Perhaps this post should be called tribulations and trials. I rode over to Norms this arvo to primarily play with learning how to start the 1953 500 JS as well as changing the oil on my 94 Bullet. Not far from Norms my gear box started playing up and I pulled the cover off the gear box and discovered a broken gear selector spring. Norm removed a gear spring from the 53 Meteor gear box and put it in mine. I drained the fuel from my petrol tank as I had switched to reserve on the way and wanted to know how much fuel was left in the tank. Norm changed the oil and put in a new filter. After adjusting the gear box I left to ride home. I stopped in at a petrol station to fill the tank, I had 4.5 litres of fuel left and filled the tank with 12.5 litres of fuel. I thought my new tank was at least 18 litres, I must have miscalculated. I was also not very observant and did not notice that the rear bolt on my petrol tank was loose. I took off and turned on to the freeway. The motorcycle was riding well and the gears were changing very nicely. About 15 kilometres down the freeway I noticed the engine was getting noisier. After 25 kilometres I pulled off the freeway and looked down at my engine and saw fuel leaking from the tank. I rode the motorcycle another 4 kilometres home, siphoned off the remaining fuel and put it in my old fuel tank. The rear bolt holding the tank on the frame had come loose, losing one of the nuts. Consequently with the vibration of the engine the tank developed a leak. I do not know at this stage whether it is repairable or not. The new tank is still on my motorcycle and I will remove it tomorrow and put my old tank back on. Here comes the return of the red bike. Such a frustrating day, having sorted out the gear box and in fact improved gear selection, having changed the oil and oil filter and then having put a hole in my new petrol tank. Typically it was a very Enfield kind of day, if you ride an Enfield you will know exactly what I mean.
07/01/2010 Yesterday I had a canvas cover made up for my gel pad. I rode home with it and I am unsure at this stage about it's effectiveness. I think I made a mistake in getting the size I did, I think I should have got the largest size possible. Something about my physical attributes means I am not getting the cover from the gel pad I bought. Actually it is too small for my motorcycle seat. True. Anyway I will continue to use it for now, it may simply require getting used to it.
When I fitted the new tank (see pics) I also fitted a new locking petcock. I have found that when the fuel runs low and I have to switch to reserve the engine runs roughly for a while as if starved of fuel. After 3 or 4 minutes the engine runs normally again. I am not sure why this happens. At the moment I am getting approximately 320km before reserve. I will have to carry a litre of petrol and test how far I get on reserve, worthwhile knowing I reckon particularly for a long trip.
I have done some research in to helmet cams as I wish to video the WA 2010 ride. I will post my research soon. I have added a couple more pages to A long ride
I have added a list of work/things to do in order to prepare my motorcycle and myself for WA 2010. I have added a couple of links in the Planning links page.
I have also added the last touches to Bungendore 2009 trip description. I have added the proposed itinerary in Western Australia 2010. Battery seems to be behaving and holding a charge. Rode to work this morning such a nice ride when there is no traffic. I managed to go for a ride after work. Speedo does not appear to be working as well as before but it is working so that is a plus. I had to run over to Camberwell for some last minute shopping. The clouds were gathering and looking very ominous in the south west. Made my purchase and was back on the motorcycle half way home or better and the clouds open up. Went to make a right hand turn in to High Street and my indicators died and then the motor cut out. Pushed my bike through the turn and on to the foot path, rain pelting down. Found a bit of cover under a tree, tried to kick the motor over but no luck. Looking under the nacelle I found a wire had come loose, an indicator wire, so I concluded that I had blown a fuse. However, I checked the fuse and to my surprise it was intact. (I recalled not long after buying the bike I had a similar incident where the electrics died, I tried push starting but no go. I ended up leaving the bike for an hour or more and when I got back I noticed that the ammeter moved when I turned the ignition on, I kicked the motor over and I was away.) I waited around 15 minutes, kicked the motor and missed my opportunity. Waited another 20 mintues, primed the carby, kicked and fired turned the idle up a little to prevent a stall. I was home fairly quickly, but had to use hand signals as the battery could not provide enough charge to power the indicators. The battery is now on charge and I will check the earth lead tomorrow to enure the battery will charge off the generator (thanks Norm). The wiring on my motorcycle is pretty ordinary, the nacelle in particular hides what anyone would, not even euphamistically, call a dogs breakfast. It would be good to rewire one day soon. Seasons greetings.
Welcome! I have uploaded the Bungendore ride report (see Bungendore 2009) titled 1693 kilometres home, I still have a few photos to add. Yesterday I replaced the shock absorber bushes, a fairly straight forward job (thanks Nick). My speedo cable broke earlier this week so I replaced the cable earlier this evening. I haven't tested it yet, so I am unsure if the speedo unit has been damaged or not. I may not get a chance to ride tomorrow, I unfortunately have to drive to work tomorrow, so may be go for a test ride chrissy morning.
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My motorcycleCame off the production line in October 1994 and was first registered in Australia in 1995. When I bought the motorcycle in July 2008 there was 22430 km on the odometer. I have added approximately 15000 km as of December 2009. I have around a 40km commute which I complete most days on my motorcycle. It is a great motorcycle! Archives
January 2014
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