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Pompous Rhombus posted:Not really, no. Old people are definitely shorter (very little calcium in the traditional Japanese diet) but people are still significantly shorter on average. I wear a 10.5 shoe and that's effectively where the normal sizes end at stores, and I still bonk my head on stuff at 6'1". Man, i'm the same size and it seems everything is designed just so guys like us smack their heads on it. Also i've got what seems a stupid question which I think I already know the answer to, but i'll ask anyway. Is 53,000 miles just too much for a 2003 BMW F650GS? I'm in the market for a dual sport and one popped us for $3,400. Don't motorcycles just start falling apart after 20,000 miles anyway?  It looks very nice(In fact, i'll just Link the ad here) and BMW has that German reliability thing going on.
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Feb 18, 2013 01:09
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echomadman posted:Drum or disk brakes? Wait so that squealing is the vibration between the pistons and the back of the pads?? Neato burrito!
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Feb 18, 2013 01:17
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epalm posted:Wait so that squealing is the vibration between the pistons and the back of the pads?? Neato burrito! Also vibration between the rail part of the pad carrier/caliper and the pad sides. Also potentially the rotor having enough of an unworn lip to wear a chamfer into the edge of the pad. That's why cars have shims both on the pad plate and the caliper sides.
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Feb 18, 2013 04:47
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Thanks for the advice on tuneups. I think I am going to go back to stock exhaust for ease of tuning, and for max quietness since apparently I am not intent on saving my life with loud pipes. How serious is denting of the muffler (in my case a Ninja 500)? Is it a "your engine will never breathe right and it'll be hella loud" thing, or more just a "meh, it'll look ugly and be more susceptible to further denting" thing? Specifically I'm looking at this auction, which looks reasonable if some denting isn't an issue: http://www.ebay.com/itm/89-Kawasaki...5b4007a&vxp=mtr
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Feb 18, 2013 06:05
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Unless its dented enough to be cutting into the air flow significantly (e.g kinked) I can't imagine it being an issue. Personally I'd look for another set of pipes, but it doesn't look like the dent is big enough to cause an issue. (The pictures are pretty grainy to me though, might be worse than it looks).
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Feb 18, 2013 09:58
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Thanks for the answers guys, unfortunately the sale didn't go through. Bike was ok but he did not want to give me a test ride because the tires were brand-new, which I can understand. He then informed me there was another buyer who made a higher offer (100 euros more). Kind of wanted to kick him in the nuts, jackass could have told me that on the phone and spared me a two hour trip. Back to the drawing board :|
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Feb 18, 2013 18:27
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jujube posted:Thanks for the answers guys, unfortunately the sale didn't go through. Bike was ok but he did not want to give me a test ride because the tires were brand-new, which I can understand. He then informed me there was another buyer who made a higher offer (100 euros more). Kind of wanted to kick him in the nuts, jackass could have told me that on the phone and spared me a two hour trip. Maybe I am just jaded, but this seems fishy to me. New tires benefit from some break-in, but shouldn't make a test-ride impossible. Did he offer to ride it around the block or parking lot to at least show you that the bike functioned. Not as good as your own test-ride, but might rule out the new tires as a pretext to hide some bigger problems. Also, the "just had an offer for +100 Euros" seems cagey. Why does he still have the bike? Maybe he was being a cool guy to let you meet the offer, but it seems like a shake-down. Of course, that may just be a drop in translation from the actual encounter to your post. v0v
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Feb 18, 2013 23:19
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Are bikes with EFI less of a pain in the rear end to maintain than carbed bikes? Specifically, for sitting for a month or two during the particularly cold winter months? Basically I just found out I'm getting ~$4k back on my tax return and I need to blow it right now and buying a new helmet and getting a full tune on my Ninjette just isn't enough help me
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Feb 19, 2013 01:00
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Quick and easy one: I want a soldering iron I can easily use on the bike, so it has to be cordless since I'm working on the kerb or in the alley because I have no garage/shed and live on the fifth floor. I also wanted a heat-gun so I can shrink-wrap any cables I cut/splice to put on aftermarket signals, particularly since mine is streetfightered so greater weatherproofing is best. The cheapest of each of those seem to be the butane-powered soldering irons and heatguns, but can I presume those use open flame and so are not good to use around a bike packed with petroleum products? Is there a goon-recommended solution for a cordless, and can I sort of use a soldering iron as a heatgun by holding it close to but not touching the shrinkwrap, or do I really need two separate cordless items? And/or is it advisable, regardless of type of device, to only use heat guns and soldering irons when the tank is drained and fully removed? Other quick one: my understanding is it's really important to keep external grime and crud from getting inside the engine body, so carefully cleaning around sparkplugs before pulling them. Does that also mean that when I remove the carbs and the exhaust, do I need to saran-wrap/ziptie/etc some kind of seal around the hole left behind if it's going to be a few days until I can re-install the part?
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Feb 19, 2013 01:00
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Quick and easy one: I want a soldering iron I can easily use on the bike, so it has to be cordless since I'm working on the kerb or in the alley because I have no garage/shed and live on the fifth floor. I also wanted a heat-gun so I can shrink-wrap any cables I cut/splice to put on aftermarket signals, particularly since mine is streetfightered so greater weatherproofing is best. I have this. It gets about as hot as a cheap 15watt iron, which is fine for small wires. Take the soldering tip off and it blows really hot air suitable for small heatshrink. Take that part off and its a small blue flame, for whatever. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3183478&cagpspn=pla I wouldn't use it under a leaking carb with gasoline soaked hands, but I've never been too worried about using it in the garage and around vehicles. I really don't know what kind of wireless soldering iron you expect to find that doesn't burn a fuel for heat. (Those gimmicky cold-touch irons don't count because they don't work.) The other question: Put a rag in your exposed engine orifices just to keep stuff from falling in. You'll inevitably drop a socket inside if you don't. You're overthinking it if you're thinking you need some kind of airtight plastic seal. eddiewalker fucked around with this message at 01:10 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 01:07
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Fifty Three posted:Are bikes with EFI less of a pain in the rear end to maintain than carbed bikes? Specifically, for sitting for a month or two during the particularly cold winter months? Sell your ninja and use some of that return to get a new bike.
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Feb 19, 2013 01:08
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Quick and easy one: I want a soldering iron I can easily use on the bike, so it has to be cordless since I'm working on the kerb or in the alley because I have no garage/shed and live on the fifth floor. I also wanted a heat-gun so I can shrink-wrap any cables I cut/splice to put on aftermarket signals, particularly since mine is streetfightered so greater weatherproofing is best. Adam Savage's pick for a cordless soldering gun is the Weller Pyropen. http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/7268 Cheaper and supposedly just as good is the Weller PortaSol. http://kk.org/cooltools/archives/2690 Unless you're actively dunking the soldering iron into the gas tank, you should be okay. I'd be wary around any actively dripping gas too, but it's not as explosive as people make it out to be. I don't know about a cordless heat gun. I skip soldering altogether and go for weatherproof Posi-Tite butt splices. Look here under Weather Resistant Twist on for Stranded Wire: http://www.mcmaster.com/#butt-splices/=ljdfm8 As far as plugging up the hole when you remove the carb, etc, goes, you can get away with using some crumpled up shop towels as long as you're not leaving the bike so long that rats are going to start nesting.
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Feb 19, 2013 01:16
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I know it's the DC area with all the silliness that entails but if I were your first-floor neighbors I might be more willing to let you run an extension cord out the window for your relatively low-power soldering/heatgunning needs than have you running around on the curb with a blowtorch. I'm assuming they're not idiots who would call the landlord / cops for you working on your bike in the first place. That being said, any precision soldering is realistically going to require taking the bits off the bike and working somewhere more stable anyway. Heatshrink can be shrunk with a Zippo.
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Feb 19, 2013 01:31
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nsaP posted:Sell your ninja and use some of that return to get a new bike.  At least at this point. We'll see how I feel once the weather warms up. That's another reason I don't want to sell it, though- it just doesn't run right when it's cold. No power, dies if I try to pull away at less than 7-8k. It isn't a problem during the summer, but I don't want to sell that to someone. I'd like to pay for a professional work-over first, at least.
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Feb 19, 2013 01:49
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Fifty Three posted:I'd probably miss it too much. Your pilot jets are clogged. Take two hours, pull your float bowls, clean the pilot screw passages and pilot jets. That will fix it all. Though yes, EFI bikes have less trouble.
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Feb 19, 2013 03:19
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I have a similar problem! - my bike has some trouble pulling away from a stop unless I rev it up higher than usual and hold it there. Once I'm moving and have the throttle open, it responds well. - if I quickly pull the throttle arm on the left cylinder, it responds quickly and strongly. - if I quickly pull the throttle arm on the right cylinder, the bike stumbles and will stall. If I pull it more slowly, it revs up and then starts to pull and run fine at about 20-30% throttle opening. This sounds like one or more clogged jets on the right carb, correct? I'm really hoping that's what it is. I ask because the other day, after a long hard pull on the freeway, my valves got REALLY noisy. Like going from "industrial sewing machine" to "moderately-sized jackhammer". I made a temporary adjustment to quiet them down a bit but I'm worried that maybe something bad has happened to the valves on the right cylinder. Is there something that could happen suddenly to the valves that would cause them to get really noisy and also lose power off-idle, but still pull in the midrange? I think that the bogging down was happening before the valve noise thing (coincidentally, right after I messed around with both carbs because the fuel valves were leaking...), but I feel like it's gotten worse since. I might just be overreacting because now I'm worried about the engine. This coming weekend I'm going to clean the carbs, test the compression and get the valves dialed in exactly where they're supposed to be, but I was wondering if there's anything I'm overlooking here. Still hoping it's just a clog in the right carb. Sagebrush fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 04:17
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Loose spark plug or dying cylinder? If you disconnect the plug wire on each side how does it change things?
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Feb 19, 2013 05:06
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Nerobro posted:Your pilot jets are clogged. Take two hours, pull your float bowls, clean the pilot screw passages and pilot jets. That will fix it all.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:21
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Z3n posted:Loose spark plug or dying cylinder? If you disconnect the plug wire on each side how does it change things? Both plugs look a nice dusty brown like they should, and I can rev the engine up on either cylinder alone by lifting that side's throttle arm -- I can even accelerate on either side alone, albeit slowly and only to about 5000 rpm before the engine peters out (this is the case whenever I have one throttle closed, though, regardless of which side it is). When I roll on the throttle with one cylinder not firing at all, which has happened before, I get this really obvious plup-plup-plup noise from one pipe along with a huge and obvious loss of power, and that isn't happening here. The right side just seems to have a lot of trouble getting going at small throttle openings, and the power feels more like 1.5 cylinders firing than one or two. I'm going to go and try idling it on one side or the other by disconnecting a plug (wake up, neighbors, it's only 9pm!) and see what happens.
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Feb 19, 2013 05:49
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TEST CONCLUSIONS The engine will idle and run with either plug disconnected, provided I give it more gas than usual (obviously). The left cylinder responds crisply to any throttle movement. The right side generally bogs down and responds more poorly but doesn't sound like it's missing or choking. Holding the spark plug boot in my hand makes my arm twitch.
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Feb 19, 2013 06:02
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Fifty Three posted:Aight. Thanks for the heads-up! Should I bother going further to check the valves while I'm (or the mechanic is) that deep? I might still let a professional handle it. Checking the valves on a Ninja 250 isn't all that bad (he says, having read the instructions but never actually done the job).
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Feb 19, 2013 12:11
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If I had a garage none of this would even be an issue. 
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Feb 19, 2013 13:42
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Sagebrush posted:TEST CONCLUSIONS You need to do some plug chops on that left cylinder. If it's responding poorly at low throttle, could be plugged pilot jet (low throttle) or a problem in the needle setting (mid-throttle), since you seem to have issues in that transition. Also, check that left intake and exhaust for air leaks. Do you one siamese carb or separate carbs for each cylinder? Maybe they need synching.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:03
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I'm going to be bleeding my brakes Wednesday. I know I need DOT 4 fluid and have some, but I've used a bit of it before, and the container is open; is there an expiration date on brake fluid in an opened container? Should I just spend another $10 on a new bottle or is it fine? Probably a dumb question, but I'd rather not risk compromising 30% of my stopping power.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:08
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Pope Mobile posted:I'm going to be bleeding my brakes Wednesday. I know I need DOT 4 fluid and have some, but I've used a bit of it before, and the container is open; is there an expiration date on brake fluid in an opened container? Should I just spend another $10 on a new bottle or is it fine? Probably a dumb question, but I'd rather not risk compromising 30% of my stopping power. Just see if it tastes like vinegar. If not, you're good. How long have you had the fluid? It's probably fine, unless you bought it ages ago. I'd grab another bottle just to avoid running out half-way through the bleed job.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:12
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It's been sitting open for a couple years at least. Haven't used it in a long time.
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Feb 19, 2013 17:33
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Pope Mobile posted:It's been sitting open for a couple years at least. Haven't used it in a long time. Buy new fluid. It's a few bucks. DOT 4 is hygroscopic, if it's been open for a few years, it's gonna have water in it. ThatCguy fucked around with this message at 17:39 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 17:36
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Sagebrush posted:TEST CONCLUSIONS This made me laugh more than it should.
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Feb 19, 2013 18:12
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Tamir Lenk posted:You need to do some plug chops on that left cylinder. If it's responding poorly at low throttle, could be plugged pilot jet (low throttle) or a problem in the needle setting (mid-throttle), since you seem to have issues in that transition. Also, check that left intake and exhaust for air leaks. You mean the right cylinder, yeah? The right side is the one that's bogging. Or is there some reason I should check over the good one beyond just making sure that everything is okay? And it's separate carbs for each cylinder, but with no vacuum port, the official Honda-sanctioned synching method is "feel the exhaust pressure and see if it's about equal on both pipes".
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Feb 19, 2013 18:32
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Sagebrush posted:You mean the right cylinder, yeah? The right side is the one that's bogging. Or is there some reason I should check over the good one beyond just making sure that everything is okay? Yea, plug chop on the bad cylinder. That sucks about vacuum ports, but whatevs. Perhaps you can't tell with engine running on both cylinders, but does the idle hang or wander when you run it? I should back track your posts, but how does the bike/engine run at the higher throttle range (3/4 - WoT)? Does it smooth out at all or get worse?
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Feb 19, 2013 21:06
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The engine runs pretty well at higher throttle ranges, though with the short gearing I'm having trouble separating "open throttle" from "high RPM". If I deliberately lug the engine hard by putting it in too high a gear and going WOT, it burps and shakes and lurches, like it's repeatedly missing and then suddenly firing. I don't know what that's about. The idle wanders a little bit over a range of maybe 500rpm while the bike is warming up, but is fairly stable once it's at operating temperature. It's difficult to tell exactly because at idle the tachometer itself jumps around though the exhaust sounds stable. I haven't noticed any actual hanging when I close the throttle, though it does sort of go in two stages -- a fairly rapid drop to about 1800rpm, a pause for a second or so, then a drop to the idle point of 1300-1500. e: oh, I haven't checked to see what happens to the idle on one cylinder. It seemed pretty solid, actually, as long as I gave it about twice as much gas as usual.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:11
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Anyone have any tips for breaking in new brake pads? Just 0-50-0mph a few times?
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Feb 19, 2013 22:37
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Sagebrush posted:I haven't noticed any actual hanging when I close the throttle, though it does sort of go in two stages -- a fairly rapid drop to about 1800rpm, a pause for a second or so, then a drop to the idle point of 1300-1500. That's hanging. That also typically indicates a lean condition. I'm betting you either have a clogged jet/passage in that carb or a ruptured diaphragm. Also check the fuel level in the bowl.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:45
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Xovaan posted:Anyone have any tips for breaking in new brake pads? Just 0-50-0mph a few times? Depends on what the manufacturer says. From what I've seen, most say to avoid heavy braking/excessive heat for a bit to avoid glazing and warping.
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Feb 19, 2013 22:49
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obso posted:That's hanging. That also typically indicates a lean condition. I'm betting you either have a clogged jet/passage in that carb or a ruptured diaphragm. Also check the fuel level in the bowl. Huh, I had no idea. When people talked about "hanging" I thought they meant like, it stays up at 3000rpm roaring away for a while, or something. The diaphragms looked pretty good when I had them open last weekend, but I'll check them over again. Here's to hoping that I just loosened up some little chunk of crud that's now stuck in the pilot and screwing with everything on that carb. Time to bring out the pine-sol and carb dip, whee
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Feb 19, 2013 22:59
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Have you tried just swapping the plugs between each other? I wouldn't go tearing into carbs right off the bat. How does the spark look?
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Feb 19, 2013 23:02
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I've tried swapping the plugs and there's no difference. The spark is blue, and I get a pretty big shock holding the boot in my hand. Is there some other test I can do to evaluate the spark?
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Feb 19, 2013 23:23
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Sagebrush posted:I've tried swapping the plugs and there's no difference. The spark is blue, and I get a pretty big shock holding the boot in my hand. Is there some other test I can do to evaluate the spark? Is your ignition timing adjustable? You might have a slight timing issue on that side. Sometimes ignition timing problems masquerade as mixture problems. Of course, it happens the other way too . . So IF your ignition timing is adjustable, you could check that before tearing down carbs. It's probably that carb though.
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Feb 20, 2013 00:17
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Sagebrush posted:I've tried swapping the plugs and there's no difference. The spark is blue, and I get a pretty big shock holding the boot in my hand. Is there some other test I can do to evaluate the spark? Couldn't you poke it with a multimeter rather than shocking yourself multiple times? As amusing as the image is I can't imagine its overly fun / healthy...
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Feb 20, 2013 01:16
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Xovaan posted:Anyone have any tips for breaking in new brake pads? Just 0-50-0mph a few times? I typically just drag the brakes at freeway speed for about 5 seconds, just enough to have to roll on the gas a little to keep speed up. Then let it sit for around 30 seconds, then repeat. You'll feel the power ramp up after a few times.
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Feb 20, 2013 01:31
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