Steelgrid Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Greetings all. I recently purchased a 86 Yamaha Radian 600 just from a random search que in craigslist. Now you must understand, i knew nothing of bikes. Im 28 years old and have never even ridden a dirt bike. I bought this just to save gas. Needless to say its been a hell of a learning experience consider I learned that the CCs on this is not too newbie-friendly. But I have learned to ride and in consiquence, have now learned about what I bought. There have been alot of problems with the bike and while minor, I would still try to get this working almost perfectly considering its age. The bike itself has 31k miles on it and definatly taken a long tumble from the previous owner. It has been sitting for a year before i bought it. It has had its carbs cleaned and new spark plugs. So heres the questions I have: - The clutch handle feels a little tight. While I dont know what normal is supposed to be, I know its not normal for my hand to cramp after a 15 minute ride. I have oil in the engine and the clutch does not slip while riding. Any ideas on what this could be or is it normal for a bike this old? It also still has a slight pull when i have the clutch handle pulled and in gear but I am stopped. - The airbox sounds like it has a small backfire coming out of it, which confuses me considering I believe thats an intake. When I have the cap on the airbox and just sit on the bike with the engine running it just sounds like a small knock and only tends to occur when I am stopped and idle. Something in the carbs? - When stopped on occasion when I slightly engage the throttle it will rise and stay at 4-5k RPM and slowly work its way back down to 1k. Ive followed the wire as I twist the throttle and it desnt seem like its sticking and only happens when I have the clutch pulled or in neutral. This does not happen with the clutch handle not being pulled and fully in gear. - Very small amount of smoke coming from back pipes. I know in a car, even this old thats not normal. But what about a bike? - They key that engages power, lift the seat and opens the gastank, is that the same key that pops my helmet lock? Because I cannot get that open for the life of me. - Gas varnishing. Or even rust in the gastank. How would I completely get rid of it. I imagine the varnishing could probably be cleaned, and Ive not found any rust but......If I do find some, should I replace the gastank or is there a way to do it right. -And Finally, while the owner's manual recommends Regular unleaded, for a bike this old should I use premium anyway? For any people that respond to this Id like to thank you in advance. I know my questions seem a bit vague but with as ignorant as I am about the mechanics of these bike, I simply do not know what to ask. So If any clarification needs to be had please by all means respond with it. Ill be check back repeatedly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yamahopper Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 First and foremost get a factory or some type of service manual. I try to stay away from Clymers manuals, I just personally feel they cover too many models in one bokk sometimes, not always. Sounds like you could start with the clutch issue by adjusting (should be explained in service manual). Tank should be flushed and petcock screens cleaned/replaced and then palce fresh gas into tank and let drain without petcocks attached into some kind of pan for observation- looking for rust and solid particles ect. If after repeated attempts it is still dirty, inside tank will have to be cleaned and coated. There are products for this; I forget right now, but parts people at yamaha shop or auto parts coukld tell you. If it is not a real severe case some people have put BB,s in tank and shake it or attach to some revolving device in order to losen debris. But do get a service manual and it will prove invaluable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave C Posted May 21, 2008 Share Posted May 21, 2008 Clutch stiff to operate - good chance the cable has rusted up, easy way to check is to disconnect both ends and it should move quite freely, if it is difficult to move you could try lubricating it or the easier option is to replace it with new. Backfire through airbox is a sign of a weak mixture, this could just be the carb needs setting up but more than likely the carbs just need a very thorough clean, slightly blocked jets will give a weak or lean mixture. Its quite easy to do just a bit time consuming. This is also the probable cause of the revs rising to 4-5k and then slowly coming back down. You could have a look on www.xjbikes.com The Radian is a very close relation to the xj and there is a lot of carb cleaning info on the site. As stated above get yourself a manual it will repay its cost many times over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelgrid Posted May 26, 2008 Author Share Posted May 26, 2008 Clutch stiff to operate - good chance the cable has rusted up, easy way to check is to disconnect both ends and it should move quite freely, if it is difficult to move you could try lubricating it or the easier option is to replace it with new. Backfire through airbox is a sign of a weak mixture, this could just be the carb needs setting up but more than likely the carbs just need a very thorough clean, slightly blocked jets will give a weak or lean mixture. Its quite easy to do just a bit time consuming. This is also the probable cause of the revs rising to 4-5k and then slowly coming back down. You could have a look on www.xjbikes.com The Radian is a very close relation to the xj and there is a lot of carb cleaning info on the site. As stated above get yourself a manual it will repay its cost many times over. Thanks for the reply. Didnt think about the cord on the clutch, I will try that when its not raining. I did order a Maint/Repair book, looks easy enough to follow. Carbs were recently(a month ago) cleaned. Revs are now staying up even while riding and in gear. Rising to almost 5k and not coming down so fast either. I suppose ill figure it out. Thank you again and thx for that site, ill look it up as i close this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 - They key that engages power, lift the seat and opens the gastank, is that the same key that pops my helmet lock? Because I cannot get that open for the life of me. -And Finally, while the owner's manual recommends Regular unleaded, for a bike this old should I use premium anyway? --Yes the same key operates everything. I had to use oil last year for my Radian, and I may have to use more this year to free up the helmet lock. --I just noticed today, after putting 7000 miles on it that my bike's manual and the sticker under the seat, recommends leaded gas. I know I am supposed to match the octane rating but I am trying now to see if they really made a bike in 1986 that needed leaded gas. If you bike is not having other problems or pinging/knocking, I wouldn't worry about having an octane rating higher than what is recommended. As a motor gets old, oil leaking around the rings can lower octane. I don't think of my bike (13,000 miles) as old even though it is an 86. --Does anyone know if my 1986 radian should really be run on leaded gas????????????????????????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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