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- Joined
- Mar 6, 2004
- Messages
- 13,315
- Reaction score
- 126
- Location
- Plantersville
- First Name
- Rebecca
- Last Name
- Reed
My panniers, tail bag, and tank bag are packed.
All that was left to do was get out of work early tonight (much begging involved), pick up the bike, and hit the road for the slab ride to Alabama for an ADV rally.
But Wilbur doesn't want to go.
After wrenching all day Saturday, I noticed my idle was running high. I attributed this to my TB Sync, and adjusted it back. The next time I fired it up it revved high again, but after warming up to three bars on the temp gauge it came back close to normal. I thought maube I'd crimped a hose or forgotten a connector when I put the bike back together.
Monday night after bike night & football, the bike stalled at a light. I had always used the starter (yes, while the bike is still running) to get the sensor to trip and allow me to make a left turn. It didn't start up right away, so Biwwy and Sparky blocked traffic while I pushed it across the intersection. We let it sit for a minute (I was fuming and cussing, as you can imagine) while Sparky called Mollie to ready the pickup and ramp. I guess I had flooded it, because after sitting a bit it started up again. Biwwy followed me home and I sulked for a while.
The next morning, I called Patrick at Motorcycles Unlimited and as soon as he heard the symptoms he had an idea what was going on. I told him about my trip - the longest solo trip for me to date - and he said "get it here".
He made me a priority, and I thank him dearly. He said if it was what he thought it was, I could have it back the next day (today) and the trip wouldn't be affected.
While the bike sat overnight waiting to be looked at, it leaked oil and coolant. I'd never noticed this at home, but they had taken the belly pan off before leaving for the night - so the leak had been disguised at home. I'd also not ridden more than ten or fifteen miles total in the last six weeks, so I could have easily overlooked it in passing.
He called with the prognosis a few hours ago. The idle issue is fixed, but while looking over the bike (he is very detailed) he found other issues - the biggest of which is a leaking clutch push rod seal. From the looks of it, he says it's probably been leaking a while, although I hadn't noticed the oil level decreasing (but again, I haven't been riding it). He spent half his afternoon calling around to parts suppliers and dealerships trying to get me taken care of, but it was no use - nobody has what we need. Parts ordered, I was prepared (against his advice) to take a quart of oil with me and check at every gas stop along the way.
He set to the task of getting the bike back together so Becca (RocketBunny) could go pick it up for me before the shop closed. I was going to leave tonight and hit the slab after-hours to avoid heat and traffic - but then I got another call. Tightening all of the hose clamps for the cooling system didn't stop the leak as he'd expected. He wasn't able to immediately locate the source of the leak, so there's no telling what kind of fix that will end up being.
My trip is shot. I can't chance getting stranded - or worse, crashing - because I wanted to have fun on a bike that just isn't up to it. Could I have made it? Maybe. There's a good chance I would have been Ok with extra upkeep through the weekend. Then again, oil could fling onto the back tire causing me to careen off a cliff. I'm not willing to take that chance.
For those that doubt my wrenching - neither of these problems are related to what I did (or didn't do) last Saturday. The bike has 44k miles on it and is subject to wear and tear just like any other mechanical device. I might have been lax on routine maintenance all along, but this probably would still be the case.
Thanks for letting me vent....
All that was left to do was get out of work early tonight (much begging involved), pick up the bike, and hit the road for the slab ride to Alabama for an ADV rally.
But Wilbur doesn't want to go.
After wrenching all day Saturday, I noticed my idle was running high. I attributed this to my TB Sync, and adjusted it back. The next time I fired it up it revved high again, but after warming up to three bars on the temp gauge it came back close to normal. I thought maube I'd crimped a hose or forgotten a connector when I put the bike back together.
Monday night after bike night & football, the bike stalled at a light. I had always used the starter (yes, while the bike is still running) to get the sensor to trip and allow me to make a left turn. It didn't start up right away, so Biwwy and Sparky blocked traffic while I pushed it across the intersection. We let it sit for a minute (I was fuming and cussing, as you can imagine) while Sparky called Mollie to ready the pickup and ramp. I guess I had flooded it, because after sitting a bit it started up again. Biwwy followed me home and I sulked for a while.
The next morning, I called Patrick at Motorcycles Unlimited and as soon as he heard the symptoms he had an idea what was going on. I told him about my trip - the longest solo trip for me to date - and he said "get it here".
He made me a priority, and I thank him dearly. He said if it was what he thought it was, I could have it back the next day (today) and the trip wouldn't be affected.
While the bike sat overnight waiting to be looked at, it leaked oil and coolant. I'd never noticed this at home, but they had taken the belly pan off before leaving for the night - so the leak had been disguised at home. I'd also not ridden more than ten or fifteen miles total in the last six weeks, so I could have easily overlooked it in passing.
He called with the prognosis a few hours ago. The idle issue is fixed, but while looking over the bike (he is very detailed) he found other issues - the biggest of which is a leaking clutch push rod seal. From the looks of it, he says it's probably been leaking a while, although I hadn't noticed the oil level decreasing (but again, I haven't been riding it). He spent half his afternoon calling around to parts suppliers and dealerships trying to get me taken care of, but it was no use - nobody has what we need. Parts ordered, I was prepared (against his advice) to take a quart of oil with me and check at every gas stop along the way.
He set to the task of getting the bike back together so Becca (RocketBunny) could go pick it up for me before the shop closed. I was going to leave tonight and hit the slab after-hours to avoid heat and traffic - but then I got another call. Tightening all of the hose clamps for the cooling system didn't stop the leak as he'd expected. He wasn't able to immediately locate the source of the leak, so there's no telling what kind of fix that will end up being.
My trip is shot. I can't chance getting stranded - or worse, crashing - because I wanted to have fun on a bike that just isn't up to it. Could I have made it? Maybe. There's a good chance I would have been Ok with extra upkeep through the weekend. Then again, oil could fling onto the back tire causing me to careen off a cliff. I'm not willing to take that chance.
For those that doubt my wrenching - neither of these problems are related to what I did (or didn't do) last Saturday. The bike has 44k miles on it and is subject to wear and tear just like any other mechanical device. I might have been lax on routine maintenance all along, but this probably would still be the case.
Thanks for letting me vent....
