Sir Puma

That'll be good for testing the valve but not whether or not the engine is generating enough vacuum.

Well, it's a new fuel cock so the diaphram should be fine. Thanks for the idea about a T line. I'm sure I can rig something up and borrow a vacuum gauge.

There are no vent tubes. Only two lines off the fuel cock, one to the carbs and one to the vacuum line. And if I turn the tank upside down with fuel in it and the cap shut tight it still leaks fuel out so it must be able to suck air in.

Got a new strange affliction now. For some reason the bike acts like it’s running out of gas at odd times even when I know I have plenty of fuel. It’ll start to sputter and cough and if I pull in the clutch and idle the engine dies. If I switch to reserve or put it on the prime setting for a minute it will run fine again. I’m wondering if I have a vacuum issue. I have a new fuel valve in it and the carbs have been thoroughly cleaned. Anyway to test the vacuum line while it runs?

I've only just started riding but I've watched idiots for a very long time. When I was in high school I was able to take a very good driver's education class and had my driver's license when I was 16. I've driven all over the US and in mainland Europe when I was stationed in Germany. I can't believe the idiots who are given licenses. The absolute worst I ever saw was a woman who was texting on her Blackberry whilst putting on makeup and driving a large SUV down the freeway at 70mph. The other day I was behind an old codger who was driving 5-10 under the speed limit through our down town area (which is a limit of only 25) when some jackwipe goes to pull out of a parking lot and dang near hits the old coot in front of me. When I look at the idiot in the driveway and shake my head he holds up his hands like "WTF, it's not my fault".

So I dug into this headlight issue a little tonight, hopefully enough to have fixed it. Checking the fuses the headlight fuse (witch also controls the instrument lights) came out in pieces. The fuse wire seemed to hold on but the glass broke up quite easily. Also one of the wires was very loose. I put in a new fuse and crimped the connector on the wire a little. Then I pulled the headlamp out of the assembly and had to chase off a couple spiders and clean their webs out. I straighetned out the wires to trace them and wiggle them about for a bit. I managed to get the headlamp to flicker off once when I messed with the connector that went to the handlebar controller. But it only went out once and never again. I messed around with the ignition but that only turned them out when it turned off the bike. I'm hoping the fuse was the issue. I poked and prodded around the wire bundle as best I could with no results. Only time will tell if I fixed the issue.

For the tail light yes, but it never seemed to effect the headlight. That was the first thing I did when the lights went out was jiggle the key a bit but nothing happened.

Well, now that I got it riding great, thanks to ya'lls help. I now have a new and scarier issue. Headed out to the supermarket this evening. Only to have my lights go out while on the side highway going 50mph. No street lights, no moon, all cloud cover. Friggen pitch black. I could see just enough of the road in front of me that I could see I was clear to pull over at one of the intersections. Poked around for a minute and they just popped back on. But they flickered a few more times after that. Now I get to chase down an electrical problem. I'm thinking it might be a loose connection on the fuse panel because I notices some lose wires there when I was working on the gas tank at first. So I'll start there. I've also noticed that sometimes the tail light won't come on at first till I've jiggled the key a bit. I hate electrical problems.

Looks like you have an awesome project ahead of you.

Actually I don't have a lot of play, in fact the cable will barely move when it's at rest and I wiggle the cable at the clutch body. But it let the clutch be fully relaxed. Man it has so much power now. It's a real joy to ride. Though I still think with all the slipping it was doing (and getting worse every hour) that I'll need to rebuild some time. I did look up some videos and yeah, super simple.

Well, I went out this morning before even having my tea and checked on the cable. I was able to run the tension nut at the handle in about a half inch before the cable started to slacken up. Took her out for a test run and holy crapola, so much better. Thanks so much for the suggestion. I'll hang on to the parts when they come in, eventually it'll need rebuilding and it won't hurt to actually have the parts on hand. But now when I put the power down, it puts the power down. And when I'm at speed and put the power down, no slipage, just power. I'm much happier now. Thanks agan.

No slack in the cable, the clutch handle works fine and it shifts fine. It's just when I pour on the power the RPMs jump through the roof but there's no power output to the rear wheel. If I gradually increase throttle it'll speed up ok but I can hear the RPM fluctuate as the clutch slips. I already have new friction and clutch plates on order along with new springs. Doing some research it looks like an easy job.

Just for giggles I went and purchased "motorcycle" 10W40 at the local cycle shop (Kawasaki oil). Changed the oil just to see if it would help. Nope. Clutch still slips all over the place, especially when I try and put the power down.

No, but the way it sits on the shaft I think it was hot pressed on and wasn't meant to be removed. But I did take the bike out and put about 35 miles on it and the speedometer worked perfectly. I'll have to take a pic of the fix.

Well, I may have my speedo fixed. I spent some time with some smooth bearing grease getting it into the mechanism and all the gears. Tested it with a stiff wire and my Foredom tool to spin it. not making noise now. Then some very thin spring wire bent and super glued to the central needle and painted with a little red sight paint. Need to test it out on the highway tomorrow and see if it works and is accurate. If so I just saved myself some money.

Yep. The speedometer inside was screaming, then today it started sticking on something and finally spun around and snapped the needle off. There isn't a screw in the knob so I cut the case to get it out. If I can figure out something to fix the needle with then I might be set. As it is I can get a new one off ebay for only $200. Wish I could find one for a fair price. I might see if I can figure out an after market setup and just change out the gauges all together. **** Update**** Well I managed to find an instrument cluster for $50 so I'll need to jump on that.

Thanks for the tip on the trip knob. However my speedo just died. I wonder if I can get it working again.

One other issue I'm now having. The bloody speedometer is screaming like a banshee caught in a rat trap. I've tried greasing the cable and the gear point where the cable goes into the back of it but I can't get the trip meter knob off to get the whole thing out and can't figure out where to oil to make it stop screaming. Dang thing's louder than the engine.

Oh, actually I forgot. The very first thing I had to do was get a new battery in it. I would love to get all the emblems and decals for it, but I don't think they are available. There's also lots of little things like the clutch cable boot up on the grip needs replacing, stuff like that.

Not the color I would have chosen but it's a lot better looking than when you got it back. Good work there.

So I've been working on this bike for a bit now. I started with a much needed oil and differential fluid change and replaced the spark plugs. That got it running. But since I had so much fuel in the oil I ordered a new fuel tap. Just got it in the other day and replaced it yesterday. I've got new Dunlop D404 tires on order for it and should have them Monday or Tuesday. That will give me more confidence in riding it on the highways. The brakes are ok for now but they'll need replacing by next spring or summer. But I've noticed while riding as I get it up to around 40 or 50 mph, with rpm around 5000-6000 in the mid gear range it seems like the clutch is slipping. My rpm will jump a little while not getting any power to the rear but then the rpm will slowly drop (without change in throttle) and my power will suddenly jump. I'm thinking come spring I'll need to tear the engine apart and put in new clutch plates and while I'm at it new piston rings.

I certainly don't have some of the adventure stories some of you have. My dad is about as adventurous as a can of spam. My mom, however, had a pair of Tomos mopeds that we rode around when I was a teen. In fact I rode one during my senior year of high school as my primary means of transportation. Mom didn't like me taking it on the streets, so I took it on the dirt and back roads of the town. Poor moped ended up being used like a motocros bike. Now I have my first big boy bike. I'm still working on it be now that I have my endorsement I'm starting to use it regularly.

Carbs already got a thorough cleaning. I may look at getting new floats too, but I want to get the other stuff done as they are more important for the moment. The floats are doing their job and don't have any damage, wear or holes (so far as I could tell.)

In Washington the safety course is required now to get your cycle endorsement. The cool thing is that all his instructors are independent contractors to him and then he has a contract with the state. I could teach as much or as little as I want. It would be a great way to suplement my current (very low) income. I don't make a lot as a gunsmith and dealer, just enough to keep my business alive. I had so much fun in the beginners course that I want to take the rest of their courses, but sadly I just don't have the money to do them all. But I think over the next few months I'll be able to get at least the Beginner Level II and perhaps the Advanced Level done. Then they have an onstreet course that he partners with another company that was founded by a guy that came over from England that is really great. is the company that I did the course with. This is a video about their onstreet course. The main guy in the video was my instructor and the owner of the company.

The lines are in good shape. I'd like to keep to OEM parts as much as possible. It would be sweet if I could find an OEM lock and chain. In a couple weeks I'll have some extra money and I can get the valve and new tires.