Chasing down a vacuum leak

[godfire]

I have a 98 standard and the Honda and Clymers manuals show a nice picture of where the vacuum hose routing should be......but on my bike there is only evidence of a long gone sticker.
Does anyone have a diagram of the vacuum routing of a non-california model?

[Wanderer]

The first place to look is the most common place for failure, Jim. That has consistently been the middle cylinder on either side with the left side center most often times the first to leak due to heat and vac hose deterioration. Pull it off the barb (inboard just below and barley (isn't spell check a wonderful thang) forward of the #4 spark plug wire for the left side center) and turn it over and you will probably find your first leak. You may have enough length to clip it and reattach.

If you want to replace them all, my preferred method is to remove the air box to get at everything. As with an air filter change, it is easier to do with a near empty fuel tank. Let me know if you need/want more help.  ~Jeff

[Houdini]

You can trust Jeff on this one Jim.  Jeff pointed out to me that both of my vacuum lines were deteriorated to the point that they were flattened out and no longer vac'ing.  I pulled my airbox and replaced all of my hoses.  I will probably skip the desmog on my scoot for now since I went to all of the work and incredible expense ($3) of replacing the hoses.

Chuck

[Super Santa]

Just for future info, what size are those vacuum lines.  Thought I might just buy some and do them.  Sounds like good preventative maintenance.

[godfire]

Earlybird,
Check out Rich's website:

http://redeye.ecrater.com/

http://redeye.ecrater.com/category.php?cid=414983

He is very helpful, I ordered the wrong stuff and he saw right through me and got me what I needed.

[Houdini]

I went to Auto Zone and bought some hose off of the reel; I believe it was 5/16 OD but I don't remember for sure.  I took a small sample of good hose and just matched it up to what they had in the store.

Chuck

[RainMaker]

I just bought some hose and the quick gas tank disconnect from Rich per Godfire's suggestion and got an email from him today that the freight cost was incorrect ( a dollar high) and he is putting the dollar in the package he is sending to me.  So, not only does he have stuff we need, he's honest, too.

RainMaker

[Jeff A]

I have a 2000 IS.  I bought it on 3/1/08 from a guy who bought it new.  The bike had 13,000 miles when purchased, so it did a lot of resting.  I now have over 19,000 miles on it.

I have 2 problems.  First, when the bike gets hot it will not return to a normal idle.  Rather, it idles at or above 2,000 rpm.  2-3 cans of Seafoam and a fair amount of riding did not help.  The only thing that "fixes" this is letting it cool off.

Second, I have noticed some blueing of my exhaust pipes on the left side (as you are sitting on the bike).  This is probably caused by excessive heat.  However, the pipes on the right side are not discolored.

Some guys have said I have a vac leak.  Others, including the service mgr. at Al Lamb, said my carbs need cleaning/adjusting.  He wanted $600 for the job.  I passed.

I am inclined to start by replacing the vac hoses.  This seems like an inexpensive and relatively easy task (although my mechanical skills are easily tested).  However, I would like to hear from anyone who cares to chime in.  I am especially interested if you think me 2 problems are related.

Thanks.

Jeff Atkins