From a tough Friday to a great weekend!!!

[Venturous Randy]

The bad part:

I ended up taking Friday off as a vacation day after getting to work because I had several things I needed to do or wanted to do, and work was not one of them. I ended up making about a 30 mile round trip run to look at a Miata for a friend and after stopping to get a bite to eat, the bike started running real bad, alternating from 3 to 4 cylinders. Then I started having a rear end wobble and pulled over. When I got off and saw the rear tire was going down, I also noticed gas making a puddle under the bike. I jumped back on it as there was a convience store about a mile away and it did have an air hose available.

After getting there and airing up my rear tire twice, I finally got it on the center stand. I then laid down and rotated the tire, which was a new E-3 that I had just put on, I found a hole where it had been punchered. I pulled out my plug kit, plugged it while laying on very hot pavement at about 95º in the sun, and then took off 20 miles for home, with gas leaking out a lot.

I barely made it home, going from a full tank when I started out to a blinking light. but I made it. I pulled off the air box and sure enough, I had the right rear carb with fuel running out the over flow tube. Before I took anything apart, I pulled off the inlet hose for that carb and using an air nozzle with a tube on, I blew air into it. Yes, gas did spray out a jet or two, but it ended up working fine. I then took off the wheel and removed the tire and buffed down the area where I had put the plug and put on a heavy duty patch. I then put the tire back on, checked balance, and put everything back together.

The good part:

Got up Saturday morning and picked up a friend and before the weekend was over, I put 570 miles on the bike, which ran great and got from 43 to 45mpg. Of these miles, only about 40 were interstate and most were two lane with one run being from Cherokee, NC on the Blue Ridge Parkway up to just past Little Switzerland. This was at temperatures in mid 70's to mid 80's. knowing that down in the valleys it was mid 90's at least.

If I was going to encounter this type of a problem, I was really glad it happened when it did because that two day ride had a lot of time in remote areas with no phone service.

It ended up being a great weekend.

 

RandyA

Edited July 26, 2010 by Venturous Randy

[sgn]

You must really be working out if you "picked up a friend"

 

:group cheers:

 

Steve

[frogmaster]

Randy,

 

Niiiiice Save!!!

 

I too carry a plug kit just in case

 

[mini-muffin]

Glad you had a good weekend even with the bad start. At least you could get it fixed without too much trouble.

 

Margaret

[Yammer Dan]

Sometimes things just work out!! Or so I've been told.

 

:clap2:Glad they did for you!!!