The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

Hey yall! I decided to dedicate today too tearing down the bike to get a better idea of things.

I'll try my best to keep things organized but here goes,

The Good:
She's got an aftermarket exhaust! Headers are a 4 to 1, muffler is a V&H (unsure of the exact model), and she's got pod filters too match! I'm not sure if the PMS came plugged from the factory like my XVS but there wasn't any so I assume the PO changed the jets and adjusted the PMS. Bike is from Minnesota so when I get to pulling off the carbs I'll see what size the mains and pilots are and see if you guys from CO are running something similar. But that'll be another time with a new set of plugs!

The spark plug boots and wires were replaced with "NGK" ones, I haven't done any research yet but I assume I still have the stock ignition coils.

Last and certainly not least though for the good is that the damn petcock is safety wired! Made me wonder if the PO was maybe even a member on here at some point or at least knew someone. Still, cant say I didn't smile when I saw that.

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

The Bad:

The PO had did some rewiring and routing of a couple things and it appears that heat is the main culprit for the damage but nothing too hard to replace.

First victim I spotted was the Side Stand Switch, it was routed along with the clutch cable rubbing along the outside of the crankcase.

Second was a red wire, and white wire inside some corrugated hose that was tucked along the inside the left side of the frame.

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

The Ugly:

This is where I need yalls input. Comin off the bottom of my TCI (I assume lol) there is a set of wires that come off and goes down in between the cranks case and frame. After looking over the wiring diagram for the bike I assume that it's for the pickup coil but again I wanted your guy's feedback.

[Pat Conlon]

I've seen worse. Yes, the lower plug on the ignition box goes down to the 2 pickup coils.
On the picture with the ignition box, see that red plug? Open up that connector and take a look.
https://fjowners.com/index.php?topic=19557.0

Also on your ignition box, see that vacuum line on the left side? That vacuum hose runs up to a port on your #2 carb intake manifold. You want to perform the suck test. Test rubber vacuum diaphragm in your ignition box by disconnecting the vacuum hose at the manifold, clean the hose end and suck on the hose...if you can not draw air, all is well, no worries...but if you can draw air thru the hose, your diaphragm is toast. This leaking diaphragm will allow unmetered air into your #2 cylinder causing a lean condition. Cap off the vacuum port on the #2 intake manifold. Use the heavy duty oem Yamaha plugs in this area...normal thin vacuum plugs will not last on these vacuum ports due to heat.
This vacuum advance feature on your ignition box is an emissions feature and has nothing to do with performance.
https://fjowners.com/index.php?topic=11690.0

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

Thanks for the confirmation, Pat!

I will also make sure to go ahead and test the diaphragm tomorrow and see where I'm at with that.

For futures sake I'll go ahead and cut out the red plug and throw some ferrules and wagos on her! Also I'll go ahead and cap that vacuum line at the boot, assuming the nipples are the same as on the XVS I may already have a spare nipple plug.

[Pat Conlon]

I'll go ahead and cap that vacuum line at the boot....

If the diaphragm is tight, passes the suck test, leave it connected.
That closed throttle vacuum advance sure keeps your plugs clean....and white!
Note for future reference, if you ever want to get an accurate reading on the color of your plugs, remember to disconnect this function.
If not, the white plugs will freak you out.

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

Just wanted to give yall an update on things.

I ended up pulling the starter, and generator to get full access to the pickup coil wires. I ended up cutting back the burnt loom and to my surprise the wires inside were shielded from the damage! All of them were to very flexible didnt show cracking. I ended up deciding to just keep the stock wires for now, I gave them a fresh wrap of tape and used this heat shielding I purchased from amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLLGLSN8

I gave the generator the same treatment, and when I went to reinstall the starter I had noticed some pretty good pitting on the ring. I picked up a nitrile kit from harbor freight and installed a 20x3mm. I'm honestly not happy with it though. I couldn't find anything on the size of it either in the service manual or on Partzilla, etc. What size worked for yall?

[red]

the good is that the damn petcock is safety wired! Made me wonder if the PO was maybe even a member on here at some point or at least knew someone. Still, cant say I didn't smile when I saw that.

Johnny,

Can't quite see the safety wire.  Is this what you have?

https://fjowners.com/index.php?msg=27126

[JohnnyTheCraneGuy]

Sure is!

Sorry about the crappy pic lol I didnt know I was going to end up pulling the tank when I took it and decided to not take another after doing so.