'96 VS600 Fan and Steering vibration
Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2023 4:46 am
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!
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!