Nothing much happening....

 
At first, the weather was the biggest issue with getting any riding done but now...it is personal injuries.
I may have mentioned a while back that I'd hurt my back last January while trying to wrestle my TW in the garage...this has been an on-going problem for over a year now and it's something that I don't wish upon anybody...the level of pain I experienced at the onset was horrendous...nerve pain that I've come to know so well is an awful, awful thing.

If that wasn't bad enough...I also over-extended my left arm to the point where it has created a knot in my neck...that has been on-going for over a month now, but it dwarf's in comparison to the pinched nerve I currently have on the right side of the same neck! Every winter seems to be the same thing...laid up for months with a self-induced injury - I'm getting sick of this. Being in pain 24/7 is not how I intended to spend the rest of my days.

Last Thursday (March 05, 2026) I received my first series of spinal injections and at this time I 'd like to say that they've made a difference, although with these other issues I've been having...I'm not jumping for joy yet. Will be seeing my Physio next week and hopefully she can set me straight...again!

Bike news?
Managed to get out for a brief ride a couple of weeks ago...before the "stinger" appeared. 
Still haven't done any major maintenance to either of them, although the CT90 parts arrived and I've been doing piece-meal stuff whenever I get bored.
Bought the parts at Fortnine of all places...should have ordered a couple of spokes to replace the broken one from last year, instead of the Amazon knock-off.

 

2025 in a nutshell....

Since I mentioned it in my October post...I thought I might as well make a page for it.
 

So if you want to see a real brief edition of last year's rides...go HERE.

 

Still winter....

 Although we've had some fantastic weather over the past 2 weeks...it is indeed still winter. This was made clear when I tried to take a few rides lately. 
Even though the temperatures have been as high as 12°C in the afternoons, going over 60 kmh reminds you of the effects of wind-chill. Riding anywhere in the shadows of the daytime sun also reminds you that is still just January.

Nonetheless, I have been able to get out a few times...nothing worth noting...no real destinations or goals, just keeping in riding shape! 
My extended fuel-mixture screw arrived last week and I will put it into use when we return from our vacation in February. Am also thinking of replacing the main jet again...we'll see if that pans out.

 

 

Again...too long between entries!

 Once again I find myself lagging behind, but events in my home life has meant that more time and attention was spent on other factors/family/interests etc.

After the last entry, I awaited patiently for my parts to arrive from Yamaha Canada and when they did, I got right back to work and replaced the float seat and needle. Now, it seems as though my days of leakage are behind me...<touch wood>

Since then, I have winterized BOTH rides but I still go out and start the TW periodically. The other day, I watched a YouTube video from Project Farm where he went over the many different types of fuel stabilizers and additives. This is where I lost all faith in my go-to product: SeaFoam.
After watching some of his results, it became clear that although SeaFoam may be a decent interim carb cleaner, it fails miserably as a stabilizer/protector, so I decided to end our relationship and move on to something else.
This same video showed the wonderful results of STABIL as a fuel stabilizer and protector of internal parts, so I bought a small bottle of it today and put it to use. As for carb/fuel system I will probably be leaning towards one of the many products that have PEA as an ingredient, since it is proven to be more effective than just plain solvents.
After Christmas, I discovered that ProCycle has an extended fuel-mixture screw for this model now, so of course I ordered one! Going to be picking it up on Monday and hopefully installing it soon.

Cheryl Tiegs has also been winterized, although since I pulled the battery...I wasn't able to give it a decent STABIL treatment.
Maybe I'll give her a good dose of PEA in the Spring. Until then, the NEW battery gets topped up every 3 weeks or so, just to keep it healthy.

Premature jubilation...

 Just when I thought I had exorcised all the demons, a new issue rears its ugly head.
Once I'd gotten the carb reinstalled and fine-tuned to perfection, I called it a day and thought there would be nothing but better days ahead. Then, a couple of days later, I went back outside to where she is parked and noticed a puddle beneath.
Off she came again, to verify the float and fuel levels...both spot on!
Then, I was able to give the drain screw another few degrees of closure, so I thought that was the issue. I left a bowl and hose setup overnight to capture any more wayward drops and sure enough...dry as the proverbial popcorn-fart the next morning. 
Guess I got it!

Three days later, I changed the oil and did some more wrenching and then put her away whilst I worked on Cheryl Tiegs.
After about an hour of tinkering, I look over to the TW and noticed another small puddle forming underneath again...WTF!?
This time, I noticed that I had left the fuel petcock ON...and the only way a carb will overflow when the fuel is left ON...is because the float valve/needle seat is leaking.

Ordered an OEM part from the local Yamaha shop (5LB-14390-00-00)
Now patiently waiting for it to show up. In the meantime, the fuel valve is OFF!

 

 

Success at last!

 I've been trying to fix this "cold-start, warm-start" issue for quite a while now...like since I bought this one...and I want to share my path to success:

First of all, a summary:
- With either of my previous models, I could cold-start them then walk away to get my gear, etc while they fast-idled until "warm". Then I could push in the choke and they would idle at factory-spec, at which point I could ride away. Not this one...cold starts were awful; with full choke she would sputter and cough and run like crap...I would literally have to babysit for the first few minutes, until she warmed up enough to idle on her own without choke.
- On warm-starts with the previous models, all I had to do was touch the starter button for a split-second and they would restart instantly...this one took a bit more effort, although they weren't as bad as the cold-starts.
- I lost track of how many times I changed out the pilot jet...from a #31 to a #34 trying to find a happy medium...I even changed out the main jet to a #128, hoping this would solve the problem...it didn't.

So...I concluded that this carb needed a good ultra-sonic cleaning, so I dismantled it completely and placed it in the U/S with a Dawn dishsoap solution.
It was incredible how much dirt and crap was removed by this process, but when I went to dump the solution afterwards, I noticed a small black disc in the waste water. Unable to grab it, it disappeared down the drain. At first, I thought it was some plug for an unused port of the OUTSIDE of the float bowl. I reassembled the carb and reinstalled it and the first "cold-start" I tried was the worst ever; lots of backfiring and rough idle...once warmed, it eventually calmed down and even rode decently, so I didn't give it much thought.
On the next cold-start a few days later, it was backfiring and running rough again and I concluded that this wasn't normal, so I removed the carb one more time and dismantled it. 
This is when I discovered where that "small black disc" came from...

  

Apparently, this "plug" (OEM# 50M-14355-01-00) is vital for proper operation of the CHOKE CIRCUIT...

A quick phone call to the closest Yamaha dealer located a new plug. But before reassembling, I gave the entire carb another U/S cleaning in a solution of water and PineSol (90/10)...rotating the carb body every 10 minutes to ensure that every passage and port in there would get flooded with solution and zapped with the ultrasonic waves.
Once complete, I reassembled all the bits and pieces and reinstalled the carb onto the bike. 
I should also note that I reverted back to STOCK jetting; #31 Pilot jet and #126 Main jet. I wanted to get a base-line that I could refer back to if I ever decided to mess with the jetting again at a later date.

I had to make some minor adjustments for idle speed and mixture on the first start, and once warmed fully, I set the mixture between 1¾ and 2 turns open. This gave the best throttle response as well a the best hot-idle speed. Then I tried a warm-start...she re-started with barely a "blip" of the starter button...

THIS IS WHERE I WANT TO BE!!!!

The final test would be a cold-start the following day...which worked PERFECTLY. I pulled the choke all the way out and cranked the starter, she jumped to life and fast-idled. After about 30 seconds, I pushed the choke in to the ½ way notch and the idle speed dropped slightly.
After a minute or two of fast-idling, I closed the choke off completely and the idle dropped down to factory spec and she sat there purring like a kitten.
I left her to idle for about 5 minutes while checking out other things, then shut her off. The following warm-start was perfect as well...just a brief touch of the starter button brought her back to life and purring anew. EXCELLENT!

So, for all of those frustrated TW owners out there with (stock) carb issues, my suggestions are:

a) Go back to stock jetting and settings and see if the problem(s) disappear.

b) Get yourself an ultrasonic cleaner.

c) When using the Ultrasonic cleaner...REMOVE the plug so that you can access the choke/idle circuit associated with this plug, then... 

d)...even if it appears in good condition, replace the "plug". It's odd that it isn't included in any rebuild kits, when it is so vital to proper choke-circuit operation. 

I was so pleased with the success I achieved with the TW carb, that I took the newly rebuilt carb from my wife's CT90, and gave it the U/S treatment as well. It released an incredible amount of "gunk" and once reassembled and reinstalled, the bike idles better than ever.
 

 

Where has the time gone?

 
Shame on me for leaving this for so long...

It's not as if there's been nothing to report, I just haven't found the time to write it all down, so I'll make a bulleted-list of what's happened:

- The first official ride of the season (BOTH of us present) came at the end of March where we re-visited the Ladner Creek area of the Coquihalla. 

- I also did a couple of solo runs to the West side of Harrison lake in an effort to determine my fuel range. As it turns out, I can go over 150 kms before switching to the RES position. In fact, I never really found out what the number was...but it's over 150.

- In mid-April we did a daytrip to Boss/Davis/Shea lakes in the Kane Valley area, as well as a trek to the south end of Chilliwack Lake.

-  On May 4th, we did a Tom Waits/Cheryl Tiegs trip to the Kane Valley again. 

- June saw us travel to Barkerville and the Eastern Kootenays. While in Fairmont, I started having some issue with the TW, but attributed this to the altitude. While in Christina Lake, we were able to complete another large section of the C&W rail trail. Then, while staying in Penticton, we visited the newly re-opened Adra Tunnel along the KVR.

-  At the end of August, we traveled along the Tulameen FSR to the washout. The bridge at this location has been completely washed away. This is no longer a viable route to reach Tulameen...thankfully there are still a couple of options.

- In early September, we camped in Osoyoos for a couple of nights. Haven't been here in years, but it would serve as a basecamp for our trip to Midway, where we went overland to Grand Forks, then picked up the C&W trail from there, back to Midway. The first half of this counter-clockwise trip was nice and scenic, but the second half was unimpressive; lots of gates, fields, and even a section of pipeline road.

 A far as the TW goes...it has been running as faithfully as ever BUT...I've been having issues with the "cold starts". 
I've had the carb off and on so many times I could probably do it blindfolded now...but nothing I've done has addressed the problem:

If I adjust fuel mixture as per standard practices, the cold-starts are awful. Once warmed up she runs fine.
If I adjust the mixture for better cold starts, she runs fine once warmed up.
I've swapped the pilot jet 3 times now and then stock #31 is back in there for good. I recall buying a ProCycle jet kit for my 2008 and it didn't seem to make much difference power-wise, but left me with an off-idle stumble that I couldn't get rid of so I went BACK to factory jetting and left it that way until the day I sold it.

I'm looking to get to that point with this one...where cold-starts aren't troublesome and she runs well once fully warmed.

A week ago, I took a trip to the Henning Warming Hut and my "Man-racks" rear rack snapped in half on the way down. I've since built another one, using the plans of the one I had on the '08.

This brings us up to date.
I'll try to be a bit more fastidious when it comes to updates.