What have you done with your bike today?

[Asmith61]

Lovely story of Wojtek the bear 👍

And sounded like a great ride out 👍

[2112]

It's a great story about the bear, very much in the 'you couldn't make it up' category 

[Asmith61]

Loved the way Wojtek was adopted by the polish soldiers and given a rank and ended his days being cared for in Edinburgh Zoo a wonderful and heartfelt story.

[Steve T]

Nice gentle ride west & north yesterday, taking in the scenery and soaking up the silence when stopped.
Watching a cuckoo get chased was kind of special as well
















Steve T

 

[Brockett]

XJ600n - Struggles with the Carburation and what caused the engine revs to rise and fall down was traced to a small tear in the vacuum line that trigger the petrol tap to open. This allowed air into the inlet manifold of the left hand cylinder. Now the revs have almost stabilised I think I'll have to go back and check the carbs synchronisation.

[Joe Rocket]

I had an XJ600N a while back. That vacuum pipe serves the delivery of fuel to all the carburretors (it just activates off the lh cylinder iirc) and the floats should cut off more fuel when the chambers are full.

If what you describe has resolved the problem then fine.

Personally I think it's more likely the carb to engine manifolds, they may have cracks which lets air into the mixture and can cause poor running, especially at idle. If you've been poking and wiggling around the carbs you may have simply hidden the problem again. Check them out meticulously to be sure. 

[nigel s]

I had a similar problem with a Gs550, smearing silicone sealer on the rubber intakes sorted it till I found  a set at a brakers.

[Brockett]

Joe. Yes I checked the manifold connectors and they look OK using a torch and a magnifying glass. After I changed the vacuum line to the top the problem went away so I think that is good enough. However, the next problem I likely to be just sitting around waiting for the moment to say "BOOOOOOOO".

[Brockett]

V7 Stone - took it for a service today £265 for an oil and filter change, "a nut and bolt check" and a huge download of data to  Moto Guzzi with a printout for me. I am still not sure that I fully understand the value of the service. So I am not complaining. First time I have seen any data downloaded from an ECU and I am sure I would be interested if I understood it. 

[Joe Rocket]

Hopefully you've got Brockett it....and here it comes.....but you have to take the carbs off and manipulate the connectors. If they are still rubbery and flexible they're probably OK. If they're hard and won't deform as you'd expect then try to stretch the 'rubber' with your two thumbs between the two thick lips the circlips secure around. It was only then I found the cracks in mine. I found the same with my Kawasaki GPX btw, old and cooked.

I'm not rejecting your fix but before you rebalance the carbs you'd do well to make sure. HTH

[Brockett]

Joe - thanks. That is not something I have considered. I will have another look.

[nigel s]

I found my splits with carb cleaner sprayed onto the rubbers while the engine ticks over. The engine note changes and at least on mine you could see it getting sucked in.Do one at a time .

[Brockett]

Yes but I think Joe's point is that the manifold connectors harden over time and can leak at the joints, I may well invest in replacements and that'll be another bug that won't bite me.

[nigel s]

Spraying with the cleaner will give you a test for any vacuum leak , for the joint seal too.
It may well be that all is good and you save some cash.
Have a look at this, may help.

[Asmith61]

Gave it some much needed soapy love

[2112]

Looking like new, good job 

[Brockett]

nigel s - thanks that is a very useful video showing leak detection and especially seeing the boots that look OK until they are removed and stressed to show up their defects.

[Brockett]

Out on the V7 Special to meet two friends at the bike shop, then off to Grumpy's for an egg and bacon bagette. Then to Oulton Broad for a coffee and a cake and buy some hooks and weights from the tackle shop. On the way home I stopped off at Friday Bike night at Billingford. It's a new venue in an old ex pub and is very welcoming for bikes and a very nice Burger that was £4.50 and that's reported to be £2 cheaper than TWT at Old Buckenham. Another 157 miles of the 10,000 that I have been told are required to fully run-in the V7. The ride also conclusively proved to rear that the Seat on the special is much better than the seat on the Stone. But can I put the Brown seat from the Special on the all black Stone. Or will the Guzzistas cry "foul"?

[kwackboy]

Bought this recently,  it'll be my new commuter.
My CB500 sustained front end damage in a collision last month and is now written off .. 

As parts are hard to find I've decided to "sorn" it and keep it stored for the time being until I decided what to do with it next.

This new, to me, 300cc scooter is very nippy, its ideal for my journey and can achieve over 90mpg .

Must be getting old buying one of these but it's proper fun to ride and it'll top 90mph .. 

[Rusty Nuts]

Spray it matt black, put a WH05 DAT plate on, you'll fit right in - and a balaclava instead of a helmet.