I am referring to spinning wrenches on old motorcycles.......I have a 2005 Triumph Rocket 3 that I bought new that has about 30k on the clock currently. Sadly like most of my small herd it sits more than it is ridden. I pulled it out a couple of days ago just to exercise it some on a short ride. Cranked for ever and no start. I know with an 05 the technology by todays standard is antiquated but it is still way beyond my limits of understanding. With an old one you check for fire, gas, and compression, so I put on my cave man face and went to work. After pulling the tank to access the dual plugs on each cylinder, (I had filled the bike up on the last outing and the tank holds enough gas to supply the entire State of Rhode Island for at least a week) I found there was spark when cranking. One culprit eliminated, which was satisfying since there are a tons of relays and safety by pass switches that have invaluable functions of which I have no idea as to what they are. Upon checking the throttle bodies, they looked dry. A little carb cleaner in each barrel, the bike fired immediately, damnit, "FUEL PUMP' which is located internally in the cavernous gas tank. After filling up every small gas can I had and most of the riding mowers in my neighborhood, the tank was drained and I got the unit out. BTW incase any of you are wondering, getting a mouth full of gas from a siphoning hose is still just as pleasant as ever. After talking to a couple of Buddies on the R3 Site who had been there and done that, and of course visiting You Tube, parts are on order and I should be able to bring the "Old Fat Bottom Girl" back to life in a week or so. I went with an aftermarket fuel pump since Triumph charges $57 for the gas filter alone. The next old 750k I get started after sitting for years is going to be a piece of cake..........
