Topic: Reign of the V-twins

[Terry in Australia]

I'd do that, if your wearing your full face helmet with a dark shield !!

No problemo Amigo! Remember, you don't look at the mantle-piece when you're stoking the fire........... (where's everyone gone?)

[ekpent]

 I think we scared them all away Terry !!

[Desert-SOHC]

WOW.....this thread degraded...............

[Terry in Australia]

I think we scared them all away Terry !!

Good! Enough talk about V twins, lets talk 2 stroke watercooled triples!

[ken65]

OK good , heres my mates h2 750, upside down forks, monoshock, disks all round, noisy as hell and goes like the clappers. its stunning. People flock to it.

its in there somewhere.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, I see it Ken, tell me, as nice as it looks, does it actually handle any better than a stock H2? (I'm pretty sure it couldn't possibly handle any worse.............)

[calj737]

I see it too. It's parked right next to that V-twin! You can tell which it is, it's the bike with the longing eyes, looking woefully under-powered, staring at its "pillar of motorcycle engineering marvel" wishing that one day, it too can grow up and become a gold standard for coolness.


Oops, I see it now, it's the other one parked next to the CB. My bad 

[ken65]

 you found it calj.

My old mate Terry, You should see him riding it . It goes like the clappers and every now and then he gives it a serve cause it feels as he said like  the plugs are oiling up ,,, ...Giving it a serve seems to sort it out. He's been racing bikes for 40 years and loves riding it but its not as reliable as a modern bike.  THis bike has been tuned into the 21st century and it handles like a modern bike.  To see it in action is a privilege in my book...

[Desert-SOHC]

Worked on a V-twin today. 01 HD Ultra, had to change all the fuel system connections and hoses. All the O rings in the system were jello from ethanol. He stopped at a gas station and after fueling when he turned the key on the fuel pump pressurized the system and gas started spraying everywhere.....lol. Parts were $350.00............OUCH!!!! and all the new parts have Viton O rings.

I don't mind working on them, but we are a Hot Rod shop. I fixed one of our customers bike and now there are 3 of them waiting to be repaired. I guess I'm cheaper than the dealer. 

[BPellerine]

I have heard that the ethanol is really hard on older floats and plastic in fuel systems,guess the after market will have to pick up the slack in manufacturing good stuff.bill

[754]

I used Mohawk gas the other day.  10percent Ethanol.... Should I avoid it.

[Retro Rocket]

If you can get straight gas Frank i'd use that, ethanol is crap, it absorbs moisture and eats rubber parts for breakfast....

[eigenvector]

Dude, that Kawi is the schtuff (or something) and I don't mean that 2008+ Kawi KLR that Kawasaki inexplicably make look worse.  Far as I'm concerned 2007 is the end of the line - although I heard a rumor they did manage to make the seat somewhat tolerable.

[scottly]

If you can get straight gas Frank i'd use that, ethanol is crap, it absorbs moisture and eats rubber parts for breakfast....

There hasn't been straight gas anywhere around here for years, much less when out on the road. All that's available is queer gas.

[Retro Rocket]

If you can get straight gas Frank i'd use that, ethanol is crap, it absorbs moisture and eats rubber parts for breakfast....

There hasn't been straight gas anywhere around here for years, much less when out on the road. All that's available is queer gas.

I hear theres a huge movement growing in the USA in protest to compulsory Ethanol in fuel, the Bike, boat and other communities are gathering pace in their opposition, hope it gets somewhere... We have to have straight gas pumps here, there are warning signs at gas stations warning not to use ethanol fuel in boats, small engine manufacturers have the same warnings...

[Desert-SOHC]

There are fuel stations around here and where my son lives in Oregon that carry non-ethanol premium.....but you have to ask.

[Bailgang]

There is a marina here that sells ethanol free gas but the only actual gas station that had it was at least 20 miles away, finally though a gas station a few miles away has it. Can only get it in 91 octane so it costs a bit more but it's still cheaper than the marina so it's popular with the boaters and bikers.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, ethanol isn't kind to bikes, this is a tank off a Fugly BMW R1200C (BMW's version of a Cruiser from back in the 90's) that the female owner ran with 5% ethanol fuel, then left the shidt in the tank over winter.

 She took it to a motorcycle shop (not a BMW dealer) who told her that the tank had pinholes, hence the leak, and offered to replace the tank and pump for only $4500, plus labour.   

Once I'd cleaned it out, (POR-15's phosphoric acid initially to get rid of the big rust deposits) I filled the tank with white vinegar and let it soak for a week to clean off the lighter rusty residue, and surprisingly (not) the tank didn't leak, so, so much for the dealer's "pinholes".

What had really happened is that the ethanol swelled the "O" ring that sealed the fuel pump assembly's baseplate into the bottom of the tank, causing fuel to bypass it.

The only problem I have now is that the OEM BMW liner is falling off in big chunks, and I'm trying to work out how to remove it without any chance of damaging the paint on the outside of the tank. Any ideas? Cheers, Terry.  

[BPellerine]

heard that you can separate the ethanol from gas with water,but have never tried it,never heard of straight gas in Canada anymore.bill

[754]

My buddy drives fuel truck, through BC And Alberta..
 They probably supply at least 50 percent or more of the market.
 He said unless I run premium, all the gas has some ethanol in it..    #*+@;/$?

[Retro Rocket]

My buddy drives fuel truck, through BC And Alberta..
 They probably supply at least 50 percent or more of the market.
 He said unless I run premium, all the gas has some ethanol in it..    #*+@;/$?

Oh well, up the compression and run premium....