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03 Aug 05 - Progress is made |
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Thursday, 04 August 2005 |
(I had written up a huge page and then Mambo decided to timeout my session and I lost it. I'll try and recreate it. And yes, I have bumped up the timeout value. Bah.)
In our last episode, the bike was only running on two cylinders. I was guessing that it was a bad coil, but since I couldn't find my multimeter, I couldn't test that theory.
So at lunch today I went to Radio Shack and bought a new multimeter.
When I got home, I read the Haynes manual some more and realized that it couldn't be a coil. The cylinders that were not firing were 1 and 3. The bike has two coils. One coil runs cylinders 1 and 4 and one coil runs 2 and 3. Thus it can't be a bad coil if 1 and 3 are not firing.
So, what could it be then? I'm thinking about this and then I start to panic a little. Sean's bike had a stuck valve! What if I've got a couple of stuck valves or some bad rings and have no compression?
I run downstairs and get my compression tester (what, doesn't everybody have one?)
Five minutes later and I'm relieved to report that each cylinder has about 120 PSI of compression. Phew.
So what's the problem then? Plug wires? That's possible. So I pull plug number one and check for spark.
No spark.
Then I pull plug number two and check for spark.
Spark!
So I put the plug from number two on the wire for number one.
Spark!
Ah-ha! Bad plugs!
So I head over to the local car parts store. I walk in and tell the guy behind the counter "I need some spark plugs."
He asks "What kind of car are they for?"
I tell him "They are for a motorcycle."
He gets that look on his face that they always get when you tell them you are looking for a part for a bike as I hand him the plug. Then he says "NGK? We might have those."
I tell him he will make my day if he has four of them. $8.54 later and I'm a happy man!
I get back home and install the plugs (yes, of course I gapped them, I'm not a noob.) The bike fires right up and runs! Whoo-hoo!
I decide to head over to the local hardware store's parking lot for some practice driving (they are closed now and the lot should be empty.) When I arrive there is a cop car in the lot with two cops in it, just sitting.
"What the heck," I think, "I'm not doing anything illegal." So I start doing ovals and figure eights to get the hang of steering this rig. I'm sure I was amusing the cops to no end.
After a bit I decide that I'm tired of the fact that the engine is idling up and down a bit, making it hard to corner smoothly, so I head home again to check it out.
"Vacuum leak?" I think to myself and I tighten the clamps that hold on the carbs. They were a little loose. I fire it up and it's still doing it, so I turn down the idle screw and that seems to help.
I head back to the parking lot for more practice and the cop car is still there. Whatever. I do some more loops and it's better, but still a little rough. At one point I swung a little wide and thought "Wouldn't that be hilarious if I ran into the cop car?" Um, no. So I decided to hit the freeway and blow it out a bit.
I head over to I-94 and then South on I-35W. The bike does not want to accelerate and is really bogging. It tops out at about 55 MPH and just doesn't want to pull. So I get off the freeway at 36th Street and head back home to look it over some more.
I manage to kill it at 1st Avenue and 26th Street when I have to stop kind of fast for a car that decided to let a pedestrian across in the middle of the street. At that point I decide that I need to add a starter button. (The one in the switch pod is missing.) Having to pull over and dig out my Swiss Army knife to start the bike is a royal pain.
When I get home, I discover that when I put the tank back on I pinched the choke cable so that the choke was on about half way the whole time. That would cause some issues. I fix that and I find a push button to install for a starter button.
I head over to the store for some milk and the rig is running much better! The idle is a bit rough still, but I'm hoping the Marvel Mystery Oil I put in the tank will help that out.
We have a running sidecar rig!
Tomorrow I'm driving it to work!
I still need to fit the steering damper and get the seats reupholstered, but it seems to be running well now.
As I'm actually writing this on Thursday, I will state that I did ride it to work this morning and it was a trip! After I got here the idle was much better. In fact I had to turn it down again.
Man, driving a rig is weird. Left turns take more effort that right ones. It wants to pull to the right when you gas it and pull to the left when you brake.
I'm going to have to start working out to build up my upper body strength before I go on any long trips with this thing. (Something I should do anyway. :) )
But it's cool, and it looks nice. And it gets noticed.
Driving home last night I was heading down 26th street when a little kid (6 or 7 maybe) started pointing and yelling. It was really funny. He kept yelling until his parents looked at me, so I waved and they all waved back. Hilarious.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 August 2005 )
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