My 1985 454 Ltd by Gang3

[gang3]

I Have been lurking on this Forum in the background for a few months,
But i learned enough on this forum to get my bike which I purchased as a non running bike for 200.00 and changed it to a great running machine.
Which is also my first bike.Now I am totally addicted ,Proud 0f what I accomplished, And Love this bike. So thought I would share a look at it.
and

This forum has been a great help to a guy who never owned or worked on a bike before.Only wish I would have taken some before pics, as I made many changes to the bike.

[pya977]

LOOKING GOOD
WHAT MUFFLERS ARE YOU USING

[chopperfreak2k1]

good job brother! where ya from by the way? your rad cover is different than most and i like your smooth seat cover.

[scubasteve]

I like the bars they look higher than stock bars what did you get them off of?

[brushman82]

very clean! I'm looking for saddlebags for my 86. What size/specs fit? Where did you get yours?

[gang3]

The Handel bars and the crash bars I Purchased used from a local bike shop near my home here just south of Portland ,Oregon. got lucky with the crash bars and they fit without too much modifications
The seat was totally shot ,It turned out pretty good my first recover project, And I added a great fog light / spot light below the headlight.
I want to be sure people see me, I Also added a second tail stop light although you cannot see the back of the bike, The stock tail light was broken so I pulled it and added 2 plain round tail stop lights one on the fender and one on the top of the tool box behind the seat.
Now The bad, I did a successful valve adjustment,The bike ran like a champ for a week. When I pulled the valve cover it had alot of gasket maker on the gasket or rtv whater it was,it was coming off in small chunks I tried to get it all out, but after a week of riding the oil light came on but the oil is full,Now its not running so well. So I quit starting it. Does anyone think its possible some of that old gasket maker might have plugged up my oiling system? If So where would I Start to get that cleaned out ?? I`m afraid to run it like this ,And know its probably going to be a big job unless there is a screen somewhere besides the filter i can take apart and inspect and clean. Any ideas will really help. thanks in advance

[gang3]

The Mufflers I bought off the local craigslist they are Harley Davidson
# 65605-97 they fit perfectly and sound awesome this bike has a great rumble with these pipes. The saddle bags believe it or not I Redesigned two matching women's hand bags i bought a the good will, And i formed a inside frame to make them more rigid I used 1/4 steel rod ,Made the frame for the bags very snug and forced it into the bags then super glued it in,lol, it worked out pretty good.

[eaglerider]

Lookin good......Hate it that u have discovered why I (most of the time) hate RTV, especially where it can get into the oiling system. It is goinna require some work, but the first thing I would suggest is that u remove the oil pan from the bottom of the engine, to check the oil pump pick-up screen....it is probably/possibly clogged up with that RTV......hopefully, it has not plugged any of the oil passages or tubes. If the screen is not clogged up.....well....it's possible that u have some plugged oil passages and tubes, that feed oil up to the valve train under the valve cover. Having said that, I suspect the clogged screen, as your oil pressure is showing to be gone. U are doing right not running the engine until the oil pressure problem is solved/fixed, as a ruined engine is not worth trying to run it.

[gang3]

Thanks So Much I`ll Get on it , I Do not know how reliable the oil lights are, But A noticeable change in the smoothness of the way the bike is now running, opposed to how it was running, tells me alot. I Know there must be a pan gasket, Is this something I have to order ? Or are they reusable with the proper care of taking them off? Or Do I Build a new gasket out of paper,cork,rubber,? thanks again for the advise.
I`ll Post my progress or results in case any one else needs this info,
and for sure do not run a motor when its not getting the proper lubrication, Even if you think the light might not function correctly. in my case i know its not a bad oil light just by the change of the way its running. Better to check for sure...

[eaglerider]

You can make a gasket using the thicker paper gasket material available at auto supply stores, or a factory one from a Kawasaki dealer (again, a Vulcan/Ninja 500 one is the same).