Recent content by 5twins

I think the off-the-shelf generic VM34s are set up for two stroke use, usually a dirt bike. The only difference is the jetting compared to the ones you have. You made no mention of your needle jets. They need to be changed as well.

My Athena base gasket pushed out like that as well ..... ..... but luckily, it never leaked, so I just trimmed it off and carried on, lol ..... The gaskets on my cam covers never gave me any problems but I did replace them when I installed those Allen rocker shaft end caps. I also replaced...

Yes, there's nothing wrong with the ball bearings if they're good. The problem is, I've never found any good ones on these old bikes, lol. Good ball bearings do give nice steering input and "feel", so much so that I read in some bike magazine that some of the newer sport bikes have gone back to...

Yes, after a rebuild, you need to check the head torque several times in the first 1000 miles or so. By then, after numerous heat cycles, the new gaskets should be all compressed and the torques should stabilize. After that, it's still a good idea to check the torques every year. I see you...

Tuning and then fine tuning carbs is all about experimenting. Every one of these motors responds a little differently depending on it's internal condition. There were no ill running effects with two sizes down on the air jets, just the plug color was off (smoke ring too high). Yours may be fine...

Yes, the starter sounds pretty normal to me too. Hey, at least it's not popping out of engagement or grinding like many of them do, lol. I replace those fork dust seals with gaiters. I like the "look" and they offer more protection for the seals and tubes. Also, they are very reasonably priced...

Yes, I'd start it manually and once it's part way in, and square, then tap it in with a suitably sized socket or length of pipe.

The seal holes in the cases are line bored and that gives then very sharp edges. You'll want to "break" that sharp edge with a small sharp knife or a Dremel tool. Then, instead of oiling the new seal O.D., smear some Yamabond on it. This will act as a lube but also help seal it in the hole.

That's just the way they install and end up, but that top tin dust cover hides all that. I have them in both my 650s and they fit and work fine .....

You really want to put those loose ball bearings back in there???? Most of us upgrade to tapered roller bearings.

That's why I like to use old, used MC's from other Yamahas. Most are the Nissin brand and the quality is good. And all they needed was a good cleaning. The only thing I replaced were the screws in the lids, lol.

If you mean the copper coloring in my 1st pic, no, that's just C5-A copper anti-seize applied to the threads of the adjuster.

For the clutch, I use a Kawasaki lever and perch. I use it because the lever pivot is 3 or 4 times wider than the original Yamaha one ..... For a MC, I like the 11mm unit from an XT225 .....

I think I got it from Mailman's XS2 thread.

For the past few years, I've been using Chrome batteries. They've worked well so far. They are reasonably priced and shipping is free ..... https://chromebattery.com/pages/product-result?rq=qq_motorcycle~yr_1978~mk_yamaha~md_xs650-650cc