Old bike New owner... Hi!

[Plinius10]

Thanks, I think it's one of the best value for money buy's I've done in my life(and I've bought some things pretty cheap )
I had another ride tonight(it's 21:00 over here ) but after fixing a friends tv system for about 45 to 60 minutes, the bike started really bad. There was some combustion straight from the start, but it wouldn't keep running.
after some trying it finally started rough and the whole way back I had the idea it was running on 3 or 2 cylinders... it would keep running steadily but rough.
And during constant speeds it would jerk sometimes forward a bit and sometimes hold back.

I'm going to change the spark plugs tomorrow, and use an old one to make an adapter for my compression tester. So I know if there is a compression problem. Also will check the electrical from an to the coils.
I'll keep you posted.

As for the long writing, usually I'm pretty short and to the point... but here not so much apparently.
Ah well text for the readers, pics for the fast paces people

cheers
Pim.

 

[2BRacing]

You seem to be good with electrical things (finding fault on friend's fuel tank float sensor; fixing tv; etc.) so I suggest you measure the resistance of #1 spark plug cap [why do I say #1? because you say that exhaust does not seem to get as hot as the other 3, pointing to #1 cylinder as being the most likely cylinder that is misbehaving]. Unscrew the cap from the plug wire and measure resistance. There is a small resistor inside the cap which can cause intermittent contact (the part that fits onto the sparkplug can be screwed out to locate the resistor). Some people replace that with a solid metal piece, or buy a new spark plug cap.

You can also cut a short piece of the plug wire off to expose nice new wires inside when you screw the spark plug cap back onto the wire. Often this restores good contact again.

Good luck with finding the problem!

 

[Plinius10]

So I had today totally free to work on the bike, and I started with the spark plug caps.
The first one I opened was really hard to unscrew and when it came loose, the resistor fell out in many pieces.
So that's a good sign I thought, because my Idea that one cylinder was acting up might be right!
I continued to unscrew and clean the other caps and apart from some rust and brass oxidation they were fine.
As I did the other caps I realised that there were no spring and small brass disk in the cylinder one cap. So I made one
and as you can see replaced the bust resistor by an new, maybe somewhat unconventional, wire resistor. Works like a charm!
also cut a small piece of the cables as suggested from the cables that seemed corroded.

The bike is more responsive now and idles smoothly. The pick up from idle is okay, but could be better. But for that I'll have to make an manometer first.
I did a small test drive, and that turned into the most awesome ride I ever did! (but that is not too hard since it's maybe the third time I did a longer drive )
The weather also helped a ton, because normally it's cold and wet this time of year, but today it was super sunny and 18 degrees C.

Some pictures of the work and pleasure
Resistor fragments from #1 cyllinder

making a new brass plate thing

New assembly with added spring(was missing) new plate, unorthodox resistor and the screw.
I opted for a resistor because I have resistor free plugs, and would like to have some reception on my phone while the bike is running.
and also for future communication devices to have optimal range. I have to admit I don't know at what frequency the plugs sing, but I imagine
it would be broadband

At a friends(who wasn't home, but his neighbour told me he had an Honda 4 cylinder, and an bmw boxer once. So we had a nice chat.

bye!

Pim.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Love this thread...probably because the owner is from the Netherlands...and keeps me in suspense...and does some handy work...and has a cool bike!


Ed

 

[Charlie G]

Love this thread...probably because the owner is from the Netherlands...and keeps me in suspense...and does some handy work...and has a cool bike!


Ed

Yes those are all good reasons to stay tuned....

 

[Plinius10]

Thanks guys! I'll keep posting as i ride or wrench around.

 

[alke46]

I am a late arrival at this party but I just wanted to add my .02 cents here and say wow, that is a beautiful bike especially with that fairing. Hope you can get it all squared away and enjoy the pleasure of just riding it soon.

 

[Gorminrider]

yes! really Nice bike! and what a cool fix on the suppression resistor! (that's 6700 ohms if my memory serves...)

 

[gustovh]

Well if you ever want to sell it.....nice ride. It is easy to change the wires from the coils as well. Just pull them out and remove the old epoxy, not hard, cut new wires to size and screw them in and re-epoxy, wala your done.

V

 

[Plinius10]

Thanks guys.
And that's good to know Gustovh! Maybe when the weather gets too cold to ride here (like with ice and snow e.c.t.)I'll give the bike an complete electrical overhaul.
I did a 100km (62miles) ride last sunday, and it was the best ride I ever did(but that's easy still) It was also the furthest I have ridden, and the bike did a fantastic job!

 

[wyly]

hey Pim hoe gaat het...200 euros! awesome deal it's in beautiful condition...

 

[Plinius10]

hey Pim hoe gaat het...200 euros! awesome deal it's in beautiful condition...

Prima! met mij tenminsten...

SOoo While I was visiting a friend I had a taste of driving at night on small back country farm roads... That was exiting.
But I have to say after an hour of trying to guess where there might be an road crossing it got a bit intensive than I had thought.
The visit was nice, and he gave me and old tankbag of his! Awesome. He also gave me some magazines on proper cornering
So I have some reading to do.

Aaanyway, Just before I left I saw some shininess near the rear axle on the right side... Oh oh, usually I have to work to get the bike shiny.

Great, leaking shock. Which led me to the next problem.
I know the shocks aren't stock. But I have no idea what brand the are.
And if i can rebuild them or if I have to buy new ones. That'll double the bike in value I'm sure!

And usually this type of shocks are mounted the other way round right?
I'm starting to think the previous owner mounted them upside down.(sorry for the crappy phone pics..)

Could that also be the problem with them leaking?
I haven't done any proper research on this kind of shock so maybe it's just asking for problems mounted this way.
If anyone can shed some light on the matter, please do

Last one: the logo if you know the brand please let me know.
I'm off to to some shock(ing) research!

Bye!

 

[Plinius10]

Soo a dinner and some fact finding later, I have found that indeed they are upside down:suspicion:
And also that they are Marzocchi's. I haven't found much on different models, but they seem to be AG Strada?
For which I can't seem to find rebuild kits yet. Quite shocking (Phun intendid yes...) i found that a pair of used strada's cost the same as i payed for the bike

I've found a manual for the Strada's and if I'm correct they have an separate oil and air system. But because it's mounted the wrong way maybe it's pushing the oil out the wrong way too.
I'll turn them around and have a look while they're off the bike.

I'll keep you posted!

 

[ddaniels]

Just to add one more "What a great looking bike and love the fairing!"
The accumulator part of the shock looks like it's in the proper position, but yes, usually the springs are at the top. Odd.

 

[wyly]

they shouldn't be leaking even if they are upside down and it doesn't look like there is enough room to mount them the other way.

My Tec shocks are mounted the same way and don't leak and I only paid $200 for my Tecs. I imagine with some shocks it can cost as much to rebuild them as a new set would cost. A pair of Ohlins would worth rebuilding I don't know about the brand you have.

 

[Plinius10]

...I only paid $200 for my Tecs...

me too, and I got a free bike with them!
I'll order the rebuild kit in the coming days.
they are around €90,- with shipping, so a lot cheaper than a new set.
And I don't like the idea of a used set because mine seemed fine too...
So when the set arrives I'll post the process!

 

[Plinius10]

Soo I'm getting used to the bike after some miles I put on it. I decided to ditch the fairing for the summer months as I like the looks better whitout it, but loved the windstopping effect in the winter So some time ago I bought the brackets for the headlight and removed the rust. The paint is drying as I type and that brings me to the following question:
To mount the brackets I have to remove the top steering plate. As I read it in the books its a matter of
-removing the chocke cable
-unscrewing the instrument pannel
-unscrewing the lock nut where the chocke cable goes trough
-unscrewing the 3 pinch bolts on the forks and the bearing part.

And that should do the trick I believe.
But I'm not quite sure if i can do this whitout messing up the fork alignment?
Or is it just popping the thing of, add the brackets, and popping the plate back on and thats it?

Any tips or trick I should know?

Thanks in advance!

Pim.

color is now black gloss

Last weekend 230 mile trip

Random trip to steinfurt in germany

 

[Plinius10]

Oh and another thing that is less fun, I found out that my bike used 350cc of oil on the 230 mile trip... It doesn't smoke it doesn't leak... it sweats a bit around the leftside cover. so I'm not sure where it teleports the oil to but maybe the cillinder springs are done? any other sugestions?

 

[Rijko]

But I'm not quite sure if i can do this whitout messing up the fork alignment?
Or is it just popping the thing of, add the brackets, and popping the plate back on and thats it?

Just pop it off and on, the bottom yoke holds it all in place.

mooie GS !

 

[Plinius10]

Thanks rijko! that makes for a lot less trying to hold on to all the parts as I unfasten the plate