Currently in Coshocton, Ohio
Posted: Mon Aug 05, 2019 4:51 am
Hi all!
I sold my home in Massachusetts June 5th and took off with my fifth wheel toy hauler, a couple of three wheelers, and I was supposed to have a street bike. I'm doing some traveling before I buy another house. I've been spending a lot of time in Coshocton, Ohio, which is where I am now. I'm looking at buying a place in Kimbolton. My 'ol 2009 Buell XB12Scg is the best motorcycle I have ever laid a leg over, when it runs (sigh). It's a grumpy fawker and I've spent a lot of time and money with no results. I was forced to put the Buell in storage and buy another bike before I departed Massachusetts.
Amazingly, I happened to find my dream bike listed for a good price. A 1985 Honda Interceptor 1000, which is a rare bird. I immediately bought it and immediately blew the bottom end, long story. I can elaborate if anyone wants me to. Even with a bad engine it's still worth what I paid, so I put it into storage but not before I bought a second Interceptor, an 86 VF1000R Interceptor with a paltry 3,700 miles on the clock for short money. A complete bike with a clear title. It was meant to be. I just didn't have time for an engine swap though, so I had to buy yet another bike.
Enter my 1999 Honda VTR1000 Superhawk. I had only two days to find a suitable bike to take with me on the road, and I didn't want to break the bank. By this point I have a lot of money invested in motorcycles, they just happen to all be broken. I didn't want to spend too much more on motorcycles, but I would have if I had to. I scoured Craigslist and found this Superhawk listed locally for $1800, but the seller had someone coming in two days to look at it. I asked him if I could scab the bike out from under the other guy if I gave him an extra $100, and he said OK.
When I looked at the bike, it had brand new tires and paint but needed fork seals, front and rear brakes, and some other odds and ends. The fork seals are puking right on the front brakes, and it has two left rotors. The brake and clutch masters are fogged and yucky looking, and I'm pretty sure all the hydraulic oil is original at 26,000 miles. The chain and sprockets are roached, but functional. The bike runs and rides good enough though. One thing I found out later is that the low fuel light doesn't work. Yes, I ran it out of gas finding that out. The rear valve cover leaked oil so bad that it was burning off the pipe as well as lubricating the chain. It was so bad that I thought the countershaft seal was blown.
I ordered all the new parts for it, everything OEM except for the chain and sprockets, which are discontinued. I already fixed the valve cover leak and diagnosed the low fuel light problem. Seems like the sending unit quit. When I bought the bike, it would cough a lot through the intake and sometimes stall. Sometimes it would cough and die, and sometimes it would just quit at idle with no cough. Every V-twin I've owned is prone to coughing through the intake, so I didn't think it was a big deal at first. I got a tank of good gas through it and it improved, but it still had an issue. As it turns out, the vacuum line for the petcock had a "T" in it with one leg of it completely open, and the vacuum line had a second leak where it had split open on the end, like wide open. I blocked off the open port on the T and cut the hose back to get rid of the split, which obviously took care of my coughing and stalling problems.
I looked at the parts fiche and also scoured my Haynes manual, but I could not find a good schematic that shows the vacuum hose or that T. My first question is, why does a petcock need vacuum?
My second question is, is the T supposed to be there, and if so, what is supposed to come off the other side of that T?
The new chain and sprockets arrived yesterday and the rest of the parts should be here this week, and I'd like to get this thing whipped apart and back together ASAP. I think the wheels need balancing as well, so I'll have that done. Thanks to everyone reading this and I look forward to some replies! :-)
I sold my home in Massachusetts June 5th and took off with my fifth wheel toy hauler, a couple of three wheelers, and I was supposed to have a street bike. I'm doing some traveling before I buy another house. I've been spending a lot of time in Coshocton, Ohio, which is where I am now. I'm looking at buying a place in Kimbolton. My 'ol 2009 Buell XB12Scg is the best motorcycle I have ever laid a leg over, when it runs (sigh). It's a grumpy fawker and I've spent a lot of time and money with no results. I was forced to put the Buell in storage and buy another bike before I departed Massachusetts.
Amazingly, I happened to find my dream bike listed for a good price. A 1985 Honda Interceptor 1000, which is a rare bird. I immediately bought it and immediately blew the bottom end, long story. I can elaborate if anyone wants me to. Even with a bad engine it's still worth what I paid, so I put it into storage but not before I bought a second Interceptor, an 86 VF1000R Interceptor with a paltry 3,700 miles on the clock for short money. A complete bike with a clear title. It was meant to be. I just didn't have time for an engine swap though, so I had to buy yet another bike.
Enter my 1999 Honda VTR1000 Superhawk. I had only two days to find a suitable bike to take with me on the road, and I didn't want to break the bank. By this point I have a lot of money invested in motorcycles, they just happen to all be broken. I didn't want to spend too much more on motorcycles, but I would have if I had to. I scoured Craigslist and found this Superhawk listed locally for $1800, but the seller had someone coming in two days to look at it. I asked him if I could scab the bike out from under the other guy if I gave him an extra $100, and he said OK.
When I looked at the bike, it had brand new tires and paint but needed fork seals, front and rear brakes, and some other odds and ends. The fork seals are puking right on the front brakes, and it has two left rotors. The brake and clutch masters are fogged and yucky looking, and I'm pretty sure all the hydraulic oil is original at 26,000 miles. The chain and sprockets are roached, but functional. The bike runs and rides good enough though. One thing I found out later is that the low fuel light doesn't work. Yes, I ran it out of gas finding that out. The rear valve cover leaked oil so bad that it was burning off the pipe as well as lubricating the chain. It was so bad that I thought the countershaft seal was blown.
I ordered all the new parts for it, everything OEM except for the chain and sprockets, which are discontinued. I already fixed the valve cover leak and diagnosed the low fuel light problem. Seems like the sending unit quit. When I bought the bike, it would cough a lot through the intake and sometimes stall. Sometimes it would cough and die, and sometimes it would just quit at idle with no cough. Every V-twin I've owned is prone to coughing through the intake, so I didn't think it was a big deal at first. I got a tank of good gas through it and it improved, but it still had an issue. As it turns out, the vacuum line for the petcock had a "T" in it with one leg of it completely open, and the vacuum line had a second leak where it had split open on the end, like wide open. I blocked off the open port on the T and cut the hose back to get rid of the split, which obviously took care of my coughing and stalling problems.
I looked at the parts fiche and also scoured my Haynes manual, but I could not find a good schematic that shows the vacuum hose or that T. My first question is, why does a petcock need vacuum?
My second question is, is the T supposed to be there, and if so, what is supposed to come off the other side of that T?
The new chain and sprockets arrived yesterday and the rest of the parts should be here this week, and I'd like to get this thing whipped apart and back together ASAP. I think the wheels need balancing as well, so I'll have that done. Thanks to everyone reading this and I look forward to some replies! :-)