Topic: learning experience continues

[BruceA cb550]

took the bike out today and after about 2 blocks it looses power.  Forgot to turn fuel on, switched the petcock on and away I went.  Pretty soon the bike starts to miss badly, I wondered if it was ignition or fuel related.  Misses at low to mid rpm range and runs good at wot, so I assumed must be fuel problem.  Took bike home and found that one of the overflows was leaking.  Found out which carb and tapped on the bowl with rubber mallet and leak stopped.  Appearantly when I ran the bowls dry the #1 float got stuck in the down position and was flooding that carb.  I was surprised at how much that affected the bikes performance, bike runs fine now.  I'm beginning to find out that there are a few quirks with these old bikes, but thats part of the fun of keeping them going.  I've been looking at a Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad for long distance rides but I cant see giving up the 550, its way too much fun to ride around town.

[ElCheapo]

I have experienced exactly the same things on my K5 750. The petcock I feel dumb when I do it, but still do it 

[Paul]

Not so long ago I got caught out in a bad rain shower, Bike starts "missing" has happened before when the plug / leads get wet.
So pulled over, dried them as best I could (hoping the engine heat would help). and off I go again...

not 1/4 mile on and same problem...scratching my head, getting soaked, wondering what to do, so eventually...........



















turned it to RESERVE ! and off I went home,
turned out the first time stopped was probably enough to let more fuel trickel in to get me the 1/4 mile further.

[nickjtc]

But it's these little nuances of old bike ownership that make the experience so much more 'involving'.

Imagine the poor saps who buy modern efi equipped machines and who will never experience the high speed, in rush hour traffic, on a multilane highway surrounded by trucks and cars three feet from your rear end, sphincter puckering feeling of realising that your bike is running out of gas and that you now have to turn the petcock to reserve....and that maybe you should have practiced doing it with your thick winter gloves on.

[cmorgan47]

if i don't do this twice a week, it must've rained every day.  i leave it off all the time. 
i've gotten the procedure down to a science now:

take off with petcock off
stall out as i coast to stop sign
run through possible problems in my head as i shift into second an bump start
drop to neutral while revving
turn petcock on
keep revving till the bowls fill up a bit
thank god that now, if it's stalling, it's probably just the petcock as i ride away

it's become a reflex for me to look down at my left leg about a half mile down the road and expect it to be off.

before i rebuilt the carbs, though, i had the opposite problem.  a couple of the float valves would stick open and dump fuel as i was riding.  if i'd shut the petcock off and drain the bowls, that would free it up.  then i could turn it back on and resume.

[StevieMac]

I still forget that damn petcock about once a month.  How come I always remember to turn it OFF 

Last time I was turning left from a side street into traffic that was moving pretty quick.  I give it gas and lean it over and then..........  it almost falls over on me because there isn't enough gas to keep enough momentum going.  I haven't forgotten since though.

[cmorgan47]

I still forget that damn petcock about once a month.  How come I always remember to turn it OFF 

nope, i forget that too.
i just put a small rubber mat in the garage to park on lately.
no way i'm chasing some damn 1 drop/5 minutes overflow issue till winter.  they're good enough.

[nickjtc]

In novice motorcycling rider training class the lesson on 'starting 'er up' was entitled: FINE - C.

We would flog the acronym to death and constantly remind the students of it during basic training....usually when they were flailing away on the electric start wondering why the engine wouldn't start. That would be the 'E' that they knocked to the 'off' when they were doing a figure 8 or tight U-turn.

F   FUEL.       Gas turned on? Enough gas in the tank to get you where you want to go, or to the nearest gas station?

I   IGNITION. She won't do anything if you don't turn her on. Happens in all things to do with females.

N  NEUTRAL. You'll probably forget to pull in the clutch, so put it into neutral first.

E  ENGINE CUT-OFF. Is it set to run? Did you use it to stop the motor when you last rode? See scenario above.

C  CHOKE.   Is the motor cold? Use the choke as necessary.
    CLUTCH. On bikes with the starter over-ride pull in the clutch.

Then, and only then, do you hit the starter button. Remember your FINE-C and you'll always be a happy rider.

[jevfro]

Ahh, I feel beter knowing I'm not the only one who looks down @ the petcock at least one time every ride.

no way i'm chasing some damn 1 drop/5 minutes overflow issue till winter.  they're good enough.

Thats funny I've got the same thing...  And I don't always remember to turn it to OFF either... I just started throwing down a couple handfulls of kittylitter once a month or so and sweep up the old (the oil leaks don't get quite so messy w/ this proceedure either).  When winter comes I'm going to redo carbs and oil lines but until then...

[clarkjh]

I usually don't look down but I do drop my hand down and turn off then back on to be sure.

James

[golden_child]

I always look down now. Stalling in traffic once was bad enough. But I'm sure it'll happen again.

BTW, I check to see if I've turned before I go to bed. I've already lost one tank full of gas. Whoops  

My girlfriend thinks I'm Obsesive Compulsive.

But then again I lock my car door 5 times w/ the remote before I actually believe it's locked.

[Uncle Ernie]

You guys are really cracking me up here. 

A word to the wise; it's better to run out of gas a half block away than it is to leave the gas on all night. A couple of things might happen;  1) your gas gets into the cylinder, drips past the rings and ends up polluting your oil, or 2) your rings are in really good shape and the gas stays in the combustion chamber. Fluids don't compress. When you try to start the engine, gas may blow a seal in an attempt to go somewhere. 
When I find that I've left the gas on overnight, I first smell the oil. If it smells gassy, I change the oil.  If it doesn;t smell too bad, I take the plugs out and turn the engine over a couple of times.  One time I did that and gas came out of the plug holes like a fountain.
This doesn't ALWAYS happen for some reason, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

[crp_iii]

I have done it twice on my way home from a run for something small at the Home Depot get about a half mile sputter sputter ...oh yeah fuel helps....clutch coast down hill for a bit....vroom off I go feeling stupid.

[angeldeville]

after a couple similar experiences I check it several time while riding just to make sure it's on even after a few miles.

[cmorgan47]

after a couple similar experiences I check it several time while riding just to make sure it's on even after a few miles.

me too.
someone could do their thesis on the connection between OCD and OBO (old bike ownership)

[nickjtc]

after a couple similar experiences I check it several time while riding just to make sure it's on even after a few miles.

That's funny...I do that too. I know it's 'on' but have to keep reminding myself that it really is on. OCD? Anal retentive?

[Rushoid]

I haven't forgotten to turn the fuel on yet but a couple of days ago I heard a scraping sound as I leaned into the first left turn. 

[StevieMac]

I haven't forgotten to turn the fuel on yet but a couple of days ago I heard a scraping sound as I leaned into the first left turn. 

Oh, yeah.... I know that sound too 

[nickjtc]

I haven't forgotten to turn the fuel on yet but a couple of days ago I heard a scraping sound as I leaned into the first left turn. 

Which is why Honda started putting those rubber pad thingys next to the side stand and nowadays we have the electronic over-ride thingy that stops you putting the bike in gear with the side stand down. Oh lord protect us from ourselves!

Lesson #2 of novice training was 'getting on and off 'er'. The drill went something like:

Approach from the left, grasp the 'bars firmly, stand the bike up, off the sidestand, sweep the sidestand away with the right foot, swing your right leg over the saddle......

We got the students so used to getting that sidestand out of the way before they got on the bike that it was seldom a problem during the rest of the training.

[StevieMac]

Approach from the left, grasp the 'bars firmly, stand the bike up, off the sidestand, sweep the sidestand away with the right foot, swing your right leg over the saddle......

If I did that on my Venture when the suspension is pumped up to max and it's full of luggage I'd be lying underneath the right side of the bike for sure 

[Rushoid]

Approach from the left, grasp the 'bars firmly, stand the bike up, off the sidestand, sweep the sidestand away with the right foot, swing your right leg over the saddle......

If I did that on my Venture when the suspension is pumped up to max and it's full of luggage I'd be lying underneath the right side of the bike for sure 

I agree. I put my stand up after I'm straddling the bike. I've only forgotten this one time and there was something that distracted me from my routine.

[nickjtc]

If I did that on my Venture when the suspension is pumped up to max and it's full of luggage I'd be lying underneath the right side of the bike for sure 

I hear you. Our training bikes were all 500's or less so weight issues were not a problem. How the students dealt with their 'own' bikes was up to them, of course.

[cmorgan47]

Approach from the left, grasp the 'bars firmly, stand the bike up, off the sidestand, sweep the sidestand away with the right foot, swing your right leg over the saddle......

If I did that on my Venture when the suspension is pumped up to max and it's full of luggage I'd be lying underneath the right side of the bike for sure 

buddy of mine was on his suzuki enduro last weekend, stacked high with gear on the back seat.  the first time he got off, he caught his leg on the gear and nearly took the bike down with it.....after that, he formed the habit of putting the sidestand down first.


oh, and i heard the "left turn scrape" last night.  was leaving a bike shop, having bought new signals, and heard a couple of the guys talking about my bike...."used to have one" type conversation.  i was so busy listening to them, i forgot to kick it up.

[Rushoid]

oh, and i heard the "left turn scrape" last night.  was leaving a bike shop, having bought new signals, and heard a couple of the guys talking about my bike...."used to have one" type conversation.  i was so busy listening to them, i forgot to kick it up.

It's definitely worse when there are witnesses. I was scoping out a hot neighbor walking her dog when I heard mine. Oh, yeah. I'm cool.