Bike Mods
I have always been one who likes taking things apart to see how they work. This bike has not been an exception to that rule. I have purchased the service manual and I currently do my own service and mainenance, as well as, other mods to the bike. The ISRA forum and it's members have been an invaluable asset.
Rear Indicator Replacement -
The rear indicators on a Vstar are a 2 wire setup, which simply act as turn signals. The front indicators are a 3 wire setup, which allows the indicators to act as turn signals and running lights. By replacing the rear indicators I now have running lights on the back of the bike.
There are several options for this mod:
A friend of mine had replaced his stock lights with after market ones. I got his front indicators to complete this mod. Here is a basic diagram.
In the state of Texas, you cannot have amber running lights on the back of a vehicle. A simple fix to this problem was to get some new lenses from a local bike bone yard. I used a red lens from a 1978 Yamaha. They are not identical to the lenses that I replaced, but they get the job done. I have also been told you could use the lenses from a Harley FL. I have not verified this but I probably will, to have matching lenses on the front and rear.
Four Way Indicators -
Using a few parts from Radio Shack and Autozone, I have wired the bike with four way indicators or "hazard" lights. The instructions I used were provided by an ISRA member from New York, named Pedro.
I have also found some other interesting wiring configurations. They are at http://www.rattlebars.com/mtz/fourways.html, and at http://mysite.verizon.net/res09x4p/id1.html.
Re-routing of vacuum lines -
The Vstar has two carbs which must be synchronized to run efficiently. Each of these carbs has a vacuum port for this purpose. The vacuum port on the front jug is capped. The vacuum port on the back jug has a line, with an in-line restrictor,that runs to the AIS system. By hooking these vacuum ports, from the carbs, to a nanometer or mercury sticks, one can make sure the carbs are synchronized.
What I have done is routed a 5/32 vacuum line from the front carb, back to the side access panel (under the driver's seat). I then replaced the line from the back jug to eliminate the in-line restrictor. This 5/32 line was also routed to the side access panel. This provides a quick and convenient way to hook-up my home-made nanometer (see below).
Tachometer wiring -
In order to synchronize the carbs, you have to have your RPM set correctly. The correct range on the Vstar is 950 - 1050 RPM and for this measurement, you must have a tachometer. One day when I had the tank off, I decided to wire the bike for a service tach. I spliced my new wires into the existing harnesses and routed them to the same side access panel as the vacuum lines. This allows me to remove the side access cover and get to everything I need to sychronize the carbs. A basic diagram of that wiring is here.
Nanometer -
I have made a nanometer to use for sychronizing the carbs. This is a low cost replacement for mercury sticks and all materials were purchased from Home Depot. These are the instructions that I used for this project.
The instructions that I have used to sync the carbs were provided by Daddo on the ISRA Forum. Here is a copy of those instructions.