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Krakkles posted:So, theoretically, if one were riding a carburated 644cc single cylinder up a very steep hill, and managed to very slowly lay it on it's right side, would it be normal for gas to pour out? Yes. Carbs, gas tanks, etc. aren't always designed to seal when upside down, on their sides, or whatever. Overflows will puke gas, seals will not seal correctly, etc. Buisness as usual, just don't light yourself on fire.  Can we stop with all the crashing? Making me nervous about upcoming trackdays here. Motorcycles on their sides left and right. VVVVVV if you feel like checking it, pull the cover and look for any problems...but if the oil is still clean, and you don't have any weird poo poo showing up anywhere else, you're probably ok. AFAIK, head gasket failures on bikes are pretty uncommon. Even running my ZX-6E with a leak in the coolant rail, so just with the coolant in the engine, it still didn't blow the head gasket. hosed the engine, but the head gasket was fine. 
Z3n fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Oct 27, 2008 |
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Oct 27, 2008 04:54
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echomadman posted:a 250cc aprilla (assuming you mean the rs250) will make anything from 50-70hp depending on how tuned it is and weighs gently caress all, not a good beginners bike, deceptively fast and too pretty to be smashed up in noob accidents I think he means the 250 scoots.
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Oct 27, 2008 18:15
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Ola posted:My speedo cable snapped again, about 1500 miles after the last one did. Is there something I should check that could cause high stress on it? It's not kinked, it curves quite smoothly down to the hub. Did you lube it before you installed it?
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Oct 27, 2008 22:03
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Chris Knight posted:OK, so I just dumped my bike half on myself and half on the curb trying to park. Broke the end off the brake lever, but I don't think I did any other damage (fell on right side obviously). Fuel is off and bike is parked on the kickstand. I did a quick electrical check and all the lights and whatnot are fine, but have done nothing else with it. Check that all of the levers and controls are intact, and that the throttle snaps back cleanly. Besides that...nah. Just look at the places where it hit the ground to make sure you didn't do anything weird to it, like accidentally smack the poo poo out of a rotor on the way down.
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Oct 29, 2008 01:30
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Taisa posted:And if the throttle doesn't snap back and stays where you left it, you just installed cruise control for free! I had a friend who had a throttle like that. When the return cable snapped, he got pitched headfirst into a tree as the bike never throttled down and he was heading for a corner leaving his driveway. He panicked, and went for the front brake, unsure of what was going on and did a 50 or so foot rolling burnout into a tree...without a helmet. He got lucky and survived, but was pretty hosed up. He should have gone for the killswitch or clutch, but in a moment of panic went for the brakes instead. Wrong choice. Don't ride around with your throttle sticking, it's asking for trouble. Sure, nothing may come of it, but it may also malfunction when you try to slam the throttle off as a car pulls in front of you. Z3n fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Oct 29, 2008 |
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Oct 29, 2008 19:44
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chryst posted:Thanks. I plan on taking it up with the heater people, and see if they can do anything. It is a brand new battery ( < 6months). Set up a relay box: http://www.canyonchasers.net/shop/generic/relay.php Must have for any accesories, IMO. I've done them on 3 bikes now and they're essential.
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Oct 30, 2008 15:45
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Ola posted:Oh I forgot. I have a stupid question about valve adjustments. From what little I know, there are various ways valves go out of whack. On some engines the valves wear into the head and eventually go tight against whatever actuates it as it eventually sits higher. Does this eventually wear out the head? If so, is it usually engineered to have a replacement mileage higher than the expected life? I can't help with the other wear types, but it won't eventually wear out the head. Adjustments on shims are measured in the .05 of a mm range, so you'd be looking at hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of miles on most bikes. I'm sure there are exceptions to this rule, like for hardcore racebikes and such, but for normal bikes, you're talking about an adjustment of about .05mm every adjustment interval, so...not really significant.
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Oct 30, 2008 21:28
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TheFonz posted:I own a 2006 Suzuki SV650S that I'm breaking down for winter storage. I've taking it all apart as I've got some upgrades to put on it(Gixxer rear Shock, power commander, single headlight/fairing delete). Anway I took the tank off, put it up on rearstands, turned the kill switch off and cranked the starter for about 3 seconds to get some oil on the cylinder walls. I then pulled the top of my air box off and pulled the filter and crankcase breather filter. As soon as I pulled the filter I noticed some white frothy poo poo on the bottom of the crankcase breather filter. Yeah, they'll spit a little condensation or the like up there sometimes. I wouldn't be too concerned about it.
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Oct 31, 2008 19:46
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Zenaida posted:I've been told that it's okay to slip the clutch on a motorcycle. That's as opposed to a car, where it's not okay, right? Is that just a design feature of bikes (if so, why?) or is it because bikes tend to have wet clutches and cars tend to have dry clutches? What about dry-clutched Ducatis? I can't address why bike clutches are better for slipping, but dry clutches do serve a purpose: They're easier to change. In fact, GP techs can change clutches on the start grid if needed in a minimum of time. Cover comes off, undo the bolts, swap pack, bolts on, cover on. They do wear faster, though. You can still slip the poo poo out of them though. Also, it's way easier to change bike clutches than it is car clutches, and I'd imagine that has something to do with it as well.
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Nov 6, 2008 19:51
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I'd personally never bother with swapping a wet clutch for a dry one, unless I was fighting for the top 3 spots or racing at a national level, where it may make a difference. As long as your time off the front runner is measured in seconds and not fractions of a second, you could probably do better by just learning to ride it faster. I've seen GSX-R1100s with dry clutches. I don't think it shows gain for most racers, though. Why replace it with a dry clutch when you could put a slipper on there instead?
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Nov 6, 2008 20:10
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Nerobro posted:Dry clutches can be slipper clutches too. Ya, but typically it's one kit to convert it to slipper and another kit to convert it to dry...just not worthwhile.
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Nov 6, 2008 21:09
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Phat_Albert posted:For 99.9999999999999% of people out there, dry clutches are a pose-factor thing, due to the noise they make and the "Ooooh spinny things" factor. Hence all the pant leg munching wide-open billet clutch covers for Ducatis. I find it hilarious when people run those covers and a loving rock gets sucked into it and shot out at high speed. Faaaantastic. I love the muffled jingle of a dry clutch behind an enclosed cover. It's like music playing just for me.
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Nov 6, 2008 23:51
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mr.belowaverage posted:gently caress you guys. I use State Farm, I'm 30 with a clean record. $1000/year. Three zeroes. For a KZ1000, with only liability. I paid $800 for the drat bike. Wow, what the gently caress. You need to change insurance companies... My g/f has state farm, clean record, 23, and she paid 400$ a year for full coverage on her 2002 SV.
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Nov 7, 2008 19:49
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QnoisX posted:Well it doesn't bog down if I have it in 6th gear at 30. According to the manual it's: I know it's the manual, and all that is holy, but don't listen to it. It's wrong and retarded. That bike needs to be reved out to make power. Let it get warmed up, and shift for casual riding at 7k. For quick riding, shift it at 12-14k. If it drops below 4, downshift to get the revs back up. It's a 250, you'll shift it constantly, it's how those bikes work.
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Nov 9, 2008 09:39
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shaitan posted:What should you do during a lowslide? Hug the tank with your legs and let go with your hands until you hit the ground then let go of your legs? Should you just relax and let everything go? Let it go. The last thing you want is to be caught up in the bike flipping or being ground down between the bike and the ground. I'm not saying you should bail when you feel the bike start to go, but if it's sliding along the ground and you have a choice, get away from the bike. Try and tuck your limbs in and let yourself slide, you don't want to try and stop yourself because if you start flipping and stuff, you'll be breaking limbs. If you're tumbling, try and get all your limbs tucked in and go with it. Don't put your hands out because you'll break your wrist/elbow. QnoisX posted:Okay, I worked on that while riding today. I'll have to admit that if I go with one shift every 10 mph or so it does make accelerating easier and faster. I tooled around town a bit in third and fourth. Oh and one shift every 10 mph is around 6k rpm at each shift. I could hold out longer I guess. I'll have to mess around with it and experiment. The bike is much louder if you keep it at high rpms all the time, but it's still much quieter than most bikes I've seen. I met a guy on an R6 today while fueling up and his bike was loud as gently caress. Ok, shifting basics: Upshifts: Roll off the throttle, clutch in, kick it up a gear, clutch out, back on the throttle. You want to do the entire sequence quickly enough that the RPMs are matched correctly. So: If the bike is at 7k and will be at 4k when you finish your shift, you want to to roll off the throttle, clutch in and kick it up a gear, and when the bike is at 4k RPM, you let the clutch out and get back on the gas. Downshifts: You're at 4k and you'd like to be at 7k. 2 options: 1. Clutch in, while kicking it down a gear, blip the throttle a small amount to bring the RPM to 7k, and let the clutch out. 2. Clutch in, kick it down a gear, slip the clutch to bring the RPMs up. Blipping takes more practice, but is nice because you've basically always got the bike ready to go. Staying off the throttle and using engine braking is fine, but you want to be prepared to use the brakes as well in an emergency situation. My advice is to go out to a parking lot, and practice getting up to around 30-50mph, shifting up and down smoothly, and then when you've got a handle on braking, practice emergency braking to a stop, both with downshifts and rev matching and just clutching in and kicking it down gears. It's also important to practice swerving, as emergency braking isn't always the best solution in an accident. They say to use the killswitch because in an emergency, your body will default to what you've practiced the most. So if you need the bike off NOW (say, for a stuck throttle) and you take your hand off the bars...bad.
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Nov 10, 2008 02:39
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It's almost always cheaper to try and find a good condition used tank, or just buy a prepainted one from a place like bikebandit, if available. Color matched paint and painting is expensive.
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Nov 12, 2008 18:44
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100 Years in Iraq posted:Has anyone else's reaction to a minor accident been to stand up and think, "I hope nobody saw that?" Yup. Same situation, too...hauling rear end into a parking spot, on the brakes, 2mph, almost to a stop, hit the coating of wet leaves and down I go. 
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Nov 12, 2008 19:17
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Silky Thighs posted:I need to replace my back tire on a recently bought 2002 ZX6R, does anyone have any suggestions on what kind i should get? I'm looking to spend around $150. I will mostly use it for city riding, and will definitely be taking it up some crazy curvy roads. Any of the ST tires out there...Pilot Road 2CT, Pirelli Diablo Rossos, etc. You don't need Street/Track tires for street riding.
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Nov 13, 2008 00:11
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wrong thread. whoops.
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Nov 13, 2008 07:39
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The kawasaki W650 is a great bike. I have 2 friends who own them as around town sort of bikes to compliment their sport or S/T rides, and they love them dearly.
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Nov 13, 2008 18:26
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Lawn posted:
Yes. Don't start the car though.
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Nov 16, 2008 03:22
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darknrgy posted:93 Kawasaki EX500 5500 miles Swap the coils. If you swap them and the cylinder that's misfiring switches sides (or the bike doesn't run at all because you fouled the #1 plug) then you know that the coil is bad. Does your bike have independent pickup coils for each cylinder? If it does, figure out which wire it is and check what voltage (AC) you're getting off the pickup. If it's wildly divergent on the #1 side, then you've probably got a bad pickup coil. But with all that said...component failure is rarely the issue here. I'd doubt that it's the IC Igniter or Pickup, because those are much more uncommon. I'd bet  that you've got a short somewhere, or a corroded/vibration loosened connector between the 2. Check that you're getting power and signal to the coil once you have it torn down, and go from there. I'd also pull both of the plugs and ground them on the head and see if the #1 plug will even spark anymore due to being run 10 miles without firing. Could be gone on that alone. Z3n fucked around with this message at 07:52 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 07:41
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If you only have a single pickup, then failure at that point would probably cause both cylinders to stop firing. But the easy way to check is disconnect it and see if the bike fires, right?  Ahem. The bike should feed a constant 12v to the coil and then ground the other side to spark it. If you're not getting 12v to the coil, then you've got some problem there...probably a damaged connector or frayed wire. Resistance builds up in connectors and they eventually melt and fry themselves, causing no end of issues. If you are getting 12v to the coil, then you need to check that the wire on the other side isn't broken...easiest way is to check resistance from the plug that connects to the coil and the corresponding spot on the plug that goes into the IC unit. If you're getting resistance, you're good to go. In the end, the best way to go about electricals is to check the stuff that you can check for free first. Testing IC Ignitors, pickup coils, and ignition coils can be hit or miss unless you can swap parts on a known working bike. Sometimes working ones will pass the tests in the manual, sometimes they won't, sometimes non-working ones will pass tests, sometimes they won't. It's a clusterfuck, and usually both working and non-working parts won't pass the tests. So: Check first for broken or melted connectors. Pull the connectors apart, look for damage, plug them back in. Then turn the bike on, check that you're getting power at the coils. Then check that there's no break in the wire that goes from the negative terminal of the coil to ground. From there, you've established that the framework is good, and you can start troubleshooting parts knowing that your issue is somewhere in the parts. First step that I would take is swap coils and see if you can get the #1 coil to fire on #2. If so, you've established that your coils are good. Then your points of failure are hopefully just the IC unit, and you can find one for cheap. But that relies on you checking EVERYTHING ELSE out correctly. The loving worst is intermitant shorts or fraying hidden in the wiring harness...I had that happen when I was fixing the turn signal on the Z1000...internal short on my replacement part. Drove me up the loving wall. Electical stuff is a PITA, but if you're methodical about it, you will find the problem. Edit: Sorry if you know some of this or it's redundant, I'm never sure how much knowledge people have on electrical stuff. I hate it with a passion. Z3n fucked around with this message at 08:11 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 08:03
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darknrgy posted:drat, and I was getting excited about tests I just found in my Haynes. Yeah, I got excited about those tests the first time I found them too...Checked my "Bad" ECU, determined that it was a piece of poo poo, checked my ebay ECU, determined that...it too was a piece of poo poo! Then I swapped them on to a friend's bike and both of them worked.  You know, if at all possible, I'd try disconnecting the part of the wiring harness that leads to the gauges and see if it sparks then, preferably as early in the circuit as possible. If the only connector on that set is to the gauges, then just disconnect the gauges. If you have a friend with an EX500, too, it helps to beg the bike for a little while and swap parts before you go out and buy stuff. Then you can determine beyond a shadow of a doubt if it's the problem or not. Component failure is much rarer than people think it is...and usually there's a bunch of documented cases when parts do fail. Regulators are pretty much the only parts that I can think of that fail with any sort of regularity ( ) on a modern bike...and most of that is poo poo design choices. And yes, I am an edit whore. Z3n fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Nov 16, 2008 |
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Nov 16, 2008 08:31
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Spartak posted:How do people handle switching to reserve while in motion? How well do you watch your odometer? I run my bikes on reserve at all times, and just keep an eye on the odometer. Only time I've ever run out of gas was at the track...and that was my own drat fault for being a moron. If you'd like the added reminder of using your reserve tank, just go practice using it in a parking lot or something. I got to the point when I did use mine that I could reach down and flip it without even thinking about it. The thing is, i'd always check my mileage at the same time to verify that that was the problem, and eventually removed the futzing around with the petcock bit and just kept an eye on my odo.
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Nov 16, 2008 08:48
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Nerobro posted:I can't recommend Z3n's method, because if you screw up, you're really screwed. I obsessively check the trip, everytime I get on the bike. All of my bikes have also had low fuel lights or some other mechanical reminder, so I don't get caught out as well, so it's really a non-issue. If I were riding a bike with no idiot lights, then yeah, I'd probably leave it on. When I rode the triumph without any gauges (no petcock) i'd just fill it up every few days. The CB200 I can pop the tank and look in, same with the dirtbikes, so I'd just eyeball it there.
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Nov 16, 2008 20:01
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Simkin posted:I used to ride a GS500 with no fuel guage or idiot light. It would, pretty much without fail, start sputtering/lurching around 200km. After a while, I just got used to feeling the tapering off of power that indicated I was low, and would just reach down and flip to reserve without any problems. Practice flipping between ON and RES while riding along some lonely, straight stretch of road, a bunch of times, just so you're aware of how to keep the bike going where you have it pointed, while still fiddling with the petcock. It will take a few tries to get comfortable, but with a little effort, you'll stop having to worry about accidentally drifting into oncoming traffic I must be paranoid, because I keep track of that stuff. Plus, as I mentioned, all of my bikes with the exception of the trackbike either have gauges or idiot lights, so it's not like I'd be totally without warning.
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Nov 16, 2008 21:48
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Simkin posted:Yeah, riding a bike without any guage of fuel level other than manual inspection (or knocking on the tank, for that matter), made me much more cautious about running out of gas. Then again, I'm rarely riding further than 30km these days (yay school Yup. darknrgy, just be happy it wasn't component failure...it's also possible that the spark plug wire was connecting intermittantly, and that was causing the tach to jump but the bike to not fire as well. Either way, you got it sorted out and learned something, so...hooray!
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Nov 16, 2008 23:58
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), so running out isn't too common a problem.
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darknrgy posted:93 kawasaki ex500, 5500 miles Normal, and yes, a new gasket is in order. You could probably carefully patch it up with a small amount of RTV if you're lazy.
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Nov 17, 2008 03:04
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Nerobro posted:This gets back to the dollar analogy. "I" have the free time to calculate that sort of thing. With the gas gauge on the 83, it's a game for me to figure out at what mile I'll need to switch to reserve. A new rider most certainly will not have the time to think about that. Their odometer should be the last thing on their mind. I check it before I start the bike. Bike goes on, I check the odometer to see if I need to get gas this trip or not, and then away I go. No additional thought on the bike needed...I have a couple of gas stations that I like so I tend to swing by those when I need gas. On the RTV front...I knew that'd annoy you 
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Nov 17, 2008 04:38
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Krakkles posted:Does your state have required minimums? In CA they're something like 50k, which I found reasonable. CA is 15/30/5, state minimum. (First number is individual medical damage, 2nd number is the total for the accident, 3rd number is property damage) I carry something like, 100/300/100. 15k nothing when it comes to medical bills, and I can't afford to be on the hook for the rest of it.
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Nov 17, 2008 19:44
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Krakkles posted:Oh, then progressive lied to me, and my insurance could be (but won't be, because I'm happy with the coverage) cheaper. I'm carrying 100/300/100 as well, as it turns out. Nah, they probably just weren't clear about the difference between state minimums and what they are willing to provide as minimum insurance. I'm carrying 100/300/100 as well, but may reduce it slightly, simply because State Farm has jacked the rates on the policy of my g/f and myself over 400$ since last year. On the bright side, they've been great when she got t-boned on her biek.
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Nov 18, 2008 17:44
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FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:I have two questions. First: Yes, you can. Not as critical on a bike as in a car, because you can slip the hell out of the clutch on a bike without it being a big deal. But it's a neat trick to have, and a good habit to be in. Second: Is the battery fully charged? That click is the starter solenoid not engaging correctly, usually a symptom of low voltage out of the battery. You can try tapping it with a hammer, or if you turn the bike on, you can manually jump the 2 big terminals on the solenoid (it's at the end of the big wire coming off the positive on the battery). If the bike kicks over when you do that, then you need to replace the solenoid. Otherwise, there's some issue with the starter.
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Nov 18, 2008 19:49
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FuzzyWuzzyBear posted:Another question. My '82 CM250C has a weird idle - it dies really easily with the choke pushed in. Even after warming up it seems to die easily. Also, when it idles, the RPM seems to cycle up and down, and sometimes go so low that I have to rev the engine to keep it alive. It's at the point where me cruising in 1st is actually quieter than when I have the engine idling. Sounds like you need to go through the carbs and clean them out and reset everything to factory. Tap the starter solenoid. Sometimes they can get crudded up internally and not make a good connection, and tapping it with a hammer will sort that out.
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Nov 19, 2008 02:50
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laymil posted:So I finally purchased a one piece suit. Yes, the armor should cover your knee completely. You can slide around more because the textile slides better. It'll get dirty or you'll adjust. Don't use armorall on your seat.
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Nov 20, 2008 22:16
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Cmdr. Shepard posted:Is there anyway I could check this manually or is it some sort of internal switch? Ahem. Don't remove the cutout. Lube it up, get it fixed, but it's a very simple thing that could save your rear end from an easy mistake to make that could put you on your rear end. Out of habit, I check my kickstand multiple times, both when stopping and starting the bike...I always take my foot from the ground to the peg in a fashion that would make it collide with the kickstand, just in case I've forgotten to put it up, and I brace my foot against the kickstand when I get off the bike (on bikes where that's possible) to make sure it's down. Until I started doing that, every so often I'd have a false start.
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Nov 21, 2008 22:00
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Don't report it as stolen...just go into the DMV, let them know it came off on the freeway, and they'll issue you a new one. If you report it as stolen, they'll probably want a bunch of details that you won't be able to provide. If you just tell them it came off, you'll just tell them that it came off and that should be that.
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Nov 23, 2008 06:25
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Orange Someone posted:Two things. One, my best friend had a very very low speed accident on my bike (XR125L), basically dropped it on the right side. On first inspection it seemed he'd just grazed a few plastic bits and knocked the mirror around. I went out for a ride today and it appears that the forks are twisted. I've looked at the tubes and they appear to be straight, so it's just a case of undoing the clamps, straightening up the tubes and doing it up again. Howevever, my bike doesn't have a centre stand, so I was wondering what the normal procedure is? Put a jack under the engine (not on a filter or anything like that), jack the front end off the ground, loosen the triple/steering stem bolts, straigten poo poo out, and tighten it back down. it's worthwhile to put something under the front wheel, just barely touching, so that if it drops down the forks don't just fall out of the triples...but usually they'll stay in there.
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Dec 2, 2008 00:37
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n8r posted:Since it is a dirtbike, I'd suggest buying a dirtbike stand for it. You basically lift the thing onto the stand and it's going to be far more stable. Most shops carry a range of them, I have one of the plastic ones that looks like a milk crate. It probably cost <$30. Wasn't sure if it was a dirtbike or some other small displacement bike...I'd go with the dirt stand over a jack any day of the week.
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Dec 2, 2008 17:51
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Krakkles posted:Ninja250.org agrees - use 87. You have really soft, long travel suspension, so I doubt that it was the suspension just taking it up. You did the right thing to stand the bike up somewhat there to compensate for it falling into the corner, as long as it didn't cause you to blow the corner. Also, sometimes potholes at low speed can cause the bike to do strange things as the front wheel catches a seam or gets the edge of the hole at a strange angle. So...sounds like you did just fine. If the suspension handles it, great, but sometimes the suspension won't handle sharp edged bumps at a strange angle correctly.
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Dec 3, 2008 17:40
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