Service
SERVICE
Humid-climate storage
Can you recommend the proper procedure for protecting the cosmetics of my motorcycle while it is storage in Hawaii for about eight months? It will be in a dry garage, but there still is a lot of moisture in that climate and perhaps some traces of salt in the air.
Ralph W. Glorioso
Santa Rosa, California
Give the painted surfaces a good coat of wax, and spray the engine and other metal surfaces with a solid coat of a rust-preventive liquid, such as LPS #3, available at most hardware stores. For extended storage, squirt a little engine oil down the sparkplug holes, crank the engine a few times, then reinstall the plugs. The gas tank should be filled to the brim to prevent interna! tank rusting, and the float bowls should be drained. A drop cloth over the bike would offer some protection from airborne salt, and, finally, the battery will require charging at some point during the storage period; otherwise it will lose its charge and be destroyed by sulfation.
Can-Am tips
In your recent roundup of the European 250 motocrossers, the Can-Am 250 MXL/C got pretty bad reviews. I myself own and ride a 1985 Can-Am ASE, which is identical to the MX except for the aircooled, non-power-valve engine, and I agree with most of the comments made on the bike. I must say that, overall. I like the bike, but I have remedies to some of the problems you entcountered.
As for the forks, give them time to break in and then use 14 ounces of Bel-Ray 10-weight LT Racing Suspension Fluid. To firm up the forks, an ATK fork-spring kit will serve at a very reasonable price. The shock can be made stiffer with a heavier White Power spring available from White Brothers.
If you want a zippier power delivery and better turning at the same time, install a one-tooth-larger rear sprocket, and move the wheel up in
the swingarm to compensate. This will shorten the wheelbase and improve turning somewhat.
To improve braking, throw away the front shoes and use a high quality pre-grooved set such as New Fren. The rears are adequate for motocross if they are kept dry.
The bike will shift better with time and regular changing of the oil, using 30-weight motor oil. Bel-Ray gear oil tends to make the clutch stick even while riding, making the shifting clunky.
With the nearly $200 difference between a KTM and a Can-Am, there are many inexpensive (sometimes free) improvements that can be made to make the Can-Am more competitive. And with the highquality components that come stock in it, it can be a bargain.
Dennis W. Eaton Imperial, Missouri
Roller chain sizes and numbers
1 want to know what chain designations actually mean; no one can tell me what 630 or 530 chain numbers are. Are these numbers a dimension in millimeters, width, length, or what? Is it in inches?
Please tell me so I can tell everyone else.
Keith Rickards Fairfield. Connecticut.
Chain numbers aren 7 a dimension per se; instead they refer to a particular size of chain described by an international standard that controls ad dimensions that affect interchangeabil-
ity. However, the measurements are coded into the number. The frst digit is the chain pitch (the distance between pins) in eights of an inch. Thus a 530 chain has its pins spaced 5/8 of an inch apart. The last two digits are based on chain width, also in eighths of an inch; so a 530 chain is J/s of an inch wide; a 525 chain is 5/16 of an inch (two-and-a-half eighths) wide.
Detonation blues
I've got a problem with detonation with my 1982 CB650 Honda. The motor is in perfect tune, and is claimed to operate properly with 86 octane fuel. Yet it pings when accelerating from 4500 rpm with a load of 300 pounds or so. There always seems to be plenty of power, and I’m not lugging the motor when it happens. I’ve tried custom blending regular and super unleaded with mixed results. Sometimes pure super works fine, which would seem to indicate that it’s a marginal problem. But it gets old wondering if the next tankful will allow normal use of the throttle.
Would adding octane boosters help? Could it hurt the bike? Or would retrading the timing cure the problem? How much? Would this hurt the motor? The performance?
Or would an oil cooler reduce the heat enough to help?
Henry Goodwin
Mobile, Alabama
Octane booster would help, but it's not a convenient solution, especially for the minor pinging that you describe. If premium gas isn't a consis-> tent answ er; we'd suggest retarding the igntion timing about three degrees. That amount shouldn't cause the engine an y problems, and will have on/y a minor effect on performance. And, an oil cooler just might drop engine temperatures enough to have some effect. especially if your pinging problems occur mostly in hot weather.
Gray-market exotics
Recently, a Suzuki dealer ran an ad in my local paper: “We are accepting deposits on Suzuki GSXR750, 1 37 hp.. and RG500, 95 hp.” They had a picture of the RG500 and it looked like a GP racer.
Do you know anything about the RG500? The dealer here said it would run about $3500.
Jeff Padilla
West Palm Beach, Florida
At the time we received your letter; both the GSX-R750 and R G500 were being sold in other countries (including Canada), but not in the U.S. If your dealer was actuali v selling these machines, he must have been importing
them himself, instead of buying them through U.S. Suzuki. That poses some interesting problems, as it can be difficult to bring non-certified motorcycles in the U.S legally. If these machines were brought in without proper Customs, EPA and DOT paperw ork, they could be subject to confiscation. We've heard of extremely few cases of that actually happening, as most graymarket motorcycle imports seem to be ignored by the federal bureaucracy, but it is a risk.
As for the RG500 itself, it's a square-Four two-stroke of very high performance, a replica of Suzuki's own GP racer, and it's intended mainly for the European market. We ran a brief riding impression of the machine in Letter from Japan in the January, 198ó, issue.
Header-pipe blues
1 have a Kawasaki 440LTD. After 7000 miles of street riding, its exhaust pipe is turning yellow where it attaches to the cylinder head. This is only on the left cylinder.
I notice that many streetbikes
have yellow or blue exhaust pipes right next to the engine block. Does discoloration just on one side indicate a valve adjustment is needed? Is there any way to restore the finish?
Scott Biehler
Ocala, Florida
Head-pipe color changes reflect how hot the pipe surface was running; the more the color change, the hotter the pipe surface. To prevent discoloration, most Japanese motorcycles have used double-wall head pipes, with the inner pipe separated from the outer by an air gap. That lets the outer pipe run cooler and sta y shinier. Recenti y, to save weight, there has been a movement toward single-w all stainless-steel head pipes. These will turn all shades of the rainbow, but all that indicates is that you 've been riding hard, not that anything is wrong with the engine. As an example, a BMW K/00 will blue its exhaust pipes all the wa y back to its muffler when ridden full-throttle for a half-hour or so.
Your Kawasaki uses double-wall exhaust construction, and its one discolored exhaust indicates that that cylinder is running hotter than the other. The most likely explanations are either unsynchronizecl carburetors or retarded spark timing on the cylinder w hose exhaust has changed color. As far as removing the discoloration. a chrome polish may help, as well as commercial products such as “Blue-away" that are designed to brighten discolored chrome.
Better-handling V65
I am the owner of a 1 984 Honda V65 Sabre, and my only complaint with it is its inability to negotiate tight, windy roads. I was able to solve this problem for less than $ 100 and two hours’ work in my garage. The parts required are Progressive Suspension fork springs, K&N handlebars and a two-foot length of one-inch inside-diameter, schedule 80. PVC pipe.
Installing the bars is a simple task. When installing the springs, I deviated slightly from the recommended spacer length. For stock specifications, the spacer length should be 8Vi inches; using the PVC
pipe, I cut mine 714 inches long.
The final result is astonishing. These basic changes bring the rider’s body weight forward, which alleviates neck and shoulder strain on those long, fast trips down the highways. Because of the changed frontend geometry, the bike will track effortlessly through tight, twisting backroads. I’m very satisfied with these changes.
Gary Gaboriault Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Mis-shifts
I have a 1985 Niçhthawk 650 that I ride everywhere I go. I have very few complaints about it except when upshifting from first gear to second gear. I use the clutch, but, more often than not, the transmission hangs up in neutral. Although this is my first streetbike. I have been riding dirt bikes for many years. Is there anything I can do to the bike or my shifting technique to avoid hitting neutral?
Bob Lorden Ypsilanti, Michigan
We haven't had problems with Night hawks missing shifts, so we don't think it's inherent in your bike. A clutch that drags slightly or some problem in the shift linkage may be contributing to your problem, but we'd try a simple adjustment before going an y further. Man y shifting problems occur because the natural rotation of the rider's foot about his ankle doesn 7 quite correspond to the shift-lever arc because the shifter is placed too high. Try rotating the shift lever so it 's a half-inch or more low er, and you could find your shifting problem solved. f<3
