Got my tank hooked up today and it started right up to my shock, it idles a little low and took awhile to come off choke but it officially will stay off choke and idle pretty good. I still need to adjust my throttle cable as it is waaay to tight for my liking and I'm going to mess with the PMS and idle adjuster to see if I can get a better choke start and then regular idle but all in all it runs like freaking hell. The 4 inch baffle on the V+H long shots sounds incredible, but it's loud enough that I don't think I'm going to do too many more ten mile test drives to mess with carb settings before I get it smogged and registered, cops around here are pretty cool but I don't need to deal with a ticket.

So... Thanks to all who gave advice and everything else on this strip down and clean up job that I did, I'm really happy with the way it came out, my paint looks pretty crappy but that's to be expected and some of my chrome is pretty pitted but I can live with that too. I really appreciate all the advice I got here and the tech articles really made this happen. Thanks again! Now only if I can make it up to Bentley's next weekend.......

-Soma

Ok on another note, my belt is clearly rubbing on the left side. I've never seen this before, and it really manifests with the bike off and me just rolling it. I'm going to look up drive belt adjustment tips on the tech articles but I don't know if I have the tools. Is it normal to adjust your belt every year? This belt only has 3500 miles on it. Thanks again guys you are awesome, p.s. I'll upload a sig pic once everything is clean and I can get a good shot of it down on cape cod

good old bullet proof roadie. never lets you down good job on fixin her up soma

The belt to the left won't hurt a thing you will never get it to run in the center of the pulley anyway. To adjust it twist it half way between the rear and front pulley at the top. If it only goes 45 degrees it is good more than 45 too loose less than 45 too tight. To adjust the rear tire to track true measure from the center of the swing arm bolt to the center of the rear axle bolt. Both sides should be set the same and the belt only twist 45 degrees. As for the paint and rust here is a link to some great products to restore it to new condition. Use the OxyGone and Metal Polish in equal parts mixed together to get rid of the rust. Use the ULTRA-ION to clean the paint up and make it shine like new. These products are used by car show buffs and I have used them on my bike that won first place. Have fun! OOOOPS forgot the link. http://www.driwashsolutions.com/

I had no doubts...

Great job, Soma.


Rich

Yeah Curt I bought all those products. They work great. my rust is just pretty far gone and I'm going to have to hit it with some steel wool or something.

About the belt though it tracks to the left which doesn't bother me, it's more the fact that it is certainly rubbing and making noise. With the bike off and moving it forward it squeeks pretty bad. I read something about turning an adjustment bolt like 1/4 turn to loosen it up and making all the difference. Anyone know abouts where this is/what size nut it is. Wanna mess with this when I dial in the carb a bit better so I can ride out the to Cape tonight.

-Soma

Don't forget when ya adjust the belt, loosen the axle nut and the rear brake stay nut.

Do you really think I need to loosen the wheel nut and caliper if I'm just going to back the adjuster off about a quarter turn to get the belt to stop squeaking? I don't have a deflection tool so I'd only really be guessing at the actual angle of deflection tool so I'd only really be guessing anyways.

-Soma

Wow my brain must have just gave out at the end of that previous sentence... That's scary, 7 am on a saturday is new to me.

-Soma

Soma wrote:
Do you really think I need to loosen the wheel nut and caliper if I'm just going to back the adjuster off about a quarter turn to get the belt to stop squeaking? I don't have a deflection tool so I'd only really be guessing at the actual angle of deflection tool so I'd only really be guessing anyways.

-Soma


Yes, you have to loosen the axle nut and brake caliper stay bolt otherwise all you are doins is loosening the adjusters which must be tight against the axle and swingarm.

Also, everybody is born with a pair of deflection tools, they are either right handed or left handed and just follow Curt's instructions

Alright so I checked the deflection by hand and it feels and looks good, right about 45 degrees, maybe a little more, to more I've investigated this noise the more I've realized it's not a squeaking so much, as it is more of a clicking, and it seems to do it each time a belt tooth comes off the pully tooth, it doesn't always do it sometimes I have to rock the bike back and forth or move it forwards or backwards quite a bit before it will start. Is this just the fact the bike hasn't really been ridden in 3-4 years or so and the belt just needs to settle in again?

-Soma