This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - redmandan
76
« on: 13 July 2018, 01:27:46 pm »
Foccers
Left the old girl at work while I went on holiday, although she was covered the spot was quite exposed and the black cover wouldn't have helped with the temperatures we've been having. I foolishly did nothing to prepare the bike to be laid up for a month other than putting the cover on.
Turned the key and the dash sprang to life, let the fuel pump fill the carbs, this took a few seconds so I knew the contents had evaporated. It was already 20 deg out so I gave no choke. Turned the key and the starter motor did it's thing but there was no fire. Did this for a good 10 seconds and also gave half choke. Nothing. Turned off the lights to give the starter full current, tried again. It did eventually fire with half choke but it was running very weakly, about 300rpm, tried giving a little gas and it cut off. Started her again and it only fired after about 5 seconds of starter motor, again at about 300rpm. Tried gently applying more choke and it cut again. After a few mins of this eventually it started to warm up and ran like the good bike I know it is. The battery was nearly flat so this was quite lucky.
My thinking:
Probably just a fuel supply problem, too much air in the carbs which took a while to push through, I use Marvel Mystery Oil and she was only still for a month so I don't think dodgy fuel could be the cause.
Possible other causes:
Weak spark
Exhaust is original, the downpipes are starting to corrode on the outside, inside could be worse causing back pressure. (50 000km on the clock)
Cylinder 3 doesn't warm up as quickly as the others, carbs were recently balanced so this is something I decided to just live with.
Maybe ignition
Anyone else care to weigh in
77
« on: 07 June 2018, 07:08:23 pm »
The article says that the featured bike is a year 2000 model. I didn't think the Foxeye wasn't released until 2002?.
Yea that has to be a 2002 model, unless the owner fitted the fox eye fairing to an earlier model.
78
« on: 21 May 2018, 11:28:11 am »
Sorry to hear of your troubles ministras. I had this exact same problem a few months ago. I decided to replace the cam chain myself. It was a little out of my experience range (and I required extra tools) but in the end I spent around €200 incl delivery and little extras. The mechanic is talking about breaking the engine and fitting an endless chain. This is, in his defence, the professional way to do it, but it is labour intensive. €400 all in is not too far wrong. You should try and reset the tensioner yourself though first as it might be the easy fix. Here's a short vid I made when I did mine. https://youtu.be/wUBJ76LJVts
79
« on: 20 May 2018, 09:54:15 pm »
Sounds like you might have some blocked channels/jets, particularly if the previous owner didn't winterize the carbs. It's a little daunting if you've never done it before but a carb strip down and rebuild is not too difficult. If the bike is new to you and you just passed your test it's a great way to get to know your bike too.
80
« on: 20 May 2018, 05:04:10 pm »
There was a group purchase thread going recently. The supplier needed 20 names or something like that to make a worthwhile production run.
81
« on: 18 May 2018, 11:47:35 pm »
Have you tried switching a few bulbs around from the side that works to the side that doesn't? Maybe it's as simple as one bulb being a bit dodgy.
82
« on: 18 May 2018, 09:50:04 pm »
During my recent cam chain replacement I thought it would be a good idea to check the valve timing. I don't really have a question about this I just wanted to get a bit of discussion going on what everybody else's valve timings are and if anybody has fitted, or considers it worth fitting, new shims to our bikes.
At 50 000km my bike isn't quite ready for the scrap heap but it's certainly no spring chicken (2000 model). Nevertheless in the 3 years I've had it, it has become my pride and joy and I would never sell it, I would only ever get around a grand for it and its worth far more to me and doesn't take up much room.
As you all know the FZS600s valves get tighter as the engine wears. The spec for intakes is 0.11-0.20mm, almost all mine are at 0.11mm (even lying to myself a bit on a couple of those) and one of my intakes on piston 4 is a solid 0.10. My exhausts aren't so bad: spec being 0.21-0.30 and pistons 2 and 3 both having all valves on 0.24 whilst 1 and 4 sit at 0.22.
I was prompted to post this as today I finally found some time away from the demands of fatherhood to balance the carbs following the cam chain replacement. 1 + 2 are sweet as a nut but 3 and 4 are a little harder to coax into balance and I thought the valve timing must be the reason. Tbh though the bike runs great for what I want it to do, I'm never going to take it on a track I just dream of taking it on a long trip. I look for reliability over performance. The hurricane rather than the spitfire. I ride with my brother mostly and he has a 2007 bandit which splutters and coughs like an aging smoker.
83
« on: 17 May 2018, 08:55:42 pm »
There's much to be said for setting everything back to factory the first time you take the carbs off a new bike. I put all my mixer screws back to factory after a recent rebuild and the bike feels a lot smoother. The previous owner had it running rich and I scratch my head wondering why. It used to start with no choke, even when outside temp was under 5°C.
84
« on: 14 May 2018, 08:04:57 pm »
Without knowing more I would say no. They're entirely different circuits. There is a chance that the engine was maybe running a bit hotter with the new plugs but it's not the first place I would look. Was it the first good run in a while? Where is the damage on the radiator? Maybe a stone or something flew into it at speed.
Good luck with fitting the new radiator.
85
« on: 08 May 2018, 12:10:48 pm »
Ah I see, I have the original powder coated downpipes and they are beginning to show their age.
I would like some new stainless ones but there is quite a long list of things I want for the bike, and as the wife keeps reminding me: the bike is 20 years old and I have much better things to yadda yadda
86
« on: 08 May 2018, 10:01:32 am »
Hey Farmboy are those your original downpipes?!?! They look fantastic. Can you detail the process a little and how you're gonna treat the metal after?
87
« on: 24 April 2018, 06:40:47 pm »
Hey Steveo, I had exactly the same problem last autumn when I was trying to balance my carbs. Someone on here posted to tell me yes, the adjustments on the balancing screws can move the paddle out of reach of the idle screw. In the end I fiddled around for quite a while with the balancing screws and idle screw until I found the best possible setup and just lived with it. For a 20 year old bike it was good enough and ran better than I had ever had before. If you want it to be spot on perfect I recommend taking the carbs completely to bits and setting everything to standard (pilot screws, jet needle washers, float needle valve etc), re-assembling, using a colourtune and balancing again to see whether each carb needs more or less fuel or air, taking everything apart and adjusting accordingly and then re-assembling again. Or you can just live with it as best as you can get it. The service manual really helped me, better than the online Haynes manual in my opinion.
88
« on: 23 April 2018, 06:27:38 pm »
After superglueing the brass post back in they're working great. As I rev the engine I can see them changing shape slightly as the pistons suck from the carbs so they must have great fitting.
That's a good point, how did you blank off the vac ports- do they come supplied with blanking caps?
I just used the old ones that were on my original Yamaha rubbers. They're still in good nick. I toyed with the idea of throwing away the little metal clips that hold them on as they are so bent now its almost impossible to open them.
89
« on: 23 April 2018, 03:14:32 pm »
After superglueing the brass post back in they're working great. As I rev the engine I can see them changing shape slightly as the pistons suck from the carbs so they must have great fitting.
90
« on: 20 April 2018, 03:54:14 pm »
Ah the yearning for more. Just like me you want to spice up your fazer. Trouble is Yamaha did such a good job that if the fazer was put back into production tomorrow I honestly believe it would sell.
Nevertheless there are ways to modify it. For the relatively cheap and easy:
Stainless radiator grill
Braided brake lines (real flair comes with getting them colour matched to other upgrades)
Seat re-upholstery. (Polish guys on eBay or DIY kits from France.
Touring screen (colour match!)
New grips (I only say this one because I bought some yesterday. I got blue bar ends to match the blue dot brake calipers cos I'm a real pro)
For a bit more cash:
Aftermarket exhaust and headers.
Upside down fork upgrade or just an upgrade to linear springs with better oil (suited to your weight)
Rear shock upgrade ( I've heard the R1s can be adapted to fit our fazers)
I'm sure others can think of many more as well. The Fazer was always a bargain bin bike made of the leftovers of others but it is far more than the sum of its parts.
91
« on: 18 April 2018, 06:21:23 pm »
You were right, I had to take the carbs back out again to get the throttle cables back on again. My new Chinese inlet rubbers are a little tighter than my old ones so this was a bit of a pain. But once that was on I had enough time to get everything else back on. Made a short video documenting the process for anyone who's interested:
92
« on: 17 April 2018, 10:30:45 pm »
Haven't had it running yet, sorry! Today I had a few minutes spare and I've got the carbs back on. As soon as I reconnected the airbox I realised I needed to connect the fuel cables before locating the carbs back in their place.
I think I can get them on with a bit of fiddling, but it requires the toddler and pregnant wife to be asleep at the same time and the wife doesn't give priority to bikes.
93
« on: 15 April 2018, 02:37:49 am »
Fazerider you da man. If the stars align tomorrow and the 8 month pregnant wife and 2 year old kid are asleep at the same time I'll be able to re-assemble the beast and hopefully fire it up!
In the event of a success or failure, beers will be drunk.
94
« on: 14 April 2018, 10:24:58 pm »
Limax2 you are absolutely right. My post on ignition timing was incorrect 1 and 4 fire whilst 2 and 3 are at the bottom of their stroke. This ensures an even balance in forces as the engine fires.
So basically my question is, do the plugs fire twice within a full 720 degree rotation of the engine? And I think the answer is yes.
95
« on: 14 April 2018, 09:45:54 pm »
Thanks mate! I think my logic is sound I just wanted some confirmation.
I've had the head off a Yanmar marine diesel engine before but its easier when you're going to go +-10mph on a sedate river jaunt vs 70mph+ on 2 wheels!
I realize that smashing a piston into an open valve is probably the worst thing to do so I made sure to turn the engine over many times by hand before I buttoned everything back up. I had to anyway to check the valve timing.
This was all because I hated the tin can rattle of my top end and the most likely diagnosis was a worn cam chain.
96
« on: 14 April 2018, 09:03:00 pm »
So i'm probably about to fire the engine for the first time tomorrow following a cam chain replacement and the deepest engine work I have ever attempted. Today I checked the valve timing as I have had the cams out (all just within spec) and after a few beers this evening something hit me:
Given that the crankshaft turns 720 degrees in one full rotation of the engine, when I re-installed the cams at TDC for piston 1, how do I know it's at TDC for piston 1 and not piston 3? Then I remembered that the HT leads are divided between 1+3 and 2+4. Does this mean that 1 and 3 spark at the same time regardless of whether the piston is in compression or power stroke? If so then it only matters that the cam chain dots lined up with the markings on the engine whilst the crankshaft is at TDC as the spark plugs spark twice per 720 degree rotation.
Or I could be wrong and tomorrow it will blow up.
97
« on: 11 April 2018, 06:45:36 pm »
Hey adasilva. Do you find there is an increase in buffeting at motorway speeds with the touring screen? I was just about to buy one when I read an old thread somewhere online that said the screen was good for dispersing rain but introduced a new problem with wind. Particularly cross winds when passing a truck or whatever.
Would be handy to have your thoughts.
98
« on: 08 April 2018, 07:07:31 pm »
Does taking off the fairing make the bike faster on the track? I guess there's an argument to be made for the weight reduction.
99
« on: 07 April 2018, 08:22:29 pm »
So I got my inlet rubbers from China for 15 quid last week. I'm finally at the point of putting them back together so I made a little album and have some info on them. https://imgur.com/a/F5uKtIn short, I was very happy with them until I was fitting the last one and the post to connect a balancing tool came out. In long, I started with cylinder 1 on the left of the bike. As per the photos on the eBay ad they do not come with the caps to cover the vacuum gauge connection points, but that's no matter, the ones from my original rubbers are still OK. I did one at a time to try and work out which ones went where. I think there are basically 2 left ones and 2 right ones not necessarily one per each cylinder. They are labelled incorrectly on the rubbers themselves. I have my carbs off right now so I was able to try them on the carb ends with space to get a good view and they looked pretty decent. I put a bit of engine oil around the engine side, cleaned up the metal of the block with a rag and some solvent and they fitted very well. Until I got to the last one, for some reason I fitted the vacuum gauge cap and then decided to pull it off again. The whole post came off with it. There is a reasonable chance this will happen with the others as well although I haven't checked them yet. It looks like they are only secured in place with some resin of some sort and this one did not receive a good enough dollop in the right place to hold it in. In comparison to the original Yamaha ones they are also held in with some kind of adhesive resin but it looks much more robust. It's a square evenly placed around the whole post like a machine did it. The Chinese ones just have a dollop like somebody applied it with a syringe. I cannot try them with the engine running yet as I have just fitted a new cam chain and I'm waiting for a new tensioner gasket. I'm going to attempt to fix it as I think it might be OK, this is where I ask for some advice, I have to hand fibreglass resin (for boat repairs and whatnot) vulcanizing rubber glue (for bicycle inner tubes) or superglue. What do you guys recommend?
100
« on: 04 April 2018, 09:56:40 pm »
Cheers Daviee and Robbo. I'll crack on with that technique. I have some decent gauging calipers arriving tomorrow so I can measure the peen and then button everything up and enjoy the summer.
|
Show Posts