Steelgrid

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.

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.