Starting to hate the old bikes....

h2thief · Post by **h2thief** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:12 am

As I have posted (months ago) I broke the 74 engine on the waterbuffalo.... well, I had an engine from a 73 that I cleaned up and threw in the 74... I wasn't getting good spark so I got the Newtron iggy and threw it in... working good but still had left and center cylinders not popping at idle but running great higher end so the most practical thing to do is to pull the carbs and check the pilot ports etc.... did that yesterday and now have left carb has fuel... center overflows and right has no fuel and none of the plugs show any fuel on them at all.... back to the drawing board.... will pull the carbs again this pm and see what happens...

Not to mention the H2 is still waiting for shift forks.......

I'm about ready to sell the both of them and buy a modern valved horror.....

jbswear · Post by **jbswear** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:32 am

Yeah, I feel your pain.

I've had this dang 380 for two and a half years. Every time I think I have it close to running, something identical to what you just described happens.

It's a disease, I tell ya.

ja-moo · Post by **ja-moo** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 3:07 pm

You just have to love old bikes. If you don't, then another hobby might be in order. My bike sit in pieces 3 1/2 years out of 4, I spend way more time working on them than actually riding them.........

rngdng · Post by **rngdng** » Sun Jul 11, 2010 10:36 pm

Yeah, the old ones can be a pain in the ass. I have been pretty de-motivated lately, and have actually sold a couple of bikes, and bought a newer one to ride. When you get disgusted, take a break....the bike will still be there when you feel better about working on it.

Lane

evol02 · Post by **evol02** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:56 am

My wife and I each have two modern bikes each that see a TON of use each year. That means that when we take the vintage steel out of the garage that it is for a very good or special reason. That happens at least once a month for each bike.
Keeps the miles down on the vintage stuff so that we aren't sending them to an early grave.

Post by **Suzsmokeyallan** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 6:34 pm

Any vintage bike purchased with a dubious past should be checked over completely. Not only for a well functioning machine but for your own safety.
Doing this fixes ALL the previous botched issues P.Os put into them, if not you will be forever fixing the past fixes done to them, most of them bad work to start with.
I don't see any reason why a well prepared vintage bike should not work reliably once its not been modded to a state of total unreliability.
Lets face facts, any old bike will be a situation begging to fail if its past its due date for rebuilding required items.
For example, my 76 buffalo is on its original crank seals, i'm just holding my breath every time i ride it. I know they are going to fail eventually, the question is WHEN.
For me to strip its engine right now isn't a top priority, so I think I'll wait it out. In this particular case I'll know what it is when the time comes.

water cooled · Post by **water cooled** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 7:18 pm

I ride my bike about 200 seconds a year and work on it about 200 hours. I think that is a good rule of thumb.

I love my bike...its one of a kind

h2thief · Post by **h2thief** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:04 pm

Thanks for all the good words guys.... puts my faith back into keeping these old relics....

. I did get the bike running good but now it only runs for a minute or two then runs out of fuel which brings me to the next question.... when adjusting float levels do you set them with the needle valve spring compressed by the float or try to determine the point that the little pin is all the way out and set it that way? I set the float levels with them compressing the pin and figure that is why I am running out of fuel....

Cliff · Post by **Cliff** » Mon Jul 12, 2010 8:48 pm

Don't compress the springs when you ajust the float height. You just want the needle to rest against the seat. Hold the carbs upside down at a an angle so that the needle is up against the seat without compressing the spring and adjust the float height to specs.
"Old Relics"? I've put 136,000 plus miles on my old girl! (GT550L) It's nothing to go out on a Sunday afternoon and put 200 miles on her! Almost 2000 miles so far this year and I haven't gone anywhere! Have a ride planned for this weekend, about 600 miles, and another the first weekend in Aug. which should be around 1500 miles!
Cliff.

two-stroke-brit · Post by **two-stroke-brit** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 9:06 am

Cliff wrote: "Old Relics"? I've put 136,000 plus miles on my old girl! (GT550L) It's nothing to go out on a Sunday afternoon and put 200 miles on her! Almost 2000 miles so far this year and I haven't gone anywhere! Have a ride planned for this weekend, about 600 miles, and another the first weekend in Aug. which should be around 1500 miles!
Cliff.

hey cliff how does you butt stand up to that sort of punishment i rode for 750 miles in three days and i still have no feeling in butt.
do you have a cumfy new seat ?.
mark

TLRam1 · Post by **TLRam1** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 11:25 am

Mark,

I use the Small Cruiser Airhawk, works like a charm, it's the difference for me riding for 1 hour or 5-6 hours and being okay.

Cliff · Post by **Cliff** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 6:06 pm

Mark, still riding the original foam and pan! Had to replace the cover about five years ago! I've tried wooden beads, foam, gel, sheepskin cushions/covers. Of all of them, the wooden beads gave the most relief! Who would of thought, sitting on wooden balls is comfortable!! I guess I'm just used to the seat the way it is. I can do 500 miles a day before "The Burn" sets in. Then it's time for a beer!! I'm 5'8", 200 lbs. and like I need an excuse for a beer!!
Cliff.

doug rooney · Post by **doug rooney** » Tue Jul 13, 2010 7:26 pm

Well H2, I feel your pain as well. Been gone awhile due to life's never ending dramas but have time to post tonight. Have put a couple hours into my 67 X6 Suzuki and still can't figure out why it won't fire hot on one side but that's ok. When I get it figured out, I'll have learned something else and that's what it's all about for me. You guys talking about mid 70's bikes being relics (and they are) makes me wonder why I'm messing with this 67?? Answer...? Cuz it's a challenge and I WILL NOT BE DEFEATED! LOL! Best of luck, Doug

MikeH1A · Post by **MikeH1A** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:05 am

H2,
Trust me, those feelings are totally normal! I bought a second japanese classic so I could walk into my garage and choose which to ride, depending on my mood. WRONG. In fact, I struggle to remember times when both were actually running at the same time

I have surprised myself (and the neighbours) at how grumpy and loudy foul mouthed I can become when spannering in my garage. Maybe we could start a cartoon strip about a mild mannered man who enters the garage and turns into some hulking beast after the Suzuki/Kawasaki/Honda/Yamaha (delete as appropriate) doesn't start yet again.

rbond · Post by **rbond** » Wed Jul 14, 2010 8:05 am

You got it!!! These old bikes can drive you up a wall trying to figure out what is wrong with it, or the bigger problem, WHERE are you going to get that unobtanium thing-a-ma-bob that is broke in six pieces, without means it don't run?

BUT, when it goes, the smiles with the miles seem to melt away MOST of the frustrations in getting it going again. If you luck out and your mechanical skills improve enough, you will bring it back to like new condition and ride anywhere you durn well please and know it will bring you home. That satisfaction and FUN can't be replaced. Besides, you can expand your vocabulary by learning some cuss words in another language and make your neighbors think you have lost your mind......

Starting to hate the old bikes....

Starting to hate the old bikes....

Old Bikes

old bikes