Topic: Hush's chocolate fish competition

[Hush]

OK you know you love em, step up and guess what's wrong with this picture!
I'll give you a hint, I'm working on the brakes.
Nah it's too hard I better tell ya.
Been riding my partners GSX400L around in preparation for making it road legal, new front tire with all those hairy bits and front guard so close they brush as they pass so I'm expecting a strange noise.
After about 10 k's I'm noticing a sort of grinding noise!
Been riding in the high 80's so bring bike home a bit slower and roll her into the shed.
Jack up the front, spin the wheel, grind grind!!
Sounds almost like disc grinding, was sure I checked pad width and wear?
Slip off the front brake system, something missing?
Brake pads!!??
Did they fall out?
Hmm I'm sure there were some in there, I'm getting old but not quite senile yet.
Slide big screwdriver into caliper, hello what's this?
Pads, two of them.....on same side of disc......man I must have been tired when I rebuilt the front end.
Sick feeling,  this is Jaffa's bike!
How long would it have been before the front brake jammed?
On the up side...if there can be one.....the metal to metal contact has made a beautiful job of skimming the front disc and no damage, note to self.....stop drinking bourbon when working on bikes.

[scunny]

put that down as a senior moment, I'm sure the bourbon is an innocent party

[hoodellyhoo]

At least you found it in time. When i was working on my bike this winter I noticed that one of the two bolts that held my caliper arm to the fork leg was missing

[Hush]

You riding your GSX yet? Mine has the disconcerting habit of accelerating after the fact, it's like a powerband on a Kawasaki.
You give it some throttle and suddenly it kicks like a mule?
Not sure if that is the twin cam happening or what.
Another problem I've got is the bike only wants to run on PRIME, running on ON the bike feels like it's starving....turn the petcock to PRIME and away she goes?
Some one suggested something about a vacuum petrol cock that might need a new "o" ring, not sure about that though.

[bryanj]

Could be the diaphragm in the petcock leaking in which case get new quick cos it can leak fuel down the vac pipe and fill up a cylinder-----ever seen an "S" shaped con rod

[Hush]

That's what was the problem when I first got the bike, had been sitting in a shed for 7 years with the gas tap on PRIME.
No gas left in tank but when I emptied the sump for oil change I got like 6 litres of dark brown diesel type fluid.
Guess it all leaked down through the cylinders over time.
So will replacing diaphram cure this?

[bryanj]

Usualy yes

[mystic_1]

The vacuum petcock is added insurance to keep fuel from leaking when the bike is not running.  It's a secondary petcock that opens only when the engine produces vacuum.  When the engine isn't running a spring closes the valve.  So, if the diaphram was torn or leaking then the vacuum petcock won't open all the way and you get restricted fuel flow.  This could also be caused by a bad vacuum line, and of course that would give you a small intake vacuum leak as well.

It's interesting though that the gas managed to leak down into the motor over the years, that might mean a vacuum petcock that's not closing properly in addition to not opening properly.


mystic_1