Blacksmith

If you have 125 lbs of compression, then I really doubt that you have a piston or ring problem, unless you had a lot more compression than that in the past.

I need to check my parts box to see exactly what I have, but I think that I could let one go for $10 bucks + shipping. However, where are you at, and what do you want for the bike like it is?

DO NOT use carb cleaner on the plastic connection of your wiring harness. Many types of cleaner will soften or melt the plastic. In some cases you will get them back together only to never be able to seperate them again. As for checking out the electrical system the following was posted by BenBB and is really good: You really want this bitch to run? Of course you do. Time for a crash course. Here's what you're gonna need: 1. A continuity tester; most decent digital volt/ohm meters will have a setting to test continuity, the better ones will emit a tone or squeak when you touch the two test leads together, or when you put the leads on each end of an unbroken wire (you want one with good pointy leads too). You can find these at like Autozone for $20 or so. 2. An ohmmeter; again, hopefully the same one as above, capable of reading resistance through a wire (which is measured in Ohms, the symbol is Omega). 3. Feeler gauges, well you already got that covered. The matchbook cover method will get you close enough to run. 4. I'm sure you got the rest of the normal tools so I won't go there. 5. PATIENCE. Maybe 75% of electrical problems are a bitch because they are intermittant; don't give up. Drag the harness in the house, get a box fan for the garage, take a break when you get pissed, whatever. Just take your time and you'll figure it out. OK since you got the harness apart, start with checking continuity through all the wires. Take the 4-wire plug for the stator, find one wire color (like red/white), and then find the same color wire at the CDI connector. Carefully put the test leads on each of the terminals inside the connector and listen for the tester to "beep". If you're not getting any beep first make sure you got the meter set to check continuity and have the leads plugged into the right place on the meter, and you should get a "beep" when you touch the two test leads together. Now check for continuity through all the wires that matter; from the stator (red/white, green/white, red, and green) to the CDI (same colors), from the CDI (black, orange) to the coil, from the CDI (red/black, black) to the key switch, from the CDI (black/white, black) to the handlebar kill switch, and from the CDI (black) to the eyelet ground where the voltage regulator mounts. Don't shove the test leads into the connectors too hard as you can bend the terminals where they won't make contact. It's best if you can set the meter down and hold a test lead in each hand, just making contact against the terminal you're testing. Check that ground eyelet, it needs to have a clean contact to the frame (the voltage regulator itself doesn't matter as it's part of the lighting system). If you find a wire that doesn't have continuity, trace it for cuts or any indications it could be broken. Check the terminal at each end and make sure it's crimped on tight. If there's no physical indication of it being broken and you still get no continuity, trust the meter and replace the wire (more on that later). IF you have continuity in all the places that matter, tape up the harness and move on, that is probably not the problem (this is a good place to just cut off all the TORS connectors, tape the end of the wire so it's not exposed, and then tape 'em all inside the harness). Next, double check the stator & pickup coil resistance. At the stator 4-wire connector, set the meter to read Ohms, and you should have: Charging coil (red to green wire) 13.7-20.5 Ohms Pick up coil (white/red to white/green wire) 94-140 Ohms You should be well within those limits with a new stator, but what you really don't want to see here is "infinite ohms" which means there's a break in the wire somewhere. While you're there, just for grins test the ground; set the meter to continuity again and see if it "beeps" going from the single black wire from the stator to one of the bolts on the motor. It should. You got the pickup coil gap set so that is OK, make sure the little phillips screws are tight. Visually inspect the flywheel. You didn't drop it did you? The nut is tight right? If it's loose make sure the little woodruff key didn't fall out or shear off. Check the little magnets on the flywheel with somethin' metal and see if they are still magnetic. Use a wire brush and take off any surface rust. Take a look at the coil and the spark plug leads. Just make sure the leads are attached to the coil and it's not like broken in half. You can test the coil with the ohmmeter but I don't have the specs in front of me (check the Clymer). I had a local mom & pop bike shop bench test my coil fer free so you could do that to get out of the garage. Pretty much all that's left is hooking up all the connectors. Remember what I was sayin' earlier about the terminals, some of them are bent back on themselves to provide tension against the other terminal (this is almost impossible to describe so bear with me), if you shove the test lead in there too hard it can bend it too much and it won't make a good connection. Don't worry, you can remove the little terminals from the connectors and make 'em right. On the inside of the connector, there is a small plastic "tang" that keeps the terminal from coming out the back side of the connector. Use a small pick to push that plastic tang and you can pull the terminal right out. Speaking of connectors, get some dielectric grease and put a nice bead in each of the connectors. If water is your culprit the grease should help. OK so if you haven't found any problems yet, start hooking things back together. For now, just plug in the stator, the CDI, make sure the ground eyelet is tight at the voltage regulator, hook up the coil leads, and nothing else. If the key switch wires are still connected (black/red to black) leave them that way. Don't even hook up anything else (you won't have a kill switch so you'll hafta pull the orange lead off the coil to kill it). Throw fresh plugs in there. Test for spark and/or see if it runs. Does it? If so, plug in the rest of the connecters and check it again. If not, it could be the CDI, since that's all that's left. Do you have your old CDI or can you borrow a buddies (any year) CDI? If you can get ahold of one that works, even if the connectors aren't the same you can give it a try, by removing the terminals (make sure to write down what color wire went where!!) from one style connector and putting them in the other. GOOD LUCK and let us know what it's doing...

If your compression is 125 then I think you need to print off a copy of the jetting FAQ and work through the whole thing. I would bet that your problem is simply jetting.

I don't know what your altitude is, but at 3000 feet the vitos power pistons will make over 150 lbs of compression with 22cc domes. By my way of figuring, that would put your compression with 19cc domes at over 190lbs. That is way too much compression for pump gas. If you have any advance in your timing it would make things even worse. If you went from a super stock piston which increases your exaust duration and lowers your compression to a power pistion which increases your compression with a taller deck heigth, while at the same time putting on smaller domes, I am sure detonation from too much compression is your problem. Put that baby back toghther and get some 110 or 112 octain race gas and you should be good to go. Make sure you clean everything out of the bottom end for your rebuild.

I would sure like to see some pictures as well.

I think what you are talking about is the hole for the tach drive gear on the RZ. Not used on the Shee.

Any chance we could see some pictures of that "total fillet weld and resculpture job of updraft ramps"? Thanks

While I don't know anything about the inserts, I have been told that packing your bars full of wet sand will help to reduce the amount of vibration that gets to your hands. I have never tried it, but a couple of old time Harley guys told me that once. If anyone would know about vibration, it would be old time Harley guys. :-)

I fully agree with sredish that you do not HAVE to rejet when you increase your timing. However, as an increase in timing does increase you chance to have detonation, I would sure check it close after I made the adjustment. Remember, you can run leaner with stock timing than you can with an advance of 4 degrees.

I would go with the Tusk if you can get one. Seems like they are out of stock every time I try. I have heard really good things about Tusk parts, and I am going to get one just to have a spare in the box.

I would take the tank and tank plastic off of that bike and turn it upside down with the plugs out and turn it over a couple of hundred times. :-) This will get that crap out of your bottom end. Clean your carbs and check the float bowl levels and needle valves. Then put that thing back together and see if you can get it to start. Good Luck.

Give us a little more info on the bike. How old is it, and how much has it been ridden? What are your mods? What altitude are you at? How are you jetted? Have you done a compression check? What have you done to fix the problem? What bore are you on? When was the last rebuild? Is your air cleaner clean???????????????

You can have the crank rebuilt as a long rod crank, and if you do that you can use a spacer plate or you can get the wiseco pistons that are made to use with the long rod and no plate.

How much compression were you running? Is the crank welded? Did you have to fix all 10 holes? If so, how deep was the damage, 2 or 3 threads or down deeper?

OK if I am reading your post correctly you are replacing a stock clutch basket with another stock one. Regardless of what anyone tells you it can be done. They are servicable using the following: 1) Remove the clutch basket from the bike and make sure you take the bushing out of the center if it stayed in. 2) Grind the rivet swell off until you are flush with the backing plate. 3) Using a pin punch, not a center punch, punch the rivets down out of the backing plate. 4) Remove the backing plate, the clutch bumpers, and the glide plate from the old basket. 5) If your clutch bumpers are no longer in good shape, get yourself a new set from UPP or some such place. Yamaha does not sell them. 6) Take one of your old rivets to your local John Deer dealer. They are exactly the same size as the ones used to hold the scrapers on several models of older grain drills. Get more than just the 4 you think you need. If you do not have any other place to get them you also need to get 3 1/4 by 1 1/2 bolts and nuts. 7) Put the clutch back together using the 1/4 bolts to properly line up all the holes. 8) Put one rivet through the remaining hole and mark it to be cut off 3/8 of an inch above the backing plate. Cut all 4 rivets to the same length. 9) Using a torch heat one rivet up until it is red hot. This can take a little bit of time using a small propane torch. 10) Place the heated rivet through the clutch assy and set the head on a VERY solid object. 11) Using a hammer and a rivet rounding punch smash the rivet to within 1/4 of an inch of the bakcing plate. 12) Remove the bolts one at a time and replace each with a rivet. Good luck, take your time and this procedure works well. I have fixed several clutches that had good baskets but bad bumpers exactly this way.

I ran an 8 fin one for a while, then put on the 25 fin one and then ran both for a while. I don't think that either one made much of a difference. While they do get hot, and as such must remove some heat, I think that both types create a water flow restriction that hurts just about as much as the extra cooling helps. I have one of each that you can have for cheap, I don't run either any more.

10 then 15 then 20 using the pattern off of the stock head or out of the manual.

As for the head, you could sand down the high areas and reuse it, but I would'nt because this can lead to small hot spots and can cause detonation in marginal situations. You can get a new one on ebay for next to nothing. In fact, I have one I would let go pretty cheep if you need it. As for why it is hard to turn over, I would bet that you have some babit in the crank bearings. You need to split the case and check out the bearings really close. This answers you question about pulling the side off, yes you have to. I doubt that you had coolant in the cylinder, if so we would be able to see some sign of it on the top of the piston. I also don't thint that you were jetted lean, as the head looks really good on the other side. Now having said that, you can be lean on only one side if you have a problem with one carb and not the other. However, as both plugs look pretty much the same, I don't think that is your problem. As for detonation, that is also unlikly as it effects both side in most cases. I think that you either had an air leak or you got a bad piston that did not respond well to you getting the bike hot, or your bore was cut too big giving you execess clearance leading to piston slap. Because the motor is already apart, it is too late to check for an air leak so I would not worry about that until you put it back together. You can measure the bore if you have the correct tools, or get it measured at a shop if you do not. However, I would not take it to the place that cut it to get it meausred. As for a bad piston, that is pretty much a guessing game. Sometimes you can tell by looking at the break and sometimes not. It might help it we know what kind of pistons you had in there. Also, I would like to know if you tightned the base gasket nuts on each cylinder before you torqued the head on you last rebuild. Did you use any type of sealant on the head gasket?

The pawls on your shift shaft are worn or out of adjustment. Open it up and check it out. I'll bet just a new shift shaft will take care of the problem.

Can anyone tell me where to find a .010 over Wisceo top end kit? I am begining to wonder if it is even made. I sure hate the idea of having to go to .020 over just to get the pistons that I want. Thanks.

Good post Ben, looks like you have a heck of a start on that Elec FAQ we were going to write. Meat, one thing to keep in mind, when you get right down to it, you only need 5 wires plus a ground circut to make a Shee run. The rest of the wires are only there to shut it off or to power and control the lights. CDI to stator (4) and CDI to coil (1) plus a ground from the CDI to the Stator to the Coil. You might consider taking the plugins off of the CDI, Stator, and Coil and creating a temporary harness from bell wire. Good Luck.

A weak spark that will not start the bike is usually tracked back to a switch problem. If you turn the key off on a shee and then kick it over you will sometimes see a small or weak spark. I say all this because I think that you need to look at that connection and splice again. If you did your splicing "uphill" from the plugin, then check them both again. Remember that there are two wires going into the plugin from the harness and 4 from the plugin to the switch. Make sure that the correct two are spliced together and that the plugin itself is properly connected. I would also take an ohm meter to the stator and coil, but I suspect that they will check out ok. If after you have done all of the above, and the bike still will not start, open up your handlebar mounted kill/light switch. Make sure that both of the wires going to the kill switch are still connected, I have seen a couple of these break and cause a short. If they are in good shape use the ohm meter to check for a circut between the frame and the black/white wire while the switch is set to run. If the circut is closed it is the same as having the kill switch set to off and tells you that you have a short in the wire at some point. If after all of this the bike still does not start, well, we will simply have to start somewhere else

All a spark arrestor is, is a small fine screen in the outlet port of the pipe. I see no reason at all you couldn't make your own, and like you say, it will sure pass the test to see if it has been removed. However, keep in mind that many DNR officials know which setups came with arrestors and for which ones it was an option. If you don't fall into that group I doubt you will get by with it. Good Luck.

What I would do is this. Take the cable loose from the slide and remove it from the cap. Put the slide back into the carb and put the cap back on being sure that the slide goes all the way into the carb. Make sure you put the spring back in to hold the slide down. Place a small peice of tape over the hole in the cap and start the bike. If it still runs wide open, I would start looking for the air leak, otherwise you know it is the cable that is causing your problems. Good luck.