Gyro - general thread

[Johnniespeed]

Here is the catalog with the tube shown, not a great pic though. http://www.hondapartshouse.com/oemparts ... ir-cleaner

[Gyroman]

Oh shoot, looks like I can't just reach it through the airbox....or can I?

[Gyroman]

Just noticed in the picture they have it pointing up.
???

[Johnniespeed]

I believe both our 84 Gyro's are pointing up.

[Gyroman]

Any idea whether I can access it through the air cleaner (I'm hopin').
I'm still amazed and grateful that I found it.

[motormike]

Just noticed in the picture they have it pointing up.
???

To be clear, I found the snorkel to be pointing down, but believe the snorkel to have been moved by a previous owner and out of place. It was not fully inserted into the opening in the airbox. I positioned the snorkel to be fully engaged on the airbox lip, and left it pointing down, having no positive determination as to direction it was intended.

[Gyroman]

Just noticed in the picture they have it pointing up.
???

To be clear, I found the snorkel to be pointing down, but believe the snorkel to have been moved by a previous owner and out of place. It was not fully inserted into the opening in the airbox. I positioned the snorkel to be fully engaged on the airbox lip, and left it pointing down, having no positive determination as to direction it was intended.

I hear you.
Although I find it somewhat odd to point up, I'm gonna go with the way it is in the parts diagram, and as Johnniespeed indicates.
I'm hoping that it doesn't screw up my rich/lean thing which I had just gotten to a near perfect setting.
And that's not an easy thing on these, since you can't easily test the settings in real use conditions.
But that's a topic for another day.
One day I'm going to attach all the plastic on my scoots with velcro.
Thanks for the help. I'm still hoping I can install it through the air filter box.
Be hitting the garage in an hour or so.

[Gyroman]

WARNING/CORRECTION:

Just in case anybody read my post about the snorkel inside of the airbox, I was completely wrong.

The snorkel fits by way of its slot into the hole on the back of the airbox. The intake of the carburetor then fits into that. And it points up. There isn't any room for it to point downward.

I'm sure glad that I figure that out because undoubtedly this was the cause of some of my problems.

That snorkel creates a seal and if there is no seal then I'm sure the engine is running lean.

Sorry for the stupidity.

[Gyroman]

I have a question about replacement air filters. I put a UNI in as the original was dust. I cut the UNI from sheet, and used their oil I'm wondering now whether I have the one with the right airflow for my Gyro.

The one I put in is the green version which is 5/8 inch thick, and 60 ppi (whatever that that means).

They have thinner ones, and versions with lower ppi, which I assume represents greater airflow.

Any thoughts on whether I should go with those?

[motormike]

Any thoughts on whether I should go with those?

How well does it start ?
How well does it run ?
If you answer "good", then don't worry about it.
However, I would suspect that 5/8" is thicker than OEM...

[Gyroman]

Any thoughts on whether I should go with those?

How well does it start ?
How well does it run ?
If you answer "good", then don't worry about it.
However, I would suspect that 5/8" is thicker than OEM...

Thicker, and I suspect denser. I do have one that is thinner and less dense on order, as I may be doing some experimentation.

(I don't know if this thread is the proper place to discuss issues, so let me know if I should take it elsewhere.)

The thing is running like a sewing machine, but I have a couple of concerns.

At times the throttle appears to stay open when I let off the accelerator, until I began braking. The other is a somewhat erratic idle speed. Sometimes nice and low, and other times higher than I would like. Thus I was wondering if an air filter that was too restrictive could cause this or other problems. And I suppose if it was not restrictive enough it could also cause problems.

I have an airbox seal coming today, and I am going to be putting that in as well as doing some carb cleaning (with Seafoam, which is about my level of ability at this point), some checking for air leaks, and probably a little tweaking of the fuel mixture to make sure I'm not running too lean. I am a bit frustrated by the fact that you can't make the adjustments and then immediately or easily test them under loadbearing conditions.

I'm also going to do a little general cleaning if I can dodge the thunderstorms we are getting here today.

I also have a general question, which I searched for and didn't find, about how people are lifting their scooters to work on them. I just rigged up a couple sturdy plastic shelves and use a piece of plywood to roll the Gyro up onto them. The shelves stand 24 inches high. They are 36 inches long so I have to use two of them in line. Each is rated to hold 200 pounds, so I should be good on that. Prior to that I was using a platform jack on the rear and then lifting the front to place it on a milk crate.

[motormike]

Any thoughts on whether I should go with those?

How well does it start ?
How well does it run ?
If you answer "good", then don't worry about it.
However, I would suspect that 5/8" is thicker than OEM...

Thicker, and I suspect denser. I do have one that is thinner and less dense on order, as I may be doing some experimentation.

(I don't know if this thread is the proper place to discuss issues, so let me know if I should take it elsewhere.)

The thing is running like a sewing machine, but I have a couple of concerns.

At times the throttle appears to stay open when I let off the accelerator, until I began braking. This symptom was present on my '85 Gyro until I adjusted the throttle cable routing at the airbox very slightly. Lube the cable too. The carb slide could probably be dragging some and need to be cleaned.
The other is a somewhat erratic idle speed. Sometimes nice and low, and other times higher than I would like. This symptom is likely related to the above condition.
Thus I was wondering if an air filter that was too restrictive could cause this or other problems. And I suppose if it was not restrictive enough it could also cause problems. I think that more or less restrictive air filter foam would cause some rich or lean condition, but the idle not so much. My gyro has always had a tendency to idle up and down, and I am still stumped as to why.

I have an airbox seal coming today, and I am going to be putting that in as well as doing some carb cleaning (with Seafoam, which is about my level of ability at this point), some checking for air leaks, and probably a little tweaking of the fuel mixture to make sure I'm not running too lean. I am a bit frustrated by the fact that you can't make the adjustments and then immediately or easily test them under loadbearing conditions.

I'm also going to do a little general cleaning if I can dodge the thunderstorms we are getting here today.

I also have a general question, which I searched for and didn't find, about how people are lifting their scooters to work on them. I just rigged up a couple sturdy plastic shelves and use a piece of plywood to roll the Gyro up onto them. The shelves stand 24 inches high. They are 36 inches long so I have to use two of them in line. Each is rated to hold 200 pounds, so I should be good on that. Prior to that I was using a platform jack on the rear and then lifting the front to place it on a milk crate.

[Gyroman]

Roger all that. Cable lubing has remained a mystery to me so far, but no time like the present to learn. Mr. Google.
Did a Seafoam treatment (and I've been running it in my tank), got the airbox seal in (just a length of rubber you cut to fit), and did some fiddling with the fuel mix. Need to road test it but drizzling out with T storms predicted. Went down the block and back, and she's humming.
I also cleaned as much as I could with the engine cover off, but there sure are some tight spaces. Even for a toothbrush. Longer term project.
Interesting about your idle. Never know what are just normal operating parameters.
Thanks for the info.

[vintagegarage]

Motormike,
I use the cheapest motorcycle lift that Harbor Freight sells. So far it has worked very well for me. There are two key things that aren't obvious in the first photo. First is the piece of 2x8 under the rear of the Gyro that has a v-notch cut into it to clear the swivel joint on the Gyro. The second is the piece of 2x4 that I use to keep the tiedown strap from bending the floor board. The tiedown strap goes around a bar in the lift, and by having the 2x4 exactly the right length, you can pull the strap very tight without damaging the Gyro. The strap should not touch the Gyro when the 2x4 is the correct length. The whole rig is easy to roll around while the Gryo is on it. Here is a photo of my Gyro on it:



After I finished restoring the Gyro, I painted the 2x4 red so I would remember not to cut it up for another project. When I got the Aero basket case, I found the 2x4 again to be the right length. This time, there is no board under the rear of the main frame of the Aero. I just put the back of the Areo frame directly on the rubber pad of one of the lift arms, just ahead of the kickstand. Just like the Gyro, the Aero is tail heavy, and for it, I put a couple of small pieces of 2x4 under the front of the Aero frame, and then tighten the strap over the red 2x4, again, so the strap doesn't tough the Aero. Here is a photo of how the Aero fits on it:



After I finished restoring the Aero, I found that the lift also works well on the Spree I just started working on. it calls for slightly different positioning of the blocks under the front of the Spree floor. Here is a photo of how the Spree fits on the lift:



At the rate I am going, I expect I will be in the double digits of 50 CC Honda scooters ownership by year end. I hold this forum completely responsible for giving me this horrible disease..

[Johnniespeed]

I did a little checking on the filter foam measurement and found my stash, the Twin Air foam I use is 10mm thick and orange. I think we bought it out of England. I am running that on four Motocompo's and two Gyro's seems to function just fine.
I use a hydraulic table from Harbor Frieght for all my scooters, appears to go about 18" higher than your atv lift.