The r3v motorcycle thread

[Stanley Rockafella]

1996 Honda Africa Twin on the left and 1988 Honda Africa Twin on the right.

The 1988 is now restored. Will do the same with the 1996 this winter. Both bikes took me thru amazing roadtrips thru Europe, North Africa and the Balkans.

[bikerbill2021]

Just picked this guy up tonight, and for once, I'm actually going to hang onto this one!

I purposely got this one for my personal machine, got tired of borrowing my buddies quads, and since I cant fit a quad in my garage with my car and CBR in there, figured a dirt bike will suit me fine. 97 WR250, last of the two stroke WRs, basically a YZ with taller gearing, bigger rear wheel, lighting coil etc, been looking for one of these for a bit, took a trip down to Tuscon tonight and picked it up, stoked!

Plan is to get some lights on it, clean it up, gonna get it all one color (white), possible graphics kit, and a set of street tires/rims so I can have a light weight 2T super moto too

[TeXJ]

post up the build on the WR, love me some SM

[bikerbill2021]

post up the build on the WR, love me some SM

werd will do, gonna be slow going on that one, as right now im just gonna ride it and start changing things up on it, gonna add a head/tail light, YZ tank and seat, get it all one color etc

[DEV0 E30]

Downz - Did you complete the XS? Didn't hear back from ya.

[bikerbill2021]

Downz - Did you complete the XS? Didn't hear back from ya.

nah still working on it, work has been keeping me busy, so i haven't had a lot of time, but I'm getting there, right now working on getting the tail boxed up so I can fit most if not all the electronics under the seat pan. First time messing with fiber glass and something this intricate of a seat/tail, so its tedious work.

Don't worry I didn't forget about ya, you'll be the first to know once I get it finished :)

[DEV0 E30]

Awesome! Yeah no rush, been busy myself. Not sure when I'll be able to pull the trigger on a bike. Want another one really bad right now though!

[bikerbill2021]

Was able to ride the XS around a bit yesterday, still have a bunch of little shit to do, but it rides pretty good, not as much torque as the BMW but def more top end. Not too loud with the straight pipe surprisingly, but my buddy said its pretty deafening when riding next to it at full throttle. I'm not one for obnoxiously loud machines (read: most harleys ha) but I think it suits this bike fine.

Hoping next week to send the tank and seat pan to paint, get the pan upholstered, and get her finally finished and on the road. Still haven't figured out the color yet, possible dark blue or dark grey, with white knee indents on the tank and possible number "plate" on the pan, but the seat will be a light brown leather

[varg]

I'm back to riding every day with the E30 out of commission for the swap, and the weather is perfect for it, if not a little windy.



This bike is just perfect for my uses, it's nice to have a bike that is comfortable but still agile, and equipped with many torques. I never wish for a sportbike with this thing, it's like a comfy UJM minus the slow and plus suspension and brakes, and I don't have to downshift 2 gears and rev to 10,000rpm it to surge past slower traffic or rocket down an on-ramp. When V-twin riders trumpet to me about their V-twin torque, I am pleased to point out that my inline 4 makes more power and torque than an SV1000, VTR or XB-12, and does it just as low in the rev range, all while being as smooth as the paint on a custom chopper, and while wearing the handsome styling of a classic instead of the generic pointy angry lines of a japanese supersport. I'm glad I missed out on the SV1000 I once looked at, and wound up with this instead.

[bikerbill2021]

I'm back to riding every day with the E30 out of commission for the swap, and the weather is perfect for it, if not a little windy.



This bike is just perfect for my uses, it's nice to have a bike that is comfortable but still agile, and equipped with many torques. I never wish for a sportbike with this thing, it's like a comfy UJM minus the slow and plus suspension and brakes, and I don't have to downshift 2 gears and rev to 10,000rpm it to surge past slower traffic or rocket down an on-ramp. When V-twin riders trumpet to me about their V-twin torque, I am pleased to point out that my inline 4 makes more power and torque than an SV1000, VTR or XB-12, and does it just as low in the rev range, all while being as smooth as the paint on a custom chopper, and while wearing the handsome styling of a classic instead of the generic pointy angry lines of a japanese supersport. I'm glad I missed out on the SV1000 I once looked at, and wound up with this instead.

I've always liked the ZXRs, great lines and an all around great, versatile bike, def on my wish list

[mavrikno13764]

Was able to ride the XS around a bit yesterday, still have a bunch of little shit to do, but it rides pretty good, not as much torque as the BMW but def more top end. Not too loud with the straight pipe surprisingly, but my buddy said its pretty deafening when riding next to it at full throttle. I'm not one for obnoxiously loud machines (read: most harleys ha) but I think it suits this bike fine.

Hoping next week to send the tank and seat pan to paint, get the pan upholstered, and get her finally finished and on the road. Still haven't figured out the color yet, possible dark blue or dark grey, with white knee indents on the tank and possible number "plate" on the pan, but the seat will be a light brown leather

Any tips on tuning a carb with pods and a straight pipe like yours?
I have an xs400 that I am building and I am running into a single cylinder getting gas.
If I block the AIR Jet of the cylinder that is not getting gas, it starts to run and the other side slowly starts losing fuel.
Yes, the carb has been cleaned and is fresh with stock jets...

[CENTURION]

Anybody here have an FZ-07???

[bikerbill2021]

Any tips on tuning a carb with pods and a straight pipe like yours?
I have an xs400 that I am building and I am running into a single cylinder getting gas.
If I block the AIR Jet of the cylinder that is not getting gas, it starts to run and the other side slowly starts losing fuel.
Yes, the carb has been cleaned and is fresh with stock jets...

Hmmm, thats hard to say w/o being there to diag it with ya, carbs are a tricky bitch! They work great, when they work :roll:

I can give you some thoughts off my head to maybe point you in the right direction tho

To start, are you running the original pet cock? Is each carb fed by its own pet cock off the tank? or is it a single pet cock feeding both carbs? It sounds stupid I know, but it could be as simple as the pet cock clogging up on the one side and not feeding that carb or doing something goofy like that. The pet cocks on the 750s are vacuum actuated, and they fuck up all the time, leak and let fuel in the oil/dilute the oil/clog etc, which is why i opted for the "modified" xs650 ones, got them from Mikes XS, they delete the vac system and operate as normal feeds. I'm not sure on the 400s if they are similar, but check that out if they are, they are very problematic

I've had pet cocks do goofy things to me, and fuel in general, which is why now as a cardinal rule with any vintage bike i get, i completely replace all fuel system components, petcocks, fuel lines, rebuild the carbs, and clean/seal the tank. I've had so many stupid problems with fuel thats its not worth the head ache, plus its one less thing to worry about if im having an issue with a bike running/not running. These bikes are old, and a lot of people just leave them for years with old fuel in them. For me, 90% of the problems Ive had is due to just old fuel gumming shit up/eating away etc

However that is a strange situation, I have mine jetted fatter to accommodate the pods/exhaust, and it seems to run pretty good aside from some slight spitting on decel. You say your running stock jets, with pods and a "freeflow" exhaust such as open pipe or shorties etc, then that could be your problem, as you need to open up the carbs a bit to breath better with bigger jets. However, pod filters, while looking good, are controversial, a lot of people have problems tuning certain bikes b/c they flow TOO much for certain carbs, some times, the stock air box is the best thing for performance and balance, as lame as it sounds.

Usually when I'm setting the carbs up on these bikes, I'll search forums to see what people have done with similar setups to mine, then use that as my guideline for jetting them, has worked pretty well for me, at least gets me in the general ball park

Hope that helps, but give me some more info on the bike/your diag process etc, might be able to help you pinpoint it better

Anybody here have an FZ-07???

My buddy was looking at one of these, very neat little bike, said he really liked it, but hes a shorter fella so it was a bit high for him, however its a good "sport tourer" more on the sport side. I like the FZ-09 as it kinda has a throw back to the old Yamaha triples, not unlike my XS :devil:

As much as I love my Repsol, I'm a Yami boy at heart, thats what i grew up on, so I'm a little biased towards any bike they produce

[mavrikno13764]

Hmmm, thats hard to say w/o being there to diag it with ya, carbs are a tricky bitch! They work great, when they work :roll:

I can give you some thoughts off my head to maybe point you in the right direction tho

To start, are you running the original pet cock? Is each carb fed by its own pet cock off the tank? or is it a single pet cock feeding both carbs? It sounds stupid I know, but it could be as simple as the pet cock clogging up on the one side and not feeding that carb or doing something goofy like that. The pet cocks on the 750s are vacuum actuated, and they fuck up all the time, leak and let fuel in the oil/dilute the oil/clog etc, which is why i opted for the "modified" xs650 ones, got them from Mikes XS, they delete the vac system and operate as normal feeds. I'm not sure on the 400s if they are similar, but check that out if they are, they are very problematic

I've had pet cocks do goofy things to me, and fuel in general, which is why now as a cardinal rule with any vintage bike i get, i completely replace all fuel system components, petcocks, fuel lines, rebuild the carbs, and clean/seal the tank. I've had so many stupid problems with fuel thats its not worth the head ache, plus its one less thing to worry about if im having an issue with a bike running/not running. These bikes are old, and a lot of people just leave them for years with old fuel in them. For me, 90% of the problems Ive had is due to just old fuel gumming shit up/eating away etc

However that is a strange situation, I have mine jetted fatter to accommodate the pods/exhaust, and it seems to run pretty good aside from some slight spitting on decel. You say your running stock jets, with pods and a "freeflow" exhaust such as open pipe or shorties etc, then that could be your problem, as you need to open up the carbs a bit to breath better with bigger jets. However, pod filters, while looking good, are controversial, a lot of people have problems tuning certain bikes b/c they flow TOO much for certain carbs, some times, the stock air box is the best thing for performance and balance, as lame as it sounds.

Usually when I'm setting the carbs up on these bikes, I'll search forums to see what people have done with similar setups to mine, then use that as my guideline for jetting them, has worked pretty well for me, at least gets me in the general ball park

Hope that helps, but give me some more info on the bike/your diag process etc, might be able to help you pinpoint it better

I just realized you have a triple!
I worked on my roomates triple (xs850) and didnt have any problems with the tuning or getting her back on the road.
The xs400 is a twin and from what I have gathered on the interwebs is a lot harder to tune than most because balancing the flow is crucial for it to work right.
I wish it was a fuel flow problem but I am currently working on it with a portable tank (Free flow). I bought the bike without an air box so I think I am going to have to balance the flow via velocity stacks of some sort...

[bikerbill2021]

I just realized you have a triple!
I worked on my roomates triple (xs850) and didnt have any problems with the tuning or getting her back on the road.
The xs400 is a twin and from what I have gathered on the interwebs is a lot harder to tune than most because balancing the flow is crucial for it to work right.
I wish it was a fuel flow problem but I am currently working on it with a portable tank (Free flow). I bought the bike without an air box so I think I am going to have to balance the flow via velocity stacks of some sort...

haha yep, triple over here, def a neat setup, sounds bad ass too

Hmmm, I wonder if syncing up the carbs would help, or at least bench syncing them? thats strange that the XS twins are tricky to tune, but yea putting the stock air box and pipes back on to at least get you to square one on the tuning, and then go from there with tuning for pods/pipes

My old cb360 twin was giving me a hell of a time tuning it when i got it, kept getting all sorts of random shit, revving out of control, bogging out, like complete mind boggling head bashing frustration with that thing, I was losing my mind with it. Turned out timing was off, got that dialed in and it sang. Worth making sure your timing is on too, those old points systems can be a pain. I was happy to see my XS came with an ignition control module, made my life loads easier lol