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The main thing with mine, hot, cold, or in between, is do not touch the throttle. Don't even look at it!!! When it's cold, use full choke. Starts first kick. When it's warm, no choke. Starts first kick. When it's in between, good luck!
The petcock on my 81 needs repair or replacement. If it is in the "run" position, it runs out of gas in just a few minutes. I have to keep it on "reserve."
There are always lots of old jap bikes around. Just recently I saw a near perfect restoration of a CB500 F and a really beautiful CB450. Right now there are several nice GoldWings on the market, and I know of a SWEEET Triumph TR6R. Seattle and Portland are always good places to look for nice...
All of post #5 is true. However, it's also true that when our bikes were built the japs always hung about 20 pounds of muffler on each cylinder, and used ridiculously restrictive intake systems. Most old jap bikes perform better if you open things up so they can breath, and then re-jet the...
While I was out riding today, I became really intrigued by the lighter crank Aaron posted. I know from personal experience with race bikes that when you reduce the weight of the rotating assembly by a couple pounds, the performance characteristics of your engine change A LOT.
The weight...
I got your PM with the piston info. Thanks, it's good stuff. I like the GS500 pistons because that is a fairly popular motorcycle that is still in production, or at least it was still in production very recently. That means good parts availability.
The stock GS500 piston is 74mm. 74mm X...
You're probably correct. Heavy flywheels reduce vibrations. They also use up potential horsepower. Having owned 4 Harleys and two BSA singles, vibrations ain't shit to me:D
Lighter flywheels result in more HP to the primary sprocket, and allow the engine to achieve peak rpm's quicker...
These engines seem to work best if you keep the revs up. Putting around at 2000-3000 rpm's a lot causes them to load up. When I first got mine, it was so carboned up that it would fall apart above about 6500. I went out on a favorite back road and ran it above 5000 rpm for about half an hour...