Thank you Joe. I am an ex-trail biker. Now too old, and West Nile virus got into my brain. My mind is an engineering mind and it so loves to watch you work. Joe, what you do and post, is therapy for my brain damage. What you do with each piece of equipment is helping my brain to fight the dementia that is trying to take hold. I just wanted you to know that your diagnosis and repair is helping folks out here with brain damage. Giving us a chance to think and reason through you, when in fact, it is very difficult if not impossible for us to do. Watching the details, which I forget so quickly, I think, is exercising my brain and helping me postpone my permanent disablement. Thank you for the public service that you are doing for me, and many, many others. God bless you Joe, you and Jade - and a pet and hug for Vinnie. Vinnie, Lazarus and Pete say, Hi.” Look forward to the other outstanding projects discovering resolutions. I sure love the way to present the quirky problems that each project has. I am cheering you Joe. My Uncle lives in West DesMoines…my cousin lives in Moravia, Iowa. Makes me kinda feel like I am your neighbour. Thank you Joe so much for what your analysis, diagnosis and resolutions are doing for my brain - HEALING THERAPY. Jim from Alberta.
Joe, I just dealt with a person who was pretending to be YOU. I convinced me to download Telegram because he said he wanted to talk to me privately. I did that, because you are a kind man, and have helped me through my suffering. I then enter his contact information and send him a message. He began to talk to me but said nothing about what I had said to you. Weird…. And he did not respond in any way that two people getting to know each other would talk. And then….you have won the grand prize of a beautiful blue 250 Yamaha, which he didn’t even describe properly. Telling me he was going to send to Alberta, Canada….and that I would be shocked by what I received when the package was found on my doorstep. I stepped out and said, “This is NOT JOE!” Joe in NOT going to be impressed that you are using his name to scam people”. With that, I shared with him this biblical verse from Proverbs (the book of wisdom from a father to his son) chapter 20 and ver 17: Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel”. The imposter then got mad and aggressively demanded that I “be interested in his giving away, and give away all of my information”. I deleted the Telegram messaging thread on my phone, and on his. I am so sorry Joe that your GOOD NATURE is being used by evil folks for deceitful personal gain. You are working hard to find deals, and resurrect the dead….and doing so many other good things, like blessing your siblings and helping them get a good start in life. I will continue to support your channel Joe and not be scared away by one individual who is trying to be you. God Bless you dearly Joe, Jade and Vinnie. Jim from Alberta
I have a 1999 YamahaYZF400 and had to look up online the start up procedure ,once I learned how to start it….it’s easy to start and the power it makes is awesome! Love the bike.
I have a 2000 WR400F and rebuilt nearly everything. To start find TDC pull in decompression lever, push Kickstart down just a little bit about an inch, release decompression lever, lift foot off Kickstart so it goes back up, now kick it without throttle. This is how you start this bike.
Like any old XR bike always decompress 1 click over tdc then give it a kick, should always work unless you screwed the stator and the bike tend's to kick you hahaha
I like watching Joe's video's. He seems to have gotten the message about the starting procedure for a four stroke, however I have commented several times about checking carb floats, I cringe every time Joe shakes a nitrophyl type float to check for "fuel inside", they are not hollow, the only way to check would be to weigh the float, and you would need to know what a new float weighs.
@dominicwebb8000 his carburetor doesn't seem to be working 100% correctly. It's hanging idle. Plus, he should do the o'ring mod on the accelerator pump. These bikes rev high, so there is lots of power up top. Mine will power wheelie in 4th gear. So, yes, it does seem down on power. Wr400f working properly will beat a 250 2 stroke in a drag race no problem.
See how easy to start it is when you do it right! Had a buddy with Honda XR500 that tried to start it like you did at first; he actually destroyed the kickstart mechanism 2 times before somebody taught him the right way. When my son was 12, he could start my XR500; the trouble then was keeping him off it!
When you said “who thinks it’ll fire up” I was waiting for Vinny the pup to give it his sniff of approval. Of course it will fire up especially since a great mechanic fixed it.
Opening the door, for sure, is the first thing you do before you even attempt to start an internal combustion engine. But you even need to do something before that all happens. At the back of your garage (or shop) you need to have a large vent installed. Then you place, at the very least, at the front of your shop, with the door open, a large fan ( like those square ones) blowing to the outside. Installing carbon monoxide (CO) detectors would be the final step. You don't build up an immunity to (CO). We all would like to continue watching your videos but you first have to stay alive.
I had to learn the starting procedure for 4 strokes the hard way back in 1981 on a Yamaha TT500 that kicked back like a cannon going off and tore my foot and leg up. After that I learned the starting procedure and could start it with my hand.
I know you have done this a lot and have a pretty good handle on the mechanics of everything at this point but.. Too much oil when installing a new piston/rings could cause the cylinder to glaze before the rings seat. I know a few people actually that install their pistons dry with just a thin coat of oil on the cylinder walls. Could also inflate compression numbers after a rebuild as well. Thanks for always making the rebuild vids!! lets see more Raptor 660 videos lol!!
I just bought a 98 yz400f (the one that started the four stroke revolution) like 3 weeks ago from a guy who couldnt figure out how to kick start it so i got it for a thousand bucks, i couldnt start it either so i took a gamble, its my first dirt bike so i had to learn TDC and the starting procedure, broke the kick start mechanism trying to kick it over in the first week, busted open the clutch basket and fixed it and replaced the water pump and she runs like a dream starts in 1-2 kicks and has honestly too much dang power. Overall u love it. For the $1100 bucks i have into it and the fact its already survived 26 years, imma keep it forever. Theyre beasts man😁. Sening love from NC. Love your vids you got me into the sport and im infactuated by it now
I like putting a rag around the rod blocking the crank case when putting the piston pin circlip in as i hate putting them in and dont want to chance dropping in the crank case. Nice job saving another one.
To improve the white look to the air intake for the radiator plastics and fender, use a heat treat with a heat gun. Heat it up slowly using a circular motion. The white bent appearance to the plastics will disappear. I use tire shine spray when it's freshly hot. It will steam off and give a nice shiny new ish appearance to the plastics. Don't go too slow with the heat gun it will burn the plastics. If yout careful it will be like new
Another great video. That starting procedure, which is apparently new to you, is as old as the 4-stroke single itself. It goes back over a hundred years. Use it on every 4-stroke single from now on. Your kickstart leg will thank you!
Joe, you’re tall enough but for most of us it helps to put the kick stand down and stand on the foot pegs to get more weight over the kick starter. Luv that old thumper!
No short kicks either. Once the piston is past TDC on compression, swing that kickstart lever with a good steady motion all the way down, and perhaps even a bit further. You're spinning up those flywheels. Good luck.
i rode with and watched 3 guys try to start a yz426 in woods when it stalled. it wore all 4 of us out.... and i didn't even kick on it. it just wore me down watching those guys!
I owned one sold it within a week was a pig and it was brand new, Then all my CRFs went first / second kick every time! Then the magic button come along (KTM250f) can beat the button !
@@corymacdonald383 my wr400f is almost always a 1 kick bike. watching joe not know how to use the decomp, and flooding the crap out of it with a million twists of the throttle makes me cringe
It’s always interesting to see people trying to kick over these big bore 4 strikers. I learned when I was 14 when I was asked by my friends father if I wanted to buy/ride/break in his 1984 Honda XR500. He had rebuilt it and, in the process of starting it, he broke his ankle when the bike kicked back and threw him over the bars. You gotta commit your weight to the task and keep the leg straight until the bottom of the kick where you get ready to bend at the knee if it kicks back. I was 150lbs when I was 15, not very tall, but my technique made up for it 😂 Technique over size would later be a motto that carried me through life 🤣😂🤣
You are very knowledgeable with the fixing of the machines. The one video I watched was the one with the broken crank, you explained things very well, I wish you the best of luck, you are interesting to listen too.
I have a WR 250 and so many people say "why do you need to use the decompression lever? You cant kick over a dirt bike?" WR's are just horrible to start. The piston needs to be set just right so it does a cycle at the very bottom of the kick. Thanks for the video and I bit of justification. All the best with your future project, vintage!
When cold starting my ‘06 CRF450R, three full twist on the throttle so the accelerator pump squirts fuel into the cylinder, engage the choke, find the top of the stroke, then 2-3 kicks and it fires up… every time! Of course I keep the valves and compression in spec as well.
I have to say I really enjoy watching you work on these bikes I have been a two stroke guy for 45 years have had a hard time making the transition to four strokes. They have gotten a lot better on the handling what the problem was working on them I love to work on my own bikes and there was a lot more to do on four strokes. After seeing you work on several four strokes and the way you are very detailed it is not hard at all, a little more to do than a two stroke but not overly complicated. Thank for doing these videos!
I ride this exact bike… talk about a power house bike. Once you get it running top notch starting is no big deal, and it’s a monster on the trails!! So glad you did a 4 stroke
I love the sound quality , the satisfying click of metal parts meeting, the clack sound when breaking a bolt loose. A lot of guys would yammer over those sounds and ruin that moment. Kudos Joe!
Fantastic pair of videos - from one issue after another in the previous video to something that exceeded your expectations in this video! So much fun to watch and learn from you and your methodological approach to solving problems and then seeing the results (test ride). Missed Vinnie along side for the test ride tho. 😎
Hey champ have watched most of your videos. You gave me the courage to get into my ag 100 an have just finished a total rebuild. Started 2 kick thanks for all the knowledge an the can do attitude. I'm on the look out for my next project Many thanks Paul. From New Zealand.
... and thats the most perfect dualsport ever - even though they never made it a DS. Been looking for on for a long time and theyre just not available in Maine. Good work, someone will be very happy.
Congrats to the Subscriber- we're the best! Great video, informative/instructive in a discussion style. Yippy, you got it running. Combination to start - great theft prevention. 😢No star of the show, 2vinny chasing down the Yamaha
Good job again, i have 2 of my own barn finds, all i got to do is walk to barn. Thanks to watching you I am gonna get at least one running.. I am going to harbor freight to get a lift table to put these on to get running. I sure hope the electric starts are working. Oh by thevway i already told myself ran when parked. Keep them coming
You can remove those white stress marks in the plastic about 80-90% by “carefully” using a heat gun…it works, just work slowly to not overheat and warp them.
That’s how to start every four stroke single 👍Also don’t put so much oil in the bore the rings need to bed in and will glaze with too much oil .It’s better to put the oil on the cams and caps .
you have to use the manual compression release to start your kick. its not like the newer bikes were you just kick the crap out of it..these bike are first gen 4 strokes.
Good video as usual! Man you fix and work on so many small machines but I can’t believe you haven’t invested in a 1/4” impact for the many small fasteners.. using the 1/2” gun with adapters down to 1/4 always seems crazy to me lol and it’s bulky/heavy tool, just a thought.
So nice to see you got this beast back together, like the other viewers Said, Always Hold the decompression lever in till your way down the kick starter travel then release, Cheers from canada
Looks like you did great with this one! I had a '77 Yamaha XT-500 and it was the exact same way on starting it, it was a major torque monster after I put a zsupertrapp pipe on it.
Another awesome video but one little tip when your hitting that little jump don't hit it with no throttle that's why it nose dives back down I understand your still new but some times even bringing that font end down just the wrong way you could lay it down but that being on your property is a perfect place to perfect your landing.
I have a 99 YF400F that has the same awkward starting procedure. It's brutal, but it works every time. I think the only difference is that mine won't start unless I'm at the very top of the kickstart, just an inch lower and it won't go. Frustrating when you stall on a hill and need to lean the bike over a bit to get the full kick stroke. I haven't run it for a few years but I might dig it out and drain the carb, throw in a bit of fresh gas and see if it'll fire right up.
Great job you doing here m8,let me tell you one secret on 12:21 you are going to put piston and cilinder,trick is to put piston already in cilinder and then on rod,its easyer that way :) cheers!!
Excellent job, I had that motorcycle and after changing the piston and chain, after a few minutes testing it on the circuit, that carburetor has a gate, it came loose and entered through the intake and twisted the valves and made the cylinder head hole, a ruin after reversing the money on the restoration and repair on the second occasion, good bike, it never gave me a single failure and it started the first time, very heavy and stubborn
man, what an excellent rebuild. Nice work. I note you missed perfect opportunities to nail some air time on those humps. Maybe some slow speed low end torque wheelies. :) I would have a blast on that bike. Chers from Louisiana.
When all else fails RTFM! Glad it started for you, that thing must have some serious compression. My Yamaha 660 Grizzly is similar, the pull start is useless for a normal human, an NFL lineman might be able to use it.
Good job on the rebuild, kinda tricky to start, but overall, you've got a nice running bike now. How's the progress on the 2006 Kawasaki KX 250F that you did a video on a couple of months ago ?
Watching you try to start that cracked me up, I have the YZ version of that guy and I'm the only one who can start it even though all my friends ride other bikes. There is an art to it.
Love the channel. If I’m not mistaken wasn’t that the wrong type of silicone used on the carburetor? Permatex makes different silicone’s for different applications. Blue for petroleum applications and Black for oil based application’s. Anyway I enjoy and learn a lot from your channel.
I remember when I first got my 01 yz426. Man it was a bear to kick and took a minute to get used to starting it with the decomp lever. Once you have it down it’s simple but still a complete pain when you’re in the woods and kill it trying to get it started back up quickly lol
I had a 650 yamaha road bike back in the mid 70's that kicked over hard like that and if you weren't careful it would kick back and toss you right over the handle bars. I don't miss that bike.
I have an ‘02 YZ426F I just put the Hot Cams auto decompression exhaust camshaft in it. Completely does away with the decompression lever, I just kick it like a normal bike now. Shimmed my valves & it starts first kick now.
You are awesome unbelievable how you can repair all these different machines did you go to school ? Or self taught ? Do you resell the bikes ? Great work, peace Turtle
Nice to see another beast like that. Question, is there any oil pressure inside the stator chamber? I have some leak on the stator cover and wonder if i should repair it or buy another one. Thanks for this video because there are very few online. Can't wait to see it finished.
@2vintage : G'evening Joe & Sweet score 🤠 . Imo Yamaha makes the nicest and most reliable bikes on the market. I had a YZFR1, V-Star 650, V-Star 1100 & my current putt', a 1600 Roadstar and I'm telling you they're addictive and multiply quickly 🤠 ..
When you kick over a high-compression bike, why not leave it on the sidestand and then stand on the pegs while kicking it? Makes it easier to get good momentum using the weight of your body. Also, when you kick, keep the foot low after kicking until you know the engine is running or at a standstill. If you lift your foot immediately after a kick, it might kick back.
If you do that you might cause the weld for the kickstand to break off the frame. Once you learn the starting technique, its usually not a problem to get it fired up. Find TDC, go slightly past it, let the kicker come back all the way up and kick it over
I have never ridden a bike where it was impossible to kick through like Joe is showing. One must kick it down a couple inches with decompression pulled. Then let it up and kick through.
Very cool video , so what do you usually do buy a bike , fix it and then resell ? I remember when i was like 19 my brother took me out to the desert in California and i rode a pe250 and he had a KTM400 and I couldnt even kick it over it had so much compression .. Guess i didnt have the right technique down ...lol
just picked up 2 Suzuki ts100's and a Suzuki ts250 because of you're video's. I'm so keen to dig into them tomorrow. hopefully i can get them running without to much issue.
Like starting the ol 426s there’s an art to it and it’s still a pain lol my 426 liked two cranks of throttle, choke, roll over on decompress valve till it back fired, another throttle hit and crank from half length of kick start after compression, most times it would fire first kick, some days it would send a nice reminder it was in charge through your boot 😂😂
My 650DR landed me and my knee in traction in the early 90's..... @ 33:31 DO NOT do what you did there, it will end painfully if there is a backfire inside the cylinder. Find the start of the compression stroke, pull in the decomp cable kick down about half way, release the decomp cable then reset kickstart position and kick down fully.... I rarely ever had to do any throttle. close the choke, give the throttle two twists and it would stand there bouncing happily at idle....
I have seen all of your videos. Great job (just repairs but not cleaning at all LOL). Your gratest mistake is that your kicking style is completely wrong. No need to throttle at all when kicking, and not kicking like spamming... Just choke, no gas at all and nice and deep kicks.
Lots of comments about how these are hard to start. The Ritual: with zero throttle, slowly cycle the kickstart until it stops due to high compression (TDC), pull decompression lever and push kickstart lever just past TDC, release lever, kick it. She’ll fire right up. I got my ‘00 YZ426 for dirt cheap from a guy who couldn’t figure out how to start it . We agreed on a price, I fired it second kick and rode it onto the trailer. The look on the guys face 😮😢
Suggestion for a future video series - I love your videos. I'm not sure what you do with all the bikes whose motors are scrap. I know you rebuild most but I'm sure you encounter a few that just aren't worth rebuilding. Have you considered converting an ATV or bike to electric (i.e. strip all traces of gas power and replacing with electric components so the ride is all electric powered)?
