Just because you've put all that work in, doesn't mean it's worth it in the end. And quite often it's small stuff that gets on your nerves: subpar brakes, leaky petcocks or just badly sync'ed carbs can make all the difference, between getting on the bike or rather playing a game of golf. (Ok, the comparison might be a bit dramatic, but you get the idea...)
Now this VX800 started off as a tatty but somewhat sound basis. Over the course of time some of the fleas it had presented itself:
1) a ripped diaphragm on the rear carb
2) another pinhole on the fuel tank (by now I feel like this is what I've done
all Summer - weld up fuel tanks)
3) Pinholes in the petcock's diaphragm
4) The clutch mechanism needed a good deal of adjustment - which only inadequately hides the fact that the clutch will eventually have to be done.
5) Steel braided brake hose all around, because the rubber lines acted more like party balloons
6) And then a good ol' sync of the carbs. Something which I'd like to elaborate a bit, because all the manuals are a bit overly complicated on the matter. In essence, you dial in the idle with the knob on the rear most carburettor...
... and then both carb butterflies are linked with the link-cable.
So far, so simple. If you encounter a bike which is completely off on the sync (like this one): Make sure the throttle cable from the throttle-grip to the front cylinder's carb has got sufficient play or you can adjust whatever you want, but you will never manage to sync the carbs at rpms below 4000rpm and that's where your new idle is. Also there's a throttle stop on the front carb, which is the little philipps-head bolt and basically makes sure you could set the idle on each carb individually. Also take note that the bar the idle adjuster pushes against can seize... took me a while to figure that one out.
Once you have all of this figured out, it's a really straight forward job.
Guess the proof of the pudding is in the eating ... or riding in this case.
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