So I'm starting to kick myself for buying this thing. I'd say I should cut myself some slack for a first bike, but this is kinda sad lol.

The worst thing I'm not sure how I missed is this cracked cover...


Now I'm not sure what it's covering, and it's not leaking anything that I can tell, but I'd still imagine it's not good for the bike.
Do you think after 20-30 miles of riding with this I've done any damage?

Also...is the front of the bike supposed to leak...what I think is oil? lol. (Wow, that's a stupid question...)


Not really sure what's going on there.

And lastly, how safe is this tire? Should probably have checked it over a little more, kinda just eyes it from a distance and saw it still had tread....but are those cracks going to cause problems?


The back one seems just fine, really new actually, but if I have to replace the front I think I read somewhere about not mixing 2 types of tires as it's dangerous?


And for those of you with awesome headphones...(I seriously imagine you people as like the CSI guys who can just listen to audio and analyze it lol)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VpnxkbQgAw (can skip the first 10 seconds, have too many keys on that ring)
Don't forget to choose 720p
Not sure what's normal here and what's not...I was trying to get it to backfire for you when I revved it, but for some reason after it's warm, it only backfires while I'm actually on the thing and rolling off the throttle.
But yeah, there's a fairly nice tick in there as well as a hallow "hssssss"...

Anyway, if you can offer any input that'd be great.
Trying to decide if I should bother working through this, or just try and get what I paid for it and pass it along to some other stupid kid like me lol.

-Wright

P.S. Does anyone know how to scale these pictures down...their kinda huge. Not sure how to specify a width and height attribute with that type of formatting.

buy a new signal generator cover for 15 dollars

clean up the engine really good with degreaser so you can actually see how much oil is coming out if any

the bike is 21 years old, so some oil may have weeped out and dirt stuck to it and it got all grimey and goopy

popping on decel is fine, dont worry about it as long as the exhaust header bolts are good and tight and carbs are set right

i don't know about the tires, seems like they are cracked




i got an 89 as my first bike, its pretty beat cosmetically, but its been rock solid reliable in the mechanical area
i went through a phase of really second guessing myself for buying it, but once i sorted out the little things it has been great

Wrightboy:

That tire is toast. But just for your Education, have a look at the tire for a four digit number by itself - though it may be three digits if the tire is real old. The numbers will be somewhere near where it says DOT and may be in an elongated oval shape (rectangle with rounded corners). The numbers are the tires manufacture date. For instance...


What those 4 digit numbers mean is the Date the tire was made - first two is the Week Number of the Year, last two are the Year. So the first one is made in the 42nd week of 2002, second one was made in the 14th week of 2008 and the third tire was made in the 51st week of 2007. If it's only 3 digits long the tire was made before 2000! 

Ok. So you bought a bike with Issues of some sort. So now do the following...

Check the oil level and oil condition - actually, you should change it as a matter of course, but for now just check it. My bet is it's black as coffee. And I am curious about the Level.

I'm also curious about the chain and sprockets. Mind putting up a pic of the chain and rear sprocket - a smaller pic will be fine, although feel free to go dinosaur size like the others

Michael

I poked around but I couldn't see any numbers in sets like that. The model is K591 F though.

I checked the oil a day or so ago, the level was fine but it was pitch black. Thought it was strange at the time since the guy said he had just changed it, figured motorcycle oil was just darker
I did order some Motul 300V 4T or something I read in a thread on here this weekend. Should be here tomorrow or the day after.

Haha yeah, sorry about the size...I thought photobucket would shrink them for me but no =/

Anyway...



And also, how tight are the plugs supposed to be? I thought I'd check while I was out there, couldn't find a wrench so I just dropped the socket on it...gave it a twist with my thumb and forefinger and it broke free. Same with the other side 
One seems okay...but the other kinda looks black?



Thanks!
-Wright

you unscrewed your spark plugs with your fingers?

I put a socket on it, but I couldn't find the wrench, so sort of yes. They weren't like "loose" in there, did sort of have to break them free...

Replace those tires,NOW,before they hurt you.Your oil leak appears to be a bad cylinder to engine case gasket.Another common GS point of failure.You could putty up the ignition cover with JB weld.If you don't get caught in the rain,I wouldn't do anything to it.The bike will probably get knocked/dropped on it's side and bust it again.Your plugs show a slight lean condition but nothing unusual for a stock bike.Your chain and sprocket are looking fine but dry.It's time for a lube job.

Ignition cover should last one more drop b/f it shatters. Get a better one from Buddha for $40.

Oil leak could just be valve cover gasket leaking. Need to clean up the engine to see the source.

Rear sprocket looks worn to me; agree needs oiled, probably needs changed in next year or so.

Tires are shot / dryrotted. I'd replace those now.

How's the brake fluid look? Ancient? Consider bleeding those out if so b/f they get crusty.

Seems bike has not been well cared for, but if it runs and stops everything can be addressed as you have time. Mine didn't look much better when I picked it up

I was thinking the plugs look pretty good but one was a little darker than the other.  Maybe not enough to matter or it could be something like the choke linkage being a  little off from one carb to the other.  I wouldn't worry about the cracked cover, I believe there is a weep hole right around were that crack is anyway.  Also the wires come out of there with no seal.  It is not a sealed area, just covered.

Quote from: noiseguy on May 03, 2011, 08:55:53 PM
Ignition cover should last one more drop b/f it shatters. Get a better one from Buddha for $40.

Oil leak could just be valve cover gasket leaking. Need to clean up the engine to see the source.

Rear sprocket looks worn to me; agree needs oiled, probably needs changed in next year or so.

Tires are shot / dryrotted. I'd replace those now.

How's the brake fluid look? Ancient? Consider bleeding those out if so b/f they get crusty.

Seems bike has not been well cared for, but if it runs and stops everything can be addressed as you have time. Mine didn't look much better when I picked it up

Haha, well I have yet to drop the thing. Kinda hoping it'll happen soon so I get it off my head lol.

I bought some of that Dupont Multi-Use Lubricant that was talked about in a couple of threads, couldn't find it at any of my stores here (Only have an Ace and a Fred Meyers lol), so that's in the same order as the oil, so tomorrow or the next day.

Only the front tire is shot. The back one I think is fairly new, maybe he replaced it but never road it? I will inspect it for dry-rot and everything though. Still has those little rubber feelers on the sides and everything. I'll see if I can't take it down to Les Schwab tomorrow and have them match up what's on the back with a new front.

I haven't looked at the brake fluid, but I'd imagine the front is okay, and the back is probably crazy old lol.

Haha, yeah it runs and stops, only had it up to 60 so far (frightening now that you guys are saying the tires are toasted) and that about seems it's limit, didn't have much accel left in any gear.

Also, while I had the plugs out I whipped out the gapper just to see and it was about .035 in. so 0.88 in mm. Does this seem about right?

Quote from: kman on May 03, 2011, 09:10:06 PM
I was thinking the plugs look pretty good but one was a little darker than the other.  Maybe not enough to matter or it could be something like the choke linkage being a  little off from one carb to the other.  I wouldn't worry about the cracked cover, I believe there is a weep hole right around were that crack is anyway.  Also the wires come out of there with no seal.  It is not a sealed area, just covered.

I noticed the same thing when I took them out, the left one really is quite a bit darker with a lot more black than the right.

Anyone had a chance to check the video and hear the tick and hissing?

Appreciate all the help guys.
-Wright

Buddha sells billet aluminium rotor covers. PM him on here to get one.

Like everyone has said, change your oil and then degrease the motor and ride it to see where the oils leaking from. Have you ordered an oil filter too because that will need replacing when you do the oil?

Before you degrease the motor though I would replace the cover or plug the hole as you will have to hose the degreaser off.

And your front tyre doesn't have to match the rear, they can be different brands.

Your plugs seem ok, nice and brown but since one is a little darker one cylinder is probably just running richer.

3rd is the only gear you should have acceleration in at 60

Put those plugs back in much tighter and they look pretty good. Your sprocket is fine but clean and lube the chain.

DO NOT ride another foot on that tire though!!!!!! Its beyond gone. 

DO NOT MIX RADIAL TIRES AND BIAS PLY TIRES.Check the side wall of the tire to find out if it's bias ply or radial.

Quote from: ben2go on May 04, 2011, 08:48:36 AM
DO NOT MIX RADIAL TIRES AND BIAS PLY TIRES.Check the side wall of the tire to find out if it's bias ply or radial.

I know not too, but im not sure why exactly? Can someone elaborate?

It comes down to two different types of tire construction.A bias ply has the plys laid on a bias from the tire center line.This bias is usually,but not always,45 degrees to the center line.This causes tracking issues and can be the cause of wiggle or head shake on some bikes.Radial tires do not have a bias ply construction.The plys follow the tire center line or the radius of the tire,hence the term radial tire.Radial tires conform to the surface better and provide better more stable tracking,especially in turns.If there is a radial tire on one end of the bike and not the other,the tires will want to take two different tracks around a turn and may cause the rider to go down.

I agree with most of what's above.

Replace those tires,   or at least the front one if you can't afford both yet.  Don't mix radial and bias-ply unless you really really know what you're doing.  Our bikes are built with the suspension tuned softer for bias ply tires.  This doesn't mean you CAN'T run radials, but it's one more reason not to mix them on our bikes.

Your timing cover is cracked.  Use some JB Weld for a cheap fix and/or wait for a good replacement cover to show up somewhere and buy it for a few bucks.  As long as it keeps the weather and the grit out, that's all you need right there.

Your oil leak is a cylinder base gasket.  Not urgent to repair unless it gets worse.  Do take the advice above and do the easy preventative maintenance:  Clean up this area of the engine and KEEP it clean, so you can see just how much oil is or isn't coming out of there.  If it's "lots" then it's time to fix it.  If it's just enough to stain the outside of the engine but not dripping all over the parking lot, then you're probably safe.

Your plugs look OK to me. 

Lube your chain and check the tension.  The 3M teflon multipurpose lube is the cheapest AND the best I've ever used.  

Change your oil AND oil filter.  Cheap and easy to do-it-yourself.  The best thing you can do for your bike.

Change your brake fluid or have it changed.  It's probably brown like coffee.  Ick.  

Keep your tires inflated.

You're good to go!

The plugs look okay to me. They should be tighter than they were, though. Throw some anti-sieze on them and re-install. Be careful not to over-torque them.

The cracked cover is for your ignition rotor. The cover is very thin, but the crack isn't going to harm anything. TheBuddha makes a replacement that's very strong, and crash resistant. Having crashed on that side, I *highly* recommend it.

Those tires are shot shot shot shot shot. Replace them with new tires before you ride the bike again, because they are going to put you on your ass.

Rear sprocket looks usable to me, and it appears to be the OEM steel sprocket. I'd keep it until the chain wears out, and replace both together.

Clean the engine, and see if it's still leaking. A good steam clean would be ideal, but a degreaser would work out okay if a steam clean isn't available.

Wow, thanks for all the input everyone. 
I'll be heading over to the Schwab this afternoon and hopefully get that tire taken care of today.

Trying to find a new cover, think I might have one lined up.
And I'll change the oil change as soon as I get the oil and filter lol, same with the chain lube.

The only thing left that I'm still nervous about is the tick/hiss in the engine. No one's really said much on it, so I'm assuming this is just kinda normal? I poked around on youtube but I couldn't ever find one that really had the same noise, but I don't know if that's because mine's just old, or the audio just wasn't picking it up.

Anyway, thanks again kinda put me at peace of mind. 

Thanks,
-Wright

engine sounds fine, slightly ticking valves is better than no valve clearance