So, I checked compression on my bike for the first time today. I got really, really low numbers: around 60-70 PSI for every cylinder. The bike was warm, and I had it at WOT while doing the tests.
The thing that confuses me is that it has great power and has been riding really well. I've done several highway rides, no problem at all. It was really just a lucky coincidence that I was even testing the bike's compression at all (I'm helping a friend work on his bike). Only things I can think of that aren't ideal:
- Very smoky exhaust at startup
- World's slowest oil leak - if I let it sit for around 2 days, there will be a dark spot right under the oil drain bolt. It's an immeasurably slow leak and has been like this for a few months at least; not sure how worried about that I should be.
- I *think* the charging system isn't working right since I've had to put the battery on a charger twice in 4 months, but the problem might have just been that it was hard to start before I did a valve adjustment, so I cranked it a lot and drained the battery fast.
Work done already:
- Carbs cleaned
- New petcock
- Valves adjusted
- New intake boots
The thing that confuses me is that it has great power and has been riding really well. I've done several highway rides, no problem at all. It was really just a lucky coincidence that I was even testing the bike's compression at all (I'm helping a friend work on his bike). Only things I can think of that aren't ideal:
- Very smoky exhaust at startup
- World's slowest oil leak - if I let it sit for around 2 days, there will be a dark spot right under the oil drain bolt. It's an immeasurably slow leak and has been like this for a few months at least; not sure how worried about that I should be.
- I *think* the charging system isn't working right since I've had to put the battery on a charger twice in 4 months, but the problem might have just been that it was hard to start before I did a valve adjustment, so I cranked it a lot and drained the battery fast.
Work done already:
- Carbs cleaned
- New petcock
- Valves adjusted
- New intake boots
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