Seattle-Area 2-Stroke Service/Parts/Modifications Vendors?

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JungleJustice
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Seattle-Area 2-Stroke Service/Parts/Modifications Vendors?

#1 Post by JungleJustice » Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:28 am

Hey guys!

Who is out my way (that knows what they're doing on these bikes...)?

Thanks for the help!

By the way - thanks to Rick Lance out East for his massive commitment and generous investment of time to get me up to speed on some issues! A true gentleman! I need to think how I can justify the cost of shipping the bike back and forth (not to mention the time away from my baby - already having withdrawals...)! :lol:
Anything with an engine in it...

nberchem
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#2 Post by nberchem » Fri Mar 26, 2010 2:20 am

Contact Red Label Moto on Broadway and ask who they recommend.

Otherwise, there's Bill Wilson in KC.

I don't know of any off hand, but there has to be at least one good 500 builder in the Vancouver BC area.

Nick

Cascade500
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#3 Post by Cascade500 » Sat Mar 27, 2010 2:05 am

Jungle,

Welcome to RZ500 ownership. Not to take away from Rick Lance, Bill Wilson, etc. but the best way to get comfortable with these machines is to do as much as possible yourself. Once you get to know the quirks, and trust me there are quite a few quirks, they are pretty straightforward to work on. If you have a factory service manual you are off to a good start, if you don't have one yet you need to get one. Between the manual and the wealth of knowledge on this forum, you can be pretty self sufficient. Pacific Yamaha in Vancouver BC is great to deal with for getting parts, and many of the 47x parts were used on other bikes available in the US, so you can get many of these parts at your local Yam dealer.

Depending on the condition of the bike you recently purchased, the things you are most likely to fight are dodgy electrics and poorly setup carbs. These have a real history of poorly grounded, loose, or corroded terminals causing all sorts of strange problems. On the carbs the big issues are leaky float valves, incorrect float heights, and incorrect syncronization. If you feel compelled to remove the stock airbox, be prepared for a real adventure. If not done correctly, you can totally kill the low end torque. It's not as easy as just fitting some pod filters.

When these things are setup correctly, they are magic. If things are not right, they can be pure hell, a truly frustrating experience.

My last piece of advice is only change one thing at a time, so you can gain an appreciation for what works and what doesn't.

Good luck with your new toy. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Dirk

JungleJustice
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#4 Post by JungleJustice » Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:17 am

Thanks for the input guys!

Yeah, since Yamaha never imported these into the States, a trip to a (huge) local Yamaha dealer yielded little more than blank stares! No parts lists / catalogues or micro-phish - not even the right plugs!

The guy tried to hand me pre-mix 2-stroke oil...

Large Suzuki dealer went as well as could be expected and a larger, local independent cycle center offered service-limitations only to brakes and tires! I have a manual on order and I am handy with the wrenches (35 years of Alfa Romeo-ownership has done that much for me.

Talk about quirky ignition / fuel-supply and dodgy electronics... :-x When they run though, they are dream-machines - akin to the passion of an RZ. :grin:
Anything with an engine in it...

Cascade500
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#5 Post by Cascade500 » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:51 pm

You can find the parts lists online on this forum. Once you have the P/N you need, go online to motogrid.com and you can search for the P/N. If it's available in the US, the site will list a price for the part. Parts that say "Backorder" typically mean NLA. If Motogrid shows it's available you can either buy it online or at your local Yamaha dealer. Having the P/N in hand makes all the difference.

Dirk

JungleJustice
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#6 Post by JungleJustice » Sat Mar 27, 2010 11:25 pm

Thanks guys!

What constitutes "properly setup carbs" - I mean - in theory those things have a very basic lay-out for somebody who has had hundreds of bike carbs apart (and side-draft Webers and Delortos and such), right?

I mean - take them apart, clean everything and so forth, but what "setup" are we talking about here. If I am running standard carbs, standard jets, standard needles and the floats are set up properly - what else is there to watch out for?

I've been around 2-strokes most of my life and also owned an RZ50 LC, an RZ125 LC and an RD350 LC - among many other bikes; also - a good friend helping me with the basic front to back run-through is an experienced bike mechanic of 12-15 years, but I just want to make sure that I give him a heads-up on any potential issues that - for some reason - he may not be on the lookout for... Any blind-side issues to consider?

Is there "setup" associated with the reinstallation? (Other than cable-pull, choke etc.)?
Anything with an engine in it...

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rzatch
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#7 Post by rzatch » Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:55 am

Slide sync is what I think he is talking about along with getting the oil pump dialed in. There are lots of cables to get in tune with each other.

Cascade500
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#8 Post by Cascade500 » Sun Mar 28, 2010 1:40 am

RZatch is correct, i was referring to getting the slides syncronized correctly. It makes a huge difference in how they run.

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Re: Seattle-Area 2-Stroke Service/Parts/Modifications Vendor

#9 Post by lgyee4 » Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:20 pm

JungleJustice wrote:Hey guys!

Who is out my way (that knows what they're doing on these bikes...)?

Thanks for the help!

By the way - thanks to Rick Lance out East for his massive commitment and generous investment of time to get me up to speed on some issues! A true gentleman! I need to think how I can justify the cost of shipping the bike back and forth (not to mention the time away from my baby - already having withdrawals...)! :lol:
Rick is great, he's done several motors on both coasts.
Just a word of mention, I sourced several parts from a Yamaha dealer in Richmond BC, kinda near where you are.
Good luck!
1985 RZ 350
1985 RZ 500
1992 WR 200

MC
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#10 Post by MC » Sun Mar 28, 2010 9:08 pm

I would not say they are hard to set up , but there are a lot of cables and adjustments to get right , and no matter how much you read on here for help, just working on them will be the best teacher for "getting to know her" correct set up ..... I switched out the stock needles for Ivan's and it did help the bike to run cleaner or at least I thought so, since your tearing it down you might want to consider a set, with the experience you have with all those carb's it should not be any problem getting her done.........why would you need Lance or Wilson :cool: ... Have fun

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