GEN II CCT, Thermostat Change & Sasquatch Shock Preview

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escapefjrtist

Searching for Dry Roads
Joined
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Location
Snohomish, WA
After reviewing Yamafitters Excellent CCT Post I decided it was time to dive in and change the CCT plus a thermostat that has been acting differently than when the bike was new. Parts were purchased from Cycle Parts Warehouse and delivered as promised.

First the CCT:

The victim, '06 with approximately 47K on the clock. Occasionally made strange sounds from the RT side of the engine. I run my idle close to 1200 rpm, so I didn't want any unwarranted *big bang* surprises.

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I got tired of the soft bolts for the tank and replaced them with SS Socket Head Allen w/ SS washers.

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Lifting the tank:

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Jiffy Pop cover and T-Bar:

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Under the cover -- Success!

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Stripped of all the plastic:

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Oil Pump Cover:

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Top View of the CCT:

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Out of focus, sorry! Behind the oil pump cover with the zip tied chain. Note the location of two (2) dowels. The cover must come off square and the gasket is sealed well. Don't force or twist the cover, gentle pressure and it'll come off.

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Thin Tee that holds the new CCT in retracted position. Unlike yamafitters, mine would not stay in the retracted position. The CCT was installed with the tee and then I used a small needle nose to remove it.

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Thin flat blade screw driver to retract the old CCT.

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Had to sacrifice an 8mm wrench to get to the lower bolt closest to the frame.

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Note difference in retracted plunger between old and new CCT.

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Minus the CCT. Not too bad a job, assembly goes quickly with the yamafitter screw driver slot!

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As I mentioned above, my GENII began to exhibit some strange cooling habits last summer. Mine always ran four bars at highway speeds, regardless of ambient temperature. Out of the blue, it changed and began running five bars at the slightest decrease in speed and rapidly went to six in traffic. I suspected the thermostat, but since it never heated or boiled I let it go until now. After the old thermostat was removed, I boiled it on the stove and it was fully open at the proper temperature (71C). Although there was nothing obvious, I'm happy to report with the new thermostat, the cooling now behaves just like it was new.

Now on to the thermostat change:

Thermostat housing on the left side.

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Gotta drain the coolant first, remove this bolt on the water pump.

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Need a suitable catch container. It helps to have a buddy slowly open the radiator cap and control the draining speed as it really shoots out when the cap is removed!

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Remove two hose clamps:

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And the bolt securing the housing to the frame:

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You end up with this on the bench:

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Note location of vent hole located at the top:

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Found quite a bit of corrosion under the thermostat gasket. Clean everything up well and reassemble with the new unit... vent hole located on top!

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Reassembly in the reverse order.

Also installed my reworked stock shock. Had Sasquatch perform the full rework with a matching spring tailored just for me! Have about 370 miles on it so far. I need to experiment with dampening adjustments a little, but preliminary impression is :clapping: .

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Reassemble the stock soft/hard mechanism:

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Hope this helps someone to get off the couch. The job is relatively easy and straight forward!

--G

Edit -- Modified title for clarity.

 
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I got off da couch and grabbed another beer.. Does that count?

Now see? If you'd have stayed here in the land of inopportunity instead of moving west, you could have had half a dozen helpers in varying degrees of sobriety helping.. or, In Andy's case poking you in the ass with tools and such..

Good work!

 
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Nice work, George, and a nice write up as well. Another job I can wait for you to do for me now. Sweet. My new shock is pertier than your new shock. So there. See you Saturday.

 
Hope this helps someone to get off the couch. The job is relatively easy and straight forward!
Nice writeup!!! :clapping: :clapping: :clapping: Actually, I like the couch...but since I know where you live...when my CCT starts getting noisy I know where to take it. Let's make a deal, I'll change your oil if you will change my CCT. :p

 
Just why didn't you wait until Saturday, then we all could have had a hand in it. <_<
Junior, haven't you heard that too many cooks spoil the meal? I'm all for taking one for the team, but I wanted to have one change under my belt before a public performance! ;)

--G

 
I did my CCT over the weekend between all of my "honeydew" projects. Mine did not go very smooth. I bought what I thought was a high quality 8mm wrench from Lowes to get at the bolt near the frame. Instead of breaking the hold on the bolt free it rounded the hex. :dribble: Talk about a PITA!!! I finally solved my pickle by buying a 8mm Craftsman socket that grips the side of the bolt instead of the points. Cut part of the front and back off the socket to make fitting room, drilled a hole through the back of the socket so I could get a stiff rod through and was finally able to break the bolt free. Two days of frustration and concern, about $100 in modified tools trying to get that bolt broke free.

Moral of my story: Start with a known good brand of tool.

 
I did my CCT over the weekend between all of my "honeydew" projects. Mine did not go very smooth. I bought what I thought was a high quality 8mm wrench from Lowes to get at the bolt near the frame. Instead of breaking the hold on the bolt free it rounded the hex. :dribble: Talk about a PITA!!! I finally solved my pickle by buying a 8mm Craftsman socket that grips the side of the bolt instead of the points. Cut part of the front and back off the socket to make fitting room, drilled a hole through the back of the socket so I could get a stiff rod through and was finally able to break the bolt free. Two days of frustration and concern, about $100 in modified tools trying to get that bolt broke free.

Moral of my story: Start with a known good brand of tool.
I have quite a few Snap-On tools from my employment days. My 8mm combination socket / open-end wrench probably costs more than some folks are willing to spend on their entire toolbox but in the end if the tool saves you from a costly error than it's worth every penny.

By the way, excellent job not panicking and working the problem :good:

 
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I got off da couch and grabbed another beer.. Does that count?

Now see? If you'd have stayed here in the land of inopportunity instead of moving west, you could have had half a dozen helpers in varying degrees of sobriety helping.. or, In Andy's case poking you in the ass with tools and such..

Good work!
Thanks Joker. I could see the in-opportunity on the horizon and sold my home (for a profit) in late 2005. As much as I'd have liked to stay, the SO had other ideas...and we know where that leads! ;)

I still have a couple license plates for memories. You can see one in a pic. Does that count for anything?

--G

 
I have quite a few Snap-On tools from my employment days. My 8mm combination socket / open-end wrench probably costs more than some folks are willing to spend on their entire toolbox but in the end if the tool saves you from a costly error than it's worth every penny.
I would by Snap-On if I could find one of their #$%^&^%$ trucks on a routine basis.

By the way, excellent job not panicking and working the problem :good:

That is my 22+ years of Navy service at work there. Get the job done. If you come at it from enough angles you will eventually crack the nut.

 
my Sasquatch shock is being installed tomorrow and will be picking up bike from shop on Thursday

lotsa riding scheduled for May with reports forthcoming

I'm glad you posted a picture of the shock before installation...mine looks gorgeous from the outside

but was so busy talking about the work I wanted done, I didn't take a pic with my phone

 
my Sasquatch shock is being installed tomorrow and will be picking up bike from shop on Thursday
I've got about 400 miles on my shock so far. Along with the new 0.95kg fork springs, the bike feels firm and well controlled. After backing off the shock dampening, I'm very pleased with the ride. Running nekkid, the bike has a pretty firm ride. I've yet to add the bags or any weight, so the fully loaded impression will have to wait a couple weeks until the Cali trip.

I predict you'll be pleased with the shock Mike.

--G

 
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How much was the Sasquatch rebuild and how long did it take for turnaround? Assume you had a spare shock to use during the rebuild. Nice write-up.

 
How much was the Sasquatch rebuild and how long did it take for turnaround? Assume you had a spare shock to use during the rebuild. Nice write-up.
I have a couple of stock shocks laying around so the bike wasn't down at all. The full *Stage 3* rebuild including the spring was $450. Great thing is the shock can now be rebuilt just like any aftermarket unit. Turn around time was two weeks including shipping, but keep in mind, standard UPS is only two days each way for me.

Working with Jay was a pleasure. For anyone looking for a reasonable alternative to the aftermarket, I can recommend considering this option.

--G

 
How much was the Sasquatch rebuild and how long did it take for turnaround? Assume you had a spare shock to use during the rebuild. Nice write-up.
in my case, my ass was so broad, he had to order the spring as didn't have one quite like it in stock

so...5 working days in my case not counting the day it was received and the day it was shipped

3rd day shipping on the spring. my shock was rebuilt less spring on the 3rd day from receipt

so, call Jay at Sasquatch and get some advice...another peep here sent his spare stock shock (off TWN's bike) in for me...now I send my old shock back to him

complete rebuild with all new internals customized to my answers to a 2 page questionaire...$450 plus $25 shipping = $475 total

I just pulled the bike into the garage off the "transportation vehicle not to be mentioned" after picking it up from the shop.

Going riding tomorrow to check out the shock and new front tire :yahoo:

shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh:

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