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Any suggestions for a newbie as to why his 2004 EX250 he's had for a whole week wouldn't start today? I rode it to work like normal, no problem. I've been riding it with the choke out for about a mile or so before it warms up enough that I can close up the choke again. As far as I know, that's pretty much standard operating procedure. Left work, got about 2 miles away, and it started sputtering a little and losing power. OK, I figured it was about outta gas. I've filled it once so far, and I didn't really have an idea of its range. I switched it to reserve, and continued on with full power again. Until now, I was under the impression that reserve was like a gas light in a car, i.e. you had enough left at that point to find the nearest station. Well, I got about another 1/4 mile down the road, and slowly lost all power, until the bike stalled out. I tried to restart it, and it caught a couple times, but died within 5-10 seconds. Eventually, it wouldn't catch at all, and just cranked. Definitely out of gas, I figured. There was still a little sloshing around in the tank, though, which I thought was strange. I had gone exactly 150 miles on that tank when I coasted to a stop. I called AMA, waited for 2 hours for someone to bring gas, and they never came. My girlfriend showed up after I was able to get a single, stilted text to her before my phone died, and we went and got about a half gallon of fuel in her little collapsable can. I put the gas in the bike, and try it again (many times, over about another hour or so), with no luck. At this point I think its flooded. I couldn't figure out how to get the fairing off in the parking lot of the LA Zoo, so I couldn't really get to any of the engine. I called AMA again, politely complained about the first call not going anywhere, and asked them to send a flatbed. The flatbed got there quickly, and brought me and the bike home without further incident. I tried to start it one last time after I parked it at our apartment, and it caught once, but died within a couple seconds. I figure the problem is something really stupid, so please enlighten me.
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Apr 17, 2009 05:22
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sirbeefalot posted:Any suggestions for a newbie as to why his 2004 EX250 he's had for a whole week wouldn't start today? If it's flooded really badly, you should be able to smell gasoline from the exhaust pipes when you try to crank it over.
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Apr 17, 2009 05:27
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Doctor Zero posted:Also, while in motion, make sure you are shifting with authority, as I like to think of it. It will save you the embarrassment of revving the engine a bunch and nothing happening when you're trying to get going. gently caress embarassment, I just don't want some vapid oval office in an SUV to rear-end me because I hit the huge Neutral going up from 1st. The same N that I can't find for the life of me whilst standing still. If it's a design quirk and not a problem, I'm not too worried. I usually stay in 1st at a stoplight anyway (as taught in my MSF) so I can scramble if someone behind me doesn't stop fast enough. It's not that I really _need_ Neutral, just wondering if I should be concerned that it's so elusive. Segue: I don't ride with other people, so have no idea what's "normal" and what's not. Is it weird, or bad for the bike, to often hold the clutch lever and just coast? I'm used to driving an automatic, so completely letting off the throttle and holding in the clutch doesn't bother me. But when I tried learning a stick-shift car my buddy went ballistic saying "you can't just hold in the clutch and coast at 65mph, you need to stay in gear and just lightly hold the gas to stay at speed." So am I riding in an unsafe fashion by coasting, then releasing the clutch into 5th to get a bit more momentum, then coasting again? I'm not stalling, not redlining, my tranny's not clunking, and generally getting no bad signs from the bike. But is it just an inefficient or unwise way to ride?
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Apr 17, 2009 05:27
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sectoidman posted:If it's flooded really badly, you should be able to smell gasoline from the exhaust pipes when you try to crank it over. I'll check for that tomorrow. In a flooded car, usually you can just hold down the gas pedal and crank it to clear the cylinders. Does the same apply for a bike? Will holding the throttle all the way open help clear it out? sirbeefalot fucked around with this message at 06:07 on Apr 17, 2009 |
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Apr 17, 2009 05:57
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sirbeefalot posted:I'll check for that tomorrow. In a flooded car, usually you can just hold down the gas pedal and crank it to clear the cylinders. Does the same apply for a bike? Will holding the throttle all the way open help clear it out? Yes, but I'd say it's more likely that you had crap at the very bottom of the tank that got sucked in when you switched to reserve and has clogged your fuel filter or carbs. This is why it's a good idea to run reserve regularly.
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Apr 17, 2009 06:02
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So what do you mean by run it regularly? Should I switch it to reserve in the middle of each tank for a couple dozen miles or something? Guess I might be wrenching on this thing much earlier than I expected to.
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Apr 17, 2009 06:08
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Segue: I don't ride with other people, so have no idea what's "normal" and what's not. Is it weird, or bad for the bike, to often hold the clutch lever and just coast? I'm used to driving an automatic, so completely letting off the throttle and holding in the clutch doesn't bother me. But when I tried learning a stick-shift car my buddy went ballistic saying "you can't just hold in the clutch and coast at 65mph, you need to stay in gear and just lightly hold the gas to stay at speed." Don't do this. Put the bike in whatever gear you want to be in and hold the throttle steady to maintain speed. I've never heard of anyone coasting at 65 mph. I'd imagine it'd be hell on your clutch.
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Apr 17, 2009 06:13
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sirbeefalot posted:So what do you mean by run it regularly? Should I switch it to reserve in the middle of each tank for a couple dozen miles or something? Just that sediment will build up in the bottom of your tank over time. If you use reserve every so often, it avoids the bike crapping out when you switch to reserve. Once a month is fine. I ran mine on reserve all the time and just kept an eye on my odometer. Tap, don't coast with the clutch in. Just use the throttle to maintain even speed. Z3n fucked around with this message at 06:53 on Apr 17, 2009 |
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Apr 17, 2009 06:29
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Uthor posted:Don't do this. Put the bike in whatever gear you want to be in and hold the throttle steady to maintain speed. I've never heard of anyone coasting at 65 mph. I'd imagine it'd be hell on your clutch. Really? I mean, really? I've always coasted with the clutch in when going downhill or if I want to lose speed without the need to brake. Obviously it's not for very long - they don't stay at 65mph in perpetuity - but I've never heard of coasting being harmful to the vehicle or encountered atypical clutch ware. There are a few areas around here where I can occasionally coast for miles without any loss of speed (e.g., escaping the valley and descending into West LA). For the record, I do this with everything - motorcycles, cars, and cars with automatic transmissions (drop it into neutral to save gas). OrangeFurious fucked around with this message at 07:03 on Apr 17, 2009 |
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Apr 17, 2009 06:32
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I gathered that he was doing this on flat roads, clutching in and out to maintain speed instead of staying in gear and maintaining throttle. It wasn't the coasting that I meant was doing the damage, but the constant clutch engagement. And, so you know, I'm in IL. The longest hill I encounter is a 1/4 mile long down toward a river and I stay on the gas the whole way 'cause I like to go fast down the hill.
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Apr 17, 2009 06:51
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Uthor posted:I gathered that he was doing this on flat roads, clutching in and out to maintain speed instead of staying in gear and maintaining throttle. It wasn't the coasting that I meant was doing the damage, but the constant clutch engagement. That would explain it. I typically stay on the gas unless I'm downhill. As much as I like to accelerate downhill, both of the ones I go down regularly are popular with the highway patrol. 
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Apr 17, 2009 07:05
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Uthor posted:I gathered that he was doing this on flat roads, clutching in and out to maintain speed instead of staying in gear and maintaining throttle. It wasn't the coasting that I meant was doing the damage, but the constant clutch engagement. That was kinda my question. Say, on a relatively flat road with a 35mph speed limit, I accelerate to 40mph or so, realise I've got plenty of momentum, and then coast the next block or so with the clutch lever held. Again, I don't get any clutch conflicts with this; I don't get some huge *clunk* as I release the lever in the wrong gear or whatever. I'm re-engaging on the right gears, not stalling out or hitting redline by engaging the clutch in too low of a gear or whatever. I've done this constantly for 13 years with automatic transmission cars, letting off the gas completely when I'm at-speed and can maintain it without more gas. What exactly about engaging and disengaging the clutch is damaging? Not arguing against it, just curious to the mechanical reasoning. If I'm not stressing the gears one way or the other, what is being harmed? Or is it just bad principle because there are various ways I could jack things up if I get the rhythm wrong?
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Apr 17, 2009 07:10
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sectoidman posted:How safe are those rubber-string-based plug kits to ride on? I'm stuck at my school with a flat tire, and the only auto parts store I could find only had the plug kit with a reamer, a needle-like tool, the string material, and rubber cement. I've followed the included instructions on applying the stuff, and rubber-cemented the plug area for good measure, and am waiting for it to cure before I attempt to ride home. Some people (internet anecdotes ahoy!) have put thousands of miles on plugged tires. I was looking into my sorry remains of rear wheel threads the other day, seems like mine has a plug too. 5000 miles since I bought it.
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Apr 17, 2009 08:18
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:*am I wrong?* There's nothing inherently wrong with what you're doing. Is it making you a better rider? Is it making your bike safer? Is it a good idea? No's across the board. You're not hurting your bike if you're not slamming it back into gear. But you're making the bike's behavior unpredictable. If you need power.. now. Like you need to swerve around a raccoon or something. You want to have power available. Now. not once you've brought engine rpms up, and re-engaged the clutch, and then made sure you're in the right gear. You won't even really get better fuel economy. I do play games like that on my bike when I'm bored. But always when there's no traffic around, and I can see far off the sides of the road. You'll never catch me doing it in wooded areas, or tight residential areas.
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Apr 17, 2009 08:34
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:That was kinda my question. Say, on a relatively flat road with a 35mph speed limit, I accelerate to 40mph or so, realise I've got plenty of momentum, and then coast the next block or so with the clutch lever held. Wait, I'm still confused. Are you keeping the throttle open when 'cruising' with the clutch held? or are you closing the throttle and holding in the clutch in? If you at 40mph in a 35 zone, cant you just close the throttle a bit? It seems like your going 40...35...40....35...40...35? Cant you just hold the throttle at 35? I'm really confused here. Dubs fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Apr 17, 2009 |
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Apr 17, 2009 09:01
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sectoidman posted:How safe are those rubber-string-based plug kits to ride on? I had a puncture on my rear wheel, inside a groove, and someone plugged it with a kit as you describe. It held air just fine over several days of riding, until I had it replaced with a 'permanent' mushroom plug, just in case.
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Apr 17, 2009 10:02
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Z3n posted:Yes, but I'd say it's more likely that you had crap at the very bottom of the tank that got sucked in when you switched to reserve and has clogged your fuel filter or carbs. This is why it's a good idea to run reserve regularly. Something doesn't quite add up with this, though, as a Ninjette should get well beyond 150 miles to a tank before hitting reserve, even if you're hauling rear end at freeway speed the whole time.
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Apr 17, 2009 15:14
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sirbeefalot posted:Any suggestions for a newbie as to why his 2004 EX250 he's had for a whole week wouldn't start today? One thing you should check: The breather line on the gas tank. Sometimes a bug will crawl up inside there to die. This will cause the bike to give you enough fuel to get started, but then it will die within a few seconds. Once you lift the tank, the breather line is very easy to find(it's the tube that runs out of the tank and empties to nowhere.
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Apr 17, 2009 15:15
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Wind noise at 55+ mph is insane with an open-face helmet. I wear earplugs, and got teased by my buddies. gently caress them.
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Apr 17, 2009 15:53
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Bob Morales posted:Wind noise at 55+ mph is insane with an open-face helmet. I wear earplugs, and got teased by my buddies. gently caress them. Why are you wearing an open face helmet? Full face doesn't look stylish enough? I'll be teasing you after your face takes the brunt of an impact.
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Apr 17, 2009 16:10
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OrangeFurious posted:Really? I mean, really? Thing is it won't save you gas at least in a fuel injected car, and I bet FI bikes are the same way. I'd also wager that carbs use less when the throttle is shut and the engine is kept turning by the slope of the hill vs having to keep the motor running on the idle circuit. In FI cars, when you lift the throttle, the gas in quite short order turns off. Your car must use fuel to idle an engine when it's in neutral. Is it significant? Not really, but you definitely aren't saving gas. With regard to an automatic transmission in a car, I would not be surprised if this was hard on the transmission. You'd have to ask in AI, but I bet when you pop it back into drive when you reach the bottom of the hill, it's not good for the tranny. The main reason you want to stay in gear is you are reducing your ability to use the throttle rapidly if required. An examples: You are side by side with a car that starts to merge into you, and you're being followed closely. Your best escape is to just accelerate forward. Even if you just dump the clutch and whack open the throttle you're still losing a bit of time that you could use to get moving. You dump the clutch on a relatively fast bike a late and get accidentally some revs up, and now you've just clutched up a wheelie you weren't planning on doing.
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Apr 17, 2009 16:12
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Bob Morales posted:Wind noise at 55+ mph is insane with an open-face helmet. I wear earplugs, and got teased by my buddies. gently caress them. Try a full face, its much more civilized. Plus you can talk/sing/curse inside it without looking like a crazy person.
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Apr 17, 2009 17:36
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sklnd posted:Something doesn't quite add up with this, though, as a Ninjette should get well beyond 150 miles to a tank before hitting reserve, even if you're hauling rear end at freeway speed the whole time. My ninjette never made it past about 150 with me on it before wanting reserve. I was a little aggressive with the throttle and revs, but I'd usually see around 50-55mpg out of it. Sometimes I got into the mid 40s when really aggressive. I've plugged friends tires before and they've gotten home on them, and my recommendation would be to take the tire to a shop and get it plugged properly from the inside (on a streetbike/commuter).
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Apr 17, 2009 17:41
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8ender posted:Try a full face, its much more civilized. Plus you can talk/sing/curse inside it without looking like a crazy person. Or a modular. The early modulars had a reputation for being the worst of both worlds - noisy, heavy and dull. Some of the newer ones are quite good though. I use a Caberg Trip and it's quiet, comfortable and looks good. Plus, I can ride around with my face hidden, then flip it up like a tool. A few good modulars: Roof Boxer: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/roof-helmet/roof-boxer/ Caberg Trip:http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/caberg-trip/ Nolan N100e: http://www.nolanhelmets.com/n100e.htm
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Apr 17, 2009 17:45
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n8r posted:a bunch of stuff I'll experiment with coasting vs. throttle. I can see the point for quick access to power. As far as fuel economy goes, I haven't tracked it on the bike (carbs) enough to know if it helps, but there's a definite advantage on my Volvo (FI - about an extra 50 miles a tank) and a very minimal advantage on my BMW (FI).
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Apr 17, 2009 17:58
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Ola posted:Some people (internet anecdotes ahoy!) have put thousands of miles on plugged tires. I was looking into my sorry remains of rear wheel threads the other day, seems like mine has a plug too. 5000 miles since I bought it. my mate ran his rear down to the cords with two rope plugs in it, maybe 8000 miles. i had one in my last rear tyre for a year (got a puncture a day or two after fitting the tyre.) from personal and anecdotal experience they're fine.
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Apr 17, 2009 18:52
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I ran about 4K miles on a plugged Pilot Power on my GSXR-600. It was fine. It was the typical "nail in a week old tire" scenario.
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Apr 17, 2009 19:10
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Z3n posted:My ninjette never made it past about 150 with me on it before wanting reserve. I was a little aggressive with the throttle and revs, but I'd usually see around 50-55mpg out of it. Sometimes I got into the mid 40s when really aggressive. 150 miles to reserve means you're below 40mpg, which would make me think something is actually wrong with the bike.
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Apr 17, 2009 19:15
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8ender posted:Plus you can talk/sing/curse inside it without looking like a crazy person. I'm glad I'm not the only one that does this.
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Apr 17, 2009 19:20
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sklnd posted:Even at 50mpg, the 4.8gal tank should get you at least 200 miles before hitting reserve, and that's at 5mpg lower than I've ever seen on mine. Usually I'm in the high 50s/low 60s depending on what I've been doing. I never, ever, put more than 3.5 or so gallons in. I could have sworn it only had a 4.1 gallon tank, but every spec that I see backs up it being 4.8 gallons. I guess I just filled up more often than I needed to. I tend to anticipate fillups a bit though. Now that you mention it though: I wonder if the PO had the fuel hoses hooked up backwards. So he swaps it over to "reserve", but it's really moving to on, and it not being completely full before could explain it only going 150 miles. Try flipping it to on and seeing if it runs then?
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Apr 17, 2009 19:33
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Speaking of mileage, I usually get pretty bad mileage on my GS500. I think I get about 30-40MPG or so and Suzuki advertise 59MPG on the '09 model. Granted my bike is is a 92, but 1/2 the mileage? I have some slow leaks when I aggressively drive the bike that accumulates around the heads and plugs, but nothing that causes drips or half my drat gas tank to leak out  .I drive semi aggressively (accelerate pretty quickly) but I keep it in check when I'm at speed. Or am I just being a big baby and 30-40 is fine and I should be worried if it was less than that..? 
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Apr 17, 2009 19:56
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BotchedLobotomy posted:I have some slow leaks when I aggressively drive the bike that accumulates around the heads and plugs, but nothing that causes drips or half my drat gas tank to leak out You're driving around with a leaking gas tank? That's pooling on your hot engine? 
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Apr 17, 2009 20:01
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Ola posted:You're driving around with a leaking gas tank? That's pooling on your hot engine? The tank isn't leaking, the heads are. Sorry, I should have clarified. Yeah that does sound super sketch how I wrote it, but no that's not the case haha.
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Apr 17, 2009 20:05
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sklnd posted:Even at 50mpg, the 4.8gal tank should get you at least 200 miles before hitting reserve, and that's at 5mpg lower than I've ever seen on mine. Usually I'm in the high 50s/low 60s depending on what I've been doing. My Vulcan is like that. I get around 120 miles out of a tank before hitting reserve and 50 mpg. According the specs, I have a 4 gallon tank and should only be hitting reserve with 0.5 gallons left. The reserve cutoff comes a bit earlier than specified and because I hate pushing it, I fill up as soon as I hit it.
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Apr 17, 2009 20:08
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I pose to CA the most difficult, gayest and most pointless question of the year. What color rim tape would look good on this bike?  Click here for the full 1024x768 image.  Click here for the full 1024x768 image. I unfortunately own the strangest colored quasi-sport bike on the planet, AND I love rimtape like there is no tomorrow. I have no idea what would look good though. Tapeworks has a huge selection: http://www.tapeworks.com/Rimstripes/RimstripesHome.html Any colors that would look good?
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Apr 17, 2009 20:33
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Must you even ask? This of course http://www.tapeworks.com/Rimstripes/6185.jpg
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Apr 17, 2009 20:39
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For most of the early spring, my bike was running great. Now, suddenly, I've lost most if not all of my top end power. If I engage my clutch at low rpm, I'm fine until around 5000 rpm. Beyond that, I can barely build revs when moving. If I try to release the clutch from around 5000 rpm, it bogs and nearly stalls. What should I be looking at to get it running better again?
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Apr 17, 2009 21:08
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What bike is it? Does the bogging point move a bit with temperature or is it dead on every time? I'd check the plugs for color and the air filter first. Maybe you're overdue for a valve clearance check.
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Apr 17, 2009 21:11
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Ola posted:Must you even ask? This of course http://www.tapeworks.com/Rimstripes/6185.jpg I would, but I dont want something that sticks out like that. Its too JDM. I was thinking I could use the champagne color they have, but that might blend in too well. This is honestly an impossible bike to do rimtape on.
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Apr 17, 2009 21:19
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What's the best way to align your wheels if you don't trust the notches on the swingarm?
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Apr 17, 2009 21:27
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