V-Max noob question

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Zewerr

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So I haven't been able to ride my bike since I got it back from being repaired from the accident. I pretty much rode it from the shop back to my apartment, since it was raining. Well, I try to start it periodically and warm it up during the off season, but my battery was never able to crank it over more than 1-2 times lately, and with the ground being wet, every time I tried to push start it, the rear tire would lock up and the engine wouldn't turn over. So I finally got a set of jumper cables, and cranked it over. It fired up.

Now my question:

What are those 4 black tubes that come up on either side of the intake housing (2 on each side)? Because when the engine now wants to fire, lots of fuel likes to shoot out of one of them, and won't stop until I shut it back off. They look like they're just vent tubes for me. So I'm thinking fuel evap system???
 
The float is stuck on one of your carbs that is why fuel is coming out the overflow.
Also but your battery on a trickle charger until you start riding it more.
 
Last edited:
The tubes hooked to the airbox are float bowl vent tubes (mine are clear). The four that stick straight out from the plastic chrome pieces are float bowl drain tubes. Hope this helps.
 
If you are talking about the smaller diameter rubber tubes that you can see without removing any parts, and that are right by the carbs????They are supposed to be poking out through the small holes on the little chrome piece that ties the two carbs together, but sometimes they fall out of place.

Those are float bowl drain tubes and they wiil not have gas running out of them unless the float bowl drain screw is open. follow the tube around and you will see the drain screw, one on each carb, no parts need to be removed to do this. They don't have to be removed to drain they simply act as valve to let gas flow out of the rubber hose.

If the key is on at all then the fuel pump should continually force gas out of this hose if the screw is open.

Don't accidentally turn the carb linkage screw and mess up the synch...
 
Nope. I know what your talking about. Not those. You have to remove the dummy tank cover to see these ones. So these are the float bowl vents? How fun.

I would hook a battery tender to it, except I live in an apartment complex, and I have no power outlets to connect to in the parking lot. Not to mention the chances of someone jacking it!
 
Zewerr said:
Nope. I know what your talking about. Not those. You have to remove the dummy tank cover to see these ones. So these are the float bowl vents? How fun.

I would hook a battery tender to it, except I live in an apartment complex, and I have no power outlets to connect to in the parking lot. Not to mention the chances of someone jacking it!

Yes they are the Vents; refer to busters post below for this as you must have a stuck float........
 
Sometimes you get lucky and can get the float unstuck by tapping on the carb fuel bowl.
 
I have an update with a few questions. So I tried tapping on the float bowl with the butt of a screw driver, but that didn't fix it. I also let the bowl drain and fill a few times, but it still didn't fix it. Like I said, I live in an apartment complex, so I can't really tear into the bike there, especially with all my tools at work. So I threw the bike in the back of my truck and ran it down to the Yamaha dealer where the bike was originally fixed. They dove into it, and ended up pulling the carb apart, as well as the other three, and readjust the float. He claimed they were out of adjustment. How in the hell does a float get out of adjustment? I can see one getting jammed or stuck, but not really out of adjustment. I've never torn into a V-Max carb, so I don't know exactly what they look like, but I've torn into plenty of automotive carbs. I don't know of any that become misadjusted on their own.

The accident happened back in, if I remember correctly, around September. I've only ridden it about 1 mile since, and that was from the shop back home. I was thinking either the stagnant fuel or possibly the the jolt from the accident or as it was being worked on could have caused the float to stick.

Keep in mind that the entire frame on the bike was replaced. I don't see any reason they would've messed with the carbs in the first place. Far as I know, they probably stayed mounted to the engine as it was transfered to the new frame.

Either way, I'm gonna try to talk to the insurance company, to see if they're gonna cover it. The bill ended up baing about $460.

Anyone have any thoughts?
 
I wouldn't think a float has enough mass to carry enough inertia to "throw" itself out of audjustment even in a massive wreck but who really knows.

They use floats on trucks (the carb'ed ones) that run the Baja races and they are fine.
 
I'd definately get the insurance company to pay for it. The dealer messed up and didn't make sure it was running properly when you picked it up. At least that's the story I'd use.
Why is it everytime anyone takes a bike to a dealer, it comes out running worse than when it went in? Geesh!
Good luck with your IC.
 
Actually, if it comes down to it. If I come to the conclusion that I think they're screwing me, really, by law, I can take the bike without paying. Since I didn't sign anything or authorize any repairs.

I'm not one to want to screw shops by trying to get work done for free. But if it's someone else's screw up, I have a really hard time paying even a penny for anything.

It makes me wonder if they did screw something up (i.e. maybe they stored my engine sideways or upside down while it was out of the frame) and maybe my float did just jam up, and them not calling me to authorize a repair or giving me a quote was a way of them to try to cover it up and hoping I just play dumb and pay it up.

I'm really not sure if they know that I actually work at a service shop. I know how things work. There's no difference how a motorcycle dealer service and a car dealer service centers should work.
 
Here's an update on my situation. I'm hoping to get some suggestions from you guys:

So the insurance company didn't want to pay for it. So I said "fine". That evening, I went down to the dealership to pick up my bike. They told me:

(SA = Service Advisor, SM = Service Manager, Me = Me - duh)

BTW, I though I'd mention what dealer this is also, for any of you in the Puget Sound area may want to know. But it was South Seattle Sports Plaza.

SA: That'll be $5?? (I wanted a new battery too)
Me: Actually, I don't plan on paying anything.
SA: Well then we can give you the bike.
Me: Actually you have to, cause I'm not obligated to pay a dime since you completed the work without giving me an estimate.
SA: I gave you an estimate. You came in here with an estimate that you said you were going to send to the insurance.
Me: Yes, but that was after the work had already been completed.
SA: Ok, I'm not going to argue with you. (He gets the SM)

SM: What's the deal here?
Me: You guys completed all the work without my authorization. I'm not paying a dime.
SM: Then I can't give you the bike.
Me: You have too, or I'll have to call the cops to get you to release the bike.
SM: Then call the cops.

So I call the cops, and they said they'll send someone down.

Before the cops show up, about 5 minutes after I got off the phone, they wave me over and hand me my keys. and tell me "Your bike will be pushed out in a minute, and we don't want your business again." I reply with "Fine by me."

Well, after about 5 minutes, my bike still wasn't out. So I kinda went behind the fence and peaked in and saw a couple techs with at least the seat off, not sure about the air box. They saw me and said "Sir, you need to stay behind the fence, this is for employees only." So I casually walk away.

About another 10 minutes later, they roll my bike out. Here's something very professional, they left a nice loogie on my transmission for me. I pointed out the service manager. He looked and replied "Well, that ain't very professional." I reply with "Uhhh, ya!" And he proceeds to wipe it off.

I tried to fire the bike up, but the it was dead. The lights didn't even light up.

The cops finally show up. I explained everything to him. He agreed that I didn't have to pay them anything. But now that I have the bike, he really didn't need to be there anymore. I pushed the bike off their lot, and into their neighbors lot. Whipped out some tools and pulled the seat off to give it a jump. The negative cable wasn't even connected. Those asses. I connect it, jump the bike, and.............................................THOSE F@#$ERS!!! It's puking fuel out of the same GD vent line!!!!!!

Now I'm pissed! And they're already gone and closed up. I eventually was able to remove the airbox with limited tools. I couldn't access the float bowl. So I ended up plugging up the fuel feed line to the problem carb, dissabling that cylinder and rode the bike home. BTW, on the way home, the bike was idling really high (2500 rpms or so) even with it only on 3 cylinders.


So I've had the day to try to figure out what the hell I'm going to do now. I could just fix the damn thing myself, but honestly, this bike is totally hacked up now, and it's pissing me off. Because before the accident, my bike was nearly flawless.

My plans are to call the insurance company and get really pissy with them with threats about involving the Insurance Commissioner, the Attorney General, and maybe even sueing their asses. The bike has only about 30 more miles on it than it did at the time of the accident that happened last freakin' August! This time I'm going to mandate a rental car that gets comparable mileage to my bike, because my truck gets a whopping 16 mpg. And I'm going to request to take it to Renton Motorcycles, which is where I bought the thing, and is where I wanted to take it in the first place, if it wasn't so far away. My bike is an '02 with only 4600 miles on it. And now it runs like sh@#. The freaking handle bars now squeak cause all the damn hoses and harnesses are misrouted. I've seen plenty of trim items and covers that aren't installed properly. I don't know if I mentioned this, but this was the third time it was in the shop. The first time was the majority of the repairs. The second time, the wheel was still bent, they wired the front turn signals wrong, and there was a fat dent in my radiator guard still. They didn't even test ride it after the repairs. The second time, I requested they fix all this. They only fixed the wheel and the turn signals. They attempted to fix the misrouting of the hoses and wires, but failed miserably. I took the bike home and waited for them to order the radiator guard. When it came in, that's when I fired the bike up and it started leaking fuel everywhere. Plus my battery could barely hold a charge when I got it back. My bike is now a f@#%ing piece of sh@! now. And I'm pissed.

I'm wondering if you guys have any other suggestions. I'm still not too clear on the float bowl issue. I know alot of you guys have had these carbs apart way more than I have (none). I know how a basic carburetor works, but not a v-max carb. I heard two things about this. The dealership originally said the float was out of adjustment. How does a carburetor float go out of adjustment? Honestly, I can see one getting stuck, but not out of adjustment. It seems that if a float was out of adjustment, it was adjusted out. Then, I believe they claimed to the insurance company that it was just stuck, because the bike's been sitting too long. BTW, since the accident, I've had possesion of the bike for about 97% of the time. So who's fault is it that the bikes been sitting too damn long? Certainly not mine!

For those of you who read this whole thing, I really should buy you a beer!
 
You either have a stuck float, bad needle valve, and/or the valve retaining wire fell off. Determine which vent tube it's coming out of and that carb is the culprit. Try a rubber mallet and softly tap the side carb cover...that might jar it loose. Otherwise, have to break open the float bowls. I set my floats once and they have always been spot on. Blowing high PSI of compressed air could not them out of adjustment, not sure what else.

As for holding charge, use this fault finding diagram to determine charging system problem. https://www.electrosport.com/electro...t_finding.html


Mark
#1098
 
I would consider talking with Yamaha about their piece of shit dealership.Its been proved again and again that most do not know how to work on them.There are not enough of them.

I also would have a talk with my insurance agent and possibly mention that you talked with your lawyer.That seems to make them care a little bit more.
 
Yeah, I thought about doing that as well. I was also thinking about writing to the owner, if I can figure out who the hell it is. It's a pretty small dealership, so I pretty sure he probably already knows about me and what happened by their point of view.

I called the insurance company, today and started getting alittle teste with the adjuster today. I did what I could to get her to cave, but damnit, she wouldn't. Time to file a complaint with the Insurance Commissioner and the Attorney General.
 
keep us updated id like to know how to goes. U can pay a lawyer so much to write a letter, i suggest u do that so they know u mean business.
 
Well. I finally got tired of waiting, so I fixed the damn thing myself. Going through the bike, I was amazed at how many things just got butchered. I had to reroute harnesses, and my throttle cables, cause they were done incorrectly. Several panels weren't installed correctly. Some of the screws on my air cleaner housing are kinda stripped out. But for the most part the bike is now fixed. It now runs great. I had to throw a new battery in it. The float wasn't stuck at all. The tab on the float was slightly bent, allowing the float to hit the top of the float, not allowing it to fully seat the pintel. I simply bent it back, slapped it all back together. Fired it up. No leaks! It did feel good to ride the bike around on all 4 cylinders again. I haven't been able to do that since last August!!!!!! HOLY SHIT, it's been almost a year!!! The things I have to put up with!

Is what I found common to happen on their own? The tab on the float seems quite flimsy to me. If you look at it wrong, it seems like it'll bend.

I'll also add that the Insurance Commissioner did do anything. I think it's kinda dumb. They gave me a little box online with a limited # of characters to explain all the details I could within this little box. They never contacted me personally. So they never got the complete story from me, which I think is total bogus. I never did recieve any word from the Attorney General yet.
 
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