New member, more problems

Drdubbya · July 09, 2016, 11:50:42 PM

Greetings all,

I'm Dennis, I posted an intro in the appropriate section but wanted to get over here ASAP.

I have a 98 750 that was left to me by my uncle, the bike has 27k on the clock and aesthetically is in almost mint shape. Always garage kept, etc. My uncle passed almost two years ago and it has been sitting since....with the same gas in the tank. His son in law kept trying to start it which in turn sucked more bad gas through the carbs. Yay. My uncles wife got tired of seeing it sit and gave it to me. I have been doing a lot of reading on these bikes and have a pretty good idea of what I want to do, but wanted to check with the authority first so to speak.

The good:
Clean bike, already has a K&N filter, already has a Vance&Hines exhaust system on it.

Bad:
Doesn't run, last time it ran the son in law said the clutch was sticking.

I drained the gas from the tank and put in enough new gas to see if I could get anything from it. She started and idled for about 5-10 seconds at a time before dying and only with the choke out.

I know I need to rebuild the carbs, and I don't think the bike was ever rejetted.
I'm going to order a rebuild kit for the carbs, and a re jet kit from Dave dodge. I'm gonna go with the 108s.

Questions:
Is there a preferred rebuild kit for the carbs?

The pre air filter needs to be replaced, is that an OEM Honda part?

What are y'all running for spark plugs?

Are there any other parts I need to order in advance?

As far as the clutch sticking, I'm thinking its from lack of use, so my plan is to clean it up and replace the fluids in it.

Thank you all in advance for any guidance and help. Not my first rodeo entirley, but definitely my first Magna. I'm excited about getting her up and going again.

hootmon · July 10, 2016, 07:06:27 AM

Boy, you got your bike the most expensive way.. Having to have a relative pass on to get it.
BUT, you have a great bike there, which will serve you well for many years, if you treat her right.. (they don't like to sit very much)

The good news is you know the bike ran (at least for a few seconds) so the electrical side seems to be good.

I've redone my carbs several times, and never bought a new kit (but it's always a good idea)
You big issue will be the idle jets (don't know if they come in the DD kit or not). IF not, I believe the stocks are 40's, I'd just to a 42 without question... It really should just take a good cleaning of the carbs and you should be on your way.

I would check the tank well and make sure the there is no rust in it.
Check the screen attached to the petcock (inside the tank) and make sure it is passing gas thru it.
In any case.. Frequently use SeaFoam in the gas to keep things clean.. It helps!!!

Not sure what you mean by "Pre Filter" there is a breather filter for the little box under the left side chrome filter..

If you "search" my name and Spark Plug, You will probably find a posting about me installing Iridium spark plugs with the part number..
Once you put those in, you will probably never have to change them again or 100K miles anyways..

The clutch, I'd start with the cable.. Most likely culprit.. Clamp onto the clutch lever on the left side with a vice grip or pliers and move it forward and take the cable out of the lever.. Now try to move the clutch handle.. IF there is any resistance, then it's likely the cable.. IF so, you could lube it, but likely it would need to be changed.. IF it's not the cable, then the lever mechanism should be lubricated (there is a small piston (that can be removed on the back side of the left case that the lever pushes on to push the rod that goes thru the engine case and actually pushes the clutch pack.. Take that piston out and make sure it is free from rust and well lubricated.. Make sure this does not fall out when installing the side cover, or your clutch lever will do nothing.. Not a common thing, but has been seen a couple of times..
Otherwise, swap out the fluids and give it a little time to see if it frees up..

Don't be surprised if you have to replace the clutch sooner than later.. I bought a 94 with 7700 miles on it, and had to replace the clutch not long after I bought it.. But you probably will want to go with an upgraded clutch anyways and it's not a big dollar item..

If you have a little mechanical inclination, you can do the carb pull and clean.. It's a little intimidating the 1st time, but can be done with the instructions that you will find on the MOOT main page.

I think I cover most of your queries..
Oh, one more thing...

ttooee · July 10, 2016, 12:11:45 PM

hello,
I agreed that you don't need a rebuild carb kit. You just have to be very carefull not to damage the bowl o-ring gaskets and keep the needle valve with the same carb that it was removed from. Most what you need to do are from under the bowls, so remove what you only what you need.
I suggest you rebuild the carbs first and get the bike running good before installing the jet kit. It is tempting to do both when you have the carbs out but when thing goes south you don't know to blame the rebuild or the re-jetting. I help a friend re-jet many years ago and I think you can re-jet with the carbs on the bike.

MagnaMan · July 11, 2016, 01:26:31 AM

Carb stuff
You can get viton needles, viton float bowl gaskets and even new carb boots from this place in Canada. The viton is supposed to handle the ethanol in fuels better that the old gaskets.
http://www.siriusconinc.com/

If you want get a complete carb kit there are various ones for sell on the V4 market.
http://www.v4market.com/Magna_c_7.html

These kits are assuming that you are completely separating the carbs. I'm about to do that but only because my fuel cross over tubes started leaking.

Vance and Hines
Those are the best aftermarket pipes in my opinion. Although I'm back to stock quiet pipes. You'll want to make sure that your bike is running larger main jets for those pipes (Check the MOOT website for the numbers.) and you may want to add another washer/shim under the needle. However that may already be done for you if they were installed properly so I wouldn't necessarily buy them until I had pulled the carbs and checked.

The place in Canada ships via FedEx two day shipping so you can pull them one weekend. Order the parts and have them the next weekend.

OEM Parts
Pre-air filter is a honda OEM part. You can generally get the best pricing from ronayers.com or hondaparts-direct.com. I've also just cut some foam material from packing to size and used it.

A Honda accessory that I really like are the engine guards. They will save your leg and the tank if you ever drop the bike. The Item # 08P51-MZ5-100 PART# HO-4194239. The were $142 at Ron Ayers even though it's not listed.

Plugs
You can look up the iridium equivalents on the NGK website and O'Reilly's auto can order them for you. But here's what I found the last time I checked:
Magna NGK plug numbers:
5666 or CR8EH-9 standard stock plug
3797 or CR8EHIX-9 for the iridium plug.

Other items to consider
I'd also flush the brake fluid. Pretty easy if you have some type of vacuum bleeder like a Mighty Mini Vac. And it may be time to flush / change the coolant. But you can do all that after you get the bike running.

And if your tires are over 5 years old you may want to consider replacing them regardless of how much tread they have on them. They tend to get hard and slick with age. That's also something you can do after you get it running.

Let us know if you find rust in the tank. At the very least you might want to pull the pet cock valve and clean it and the sock filter that goes on it. If you have rust in the tank I know of an option that will clean it up that doesn't involve acids that will damage the paint or the brass in the pet cock valve.

Wrench session
Since you're in the Dallas area why don't you host a wrench session and see if you can't get some other Mootsters to come over and help you out? That's part of what makes this group so great.

TLRam1 · July 11, 2016, 01:49:03 AM

Can't remember all your issues and it is late, I will respond to just a couple.

1. Never used carb rebuild kits but new o-ring bowl gaskets would not be bad to replace.

2. If you have a K&N with V&H pipes I would go with 105 Mains (108's seemed a bit rich).

3. If you leave pilots at 40, adjust pilot screws out 2.75 - 3 turns, if you go with 42's you will have to see what other people adjusted the screws to and talk to Hootmon.

4. 1 extra shim (total 2 shims) under each needle jet

A good clean on the carbs (especially all of the pilot circuit), tank, petcock, fuel lines, fuel shut-off valve, all passages in the carbs, I think you will be good to go.

Drdubbya · July 12, 2016, 12:23:01 AM

Thanks for all the responses guys!!

I got the seat and tank off today, didn't have much time to tinker just wanted to confirm that there was indeed a K&N air filter in it before I started ordering parts...there was.

So Im guessing Honda doesn't want you to clean the filter very often judging by how much of a pain it is to get out...Never had to remove a tank to replace or clean an air filter....or I missed a giant easy step.

I ordered a new set of bowl gaskets and new needles that are supposed to be ethanol resistant, a new set of carb boots, and a Jet Kit from Dave Dodge. I figure its easier for the difference of 50 bucks to just put new jets in and start from scratch. I called my aunt and she didn't know who put the exhaust on, but did mention that she didn't remember the carbs ever being opened up, so theres a good chance it was never re jetted.

The only other part I know I am going to have to order is that little pre filter thing on the side of the bike, it has literally disintegrated to nothing. Are you all running a pre filter there? The book says its an oiled type filter, just curious.

I plan on replacing ALL the fluids in her, coolant, brake, clutch, trans, oil.

The plug wires are original, but look to be in okay shape, there is a little wear on one of them...I searched up the net for a new set but didn't find anything conclusive. Is there a good set of aftermarket wires that y'all are running?

Im hoping that once the carb parts come in ill be able to sit down for a full day and get her knocked out, I hate coming out every day and not being able to ride her.

Thank you all again for the help!!!

-Dennis

Drdubbya · July 12, 2016, 12:25:25 AM

Also, I did not see any rust in the tank and there was no debris in the old fuel when it came out.

Drdubbya · July 12, 2016, 02:21:26 AM

Haha oops, forgot this was a wet clutch. Guess I won't be changing the clutch or trans fluid!

Is synthetic oil okay in these bikes? I normally run Mobil 1 or royal purple in my trucks

Drdubbya · July 12, 2016, 04:26:39 AM

I've been reading a lot about lubricating the clutch and throttle cables, I have seen rusted up cables before, but if they were sticking would it be obvious, or more of a feel it thing?

hootmon · July 12, 2016, 06:04:02 AM

Quote from: Drdubbya on July 12, 2016, 02:21:26 AM
Haha oops, forgot this was a wet clutch. Guess I won't be changing the clutch or trans fluid!

Is synthetic oil okay in these bikes? I normally run Mobil 1 or royal purple in my trucks

I've been reading a lot about lubricating the clutch and throttle cables, I have seen rusted up cables before, but if they were sticking would it be obvious, or more of a feel it thing?

Synthetic is fine, but it needs to be rated for motorcycles - look for a Jaso rating on the back..
I use Rotella T6 from Walmart with a purolator Pure (PL14612) filter (It's a little longer and I spray paint it silver)
As I stated in my post above, Clamp onto the clutch lever at the bottom and pull it forward and slip the cable out from the lever.. You can then see how much resistance you are getting from the cable itself..

Drdubbya · July 12, 2016, 06:41:38 PM

Roger that. Got an email from that Canadian parts co and the carb boots are out of stock indefinitely, so I'll have to make sure and not damage the ones on there. They are not leaking to my knowledge, I was just going to replace them while I was in there. The jet kit shipped out this morning and I believe the bowl gaskets are shipping out tomorrow so hopefully I'll make some progress soon. I printed off the carb removal write up and have been reading through that.

TLRam1 · July 13, 2016, 01:03:22 AM

The pre-filter I made my own out of green filter foam (better quality and should last), every one I have seen are disintegrated, part of it ends up in the top part of the carbs.

Never used any aftermarket plug wires.

Drdubbya · July 13, 2016, 03:02:53 PM

Quote from: TLRam1 on July 13, 2016, 01:03:22 AM
The pre-filter I made my own out of green filter foam (better quality and should last), every one I have seen are disintegrated, part of it ends up in the top part of the carbs.

Never used any aftermarket plug wires.

Thanks! I'll definitely make one.

I'm trying to find OE wires but I'm not having any luck.
Is there a supplier for them? I have two that definitely need to be replaced so I'd like to do the set while I'm at it.

TLRam1 · July 14, 2016, 02:14:36 AM

I can look to see if I have any of the filter material left if interested. What I bought was a piece of the green flat filter, sliced down the middle with a serrated knife to get the right thickness then cut to size.

Found it at Cycle gear, filter material for dirt bikes.

MagnaMan · July 14, 2016, 10:16:17 AM

Quote from: Drdubbya on July 13, 2016, 03:02:53 PM
I'm trying to find OE wires but I'm not having any luck.
Is there a supplier for them? I have two that definitely need to be replaced so I'd like to do the set while I'm at it.

I have been wondering that myself. Over on one of the Ninja 250 forums I found out that the plug wires on those bikes can be rebuilt using 7mm ignition wire that you can get from an auto parts store. I'll have to see if I can find the write up. At the very least it was interesting to see how the plug wires came apart. I've been meaning to see if the Magna wires were similarly built.