jd750ace wrote:
Check your tire pressure (40 rear 38 front) and CHECK THE TIRE WEAR. If the tire is over 7 years old, it's junk. If it's AT the wear bars, it's junk. If there are anycracks in the sidewall, it's junk. If it's a Dunlop 404 it's junk. If it's an original fitment ANYTHING it's junk.

Just a reminder on this one. It really prolongs the life of the tires. Thousands of miles are added to expensive items and tires keep you on the road and provide the ability to stop. Do not neglect this. I know I used to check the tire pressure once a year and every ride is best, but every temperature change or every two weeks at least.

Might be common sense to most.

Maybe not a universal experience.

But I assumed that front brake pad wear would be similar to rear brake pad wear.

I bought my bike used and within two weeks of driving, the rear wheel became covered in brake fluid.
I discovered that my caliper pistons had pushed through the pads and were braking the bike.

Took everything apart, replaced the rotor, pistons, and seals. Caliper was good.

Check everything before your buy.
Maybe we could create a used bike buying checklist.

Thanks everyone on this forum for the info offered here. I love wrenching on my bike and feel much more confident with RSC as a resource.

B

what pipes are these on this bike?
the

They look like HardKrome 3" Big Straights or their 2 3/4" straights. BTW from Texas. Check your messages.

Well Looks like it is time to bring this up for the new guys again. Welcome guys read the whole thing for a lot of good knowledge.

Hello fellow Roadies.
I purchased a 2003 xv1600 ATS about a year ago with 15K miles and stumbled onto this site a few weeks ago. Both myself and the bike appreciate all the staff and contributors.
Work done so far...
Remove fuel pump and follow your directions to a tee.
500 miles latter bike running perfect, no issues.
Checked drive pulley. OK. I do not recommend running the bike without the cover as I have seen some do.
The cover acts as a rear engine mount to the frame.
Checked and adjusted yoke (steering)bearing.
I have changed oil every 3 to 4K miles. Use AMSOIL 20-50 MC
3 sets of tires. I recommend Michelin Commander II
Bike has 29K now. I ride every day and use it back and forth to work. 22 miles each way.
I also have a 1994 FXSTC. Purchased new. Now has 108K miles and has never seen the shop other than tires.
I do all repairs and maint. myself.
Things I have noticed over the miles...
Gear driven primary, very noisy. I think the chirp a lot of R* talk about is the primary gears loading and unloading.
I can explain if anyone asks.
I have noticed what sounds like Combustion detonation at different loading and throttle positions but it has not appeared at the plugs or in engine heat profiles. I suspect engine timing. Carb is jetted correctly for exhaust and intake manifold/breather changes.
Well that's it for now. Say safe

Tom543 wrote:
Hello fellow Roadies.
I purchased a 2003 xv1600 ATS about a year ago with 15K miles and stumbled onto this site a few weeks ago. Both myself and the bike appreciate all the staff and contributors.
Work done so far...
Remove fuel pump and follow your directions to a tee.
500 miles latter bike running perfect, no issues.
Checked drive pulley. OK. I do not recommend running the bike without the cover as I have seen some do.
The cover acts as a rear engine mount to the frame.
Checked and adjusted yoke (steering)bearing.
I have changed oil every 3 to 4K miles. Use AMSOIL 20-50 MC
3 sets of tires. I recommend Michelin Commander II
Bike has 29K now. I ride every day and use it back and forth to work. 22 miles each way.
I also have a 1994 FXSTC. Purchased new. Now has 108K miles and has never seen the shop other than tires.
I do all repairs and maint. myself.
Things I have noticed over the miles...
Gear driven primary, very noisy. I think the chirp a lot of R* talk about is the primary gears loading and unloading.
I can explain if anyone asks.
I have noticed what sounds like Combustion detonation at different loading and throttle positions but it has not appeared at the plugs or in engine heat profiles. I suspect engine timing. Carb is jetted correctly for exhaust and intake manifold/breather changes.
Well that's it for now. Say safe

Depending on the outside temps, you can step from the 87 octane to the mid or hightest when it gets hot out. That is supposed to help with the pinging. It helps to keep the rpms up a bit also, even though the torque helps a lot at the lower rpms.

Y'all know how to unnerve a new roadie owner. I'll be like a new mother freaking out over every sneeze. Looking here to see if it's a known issue.

Great thread. I immediately ran out to check the screws on my gas cap LOL.

I have a 2001 XV1600ASN Midnight Star with 8K miles. Had it a few weeks now.

I don't know about you guys but when I checked my wiring hookup for my passing lamps (which appear to be factory) I was stunned. I was upgrading to a direct line from the battery so I could separate the passing lights from the headlight. I had gone to 55w H3's instead of the 35w and it kicked the fuse so I opted to isolate the power supply.

What shocked me was when I opened the headlight to install the relay. I was running new 12 gauge wires (overkill) and the wire they'd tapped off of looked to be 24 gauge at most! A thin little POS. I need to post a pic because the add-on fuse housing itself was MELTED but the fuse didn't blow. The main 15 amp headlight fuse did blow however. I instead used that wire to kick my relay and ran direct power from the battery to the lights, including trashing the tiny wires inside the light bar as well.

So it might be a good idea to pull your headlight and see how your passing lights are tapped in.

Other issues noted are:

** Fuel float bowl was leaking, easy fix. Cleaned the jets while opened up.
** Return throttle cable was broken inside the throttle housing, undetectable until I saw the excessive cable slack on the carb throttle mechanism. Pulled the broken cable out (left the housing intact) and running just one cable until new ones arrive.
** Preload on the rear shock was backed all the way out, possibly to accommodate the very small previous owner (lower seat height). Cranked it in about 3/4" for starters; we often ride two up.
** Fuel petcock was leaking so I replaced the gaskets (easy job) but when pulling the assembly out of the tank the internal tank filters were half missing (useless). Scrapped the remaining filters with a new assembly in mind for a later date.
** When pulling the tank the fuel line literally broke in half (original line). It was a failure waiting to happen. REPLACE YOUR FUEL LINES!
** Checked for the recall and finally took it down to Yamaha who pulled the VIN and assured me it had been done. You can check your VIN on the NHTSA site here: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls . Only certain models actually had the recall; they were able to isolate which build dates had the weak metal.
** I have the hypercharger and found that adjusting the pilot screw resolved my decel backfire issues (I turned it in and then backed out, starting at 2.5 turns out and then slightly more from there, now at 3.25). Couldn't believe how well it idled at 2.5 turns but it seemed down on power overall. Still playing with the ideal setting.

This site's been a great help and it's the first place I turn to with this bike. I've probably put around 400 miles on the bike between tear downs. I did wrap my exhaust uppers after BBQ'ing my leg on multiple occasions. The temps here in Las Vegas run above 105* daily.

Pics are too large to upload...

being a newbie to these bikes i just read thru all pages and even checked the recall site, although it does not recognise vin#, also, my new to me 03 midnight star has a pair of brand new d404 tires! why are these so bad? it seems to ride ok to me considering its the first cruiser i have owned coming from sport and sport touring bikes, i wouldnt know any different at the moment!