I'm not a happy Biker

[SeaCat]

Last night the wife and I talked about going for a short ride this morning. We weren't planning anything special, just a few miles to excercise the bike and get the road back into our systems. Then my parents called us. They had heard about problems in their southern neighborhood and wanted to know if we could possibly check things out for them. No problem.

Then it hit me. Damn it, we wouldn't be able to take the bike out for a ride once again. My wife though came to the rescue. She told me we should take the bike for a short ride around the block to see how it ran, then we could decide what to take north. Okay, we could do that.

At 0600 this morning we were up and in the saddle. We did the five mile ride around the block and the bike was running perfectly. Okay, that was all it took. We stopped at our place for a minute or three to fill the car cups. I tossed a handfull of Cigars in my jacket pocket. At 0615 I lodged the Car Cup in between the shield and the bars and fired the bike up. We rolled out heading north on U.S. 1.

The ride north was incredible. It started dark and cool, (70° which is cool for Southern Florida.) There was almost no traffic on the roads as we headed north before Rush Hour. It was almost exactly 100 miles to my parents place and the bike ran flawlessly. There is nothing quite like rolling down the road sipping hot coffee and watching the sun rise over the ocean.

We pulled into my parents place and parked the bike. We spent more than a couple of hours checking the place out and talking with their one neighbor who had just come down from his summer place in Michigan. My parents place was just fine. We left there a little past 1300.

We stopped in a local Gas Station and topped off the tank on the bike. While there I checked the oil and was pleased to find it was right at the upper line. Right where it was supposed to be. AS I was doing this my wife went inside and picked up a couple of bottles of Gator Aide. We talked it over, the ride south on U.S. 1 would be slower, much slower with heavy traffic now that the state had woken up. We decided to hit the slab for the ride home. We weren't worried by this as we had done some Highway riding in the past. Back in the saddle we climbed and off we went.

We hit I-95 and headed south at the posted speed of 70 MPH. I had my feet on the pegs and was relaxing as we rolled south. Everything was going well.

Well it was going well until we reached about 80 miles. Then the bike started acting a bit strange. It started coughing and then it would run right again. When it coughed it lost power, I ended up rolling the throttle all the way just to maintain speed. We pulled into a rest stop to let the bike cool down and check things out.

I was amazed that everything looked good that I could check. The plugs looked good, all of the wiring looked good and I couldn't find any loose connections. Even the fuel filter looked good. What the Hell?

After letting the bike cool for an hour and checking it out we climbed aboard and headed south again. I even took the precaution of switching the fuel selector to reserve in case the valve was screwing up. At first the bike ran just fine but after maybe ten miles it started acting up again. I was truly not a happy camper. At the next exit I peeled off the highway and started making my way home via back roads. The bike ran like shit but we made it. We finally pulled into our parking spot with the bike coughing and spluttering. When I shut it down it gave loose with a loud backfire. We climbed off and went inside to change.

A short while later I went back out to the bike. I had plugged it into the Battery Tender when I parked it. I popped the key into the lock and after checking the bike was in Neutral I hit the starter. Nothing. Not only didn't the bike turn over but the Headlight went out. Shit, not even a click. Okay, I'll let the battery charge for a bit and try it again. Before I went inside I checked the engine oil once more. It's right where it's supposed to be.

After letting the battery charge for a couple of hours I went back out to try and start the bike. Once again nothing. Okay this doesn't look good. I pull out the tool box and check a couple of things.

I can turn the engine over by hand, but not easily. The plugs look good. I'm getting gas and plenty of it to the carbs. When I pulled the Starter and hit it with a couple of volts it spun up nicely. Hmmmmm.

It might be the battery but it tests out good and is fairly new.

I have a couple of options. I can give up on this bike and start saving for a new one. (I wouldn't mind a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT but that costs roughly $8,700.) I can pull the engine and do a complete rebuild. (If I do this then I'll do a complete rebuild of the bike including the Electrical System.) Last but not least I can give up on working on the bike and haul it down to a mechanic and have them fix it.

I reckon I have some thinking to do on this one. Of course this would happen just as the weather in my area starts making it nice and comfortable to ride.

Cat

[R. Richard]

Just a wild guess, from more than a thousand miles away, but it sounds like you might have a burned valve. I would run a compression check on the engine, first thing.

[Weird Harold]

Originally Posted by SeaCat

After letting the battery charge for a couple of hours I went back out to try and start the bike. Once again nothing. Okay this doesn't look good. I pull out the tool box and check a couple of things.

I can turn the engine over by hand, but not easily. The plugs look good. I'm getting gas and plenty of it to the carbs. When I pulled the Starter and hit it with a couple of volts it spun up nicely. Hmmmmm.

It might be the battery but it tests out good and is fairly new.

If that were a car, I'd be looking very hard at the alternator and/or charging system.

[The_Fool]

Timing?

[Handley_Page]

I was under the impression that an engine will run on it's battery (just supplying the ignition).

Something nasty in the fuel line /carb/s ?

[SeaCat]

Okay. I wa busy with a few things this morning so I couldn't check on the bike until late this afternoon.

I pulled the gas tank, plugs and wires. The first test was the Compression Test. Everything was testing in right where I wanted it to. (Now isn't this starting to sound familiar?) I checked the Plug Wires then tested the plugs for spark. Everything was testing out just fine. Now I'm truly starting to get irritated. This is sounding way too familiar.

I put the plugs and wires back in place, replace the tank, turn on the gas and try to start the bike. It fires but I'm getting splattered with gas from the Number One Carb. Cylinders number Three and Four aren't firing. WTF? I shut the bike back down and clean up the spilled gas.

I check the Drain on Carb. #1 and it's seated correctly. I pull the plugs and all are wet. With everything back in place I fire up the engine again. Same thing. When I look closer at Carb. #1 I can see the gas is coming from around the Bowl Seal. Ok that means I'm going to be pulling the carbs and replacing that seal. Then I have an idea.

I drain down each bowl and check the amounts coming out of the bowls. Carb. #1 is low as I expected. What I didn't expect was that Carbs. #'s 3 and 4 are a bit low as well. Hmmmmm. This isn't good.

I attach longer drain lines to the carbs and leave the drains open. I put larger Calibrated Cylinders under each tube then turn the bike over. This will show me how much gas is getting to each Carb. Imagine my amazement when after turning the bike over several turns I check the cylinders. Carb. #1 is low as expected. Carb #2 is much higher. Numbers 3 and 4 are also quite low. WEll this is interesting. This tells me the gas flow to these Carb.s is being blocked somewhere between the distribution valve and the Carbs.

Tomorrow I'll pull the Carb.s once again. (I'm truly getting tired of doing this.) This time when I pull the carbs I'll be taking them apart completely. All Rubber seals will be removed for replacement. Everything metal will be dumped into a bucket of Carb. Cleaner for the suggested amount of time and then some. They will then be taken to a local shop I kknow and dumped in their Ultrasonic Cleaner and then blown out completely. When I put them back together it will be with all new seals and Gaskets. (As well as Needle Valves.) We're talking a more than complete rebuild of the Carbs.

Maybe, just maybe this will finally fix these damned problems.

In the meanwhile I'm starting to save up the money needed to get me a new bike in the future. (We're talking at least a year for this unless I happen to hit the lottery or decide to go out and mug some of the local Drug Dealers.)

Cat

[Handley_Page]

Good Luck !

[MagicaPractica]

Ah, this sounds so very familiar. If the story line holds true to form, you've got a couple bikes to go before you get the creampuff Goldwing.

[SeaCat]

Originally Posted by MagicaPractica

Ah, this sounds so very familiar. If the story line holds true to form, you've got a couple bikes to go before you get the creampuff Goldwing.

Sorry, no Barco Lounger on Wheels in my future. Not my style.

I can however see myself in the saddle of either a Vulcan 900LT or the VTX1300T.

Although I did see that Honda is coming out with a new bike. CB1100. A bit retro and powered through the roof. I'm interested to see what they did with the powertrain.

Cat

[JackLuis]

Did you check the ignition timing and crank/cam timing yet?

[SeaCat]

OKay pulled the Carbs this morning. Not a fun job on this bike but I'm getting kind of used to it. (sigh)

I called the local shop I usually deal with and ordered the Gaskets I'm going to need. They should be in by Monday.

I pulled the Fuel Lines and looked them over. They look okay but who can tell? I clipped a piece and will be getting more.

When I was done with this I hooked up the Timing Gun and checked the timing, just to make sure. That tested out just fine.

The battery was a bit low on Acid so that has been topped up and the battery is on the charger.

Just to be sure I have several feet of new Plug Wire sitting in the cabinet. It will be cut to size and put in place.

The plugs have been pulled and replaced.

I have on order an entirely new wiring harness for the bike. Who knows when that will come in. When it does I'll switch them out.

Eventualy I'll get this bike running right.

Cat