couple questions

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khuenefeldt

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Couple questions about starting the vmax. I usually use a full choke at startup. I also leave the choke halfway on for the first minute or so. Sometimes I can hear a quiet poping coming from the exhaust. Is this a lean condition?

Second question is sometimes the starter has a little grind. I once had a yamaha virago 83' 750 and it grinded Horribly....sounded like the end of the world when you started it. this doesn't nearly sound as bad, but sometimes acts like it doesn't catch all the way. I would say the engine has a lot of compression because it really makes the starter work. Regardless any known issues with the starters on these or any tricks to starting? Sometiems u can shift in first....bump the bike forward...shift back to neautral and lock the planetary gears to the flywheel. Does this work on the vmax?

3rd question is regarding going into 2nd gear. Sometimes i get a little grind if i run through the gears...mostly in 2nd. I noticed Amsoil MC oil made a bigger difference in how hard it grinded. I went to mobile one Mx4t and it loosened it up a little. Clutch doesn't slip and it doesn't pop out of any gears. Honestly, I think all my previous bikes pretty much had this "clunk/ slight grind into 2nd" hmmmm....again it's not horrible, but i thought i would ask...each type of bike has it's own personality.
 
I start mine with 1/2 choke....then go to 1/4 after 30 second. Mine pops too. With choke you're dumping raw fuel into the cylinders so it's expected.

Starter grinding isn't normal....you're starter clutch is starting to go out.
 
Mark,I thought that you preferred to start yours with 1/2 choke-1/2 throttle then rev it to the redline repeatedly till warm?
 
Well shit Shawn....now I need to come up with another secret. The vmax doesn't have a redline by the way. lol
 
As a battery becomes stressed under load. It is possible to get what - for a lack of a better word - flat spot in the starter, not talking about the gear either. Could this be part of your problem, I'm not sure. But, before you jump the gun, check the battery while starting it, if it's drops too low. Your probably going to have a quirky starting bike. Consider, the age, condition and connections. I always start with the simple stuff I can check and rule out before expanding any ideas of what a problem may be.

What the guys above said may very well be your problem, It doesn't hurt to check just to make sure. When you said it really makes the starter work, it makes me suspect your battery has lost some if it's kick to get it to fire...as always 02 cents.
 
Your probably right Robbarrie. If i start the bike, shut it off...start, shut it off...and repeat 3 times....the 4th. time the battery seems to running out of juice. If i did a compression test all the way around, i'm sure the battery would be almost dead :bang head:


I've put the battery on a battery tender, but there's no telling how old it is. I may change it out for piece of mind.

As far as the starter grind...i'm not too worried of tearing it apart right now. It only does it once in a great while, and when it becomes a real issue i'll think about tearing the side of the motor off. :cheers: Thanks guys
 
Your probably right Robbarrie. If i start the bike, shut it off...start, shut it off...and repeat 3 times....the 4th. time the battery seems to running out of juice. If i did a compression test all the way around, i'm sure the battery would be almost dead :bang head:


I've put the battery on a battery tender, but there's no telling how old it is. I may change it out for piece of mind.

Not sure how many times one would get - starting it , shutting it off and restarting again over and over. ???

Doing that 3-4 times in a row is a hefty shit kick'n on a battery I would think. I know sometimes a battery can hold a good charge but looses it ability to really crank (cranking amps) a tuff old engine like the Max especially when cold, when it starts getting old. You need not replace yet but either compare to another Max or do a switch out if you can. You can test a bettery when starting and see how much the volts drop - I think they say it's recommended to replace if its like 9V (I think) or lower on startup.

A buddy of mine was having problems starting his bike just the other day - after sitting all winter. To clarify he had the battery in the house on a battery tender over the winter. He took the battery back out and brought it over and we tested it - it was OK. So when he got home put it back in and put it in gear - pulled in the clutch rolled a few inches and let out the clutch and put it back into N and tried it. It fired up....???? Not sure why this happened but he was already willing to put a new battery in it. Time will tell I guess. Then he told me at work what happened when he got home. I have no idea really. Maybe someone can answer this, but I guess it can happen, it did to him. He said he checked the connections the first time and they were tight.

Funny you brought up the second gear glitch, I've read about this before. Starting to really think the Max has issues with 2nd gear for sure.
 
I just put an odyssey battery in mine.I bought direct from odyssey for$95 delivered.It came in 2 days too from Cali to W.Pa. They told me that the ones purchased from ebay do not carry the full warranty.I decided that a $60 acid battery every 2 years is not the answer for me anymore.
 
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I just put an odyssey battery in mine.I bought direct from odyssey for$95 delivered.It came in 2 days too from Cali to W.Pa. They told me that the ones purchased from ebay do not carry the full warranty.I decided that a $60 acid battery every 2 years is not the answer for me anymore.

Which one did you buy, the one for the Venture?
 
Another question...


Sometimes when starting the bike cold.....I push the kill button to ON and you can hear the vboost actuate; however, i'm not sure what noises i'm suppose to hear...

after running the bike and restarting it sounds normal...2 distinctive "WEEEE WEEEEN"

When cold sometimes i get a "WEEE...Click click click click click"

anyone?
 
The whining is the vboost cycling open and then closed. This should happen each time the key is turned on and the engine sw in the RUN position. The click click is the fuel pump filling the float bowls. Depending on how low they are, the amount of time that the pump clicks varies...but the maximum is 3 seconds or so. If you turn the key on/off....the clicking will eventually cease because the float bowls are full.
 
Exactly....why would I want to fuck up my own bike? lol

Sorry Heretic!
 
That's ok, I doubt that you could do anything to my bike on purpose that I haven't already done on accident. :biglaugh:

Well shit Shawn....now I need to come up with another secret. The vmax doesn't have a redline by the way. lol

The max does have a redline (mine is 9000k per factory tach), but no rev limiter, unless you count the RPM in which the engine turns inside out.
 
Ummmm.... Where's the choke! I've never used mine. DAMMITT! Did the dealer forget to put it on????
Ya just gotta love livin in Floridaaaaaaa! LMAO!
 

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