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nsaP posted:Also leave the carbs alone until it's a last resort.
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Aug 25, 2013 14:40
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nsaP posted:b Scienceandmusic: Seafoam it. Do an "italian tune-up." My old bike loved Seafoam. If that doesn't work, you may take the carbs off the bike and spray carb cleaner in them and scrub. Do not break any rubber boots or anything that connect to them. But really, as everyone else as said, don't mess with taking the carbs off/apart.
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Aug 25, 2013 14:53
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What exactly is an italian tune up? I just redline it for a few miles?
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Aug 25, 2013 15:47
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mainks posted:Day one (NYC to Cleveland, OH) is done. I'm still alive. Ribsauce posted:What exactly is an italian tune up? I just redline it for a few miles? I'm desperately looking to ride today. I spent Friday and Saturday backpacking in the Marietta portion of the Wayne NF in Ohio.. Beautiful roads, beautiful area, and next to no traffic. Unfortunately I was sitting shotgun in a GMC Canyon. I'm jonesin hard for some curves, but Wayne is like 3.5 hours away from me and I'm not in the mood to put in 10 hours of seat time today. astrollinthepork fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Aug 25, 2013 |
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Aug 25, 2013 15:51
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astrollinthepork posted:Now you're in for some of the most mind numbingly boring riding imaginable. Tell me you took US30 in PA. I haven't been in years and need to live vicariously through you. I'll say I did, but didn't. Wait - it gets more boring than that first stretch? Does someone else drive the bike for me? Just thought of something - I knocked one of the blinkers partially off:  Is the leakage from that enough to drain the battery? Can I cut the light off and seal each wire separately with electrical tape? I don't really know what I'm doing or talking about here. mainks fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Aug 25, 2013 |
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Aug 25, 2013 15:56
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B is the second letter of the alphabet and a typo in that post. Focus on everything that wasn't 'b'.
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Aug 25, 2013 16:11
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thylacine posted:
It is also probably a good idea to file crosshatching onto the footpad of the centerstand. I was putting my Futura onto the stand when my foot slipped off and the bike lurched forward and tipped away from me. Minor scratches. On the upside, while inspecting the damage, I discovered that one of my footpeg bolts had backed itself out halfway.
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Aug 25, 2013 16:49
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MotoMind posted:It is also probably a good idea to file crosshatching onto the footpad of the centerstand. I was putting my Futura onto the stand when my foot slipped off and the bike lurched forward and tipped away from me. Minor scratches. On the upside, while inspecting the damage, I discovered that one of my footpeg bolts had backed itself out halfway. I almost dropped my bike putting it on the stand yesterday, one of the hooks slipped off the spindle... then I noticed one of the spindles is starting to bend. Bleh.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:19
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mainks posted:Day one (NYC to Cleveland, OH) is done. I'm still alive. Ok, so swing by a batteries plus if you have one in your area for starters, they should have charged batteries in stock. Secondly, check your charging system isn't toast...get to the battery with a multimeter, rev the bike to 5k, and make sure it's putting out roughly 14v. If it's not, buy a battery tender, disconnect your headlight during day riding, and minimize starting, while charging your bike on the battery tender every chance you get. That'll get you through your trip. Stugazi posted:Street Triple owners, lend me your ear. Probably due to a bad match on spring rates to your weight, or too much compression damping. Is there any adjustability on the front forks at all?
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Aug 25, 2013 17:24
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ScienceAndMusic: have you checked your throttle stop yet? I bet it's just screwed way in to "fix" a rough idle from gunk buildup. If you're unsure of what this is, this ebay auction has a good head-on picture, it's the knob in the center. Try screwing it out while your bike is running and see what happens. Thirding the "don't do full carb clean unless it's the last option" as well - with a group of carbs once you take them apart they have to be manually synced with a manometer. That's going to be a huge pain in the rear end for somebody relatively new to this stuff to both construct a 4-port manometer(because gently caress buying one, that's going to be realllllly expensive) and then sync all the carbs properly on a bike that you're relatively new to. If you do decide to give them some form of cleaning, do NOT let carb cleaner touch the rubber inside them. It will best-case warp your rubber bits, worst case outright dissolve and destroy them. Stick to naphtha(Ronsonol lighter fluid) and Seafoam(mainly naptha anyways) fed through the fuel or into vacuum lines. If you're sure it's gunked up hard, try draining the gas tank/running the carbs dry and pouring a bunch of naptha/seafoam into the tank, and just enough gas(premium has more detergents) for the level to rise high enough to make it into the fuel pickup. Pull your choke all the way and crank it enough to fill the bowls and get the engine running for a few moments or at least sprayed into the cylinders. If you can get it to run on this mix(it's going to sound terrible) gas it and push your choke back in to try and get as much flowing through the jet paths as you can. Then, just turn your petcock off, walk away for a day or two while it does its thing, drain the bowls, then gas it normally and ride til the tank's empty. It's not as good as a long pine-sol boil but it works pretty well and you won't have to fiddle around with resyncing.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:49
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You don't need to pull the carbs off the rack. You don't need to soak them, generally, either, if the bike is running. Just pull the carbs, run wire through the pilots, mains, pull the needle, make sure the passages under the mains/pilots aren't clogged (they very rarely are, as the restriction is the jet), and check the number of turns out the A/F screws are and then pull and clean those as well and you're good to go. I've never bothered soaking a carb in my life - they're really simple and there's no reason to go through all that work except in the most extreme of cases. And even then you're better off buying and refreshing a carb from ebay vs. the amount of work you'll do soaking one. In fact, I'd bet money that in the majority of carb cleans where the bike is already running, just not well, all you really need to do is clean the pilot with some wire. You could probably pull the float bowls and run some wire through them without ever pulling the carbs off the bike if you have the right size small tools to remove the float bowls on the bike.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:53
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Only the R has adjustable forks. I had my rear suspension adjusted for my goonish 145lbs body. Noticed this steering sloppiness before the adjustment. Also, the bottom side of the upper chain is resting ON the guard below it now. My buddy said that's OK as when I am on it my weight reduces that contact but that just doesn't seem right. I will post a pic later.
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Aug 25, 2013 17:55
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Stugazi posted:Only the R has adjustable forks. I had my rear suspension adjusted for my goonish 145lbs body. Noticed this steering sloppiness before the adjustment. Is your bike new? If it's not, might also just be that the oil in the forks is thrashed. I don't recall what the chain setup is like on the S3, but if the lower slack is ok you're fine.
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Aug 25, 2013 18:08
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Z3n posted:Ok, so swing by a batteries plus if you have one in your area for starters, they should have charged batteries in stock. Secondly, check your charging system isn't toast...get to the battery with a multimeter, rev the bike to 5k, and make sure it's putting out roughly 14v. If it's not, buy a battery tender, disconnect your headlight during day riding, and minimize starting, while charging your bike on the battery tender every chance you get. That'll get you through your trip. Thanks a ton for the advice. Is it likely that the disconnected blinker is what is draining the battery?
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Aug 25, 2013 18:42
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mainks posted:Thanks a ton for the advice. Is it likely that the disconnected blinker is what is draining the battery? no, there would only be a draw on those wires when the indicators are on. Here's a troubleshooting guide. http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/diagnosis/pdf/fault-finding-diagram.pdf
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Aug 25, 2013 18:57
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Thanks for all the tips guys, I will definitely be trying these the next time I have a good long free day! As for my first oil change, trip report: Shop rags are good to have when 90% of the oil misses the oil pan. Also my drain plug couldn't come out all the way, my exhaust (which isn't stock so it might be why) blocked it from actually coming completely out, but it was completely unscrewed and a whole lot of oil came out, but do you think without completely taking it out I left some oil in there? Or is breaking the seal generally enough to get 99% of the oil out? I left it there until it stopped dripping oil. Hell even most of my filter was out, it just barely couldn't fit all the way out.
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Aug 25, 2013 19:10
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I had a Vance and Hines on my GS that needed to be loosened to remove the drain bolt and oil filter fully. Was pretty annoying. If you let it go until it was just dripping you should be ok. Even with the plug fully removed there is a decent amount of oil that stays in the pan anyway.
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Aug 25, 2013 21:14
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astrollinthepork posted:I'm jonesin hard for some curves, but Wayne is like 3.5 hours away from me and I'm not in the mood to put in 10 hours of seat time today. The plight of all north east Ohioans. I've taken to splitting my vacation time up across the summer for 3 day trips every month to get far away from this corner of the state.
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Aug 25, 2013 22:58
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I did the "Italian Tune up" you guys talked about today and when I stopped riding there was a small amount of oil on my crankcase and my oil was low. Is this really bad? What should I look at/do?
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Aug 25, 2013 23:58
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Uh oh guys help! So I did my oil change, and I ran the engine for a bit and then stopped it to check my oil level (a little glass window with lines on it). However after I did this I noticed my levels were too high (I added exactly as much as the manual suggests!). So I took a syringe and took out about .3 liters of oils (I added 2.6) and did the run again. This time, my engine was smoking like mad (which I thought was just oil that fell on the exhaust burning off), and when I turned it off and checked hte levels (after everything settled) it was still too high! NOw my clutch lever won't pull. Did I gently caress up my clutch by adding too much oil? Oh god no  edit: ARG now I know what I did, I unscrewed the oil filter cover, not the oil drain plug, so I clearly didn't drain from the right thing and I clearly only drained probably half of my oil. I am a loving idiot. I am going to get more oil and redo it, but is it possible I have borked my bike? How much damage can running it with too much oil do, I probably had 1.5 times the amount of oil I needed in there? I am so upset with myself right now. Please advise, freaking out. ScienceAndMusic fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Aug 26, 2013 |
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Aug 26, 2013 00:03
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ScienceAndMusic posted:edit: ARG now I know what I did, I unscrewed the oil filter cover, not the oil drain plug, so I clearly didn't drain from the right thing and I clearly only drained probably half of my oil. I am a loving idiot. I am going to get more oil and redo it, but is it possible I have borked my bike? How much damage can running it with too much oil do, I probably had 1.5 times the amount of oil I needed in there? I am so upset with myself right now. Please advise, freaking out. Just start from step 1 again. Drain all the oil (FROM THE DRAIN PLUG) refill with slightly less than the manual says capacity is (or until you can see it in the level window, whichever is first). Fire it up for a sec, check the level again. Evaluate.
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Aug 26, 2013 01:05
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slidebite posted:Calm down, if you only had it running for a moment or two it's probably OK. Where you puking oil out of anything? I am leaving now to get more oil and do it again. THe thing that has me worrying is that my clutch now feels so stiff, like something is wrong, it barely wants to pull... I'm not really sure how much oil I drained, there was definitely alot but I can't be more specific because it got everywhere and I had to rag it up. Probably because I used the wrong hole to drain it. Before doing this next drain, should I warm the engine up, or with its current state should I just drain it as is?
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Aug 26, 2013 01:06
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Just drain it cold. Do not run it again. Edit: Catch oil the oil in a pan so you can measure it, I am dying to know how much you filled it with 
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Aug 26, 2013 01:08
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Don't feel bad, after 5 years of riding I let myself get distracted while doing a service and put an extra 3/4 liter into my crankcase earlier in the year. Took it out for a shakedown post service and couldn't think of why it was running like poo poo and constantly verging on stalling, then noticed oil dripped all over the toe of my shoe at a stoplight. Took it home and double checked my oil bottles, figured out what I had done, and had a good laugh at myself and drained out the excess.
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Aug 26, 2013 01:44
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When I put too much in the Enfield it just blows all of the excess out and only stops when it gets to the level it wants. Then it doesn't lose any oil until the next change. But seriously the entire back half of the bike will get covered in oil. Even the taillight.
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Aug 26, 2013 01:50
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So I rode 440 miles today. 4 miles from the house, I lose all my gauges. No speedo, tach, or indicator lights of any kind. The main beam was dim, and the high beam made everything MUCH dimmer. I wiggled the harness, and stuff came back to life. When I stopped to get gas, I got the "click click" of a dead battery without enough juice to spin the starter. That happened most of the trip today. I'd lose the clocks for 10-15 seconds, then they'd come back. The bike ran fine. Bump-started fine. I figure if the battery and charging system were toast then it'd run like rear end because the computer wouldn't be telling the coils to fire. I'm going on the assumption that I've got a short in the fairing somewhere that's draining the battery. When it's dead shorted, then it reduces the voltage enough to drop out the instrument cluster. Option 2 is a loose/broken/missing ground from the instruments. Option 3 is a toasted alternator. I'm pretty sure the battery is shot at this point. Troubleshooting steps: Get a multimeter, check voltages when stuff isn't working. Make sure the alternator is putting out decent juice. Look at the harness and see if there's something obviously wrong. How's my logic, and am I missing anything?
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Aug 26, 2013 01:54
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Geirskogul posted:When I put too much in the Enfield it just blows all of the excess out and only stops when it gets to the level it wants. Then it doesn't lose any oil until the next change. And once again Italian engineering proves superior. Most Aprilias have their crankcase breathers venting into the bottom of the airbox and then through a drain onto the chain. Hey presto, free chain lube! (Of course Ducati have their breathers just sort of vaguely pointing out the back so wheelying one too far results in all your oil exiting via the back tyre, so I suppose it averages out)
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Aug 26, 2013 01:56
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slidebite posted:Just drain it cold. Do not run it again. For you sir, anything. Completely drained it proper this time, had a little over 4 L in there. Refilled it with new oil and now it is sitting right at the levels it should. However my clutch lever is still really fighitng me to be squeezed, but I am gonna take it for a test ride right now so wish me luck. A learning experience today.
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Aug 26, 2013 02:08
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goddamnedtwisto posted:And once again Italian engineering proves superior. Most Aprilias have their crankcase breathers venting into the bottom of the airbox and then through a drain onto the chain. Hey presto, free chain lube! Oh, I've got mine pointing to the chain. But there's SO MUCH SO FAST if you overfill it that it just gets slung around and it gathers in a cloud behind the bike at speeds above 40mph, coating the entire rear tire and half of the bike with oil. It's hilarious.
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Aug 26, 2013 02:31
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Sorry for spamming up the thread with my freak outs guys. Put in the right oil, ran it up, clutch went back to normal, everything is good, bike is riding great. Thanks for all the help!
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Aug 26, 2013 03:05
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This is pretty much a flashback to being new riders for most of us, I'd bet. I know I was worried as hell about every little stupid thing when I got my first bike and was a complete sperg about it when anything seemed out of order.
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Aug 26, 2013 03:56
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Yeah, don't worry about it, if you go back to february of this year you can find all my freakout posts about Babby's First 
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Aug 26, 2013 04:19
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ScienceAndMusic posted:Sorry for spamming up the thread with my freak outs guys. Put in the right oil, ran it up, clutch went back to normal, everything is good, bike is riding great. Thanks for all the help! Don't feel bad. Everyone has their stories. I remember back when I was a teenager I helped a friend of mine do his first oil change on his 70s Monte Carlo. He got over 10L in it before I realized it being on the ghetto ramps he rigged up really hosed up his dipstick reading. I also know more than 1 person that drained all their oil out, refilled it, went for a drive only to realize their auto wasn't working right and then realized they drained the transmission and doubled up on engine oil  As long as it runs well, don't worry about it. Edit: Are you using bike wet-clutch oil?
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Aug 26, 2013 04:21
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Jesus Christ, carburetors. Is there some magic way to make them 'click' in your mind? I just went through cleaning the carb on my 'new' XL100 with my father in law's help and even though I kinda understand what most of the parts do, the hows and whys of the drat thing seems like some kind of black magic.
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Aug 26, 2013 05:21
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yah it sucks air through the tubes and in the process sucks in a metered amount of fuel per unit of air passing through. it is about as simple as something gets but you might get an exception
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Aug 26, 2013 05:26
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Think of it this way: the first carburetors had rope wicks that were soaked in fuel (like a kerosene lamp wick), then they blew air over the top of the wick so fuel vaporized into the air, creating an air-fuel mixture. Carburetors now have replaced the wick with a metered air hole. A carburetor has a wider mouth, a narrow bit in the middle, then a wider bit where it attaches to the engine. When the opening narrows, air has to move faster (kinda) like a river narrowing has to flow water faster than a wide river. As it speeds up, it actually creates a lower pressure, so it can "suck" fuel up through holes in the narrow spot, creating the same air/fuel mixture. It's called the Venturi effect, and is similar to how air flowing over the top of a plane's wing has a lower pressure (Bernoulli's principle).
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Aug 26, 2013 06:33
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ScienceAndMusic posted:Sorry for spamming up the thread with my freak outs guys. Put in the right oil, ran it up, clutch went back to normal, everything is good, bike is riding great. Thanks for all the help! If you haven't you really need to hop on amazon/ebay/whatever and buy a service manual for your bike. It will cover most if not all maintenance procedures with pictures and step-by-step directions. Really is one of the best ways to learn to work on your bike, I own one for all the bikes/cars I own.
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Aug 26, 2013 12:56
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Can you safely use a ptfe based lube inside a high/low beam switch? The switch on my transalp sticks a little, making it a multiple push operation to turn the high beam off. Either the spring in there has gotten too weak or to much grime has gotten in the slide areas. Supradog fucked around with this message at 14:03 on Aug 26, 2013 |
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Aug 26, 2013 14:00
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Probably, but it's best to use a grease recommended for electrical contacts. Some greases corrode or change properties if there is arcing (even low voltage) which can cause build up and cause problems.
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Aug 26, 2013 14:24
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Supradog posted:Can you safely use a ptfe based lube inside a high/low beam switch? The switch on my transalp sticks a little, making it a multiple push operation to turn the high beam off. Blast it with contact cleaner (proper contact cleaner, not WD40), let it dry, repeat a few times (basically until you start to get a buzz off the fumes) then use a small amount of silicone lube. PTFE lube is relatively easy to wash away, and can attract dirt and moisture, but silicone sticks around and is more actively water-repellent. (You can get combined PTFE and silicone lube if you're feeling kinky)
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Aug 26, 2013 14:35
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