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134 Posts
Obviously if my temp gauge goes to red and/or my pipes turn blue I'm too hot.
What is a "normal" position for the needle on the temp gauge?
I took my bike out for our first lengthy ride. Up until now I had not gone farther than abt 7 miles at a time. This ride was abt 45 miles total. Five miles then the first tank fill, about another 15 miles then stopped for a quick lunch, then the last 25 miles back home (the long way of course). I've always felt that my bike warmed up quickly. With in a minute or two of starting it is up to the right edge of the thin line in the temp gauge just left of the half way position. On my short rides the temp indicator has been either at the halfway position or just past (to the right). On the way home on this ride I noticed that the temp indicator was about ¾ of the way to the red. I also noticed that the pipes were just starting to turn a light straw or gold color. The color change is new and started on the last leg of this ride. When I bought the bike in February I was told that the PO had serviced the coolant system but not the fuel system last fall before storing the bike. The tank was rusty, the bike idled high and it seemed obvious that the fuel system had not been serviced or stabilized. I checked the coolant and pipes and the pipes were a bright chrome but had not been polished in a while, and the coolant was and still is a nice green color and at a good level. I have cleaned and sealed the tank, cleaned the carbs with help from Blue Fox and Larry’s book, and adjusted the valve clearance/cam chain tenssion. Most of the valves had .001” to much clearance, but are now at manual specs (i.e. .003” intake .004” exhaust). Plugs are new plugs set to abt .025” gap. The old plugs looked well used but not fouled and were a dark tan/red color gaped at abt .025”, normally I would have blasted them clean and reused them but I already had new plugs. The old plugs are NGK D8EA, the new plugs are NGK DR8ES-L per the book at the local auto parts store (O'Reilly's). I think that there is a little more color change on the right side pipe then the left, and I get a little bit of popping from the right (I don't think I am getting any on the left) exhaust when I slow down by engine braking, the popping was/is the same before and after adjusting the valves. During my ride the RPMs were usually between 3500 and 5000 when cruising. At one point on the last leg I did notice the temp drop a little when I rode thru some very light sprinkles (very light).
Is the popping when engine braking normal, what engine speed (RPM) do you guys cruise at, and where does your temp indicator normally sit?
What is a "normal" position for the needle on the temp gauge?
I took my bike out for our first lengthy ride. Up until now I had not gone farther than abt 7 miles at a time. This ride was abt 45 miles total. Five miles then the first tank fill, about another 15 miles then stopped for a quick lunch, then the last 25 miles back home (the long way of course). I've always felt that my bike warmed up quickly. With in a minute or two of starting it is up to the right edge of the thin line in the temp gauge just left of the half way position. On my short rides the temp indicator has been either at the halfway position or just past (to the right). On the way home on this ride I noticed that the temp indicator was about ¾ of the way to the red. I also noticed that the pipes were just starting to turn a light straw or gold color. The color change is new and started on the last leg of this ride. When I bought the bike in February I was told that the PO had serviced the coolant system but not the fuel system last fall before storing the bike. The tank was rusty, the bike idled high and it seemed obvious that the fuel system had not been serviced or stabilized. I checked the coolant and pipes and the pipes were a bright chrome but had not been polished in a while, and the coolant was and still is a nice green color and at a good level. I have cleaned and sealed the tank, cleaned the carbs with help from Blue Fox and Larry’s book, and adjusted the valve clearance/cam chain tenssion. Most of the valves had .001” to much clearance, but are now at manual specs (i.e. .003” intake .004” exhaust). Plugs are new plugs set to abt .025” gap. The old plugs looked well used but not fouled and were a dark tan/red color gaped at abt .025”, normally I would have blasted them clean and reused them but I already had new plugs. The old plugs are NGK D8EA, the new plugs are NGK DR8ES-L per the book at the local auto parts store (O'Reilly's). I think that there is a little more color change on the right side pipe then the left, and I get a little bit of popping from the right (I don't think I am getting any on the left) exhaust when I slow down by engine braking, the popping was/is the same before and after adjusting the valves. During my ride the RPMs were usually between 3500 and 5000 when cruising. At one point on the last leg I did notice the temp drop a little when I rode thru some very light sprinkles (very light).
Is the popping when engine braking normal, what engine speed (RPM) do you guys cruise at, and where does your temp indicator normally sit?
