My 1998 Vmax XT 600

Thanks srx700c - It just occurred to me that I could probably find that info in the owners manual, and there it is. The XT's did indeed use the gas cap gauge. So it's likely the gauge package in my dash was put in from an XTC or something of the like.

Now, I wonder what it would take to convert my sled over to use the in-dash gauge...have to look into that.
 

I got some riding time in the past few days up and down the side of a corn field (come on Dec 1! can't wait for the trails to open!)

It runs pretty well, but I have some concern about the sound of the engine running at mid-rpm's. It's just not really "smooth." I don't know if this is the characteristic sound of the Yamaha twin or not.

I'll have to get some video of it and post it for you guys to hear. Anyway, today I'm going to be pulling the carbs and cleaning them, and putting in two new spark plugs. Then I'll see how it sounds.

On another note, this sled was just moved to "secondary sled" status, purchased for my friends who will be coming up to ride with me. I just scored a 2001 SXR 600 Triple on an awesome deal. It needs the carbs cleaned as well, as it had been sitting for three years, but one run up and down the corn field and I knew this is my new #1.
 
Tonight was the first real run with the VMax XT 600, and overall I think it performed quite nicely. I got about an hour of trail riding in, although it isn't exactly ideal conditions yet.

In the last mile or so, I thought I heard a good bit of belt squealing.

When we got it back into the storage shed, my 6 year old pointed out that it was leaking water underneath. I shut it down and checked under the hood, everything appeared normal. Checked the water on the shed floor and it was not green like anti-freeze. Checked my anti-freeze bottle and it was half full...so I guessed that it was the front heat exchanger draining off water?

The other possibility is that we had to hit a couple of pond-size puddles on the trail, but that was miles before I stopped at home.

First ride, stuff like this makes me a little nervous. Give me some comforting words. :)
 
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I had the sled out for its second ride yesterday, and it's just noisy. Really noisy - it sounds like it's coming from the clutches, belt, somewhere in there.

I'm hoping you guys can listen to this short vid I made of the ride to hear what I'm hearing. The sound you're looking for might be mistaken for wind squeal in my phone's mic, but it's not. It's the sound coming from the sled. It seems most prominent in the video around 35 seconds in.

Check it out and see if it helps you give me any ideas:

 
I'm pursuing the most obvious path I can think of, looking into belt adjustment. Most of the posts I read about pertain to squealing at idle. That's not my problem. It sounds fine at idle. It squeals at running speeds, especially after it warms up.

I'm not at my sled right now (keep it at a friends house) but it seems I remember that the belt sits a good bit lower in the secondary than specification (1.5mm above to 0.5mm below.) Would this lead to the symptoms I'm getting?
 
Forum etiquette question here: Better to keep a thread about my sled and ask questions within it, or better to create a thread about each question / issue I have?

Hanging out for a while, it seems the norm is the latter: People create a thread for each issue they face.

I'm cool with that, just want to make sure I'm a good citizen here...
 
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