my previous experiences up North, some of the cheaper gas stations actually do have clay in their gas (especially in Alabama and Georgia... I know that isnt up north for many people, but I live in Florida).

Either way, hopefully that is the only problem, and there is nothing wrong with the ignition, etc. I should have the bike back running by the end of this week!

[DivideOverflow]

It runs again!! More to come. (off to the beach!)

[JCS]

If there was that much gunk in the carbs you might want to change the fuel filter.

[DivideOverflow]

Got the carbs to an immaculate condition, put on a top-end oil mod, got a new K&N air filter, and a new fuel filter.

I also noticed that a spring was missing in the throttle linkage on the carbs that ensures that the front two carbeurators open at the same time! So until about 1/4 throttle, I was only running on 3 cylinders, which explains the fouled plug!

Everything is now fixed (to my knowledge). I just have to go back and tighten up the oil filter adapter for the oil mod I did, I guess I didn't quite get the right ft-lb'age... just a little drippy.. no big deal though.

The bike started up perfectly! Sounded very strong, I was quite upset that I wasnt able to take it for a ride at that time. I was expected elsewhere (Im at a beach house with the girlfriend, and I was already a couple hours overdue)... so I'll have to wait until later.

[DivideOverflow]

MUUUUUUCH BETTER!!!

I went and picked up my bike today... there is a world of difference. Before, I thought most of the power was in the top end. Now, I just realize that it was the spring missing that was preventing one of the cylinders from getting gas when the rest were, and the carbs were filled with clay!! All I can say is WOW. My RPM range is much happier now.

After re-checking everything for leaks, it seems to be all good now. I took it out for about an hour, the engine sounds great! On my way home, there is a turn-off from the main road onto a 2-lane highway, and it is a big yield lane when turning right (instead of a stoplight). So I downshifted through the gears to first, took the corner at about 10mph... as I came through and straightened up, I gave a nice progressive twist, upshift, twist *whooosh*. I got to 60mph in about 3 seconds (from 10, which seems about right since it is supposed to 0-60 around 4sec). All I can say is wow! The midrange pulled so much stronger! I stopped at 60mph since that was the speed limit, but I don't think I've ever had so much fun getting there.

After I got it home, checked again for leaks, checked fluid levels, everything is great! I can FINALLY go riding this weekend!!!
//overjoyed.

[DivideOverflow]

First Group Ride!

Last Saturday, I finally got to go out with some friends for my first real group ride. In this group: 2 of my buddies from school, one on a Ninja 6RR, the other one on a Yamaha R6. My buddy's Dad on his BMW R 1200 RT, and his friend on a Honda Rune. Then, of course, there was me on my Interceptor.

We planned out our trip on a map (when I say we, I mean the two old guys who know where all the cool roads are), then we took off! The BMW and the Rune took the lead, I followed them, and the sportbikes brought up the rear.

Off we went, out to Lake County, barely a car in sight, and plenty of curves to go around! I had no idea these roads even existed!! We set a very good pace for everyone, were very careful about traffic, and were quite sure to stay within moderate boundaries of the law (only slight speeding ).

Once we got out into the boonies, we took a few opportunities to open the bikes up on a loooooong straight road (with no traffic). I could tell that the two "experienced" chaps up front had been on this road before, since as we turned onto the road, they took off like lightning! I was very impressed with that Honda Rune... it sounded spectacular! I also discovered that I love the sound of my bike WOT above 6000rpms... it just sounds mean! I was overjoyed to find that the Interceptor had no problems keeping up with the other bikes.

We slowed down as we came to the curve in the road, I shifted down to second, keeping my rpms at about 6-7k... I picked my line, looked through the turn, then rolled on the throttle nice and smooth! I always let the two in front get way in front of me for the corners, because I found that I caught up to them very very quickly! Granted, I don't expect a Rune to corner as well as my bike... but what suprised me was when I left the 6RR and the R6 in the dust! It was a bit windy out, and apparently they were having "stability issues" around the curves... I did notice the wind, and felt the updrafts, did not find it extreme enough to slow me down. I think the extra 100lbs my bike has on them helped me out. (the Rune and the Beemer has no problems at all... suprise suprise).

We did over 150 miles of mostly twisties and wide open roads!! It was amazing. We stopped for gas once, and once for a stretch. Even pushing my bike like I was, I still managed to average 41mpg!! I am overjoyed with the Interceptor's performance.

The only thing that would have made the day better would have been less wind. I was pretty sore afterwards! That was my longest continuous ride so far. I really feel for my buddies on the sportbikes though, I can't sit on their bikes for 20 minutes, let alone 4 1/2 hours.

Before our next ride, I want to change my oil, lube my chain, and change my fork oil (it hasn't been done since I've owned the bike). I also need to tweak the suspension, it has a lot of options from dive rate control, to the psi in the rear air shock, and some adjustment on the top of the front forks. I want to play with those and find out what suits me best.

Fun times!

[DivideOverflow]

Haven't updated in a while, I was busy with Finals and starting up work again. So here's the current scoop:

The VF700 is running great! There is just a tiny oil leak (more like a slow slow drip) from the rear valvecover gasket. I only notice it when I let the bike sit all week. If I rode it every day, I wouldn't even know it was there. I probably just need to torque down the valvecover a bit more (I hope).

As most of you probably noticed, I picked up a 1994 VFR 750 Interceptor this week! I just posted the picture, but I'll give a few more details here.

My buddy and I found it on E-Bay, guy said it has been sitting for 9 months, and just needs a carb clean and a battery. We went and checked it out the next day. I took a battery, it cranked and turned over, but it didn't want to stay running (just seems like the carbs are clogged). Also, the clutch had no hydraulic pressure (which isn't too uncommon for these if they have been sitting a long time).

So we get it home, and yesterday we put fluid in the master clutch cylinder (which I will refer to as the mcc for brevity, and it was empty) try to bleed the clutch... still no pressure. Pulled the mcc, drained the hydraulic system, cleaned the mcc really really good (looked the the return hole was clogged with whatever gunk was in there).

While it was apart, we were playing with the mechanisms, and found that one of the plungers that provide pressure kept getting stuck in the cylinder! We are thinking "Great! We have to buy a rebuild kit ". I thought the parts looked like they were in good shape, but we just couldn't get the plunger to work.

So about 10 minutes before it got dark, we looked at the Clymer manual again for the dissassembly pictures of the mcc, and low and behold, the mechanisms were in the wrong order!!! There are 2 parts you have to slide in, and the wrong one was in front!! So the jackass that sold us the bike must have tried to rebuild it and messed it up.

Needless to say, we put it together the right way, and now it works! We just have to throw it back on the bike once we get back from the beach this weekend... but that is another story!!

My roommate started dating my girlfriend's best friend, and they both do marine turtle research. So we are heading down to the beachhouse they work at for the weekend. I'm willing to put the motorcycle on hold until Sunday... haha. We get to ride around on ATV's on the beach, go snorkeling(if the water is nice), and have a good old time. Being that I still have to clean the carbs, I'm in no rush to through the mcc back on the bike... it isn't like I would be able to ride it in it's current condition.

Here are some more pics. You will notice that the bike has been down on one side, but it is just plastic damage:



You can see there is a chunk missing on the right fairing. Besides that damage, the rest of the paint is immaculate! I figure down the road I can pick up some new plastics if I feel like spending $300+ dollars. Truthfully it really doesn't bother me too much... I'm not the one that dropped it, but that will remind me that it is possible to go down.

The bike feels so good to sit on!! I can't wait until it is ready to go.