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2001 Dear VTwin Mama, Any other suggestions VTwin Mama sisters? – Mama Friday, November 9 Dear VTwin Mama, The other thought I had, was if the carbs were done there could be a bit of dirt, gasket material, any speck of dirt can cause a carbed model to run punky. Depending on who did them, and how fussy they are with putting everything back together. Your right about the gap of the plugs, or there is a possibility that the spark plugs have a hair line crack, or the wires do. This will cause a lot of trouble too. My guess would be that the carb job should have included a tune up, as the timing is probably off. But I would just take and drive the bike for 50 or miles if it is possible. My Sporty would pop too with the choke on. It would take 5 miles or better in cool, under 60 and damp like Linda would have it in Florida, to get my Sporty to run good. And if she sat for extended periods like 2 weeks, well then it would take 100 miles. Moisture is a bad thing on a bike. Like here in Wisconsin, the days are
warm nights are cool now in fall. Even a full tank can condensate, and
cause rough idle etc. My new bike is fuel injected, and I would never go
back to a carb model. Never thought I would hear myself say that, but I
love it. I started my Road QUEEN, aka Road King, last week, it was 35F
out, and she fast idled for a while, then to me it sounded like a diesel,
but then she leveled off and ran like a charm and I never had to push or
pull anything. I love it. –
Jo Ann, VTwin Sister from Wisconsin Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Barb, As for the motorcycle engine book primer, I contacted the American Motorcycle Institute School and they use Fundamentals for Motorcycle Repair for the first five weeks of their repair school. I went to Amazon -- motorcycle books and found a well reviewed fundamentals book called Motorcycle Basics Manual which has a picture of an engine on the cover and is supposed to be an excellent primer (some women review the book as fantastic for learning the basics of how a bike works). Ok readers, any other gear or book suggestions? – Mama Click here for Motorcycle Repair Manuals Friday, December 21 Here is input for Barb on larger size biker wear and help with learning about engines: Try Womanbiker.com, Lorraine Courtney. They will custom make apparel. Happy Holiday to all biker sisters. – Bobbye www.womanbiker.com has a nice selection of items in general, but also does custom jackets and chaps in leather....Barb might want to check out their site and give them an email or call to discuss possibilities and cost. I have the same problem as Barb and even some of the places that offer 2X jackets have jackets that are still too small yet I normally wear that size...in cheap or expensive clothing. I know how frustrating this can be. – Deb Harley Davidson does a fairly good job....they have 2x & 3x sizes....my friend bought a 3x leather Harley jacket with the fringes and all very feminine....she also has women's chaps from Harley....my jacket is a 2x from Harley, it is a great jacket, longer and elastic on the sides at the waist....they have a ton a other stuff too. I got size 20 jeans in women's, and my friend who wears a 24 got some too...Harley has really come to light that not all women are a "9"....I just bought my Xmas outfit at my Harley shop, a fancy glittery pullover in gray and a black pair of jeans, they all came in my larger size. Check it out on their web site http://www.harleydavidson.com. Go to clothing, click on women's and scroll down and click on individual pieces and find the sizes. Also check your nearest dealer and if they don't have it ask them to order women's sizes -- they will because they are available. If they don't, call Harley company and talk to marketing, they will find you what you want. – Jo Ann For learning manuals: Quite often local Technical colleges have some kind of engine repair classes. Also, check out local M/C club chapters for additional ideas. – Sunishine Dear Sisters, Also, the spark plugs should be gapped between .33 and .35. Be sure you do not over tighten the spark plugs when inserting them into the cylinder. Snug is good enough. The engine is aluminum and can strip easily. This might sound stupid, but be sure to put the spark plug wire back on as I have forgotten this once and wondered why the bike didn't start. Put the covers back in place - be sure you did not mix the right side with the left side as they are made to only fit in one way. Personally, when I remove the covers, I place the screws for that side, by that side. This way I don't get them mixed up and I know everything that I take off of that side, stays on that side. Happy wrenching, – Rain, Biker Ally Magazine (www.bikerallymag.com) (note from Mama: thanks Rain for this specific information!) Thursday, November 21 For Cam (back on June 5) whose bike starts jerking madly at higher speeds: Cam's problem with jerking/loss of power sounds remarkably like a problem I had only a month or two after I bought my 2001 Suzuki Intruder. I'd be riding at 65 mph on the highway when the engine started to sputter, and it was not fixed by putting the gas on reserve, or getting better gasoline, or messing with spark plugs, or... you get the idea. I was frustrated! Took it to the dealership I bought it from, and they couldn't find a thing wrong. Took it back on the road, with same results. Finally took it to a different dealership, and within an hour, they found that the battery cables had been improperly installed!!! My dealership mechanics had used screws that were too long for the holes in the battery terminals, so the cables were actually rattling as I drove along, making an intermittent electric current. Needless to say, the dealership I bought the bike from paid for the new part... Hope this helps. – Heidi (note from Mama: all insights to solving technical problems are helpful! Thanks for taking the time to explore the Archives and respond to a question that previously had not received any input besides my own! It always amazes me how much stuff can happen on a bike that is never quite obvious -- and thus a great reason to explore these issues on this site! You never know how many other readers will expand their knowledge base with this kind of sharing of information. Truly useful.) Tuesday, December 24 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Fonz, You can find VLX maintenance schedules and exploded diagrams of just about everything at a VLX Forum: http://vlxdiagrams.20m.com/index.html. You'll have to blow by the many pop-up ads, but you'll get there. Or, I would suggest you purchase a full service manual for your bike. Visit your local dealer or try MotorcycleBooks.com. – Mama Click here for Motorcycle Repair Manuals Tuesday, December 31 Dear VTwin Mama, Dear Beth, Then, determine if you have metric or American sized nuts and bolts. You should be able to figure this out by looking through your service manual (do they call for 12mm or 5/8" for example). Still not sure? Then call or stop by your local Honda dealer and ask for the service department -- they should know what type and exact size that drain plug is -- and what exact tool they would recommend. Do NOT feel silly about asking -- remember that asking how to do something is a matter of learning -- and learning something new is ALWAYS good! Armed with this information, get thee to the hardware store or Wal-Mart to update your tool collection. Sorry I don't have the exact info you needed, but each bike is different and requires different solutions. Hopefully my information will give you a good start however. – Mama |
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