SUZUKI CAVALCADE OWNERS GROUP
NEWSLETTER
October, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RIDES AND EVENTS:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
20th
Anniversary Cavalcade Rally “CADE RAID 2006”
September
11-15, 2006
~ Golden,
Colorado
Many
of our Cavalcades officially turn 20 years old this year. To celebrate we are
hosting a gathering of Cades and Cade owners in the
Rocky
Mountain
resort town of
Golden
,
Colorado
. We have a full schedule of events all week. There will be workshop classes by
the best Cavalcade mechanics in the world. Learn to repair, maintain and enhance
your Cavalcade from these experts. We’ll feature daily rides through the
majestic
Rocky Mountains
. We will have an Advanced Rider Training Course to improve our skills riding
heavy motorcycles. We’ve scheduled evening meals and entertainment,
highlighted by our Friday Night Cade Raid Dinner with our own Cavalcade
Prime-Time Entertainers, including Jay, Tracy,
Nancy
“Motherwind” and others.
Email
jay@treefarmtapes.com for a
registration form to attend Cade Raid 2006. Reserve the week of
September 11-15, 2006
at the Holiday Inn in Golden,
Colorado
. If you call for reservations, be sure to identify yourself as with the Suzuki
Cavalcade Owners attending “Cade Raid 2006” to receive our special room rate
of $70.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BRITISH
COLUMBIA
CADE RAID
We are in the planning stage for
a weekend Cade Raid next Spring somewhere in
British Columbia
,
Canada
. If you would like to attend, please contact jay@treefarmtapes.com
with your suggestions for dates and locations.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you are planning a ride,
rally, or other motorcycle event
of interest to the membership of
the Suzuki Cavalcade Owners Group, send the information to jay@treefarmtapes.com
and it will be posted in the next issue of this newsletter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ TRIPS AND TIPS ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CAVALCADE
STATISTICS
It
was SuzukiCavalcade.com that informed me of the secondary drive issue, how
common was that failure anyway? Nice tip on the database, thanks. ~James
...
Too
common, way too common James. I have 380 bikes in the database, of which I
have at least some failure data on 171. Of those 171 bikes, 61 reported
either a secondary plug failure or a seal failure or both, that's over a third.
I
broke them out into the four production runs, and found that the secondary seal
failure rate didn't change all that much (considering that the last run has only
three bikes on which I have failure data, not enough to draw any conclusions.)
This came as no surprise, since they didn't change the design of the seals.
I think
Tracy
mentioned they were a different color on the later models. Materials
change?
The
interesting trend is in the failure rate of the plug: First run, 54%
failed. Second run, 24% failed. Third run, 17% failed. Fourth
run, 0. If any conclusion can be drawn from that, it is that the plug
redesign between the first and second runs probably helped, but didn't
completely solve the problem. You also know what can happen if you do nothing,
right? Total failure of the secondary gear case bearings, suddenly locked
rear wheel, certainly a serious Failure To Proceed, and most likely the dreaded
Truly Bad Consequences.
My
contention then is this: if you have a first run bike, (last four digits of your
VIN is less than 3764 for the G models) then you know what has to happen and who
to see for the parts (
Tracy
).
If you have a later model, second, third or fourth run, then it is up to your
judgment, but in the meantime do check dem you-know-what’s, and
you-know-how-many of dem, check dem early and often, and please don't make me
hafta read about you here. Check em.
I
have a second and a third production run, decided to Tracy-plug both. My
first production run Cade I plugged with the original equipment plug and green
Loctite, but I now suspect that the heat in the secondary case has dissolved the
Loctite, so that job will need to be redone. It's a pain to get that
secondary case off of there, so if you do go to the effort, go ahead and spring
for the Tracy plug and change out the seals while you are in there, take your
time, do it carefully and do it right.
If
you are not sure of yourself, get a buddy to help. If you are not sure of
your buddy, get a professional mechanic. This is one job that must be done
just right, it's unforgiving. Even after you do the job, check dem oil
levels anyway. ~spike
CATCH
22
Under
the left side cover there is what looks like a prescription bottle with a tube
running into it. Can anyone tell me what this is and the function? ~Stosch
Tracy
can attest to this I CONFESS ~ When I was having my secondary problems WAY Back
when, I came up with the bright Idea of QUICK CHECK Of the ENGINE OIL IN
GEARBOX, so I made up a couple of little catch tubes and attached it to the
OVERFLOW OR breather tube as it's best known and when the OIL WAS FORCED OUT of
the gear box into this tube I knew it was time to CHANGE the secondary GEAR oil
as it was contaminated with ENGINE oil. THIS HAPPENS when the gear box OVERFILLS
and FORCES the contaminated oil into the container.
PERSONS
with these CATCH Bottles should think about replacing the engine to gear box
seal as this is the cause, AIR over the tube or whatever will NOT cause the gear
oil to come out of the gear box as
there
is a shield built into the gear box to prevent this. It's plain that your gear
box is OVERFILLING from the transfer or YOU just put toooo much gear oil in it
to start with. I did this ONLY as an experiment mentioned it on the website and
maybe someone mistook it as a fix but to do this is simply prolonging the proper
repair and as we all know engine oil IS NOT a good replacement for gear
OIL>>> as I stated before while I was experimenting with this idea when
this container started filling with oil I KNEW my gear oil was contaminated and
IMMEDIATELY changed it by draining it completely dry and REFILLING it with the
proper grade gear oil.
If
there are any questions please contact me personally. These catch bottles were
ONLY used for a reference, not as a fix to stay out of DIVORCE court, and IF
it's NOT FIXED properly you may have an
appointment
with the undertaker. When where and who from, did you purchase the bikes with
these
PRESCRIPTION
bottles. ~OLD COOT
N Maryland
. "CHECKDEMOILLEVELS"
wit de DIPSTICK
MYSTERY
CADE
I
am glad to be a part of this group. Yes, I am a newbie, just joined. Been
lurking in the group for about 4 months. Knew I wanted to buy a Cade, just
wanted to learn more about them first. You guys are great. I love
being part of the "unusual, unique" Cade group.
Finally found one and bought it last weekend. A pristine, 1987 LXE
“limited edition", 62K miles. So now I've joined the group. Rained
4 of 7 days, still put 500 miles on. It sure is a nice bike. It is
absolutely a great riding bike and I love being part of the group.
Looks
like I have lots to learn from all of you. My first question is; what does
the "limited edition" mean? How many of you have them? I
registered my bike with Spike; he says right now I have the oldest 1987
"known to man". So it appears this is one of the first 1987's to
roll off the production line. I'm just looking for a little education. The
guy I bought it from says the limited edition is
the following:
-
6 front fork orange running lamps
-
chrome front disc brake covers
-
matching front and rear "cavalcade" insignia mud flaps
-
more chrome body strips/striping
-
security theft deterrent red flashing light
-
more emblems, decals and chrome
-
rear cargo "relay/sequential" flashing brake light
-
CB radio system (although this is not part of the radio system, so I doubt it is
part of the limited edition)
-
voltmeter (generator/regulator/battery charge output lighted gauge)
-
heel/toe gear shift lever
-
five separate lighted toggle switches with 1 amp fuses
-
head lamp override on/off switch
-
2 rear lighted candle/Popsicle lights
-
electric radiator fan override switch
-
compressor override switch
-
lighted 4 side red/yellow reflectors and rear red lens over license plate
-
two tone seats
-
drivers backrest with carry bag
-
3 Cavalcade carry on luggage bags
Don't
know if any or all of this is true – but the
bike does have this stuff and
is marked "Limited Edition" in several locations. I see other
bikes on eBay with some of this - were they just options for all Cade, but they
put on the "limited edition" version?
I feel lucky to have one, just not sure how lucky. What is your
opinion? ~ Stu Brown,
Wausau
,
WI
, 1987 LXE
"Limited Edition” 62K
Stu,
It sound's like you have one awesome Cavalcade. I'd love to see it and sure hope
you can make it to our Cavalcade rally next year in
Colorado
, CADE
RAID 2006. We will be celebrating the 20th anniversary for most of the
Cavalcades, but I guess only the 19th for yours.
Limited
Edition? It may be an edition limited to 'one.' I suspect a former owner may
have dressed up the LXE and borrowed the Limited Edition logos from a Gold Wing
Interstate LE. The items you listed are all Suzuki options or aftermarket
goodies that were available for Cavalcades back in the '80s. I may be wrong
(frequently am) but I don't think Suzuki produced such an animal. Welcome to the
family of Cavalcade owners. ~Jay
-on
the subject or rare cades back in 86 an old friend of mine bought his maroon and
silver 87 from the
Toronto
bike
show. It was the last day of the show and he convinced Suzuki to sell it to him.
It had no engine serial # no frame # motor sound different than my 86 and sat
3-4 inches lower than mine. I haven’t talked to him since 98 and don't know if
he still has it or not. I had to take it to the dealership when we got it home
and they put #'s on both motor and frame with an engraving punch. It was a
Canadian bike (kilometers). two tone seat black and gray. ~Tim
Chroming THE Side Covers
Has anybody had any experience
with chroming the stator and clutch covers? Mine are scratched up and I was
thinking about doing this if the cost isn't too much. Does the oil level site
glass pop out or can they cover that with something when chroming? ~Kirby, 86
LX,
Topeka
, Ks.
Kirby,
I had my covers re-chromed in 2001 by a company called Paul's Chrome Plating in
the
Pittsburgh
,
PA
area (found them in Hemming's Motor News).
And they still look as good as they did when I got them back. The sight
glass stayed in the clutch cover throughout the entire process. They did
tape over it, just in case. Originally, they thought they would just
remove it, but I was worried about either breakage or having a problem getting
it to seal up again. So I called my Suzuki dealer & they informed
me that the sight glass was not avail alone - it was part of the clutch cover.
Paul's said the worst that could happen is the window might get a little etched
during the process, especially if it was not actual glass. But it came
through crystal clear and never leaked a drop. They charged me around $325
for the stator, secondary & clutch covers (although, afterwards, he said he
bid a little low since the clutch cover was much larger than he thought it would
be). ~Mark & Nibbler, '86 Grey-on-Grey GT in
OH
CONFUSED ABOUT STARTING?
OK guys, Here’s the scoop on the starting system. On the
negative side of the solenoid is the clutch switch, normally open until you pull
in the clutch, then it closes the circuit. On the positive side of the starter
solenoid is the run/off switch, the start button, and the side stand relay (not
on early run 86's). With this setup, the bike will not start without the
clutch switch being closed. But it will not start if the side stand is down
and it’s not in neutral, 1 or the other can happen, but not both. So it can
start with the clutch in, the side stand down and in neutral, or clutch in, side
stand up, and in gear. But it will not start if side stand is down and it’s
not in neutral. I hope this clears things up. ~Brian in IN
I
have found the product that takes care of those frozen bolts, screws, etc. Wish
I had used it when I had to pull everything off and replace my stator. Pal Oil
makes a product called Marine Pal that is a penetrant and lubricant and a
product called Lugbuster that is a penetrant. They claim the Lugbuster
penetrates even better than the Marine Pal, if it does then it is REALLY good.
I
used Kroil for years and thought it was as good as you could get until I tried
the Marine Pal. It puts Kroil to shame. A couple of drops and a couple of
minutes and most anything will come loose. No drenching, no overnight soaking,
just put a little on and it works. I have nothing to do with the company other
than being a satisfied customer. You can check them out and order their products
at
http://users.techline.com/palfac/
When
I change the oil in my Cade, I will be adding their Desert Pal to the oil. In my
F150, I got about 20% better mileage and the heat hand dropped noticeably. I
hope it can help the Cade run cooler in traffic and extra gas mileage certainly
doesn't hurt these days. I will let you know how it works once I put it in.
~Hitekrednek
Good
luck with this project. I just had to change mine. The problem is that it
is much harder to get it off than to put the new one on. I do not know of
anything else that will fit. There will be a lot of stuck
hardware
to remove. Aside from the cost of the part-called a pre-muffler- I suggest
you also order the following parts, which will also be broken from age and wear,
etc.
Get
the four bolts that hold the pipes in the front of engine. For the flanges
get all 6 of the muffler couplings- 4 are one size and two are larger (muffler)
The 4 screws which hold the bracket clamp from the front pipes. The two front
flanges which hold the front pipes into engine. My bolts were seized in these.
Two gaskets are in the front pipes to the engine. A tube of anti-seize for
reassembly. New pipe clamps come with the new pre-muffler. I had a major problem
removing the frozen bolts after all these years. I had to remove the swing arm
as the bolt for the left rear pipe clamp was too close to the auxiliary fuel
tank to get a wrench on it. I cleaned all the pipes and stuff on the wire
wheel and used anti-seize on everything. I will never again 'dangle' the
mufflers, as described in the procedure for tire change. I will fully
remove from now on.
Rest
assured-your vocabulary will increase by some words that you didn't know you
knew. (Get the idea here?) However when the two months of working on it in your
garage in your spare time are over, and you have now recharged the battery
again, you finally hit the start button and it once again sounds like that nice
cavalcade we all love, IT WILL BE WORTH IT!
CHECKING THE AUTO-LEVEL
SWITCH
Is there a way to check the auto level switch? I do not get a light on the
switch, nor do I get any action from the pump when I try to hot wire it. Are
there any tests I can do on the auto level switch, sensor, and circuit? ~Scott,
86 LXE,
Ohio
There
are some circuits that have to be closed/open for the auto level to work. For
instance neither the side stand nor the center stand can be in the down
position. Also the gear must be in neutral. The motorcycle must also
be running. With all of the above, when you press the switch, what do you
get? If it lights up momentarily, the motorcycle may already be level. But
it may mean the ignition switch is messed up a little and will not allow all of
that to work. Simply grab the wires from the bottom of the ignition switch
and push them up. Try it again and see if there is a difference. There is
also a test procedure in the manual, but it does require a special tester that
most of us don't have. You may also want to check the auto level switch
itself by the rear wheel. I found mine completely disengaged one time, from
a pot hole way too deep. ~Tom
(1986 LXE in
Alabama
)
DRIPPING
GAS
I pulled
into my garage last night and the gasoline smell was BAD. Looked at the
carbs and sure enough there was gasoline dripping. Not sure exactly where
it was from but sounds like I need the DVD. Is the rebuild a job that a
half-way do-it-yourselfer can do? Or should I just take all the carbs off and
send them to
Tracy
? How much
$$$ and how much time to rebuild them? ~Jim,
Madison
,
WV
, ‘86
Brown/tan
Jim;
A few weeks ago, I had the same experience with my 86. Found that the gas was
coming from the overflow tube from the nearest front carb on the right side. I
removed the carbs as a unit, bought four cans of carb cleaner from Wal-Mart,
sprayed the crap out of everything on the carbs, every orifice, and then used
air and sprayed the unit well. Replace the unit and everything was fine. Must
have been a piece of dirt stuck somewhere. I was probably lucky, but it worked
for me. ~
Gary
CLUTCH
SLIPPING
What
would people suggest for "disappearing" clutch? For some reason when I
get around 70mph for more than 30 min...the clutch pressure goes away. After the
bike "cools" a while the pressure returns. I recently drained the
fluid from the cylinder down to the casing and replaced with new but it didn't
seem to change the situation.
Change the
brake fluid in the system. It has water in it that turns to steam (air) when it
gets hot. You need to change the brake side also if they have not been done in
last two years. ~Gandalf
I’m new here and just to add a little info on clutch fluid saga.
What happens is that condensation builds up over time with the Non-Synthetic
Fluid. This condensation settles into the Slave cylinder. On hot days in heavy
traffic, the condensation vaporizes from the heat and leaves a void in the
hydraulic system causing the hydraulic system to fail. So when you squeeze
the lever nothing happens (its basically limp); it does not apply pressure to
the slave cylinder. So, if you were to shut off the engine and put it in gear
and restart, it would move. Simple solution - you need to change to a good DOT4
synthetic brake fluid. Personally I use Valvoline for clutch & brake
and never had the issue again. ~Leigh
I will add a little to what Leigh has stated. Synthetic or not, all
brake fluid has a dry and wet boiling point. The dry point is about that when
the fluid is first put into the system from a new closed container. However, due
to permeation through rubber, water molecules work their way into the system
over time until equilibrium is reached between inside and out of the
system. That equilibrium is the point at which the brake fluid is fully
saturated (with as much moisture as it will absorb) or wet.
The temperature difference between the dry and wet boiling points
is a lot and the synthetic generally has a higher wet boiling point (the
one we're most concerned with) than non-synthetic. Can you boil synthetic brake
fluid? You bet. I just did it a few weeks ago. But, it was a little of an
experiment as I hadn't changed the brake fluid in the clutch system for 3 years
and it finally absorbed enough moisture to boil.
So, use DOT 4 at a minimum. Use the highest boiling point DOT 4 you
can get. And, change it every year or 2 but don't let it go much longer than
that. Some will chose to go with the DOT 5 silicone fluid, if you do that
the system needs to be pretty squeaky clean before you put it in because it's
not compatible with other fluids. Some may chose to go with the DOT 5.1 but I
don't have enough knowledge of that fluid to know what it's compatibility's or
additional heat tolerance over DOT 4. ~
Tracy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~
TRACY
’S BENCH ~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHEEL BEARING/SPACERS AVAILABLE AGAIN
The previously obsolete rear wheel bearing/spacers are now in
process of being produced again by Suzuki. I have 50 ea. coming to me and they
are going to make 10 additional ones that Suzuki will put into stock. I will
package the spacer with a new needle bearing and a new seal. The cost of this
kit will be less than $50 (I don't have a cost on the seal at this moment but
the new bearing and spacer will be $40). There will also be a tool that is
shipped out for removing the needle bearing that will have to be returned to me.
I only have one at the moment but if the demand is high I will make more as
needed.
As I had previously ranted, this spacer needs to be checked
whenever the rear wheel is removed. The early versions (and I don't know when
they changed) will show an obvious wear scar on the spacer indicating the need
for replacement. Thanks to Jim Kirkland with Suzuki for helping me with this
project. ~
Tracy
SIX
DOLLAR THERMOSTAT
Okay, last time I gave a recommendation for a car stat as a
replacement for the $40+ Suzuki version it didn't fly so well. But, this
time I can promise better results. The NAPA 201 thermostat that I just bought
for $5.99 drops right into the Cade with no modifications to the stat
housing and only one mod to the stat itself. It has an offset pill to clear the
bumps in the housing and all you need to do is cut the end off the little brass
valve so that it leaves an 1/8" hole in the face of the stat as a
bypass. Now, is every
NAPA
#201 stat the same? I dunno. But it sure beats the hell out of
spending so much $ for an OEM one. ~
Tracy
TROUBLE-SHOOTING
THE CLUTCH
Once
again help!!! The clutch system on my Cade keeps building up pressure
causing the clutch to slip. If I crack open the banjo bolt or the bleed port a
little fluid comes out and then the clutch works ok. I’ve taken apart
the master cylinder and cleaned it up making sure that both holes in the bottom
are open. Does any one have an idea what may be wrong? ~Wayne Lee, ’86
LXE, blue on blue
Wayne
, Here's
how it all works and maybe that will lead to you an answer to your problem. In
the master cylinder there is nothing more than a piston with a rubber seal on it
that is spring loaded to the retracted (lever out) position. In the slave
cylinder, there is nothing more than a piston with a seal on it that is spring
loaded to the forward (towards the clutch) position. When the lever is out, the
rubber seal in the master cylinder sits behind 2 holes in the bottom of the
master cylinder (the holes both being ahead of the rubber seal). In that
position, the larger hole allows fluid to completely fill the area ahead of the
piston. That's what keeps fluid in there so that when you pull the lever there
is a solid column of fluid so that the slave cylinder reacts in perfect synch
with the master cylinder notwithstanding that the slave cylinder is larger in
diameter which does nothing more than provide pressure multiplication (the
smaller master cylinder piston can push more force since the slave cylinder is
larger). They can get away with this since the slave cylinder piston doesn't
have to move as far as the master cylinder piston to fully release the clutch.
The
small hole in the master cylinder serves a couple of purposes. When you pull the
lever in, a small amount of fluid will burp out of the small hole because there
is a little distance between the front edge of the seal and that hole. This
allows any air that is trapped in front of the seal to purge. Also, if there is
air anywhere else in the system (past the master cylinder), the small hole is
the first escape route and air will
automatically
be purged out as it reaches the hole (lever out).
Now
comes the part that may help. When the piston is fully retracted (lever out),
both of those holes must be in front of the piston and be clean (open). The big
hole isn't usually a problem but the small one can be as it is very small and
really old brake fluid can crust up in it and block it. So, any problem with the
brake lever that might prevent it from returning to it fully outward position
(like a badly adjusted stock safety switch or a really worn out bushing or
something), will not allow the fluid ahead of the piston to purge back into the
master cylinder reservoir so that needs to be checked. Also, if there is
something that is preventing the piston from fully retracting till it hits the
retainer clip then that will cause a problem. There is a rubber dust boot on the
piston and maybe it's gotten itself down into the piston hole and is keeping the
piston from fully retracting.
And,
each time you operate the clutch, the rubber boot under the lid must move to
accommodate the fluid going out of and back into the reservoir. Since it's a
positive displacement system and is sealed to outside air, the boot allows the
volume of the reservoir to be variable. As the clutch wears, the fluid level
will actually rise and the boot has to accommodate that also. Because the boot
has to move in and out, the back side of it (the top side) must have free access
to outside air. If it didn't, then each time to operated the clutch there would
be a vacuum on the backside (lever going in) and then a pressure buildup on the
backside (lever going back out). As the fluid in the system heats up (slave gets
really HOT), then the boot must accommodate the expansion of the fluid by moving
upwards. So, if the vent hole in the cap is plugged, there will be a pressure on
the backside of the boot that will eventually continue to force fluid into the
system and can put enough pressure on the slave to partially release the clutch
(remember,
there
is a substantial mechanical advantage of pressure in the master cylinder to
pressure in the slave on the order of about 4 times). It doesn't take a lot of
pressure in the system to partially disengage the clutch. So the vent in the cap
must be clean. If you remove the little bent piece of metal that is on the
bottom side of the lid, you will see the vent channel and the rather small hole
that make a 90° angle at one corner of the cap.
I've
seen several of those where brake fluid has gotten dried and crusty in the hole
and was preventing backside venting of the boot. So, if none of this helps, I
dunno what you've got going on. ~
Tracy
REPLACING
CLUTCH SPRINGS
I am replacing clutch springs got Barnett
springs, what should I know or
look
for? ~Don
Take out one at a time, put new in one at a
time. Don't use any sort of powered tool to do it. 1/4" ratchet and 10 mm
socket with extension. Just snug the bolts good, don't try to twist them off.
Cheap bolts and fragile threaded stems in clutch basket don't take a lot of
abuse. ~
Tracy
The clutch on my '88 has been slipping so I
replaced the springs. I also made sure the reservoir vent was clear and that the
hydraulics were working fine. Still slipping. I came to the
realization that I'm not getting any engagement until my clutch lever is
*almost* to its very outward point of travel so I will assume that
the
problem is worn clutch plates. Is there anything else that might be causing
this? There looks to be quite a bit of disengagement clearance so, assuming
there would be sufficient room to still allow engagement and full disengagement,
what might be the possibility of adding one drive and driven plate to the stack
rather than spending the $200 it will cost to replace the whole set? I
didn't actually put a caliper on the gap, just eyeballed at this point. I
realize that heat expansion could cause clutch drag if the tolerance is too
tight. Hoping somebody might have some experience with this. ~Craig
P.S.
Tracy - my radio works great! Fantastic job on the switches. Thanks!
I had a similar problem and found that the
housing that contains the choke lever/radio controls had slipped when I was
moving the choke lever back to normal position. I assume that I had the clutch
pulled in at the time. There is a cable guide on the back of the housing
that will, if put in the right (or should I say wrong) position that will
prevent the clutch lever from coming out the full travel and produce a clutch
slip. The fix is simple enough; just turn the choke housing to its proper
position and tighten it up to prevent further problems. Hope this is you
problem. ~Randy H.
Worn plates will not cause the clutch lever
to act that way. Since it's hydraulic, the lever doesn't care where the plates
are as it self adjusts each time you use the clutch. Measure your plates FIRST.
If they're still in spec, then you probably have a master cylinder problem. If
they are out of spec, I can get you a full set of friction plates for less than
$90. Don't be messing around trying to fit another plate in there as you will
have to put another steel and friction plate and that will be too much
thickness. Plus, if your plates are worn that bad then there won't be any oil
grooves left in them. ~
Tracy
FINAL
DRIVE PROBLEMS
I've
got a 1986 1400 Cade with only 56,000 miles on it. It has had the best of care
for its entire life and now I am faced with a potential final drive failure. Is
there a history on this? If so, can you give me some info on it? ~Don
Don,
Final drive problems are rare and are not dependent on what kind of care the
bike has had. Firstly, it may not even be a final drive failure. There are 2
wheel bearings, separate from the final drive, and one of those was the subject
of a recall. The factory did not put enough/any grease in the bearing and it
would fail. Do you know whether the bike was returned to a dealer to perform
that work (essentially greasing the bearing)? Also, in some cases, the inner
race that rides in that bearing (is also a spacer) can wear excessively. I know
of one case of a pinion gear bearing failure in the final drive but there are 3
other bearings that are part of the final drive. It's uncommon, but there's no
reason to believe that you may simply have a bearing going out and that's the
cause of your issue.
1)
What makes you think the final drive is failing?
2)
What are the symptoms?
3)
Have you had anyone qualified look at it or tear the final down?
The
cheapest solution would be to put another low mileage final on it. They come up
from time to time on e-bay and I know there are many off parts bikes that can be
bought pretty cheaply simply because they never fail. ~
Tracy
The
better half and I > just returned from a 3000 mile journey on my 86 LXE to
> the badlands and all the neat stuff in
South Dakota
... I need to tell you all that here are a couple of things you
must not leave home without. One is a replacement rect/reg (an OEM one), and the
Allen wrench that takes the mirrors out of the fairing, a volt meter and a
stator. Didn’t need the stator though. We blew a rectifier between Deadwood
and Sturgis and what a crappy feeling you get when you smell first and then see
a puff of smoke come out from under your windshield. Not a sight to see
as my bike was loaded on a ramp truck as all these Harley's rode buy with
there hands up asking what happened. I yanked it apart that same day and found
my AFTER market rect. was smoked on the bottom side of it. We were down for two
days as we got really lucky and the local Zookie shop ordered us a new rect.
(OEM part) from US Suzuki and over-nighted it to us. I put it in that am and we
continued on with our trip back home. We rented a car for two days as we waited
for the part and didn’t miss a thing on our adventure. It’s better to spend
a little more on OEM parts that to have the cheaper one crap out on you 1500
miles from home huh!! I learned the not so fun way. Anyway that’s my 8 cents
worth. ~Kevin,
Lake Stevens
,
WA
, 86 LXE
Since
there is mention of aftermarket regulators in Kevin's post, I wanted to add
something to the discussion since I sell aftermarket regulators on my site. A
few years ago there was a similar issue that came up with the Rick's regulators.
After reading about the problem I was prompted to call and talk with Rick to see
what was shaking out with his regs. At that time, they were in the process of
redesigning the reg. for higher output stators (like the Cade's) to solve some
operational problems they had with the higher output systems. I was comfortable
at that time that Rick recognized a problem existed and was working towards a
solution.
With
Kevin's post, I wanted to reassure myself that the regulators I am selling are
up to snuff with the Cade's output so I called and talked with Rick again this
morning. Rick's uses the same basic regulator to fit many different bikes that
use the same stator/reg-rec type charging system. The only real difference is
the wires and connectors for each bike. Rick not only beefed up the components
in the reg. but he did something else that's a little unheard of in the bike
reg. industry, he actually attaches the SCRs to the heat sink. I had noticed on
the top of his regs. there were some tapped holes and a short length of screw
was sticking out of some of them. This is quite unique since most regs. don't
have a physical attachment of the heat producing devices to the body of the heat
sink and the attachment provides a more direct path for the components to shed
heat to the heat sink.
Rick
keeps track of his failed returns and expects to see a small percentage of them
just as a course of doing business. During the main riding months, he will get
back 3-7% of regulators with a problem. About half of those are failed because
of something else in the charging system (bad ground, bad battery, etc.) and the
remainder are "manufacturing defect". He admitted that sometimes he
doesn't know why some regs. fail but he knows that after being in the business
for a long time that with these types of systems it's never going to be 100% no
fail. There are simply too many unknowns with each bike that one of his regs. is
strapped to.
After
the discussion, I feel fine about selling his regs. He did express some things
that he's being thinking about for the "monster" systems (Cade, Gold
Wing) like a larger heat sink (size of a football field I think is the term he
used) which not only gives more heat shed area but also allows for larger
internal components, one that turns on instead of grounding (would reduce the
load on the stator and generate less heat) but those are future projects that
may or may not come to fruition.
At
the end of the day I think we have to keep a couple of things in perspective
with this type of charging system. 1) The system is ON all the time and making
as much power as it can ALL the time (amount of power is governed by RPMs), 2)
What's not being used in the system for running things and charging the battery
is sent to ground by a controlled on-off grounding action of the regulator, 3)
Stators nor regulators are going to last forever, we know that stators generally
last about 40K miles (some less some more) and regs., due to the heat of
operation, are only going to last so long as well, 4) If your components are not
new and have some miles on them then carrying a spare of both for a long
distance trip is not out of the question, 5) This type of system is WAYYYYY
different than a system in a car and most likely not last as long, 6) make sure
that the regulator has a good ground to the battery (cut out that connector), 7)
If your battery is going tits up and you know it get it tested and/or replace
it, a bad battery is VERY hard on the system, 8) heat is the enemy, getting rid
of heat better/faster will make everything last longer.
So,
I didn't want to disregard what Kevin had to say about his experience but I did
want to let everyone know that the reg. failure he experienced is probably one
from Rick's prior design and he's making them better now. But, even though I
have an OEM regulator in my bike, before I head out to
Yellowstone
this year I'm going to have an extra
stator and regulator with me. And, if I can get it done, I'm going to relocate
the regulator so that, a) it gets better airflow, b) is much easier to replace
if I have to do it on the side of the road. I will send out the details of that
when I get it done. ~
Tracy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CADES FOR
SALE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lacombe
,
Alberta
,
Canada
1986
Brown Suzuki Cavalcade LX ~ Features are: Electronic cruise control. Passenger
controlled air cushion system in seat and backrest. Adjustable rear trunk for
passenger comfort. Adjustable passenger foot rests. Intercom system for driver
and passenger. CB radio for communication with other motorcycles. Passenger
controls for am/fm radio, tape player and CB. Removable am/fm radio, tape player
with auto volume control. One touch automatic level system. Map holder. Digital
warning for kickstand, lights, battery, clock, gear position-indicator.
Adjustable handlebars. Heat vents to warm legs in cold weather. Cold air vents
in lower fairing. Vanity mirror and light in trunk. I can email a photo so you
can see it has a lot of factory -made accessories. Phil was a mechanic and he
maintained it lovingly. ~LaVerne Radmore Email: lradmore@albertahighspeed.net
Jacksonville
,
Florida
I am selling my 1986 Lx.
It has 60k miles. It has a new clutch, new stator, new tires, new brake pads,
recent tune up and all fluids changed, I replaced the inter cowling panels and
lids also added floorboards and heel toe shifter, added new mirrors, have
service manual, and hitch and CD from Tracy, radio, CB and auto leveler all
work, intercom works will include 2 helmets with headsets, has drivers backrest,
passenger air controls work, have the pegs and mirrors that I removed, choke
level is broke but have new one from bike bandit still in box. All parts that I
bought came from bike bandit or members of group. I replaced the fuel tank cover
and upper right fairing, of course the bike is gold but the tank cover and upper
right fairing are silver. The left upper fairing isn’t in the greatest shape.
Side covers are good. Am going to advertise it locally in the cycle trader for
3500 but will let a group member have it for 3000. I am in
Jacksonville
Florida
and will travel up to 200
miles to meet someone or deliver bike. Can send photos if interested......Hawk
Email:
mhawk4295@comcast.net
Ofallon
,
Missouri
I hope you can help me. I was just going thru my husbands e-mails, He
was a member of your group and I found this from you. The dear man passed
away Aug 30. He was an avid rider of his '87 cavalcade and bought a trike
kit for it so he could take me riding too. He was never able to attach the
trike kit, he passed away too soon. So now I have both for sale. I can be
reached at theonlytoddy@yahoo.com
or anyone can call 636-561-8183 ~Toddy
Western
North Carolina
Looking for someone that
would like a pretty nice Cavalcade for a fair price. Some new parts, brakes,
wheel bearings, etc. looks pretty good and runs really good. Asking $3000.00.
E-mail me at tunemann_2000@yahoo.com.
I'll make arrangements to speak to a SERIOUS buyer on phone or in person.
I have decided to downsize
due to the fact I will be moving in the spring. I have a 1986 lx with CB and
every accessory made for this bike for sale I also have a right side faring half
and other goodies this bike was a one owner (I can put you in touch with him)
bike has new clutch plates and springs new tires and battery cover and champion
side car matching helmet used vary little it also has a factory installed CB.
This bike can be ridden any where. Delivery possible, bike and sidecar are for
sale as unit but could be separated e mail me @ chopperonly@excite.com pics
enclosed $5,800.00 or best offer I also have a lift table for sale... ~Chopper
|