'96 VS600 Fan and Steering vibration

[AbsolemJackdaw]

Hello everyone !
I'm new to the forum !
I introduced myself in the new member section and posted some pics.

I inherited the vs600 from a friend and it was in a good state but came out of storage only a year or two before she passed away.
It ran but a bit rough. I have since done a full maintenance :

-Got the carbs off and gave them a spa and a kit of new rubbers
-Put on new carb boots because they were hard, and one of them had a hole in it. (vacuum leak and carb spitting)
-changed engine oil
-changed pumpkin oil
-changed oil filter
-changed coolant
-put in new fuel lines
-fixed the sidestand switch which wasnt working, missing in fact, and the relay was corroded
-put on brand new tires (they were 23 years old)
-new air filters (there's two ffs why D;)
-air tube under the seat was cracked and leaking air : replaced with a second hand used one.
-steering bearings changed (they were heavily worn)
-lubed speedo cable

I cant remember if I've done anything else...
break fluid was done when it went out of storage, as well as forks so I haven't touched these.

My questions as a VS newbie:
A) I find the fan to come on a LOT. like a lot a lot. Red light ? Fan. idle in front of the garage opening the door after a ride to store it ? Fan. Weather is above 25C° (75F°) ? Fan.
Ive got two other fan-cooled motorcycles and not one of them has their fan come on at the same high rate as the VS. (its a shadow and a magna)
Are the VS's running hotter ? Or is this something I need to fix stat ?
extra information : it did this both before and after tuning the carbs. Carbs are stock, no jetting has been done, and if I remember correctly, currently the idle screws are 2,5 out. Ive changed the coolant every year so far (twice thus far) thinking it might be the coolant, but it didn't change anything. Is it running way lean ? I hear no popping though .. A bit stumped on this. On the other hand Ive only got two other motorcycles to compare with.
B) There's a noticeable amount of vibration holding the handlebar over the entire rpm range when riding. Given the fine tuning of the carb I have managed to do, I highly doubt's its engine vibrations. I'm going out on a limb and believe that the front wheel suspension is bad.
I used to think it was the 23 year old front wheel that was the issue. It stood 10 years in storage at one point and presumably had a flat spot, because the tire wasn't fully inflated after 10 years. Changing out the tires definitely helped, but the vibrations are still present.
Is the front suspension inherently bad on the VS's ? Our three other motorcycles do not have this issue and they're all stock.

C)not super important, but we got gifted saddlebags to put on the bike but they're not made for the vs600. we'd like to relocate the rear indicators to make them fit. Are there any resources on this forum for ideas ? best practices ? we'd like to keep the originals and not put in tiny leds.

Any help is welcome!

[sgtcall]

I will let the smart guys answer on the hard stuff but as far as turn singnal relocation you just need a bracket that mounts behind the license plate. They make them for all kinds of bikes and most any one would work. Here is an example but you would need one sized to fit your tags, this one is for American motorcycle tags.

[navigator]

For the fan:
The system may be air locked, did you crack loose the bleeder bolt on the left frame rail just below the neck cover when you filled the system? BE CAREFUL doing so, it is a hollow bolt and can break easily, leaving you with another repair project.

You can also remove air by raising the front of the bike several inches, then removing the radiator cap and running the engine.
You may also have a faulty heat sensor switch.
My fan rarely runs, only in parade mode in extremely hot weather.

For the vibration:
Uneven fork oil levels, bad wheel bearings, tire balance, and neck bearings are the only things that may cause that.
Sounds like you have already addressed tire balance and neck bearings presuming they are adjusted properly.

While riding, does the vibration stop when you pull in the clutch and coast?
If so, it is engine related, not suspension.

Carb Sync can also cause that.
Did you sync the carbs at both idle and high speed?
I installed a Barsnake on several bikes, since you have drag bars, it is easy to do (buckhorns, not so much)
https://www.barsnake.com/index.php


For the signal relocation:
I fabricated a section of tubing attached to a plate to relocate the stock signals. The signals mount in each end of the tube, drill hoes for the mounting screws, wire exit, and plate mounting. The plate mounts behind the license frame bracket with stock bolts.
I can now run many brands of larger bags.
Click on my name to bring up my profile, then click contact me by email. Send me an email and I'll send you details.

[hillsy v2]

Another thing you could try with the handlebar vibration is to remove the bar end weights. Did this on my 1500 when I changed to chrome type grips and the vibration went away. Counter intuitive for sure but will cost you nothing to try.

[navigator]

Another thing you could try with the handlebar vibration is to remove the bar end weights. Did this on my 1500 when I changed to chrome type grips and the vibration went away. Counter intuitive for sure but will cost you nothing to try.

If you remove the bar end weights, just loosen the screw and pull (wiggle) the whole assembly out.
DO NOT remove the screw, as the rest of the stuff will remain deep in the bar, difficult to remove.

[Lechy]

Just an idea:

[AbsolemJackdaw]

For the fan:
The system may be air locked, did you crack loose the bleeder bolt on the left frame rail just below the neck cover when you filled the system? BE CAREFUL doing so, it is a hollow bolt and can break easily, leaving you with another repair project.

You can also remove air by raising the front of the bike several inches, then removing the radiator cap and running the engine.
You may also have a faulty heat sensor switch.
My fan rarely runs, only in parade mode in extremely hot weather.

I did not in fact crack any bolt. We only got the manual very recently so I should probably find that bolt and be careful.
I might just try to lift it first. Dont want to go breaking bolts here...

For the vibration:
Uneven fork oil levels, bad wheel bearings, tire balance, and neck bearings are the only things that may cause that.
Sounds like you have already addressed tire balance and neck bearings presuming they are adjusted properly.

While riding, does the vibration stop when you pull in the clutch and coast?
If so, it is engine related, not suspension.

I'm going to put my money on the forks first. Take those off and change the oil, make sure its all right and nothing iffy comes out.
That way I can check the wheel bearing too. The neck bearings where changed because it had a knack when turning it when I first got my hands on it. The bearing bit a groove in its seat.
I've heard bearings sitting for a long time tend to bite a groove in their seat. I totally failed to realize that the same could have happened with the front wheel bearing !
Last time I had a failed wheel bearing was on my 83 magna and the handlebar would just do its own thing when applying breaks. That bearing was shot, dead, buried and more then halfway to hell.
This bearing is probably just dying.
I doubt it is engine related because even though I did not purposefully test it yet, the vibration has only ever been there when riding. Sitting on it idling or coasting towards red lights has never once made me realize the bike wasn't trembling. I have a XJ600 that used to do that and that was a combination of carbsync and clutch rattle, the XJ went silent and smooth when holding the clutch lever, even idling.

Carb Sync can also cause that.
Did you sync the carbs at both idle and high speed?
I installed a Barsnake on several bikes, since you have drag bars, it is easy to do (buckhorns, not so much)
https://www.barsnake.com/index.php

Yes sir, My gauge setup is a bit cheap but I've synced the gauges with one another by applying the same vacuum on all 4 dials trough a tubing system. When syncing I'm adamant on having the needles move exactly the same or I'm not happy and will keep thinking and pondering while riding about how could have done a correct job when the tank was off and the gauges on when riding my motorcycles. I'm not eager on calling it OCD, but I'm sure it's related to it :P

Another thing you could try with the handlebar vibration is to remove the bar end weights. Did this on my 1500 when I changed to chrome type grips and the vibration went away. Counter intuitive for sure but will cost you nothing to try.

If you remove the bar end weights, just loosen the screw and pull (wiggle) the whole assembly out.
DO NOT remove the screw, as the rest of the stuff will remain deep in the bar, difficult to remove.

Learned that the hard way five years ago on my Mash Fifty Wanted to make it look different and I had no clue how those worked.
Had to take the bars of in the end and swing it around to make it fly out! Didn't have a compressor yet back then

I will let the smart guys answer on the hard stuff but as far as turn singnal relocation you just need a bracket that mounts behind the license plate. They make them for all kinds of bikes and most any one would work. Here is an example but you would need one sized to fit your tags, this one is for American motorcycle tags.

I've got a welder buddy. She's probably got some chutes lying around that I can use to make something like that.
Thanks for the tip to put it on the license plate holder! Totally didn't think about that yet, and I've been pondering over it for a while...

Thanks guys, I know what to do this weekend!