_________________________________________________________________ The VX800 FAQ EDITOR: [5]Tom Balaban ID: VX800_FAQ.html, v2.05, 31 December 2008 _________________________________________________________________ This document summarizes some common answers to questions about the Suzuki VX800 motorcycle. Originally developed by [6]Paul Fox, editorial responsibility was assumed by Tom Balaban on 1 January 2000. The editor extends the thanks of the entire VX800 community to Paul for the creation of this invaluable resource. Any party interest in assuming the editorial responsibility for this document should contact [7]Tom. The HTML version of the FAQ is available at [8]http://vx-faq.thevuelta.com/. A Text version can be downloaded at [9]http://vz-faq.thevuelta.com/vx800_FAQ.txt To see a list of changes made to the FAQ, see the last section. _________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction/Meta-info * 1.1 The Question 2. The VX800 * 2.1 Overview * 2.2 The History and Design of the VX800 3. Variations * 3.1 Models * 3.2 Colors (US-only?) 4. Specifications * 4.1 Engine * 4.2 Electrical * 4.3 Chassis * 4.4 Performance 5. Engine * 5.1 Carburetion/Cold-bloodedness * 5.2 Valve adjustments * 5.3 Air filters * 5.4 Sparkplugs * 5.5 Motor oil * 5.6 Coolant * 5.7 Swapping with Intruder * 5.8 Power/torque 6. Electrical * 6.1 Problems * 6.2 Lights * 6.3 Turn Signals * 6.4 Instrument lights * 6.5 Battery * 6.6 Odd Switch * 6.7 Horn 7. Suspension * 7.1 Fork Springs * 7.2 Shocks * 7.3 Fork seals 8. Chassis * 8.1 Fuel petcock * 8.2 Brakes * 8.3 Tires * 8.4 Clutch * 8.5 Gearing * 8.6 Exhaust * 8.7 Speedometer Cable 9. Comfort * 9.1 Fairings/Windshields * 9.2 Handlebars * 9.3 Seats * 9.4 Luggage * 9.5 Racks * 9.6 Throttle Locks * 9.7 Heated Grips * 9.8 Other accessories * 9.9 Body Repairs 10. Maintenance Procedures * 10.1 Front wheel removal/replacement * 10.2 Rear wheel removal/replacement * 10.3 Installing Progressive Fork Springs * 10.4 Replacing Fork Seals * 10.5 Carburetor synchronization * 10.6 Footpeg removal * 10.7 Headlight replacement * 10.8 Lubing the swingarm bearings * 10.9 Brake rebuilding * 10.10 Steering head bearing adjustment * 10.11 Rear shaft oil seal replacement * 10.12 Carburetor removal * 10.13 Float valve/needle replacement * 10.14 Rear spline inspection/lubrication * 10.15 Fuel tank removal 11. Torque Specifications * 11.1 Chassis * 11.2 Engine * 11.3 Cooling Components * 11.4 Shaft Drive * 11.5 Other 12. Other Resources * 12.1 The Shop Manual * 12.2 Net-based and Owner Web Sites * 12.3 Reviews * 12.4 Owners club * 12.5 Suzuki itself * 12.6 Suzuki Marketing 13. FAQ Changes _________________________________________________________________ References 5. mailto:tbalaban@attglobal.net 6. mailto:pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us 7. mailto:tbalaban@attglobal.net 8. http://www.foxharp.boston.ma.us/bikes/vx800FAQ/vx800_FAQ.html 9. http://www.foxharp.boston.ma.us/bikes/vx800FAQ/vx800_FAQ.txt _________________________________________________________________ 1.1 Introduction/Meta-info This FAQ, or more correctly, this summary of net.wisdom related to many aspects of the VX, was originally compiled by [3]Paul Fox. On January 1, 2000, the editorial baton was passed to [4]Tom Balaban . The first person "I" may refer to either Paul or Tom unless someone else is being explicitly quoted . This document is Copyright (C)1997-01, Paul G. Fox and Thomas R. Balaban, Jr. Reproduction in not-for-profit publications is permitted. Please send [5]Tom a note if you're using this material -- and a courtesy copy of your publication would be nice. :-) NOTE FROM TOM - As much as possible I've left this FAQ unchanged from Paul's original copy ... no need to fix what isn't broken. So forgive me if Paul's words are taken for my own. Most of them are not mine. If you see something you really like send Paul a note of thanks and if you find something that's wrong or needs changed, pass it on to me. I've had my '90 VX for a couple of years now, and have spent some time learning about it using this FAQ. But I'm by no means an expert. If you see an error, an omission, an opportunity for clarification, or just plain bad grammar or spelling, please feel free to send me the changes you'd like to see. I've specifically pointed out some places in the text where my knowledge is weak, and I'm looking for input. Please help. If you do send a change, I'd really appreciate it if, rather than telling me what should be changed, that you just go ahead and write the changes yourself, and send them to me. And, if there's a missing section that should be added, feel free to just write it and send it to me. Like Paul, I have no great emotional investment in any of this -- please help me make it better, even if that means rewriting it! :-) Note on attributions -- I specifically want to give credit where due, so where I've quoted a list or news submission, I've named names. I have not given email addresses, to reduce spam opportunities. If you see your name in here and would like to have it removed, please let me know. A couple of people have sent me good information for inclusion that I've edited down slightly, or changed the tone a little, to make it less "first-person". They've all gotten attribution for other direct quotes elsewhere, but bear in mind I didn't write all of this text myself... The HTML version of this FAQ is produced with the [6]1st Page 2000, running under [7]Windows 98. Effective 1 January 2000, at the editor's discretion, there may no longer be a text version. 1.2 The Question Since this thing is called a FAQ, well, I guess it needs a question, otherwise it wouldn't be a FAQ, now, would it? Here it is: "I've heard of (or have) this bike called a Suzuki VX800. Is there anything anyone out there knows about it that might help me while I consider (or own) it?" There. Now that we've asked the question, the rest of this document can be the answer. _________________________________________________________________ References 3. mailto://pgf@foxharp.boston.ma.us/ 4. mailto:tbalaban@attglobal.net 5. mailto:tbalaban@attglobal.net 6. http://www.evrsoft.com/ 7. http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/ _________________________________________________________________ 2.1 Overview of the VX The VX is a liquid-cooled, shaft-drive, upright seating 800cc V-twin. It's a very general purpose bike. I'm going to quote a usenet post by Don Sucher from a couple of years ago, in response to my query in rec.motorcycles regarding the bike -- I think he described the bike pretty well: "Congratulations, You have discovered one of Motocycledoms best kept secrets, the VX-800. I've got 18,000 plus miles on mine. Let me share with you some of what I've learned:" "The bike was designed for the US market by American Suzuki. They apparently reasoned that riders here loved V-Twins, upright `70s style unfaired bikes. The bike never caught on. Why? Dealers I've spoken to say it was poor advertising. Suzuki went after the cruiser set. They all wanted Harleys (or at least Harley look-a-likes). The bike was designed for real get-up-and-ride motorcyclists. As such it is STILL is a big seller in Europe. I find that it is very comfortable, amazingly fast in real-world terms (my other ride is a Ducati) and has been almost totally trouble free for those 18,000 miles." "The engine is a V-twin, but it has a 45 degree crankshaft, which when matched with it's 45 degree cylinder angle cuts primary imbalance to near zero. It has a nice texture, but is not a "shaker". The engine is a 4 valve liquid cooled design, slightly oversquare, so it likes to rev more than an older pushrod (read Harley) V-twin does. Of course that means that low end grunt is exchanged for a broad middle range torque curve, 2,800 to 8,000 rpm. It REALLY pulls above 4,000. The bike has geared to keep it at it's peak at american double-nickel speeds. (The euro models are geared for higher speed riding) Because of this design a passing manuever takes only a twist of the wrist. Gear changes are optional! Valves are supposed to be checked every 3,000. In fact they are good for at least twice that. (both my experience and dealers experience concur on this)" "I have on many occasions ridden for 8 hours or more. The seat and riding position is REALLY comfortable." "List price for the first year was $4,800. I got mine in `92 for $3,700. A friend got one last summer for the same price." 2.2 The History and Design of the VX800 (This Section, in its entirety, was harvested from the [4]The Dutch VX800 Pages hosted by Ko Harthoon.) All information and pictures in this section courtesy of Mr Don Presnell. The VX800 was designed at U.S.Suzuki's Design Studio in Brea, CA between 1987-1989. Among others the design team consisted of * Don Presnell, Lead Designer, styling * Aki Goto as Lead Engineer and * Sam Yamazaki for frame and engine engineering According to Don Presnell, both Aki and Sam are the two really "cool guys", and definite "gearheads" who are responsible for creating the original idea of the VX 800 back in 1987. Presently (Jan 2001) they are still working at American Suzuki, on Imperial HWY in Brea, CA. Sam is now working in the Automotive test shop and Aki in the MC Test Lab. Don himself has left Suzuki. _________________________________________________________________ Quotes from Don, the Lead-designer: " I'd like to say that the VX 800 was my brainchild, but actually Sam and Aki were the inspired R&D engineers who started putting together a crude prototype at the Brea Studio utilizing a 750cc Intruder engine in a modified Intruder frame. The rake and trail were of course modified on that prototype, as were the footpeg / shifter positions. The [7]prototype was finished off with a hand-hammered aluminum tank mastered by Sam. So the VX WAS conceived in the U.S." The Early Sketch [8][protovx800_small.jpg] The Prototype "I had the opportunity to ride the prototype the day they finished it and gassed it up, and it was a blast! Everyone knew that this machine would answer the void for a great handling v-twin standard. We over-estimated the U.S. riders response, though. Only the very "savy" U.S. enthusiasts picked up on it!" "Hats off to you more knowledgeable bikers in Europe and Australia who "understood"!" "I did the full-scale clay modeling myself on the first VX750 model in Brea, CA, and followed the "concept model in crate" over to Hammamatsu to present the concept to management there. Once the concept was approved by management to go to the Design phase, I was asked to lead that part of the project. The first thing that I wanted to do was widen the downtubes slightly, so that we could fit the "protruding" Intruder radiator between the downtubes, and make it disappear. That was probably the extent of my influence over the frame design, save a few sketched lines to give the bike a lean look." "As far as the styling was concerned, I was working to get a nice flow to the lines; some like it- some don't, but I have to admit some bias toward the design myself . I had far too many occurrences of being on the speedway and having to switch the fuel to reserve, fiddling around "down there" trying to find the pet cock. That's what prompted me to make the pet cock easy to find, while bipping down the road. After I left Suzuki, they changed it to an automatic reserve I believe, so it's all academic now. My 1990 VX still has the original pet-cock configuration, and I've had to switch to reserve many times while riding- it makes me thankful that I placed it where I could find it!" [9][latestsketch_small.jpg] The latest sketch, Oct 1986 "Finally, a lot of the suspension, engine work and final touches on the frame was done in Hammamatsu once the concept & design direction were established, so it was basically out of the hands of the U.S. development team. The original full-scale clay model that I accompanied over to Japan had a rear fender/seat more like the first sketch. It's true that Japanese management did want to play it safe, so they went with the more traditional styling on the rear fender. Many times a transportation Designer's sketches/models get compromised when it gets to the Marketing Dept. stage!" "When I left Suzuki a bit later on, I was told that the VX project was "shelved", and possibly would be cast aside. That's why I was pleasantly surprised to see it on the cover of CYCLE magazine one day. I called up Mark Blackwell at American Suzuki, and asked him if I could pick one up at the old employee discount price, and he was kind enough to grant my request. I picked up my new VX 800 at Pioneer Motorsports, in Salinas, NY." "It was one of the best days of my life, to ride home on a production version of the prototype bike and clay model I worked on three years earlier!" Quotes from the EU VX800 E-maillistserver: [10]http://www.egroups.com/group/eu_vx800/ _________________________________________________________________ References Visible links 4. http://home.wanadoo.nl/jmharthoorn/ 5. mailto:AGOTO@SUZ.COM 6. mailto:SYAMAZAKI@SUZ.COM 10. http://www.egroups.com/group/eu_vx800/ Hidden links: _________________________________________________________________ 3. Variations 3.1 Models There are two main models of VX, with many more minor variants (the shop manual lists 17 different models!). The major variants are the US vs. the rest of the world. The two major differences between the US model and the European model are: * The US model has lower overall gearing, making the engine rev slightly higher at the same speed (see Gearing section below), and * The US model has a 45 degree crankshaft angle rather than the 75 degree angle that the euro version has). Apparently the 75 degree engine wasn't thought to have enough "character" for the American market. It was thought to make the engine feel "lifeless". As of 1997, the VX is still sold in much of Europe (Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands at least). It's no longer sold in Canada, and I believe not in the U.K. either. 3.2 Colors (US-only?) * `90 : Dark Metallic Blue or Maroon (actually a black cherry color) * `91 : Black or Metallic Red * `92 : Purple (actually a rich purply blue) * `93 : Black _________________________________________________________________ References _________________________________________________________________ 4. Specifications Some vital statistics, for the U.S. version of the bike, at least: 4.1 Engine Type: Four-stoke, water-cooled, OHC TSCC, 45-degree V-twin Piston displacement: 805cc Bore & Stroke: 83.0 x 74.4mm Compression ratio: 10.0:1 Carburetor, front: Mikuni BDS36SS, single Carburetor, rear: Mikuni BS36SS, single Transmission: 5-speed constant mesh Final drive: Shaft, 3.090:1 4.2 Electrical Charging output: 280 Watts Max Battery: 12V 16AH 4.3 Chassis Frame: Tubular-Steel, Double Cradle Suspension, Front: 41mm Stanchions Suspension, Rear: Dual Shocks, Adj. for Spring Preload & Rebound Damping Brakes, Front: Single Disc Brakes, Rear: Single Disc Wheels, Front: 3.00 x 18 in. Wheels, Rear: 3.50 x 17 in. Tires, Front: 110/80-18H Tires, Rear: 150/70-17H Wheelbase: 61.6 in. Seat Height: 31.5 in. Wet Weight: 520.5 lbs. Load Capacity: 474.5 lbs. GVWR: 995 lbs. 4.4 Performance (from Cycle Magazine, July '90) Standing start 1/4 mile: 13.15 sec @ 96.19 mph Acceleration, 0-60 mph: 4.15 sec Braking, 60-0 mph: 124 ft. Engine RPM @ 60 mph, top gear: 4072 Maximum Speed in gears @ 8500 rpm (mph): (1) 47, (2) 65, (3) 87, (4) 106, (5) 125 * Information taken from Cycle Magazine, July 1990 _________________________________________________________________ References _________________________________________________________________ 5. Engine 5.1 Carburetion/Cold-bloodedness The VX, like many motorcycles these days, comes from the factory with very lean mixture settings, to help reduce air pollution. While this is a great goal, the performance penalty is a little extreme in some cases, and leads to long warm-up times, bad off-idle performance, and poor cool-weather performance. Luckily it's usually pretty easy to fix the problem on the VX, either by adjusting the low-speed mixture screws, adjust the mixture needles, or replace the jets entirely. By the way, most people seem to get 45-50 miles per (US) gallon. Adjusting the mixture screws Adjusting to richen the low-speed mixture, is a piece of cake -- neither tank nor seat needs to be removed. The only trouble is that the low-speed mixture screws are factory sealed (on US models) to prevent tampering, per EPA regulations. There is a little round brass-looking things on each of the two carbs which can be ("ULP!") drilled out very easily. * On the front carb, the plug is on the left side, just visible to the right (rear) of the plate that rotates the throttle shaft (i.e. the piece that moves when you twist. * On the rear carb, it's on the right side, just to the left (i.e. rear again) of the bare portion of the throttle cable, and above the twisting metal plate. I used a 15/64 inch bit (which was the sharpest I had). The center of the small brass plugs has a little dimple just right for guiding the drill. Other folks have used a smaller bit: then you screw a sheet metal screw into the hole, and use it to pry the plug out. What you will uncover the two itty-bitty pilot screws. I carefully counted turns as I screwed each one in: on my bike the rear was out 1-1/8th, and the front was out 1-1/4 turns. You will want to count your own so you can get back to where you started if things go awry. The shop manual gives setups for every model of VX800 made -- about 10 of them. And it gives the factory backoffs for those screws for every model. Except the U.S. models. For those, it just says "PRESET". Because, after all, you're not supposed to drill the little brass plugs out. But I did note that on every model where they do give the settings, the rear carb is turned out more than the front, not less. Since it was the rear cylinder that seemed to be giving the most trouble (its pipe had yellowed, its exhaust pulse missed sometimes), I backed it out by 1/4 turn. Started the bike up, and voila!! It was warmed up and running off choke in about a minute, maybe two. This had never happened before, and it was quite a cool morning. I went for a nice ride, did some errands, and sure enough, I was able to leave the choke off for the entire rest of the day, even after letting it sit in a parking lot for a while. Before making this change I often had to leave my choke on for my entire 7 mile commute. Afterward I could unchoke after a mile or two. To really properly adjust the mixture screws one should use an exhaust gas analyzer (EGA). The traditional method of doing it without such a device, however is as follows: * Adjust the idle speed to specifications. * Turn one of the mixture screws out (i.e. unscrew) until the idle speed stops increasing. You should be able to hunt a little to find the peak, or the plateau, where it levels out, or maybe even drops. * Reset the idle speed to specifications. * Repeat the adjustment step with the other mixture screw. * Again, reset the idle speed to specifications. You might want to go through it all again to be sure, but that's pretty much it. Adjusting the carb needles Possibly better results can be obtained for a little more work, by raising the needles that meter fuel into the carb, thereby allowing more in earlier: Andy writes: "The needle is held in the slide by the small spring that fits around the needle pressing up on the needle circlip. The height of the needle is then limited by the nylon spacer (white plastic donut) above the circlip being pushed up against the hold down clamp (metal cover). Placing shims between the spring and the clip just pushes the needle into the clamp slightly harder. This does nothing to alter the carburation. No damage, and no improvement. Instead, I removed the nylon donut and replaced it with 2 #4 brass washers. This was about 1/2 the thickness of the nylon donut. Since the spring on the needle pushes it up into the clamp, this raised the needle about .050" which was my initial aim." "There is a noticeable, not huge, difference in engine performance. Since there is very little taper in the needle, perhaps more can be gained by using only 1 #4 washer, but I've not tried this." "When you do this, do one carb at a time. You don't have to remove the carbs from the bike. Be careful not to damage the rubber seal on the slide. Carefully observe which way all the parts fit together, to help assembly." Re-jetting The experiences with rejetting I've seen are: Harry "the Wrench" wrote: "The DynoJet kit will improve your mid-range performance considerably without modifying the exhaust system. Adding a set of free-flowing pipes will enhance the mid-range even more. You can achieve improvement similar to that of the average DynoJet installation by simply readjusting your mixture screws and raising the stock needles 20-40/1000s with washers, thus saving enough to buy yourself a nice tankbag or something. A DynoJet kit is generally comprised of a set of adjustable needles, a drill bit (for modifying the slides for quicker response), and an assortment of jets. They are intended for professional mechanics or advanced amateurs who are intent on getting the absolute max performance from their bikes and who are willing to spend many (sometimes many, many) hours fiddling with different combinations of jets, exhaust systems, air box/filter mods etc. in order to get everything working optimally together. As a professional, my advice to you is to do the simple, inexpensive and very effective mods (mixture screw adjustment/washers to raise stock needles) and spend the $125 elsewhere." Here's another Dyno-jet experience, this one from Ron Lotton. (The full article is at [4]ftp://cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Suzuki/VX800-92.) "DynoJet did not have a kit specific to the VX800, but had one available for the VS800 (Intruder). Shawn provided me with a free sample if I agreed to test it on my VX800. As the motors are the same I saw no harm in trying the kit. It is a straight forward installation which took about 3 hours to complete. (a mechanic could probably do it faster). I don't know if it is any quicker, but the bike has crisp throttle response with no hint of a lean surge. It now warms up enough to ride without using the choke within a couple of blocks at the same temperatures." And last, from Mike Heathman: "Mine was horrible in cold weather when I first got it. I drilled out the brass covers over the idle mixture screws and fiddled with them a bit. I ended up running at 1-3/4 turns out. I think stock is 1-1/2. I also noted that the front cylinder pinged when the temperature was below about 50F and it was warming up. I ended up putting in a 42.5 pilot jet (stock is 40) in the front carb. The rear already runs a 45 and seems OK with that." "My bike now runs alot better in cool weather. At temps down to about 55F I can turn the choke off immediately and ride away. Hope this helps." Mike also added, later on, on the subject of cold-weather starting: "I have to say that my VX was quite a bear to start in cold weather when I first got it. A couple things have helped. First of all I replaced the front pilot jet with the next size up, the front cylinder had a horrible cold ping when I first got the bike and this helped alot. Secondly, and probably most importantly, adjust your idle mixture. I run my idle mixture screws at around 1-3/4 - 1-7/8 turns out in the summer. In the winter I take them out to about 2-1/8. This helps cold weather starting and warm-up tremendously, but it does foul the plugs if you idle in traffic alot. So the last thing I do is run a hotter plug in the winter. Using a NGK DPR7EA9 in the winter solves the fouling problem and seems to help starting even more. My bike starts just about instantly in any weather and I can usually turn off the choke in about 15 seconds. I do let it idle for a few minutes while I get my helmet, gloves, etc on and it's ready to go." "The last thing I've found with the VX that is different from some other bikes I've owned. Don't touch the throttle when you're starting it. Give it full choke and leave the throttle closed. With CV carbs opening the butterflies actually leans out the mixture. I never crack the throttle until the engine has idled for a few seconds." Covering the radiator If you do much riding in cold weather, you may want to try a trick suggested by Mike Heathman, which I have also used with success. To reduce airflow through the radiator and around the engine, block the radiator with (in Mike's case) an old license plate or (in my case) the cardboard flap from a case of beer. The radiator cover comes off easily, letting you slip whatever you're using in underneath. It's not clear whether this works because some coolant always flows through the radiator regardless of the state of the thermostat, or perhaps the engine just gets cooled sufficiently from too much air flowing over it, but in any case, cold weather (like down to 20F) warmups are much more reliable. Without doing this, it's possible to do a very long commute and not be able to take the bike off-choke even at the end of the ride. Sticky slides A couple of people (me included) have had an engine stumble caused by the carburetor slide (air piston) not moving freely enough. My problem was I think mainly on the front carburetor, which may be because the slide is horizontal and more prone to "stiction". The symptom was a slight hesitation at a particular engine speed, and a sort of "flat" spot in the power curve as I accelerated through there. The fix is to spray some carburetor cleaner on the piston and work it up and down to clear the stickiness -- I suppose in a really bad case you might need to disassemble the carbs to clean them fully. You can get at the front slide quite easily by simply removing the rubber intake manifold -- the rear is much harder -- I was able to spray some cleaner on it by putting my hand in through the air-cleaner opening, and using a flexible tube as an extension of the little plastic snorkel on the spray can. At least one VX owner adds a little Marvel Mystery Oil to his gas every tankful or two to prevent this problem from recurring. 5.2 Valve adjustments Not having done my own valve adjustment yet, I have to rely on others' comments for this section. Here, from various folks: Poster 1: "Screw type adjusters on the valves, 4 valves per cylinder. Most folks stretch the recommended adjustment period somewhat. Requires the standard Suzuki driver (square head). Not particularly easy to get at a couple of them, Using a motorcycle-specific feeler gauge made things much easier." Poster 2: "The job can be done with just feeler gauges and a simple wrench, but there is an inexpensive valve adjustment tool that makes it easier. This tool consists a handled wrench to loosen the locking nut and a concentrically located screwdriver. The idea is that you loosen the nut, adjust the screw and then TIGHTEN THE LOCKING NUT WHILE HOLDING THE SCREW'S POSITION. This tool can be found for about $10 (if memory serves) in places like the Chapparrel catalog. BTW, it is advisable to use TWO feeler gauges at the same time on four valve heads, otherwise the rockerarm swivels and throws off the measurement." Poster 3: "The information ... on valve clearance tools is on the mark. I bought one of the .004/.006" combo feeler gauges #315-0825, $3.99 and the "Tappet Adjustment Wrench Set" #315-0460, $28.99, from Chapparal last Oct. Work lots better than my hand-bent feeler gauge blade and the official Suzuki Valve Adjustment Tool #09917-10410, $13.26, from Ron Ayers. The latter "tool" is a round steel rod shaped like a large allen wrench with a square hole stamped into the end of the short leg. Said hole fits over the top of the valve screw, but has enough slop in the fit that its hard to tighten the lock nut without over tightening the valve screw. If anybody wants one, slightly used, I'll sacrifice and let it go for $10." All valves are adjusted with their piston at TDC. There's an observation "port" at the front of the left sidecover -- remove it, and line up (by turning the crank through the plug in the center of that sidecover) the letters "RT" in the center of the port for the rear cylinder, and then turn the crank another 1-1/4 turns (1-1/3 for non-US models) to line up "FT" to do the front cylinder. Don't use a screwdriver to get the big generator cover plug out, since the metal is soft and you'll probably chew it up. (that's the thing on the left side of the engine with the giant slot in it, which you need to remove to turn the engine over.) Use something that fits the slot pretty closely. I was able to use a piece of thick sheet aluminum filed to a curve to match the curved bottom of the slot. Rick Blunden says it can be replaced with the plug from a Suzuki DR650 that has a hex plug fitting. Steve Ginthum writes: A suitable tool is called a "drag link socket." It's an automotive front suspension/steering tool. I found one that had a blade width of 11/16" and thickness of 7/64" (2.78mm). The major tool suppliers make this, so I imagine that you can get one at a good auto parts store. I'm sure they can order it, also. The advantage of a socket is that a really stubborn cap can be removed with an impact driver without damage and it can be torqued on without over-tightening. Snap-On part #: F22A MAC Tools # DLX1 The gap for all valves is .003 to .005 inches (.08 to .13 mm). And of course, adjust when the engine is completely cold. 5.3 Air filters The stock air filters from suzuki are pretty expensive, and unfortunately the big aftermarket places don't make direct replacements. Apparently there's a Japanese company called Meiwa that makes replacement air (and oil) filters that seem to be more available in Europe than in the U.S. One poster said to try the "Polo" catalog. Where those aren't available, here are a couple of different tricks: The best solution seems to be to use a stock K&N part, which is apparently a cotton gauze filter that don't require the saturate-and-squeeze oiling method of foam filters, just a light film of oil. The idea is to dismantle a stock filter by removing the wire mesh (like window screening) that encloses the paper -- some people use cutters, others apply heat to soften the glue. You're left with a base to attach the new filter to. The K&N part number is RU-0160. It has a 1-1/2 inch flange, 3 inch diameter, 4 inches long). The price seems to be under $30.00 (US) for each filter. After the flange cools, the RU-0160 slides right on, and a hose-type clamp is provided to secure it. In some areas the K&N part comes pre-oiled (you can tell, because it has the red color of their filter oil, and says "pre-oiled" on the wrapper). Properly oiled, it has a 50-100,000 mile service interval for street-driven applications. An even more promising piece of K&N news, from Raffaele Belardi: "... I confirm that last friday I bought, in Italy, a K&N filter which is a direct replacement for the stock one on the VX (and the VZ800 Marauder). They came in the K&N box, with the K&N colors, the K&N stickers and the K&N instructions. And the K&N part number SU0009. The box also says 'Made in the United Kingdom'(!)." Someone else reported that they couldn't locate that filter in the US, but this is still encouraging news. It implies that the air filter for the VZ800 Marauder is the same as that for the VX800, and being a current model worldwide, the Marauder may lead to more availability for this filter. [ Can anyone confirm this? - TRB ] Rick Blunden reports good results with a set of UNI filters: "The UNI UP4152 'Flex Core Pod' oiled foam air filter retails for $10-12 each and is a good replacement for the stock paper filter. Depending on what you read and what your superstitions are, the UNI traps smaller particles than the oiled gauze (K&N) or paper elements, but does not allow as much air to pass through as the K&N. Like the K&N, the UNIs should be cleaned in solvent and reoiled every 10,000 - 20,000 miles. They probably won't last more than 1 million miles :-). Rejetting is not necessary, and intake noise level seems the same as stock." You can also use UNI filters designed for the GS500E and Madura 700. They replace the stock filters entirely (rather than reusing the metal base), but they don't really fit properly -- you need to shim them out from the air boxes with washers, since their flanges dont' fit over the airbox lip, and you need to glue or screw the rubber snorkels to the rubber tube on the filters, since the pipe clamp won't hold them anymore. All in all, having tried both, I'd use the K&N units. (The UNI part number, if you want it, is NU-2453, available from Dennis Kirk as 30-3026.) 5.4 Sparkplugs The sparkplugs take an 18mm socket. Tim Morrow says "You can just barely get an 11/16 on it if you're careful." Do-It-Yourself sparkplug socket: Take an 18mm deep socket, and pack some foam into the top inch (2.5 cm). Now take a piece of heavy wire and heat it up. Push the heated wire through the center of the foam. You now have a sparkplug socket that will securely hold the sparkplug, regardless of orientation. Works great to install plugs in your VX. Those deep spark plug wells can collect road grit. It's really best if you blow out the holes with compressed air before removing the plugs. The correct plugs for the VX are NGK DPR8EA-9. For a colder plug, use DPR9EA-9, for a hotter one, use DPR7EA-9. The correct gap is .031" to .035" (which is .8mm to .9mm). 5.5 Motor oil Thanks to Raffaele Belardi for putting most of this oil section together. Oil weight No particular problems reported on motor oil types: people use with success oil ranging from 20W50 (apparently the most common weight) to 15W50, 10W30 and others. (Apparently 10W40 has fallen out of favor as an oil -- too many polymers to too little oil, or something like that.) Most motorcycles, including the VX, recommend API "SF" standard oil. Apparently the American Petroleum Institute has created new standards, SH and SJ, which you probably shouldn't use in a motorcycle. To boost fuel economy, these oils are more slippery, and may not work with wet clutches, and may also not hold up as well in motorycle transmissions. To reduce effects on catalytic converters, most of the zinc and phosphorus has been eliminated -- these are apparently important as "extreme-pressure" additives in motorcycle oils. Synthetic oil has much better breakdown and high temperature characteristics. it does, however, get dirty just as fast from combustion byproducts, so you can't just double your change interval, which is what one is tempted to do. Some VXers' noted that synthetic oils cause 'grabby' clutch response: Rob Opiela wrote: "I switch off between Mobil 1 and Castrol GTX in my bikes. I put Mobil 1 in until I notice that the clutch is getting grabby, then I switch to Castrol. As a synthetic, Mobil 1 is VERY slippery. It has an energy saving rating by the API because of this. It also can cause glazing of clutches if you like to slip your clutch alot. If you notice that your clutch is starting to get a little grabby (glazing), switch to a dino oil an the next oil change." Ravin31 adds: "From my own experience I would say that synthetic makes the VX's shifting much smoother especially if you use sythetic hypoid gear oil. My mechanic says that switching between synthetic and regular oils can cause exsessive wear to the clutch. He recommends keeping to one or the other once you have made your decision. There is also some debate as to weather synthetic can hide or even cause clutch slippage." Other owners report 65,000 miles on Mobil 1, without a problem. Oil Filter Rick Blunden writes: "Fram makes an oil filter for the VX800 (#6018) that sells for about $6-10 depending on where you buy it. Suzuki's filters cost a little more. Fram had a problem with shallow threads on some filters about 3-4 years ago resulting in some filters blowing off the engine and dumping oil. Fram corrected the problem and issued a new part number for the new filters." Changing oil This is not really only a VX800 issue, but may be useful anyway... Oil should be changed with warm engine, as it flows more easily outside. Be careful it's not too hot -- it will burn you. Wear rubber gloves -- oil, particularly dirty oil, is a known carcinogen. I use disposable skin-tight gloves, to retain at least some "finger-feel". And, RECYCLE YOUR USED OIL. This is EASY. Do NOT pour it into the sewer. Most towns have recycling centers that will take it -- so does the Jiffy Lube place where I have the cars done. In some states oil retailers have to take it, but they may want receipts. Remember that oil degrades with time as well as mileage. The combustion by-products will cause mild acids to form in the oil, which aren't good for your engine. That's the main reason you should put in fresh oil before storing your bike for an extended period. 5.6 Coolant Only use coolant that doesn't contain silicates, which have been shown to damage some motorcycle water pumps. Only use distilled water when you're mixing your solution. For the quantities of coolant the VX takes, I find it more convenient just to by pre-mixed coolant at a motorcycle shop (Hondaline is what I got, I think.) The drain plug is on the lower left frame tube. There is a bleeder bolt which should be open while you're filling the system, located in the upper part of the left front frame down tube. Recheck the level (which should be to the top of the inlet hole) after running the engine, to be sure its full. You should also inpect the rubber hoses regularly, and replace them before they cause you trouble. A couple of us have had a small leak develop at the little tube that runs between the cylinders. I was able to stop it by gently tightening the pipe clamps. 5.7 Swapping with Intruder The VX uses the same engine that the VS800 Intruder does. Peter Harper had this to report from the mechanic who installed his Intruder engine: "...he said that it was a simple bolt-in. Everything fit everything. With one exception. He said that on the VX800 the fuel pump is driven by a vacuum off the engine. The intruder is not. He manufactured a vacuum line, and all is well. But as far as the fit goes, he said it was clean." 5.8 Power/torque The VX review in the July '90 issue of Cycle had this table: rpm 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 8000 8500 HP 27.9 33.0 37.4 40.7 43.2 43.8 46.5 48.7 52.8 47.5 44.6 torque 41.9 43.3 43.7 42.7 41.3 38.4 37.6 36.5 37.0 31.2 27.6 This translates (roughly) to the following chart: 60 +-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+ | H - HP | | T - Torque | 55 + + | H | | | 50 + + | H | | H H | 45 + H + | T T T H H | | T T | 40 + H + | T T | | H T T | 35 + + | H | | T | 30 + + | H T | | | 25 +-----------+----------+-----------+-----------+----------+-----------+ 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 900 0 RPM _________________________________________________________________ References 4. ftp://cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Suzuki/VX800-92 _________________________________________________________________ 6. Electrical 6.1 Problems The only electrical complaints I've heard is that a couple of people have had trouble with corroded contacts in the handlebar switches, (using dielectric grease on the contacts the first time you open the switch to clean it will probably help keep it from happening again), and a couple of people have had the regulator/rectifier go. The symptoms in this case including batteries boiling dry quickly, and in one case the main 25A fuse blew immediately, even with the key off. One person says they were able to replace the unit with one from an Intruder, and that it's a shared part among many Japanese bikes. Several readers have recommended [4]Electrex USA as a source for alternator/regulator parts. As of Winter 2000, some listers have reported problems with the Electrex connectors for the specified unit and with company support. They do offer a good electrical system diagnostic procedure. Replacement may require removal of the battery and battery case, neither of which is too difficult. Glen Farney uses an inexpensive ($5.99) Radio Shack voltage tester (Cat No. 22-112) to monitor his electrical system. It's easy to attach and has a magnetic strip on the back so it can be mounted on the tank. Alternator voltage output can then be monitored while you ride. I find that hooking mine up every month or so during a brief ride is enough to know my system is charging properly. 6.2 Lights Be careful of the connector to the taillight! It's very easy, when replacing the toolkit back in its spot below the grab rail, to dislodge and disconnect that plug. This leaves you with no lights in the back at all -- no tail light, no brake light. Put a simple twist tie around the two halve to hold it together. It's not worth the risk of riding at night with no rear lights! Also note that the taillight is a single bulb, single filament. If it burns out, again you have no rear running lights. If you want more lights on the bike, it's fairly straightforward to replace the turn signal stalks with something from a catalog which will have dual filaments. This will give you amber running lights in addition to the red taillight. (This may or may not be legal, and you may or may not care.) another approach that someone pointed out is this -- it turns out the posts that the signal lights mount on are identical to the posts used on mid-eighties Honda Shadow. And the good news is that Honda tends to put dual filament heads on the front stalks of their bikes. So if you get the front signals heads from a Shadow, they should mate perfectly with the posts on your VX, either front or rear. The Shadow I saw (I don't know if they're all the same) had "bullet" shaped signal heads, i.e. the back of the head was pointy, but other than that they were very similar to the VX signal heads. Another solution to getting more light in back is to do what I did -- install a neon license plate frame. :-) (Seriously -- I got a red neon plate frame from JC Whitney -- the color matches the taillight, and it doesn't look too bad. And it sure makes me stand out in a crowd.) (Equally seriously -- it has now failed, after 6 months of service. The first one I got failed after 3 days, but was under warranty. I don't think I'll get another.) A more recent solution is to install a TailBlazer from [5]Kissan Technologies. This unit replaces the taillight bulb with the tailBlazer which cycles several times when the brakes are applied before remaining bright. 6.3 Turn Signals The turn signal flasher can be replaced with a standard automotive two terminal flasher unit. Glen Farney has designed an interesting Turn Signal to Brake Light Converter. [6]Click here more more information. 6.4 Instrument lights If one of your instrument bulbs burns out, you can replace it by just pulling the little rubbber socket out from the back of the speedo cluster. The replacement part is cheaper if you buy the Honda part rather than the Suzuki part, by the way. 6.5 Battery Take care of your battery -- for some reason the VX battery is an odd size (somewhat large), and replacements cost somewhat more than those for other bikes. Yuasa lists the YB16B-A as the right battery in their "better" class, and they don't list a less-expensive equivalent. One mailorder place wants $73 for that battery. Someone reports that Chaparral (800-841-2960) sells an economy battery for $36.99. Part# 378-1097. That's worth checking out. GT Turner says that he's converted to a commonly available 14AH battery: "You need to lengthen the negative lead to accommodate the battery as the positive and negative poles are reversed from the stock VX battery. I found out about this from a fellow VX rider who still has his first converted battery after 4 yrs of use.... 14L-A2 is the base #, worth a try when the OEM is so $$$. You only need to lengthen the negative lead. I used a 5" piece of 8-ga FINE strand wire with ring connectors on both ends. Bolted one ring end to the existing negative lead on the bike and insulated it with sleeve tubing. That way you can very simply revert back to stock Install the battery so the overflow tube mates up to the battery. You'll have to make a spacer (I used foam) to take up space in the battery box as the replacement is 1" less in width." Bear in mind that GT lives in a relatively warm part of the country. If I made this substitution, I'd use a 16AH battery. Editor Tom has just installed (Mar '01) an EverStart ES14BS maintenance-fee battery. It's a bit smaller than the OEM but fits satisfactorily. WalMart offers this battery for $70. They also offer an ES16B, specified for the VX at $35.00, but Tom has been informed that the terminals are on the wrong side for the VX. 6.6 Odd Switch Recent European models (definitely the German models, perhaps others) have an unusual switch on one of the carburetors that closes when the throttle is fully open. Harald Bilke made some inquiries, and found that it's part of a system to reduce noise emissions! "The switch is necessary to keep the noise emissions just below the threshold. It engages only in the 3rd and 4th gear when turning the throttle fast to "full open" and between 40 and 60 km/h. (This is the setup how the measurement is done - hint, hint ;-)) The ignition timing is being changed - so full power is released a little bit later. This is enough to pass the microphone and having a little more distance between it and the engine the dbs are lower. As I recall now I could feel the "hickup" myself. But you have to turn the throttle really fast. My dealer states that most european from 1996 on should have a similar device, because the noise thresholds are EC ones." 6.7 Horn A number of listers have commented on the anemic sound of the OEM VX horn. Tom, and a few others, have cured the problem by installing a pair of Fiamm Freeway Blasters. He followed Glen Farney's solution for mounting and electrical hookup. The horns are mounted under the seat using the bolts that hold the footpegs onto the chassis. Some listers have cautioned that horns should be in the front as that's where other motorists expect the sound to come from, and that the use automobile horns can create ill will. Your humble editor (Tom) respectfully disagrees on both points but cautions other to take this point of view into consideration. If you decide to install more powerful horns, a proper electrical hookup using a relay is essential. Glen has provided the following: If you are installing only one horn, the stock wiring will work, but a relay will make it better, as long as your new horn is dual terminal. If it is single, you will need a relay. Dual horns really should have a relay for proper and long term functionality. Radio shack sells an automotive relay of reasonable quality, and a reasonable price. Don't pay more than about $6 for one. I see them frequently packaged as "daytime running light wiring kit" or "alarm accessory kit". Same relay, extra cost. A relay can increase the volume of the stock horn as much as a new horn without a relay, to get full benefit, do both, dual if possible. I ultimately found good quality disk horns are my favorite for volume, and sounding like a motorcycle. My GS650 has "Freeway Blaster" horns, and sounds like a car, a damn loud one, but a car none the less. Ok, the stock horn wiring goes as follows.... starting at the battery..... ....power flows through one of the fuses (sorry, I forget which one), and directly to the first terminal of the horn. The second lead from the horn goes to the switch (horn button) on the handlebars, and then to ground. Yes, that's right, they pulled the ultimate no-no, and switched the ground for motorcycle horns, don't ask me why. The good news is adding a relay is very easy when you start with a two terminal horn. The short version on how to wire a relay, it will make more sense if you have the relay in front of you, and know remember how the horn is already wired. The relay has 4 terminals on it (maybe a 5th). They are numbered and connected as follows: 30 - This lead is the incoming power that is ultimately switched by the relay. Use larger wire than stock (14 gauge should be ok, but 12 gauge will work better, and connect this lead directly to the battery, with an in line fuse as close to the battery as possible. I always try to use red wire for such an application, but that's just for me to keep track of what's what, black works just as well. 87 - This lead is connected to the horns. Some relays have two 87 terminals, if you have two horns, connect one to each. *If you have an 87a terminal, do not use it, it is normally closed, and therefore powered, even when the bike is off. Make sure this terminal is covered, and can't short out to anything. 85 & 86. These two terminals are used to activate the relay. When power is placed across these leads, it energizes a coil, and pulls the contacts together. Most can be polarized both ways and still work. Here's the part that makes it really easy.... connect these two to the original horn wires, polarity doesn't matter. No cutting of the bike's original wiring is required (good for putting things back to original later if you choose). Doing this requires you tuck the relay up at the front of the bike somewhere, I find there is room behind the little covers at the front of the VX. It doesn't need to be mounted, but it's good to tie it off to something to keep it from getting anywhere it's not supposed to be. The last thing required to do is ground the horns. If you have one terminal horns, they are already grounded through the mounting brackets. If they are two terminal, (+) and (-) are usually identified on the horns, or on the package. Simply ground the (-) terminal to the frame somewhere with a short wire (often included with horn). This type of upgrade is also worth while for headlights. Decreased voltage on halogen bulbs cause a dramatic decrease in light output, especially with high wattage bulbs. Strangely, the VX doesn't suffer this problem too bad. _________________________________________________________________ References 4. http://www.electrexusa.com/ 5. http://www.kisantech.com/ _________________________________________________________________ 7. Suspension 7.1 Fork Springs Probably the most common modification made to the VX is to replace the front fork springs, generally considered to "soft", with Progressive fork springs ("Progressive" is a brand name, as well as being a description of how they work, by the way.) These springs have two different sections, with a different spring rate to each section. The soft end maintains the ride, but the rest of the spring is stiffer, and won't bottom out as quickly. (It should be noted that the stock springs are progressively wound, they're just too soft overall -- the replacements from Progressive are stiffer.) Replacement is simple -- lift the front of the bike, remove the fork caps (carefully, they're under spring tension), take out the old springs, cut down the old spacers, remove some fork oil, put in the new springs, and replace the caps. The springs will cost under $50 from most mail-order houses. There's a somewhat more complete sequence in the "Maintenance Procedures" section. The Progressive part number for the VX is 11-1129. The installation notes say to cut the stock spring spacers down to 3". Or you can use a piece of PVC pipe that just fits in the fork tube, with a flat washer between it and the spring top. If you do this, get high-grade (schedule 80 -- it's a gray color) PVC from a plumbing shop -- there have been reports of cheap PVC gradually deteriorating (shredding), which isn't a good thing in your fork tubes. (Note: see below -- 3" may actually be too long.) The springs go in with the close-wound end uppermost. Progressive Suspension Inc.: (760) 948-4012. There's been some debate about the amount of oil to remove. Some folks don't remove any, and have no trouble. Others report premature fork seal failure unless you reduce the oil volume. One person "would recommend reducing the fork oil volume from about 380 cc per leg to about 280-300 cc leg". I think it was Roland Oliynyk who said: "I calculated the 240 ml ( 8 oz) of 10wt fork oil that I use, based on the weight difference between the standard spring and the progressive spring, assumed that would correspond to the difference in displacement volume between the two springs (assuming same density of steel). Percentage increase in spring weight is proportional to percentage DECREASE in oil volume." Someone else pointed out since the spring isn't totally immersed in the oil that this might not be a completely accurate theory. But in any case, it seems people have success with a variety of oil volumes in the 240-300 ml range. A solution that has worked for Tom was proposed by Robb Wong. Remove your spacers, washers and springs; compress your forks completely then add oil until it's 150mm (~6")from the top of each fork tube. You can measure that using chopsticks, or in my case, a turkey baster. With the baster method, pour in oil to a little past the the proposed mark, insert the baster to the 150mm level which I've marked on it (150mm from the tip of the baster) and squeeze the bulb to suck in excess oil until it burbles. The oil is then at the proper level. Apparently Works Performance (818-701-1010) sells a similar system of springs for the VX. From Thatch Harvey, who has a set that he likes on his 1100G: "This is a two spring system (per fork leg) with a spacer inside one of the springs, and a proload spacer on top. The small spring is softer and does most of the work on small bumps. On a big bump or under braking, the small spring compresses until it is the same length as the spacer, and then can't go any further. Then the spacer/spring combo simply act as a spacer pushing on the big spring which is a higher rate and resists bottoming." It's also possible to firm up the front end by simply installing a longer spacer. It turns out Mike Heathman has tried this: "I put in a longer pre-load spacer when I first bought the bike and rode it that way for about 10,000 miles until I put in progressive springs. It does help a bit, keeps the front end from bottoming out under heavy braking as easily, which was the biggest problem with the stock springs." "The Progressive springs are better. They are very harsh with the 3" spacer recommended by Progressive. With a 2-1/2" spacer they're beautiful." I've installed Progressive's on my bike, with 2-1/2" spacers as suggested by Mike, and I like them. There is much less "pogo"ing on rough pavement (something I thought was caused by too stiff a suspension, but I guess it's from being too soft), and I just have more confidence in turns that the front end will behave predictably. For what it's worth, I have no idea how much oil I have in my forks by volume -- I did measure from the top of the tube (fully compressed, spring removed) and the height is set to about 150mm. The newest Front Suspension option is a pair of [4]Race-Tech Cartridge Emulators (Part # FEGV S3801). These reasonably simple-to-install parts do a great job of making the front end as planted and compliant as any sport bike that we might expect to ride on the street. Installation, as reported to Tom by Andy, is straight forward. Remove the forks caps and then the spacers and springs. Use the Paul Fox or Jim Chen damper extraction tool described below under [5]Fork Seals to remove the damper rods. Drill two holes of similar diameter to the holes already in the damper rod. These holes should be drilled midway between the existing holes and rotated 90 degrees from them. Precision drilling is not essential as the holes are there only to permit fork oil to move more freely. However they should be deburred to prevent metal fragments from damaging the system. Reinstall the damper rods, adjust the Cartridge Emulators to 2 1/2 turns from the tightest position, drop them onto the damper rods, replace the spacers (they should be shortened by 1/2 inch) and the springs. Fill the forks to the proper level with fork oil (15w recommended). Replace the fork caps and go riding. If you want to adjust the ride, all you have to do is remove the Cartridge Emulators again again adjust them according to the instruction sheet and drop them back in; a 5 minute job Tom had a chance to ride Andy's VX with this improvement and will be adding them to his in the Spring (2001) together with a [6]Superbrace. The front end was exceptionally good. 7.2 Shocks People have reported good results with both Progressive (1200 Series) and Koni (part no. 7610-1520) aftermarket shocks. Glen Farney writes: "Progressive makes a good shock for the VX, non adjustable, but far cheaper than the OEM unit, and works quite well. They will gladly tell you exactly what shock and spring combination will work, in fact they have a downloadable application program at [7]http://www.progressivesuspension.com" 7.3 Fork seals Fork seals seem to last as long as they want to, between 10,000 and 50,000 miles. Replacing them isn't that hard in principle, but in practice, many people remove the tubes themselves, and have a mechanic do the actual seal replacement. Removing the fork tubes is fairly easy -- remove the front wheel, remove the front fender, loosen the clamp bolts on the upper and lower fork clamps, and the forks will fall right out. Hang onto them. There are two trick parts to replacing the seals yourself. One is that to remove the damper rod, you need to a) turn the allen head pointing down from the bottom of the tube (that's easy), and b) keep the rod from spinning (that's hard). The rod has a 24mm allen head on it, but you need a very long allen wrench (or a 24mm bolt fastened to a long bar somehow) to get to it. Some people have success using an air wrench on the bottom allen screw while there's still spring tension on the damper rod (i.e. before taking the caps off). Wes Kendall fashioned a tool using a nut and a socket of the right size -- he shimmed the the nut out with washers so it protruded from the socket enough to engage the allen head on the fork rod. The sudden high torque breaks it the bolt loose. Robb Wong suggests: ... after you pull the forks out, open them up, take out the springs and spacers and drain (or clean) the forks. THEN - add the springs and spacers again and I WOULD BRING THE FORKS TO A SHOP AND HAVE THEM AIR DRILL THE SCREWS OUT. This single step saves so many headaches and dirty-words! My local shop will drill them out for a "tip" ($5 to the mechanic). Tightening the bottom bolt is 1000 times easier than loosening - and cleaner too. Scott Tunney fashioned a tool like so: I found that using a deepwell 24mm socket on two 10" extensions and a 1 1/2" 5/8-11 bolt with two nuts ∓ a lock washer made it very easy to remove the bolt. Using the bolt with two nuts I could use the lock washer to hold the second nut outside the socket to engage the damper rod so that it would not rotate. I used a 8 mm allen wrench on the bolt and a rachet to hold the damper rod. Everything came apart easily without using my air impact wrench. I tried to sketch the socket/bolt combination below: SSSSSSSSS s = 24 mm deepwell socket S S B = 1 1/2" 5/8-11 bolt (15/16" head) S BBBBB S n = 5/8" nut S B S w = 5/8" lock washer S nnBnn S S nnBnn S wwwBwww nnBnn nnBnn I had to use english bolts because my local hardware store does not carry large metric bolts. Perhaps the simplicity prize goes to Jim Chen, though: "BTW, I fashioned a tool out of an old broom handle to lock the nut inside the fork tubes. I used a rotary table top sander to flatten one edge of the handle and then tapered the handle to fit inside the nut. The flattened edge worked like a charm to hold the nut - and it was the cheapest tool I've used on the bike thus far!!" Paul then topped everyone with the following: The tool for the forks is really easy to make: a length of 5/8" threaded shaft, with two 15/16" headed nuts lock-nutted together at the business end, with a pair of vicegrips applied at the other end as a handle, and you have an instant Suzuki special-tool replacement. no muss, no fuss. I got the 5/8" threaded rod at a local home-center -- any good hardware store should have it, and I can practically guarantee that the only nuts they have to fit it will have 15/16" heads. [8]Click to see a picture of mine. It's not pretty, but it works like a charm. (btw, 15/16" equals 23.8125 mm, which is plenty close enough...) The other tricky part is the actual removal and replacement of the seals -- seating the new seal must be done carefully. Juan Goula described his experience installing the seals himself: "Then came time to re-assemble the whole thing. Sliding those seals the last 1/16" was driving me crazy! I used (as any desperate man would) a punch. Bad mistake. The seal just sat there, snickering, now with a dimple on its surface. Dang! Out I go to my local hardware store, bought an 8' length of 1.5" PVC pipe. Cut a 2' length, made a longitudinal cut so it would spread open and presto! Instant seal driver. One good whack with a rubber mallet and the seals grinneth no more. Then came the dust seals, no problem." Scott used this trick as well, and claims it works great. The seals would last longer if the fork tubes were protected by "gaiters", the kind off-road bikes usually have, as well as older street bikes. At least one as person reported success fitting a pair to the VX. A couple of people have used BMW fork boots. Wes Kendall reports: "BMW has a pair that fit the VX perfectly. Exact fit on the fork tube. Ditto for the fork leg. Thin enough to get between the leg and fender bracket without modification. Short enough so that it doesn't look funny on a street bike. The BMW part # is 31-42-2-311-077. Of course there is a catch. These cost $27.90 EACH !!!" Andy Sobkovich has replaced the OEM seal with Leak Proof seals reasoning that if the OEM seals were OK there wouldn't be so many seal problems. _________________________________________________________________ References 4. http://www.race-tech.com/ 6. http://www.superbrace.com/ 7. http://www.progressivesuspension.com/ _________________________________________________________________ 8. Chassis 8.1 Fuel petcock Most VXes one finds these days have a vacuum-operated fuel petcock with just two postions, ON and RES. There is no off position. Most modern petcocks are designed so that if the engine is not running (i.e. no vacuum) then fuel will not flow. This means you don't have to remember to shut off the fuel manually when you stop. Many bikes also have a "PRIME" position, which overrides the vacuum disable, since otherwise starting can be difficult with no fuel in the carburetor float bowls. The VX does not have this feature. But the first models (or possibly all years) of the VX had a more traditional ON/OFF/RES petcock (with OFF in between ON and RES). Apparently there were enough complaints about fuel in the cylinders that the upgrade to the vacuum petcock was done as a "customer satisfaction" upgrade, and retrofitted to most bikes. Apparently the knob isn't keyed on the shaft, because it was apparently fairly common for the knob to be put on backwards after the upgrade, causing the ON and RES indications to be reversed. When correctly installed on a vacuum petcock, turning the knob clockwise should move you from ON to RES. If yours turns the other way, your RES setting won't work. The Suzuki number for the petcock replacement kit, if you dealer can't seem to find it, is 44300-45810. Be warned that the vacuum line for the fuel valve plugs into a vacuum outlet which was originally used just for doing carb balancing. If you disconnect it to hook up the carb balancer, the fuel petcock will stay closed, and your engine won't run. You'll need to make a T adapter for the vacuum line, or run from a different fuel source, There have been several reports of a nonfunctional "reserve". This allows all the fuel in the tank to be used with the petcock set to "ON". Then when the petcock is turned to "reserve", there is no fuel left in the tank. So far the people affected on the mailing just live with it and keep closer tabs on the fuel level. [ Anyone found a fix? -pgf ] 8.2 Brakes The only warning I've heard regarding the VX brakes is this, from Rob Opiela (paraphrased from a couple of mail messages): "I was backing out of my parking spot, hit the brakes, and heard a clanking sound and had no brakes. On the ground was one of my front brake pads. I heard a click on Saturday after a rather hard ride... I looked at the calipers and I noticed nothing wrong. But when I backed my bike up this morning, the pad fell out. This was the first time all weekend that I backed it up after the Saturday ride. On the brake pad, there are loops on either end that have a pin going through them to secure them to the caliper. These loops broke off. Both of them. So, nothing is wrong with the caliper it seems. Time for some EBC greens." Various riders have had success with various aftermarket pads -- I've tried EBC Black, and EBC sintered pads, other people use Ferodos. No one has complained about any of them. I found the EBC Black pads to have less bite than the stock pads, but it could have been my imagination -- others swear by them. Many people that have switched to stainless braided brake lines seem to like them. That being said, when I installed a stainless front line, I didn't really notice a difference. Before bothering, be sure that your existing line is properly bled. Tap the banjo bolts, to dislodge air bubbles. If the lines have any air in them, they'll feel like mush. On the other hand, if the rubber line is very old, it really may need replacing. From Ron Lotton: "With the stock lines the brake felt spongy, allowing a delay between when I applied the brake and when it would bite. Also, I would have to pull the brake lever almost to the point that it touched the handlebar to get maximum braking. With the new stainless steel brake line, the brake works immediately and in direct linear response to how hard I use it." "I have since discovered that many companies that deal in hydraulic hoses can make one up for you. Check your local phone book. A friend just had one made up locally at a place that makes high pressure hydraulic hoses for heavy equipment, like bulldozers. A line for his KLR 650 cost him $40..." Brian Smith used Goodridge parts he ordered from Dennis Kirk, and sounded similarly happy with the results: Front brake: Part No. 19-2700 34" universal brake line 1 ea. Part No. 19-2545 3/8"-10mm banjo hose end 2 ea. Rear brake: Part No. 19-2697 28" universal brake line 1 ea. Part No. 19-2545 3/8"-10mm banjo hose end 1 ea. Part No. 19-2539 3/8"-10mm banjo hose end 1 ea. He re-used the stock banjo bolts, but purchased new crush washers. Raffaele Belardi reports that at least one place makes ready-made lines for the VX: "FrenTubo makes a specific kit for the VX (and for many other bikes). Lines cut to the right length and terminals already correctly oriented. Installation straightforward. I don't know if you can find them outside Italy, and I don't know if they have a web page, but here's their address. FrenTubo Via della Bastia 29 40033 Casalecchio del Reno Bologna - Italy Tel. (country code)-051-6192123 Fax (country code)-051-6192093 They make three kinds of kits: steel lines/steel terminals, steel lines/ergal terminals, kevlar lines/ergal terminals, in increasing price order. Ergal terminals weigh less than steel ones, and kevlar lines perform better than steel ones (less expansion under pressure), but you probably wouldn't note the difference on a VX. I installed the steel/steel lines this summer. Big difference. The previous lines were probably the original ones (8 years old)." 8.3 Tires The VX came stock (in the US, anyway) with either Dunlop K505 or a Metzeler ME-33/ME-55A combo. Metzeler no longer recommends the ME-55 on the VX, since the tolerance in manufacturing the tires sometimes causes them to exceed the clearance to the shaft. (There's not much room there.) Metzler currently recommends their "sport-touring" radials: MEZ2 110/80ZR18 front 150/70ZR17 rear for the VX800 now. They also say that the MEZ1 would be appropriate for the the VX, depending on your personal preference. Other experiences: * Bridgestone's recommendation for the VX800 is: Front - 110/80 H18 G547 Exedra at 33 psi Rear - 150/70 H17 G548 Exedra at 36 psi "That's the exact tire that I purchased for my rear wheel. Everyone was telling me that it'd probably wouldn't fit. But sure enough, it fit like a glove. * "...I have been happy so far with the Bridgestone BT-17's I mounted during my ride home. They work great in the rain, ignore rain grooves completely and seem to stick well in corners. They're also fairly inexpensive (I paid $85 front/$99 rear). Be sure to get the 140 for the rear, as these tires tend to be wider than normal." * "I put a pair of Michelin Macadam 90x radials on my VX earlier this fall and like them alot. They are a dual compound tire, hard rubber in the center soft rubber on the sides, so they should last awhile(probably not as long as the rock hard Dunlops it came with though). They corner exellently, and the V-profile of the front tire really helps the flickability (if you can use that term) in turn initiation and hold when you have it over. They track staight through grooves, ect. and worked well on wet roads." * "I use a 130/90x17 on the back of my VX and am quite happy with it. It is noticeably taller than stock and will raise your gearing a tad. I get about 13-15k out of the ME88, compared to 7-8k from the ME55." * "I ran ME55's for the first couple years I had the bike. I think I went through two 150/70's which rubbed on the swingarm bad enough to heat up the tire." * "Last fall I replaced a pair of Michelin Macadam 90's with Pirelli MT8/9, and I must say that I'm impressed with the Pirelli's performance. They haven't yet slipped once, even on wet road surface, something not uncommon for the Michelins. That may of course come from the fact that they were getting old and worn. The Michelin front tyre lasted about 11000 km, the rear a little longer, but I don't yet know how far the Pirellis will carry me." 8.4 Clutch Here are a couple of notes on clutch replacement: From Mike Heathman: "I just installed a set of Barnett plates this last weekend, as well as new OEM clutch springs. Barnett doesn't sell springs for the VX. I found something interesting during the installation." "The VX has a back-torque limiter built into the clutch. There are 8 springs that go into clutch, 4 for the back-torque limiter. The service manual shows the shorter springs go into the back-torque limiter and the longer springs into the clutch plate. That is NOT how mine were installed from the factory. The longer springs were on the back-torque limiter." "I installed the springs the way the manual showed and my clutch is much improved. The horribly narrow engagement band is gone. Anyway, I'm not sure how much of it is the Barnett plates and how much is the correct spring installation, but I'm really happy with the clutch now." "BTW, one final note. The clutch spring bolts are supposed to be torqued to 8-9.5 ft-lbs. I went out and bought a brand new inch-lb torque wrench to do the job. Unfortunately, all I could find was a ``clicker'' type wrench (I wanted a beam). I carefully torqued them all in 1 ft-lb increments, planning to stop at 9 ft-lb. They were fine at 8, but before the wrench clicked for 9 I stripped out a spring bolt. Taking out some bolts I had already torqued to 9, the threads were deforming. I got new bolts at the hardware store and torqued them all to 8 ft-lb. Now everything seems fine." And another from Mike: "The more important cluch adjustment [ the adjuster on the handle] is on the left side of the engine. Take off the left rear engine cover, it's held on with three bolts. There is a ball and ramp mechanism there for the clutch push rod. It's pretty obvious once you have the cover off." "Loosen the clutch adjustment at the handlebar so you have plenty of slack in the cable. The end of the push rod is slotted for a screwdriver. Loosen the lock-nut on the push-rod and then turn in the push rod until you feel it contact something. Turn it back out 1/4 turn and tighten the lock-nut. Now adjust your cable slack at the handlebar." "If the push rod adjustment is too far off, no amount of fiddling with the handlbar adjustment will improve things." From Andy: My clutch slipped only when cold or with some types of synthetic oil. I have long thought that the clutch springs and the back-torque converter were at the root of this problem. There are 4 heavy springs and 4 light springs on the clutch. The bolt sits on a long spacer and the spring rests against a washer at the top of the bolt. I wished to increase the spring pre-load so the springs would press the plates more firmly together. To do this I needed washers that would slide over the spacer, be wide enough for the spring to sit against and still be narrow enough hat they would fit through the holes in the clutch pressure plate. And be thick enough to raise the spring pressure a little. I used washers that are 5/8" across, and 1/16" thick and bored the centre hole out to 3/8" to clear the spacers on the clutch spring bolts. The washers are 18mm wide and 1.7mm thick and the hole is now 9.6mm. I went for a ride this morning once the road dried after the first real rain we've had since the spring. The clutch now starts dis-engaging (gets you going from a stop) very smoothly and progressively. Very controllable and lots of feel. No clutch slip at all. The clutch plates are still well within spec, it was just the springs that were the problem. 8.5 Gearing One of the differences between the US model of the VX and other models is the "secondary reduction ratio". This affects the ration of every gear. The secondary reduction ratio for the US is 1.133, for all other models it is 1.096. This makes the US gearing just 3.4% lower than other models. The gear which is different between the models is pictured on page 4-2 of the service manual, labelled "Secondary reduction gear". 8.6 Exhaust Apparently the exhaust system is constructed in such a way that several owners have had trouble with loud rattles from internal rust or breakage. After replacing his pipes, Roland Oliynyk took a hacksaw to the old ones, "13.25 inches from the muffler mounting holt towards the header. Upon opening up the exhaust pipe, I found the culprit, both sides, there is an inner pipe between the cross-over and the restricted section of the header pipe. Both were loose and I extracted the pipes with pliers." It seems like some screws drilled in from the outside might cure this rattle, which Roland described as "It would make you think you were driving a Harley - more like engine clatter but a sharper sound. It would be intermittent - I think dependent on the heat in the pipe or the loose piece jammed for awhile. Noisy enough to hear at highway speeds (without ear plugs)." Chuck Wright advised that according to the manufacturer its [4]Cermachrome finish will provide "near lifetime" protection on exhaust pipes as will as lower temperatures significantly. Costs about $150 - $225 depending on configuration. If you ever have to replace one of the VX pipes, you'll be amazed at how expensive they are. They list for something over $400 each. Discount suppliers seem to have them for closet to $300 each, which is still high. (One person got the left pipe from Parts Depot, in Vincentown, NJ (800-245-3101), for $305.) Jardine makes a Rumbler exhaust for the VX, recently installed by Roland Oliynyk. Story so far? "I think they are much LOUDER." :-) Mike Heathman installed these as well, and rejetted his main jets because he decided he was running too lean: "I went from a 132.5 to a 130 main jet in the rear and from 122.5 to 120 in the front." (He also has UNI foam air filters on his bike, btw.) The contact information Roland sent the list when he ordered his exhaust was: "Jardine Exhaust Systems (Motorcycle division). Jardine Motorcycle systems are made by Summit Industries in Corona, CA. Tel 909-371-1744 E-mail address: [5]jardine@microsys.net" There is a Dutch company which sells exhausts for the the VX -- see [6]http://www.bsm-exhausts.com. A number of people have ordered exhausts from them in a bulk order as of 9/1999, so more experience with them should be available soon. Sito, another European company, makes one too: [7]http://www.sitogroup.com/sito/text/sitonews.html. Editor Tom, Chuck Wright and Kit Doran have installed [8]PipeMasters exhausts on their VXs with good results. [9]Click here to see pictures of the pipes, before and [10]Click here to hear them. If you want to install a slipon muffler onto the existing pipes a lister going under the handle "memjoda" writes: the VX stock exhaust can be replaced with slip ons by cutting the pipes past the crossover just before the next weld toward the outlet. The inner pipe can then be removed and replaced with a 45 degree turnout for 1-3/4 inch pipe ($3.59) from Trak auto. The expanded end is a perfect friction fit into the existing pipe. The JC. Whitney 01PG7567P ($34.99 ea) will just fit over the outlet side and its mounting bracket fits perfectly on the bottom of the passenger peg pivot bolt. The J.C. Whitney exhaust pipe heat shield 01PG 3521A ($14.50) will cover from the cut stock pipe to the chrome muffler. The downside is that they are very loud and the passenger pegs no longer fold in. If you really just want to make your VX louder (Editorial comment: I really can't believe I'm including this in the FAQ, since I don't condone the practice of making bikes louder for the sake of noise. Loud pipes don't save lives, they just annoy neighbors. -pgf), try this tip from Henry Spragens: "First try drilling the centers of the four welds around the periphery of the mufflers. Start with a 1/8" drill to test the results. If it gets too loud you can screw a sheet metal screw in the hole to quiet it down again. Work your way up in drill size if you like the results. It's acceptably louder, low-pitched and rumbly if you do it that way. Mine are drilled 3/16" in all 4 welds on both mufflers. Taking a sharpened hunk of re-bar and knocking the baffles out makes for a barky, flatulent, "Honda 450 with straight pipes" kind of sound." 8.7 Speedometer Cable Yes, it's true. The front wheel needs to be removed to replace the speedometer cable, because you can't get at the retaining screw otherwise. There are instructions for removing and replacing the front wheel in a later section of this FAQ. Fred Dalton sent in this tip. I did the same thing, using a HELP replacement cable, and it worked fine. (Be careful crimping on the new cable end -- you only get one, or maybe two, chances.) "My cable broke about 4000 miles ago. I went to the automobile parts store (pep boys) and found a repair kit for car speedo cables. It was in the area of the store with all the "HELP" brand parts. It was about $10, and came with a crimp tool (it was cheapo, I used my electrician wire crimpers). The part that crimps on had to be ground down a bit in the bench grinder to fit right. In all it was a 10 minute job. Has worked well." Paul Fox recently (Feb 2001) sent a caution that car speedo cables have not worked well for him. _________________________________________________________________ References 4. http://www.performancecoatings.com/ 5. mailto://jardine@microsys.net/ 6. http://www.bsm-exhausts.com/ 7. http://www.sitogroup.com/sito/text/sitonews.html 8. http://www.pipemasters.net/ 9. http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=41914&a=278608 10. http://yourpage.suscom.net/tbalaban/vx/VXPipeMstr.wav _________________________________________________________________ 9. Comfort 9.1 Fairings/Windshields Here are some fairing references contributed by Robert Hasenhuendl: * Suzuki makes a fairing for the VX800, but good luck getting it from them. * Targa makes a good likeness of the Suzuki fairing on demand and will color match it to your year-model color. * Rifle makes the Sport fairing which will fit the VX800. It has integrated headlights which is worth checking out at [4]http://www.rifle.com. * TCP Aerodynamics has a pretty interesting 3/4 fairing specifically for the VX800 at [5]http://www.tcpsa.com. * Powerbronze has some that are supposed to fit as well. Robert has some of their catalog online: [6]http://wwwdemo.speedware.com/rh/powerbronze.html. * Pichler makes some nice fairings too: [7]http://www.pichler.de. There's also a Swedish site that has the VX fairings by Pichler, at [8]http://www.coxy.se/delar/page2.html. * A lot of VX riders use National Cycle shields and fairings. I have a Deflector shield on my VX. I shortened it 2" to make it right for me, but others have found it fine as-is.) Their website is [9]http://www.nationalcycle.com/. Tim Morrow wrote this regarding his National Cycle Plexistar II, which he uses in the winter months only: "Installation - dead simple; good instructions, simple hand tools. The only difficult part is that the handlebar clamps are hard to slip under the wires from the control groups, and they don't like to close down onto the handlebars without significant torque being applied to the allen wrench you use to fasten them. Excellent hardware, and a good finish on the edges of the screen. Use - creates a (subjective) 15-20 degree difference in riding comfort. On days when the morning commute is 25 degrees, I can wear clothing normally more suited to 40 degrees. Hands, face, neck, chest, and arms all stay significantly warmer than without the screen. Complaints? Some wind buffeting on the upper third of my helmet (I'm 5'8", 30-inch inseam, 32-inch sleeve) and wind hitting me in the back and pushing me slightly forward at highway speeds... ...I recommend this windshield to those who, like me, don't want a permanent fairing. If I had it to do over again, I think I'd order the slightly larger Plexifairing II in hopes that all the air would be diverted completely over my head." Regarding how to reduce turbulence, Brian Smith posted the following (the Streetshield GT he refers to is made by National Cycle): "The key to getting clean, low-turbulence air over the top of any shield is to allow sufficient air to flow around the back side of the fairing. Take a look at the motorized windscreens on the new BMW touring bikes. They have what could be called a huge air gap between the top of the body work and the bottom of the fairing. This allows a lot of air to flow in up the back side of the wind shield. This air does two things: 1.) It fills the dead air capsule just enough to prevent the violent reverse flow that happens when the wind goes up and over the shield and then comes back around only to hit the rider in the back of the helmet. You see this effect in convertible cars. With the top down, invariably you will notice that the hair on the heads of the passengers is being pushed forward by the reverse flow wind blast off the windshield. Porsche has solved this problem on their new Boxster by installing an air dam in back of the passengers headrests. & 2.) The flow of air up the back of the shield reduces the strength of the shear layer coming off the top of the shield. The shear layer is that zone where the air velocity changes very quickly from essentially zero behind the shield to the speed of the air you're driving through. It also tends to push the shear layer farther up than if there were no air coming up the back of the shield. Some windshields which are designed to fit snugly against the top of the headlight housing will do a good job of deflecting air off of the lower torso but generally won't help keep your helmet in still air." "Since I am 5' 9", my helmet rides in relatively clean air with the StreetShield. My line of sight is slightly above the top of the shield. I have it mounted so that there is about a 2 to 3 inch air gap between the bottom of the shield and the tach/speedo gauge cluster. The gauge cluster tends to turn the air and force it up along the back of the shield. The StreetShield is also wide enough to keep air off of my shoulders and arms." "Motorcycle aerodynamics is a highly experimental science(?!). Feel free to try different set ups. I'm sure you'll hit on something that will work for you. Good luck in your quest for an ideal windshield." 9.2 Handlebars Robert Hasenhuendl contributes: "(Bar-End Weights) I've changed bars twice since I got my VX and haven't noticed any more vibration without the bar-end weights that the stock handlebars have." "(Handlebars) In order to get a more aggressive driving position, I installed flat bars (Tommaselli model 226 Flat Bar or Emgo Flat Bar). I didn't have to change any of the hardware to install them. They do make you lean more forward, but not too much. They have to stay relatively flat otherwise they'll knock the tank when you go from lock to lock. The switch assemblies (horn/turn signals & starter) have to be angled downwards a lot, so much in fact, that the horn button is out of site and *almost* inaccessible. The Tommaselli flat bars are shorter than the ones I had last year (I don't know what they were) and with the grips installed one inch past the end of the bars, the clutch cable-arm is right up against the handle-bar clamps. A set of bar-end weights would probably solve the problem by bringing the grips back out to the end of the bars." "In an attempt get a more aggressive driving position without risking damage to my tank, I installed a set of Tommaselli model 233 Road Racing style bars which actually veer forward, then back and down. I didn't change any hardware when I installed these, but I did have to play around with the clutch cable-arm (position, not shape). Because of the way they are angled, they can be installed either way (upside down, or right-side up). I originally had them installed upside down, this gave me an even more aggressive driving position than having them right-side up, but are uncomfortable due to the fact that most of my upper-body weight is now supported by my wrists and palms. I now have them installed right-side up. The driving position is less aggressive than before, but still more than the flat bars." Rick Blunden writes: "I installed a late model (1990's) Yamaha Seca II handlebar to my VX with no changes to cables or hoses. The Seca bar is narrower, flatter, and lower than the stock VX bar, and it creates a comfortable forward lean for the rider. I did not install bar weights, and my mirrors are clear at all speeds except idle. When pushed from lock to lock, the bar does not hit the tank. I had to drill holes in the Seca bar to accept the clamp-on electrical housings, and I shortened the VX plastic throttle tube so I could install shorter hand-grips. The choke cable is routed outside its wire guide at the speedometer, the clutch cable runs through the wire guide at the speedometer, and the throttle cable and front brake hose are routed outside of their wire guide at the tachometer. This is a clean and simple installation that allows the rider to avoid grabbing so much wind and still maintain a high level of comfort with no windshield at speeds less than 70-75 mph. I paid $10 for a good Seca bar at a mc wrecker. For someone looking for a lower, flatter bar, this option is worth considering." 9.3 Seats I happen to really like the stock VX seat. It gives me room to move around on a long trip, and the slope up to the rear seat is in the perfect place to tilt my pelvis forward and keep my back straight. But many folks don't like the seat. Corbin makes a VX seat, and here's what Ron Lotton said on the list: "...now that I am using the Corbin seat, I'm quite pleased. I'll point out some of the things that I have noticed." " - You sit lower. A combination of a dished out butt area and rounded, instead of square edged, sides in the thigh area make for a shorted reach to the pavement." " - The seat is much heavier than stock. I would guess that it is 10 lbs. heavier." " - It completely cures the "sliding down hill" syndrome and I feel more in control when breaking hard." " - It is very comfortable for trips that are less than 100 miles in one sitting. (Though other people have reported how comfortable it is to tour on, I have only had the opportunity to test it up to one hour at a time.)" Charlie Keefe likes his home-modified seat: [10]The Road to Comfort I used the above site to customize the stock VX seat. I bought one sq. foot of their Atomic foam and cut out the section in front of the stock seat's step. I also moved the step back 3/4" for more room. I cut out the stock foam the same thickness of the Atomic stuff (which is about 1 1/2" thick I believe). I glued the new stuff in and filed it down to match the old tapers and to customize the the seat to my own ass-print. I used a hand plane and rough coarse sandpaper to shape the AF. The old seat would sack down after about an hour and force my torso back and my knees up. The Atomic foam doesn't sack and because it sits on at least 1" of old foam, you get the benefits of another layer of vibration control that you don't get from a Corbin seat. I left the cover loose for 100 miles where I could reshape any area that I wanted. After that, I secured the cover and have been very happy with the results as I like the stock seats basic shape. 9.4 Luggage Suzuki offered luggage as an option for the VX, but you probably won't find it anymore, since it was discontinued. It was made by Krauser. Givi makes really good luggage, and several VX owners have reported success with it on their bikes. The company has a web site at [11]http://www.givi.it. The total width of a VX with their E45 bags installed is 40". One E45 bag will hold two full-face helmets, the E36 bag won't even hold one. The E360, on the other hand, will hold a full face helmet. Here's some pertinent info, as of 10/96: Wing Rack: $139 Mounting Kit: $46 (varies from bike to bike; model specific) E360 Luxia bags: $156.50 each E50 Top case: $183 Total: $498 without the top case; $681 with the case, plus shipping. Givi Concessionaires USA 805 Pressley Road, Suite 101 Charlotte, NC 28217 Phone: (704) 679-4123 Fax: (704) 679-4133 They also have an email address: [12]giviusa@mindspring.com It seems to be important to brace the Givi bags to keep them from "flapping", by bridging them at the rear. The side brackets will flex and may eventually break otherwise. Apparently Givi makes such a brace, but Tim Morrow fashioned one from 1"x3/16" steel strap, bent in a square-U shape. The base of the U is 13-3/4" wide, passes between the license plate and the fender, and is bolted to the fender. The arms extend forward with a hole at 8-3/16" which mates with the bolts (longer replacements, actually) that attach the sidemounts to the brackets that go forward to the passenger footrests. [13]Click to read Rick Blunden's erudite sharing of his Givi installation experience . Givi may have improved their design since Rick wrote that -- Jim Chen reported not having any clearance problems during the installation. 9.5 Racks Suzuki sold a small combination passenger backrest and luggage rack as an option. The rack was very small -- the one I saw looked like it would hold a single sleeping bag bungied to it, and not much more. I'm told it's useful for carrying a spare helmet. If you have the Suzuki backrest, you should knokw this, contributed by Steve L.: "In 1993 Suzuki issues a Service Bulletin with a fix for the Backrest. Suzuki manufactured 2 'U' shaped brackets that bolt upside-down over the thin metal 'wings and onto the frame bolts below them.' I recently discovered this bulletin and visited my dealer. Suzuki informed them that the brackets were no longer available, but the dealer could fabricate them to dimensions supplied by Suzuki and Suzuki will cover the bill." Givi also makes a "Monorack" for the VX, which allows mounting just a top case. Ventura makes a "Bike-pack" system, which replaces the grab handle with either a short rack or a tall one, over which one of their soft packs can be fitted. Both racks mount on the same set of L-brackets, so you can use both pretty easily. The soft packs come in several sizes, and can be zipped together, for pretty huge capacities. Ventura is a New Zealand company -- the importer is Headgear Specialties, in Edmonds, WA -- (800)688-6439. Anthony Thompson had this to say: "The rack consists of two bars which replace the handhold/bungee hook bars at the back of the bike and a separate rack which slips over the ends of the bars. Two styles of racks are available, I bought the small sport bike rack. In theory you could have one rack and different mounting bars for different bikes. Quality is excellent other than the paint which rubs off where the bungees are wound around it. Installation was absolutely bolt on." 9.6 Throttle Locks Sometimes called "cruise controls", a throttle lock can help reduce hand and wrist fatigue on long trips. Several people report that the "NEP Cruise Control Model CC-4" installs on the VX with no trouble at all. I believe you can also get a device called a Throttlemeister, which replaces the right hand end weight with a twisting lock mechanism. They're more expensive, but apparently very well made, and they definitely make one that fits the VX. In the cheapo category, you can also use a large rubber O-ring. The trick is to store it on the bar end-weight, and roll it up against the grip when you need it. Caterpillar (the tractor company) has one that works well: Yellow O-ring (Part# 8M4991 - $2.70) - Black O-ring (Part# 5H7370 - $2.00). 9.7 Heated Grips If you ride in cooler weather, you know that your hands can get cold, and that insulated gloves can only do so much. You can get electrically heated gloves (and vests, and chaps, and socks...) to help with this. You can also install heated grips. They're not as warm as gloves, but the advantage is that they're always there, ready to be used on a cool evening or rainy day. And there are no extra wires to wear. A very cheap solution that several of us on the mailing list have used is to use Kimpex heaters. They're thin wraps that go under your stock grips. They're very cheap: only $20 or so, and they're available from Dennis Kirk (in the dirt bike catalog) among other places. (They're really made for snowmobilers, but don't try other snowmobile grip products -- snowmobile grips are identical left and right, unlike motorcycles.) You simply remove your grips, stick the Kimpex plastic and foil wraps on the bars, and reinstall your grips. To use the Kimpex wraps on the VX, you'll need to do some surgery to the throttle sleeve, to remove the tabs that keep the stock grip from slipping. Be sure and wire the heaters to a switched power source. The only downside to the Kimpex under-grip heaters is that the throttle side will heat faster, since a) the grip on that side is thinner, and b) the heater is insulated from the bar by the throttle sleeve. One can insulate the left-side bar, then put on the heater wrap, and get a second throttle grip to go over it. This works well. Any thin grip for a 7/8" bar works well as insulation -- one person used the grip from his floor jack. 9.8 Other accessories Lift Handle From Tim Morrow: "The Suzuki factory accessory lift handle is a folding steel handle with a rubber grip that bolts to the frame of the VX using an existing bracket that you can find on the left side of the bike - between the bracket for the passenger peg and the rear shock mounting boss. It folds down and out of the way... This was offered in the U.S. and is sold in the parts department, not the accessory department. It is Suzuki part 43900-45810... it fits fine with the GIVI WingRack system, and makes hefting the bike onto the centerstand MUCH easier." By the way, there was a thread on the list regarding correct use of the centerstand. The preferred method seemed to be to: Kick the side stand down with left foot before dismounting. Dismount to left side of cycle. Firmly grasp (with your right hand) the rail behind and below the rear plastic side panel, or the lift handle, or your givi rack. Grasp the left grip with your left hand, merely to "aim" front wheel. Press the center stand to the ground with right foot, and tilt the bike away from you until both feet of the stand are in contact with the ground. Shift all your body weight onto your right foot (which is on the extension of the center stand) while lifting with the right hand. The trick is to use your weight on your right foot and not the strength of your back or right arm. The center stand of many bikes, including the VX, provides good mechanical advantage as a lever. It was noted that you can really hurt your back trying to heave the bike backwards on the bars while holding the center stand down and astride the bike. Fender Extension Also from Tim: "The rear fender extension is a Euro-part, an inexpensive and easy bolt-on that vastly reduces the amount of gook splashed up onto the back side of the bike in bad weather. I had a friend who was in England on business, and she visited a Suzuki shop there and ordered it for me. As I recall, it cost about $22 U.S. (13-14 pounds). Any British Suzuki dealer should be able to order and ship you one." Spare Keys If you need a duplicate key for your VX, you can use a common automotive blank as a replacement: one poster suggested a Curtis blank, code number YM59, and another a Cole DA24 (this one was also marked "X114"). These are both Datsun blanks. Another uses an ILCO blank marked "X179 SUZ12" 9.9 Body Repairs Randy Ashurst reports an excellent experience with a fellow named [14]Chuck who is based in Heber Springs, Arkansas. We don't have much else other than Randy's very strong endorsement based on the quality of the repairs and the price. _________________________________________________________________ References 4. http://www.rifle.com/ 5. http://www.tcpsa.com/ 6. http://wwwdemo.speedware.com/rh/powerbronze.html 7. http://www.pichler.de/ 8. http://www.coxy.se/delar/page2.html 9. http://www.nationalcycle.com/ 10. http://www.sargentcycle.com/csroadcom.htm 11. http://www.givi.it/ 12. mailto://giviusa@mindspring.com/ 14. mailto:chiodinc@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ 10. Maintenance Procedures The shop manual can be a little daunting to an amateur mechanic. This section contains some tips to ease the anxiety... 10.1 Front wheel removal/replacement (from a post by Bill Eickmeier, augmented by pgf) * Carefully jack the front end (place the jack on the broad flat cross member between the frame tubes below and to the rear of the oil filter) so that the wheel just lifts off the ground. * Make sure you have that trusty 12 mm Allen wrench for the front axle and the appropriate wrench for the smaller hex-head bolt that clamps the axle. * As you remove the axle, slide the spacer on your left as you face the front wheel back into the right fork leg. It will be easier to reinstall the wheel with this spacer in the "captive" position. * Roll the wheel forward (it should clear the fender) and let the speedodrive-spacer detach from the wheel). * When replacing the wheel note the tabs on the speedo unit -- they fit into the long spaces in the hub. There's also a bump on the speedo unit that engages behind a bump on the fork leg when you reassemble, that keeps the speedo sender from rotating forward. * If you haven't messed with the brake lever (and you haven't have you?) the brake rotor should slide between the pads without a problem (or with only a little urging; you can carefully spread the pads with a large-bladed screwdriver but be careful with the pads, try to not let the pads and those pesky little spring clamps fall out of the caliper). * Slide the axle back in and tighten. At this point that spacer will seat in the correct position all on its own. * Remember to put the other hex-head bolt in after you have torqued the axle. Correctly torquing the axle is a little hard if all you have is an allen wrench. If you have two similarly sized allen wrenches you can wire them together back-to-back, and use a socket in the torque wrench to turn the pair, which in turn will turn the axle bold. A much better solution is to buy a 12mm hex-head socket. * Finally, be sure to pump the front brake level back up BEFORE you jump on to do that test ride. 10.2 Rear wheel removal/replacement (pgf) * Put the bike on the center stand. Putting the stand on a piece of wood will raise the back end just a little more, making the wheel easier to get past the license plate and reflector. * Remove the the "torque link" nut -- it holds the brake caliper to the long square rod that runs roughly parallel to the swingarm. * Pop off the chrome axle nut cover, on the right hand end. * Remove the axle nut, remove the axle from the other side. * The brake caliper support and the spacers on either side of it (note their orientation) can pull out now -- hang the caliper over the exhaust to keep it out of the way. * Tug the wheel to the right, to free the drive splines. The wheel will come right out then, though it's a little close getting the tire out from between everything. 10.3 Installing Progressive Fork Springs (from a post by Robb Wong, augmented by pgf) You'll need #10 weight oil; a chopstick with a mark of 180 mm from the tip; a front end lift/jack; plastic tube - about 1/2 inch or so...or a straw; hacksaw OR 2.5 inch spacers (I went to Home Depot and got 2.5 metal pipe fittings - 70 cents each and no cutting needed!) * Put the bike onto centerstand. * Place a small jack underneath the bike. (A scissors jack underneath the cross plate located under the oilpan drain screw) * Remove the top fork bolt, which is actually just a cap on the fork tube. Be careful, because it will pop off. * Remove the stock spacer, the washer and the spring. Pull it out slowly, and have a rag handy, since the tube is full of oil. * Repeat with other fork. * Lower the jack until the forks are fully compressed. * Measure the fluid so that the top of the fluid is 180mm (I used 150mm -pgf) from the top of the fully compressed tube, with no springs. You can measure with the "chopstick method" (make a mark on a chopstick, and use the chopstick as a dip stick), and remove fluid with a straw or hose (hold your finger over the end after immersing it in the oil). Or make a mark on an old turkey baster, put it in, and suck out fluid until it won't suck any more -- then you know the level is right. * Jack up the front end of the bike again. * Put the new Progressive spring into the tube, add the washer, and the 2.5 or 3 inch spacer, and the cap. Robb later reported: "...I painstakingly dripped... and dripped... and dripped... fork oil into the fork to determine the "precise" amount of oil that is used with Progressive springs, and using the Wong-micrometer - 150 mm from the top of the compressed tube. The answer is 12 U.S. ounces or.....about 350 ml for my european cousins." 10.4 Replacing Fork Seals There's more information on fork seals and tools up above (in the "Fork seals" section :-), but here's a full procedure, contributed by Steve B: Technically, it's not a difficult job, just time consuming. I was doing it in conjunction with a bunch of other projects on the bike, but I'd guess it takes about two hours if it's all you are doing. It also requires tools which you may or may not have (torque wrench, various allen wrenches, somewhat large metric sockets, and the like.) You must also fabricate two tools -- one to remove the damper rods, and one to seat the seals themselves. Materials for both of these can be had at Home Depot or Lowes. * Support front of bike on jack. Loosen axle pinch bolt on right fork leg. Remove axle shaft and front wheel. * Remove brake caliper and line from fork leg. Hang it from a string or bit of wire. * Remove fender and fork brace. * *Partly* loosen fork caps (easier to get them off once forks removed). * Loosen upper and lower triple clamp bolts (hold forks as they will drop right out), and slide forks out of clamps. * Remove fork cap (careful--it's under tension), spacers, and springs. Turn fork upside down and cycle it in and out several times to drain oil. * Here you must use your special tool. I went to Home Depot and got a 12" long standard bolt that the head fit a 24 mm socket. I double nutted one end and inserted it into the tubes and into the damper rod. A 24 mm socket with a 10" extension and socket wrench held the other end of the bolt (from the top of the tubes). An Allen wrench is used to loosen the outside retaining bolt in the bottom of the fork leg, while using the socket wrench to prevent the damper from turning. ( Other "special" tools are possible, including tapered broomsticks. -pgf ) * Remove the dust seal, the oil seal stopper ring (small metal clip) and pull the upper and lower tubes apart. * Write down (or lay out in) the order that everything comes apart or you will forget. Remove: Dust seal, oil seal stopper ring, oil seal, oil seal retainer, outer anti-friction metal (teflon thing-narrow), inner anti-friction metal (teflon thing-wider) from the outside of upper tube. Remove damper rod from inside of lower tube. * Here I cleaned and oiled everything (especially the little grooves in the anti friction metals--per the manual), and laid out the parts in the proper reassembly order. * Reassemble in reverse order with the new seal. I used a piece of 2" PVC joint (not pipe, the joint) to tap the seal in the last 1/4" or so inside the lower tube. * Fill tubes with your choice of fork oil (I filled to 170 mm from top for the Progressive springs). Replace fork springs spacers, and caps. * Reinstall forks. The top of the upper tube should be flush with the top triple clamp, or you could raise them 10mm or so like everybody seems to be doing on the list. Reassemble remaining components of front end. 10.5 Carburetor synchronization ( i don't remember who contributed this. -pgf ) Properly synced carbs are probably the most important and most often overlooked component in a smooth, responsive motorcycle. This description is based heavily on a description by Mike Heathman, edited heavily by pgf. The cable between the two carbs is the idle sync. The sync adjustment is done at the front carb; there is a threaded adjuster with a lock-nut on this cable. The idle sync, once set correctly, seems to stay in sync for a long time. The off-idle sync is also done at the front carb, via the threaded adjuster on the throttle cable. The VX uses a split throttle cable, where one cable comes from the hand grip and attaches to two cables which go to the carbs themselves. These cables are of very different lengths, with the rear being much longer. They will stretch at different rates, leading to the need for fairly frequent adjustments. The off-idle seems to need tweaking about every 4-6,000 miles -- certainly every time you adjust your valves. To do the job you _NEED_ a set of mercury carb sticks. A cheap set costs about $50 and will work as well as an expensive one. (Mercury, including mercury vapor, is poisonous -- don't spill it, or suck on the tubes yourself.) What you are trying to do is equalize the amount of vacuum the two cylinders are pulling. Warm up the engine to normal operating temperature first. Although it's easiest to do most work on the engine with the tank removed, this job can be done entirely with it in place, which is handy, since then you don't need an auxiliary gas supply. Draw vacuum from the rear carb at the line for the vacuum petcock. Use a tee fitting, so the petcock still works, otherwise no gas will flow. The front carb has a small screw, accessible from the right side of the bike. You'll have to remove the coolant overflow reservoir (plastic chrome doo-dad) from the frame to get at it. Just let it hang there 'til done. (Even this can be done with the tank in place -- there's just enough room to get the attachment bolts out if you lift the edge of the tank for the last little bit.) You need to remove this screw, which should be shown in your manual (but note that the picture in the manual was printed upside-down -- the screw is up high toward the rear of the right side of the carb), and insert a screw-in vacuum fitting, which you should have gotten with the mercury sticks. These fittings are 5mm diameter, if you have a choice when buying the sticks. Be warned that getting this fitting onto the carb isn't trivial -- it's a long reach, and you won't really be able to get a wrench on it to tighten it. Hand or plier tight is fine. Once you've got the carb sticks attached, equalize the mercury levels at idle with the adjuster on the cable between the two carbs. Adjust your idle rpm at the same time, as changing this later will effect the sync. Be careful tightening the lock-nut as this can change the adjustment. Either using a throttle lock, or by having someone else do it, hold the engine at about 2,000 rpm. Equalize the mercury levels with the adjuster on the front carb's throttle cable. Run the engine up to 4-5,000 rpm and make sure the levels stay together fairly well. Make your throttle changes gradually to avoid sucking mercury into the engine. Tightening the lock-nut on this adjuster is a pain as it always changes the adjustment. Play with it 'til you get it right. If the engine starts to get too hot, let it sit for 10 minutes and try again. Running a fan on the radiator may help too. 10.6 Footpeg removal Brent wrote: "There's a nut on the backside that holds the footpeg mounting bolt in place. I've got a CA bike that has the charcoal cannister which hides the nut from view. I found out after I stripped one bolt trying to remove it. That's also a special allen bolt that cost about $5 at the local Suz shop. So beware!" 10.7 Headlight replacement (from a post by Robb Wong) Changing the bulb is easy - and will take less time than this explanation: 1) Kneel in front of the bike and look at the headlight. There are 3 basic pieces. The lens (glass thing), held into its caseing by a metal ring, that fits into (and holds the lens inside) the metal housing of the headlight. 2) On the right side middle of the headlight on the edge of the lens retention ring is a screw. DON'T TOUCH IT! THAT'S NOT THE ONE! That one fiddles with the aiming of your beam left or right. 3) The screws that hold the ring onto the metal headlight housing are located on either side of the housing just below the center. Remove each one and give the retention ring a slight twist and the lens and retention ring will pop off. Careful...notice that the metal headlight ring is "lipped" and you'll need it to "catch" when you replace the lens. 4) Holding the bulb, notice the wires running into the what looks kind of like a black cap (keeps the water out) and into an electrical plug. Slide back the rubber cover. The plug is held into the back of the bulb by a screw collar (I think) and/or a spring clip. Unscrew the collar and remove the spring clip (removes with finger pressure). 5) Now pull out the light element. Pull it out of the electrical plug (notice the flimsy 3 plug connectors). 6) DON'T TOUCH THE GLASS ELEMENT of the new light element. I use a paper towel or clean cloth. Drop the new element into the housing and replace all the bits you removed. Whole thing should take about 5 to 10 minutes. Good luck. 10.8 Lubing the swingarm bearings Mike Heathman wrote: "It's really not that bad. Pull the rear wheel. Remove the shocks. Remove the three bolts that hold the rear-drive unit onto the swingarm and pull it straight back. The shaft will slide out of the U-joint and off it comes. Loosen the screw-clamp on the rubber boot on the left side of the swingarm where it meets the engine. There's a little metal access panel that you can now remove. Slide the u-joint off the final drive gear and pull it out through this access hole. Remember the orientation of the u-joint, which end was facing forward. Now you can access the end of the swingarm pivot shaft on the left side. The nut is on the right side beneath a little cover. Remove the nut, slide the shaft out the left side and pull the swingarm. Lube to your hearts content. You may have to remove the passenger footpegs along the way somewhere, I don't remember." 10.9 Brake rebuilding This isn't a full procedure, just a tip regarding disassembling the rear caliper, from John Robitaille: "The manual say to force compressed air into the banjo-bolt hole." "The rear is opposed piston so you can separate the two halves. On the side with the banjo-fitting you can put a slim metal rod through the hole and push the piston. On the other side it is more difficult. I would either pull it out using vice grips - being careful to pull evenly (I did this) OR force compressed air in the cross-over hole once you have it disassembled." "NOTE: there is an 'O' ring that fits in the cross-over holes sealing the two. I lost mine when I took them apart and the rebuild kits will not have this unless you explicitly make sure it's included." 10.10 Steering head bearing adjustment Harry Burris wrote this about checking and adjusting the steering head bearings. "First, the VX uses tapered rollers, unlike some bikes (most notably Honda) that persist in using loose ball bearings like a bicycle! Unlike ball bearings, tapered rollers have to be "pre-loaded" for proper function and long life. That means that the "Steering stem nut" (Suzuki's terminology) must be torqued to the manufacturer's specification (29-36 lb-ft) to seat the bearings, then backed off for the final adjustment. This nut requires a special socket to torque properly and you must take the upper triple clamp off to get to it. The "punch and hammer" method of adjusting the bearing is OK for minor adjustments and is certainly preferable to riding around with loose bearings, but I strongly recommend getting the proper spanner to do the job, especially if you are installing new bearings. For doing the bearing adjustment with the triple clamp in place, a "hook spanner" is the best tool for the job, and they are not at all expensive.. The bearings are adjusted properly when the front fork exhibits a slight amount of "drag" when you attempt to move it either way from center position. This is properly checked with the forks initially at the straight-ahead position. The forks should not "fall" to the side by themselves with properly adjusted tapered roller bearings. If they do, the bearings are too loose. And if your bearings are loose, not only will they contribute to wiggles, wobbles and other handling problems, they will also rapidly beat a "detent" into the bearing races, especially the bottom one. Suzuki gives a torque of 200-500 grams at the handlebar end (about 1/2 to 1 lb.) to get the fork moving from center. Of course, a shop mechanic (myself included) will not actually hook a spring scale to your handlebar to check the drag - he will just do the "nudge" test - making sure that it takes a little bit of effort to move the fork off center. And, as Michael pointed out, the fork should move smoothly through center, it should not snap into and out of a center detent. Once you are satisfied that the bearings are properly adjusted, the chrome "acorn" nut that holds the triple clamp in place (also locks the adjustment nut down) should be torqued to 36-58 lb-ft. As for replacement of bearings just to be on the safe side, I think that it is a good idea to at least take the front end apart and check, clean and repack the bearings every couple of years. They can be inspected and replaced at that time if needed." Brent Yamamoto also said this, regarding replacement of the head bearings: "I think I'm one of a number of people who have replaced the steering head bearings. The only special tool I used was a large long bolt with large washers and nuts on it. I used this to press the upper and lower bearing races into the steering head. The only other thing I did different was to drill and tap a hole in the steering head stem to install a grease nipple. Ends up using a lot of grease to fill up the entire steering head, and can get a little messy due to no grease seals on the bearings, but now a couple squirts with a grease gun keeps my bearings well lubed. I did have to take the lower triple clamp to the dealer to have him remove the old inner bearing race pressed onto the bottom of the steering stem. Since I had the new bearings, I had him install the new race at the same time." 10.11 Rear shaft oil seal replacement Rinse Osenga contributed this description of the procedure for replacing the oil seal on the front end of the drive shaft -- see page 4-2 of the service manual. Tools, parts, materials Special tools needed: * torque wrench (range of approx. 30-150 N.m.) * special suzuki tool 09921-21820 * suzuki service manual, further called SM Parts needed: * oil seal (SM page 4-2,item 12) * o-ring (SM page 4-2,item 10) * 2 exhaust gaskets Consumables needed: * moly grease (for propellershaft splines etc.) * standard grease (for installation of o-ring) * silicon flexible gasket (for bearing retainer * stopper plate; refer page SM 4-20) Dismantling * Remove seat and frame covers * Remove exhaust system on both sides * Remove the torque link nut/bolt and the brake caliper (i did not take off the brake hose; later on it is a bit inconvenient but it saves quite some time not to have to bleed the brake system) * Remove rearwheel * Tie up the break caliper and put a pencil or something between the brake pads so that, if you hit the break, nothing goes wrong. * Remove footrests and guards left and right * Put a support under the final drive * Remove the rear shock absorbers * Loosen and move the shaft drive rubber boot forward * Remove the swingarm pivot cover * Remove the three nuts hold the final drive * Take off final drive + propeller shaft; be careful not to damage the shim between the swingarm and the final drive; it is of a determined thickness and is relatively expensive! Careful: note AND MARK the position of the universal joint coupling; the two ends look very similar but are not identical!! * Properly support the entire swingarm now * Remove the swing arm pivot shaft nut and remove swing arm shaft. Now we have come to the check/inspection part: * Check the swing arm bearings * Put grease in the swing arm bearings * Inspect all the dismantled parts for any damage/corrossion/ wear or status. * Check wheather the oil leakage indeed comes the the oil seal (allthough, in my case that could not be determined, but of course, in general, the oil seal is the culprit) Now the removal of the oil seal: * Hit the indentation of the bearing retainer ring (SM page 4-2, item 13) with a small chisel (careful) so that the this bearing retainer ring can be unscrewed with the suzuki special tool (suzuki must have given this ring item nr. 13 purposely!) * Remove oil seal housing + oil seal and note the position of the oil seal * Remove 0-ring * Carefully drive the oil seal out of the oil seal housing (take care not to damage to the steel oil seal housing!) Finally comes the repair itself: * Put a lot of grease on the oil seal and the oil seal ring and put the new oil seal into the oil seal housing by hand as far as you manage (by hand!) (check the postion of the oil seal and the oil seal housing (beveled side!) once more. * I drove the oil seal in as follows: oil seal with the closed side into the beveled side of the oil seal housing; carefully drive in the oil seal in the oil seal housing by putting the combination in a vise and slowly close the vise while rotating the oil seal/housing combination a few times to make sure that the oil seal is driven in evenly.(this was the part that worried me most but did not give any problem) * Install the o-ring (SM page 4-2 item 10) in its position while using grease as "glue" to keep it in place * Install the oil seal housing/oil seal (first put a lot of grease on the outgoing shaft so that the oil seal slides on easily; the beveled side should point towards the engine! * Install the oil seal retainer ring with a torque wrench (90-120 N.m.) and lock the ring with a small chisel; (in my case the original identation came in exactly the same spot again) Now come the easier parts again: * Put moly grease on splines of outgoing shaft, on internal splines of universal joint coupling and on both ends of the propellor shaft * Install the the swingarm (you have greased the swing arm bearings and the shaft allready of course!) and fasten the nut with a torque wrench (100-130 N.m) * Install the universal joint coupling on the outgoing axle in the correct position! * Put silicone flexible gasket material on the two sides of the bearing retainer stopping plate and put plate on final drive in proper position * Install the propellor shaft + final drive * Install the three nuts that hold the swing arm and the final drive together (35-45 N.m) * Install shaft drive boot and swingarm pivot cover again * Install shock absorbers (22-35 N.m) * Install wheel + brake caliper (axle: 60-96 N.m) * Install torque link (22-35 N.m) * Install the foot rests + guards using loctite (27-43 N.m) * Install exhaust system with new gaskets in the cylinder heads * Install frame covers and seat 10.12 Carburator removal This procedure was contributed by Jim Chen. [4]Click for Photos. The service manual provides ZERO help on how to remove the carbs - its instructions are "remove carburators." I found the best way to actually remove the carbs is as follows: Rear Carb: 1. Remove the tank and side panels (helps to have the bike on the center stand). 2. Remove the hoses to the rear airbox and remove the mounting bolts for the rear airbox (don't need to remove the rear airbox). 3. Loosen the connections between the engine and rear carb and rear airbox and rear carb. 4. Remove the clamp between the engine and rear carb. 5. Unfasten all the cables and hoses to the rear carb. 6. Work the carb out from the right side of the bike squeezing it past the rubber between the engine and the carb (this is where removing the clamp is critical - otherwise it gets in the way). Also swearing a lot helps relieve frustration at how wedged in the darn thing is. 7. Wipe the massive amounts of sweat from your brow and tend to the scrapped/bruised knuckles on both fingers before moving on to the front carb. 8. Swear because you forgot to mark which cables and hoses go where (makes reassembly fun AND exciting). {Ed: Rick Blunden says to count the number of threads to the locknut to assist in syncing the carbs after reinstallation.} Front carb: 1. Loosen clamp between front airbox and front carb and engine and front carb. 2. Disconnect cables and hoses for front carb (this time remembering to mark where each cable/hose goes). 3. Remove front carb from the right side of the bike. 4. Marvel at how much easy that was compared to the rear. 10.13 Float valve/needle replacement This procedure was contributed by Jim Chen. As far as the float needles and valves go, the procedure is pretty much the same for each (again, front is slightly easier). 1. Empty carbs of fuel (OUTSIDE - or your wife will be really really mad that you spilled gas in the house - trust me on this one!!). 2. Flip the carb over to expose the bottom end. 3. Use a REALLY good screw driver to remove the four screws holding on the bottom of the carb. 4. Lift the cover straight off. 5. Remove the pin holding the float onto the carb (for the rear, you may have to place the carb on the side and use a hammer and nail to get the pin out. 6. Remove the float and inspect it for damage. 7. Remove the screw holding in the needle and valve. 8. Pull out the valve (the needle will fall out once the retaining screw is removed). 9. Remove the rubber washer and fuel filter mesh off the old valve and put it on the new valve. 10. Insert the new valve and needle and lock in with the retaining screw. 11. Reassemble. Now just put everything back on the bike, balance the carbs and you're set!! Took me three days to do the whole thing start to finish. {Ed: Jim later clarified - three afternoons - "not hard, just involved"} 10.14 Rear spline inspection/lubrication This procedure was contributed by Paul Fox. The wear problem in the VX rear end is caused either by grit and corrosion in the pin/bushing assembly, or by uneven wear on the ring splines, either of which causes the driven joint to ride further and further to the left, i.e. away from the wheel, and toward the drive assembly. The driven joint is held to the wheel by retainer plates that ride in a groove around its outer edge. This lets it rotate slightly as the rubber bushings holding the mating tubes compress slightly under load. The constant motion of the retainer plates relative to the groove, along with pressure pushing the driven joint to the left, causes wear both on the side of the groove and on the plate itself. Once this wear starts, the splines on the joint and drive assembly will wear in such a way as to make the problem worse -- force against the tapered splines will force the driven joint sideways, away from the wheel. When the wear gets bad enough (about a millimeter, maybe two, total) the outer casting nubs on the driven joint (the back side of where the pins mount) will start making contact with a protrusion on the inside of the drive casing on the bike. This is metal to metal contact. (You can see scrapes from this contact in picture 3, below.) The good news is that since there are only three retainer plates, and the driven joint can be inserted in 6 different orientations, you can wear it out twice before having to replace it. :-) You'll want to replace the retainer plates though (and probably the locking plates that hold them on as well). This is all clearly a bad design, and not an expected wear item -- my bike only has 40,000 miles on it, and the shop manual doesn't mention even inspecting these parts. The solution is to ensure that the pins and bushings are clean enough, and lubed, to minimize sideways pressure on the driven joint. I'm not sure you can do much more than that. As for the wear on my splines -- I'm a little worried that lining everything up again, with new retainer plates, and a fresh area on the joint's groove, will cause fast wear on the "high" spots of the spline teeth. I'll be opening it up soon to check on this, and to relube. [5]Click for Pictures of the Driven Joint Problem 10.15 Fuel tank removal This procedure was contributed by Rick Blunden. 1. Run the fuel low in the tank before you remove it. It is much lighter and easier to handle without a lot of fuel sloshing around. 2. Remove the seat by turning the key on the lower left side of the bike by the passenger foot peg mount and lifting the seat at the rear and sliding it to the rear. 3. Remove the rear cowl - Pull the white electrical connection apart for the tail light. It is located on the left side of the bike under the swoopy handle. 4. Unscrew/remove the two phillips head screws in the top front of the cowl. 5. Unscrew/remove the two allen head screws at the base of the swoopy handle. 6. Lift the swoopy handle and its two flat rubber shims up and away from the cowl. 7. Gently pry each side of the front of the cowl sideways to get the two plastic studs on each side to pop free from their grommets. 8. Lift the cowl to the rear and up and away from the bike. 9. Remove the tank - Unscrew/remove the two 10mm hex head screws at the rear of the tank on top of the seat bracket. Note that the groove in the bracket faces the front of the bike. 10. Remove the bracket, rubber spacers and steel washers from underneath the bracket. 11. Prop up the rear of the tank with a small piece of 1" thick wood. 12. Remove the fuel hose from the petcock tube by gently prying/sliding it to the rear of the bike. Pushing on the rubber hose is more effective than pulling on it. 13. Remove the two rubber vent hoses from the bottom right rear of the tank. Your bike may have just one. My CA bike has two. 14. Gently lift the rear of the tank enough so you can remove the rubber vacuum hose from the petcock. If you have ON, OFF, and RES stickers on your cowl, you have a manual petcock, and it will not have a vacuum hose. 15. Put a thick towel over the front of the tank to keep from chipping the paint if you bump the tank into the triple clamp. 16. Lift the rear of the tank 2-3" and slide it to the rear and up and off the bike. Place the tank far away from the bike and prop it up so it does not rest on the petcock dial. 17. Put a little Vaseline on the petcock and tank fittings so the hoses are easier to remove next time. Do the same with the grommets for the cowl and on the brass connections inside the plastic connector for the tail light to keep them from corroding. 18. Put a little white grease on all threads before you replace screws, nuts, and bolts to keep them from rusting. 19. The front of the tank sits on a rubber sleeve. My tank was a little loose on the sleeve. A 4" portion of a bicycle tube held in place with a rubber band on the sleeve makes a simple shim. I prefer "broccoli" bands, but "celery" bands are ok, too:-). 20. Be careful replacing the allen head screws that secure the swoopy handle. They are easy to cross thread, and there are not many threads on the frame fittings. _________________________________________________________________ References _________________________________________________________________ 11. Torque Specifications Specifications taken from pages 9-29 through 9-31 of the Service Manual. 11.1 Chassis N-m lb-ft Steering stem head nut 50 - 80 36.0 - 58.0 Front fork upper clamp bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Front fork lower clamp bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Front fork tube cap bolt 15 - 30 11.0 - 21.5 Front axle shaft 36 - 52 26.0 - 37.5 Front axle pinch bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Handlebar clamp bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Handlebar holder mounting nut 20 - 30 14.5 - 21.5 Front brake master cyl. mounting bolt 5 - 8 3.5 - 6.0 Front brake caliper mounting bolt 30 - 48 21.5 - 34.5 Brake hose union bolt 15 - 20 11.0 - 14.5 Air bleeder valve 6 - 9 4.5 - 6.5 Front and rear disc bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Front footrest bracket mounting bolt 27 - 43 19.5 - 31.0 Swingarm pivot nut 100 - 130 72.5 - 94.0 Rear shock absorber upper/lower 22 - 35 16.0 - 25.5 mounting nut Rear brake pedal boss bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Rear brake caliper mounting bolt 20 - 31 14.5 - 22.5 Rear brake caliper housing bolt 30 - 36 21.5 - 26.0 Torque link nut (Front & Rear) 22 - 35 16.0 - 25.5 Rear brake master cyl. mounting bolt 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 Rear brake rod lock nut 15 - 20 11.0 - 14.5 Rear axle nut 60 - 96 43.5 - 69.5 Final bevel gear case joint nut 35 - 45 25.5 - 32.5 11.2 Engine N-m lb-ft Cylinder head cover bolt M6 9 - 11 6.5 - 8.0 M8 21 - 25 15.0 - 18.0 Cylinder head bolt and nut M10 35 - 40 25.5 - 29.0 M8 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 9 - 11 6.5 - 8.0 Primary drive gear bolt 80 - 110 58.0 - 79.5 Clutch sleeve hub nut 50 - 70 36.0 - 50.5 Rocker arm bolt 25 - 30 18.0 - 21.5 Chain guide bolt 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 Chain tensioner bolt 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 Cam chain sprocket bolt 14 - 16 10.0 - 11.5 Tappet adjuster lock nut 13 - 16 9.5 - 11.5 Crankcase bolt M6 9 - 13 6.5 - 9.5 M8 20 - 24 14.5 - 17.5 Secondary gear case bolt 20 - 24 14.5 - 17.5 Oil gallery plug M6 4 - 7 3.0 - 5.0 M8 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 M10 12 - 18 8.5 - 13.0 M14 20 - 25 14.5 - 18.0 M16 20 - 25 14.5 - 18.0 Oil pipe clamp bolt 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 Magneto cover hole plug 12 - 18 8.5 - 13.0 T.D.C. Inspection plug 20 - 25 14.5 - 18.0 Oil drain plug 18 - 23 13.0 - 16.5 Oil pump bolt 9 - 13 6.5 - 9.5 Oil relief valve 25 - 30 18.0 - 21.5 Oil filter union bolt 12 - 18 8.5 - 13.0 Engine mounting bolt M8, L135 37 - 45 50.5 - 63.5 M8, L150 37 - 45 50.5 - 63.5 M10,L13O 70 - 88 50.5 - 63.5 M10,L17O 70 - 88 50.5 - 63.5 Driveshaft bolt 60 - 70 43.5 - 50.5 Secondary drive bevel gear shaft nut 80 - 110 58.0 - 79.5 Magneto rotor bolt 140 - 160 101.5 - 115.5 Frame mounting bolt 40 - 60 29.0 - 43.5 Engine mounting bracket bolt M8 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 M6 8 - 12 6.0 - 8.5 Con-rod nut 49 - 53 35.5 - 38.5 11.3 Cooling Components N-m lb-ft Radiator mounting bolt M10 50 - 65 36.0 - 47.0 Fan switch 9 - 14 6.5 - 10.0 Temperature gauge 10 - 15 7.0 - 11.0 11.4 Shaft Drive N-m lb-ft Secondary drive bevel gear housing bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Secondary driven bevel gear housing bolt 18 - 28 13.0 - 20.0 Final drive bevel gear shaft nut 90 - 110 65.0 - 79.5 Final drive bevel gear bearing stopper 90 - 120 65.0 - 87.0 Final driven gear bearing retainer screw 8 - 10 6.0 - 7.0 Final gear bearing case bolt 20 - 26 14.5 - 19.0 11.5 Other For other bolts and nuts not listed above, refer to this chart. (Bolt diameter refers to shaft diameter, not head size, and "4" and "7" refer to markings on the head of the bolt.) Bolt Diam. Conventional or "4" marked bolt (mm) N-m lb-ft 4 1.0 - 2.0 0.7 - 1.5 5 2.0 - 4.0 1.5 - 3.0 6 4.0 - 7.0 3.0 - 5.0 8 10.0 - 16.0 7.0 - 11.5 10 22.0 - 35.0 16.0 - 25.5 12 35.0 - 55.0 25.5 - 40.0 14 50.0 - 80.0 36.0 - 58.0 16 80.0 - 130.0 58.0 - 94.0 18 130.0 - 190.0 94.0 - 137.5 Bolt Diam. "7" marked bolt (mm) N-m lb-ft 4 1.5 - 3.0 1.0 - 2.0 5 3.0 - 6.0 2.0 - 4.5 6 8.0 - 12.0 6.0 - 8.5 8 18.0 - 28.0 13.0 - 20.0 10 40.0 - 60.0 29.0 - 43.5 12 70.0 - 100.0 50.5 - 72.5 14 110.0 - 160.0 79.5 - 115.5 16 170.0 - 2 123.0 - 181.0 18 200.0 - 2 144.5 - 202.5 And not a torque spec, but certainly useful, are the minimum serviceable brake rotor specs: Front new should be 5.5mm +/- 0.2mm min allowable thickness = 5.0 mm Rear new should be 6.0mm +/- 0.2mm min thickness = 5.5 mm. Maximum runout (wobble) = 0.3mm _________________________________________________________________ References _________________________________________________________________ 12. Other Resources 12.1 The Shop Manual The shop manual, published by Suzuki, seems to be the only printed book available for the bike. None of the popular alternatives (Clymer, Haynes, etc) has seen fit to do a volume for the VX. The good news is that the Suzuki manual is quite good, and has good diagrams and pictures, if you can find them -- they tend to be a bit scattered, and there's no index. It also seems to leave out the really basic stuff that it assumes you can figure out or have done before. The bad news is the cost: the official manual costs something like $40, and you still have to put it into your own binder -- it comes as loose punched pages. In general, the only reliable source for the manual seems to be a Suzuki dealer, though you may be able to beat the price by a bit with a mail-order parts place. Some folks have ordered one from AZ Motorsports ($46.55 including US shipping in late '99): [4]http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/suzserman.html 12.2 Net-based and Owner Web Sites The following list does not pretend to be complete. The [5]editor would appreciate hearing about any broken links or omitted sites. * A lot of the information in this FAQ appeared first on the VX800 mailing list run by Farokh Irani. You can subscribe via his web page at: [6]http://www.mcf.com/pages/lists/vx800lpage.html or send mail to [7]VX800-L-request@mcf.com containing the single word SUBSCRIBE or HELP in the message body. The welcome message will tell you about other options, such as digest mode. * There are two other email lists that are used by the the VX community to discuss issues that do not directly deal with the VX. In this Editor's (Tom) opinion they should not be used to keep information from other members of the VX community but rather to offer a forum for the many friends made on this list to discuss non-VX issues freely. Please do not use them to divide us. The other lists are: + The Euro List at: [8]http://www.egroups.com/group/eu_vx800/ + The US Off-Topic List at: [9]http://vx800l.listbot.com/ * Matt Fredendall maintains a web page with a lot of information and pictures relating to the VX, at: [10]http://people.ce.mediaone.net/madmax96/vx800.html (Now very slow (Jan 2001) Ed) * The Euro branch of th VX family maintains an active and excellent site at [11]http://www.vx800.org.uk/ * Bruce Bacon's West Coast site is at [12]http://www.rottieweb.com/vx800/index.html * The Dutch VX800 Pages hosted by Ko Harthoon is chock full of information at: [13]http://home.wanadoo.nl/jmharthoorn/ * Willem de Boer hosts another Dutch site with links to many VX Ride picture sites: [14]http://home.wanadoo.nl/willemdb/ * Jim Gallant, a VX owner from Seattle, WA, USA maintains a fascinating weather site at [15]http://www.outsideconnection.com/ * The RMR Archive has several articles on the VX800. It can be found at: [16]ftp://cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Suzuki * Ron Willoughby, of Arizona Motorsports, has a section of his site devoted to the VX, at [17]http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/suzvxspec.html, and some scanned fiche drawings at [18]http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/oemficpardra.html. * Finally, there is an owner registry at [19]http://www.micapeak.com/reg/bikes/VX800 where you might want to browse, or sign up. 12.3 Reviews The most comprehensive early review that I've seen of the VX was in the July '90 issue of Cycle magazine. You can get reprints of VX information from Ian Smith Information -- they advertise in a lot of places. Ian Johnson OCR'ed some articles from the british press. The text is available here: [20]http://www.foxharp.boston.ma.us/bikes/vx800FAQ/brit_vx_articles.tx t The Minnesota Motorcycle Monthly web-based newletter reviewed the VX too: [21]http://motorbyte.com/mmm/pages/reviews/vx8004_97.htm 12.4 Owners club There seems to be some sort of VX owners club starting up. Drop a line to [22]roliynyk@cyberlink.bc.ca for more info. Roland T. Oliynyk Tel: (250) 426-4150 message 612 15th Street South Tel: (250) 426-2063 Cranbrook, BC V1C 4N5 Fax: (250) 426-4150 There may even be a newsletter. 12.5 Suzuki itself It has been reported that the Suzuki Customer Satisfaction line phone number is (714)996-7040 ext 380. Please, if this is incorrect, let me know!! 12.6 Suzuki Marketing Ever wonder what Suzuki thought would make us buy the VX? Craig Fitzgerald transcribed these paragraphs from a brochure for the '92 model year: "We designed the VX800 for do-it-all fun beginning with the engine. Here, the heart of the VX beats with a familiar rhythm: the traditional, distinctive throb of a 45-degree V-twin. But don't worry; this 805cc powerplant is no throwback to stone-age engineering. Instead, we brought to bear all the technological resources you've come to expect from Suzuki in the '90s: Overhead camshafts actuating four valves per cylinder. A Suzuki Twin Swirl Combustion Chamber (TSCC) head for efficient burning an maximum power production. Liquid cooling for maximum reliability. Mainenance free, solid state electronic ignition." "Innovative engineering isn't confined to just the engine department; proper chassis design requires plenty of forethought, and that's why our team poured so much effort into fine-tuning the VX's rolling chassis. For starters, the wheelbase spans a luxurious 61.6 inches - so you'll have plenty of room. Next, we carefully laid out the VX seating positions so you and your passenger will both stay comfortable over the course of a long day's ride." "Beginning with the inherantly narrow nature of a V-twin engine, our engineers went on to produce an entire motorcycle that is delightfully agile. They used innovative designs such as a driveshaft running outboard of the frame members to keep the rear section of the chassis unusually narrow, and then they carefully tucked the radiator between the two front downtubes." "Yet there's plenty more. Like a burly 41mm front fork and twin rear shocks adjustable for rebound damping and spring preload. A disc brake at each end, including a twin-piston caliper up front. Plus premium grade tires front and rear. The Suzuki VX800. The new versatile standard against which all other special-niche motorcycles may be judged. Or as Cycle magazine so fittingly stated, the VX is a bike that can do 'JUST ABOUT ANYTHING, ANYWHERE.'" Sold! I'll take one! ;-) _________________________________________________________________ References 4. http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/suzserman.html 5. mailto:tbalaban@attglobal.net 6. http://www.mcf.com/pages/lists/vx800lpage.html 7. mailto://VX800-L-request@mcf.com/ 8. http://www.egroups.com/group/eu_vx800/ 9. http://vx800l.listbot.com/ 10. http://people.ce.mediaone.net/madmax96/vx800.html 11. http://www.vx800.org.uk/ 12. http://www.rottieweb.com/vx800/index.html 13. http://home.wanadoo.nl/jmharthoorn/ 14. http://home.wanadoo.nl/willemdb/ 15. http://www.outsideconnection.com/ 16. ftp://cecm.sfu.ca/pub/RMR/Suzuki 17. http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/suzvxspec.html 18. http://www3.viaweb.com/azmotorsports/oemficpardra.html 19. http://www.micapeak.com/reg/bikes/VX800 21. http://motorbyte.com/mmm/pages/reviews/vx8004_97.htm 22. mailto://roliynyk@cyberlink.bc.ca/ _________________________________________________________________ 13. FAQ Changes This section lists the changes to this FAQ. Since this section was not added until after the 6/12/97 version of the FAQ (version 1.61), changes from before then are not included. The current revision number of the FAQ is Revision: 2.05. Wed Dec 31 2008 Revision 2.05 - Changed site domain Fri Dec 26 2008 Revision 2.04 - Changed host information - Changed Editor's eMail address Thu Mar 22 2001 Revision 2.03 - Added information on Walmart batteries - Added information on measuring fork oil levels Mon Jan 29 2001 Revision 2.02 - Minor grammar and format corrections Fri Jan 12 2001 Revision 2.01 - add Owner Web Page Links - added History and Design of the VX800 - FAQ now published with frames as well as without frames Mon Jan 08 2000 Revision 2.00 - Tom Balaban, Editor - added information on Race-Tech Cartridge Valve Emulators - added horn relay installation process - added carburetor removal procedure - added float valve/needle replacement procedure - added fuel tank removal procedure - added warning and corrective procedure on rear spline wear - added reference to Leak Proof fork seals - added description of inexpensive damper bolt removal tool - added information on source for high quality seat foam - added information on inexpensive voltage tester - added information on metal/ceramic coating process for exhaust system - added reference to plastic body parts repair shop - added reference to electric system troubleshooting guide - added link to Pipemasters exhaust systems - added numerous minor bits of information Wed Oct 6 20:56:06 1999 - expanded on kimpex installation. - added tip regarding rear caliper disassembly - added steering head bearing adjustment/change information - added shaft oil seal replacement procedure - added info about rectifier failures - added reference to progressive suspension's url - corrected the description of the carb needles - added explanation of the noise limiting switch on recent euro models - added fork oil volume corresponding to wong micrometer measurement Mon Sep 20 12:21:46 1999 - fixed National Cycle URL Tue Jul 13 20:11:59 1999 - corrected standard sparkplug designation: NGK DPR8EA-9 Wed Jun 30 14:27:01 1999 - add warning about cheap PVC in fork tubes Tue Jun 29 19:57:40 1999 - update fairing/windshield urls - tweaked copyright notice Fri May 7 13:02:44 1999 - updated copyright, added minimal brake pad info, added speedo cable - replacement info, fixed the TCP and Pichler URLs, added Caterpillar - O-ring throttle lock trick, added section on Kimpex grip heaters, - note that key blank is same as Datsun, added Steve B's fork seal - replacement procedure, added resource link to Ron's AZ Motorsports - pages. Wed Jan 27 19:57:25 1999 - added lower cost 14AH battery replacement information, - and mail-order source for VX service manual. Thu Dec 31 15:35:52 1998 - formatting and typos Wed Dec 30 23:25:52 1998 - alternate battery suggestion - procedures for headlight replacement, swingarm lubing - added minnesota monthly review pointer - added brake rotor tolerances Thu Oct 8 04:34:23 1998 - changed FAQ urls to point at foxharp web server rather than ftp - updated information on air filters, including UNI sock filter. - added note about Suzuki upgrade for backrest mounting - added suggested method of getting the bike up on the centerstand. - added some tips on coolant changing. - added recommendation of NEP throttle lock. - added jim chen's broomstick tool for holding the fork nut. - noted that front wheel must come off to replace speedo cable. - augmented front wheel removal procedure. - added suzuki part number for vacuum petcock replacement kit. - corrected progressive suspensions phone number. - added procedure for replacing fork springs. Tue May 19 15:17:06 1998 - added sparkplug designations, economy battery recommendation, - homemade fork damper tube tool, cheap(er) exhaust source. - corrected PVC size for homemade forkseal "tool". Wed Apr 8 21:01:09 1998 - added filter tip regarding possible match with Marauder filters Sun Mar 8 00:21:26 1998 - added url for british magazine reviews Fri Mar 6 21:23:06 1998 - added mike heathman's cold starting tips Thu Feb 12 00:33:53 1998 - added tips from the list regarding footpeg removal, dynojet kits, pirelli - tires. Fri Oct 24 02:21:14 1997 - added roland's description of the exhaust rattle, and the inner culprit Wed Oct 15 12:53:58 1997 - mention that K/N filter is cotton gauze (as opposed to foam) Thu Sep 25 15:59:55 1997 - added fork tube cap tightening torque - added powerbronze fairing reference and url Tue Sep 2 13:02:23 1997 - added wes kendall's comments on fork gaiters and seal replacement Wed Aug 27 01:34:45 1997 - integrated some recent list traffic: url for Pilcher fairing site, part - numbers for stainless brake lines from Dennis Kirk, a couple of aftermarket - shock references, Mike H's main jet replacement sizes for his Jardine - exhaust, my reversion to stock air filters, possibility of getting Meiwa - air filters in europe. also deleted a couple of paragraphs that seemed - superceded by later/better info. Tue Aug 5 21:06:30 1997 - added note that stock springs are progressively wound, just not stiff Fri Aug 1 18:08:42 1997 - added K/N air filter part number - new aftermarket exhaust info Wed Jul 30 19:05:54 1997 - added note about using automotive key blanks as replacements Mon Jul 28 19:22:04 1997 - added carb synchronization procedure, based on mike's list posting - added section describing sticking carburetor slides Mon Jul 21 20:46:33 1997 - added torque specs section (yes, it really does answer a FAQ) Thu Jul 10 22:27:04 1997 - added Givi web site url Tue Jul 8 04:03:12 1997 - added valve clearances, and description of TDC markings Mon Jul 7 21:15:28 1997 - added URL reference to Rick Blunden's Givi installation write-up - added Juan Goula's description of setting the fork seals with PVC pipe. - added section regarding the shop manual Thu Jun 26 16:31:43 1997 - added facility for including change log as last FAQ section - added note about new VX models still being sold in europe Sun Jun 22 23:10:17 1997 - turn signal flasher note _________________________________________________________________ References