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A couple weeks ago I purchased a 86 Interstate and since then have stumbled onto this site and have been impressed with the wealth of knowledge and the scope of the discussions...I have surfed thru dozens(probably more like hundreds!) of messages to learn more about the 1200! I'm not well-versed as a motorcycle mechanic, but been a ASE certified auto tech for 35 years, so I am anxious to get my new bike in tip-top shape! :jumper:
My bike has 36K on her and for the most part, has been well maintained it appears. I am in process of changing all fluids, filters, plugs and I'm installing new Gates timing belts this afternoon. Additionally, the infamous "yellow wire plug" looks as good on mine as it likely did on day one...not a hint of discoloration or heat damage. However, as many others here have said, I will go ahead and do the solder/shrink wrap routine on mine as a preventive measure. I do have a slightly high charge rate across the batt terminals of 15.25 volts which kinda concerns me that perhaps it's close to an overcharge although I've had no battery trouble yet(and I'm knocking on wood here!). Otherwise, outside of a seat which is showing more than it's age, my main concern is a gear oil leak. It appears just aft of the rubber boot at the forward part of the driveshaft area, just off the trans case. It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. That's a task I hoped could have been delayed untilI was a bit more seasoned on maintenance on this bike!At any rate, I have about a silver dollar sized oil spot on the floor each morning and I've driven it about 300 miles now. The previous owner must have known of this as I'm seeing a good bit of oil spray around the overflow cap on the rear diff as if it's been overfilled to compensate for the leak which was wiped well clean upon my arrival to first inspect the bike prior to purchase. I'm very concerned about this as it appears this bike doesn't have a particularly large rear diff fluid capacity so a small leak is actually a considerable leak. Any ideas most appreciated. Once again, I love this site and look forward learning more about my wing from the collective knowledge posted here! Almost as much as I look forward to riding this thing of beauty sitting in my garage!! :waving:
JC
A couple weeks ago I purchased a 86 Interstate and since then have stumbled onto this site and have been impressed with the wealth of knowledge and the scope of the discussions...I have surfed thru dozens(probably more like hundreds!) of messages to learn more about the 1200! I'm not well-versed as a motorcycle mechanic, but been a ASE certified auto tech for 35 years, so I am anxious to get my new bike in tip-top shape! :jumper:
My bike has 36K on her and for the most part, has been well maintained it appears. I am in process of changing all fluids, filters, plugs and I'm installing new Gates timing belts this afternoon. Additionally, the infamous "yellow wire plug" looks as good on mine as it likely did on day one...not a hint of discoloration or heat damage. However, as many others here have said, I will go ahead and do the solder/shrink wrap routine on mine as a preventive measure. I do have a slightly high charge rate across the batt terminals of 15.25 volts which kinda concerns me that perhaps it's close to an overcharge although I've had no battery trouble yet(and I'm knocking on wood here!). Otherwise, outside of a seat which is showing more than it's age, my main concern is a gear oil leak. It appears just aft of the rubber boot at the forward part of the driveshaft area, just off the trans case. It appears the shaft goes thru the swingarm assy? Am I correct on this? If so, I'm afraid one of you will now tell me that swingarm removal will be necessary to facilitate the replacement of a seal or whatever is causing this leak. That's a task I hoped could have been delayed untilI was a bit more seasoned on maintenance on this bike!At any rate, I have about a silver dollar sized oil spot on the floor each morning and I've driven it about 300 miles now. The previous owner must have known of this as I'm seeing a good bit of oil spray around the overflow cap on the rear diff as if it's been overfilled to compensate for the leak which was wiped well clean upon my arrival to first inspect the bike prior to purchase. I'm very concerned about this as it appears this bike doesn't have a particularly large rear diff fluid capacity so a small leak is actually a considerable leak. Any ideas most appreciated. Once again, I love this site and look forward learning more about my wing from the collective knowledge posted here! Almost as much as I look forward to riding this thing of beauty sitting in my garage!! :waving:
JC