OK, so haven't been out on the bike since the Matlock run & the probs with the chain.
So anyway, got some new bling for her - all nice & shiny & new - new sprockets aswell :o)A mate (who's a mechanic) says he may be able to come round on Sunday & fit them for me. However he has an engine to change from one car to the other, so isn't quite sure when on Sunday he'd be able to come over. At this point, I aint too fussed as the weather's a bit naff & I don't fancy riding her with her chain as it is - keeps tightening up!Anyway, on Saturday afty, another mate comes round to see if I fancy a pootle out - I explain the issue with the chain - no probs he says, he can do it for me, so he nips back home & fetches his tools etc & sets to work. Rear sprocket off no probs, the new one is more or less a perfect match! & everything fits ok. Unfortunately we can't get the front sprocket off as neither of us has a 27 spanner/whatever to get the nut off!!...looks at the front sprocket, & it dosn't look too bad, so bugger it thinks I, we'll leave the front one as it is.Now comes fitting the chain.......gets it wound onto the sprockets, to find that it's about 7 links too effin' long!!! Andy dosn't have anything we can cut it with!!!...bugger!! thinks about this a while & gives Dave (the mechanic) a ring. He says he can come round with his angle grinder & get the extra links off...he'll also bring the right spanner/whatever to fit the front sprocket.This was about half 6 in the evening. Dave reckons he's not got too much work to do on this other car he's working on, so will be round in an hour or so (as he dosn't think he'd be able to get to mine on Sunday now)
soooo, I wait & I wait & at 10:00 pm he turns up - he'd had a tad of a problem with the car ....anyway - he sets to with the angle grinder on the chain & changes the front sprocket - luckily the neighbours are away...I think they'd have been cursing me otherwise!! Sooo, we get the chain & front sprocket on no probs Sunday - weather a bit naff & VERY windy, so don't quite fancy going out on the bike!...stay in & watch the bike racing instead Now, we're on Monday - had arranged with Dave that if the weather wasn't too bad we'd go to the May Day gala for Wakefiled Hospice - there's a mag rally on there aswell. Dave's gonna come round to mine for about half 12 with some mates.
At half 11 I decide I need to go get some petrol & check the tyre pressures. Sooooo starts her up - full choke to get her nice & warm....she starts up ok & seems to be running smoothly - now the week before all this Dave (the mechanic) had been round to try & resolve my tickover problem....ok, if you're new to my tales, you're gonna hve to go back over my previous posts to see the probs I've been having with tickover & over-revving!Anyway, back to the tale - as I was saying Dave(the mechanic) had been round the week before to try & resolve my tickover problems - he'd taken the carb off & found it to be good, so adjusted the mixture & that seemed to do the trick! she's ticking over as sweet as a nut now! Sooo, she's ticking over & gets nicely warmed up. I switch her off as I'm wheeling her out of the garage.....go to switch her on again, as I'm now kitted up & ready to go............& Nothing! can't get her to start at all - well, she does eventually, but there's nothing there - choke full on - nothing...choke off...nothing!! Fistful of throttle - nothing over 1000 RPM!! so I switch her off & have a ponder & a cig for a few mins.....try again & she fires up. OK thinks I - must be cos I aint been out on her since Matlock, she's playing up on me & having a sulk!....even though I've bought her some new bling!Sooo off we set (this will be the first time I've actually been to the garage on her to get some petrol - up to now, I get the can & go in the car!!! lol)Anyway, We get to the bottom of the road in the village & turn right to go up the hill towards the petrol station.....she is SOOOOooooo not wanting to pull up this hill, she's popping & farting & then there's power & then there isn't!! Pull over to the side of the road & wonder if i'm going onto reserve (although there's at least a quarter of a tank of fuel!) So I put her onto reserve just in case & set off again, still struggling to get up this hill, but we make it...gets onto the flat & still no power, then there is, then there isn't, so we're kangarooing along this road looking like right pillocks!!! First thing through my mind - this is the first time I've been out since Dave (the mechanic) had the carb off - what's he done/not done????? grrrr..... Sooooo pulls up at the side of the road (by a bus shelter) & gets off - she's completey died now!!! An old chap walking his dog asks if everything's ok - I tell him my prob...'Jap crap' he says - 'I stick with the old Brit bikes' & then reels off all the Brit bikes he's got & wanders off.
Luckily I have my phone (& me cigs) so I ring Dave (the mechanic) to tell him of my prob!...'I've broken down' says I...'oh' says Dave....I tell him the prob.....'have you been out on her since I took the carb off' says Dave....'NO' says I!!.....'Oh!' says Dave.........'i'll be there asap & I'll bring a screwdriver' says Dave.....soooo 3/4 hour later Dave & his mates trun up & she instantly starts!!!! grrrr....however Dave takes her down the road & no power at all...so he checks everything we can think of at the side of the road - check the plug & it's looking a bit black. Mate no1 says he's got a plug at home that would fit so sets off with a 'I'll be back in half an hour' it then starts raining a bit, so we shelter in the bus shelter - where I find a fiver!!! Mate no1 returns an hour later! so we try the new plug - but still no power!! Anyway a bit of fiddling & we manage to get her running enough so's I can get her home - albeit at about 10 MPH up the hill popping & farting all the way back!!!Gets her back home & then Dave(the mechanic) & mate no2 start to try & figure out what the problem is.....they take off the carb again - no probs there, they check the fuel filter - looks clean & ok...they take the fuel line off to see if fuel's coming thorugh - nothing...nothing when fuel tap on full - nothing when fuel tap on reserve!!...hmm maybe fuel filter is the prob, so we take fuel filter out altogether & try her like that...seems to be running ok now..so Dave (the mechanic) takes her up the road to try her out - nope - still no power on anything over 3000rpm!!...everyone's scratching their heads now....tried loads of different things besides what I've mentioned above...looked at the choke...that's ok....battery seems to be ok...so we now think it may be the coil!! Soooooo Dave (the mechanic) dosn't have a spare 12v Coil - however my other mate Andy may have - so am now waiting to see if I can get hold of a spare 12v coil to try it out & see if that cure's the problem (rather than buying one & finding that it isn't the problem!).......watch this space for further updates!!
Muck in the tank? That could explain a few things ... the lack of fuel, the poor running of the carb etc.
How many pipes come from the fuel tap? If there is more than one it is likely that it is a vacuum tap. In which case it won't flow fuel unless the engine is running. This could also explain the lack of fuel when you tried it direct from the tap.
If the plug was black, this suggests the mixture is too rich.
Is it electronic ignition? If so it could be something as simple as a worn wire. If not, are the contact breakers ok?
I'd try the coil suggestion and if that doesn't make any difference, check the mixture again at the carb, check for kinks or muck in the fuel/vacuum lines, check for worn wires and check the breakers if it has them.
lol @ XK
Geoff - yep tried all the above - only 1 pipe from the fuel tap & when we took out the fuel filter, fuel came flooding through!
Craig - that thought did go through my mind aswell!!..may have to think of another name for her - or re-start the bike whispering again!!!
tell me about it Rachel!!!....currently working on trying to find someone with a 'spare' coil so we can test the theory out!! otherwise I'll have to buy a new one & just pray that that's the problem!!
XK - it took you long enough to comment!!
Geofff....wrong on what level...hmmm????
CC- look what you've started now!!
I am so well pleased my suggestions of said names had nothing to do with posts that followed
seriously--hope you get the late mavis sorted for next jaunt!!
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