Bought a Yamaha R1 buy "accident"

[pkallesoe]

Hello

Story:
I was finally in a position to buy a bike again. I live in Denmark, so the prices are a bit higher than other countries due to taxes.
At first, I didn't think about the Yamaha R1, most of them was out of my price range at that time. I was more looking at CBR600RR, ZX10R/ZX12R and GSXR's. Definitely not looking at old carb bikes. I guess you can say I was younger and more foolish
I tried the mentioned, although not the ZX10R, but then in one store, there was a black Yamaha R1, 1998 which cost 2/3 of the price of the others. It looked awesome to me and the first time in ages I actually saw one. So I tried it. Only a short try, but I was sold. It felt much more raw then the newer bikes to me. So I actually decided to buy it. But the price came with a lot of extra added price that was added to the bill, but not mentioned. So i declined. A month later, I found another one, from 1999 but in original colors. (Red, white and black)
It had a some marks, wasn't mint. But I bought it. I later had some troubles with it. A lot of back and forth with the dealer. And in the end, I took care of the problems my self. Turned out to be quite cheep fixes.

At the moment, one of the coil packs broke down. So I actually found a nice "mod" on the pages, the COP conversion and at the moment, I am just waiting for the items to arrive. My goal with the bike is not to make it original. Already bought complete Akraprovic exhaust and got a lot of ideas for it. I would like to try to setup fuel injection on it. Mostly because I find it fun to try out. But I actually like the carbs. But thats another story for the future.

My girlfriend is not so impressed with it, she thinks the clutch is to hard to pull But that just gives me more time on it .

All in all, I found a lot of mods/howto on this page, so I would just say hello.
And sorry for no pictures at the moment. Will sort that out, ones it runs again.

[jompy]

Welcome to the forum Peter
I hope you enjoy your 4xv . for the hard clutch try oiling the clutch cable as they can clog up over the years . Another thing to check is if the bikes had a Barnett spring conversion as these also make the clutch lever harder to pull and to be honest a new O.E.M diaphram spring will be just has good although you would have to buy more parts than just the spring to change back .
As for converting it to injection you'd probabaly have to change the wiring harness and ECU too , give the carbs a chance they're great and you could always either get a set of 5jj carbs or change the 4xv pilot jets to the #15's of the 5jj and set the pilot screw to the 5jj settings which will give you more midrange

[R1Clarky]

welcome in [emoji846] looking forward to piccys [emoji106]

Be nice, remember - you reap what you sow [emoji6]

[Moise]

Welcome to the forum. There are quite a few of us with the carbed R1's, so please ask if you have questions.

The standard coils are normally good, but you can have connection problems where the HT leads fit into the coils and spark plug caps.

The COP conversion usually works well but can cause problems with the igniter (ECU). Denso coils seem to be better than Mitsubishi.

[Steve R1]

Welcome to the forum Peter, you do realise you have just bought one of those ballistically fast red R1’s.... now if you had got a blue one you would be crying...

They are an amazing bike, so I’m told, and the guys in here have a wealth of knowledgeable the 4XV’s, so you have come to the right place.

Enjoy your new bike and enjoy the forum, please excuse our quintessential British sense of humour, it is an agreed taste... indeed some of my countrymen thought it would be good to leave the EU.... you couldn’t make it up... [emoji23]

Seriously, welcome to our biking community

Stephen [emoji4]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[pkallesoe]

Thanks for the warm welcome.
Dont get me wrong, I am really starting to warm up the the carb thing. I think I was a bit blinded by the bike quickly started to not work properly. A lot of bad reasons from the dealer and reading a lot a bout people saying negative things about carbs. I bought a second pair of carbs + a exup motor/header/valve and all of that transformed the bike a lot. The whole experience from buying the bike midt May last year til now, have learned me a lot about the bike. Its really nice to work on. And to me, drop dead gorgeous.

Its good to know about the clutch. I am considering to change the clutch. It only works when both ends of the clutch cable is all the way "out". I still need to figure out exactly how many parts to buy. But thats the next adventure.

Regarding COP, I actually bought Mitsubishi. I read somewhere that some R1 didn't liked the Denso's. I guess I add a ECU or two to the buy list I'm already beginning to pile up spare parts. Mainly to keep down time to a low

Regarding #15... I still haven't found the source of this, why changing to this is better. I might have been missing something while reading. That happens from time to other. - The Injection conversion, is still somewhere over the rainbow (Future) and is mainly for own interest. Before that, comes suspension etc. And also adding a bung to the exhaust so I can get my A/F wideband thing on. The nearest rolling road is far away and I have had that wideband for a long time and never used it. Hopefully that could help spot any fuelling issue.

[newsh]

Thanks for the warm welcome.
Dont get me wrong, I am really starting to warm up the the carb thing. I think I was a bit blinded by the bike quickly started to not work properly. A lot of bad reasons from the dealer and reading a lot a bout people saying negative things about carbs. I bought a second pair of carbs + a exup motor/header/valve and all of that transformed the bike a lot. The whole experience from buying the bike midt May last year til now, have learned me a lot about the bike. Its really nice to work on. And to me, drop dead gorgeous.

Its good to know about the clutch. I am considering to change the clutch. It only works when both ends of the clutch cable is all the way "out". I still need to figure out exactly how many parts to buy. But thats the next adventure.

Regarding COP, I actually bought Mitsubishi. I read somewhere that some R1 didn't liked the Denso's. I guess I add a ECU or two to the buy list I'm already beginning to pile up spare parts. Mainly to keep down time to a low

Regarding #15... I still haven't found the source of this, why changing to this is better. I might have been missing something while reading. That happens from time to other. - The Injection conversion, is still somewhere over the rainbow (Future) and is mainly for own interest. Before that, comes suspension etc. And also adding a bung to the exhaust so I can get my A/F wideband thing on. The nearest rolling road is far away and I have had that wideband for a long time and never used it. Hopefully that could help spot any fuelling issue.

The original carbs have a very high fuel level and tend to run a little rich on the pilot circuit, this is made worse by wear in the needle jet caused by the steel needle running in the brass jet. Yamaha changed to pilots from 17.5 to 15 which improves the low and mid fueling. Another way to go is to stay with the 17.5s and reduce the fuel level by adjusting float height but then you’ll need to jet up on the mains.
The best tune I ever had on a 4XV was with a Factory Pro jet kit with the titanium needles, that was with the full Akra with tapered headers but it was an absolute missile for its day. Bit noisy though! [emoji1787]

[newsh]

Anyway trying the number 15 pilots is a good start, if they’re not fitted already.

I think these are they, phone them and check though.


http://www.allensperformance.co.uk/shop/

[newsh]

Anyway trying the number 15 pilots is a good start, if they’re not fitted already.

I think these are they, phone them and check though.


http://www.allensperformance.co.uk/shop/

[Moise]

I had a leaking float needle valve so replaced all of the needle valves and fitted #15 pilot jets at the same time. The bike ran so much better afterwards - I couldn't believe how much stronger the midrange is, plus it pulled more cleanly from low revs.

Of course, I don't know how much was due to replacing the needle valves but they didn't look very worn.

You could also buy the pilot jets for the 5jj.

[jompy]

What newshsaid ☝
As for the clutch , if you're keeping the bike get a full set of friction plates and steels , if it's still got the diaphragm spring get one of those too . I also replaced the half friction plate too , apparently some people change it and the spacer for a full plate

[pkallesoe]

So I began to clean the old set of carbs. They were quite dirty on the outside. The inside looked okay. One of the mains how ever, was a little "striped" so it was a little harder to screw out. so far I have only dissembled the bottom of the carb. Pulled out the mains and pilots and began the soaking process. The setup is this:
C1: mains: 130, pilot: 17.5
C2: mains: 132, pilot: 17.5
C3: mains: 132, pilot: 17.5
C4: mains: 130, pilot: 17.5

So I will order a set of #15 and the main jet that is broken. Maybe just a new set. Is the mains supposed to be different for the cylinder 2 and 3? maybe more. I've heard something about a special part in the carb that goes bad after a lot of miles, but so far I only know the danish word for it. It might be the emulsion tube? Something that is pressed in and a bit hard to replace? Does that make sense?

I am keeping the bike, so I will properly change as much as needed for long term ownership. So appreciate the advice. Will see if I can find some time tonight to study more.

And last thought, maybe I shouldn't put all these questions here. But make a new thread. Sorry - got a bit carried away. Will fix that later in the upcoming days.

[R1Clarky]

So I began to clean the old set of carbs. They were quite dirty on the outside. The inside looked okay. One of the mains how ever, was a little "striped" so it was a little harder to screw out. so far I have only dissembled the bottom of the carb. Pulled out the mains and pilots and began the soaking process. The setup is this:
C1: mains: 130, pilot: 17.5
C2: mains: 132, pilot: 17.5
C3: mains: 132, pilot: 17.5
C4: mains: 130, pilot: 17.5

So I will order a set of #15 and the main jet that is broken. Maybe just a new set. Is the mains supposed to be different for the cylinder 2 and 3? maybe more. I've heard something about a special part in the carb that goes bad after a lot of miles, but so far I only know the danish word for it. It might be the emulsion tube? Something that is pressed in and a bit hard to replace? Does that make sense?

I am keeping the bike, so I will properly change as much as needed for long term ownership. So appreciate the advice. Will see if I can find some time tonight to study more.

And last thought, maybe I shouldn't put all these questions here. But make a new thread. Sorry - got a bit carried away. Will fix that later in the upcoming days.

we do like a good restoration thread, with pictures even better [emoji6][emoji106]

Be nice, remember - you reap what you sow [emoji6]

[newsh]

Emulsion tube is the Needle jet I was talking about, yes these can wear, originally they were not replaceable but you can buy them now, they need pressing in though. When you fit the full Akra you’ll need to jet for it. Get the Factory Pro kit and follow the instructions. I think you’ll find my 4XV setup on the factory pro website actually