FNG here saying hello and needing some input

[dpcarson]

Hey Guys.  Carson here. New guy and this is my first post.  I have been reading these boards for two days trying to learn all I can about issues I am dealing with.  First, Just a quick intro.  Wife and two kids, both teenagers (the kids just to be clear).  We live in central NC and my two project loves are boats and motorcycles.  I currently have a 2000




Well Saturday I was sitting at work and an ad popped up on Craigslist and possibly like an idiot I went and bought it.  What I got was another 2000 Valk Interstate with the voyager trike kit, and a lot of extra chrome (which is what hypnotized me into buying it)  Owner said he had parked it in 2008 which matched registration, when his wife had back surgery, and he pulled it out and tried to start it but of course battery was dead and then he tried to jump it and it would spin but not start.  I figured carbs, so I went ahead and bought it and loaded it up and brought it home.  Well I put it on my jumper box and starter was spinning but nothing else.  I had never heard of hydrolock before, but after crashing into the boards reading all I could, that is what I have to deal with now.  I went ahead and pulled the carbs and broke them down since I know they would need rebuild and cleaning also and other than being gummed up, they were in good shape and should seat well.  




Of course, then I pulled the starter and this is what I found.



So, based on the online information posted by many fine gentlemen, and reading some of y'alls posts also   I do believe I can diagnose this as hydrolock.  I pulled all the plugs and was able to manually turn the crank with no problem but I did not compression test the cylinders doing this.  

So, now I am in the place of making a decision.  Time seems to be my rarest commodity, so do I pay somebody to do this for me or tackle it myself.  Quite honestly is seems rather intimidating to me.  If I were to pay somebody what kind of money are we talking about?  That would be dropping the bike off at their shop and letting them drop the engine, make the repair, and remount the engine and the rebuilt carbs.  

If I did try to tackle it myself, well, it is kind of scary to me.  I have turned more than one thing into junk before by digging in a little too deep.  

So, what's the consensus?  And, Glad to finally be an active board member.

By the way, here si the current boat project.  I have to quit with the projects.

[uturn]

i redid one last year, i called the thread hydrolocked in houston, i think all my photos were there. in the year since, ive picked up another one and a bunch of tools which makes things easier....but i torm mine apart with a bottle jack, a few jackstands, and this board.

[dpcarson]

Thanks for the input.  I will look for that thread.  Also, where can I find more info about de-smogging?
Interested in exploring that to clean up that black spaghetti.  By the way, here is the new toy/project that I am working on.









Sure hoping to be able to get it running and that I didn't get burned too bad buying it.  

Oh, and what is the best shop manual with the best pictures and illustrations to buy?

[uturn]

i guess i just put a link to the photos which are still on there, if thats helpful. i followed instructions from big bfs website about takin the cases off and replacing the gears. its not a bad job, i can do it myself in a day but its a long day.

i have a trip to wilmington nc in about three weeks, is that anywhere close to you?

[dpcarson]

A little less than 2 hours down I-40 from me.  That is our shortest distance to the saltwater and one of our favorite places to ride to for the 4th of July.

[hubcapsc]

I think you can take all that voyager trike stuff off and there's a whole Valkyrie
under there.

The Honda manual is real good, and lots of info on this board.

If you can take the carb bank apart, I think the hardest part
about the motor will be that it is heavy 

-Mike

[old2soon]

I believe there was a Honda shop manual in the classifieds recently IF it hasn't already sold. I have a Honda and a Clymer. Dags Norway site has a downloadable one available. NEVER repaired a hydrolock but some folks on this board have. You would be amazed at what kind of help shows up fer good Q and adult beverages!   And THAT is just a "suggestion"!   Good luck with your quest.   RIDE SAFE.

[gordonv]

I believe I've heard others say from $600-$1600 for the carbs, and maybe another $600 for the rear gears.

I would take your time and do the work yourself.

As for the carbs, I would have left them together, and just run some high strength carb cleaner through the motor, and see if that clears it up. If it doesn't, then I would do the stripping apart.

[John Schmidt]

It appears you only need the two gears with the busted teeth. Often the boss the left gear fits in is also broken but your's appears OK. That would involve buying an entire new rear engine cover. If it were me, add where you're located in your profile, you'd be surprised how many members are close enough to lend a hand. I feel your best bet would be to do the job yourself with the help of this board. Pull the engine using a lift, raise it up and lock in place then go about doing the repair. Put a piece of 3/4" plywood on the lift for the motor to sit on before you use it to pull the engine.

[dpcarson]

Thanks for all of the feedback so far guys.  And thanks for the suggestion to update profile info.

I have a Clymer manual but the pictures and references to that have always been a bit of a pain for me.  I need you tube videos.  I am one of those A/D/D guys that opens a web page, sees more than two paragraphs and try to find one with pictures and videos.  I will try to find me a Honda manual.

For reference, I ALWAYS have the beer fridge full. 

So, anybody with any info and that desmog thing.  Or a link to the thread.  I have seen it mentioned but have not seen a thread on how to do it.

Thanks again for all your help and suggestions.

[Bone]

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/desmog.htm

Here is a good one from our shoptalk.

[dpcarson]

OK,  Thinking that tackling this may be possible.  What could go wrong? Right?  If it gets bad, then I carry it to somebody in a box instead of a trailer.

OK, I do not have any lifts or anything like that.  What do I need to purchase to prepare to tackle this?  I know that I have to remove the voyager kit also.  Any special tools I need to remove the engine?  The plan is to remove the engine one day.  Then when I get another day or afternoon off, and the parts arrive, replace the broken parts then.  And then on a third day, try to tackle the re-install.

As far as tools go, pretty much all I have is basic combo wrenches from 6mm to 19mm and sockets up to 18mm.  Screwdrivers and adjustable wrenches just about cover my tools list.  What do I need to have on hand to be ready for this so I do not get halfway through the drop and run into a wall?

[IamGCW]

There is a guy in Norway named Dag.  He has a welth of information on the Valkyrie ready for free download.  You should give that a look.  Also search youtube for videos on the Carbs (6 part series ??) and I think BF posted several on the alternator, drive shaft, etc.

Good luck

Gil

Dags info
http://www.valkyrienorway.com/download.html

[dpcarson]

Thanks for the Dag info.  The 6 part carb series is what I used to remove my carbs and break them down.  VERY useful and precise.  Although, He sure did make removing that plastic engine guard thing look a heck of a lot easier than it was!!!

Thanks for the info!

[Kep]

Redeye shiney de-smog is the way to go ....http://redeye.ecrater.com/p/8464393/shiny-desmog-kit-chrome-honda
There is an article in Shoptalk on de-smog that will help...also you can search the archives on here for Redeye Shiney de-smog

[dpcarson]

 

Redeye shiney de-smog is the way to go ....http://redeye.ecrater.com/p/8464393/shiny-desmog-kit-chrome-honda
There is an article in Shoptalk on de-smog that will help...also you can search the archives on here for Redeye Shiney de-smog

[BF]

FNG.  Haven't heard that term since boot camp.   

OK, I do not have any lifts or anything like that.

Four automotive type jack stands and a bike jack/lift and a lift adapter.  

Put lift adapter on bike, raise with jack/lift and place the 4 jack stands under the bike....two at the front under the engine guards (one on each side) and the other two at the rear under the bag mounts.  

Then use the bike jack/lift to support the engine.

A bike jack/lift like Jeff has here (his is a Craftsman...Harbor Freight has them too)....



You can either make a lift adapter with wood like Jeff did in the pic above, or buy one from eBay.  Like this....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOOK-VALKYRIE-HONDA-ORIG-RIVCO-JACK-ADAPTER-Save-money-with-ea-use-/170854771001?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27c7bce939&vxp=mtr

I've seen plenty of pics on here of people that put their jackstands under the bag's mounts to hold the rear of the bike up and steady.  

One way to place the jackstands (use a piece of box tubing or a piece of pipe to hold the bike up).....

[dpcarson]

Boot camp?  What's that?

FNG.  Haven't heard that term since boot camp.  

[dpcarson]

How is the Honda manual compared to the Clymer.  Clymer is a little tough for me to figure out sometimes.  Is the Honda manual worth the extra money?

[BF]

How is the Honda manual compared to the Clymer.  Clymer is a little tough for me to figure out sometimes.  Is the Honda manual worth the extra money?

Yes, it' worth the money.  You can usually find used ones on ebay.  

IMHO, it's worth having both the Clymer AND the Honda manual.  

Generally speaking I like and refer to the Honda manual most of the time, but there are aspects of the Clymer that I like better...such as the wiring diagrams.  They're in COLOR.  The wiring diagrams in the Honda manual are in black and white....not very helpful...at least for me they aren't.  

Here's another resource......

http://www.rattlebars.com/valkfaq/valkmaintenanceguide.html

[dpcarson]

Thanks.  I read the clymer manual twice about engine removal while sitting by the bike and trying to look at everything.  You know, a little recon before the assault.  As I continued to look and read things started making more sense and I started feeling a little more comfortable.  I think i am going to go ahead and tackle this thing myself.  I talked to two mechanics today that both said they didn't have the time or room to deal with this, which to me translated to: Never done it, not comfortable.  First things first though.  Going to go get better fluorescent lights to install in my garage for better lighting since much of this will be done in the evenings after work.  Got to pick up a couple of shop lights I can set up on either side of the bike also.  Got to go and get a motorcycle lift and get me an adapter rigged up to lift the bike so I can drop the voyager kit and get her back on a side stand or jack stands.  Anything else you can think of I need to have on hand to be prepared before diving into this thing?  Thanks for your feedback and suggestions BF.

[dpcarson]

Adding a quick question.  Do I need the lift adapter to get the bike up in the air and on jack stands or can i lift it high enough with a standard lift to get it stable on stands and then drop the engine from there.  If I need some adapter, is there a page with instructions on how to make the wood one?

Thanks again.

[BF]

Adding a quick question.  Do I need the lift adapter to get the bike up in the air and on jack stands or can i lift it high enough with a standard lift to get it stable on stands and then drop the engine from there.  If I need some adapter, is there a page with instructions on how to make the wood one?

Thanks again.

You need an adapter to use the bike lift/jack to raise the bike.  You can damage your exhaust if you try to use a lift/jack without an adapter.  

You can make a wooden one if you don't want to buy one.  The wooden version looks like the one that Jeff made for himself that he uses with his Craftsman lift (in the pic I posted above).  Jeff's version of his home made wooden adapter is also in the same link that I'll post below. 

There's a link in Shoptalk to make a wooden adapter.  Shoptalk is a tab at the top of every page here (valuable resource with tons of info).  However, here's the link.....

http://www.herberts.org/wayne/valk/lowtechlift.htm

There's also a pretty recent thread on lift adapters.  There are two kinds that you can find on eBay.  One is a permanent mounted adapter and the other is the red one that you take on and off for whenever you need to use it.  Here's the thread.....

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,57594.0.html

[old2soon]

Unless you absitivelyposolutely NEED new lighting a good drop cord can do a lot for lighting issues. I've still got my old incandescent bulb drop cord and day or night it comes in handy. When I feel like spending the money gonna look at one of the new L E D drop lights. I built the wood lift adapter with scrap wood that was laying around in my shop. Think I spent a buck or two on long screws. Caught my yellow H/F lift on sale for I believe less than $70.00 BUT that was a day or two ago!  First time I took the rear wheel off for service I had copied the info from this board printed it up and made a loose leaf binder with the paper in plastic sleeves. I'm an ex Navy aircraft mechanic and I tend to try and follow directions. Must be workin cause when I ride I tend to ride too fast. My Valkyrie has never given me issues to worry about while riding EXCEPT-riding!  Good luck with your repair and folks here on this board are ready to jump in with advice fer just about anything!  RIDE SAFE.

[Ricky-D]

Probably the most important aspect of the welded lift adapter (about 50 bucks) is

the fact that it can be temporarily attached to the bottom of the bike, thereby

eliminating the hassle of holding it in place while trying to get the lift into position,

and avoiding any possibility of having the adapter ill-placed.

***

[dpcarson]

OK, two new shop lights hung in the garage.   The kind that have 2 t-8 dayglo tubes in them.  That brightened up the garage quite a bit over the 60 watter hanging from a wire in the ceiling. Got a big bundle of the medium priority mail boxes to put parts in and number the boxes to match the pages in my instructions.  Picked up an AC Delco lift at O'reilly auto parts for 99 bucks.  Picked up some scrap wood from a construction site.  Got some 3/4 marine plywood to use two sheets for the base.  Printed lots of pages.  Picked up two cases of beer.  Now just waiting to finish up work today so I can get home and get started!!  Oh, got to run by the thrift shop and try to find a couple of old blankets to lay the parts on so they do not get scratched up.  I am trying to find my old video camera to video the process and hopefully will not have to edit out too much profanity.

[DK]

As of two days ago, you could download the official Honda Service Manual from the Norway site. I learned of it through a post to this forum about a week ago.

The download URL is: 

http://www.valkyrienorway.com/download.html

If it is not still available, PM me & I'll send you a public link to my Dropbox folder I downloaded it to.

Dan
Kennett.Dan@gmail.com

[dpcarson]

Thanks DPK.  I found it last night also and downloaded it.  Appreciate the offer though.

[dpcarson]

OK, Is this the california canister?  If so, do I need it to stay on the bike?

[dpcarson]

Can the rear case come off as a full assembly with everything in it staying attached or does it have to be taken apart to get to the two little starter gears that I have to replace? 

[grizz]

The California canister needs to come off before jacking. I took mine off and left it off a few years ago, the fat girl didn't mind one bit.

[dpcarson]

OK  Excellent.  So no more canister on the Valk.