My bike is ticking...

[His Dudeness]

at a guess i'd say if the problem that you're having effects ever light then the fault must be with a wire that is common to all of them. so look at the wiring diagram in the workshop manual and see what wire is common to all of the lights and where it starts and ends. then you can check the connectors for that wire. you'd be looking for a melted or burnt connector or wire causing higher resistance

[Dead Eye]

Well after a fairly busy week I finally got round to doing some work on the bike and managed to get the carbs off. The worst part seems to be the throttle cables, which I'm dreading trying to get back on.

As they're off, is there anything I should check? Obviously I'm trying to get to the tensioner at the moment and figured I'd have a go at checking the Valve clearances. I plan on cleaning the carbs but I have no idea what I'm doing I have heard mention of people sending theres off for an ultrasonic bath etc but is there a home solution that is advisable? If the cost for the ultrasonic bath isn't ridiculous then it might be something I'd consider (Google searching shall commence...)

I also decided to bite the bullet and bought myself a Morgan Carbtune, so at least I can finally balance them when everything gets reassembled.

[andybesy]

Hi,


Not specific to the Fazer, but some great vids I found showing how to clean and balance carbs here:


http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0...ature=plcp


Also if you checkout the channel there's some others showing how to check battery and other electricals for faults.


Hope this helps, Andy

[His Dudeness]

i've found it easier to put the cables back on with the carbs still off and then pop the whole lot back in.

the hardest thing to do when you're cleaning the carbs is getting the crusty screws out of the bowl and the diaphragm cover without damaging them. if they're stuck badly i use a rachet with a screwdriver attachment and the right sized bit. it might sound a bit weird but i put the carbs on the ground and hold them between my legs, then put all of my weight on to the back of the rachet and slowly turn it at the same time. they've cracked free for me every time using that method. you get a lot more torque with a rachet than just a screwdriver. or if you've got an impact wrench it would do the job. a good spray of penetrating fluid also helps

once you've got the covers off its just a case of being careful when removing the jets. they're brass so they are quite soft. you have to have the correct size screwdrivers or you will damage them.

[markbubble]

carb cleaner is also you friend with carbs,give good clean outside(cover holes etc 1st)before you strip/remove parts and wear gloves as it stings like a foccer in cuts etc!

[Dead Eye]

Picked up some bits to clean the carbs today and have been disassembling them. Unfortunately I can't undo the screws for three of the diaphrams  :'( I was hoping to clean the carb bodies as I had noticed one or two little bits of grit (though these could have been my fault when I took the carbs off).

Obviously I can't use carb cleaner near the diaphrams as they will be destroyed but I did come across this home made ultrasonic bath (read down) - in this they used Tesco's Cola, would this be too harsh on the diaphrams? I've got all the parts for the bath so its definitely something I intend to try on the other bits and if it works well I'll feedback

[His Dudeness]

an impact driver will get the screws out and they're not too expensive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impact_driver

[Dead Eye]

Ah yeah, thats probably a good idea - another tool to add to my collection... my poor bank account...

Also just another quick note - the default position for the mixture screws is 2 to 2 1/2 turns out on ALL the carbs right? Mine were all over the place and ranged from 1.5 turns to 3.5 turns :S

The tensioner seems to be fine, I counted 7 clicks which should leave 4 or 5 left for chain wear and leaves me on course for about 30-35k before I need to replace the cam chain. Just need to finish cleaning the carbs, balance them and reassemble everything...

[His Dudeness]

sounds good. keep at it think its two turns out on the 600

[John Silva]

Yup 2 turns out is the standard setting.

[Dead Eye]

So everything has gone horribly horribly wrong I was cleaning the carb bodies yesterday ready for reassembly and then this happened











My poor 600 is gone  :'( :'( :'( :'(

Not likely to be getting another one any time soon - the excess on my insurance policy is half of what the bike is insured for, plus there is the no claims discount that will disappear and cost me more money in the future - long story short is that even if I did claim I wouldn't be able to afford to buy another.

Oh and I'm not certain what started the fire, but the leading guess is that it was the home made ultrasonic bath - so DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME

[budgiemurray]

Bloody tragic.. Hope you wasnt in there when it went up..

Budgie

sent from somewhere beyond the rim.

[darrsi]

OH NO !!!  :eek :eek :eek

[Dead Eye]

Thankfully no one was injured and the house was fine, garage has been totalled though as you can see.

All of my tools are basically ruined (and not covered by contents insurance...), plus all the booze in the fridge and all of my housemates underwear (which was in the dryer)

The truely lucky part was that the fuel tank didn't explode as it was resting against the garage wall - the fire started at the rear right hand side and  the fuel tank was front left. But still, 5 days after moving in to a new property and I manage to burn the garage down - pretty sure the landlord isn't impressed...

[CRH]

bad shit there deadeye/....dont despair though matey?...claim off your ins, get what you can off the robbing bstds and pick up a insrnce write off!! plenty of cat d and c"s out there!!! ....bet there still some stuff you,l be able to salvage off toasty!!

[John Silva]

:eek Sorry to hear and see the aftermath of this.

I expect the sparks from the electric motor on your home made ultrasonic bath ignited petrol fumes.

Think of this as a challenge for a winter project  :rolleyes or not...

[wezdavo]

That is a nightmare :'(

[Dead Eye]

:eek Sorry to hear and see the aftermath of this.

I expect the sparks from the electric motor on your home made ultrasonic bath ignited petrol fumes.

Think of this as a challenge for a winter project  :rolleyes or not...

Its a fair guess and may be right - but there was no smell of fuel and no rags / containers nearby that had been subjected to fuel / flammable liquids (that weren't sealed - there was a can of Carb Cleaner that I'd just bought on the dryer - the bath was on the floor). I'd used the bath the day before for over an hour and a half and there were none of the smells for electrical burnout and no excessive heat on the sander or box... Obviously it was the sander that started it, but how is a complete mystery to me at current.

[His Dudeness]

Holy crap! Thank God no one got hurt. I feel bad for encouraging you to clean the carb now. The poor bike is wrecked. Could you put up the link to ultrasonic machine I didn't get a look at it the first time. It would serve as a warning to anyone else thinking of using it. Feck sake what a disaster I'm really gutted for you Dead Eye

[Dead Eye]

Don't feel bad, its not your fault at all - the carbs really did need cleaning. Kind of annoying how I finally bought the Morgan Carbtune and now its sat inside (thankfully) without ever having been used.

The link for the ultrasonic bath is here but after my events I'd suggest using a toothbrush and carb cleaner or get a company to do it for you

I was just getting to that point of withdrawal from not having ridden for a while... looks like I'm going cold turkey. One final annoying part is that I have a car that I needed to replace the gearbox on to get it roadworthy - unfortunately all of my tools have been disintegrated and I can't afford to replace them at current so I can't even work on that.