saddlebum

I would start with checking the float in the tank 9x out of 10 this is the culprit in fuel level issues. You can pull the sending unit out and by hand or if you can reach the arm with a coat hanger move the gauge through its sweep and watch the gauge for any irregularities. If you can get your hands on a second sender you can just connect the wires to it and put it through its sweep and compare the gauges reaction with your sending unit.

It is not uncommon to see some slight hair line checking in the grooves known as weathering of most tires but I would definitely keep a close watch just the same

I would start with checking your oil level, and see if it has risen at all. If gas has been leaking into the cylinders, some of it may drain into the oil sump raising your level . Any time you suspect an engine feels hydro locked, it is a good idea to remove the plugs and crank the engine a few times with the plugs out before trying to start it. Once you have run the engine for a few minutes shut it down and extract some oil from the engine. a straw works well for this just reach into the fill hole with the straw then place your thumb on the end and remove the straw. Hold straw over a clean white sheet of paper and remove your thumb leaving a puddle on the paper. let it sit and soak into the paper for a bit usually a few minutes is enough and look at the oil spot There maybe a lighter tiny ring around the outside of the spot but if this lighter ring expands around the oil spot quite a bit you most likely have gas in the oil. In which case I would change oil and filter. If this turns out to be a chronic issue you may want to check your float settings and condition of your needle and seats in the carburetor. If your concerned that you may have suffered some engine damage you can drain of some oil and send a sample plus your filter out for analysis. There are a few places that specialize in analyzing automotive oils and they will give you a break down of what is found in the oil as well as alert you to any warning signs that you may need to take seriously. Often they will ask for a second sample after so many miles/KM in order to isolate normal wear metal amounts from excessive amounts. Here is a link to the company we use at work. we found them to be very good. and there reports are usually very easy to understand https://www.alsglobal.com/en/services-and-products/oil-fuel-and-coolant-analysis/oil-analysis-and-testing

Just Remember that if using a c-clamp to only use gentle pressure. If it requires a lot of force then the pistons and seals will need to be serviced.

You as well

I remember well Also Brad and yes it is a frightening thought when you have only two wheels. Now I may be wrong about this but I seem to recall at some point it was determined that the Metzler failures were confined to the ones made in Mexico. If they were not made in Mexico they were apparently Ok.

Not that I disagree with your decision Mr @Squidley. but keep in mind any brand of tire is capable of having a bad one in the batch. My wife's car started shaking real bad and would bunny hop at slow speeds. turned out all four tires had broken and shifted belts resulting in bulges in the tires. These were Michelin tires a brand many us pretty much consider top of the line tires. So one bad apple should not condemn the whole basket, where as the Metzler 880's, had a whole rash of tire separation failures and Avon not so long ago had a rash of side wall cracking, related to a certain batch and yet both before and after they have been one of the highly recommended tires except for 1st gens were they tended to cause a rear end sway at highway speeds. I would get the batch number off the tire and contact Shinko and see what kind of feed back you get. They may have had a bad batch and if so may be willing to provide a new tire. there may even be a recall on that batch. None of this is to say I disagree with your decision just some food for thought. At the end of the day you gotta do what makes you feel safe.

It might interest you to know the drug was not rushed out as quickly as you may think. They have been working on the drug for a few years, since the last sar's outbreak actually but just added an extra push to it when covid broke out. I had the same reservations myself. But as in my case when you start to look at the numbers and then have two family members that spent a month and half on respirators and survived by the skin of their teeth, you don't so much look at the fears you have regarding the drug, as to which is the lesser of two evils. In my case I decided I would rather gamble on the drug then on the virus.

Same with me I just felt like someone punched me in the shoulder with both shots. I had pfizer for the 1st and moderna for the 2nd but it was gone the next day. That was all my wife felt with the second shot as well were with the first Her whole upper body was in pain for two days. She had the pfizer for both shots.

True there is a big push and I do not know if all the clinc's are the same. But on both occasions when I went for my shots they asked me what medications I am on and what if any drugs I have ever had an allergic reaction to. Also here in Ontario they stress if you have any concerns to see your doctor before getting the vaccine. Now whether this holds true the quick pop up walk through clinics and drug stores etc that have been administering the shots I do not know. I do agree awareness is very important specially when one is already on multiple medications. Even eating the wrong foods such as grapefruit or turmeric can have repercussions with certain drugs. When I was on Clopidogrel which is a platelet reduction drug I would bleed like crazy for every little nick. I decided to check for interactions with other drugs and supplements I was taking and discovered that the turmeric and devils claw in the knee supplement I was taking also had platelet reduction quality's, so for a year I stopped taking it and for a year I had to suffer knee agony. Now I am off the clopidogrel and back on my knee supplement and my knees are happy again.

Now you have me squeamish. Would not want to go through what you went through. P.S. I was not making light of your situation. Just making mention of a few things in hopes that there was nothing more serious going on which apparently is not the case. I hope your doctor finds and resolves what ever the issue is and that your feeling better very soon.

It varies depending on how much electrical load you force it to carry. The more lights/load you put on them the harder it has to work. using LED's will reduce this load substantially I replaced mine in the 89 2 years ago and I have put 160,000 km on it I was running high wattage bulbs as well. Running too long with low or dirty oil can also be a factor since it uses the oil to keep it from overheating.

Really sad to hear that. Not to be unsympathetic, but you would not be the first to pass out for a needle. Some before they even get poked and With all the fear mongering around these vaccines I would actually not be surprised if more people passed out even ones who normally have no aversion to needles as a rule. My wife had upper body pain that lasted 4 days and had her in tears with the 1st shot but had no reaction to the second shot and my neighbor could not get out of bed the next day after the 1st shot, He does admit he is squeamish when it comes to needles but he was fine with his 2nd shot. Either way it is a good idea to check with your doctor and make sure as to why it happened. I am no doctor but I was one of those people in my younger days that would start to get light headed and almost pass out at just the thought of a needle. When I was 15, I had to give a shot to pregnant dog to help her go into labor. Three seconds after giving her the shot I passed out. This is why I am just wondering if the passing out that quickly after the shot could have been a mental response to the needle, , while the pain in the shoulder could have been a separate but normal reaction to the shot like my wife and many others had. Hopefully that is all it was and not an indication of some more serious underlying issue triggered by the shot.

And this is why I said slowwwly apply air. .....Oh and I guess won't hurt to keep your finger out of the way ..... cause it will hurt if you don't.

Hey Brad I am not sure if trial members have access to member profiles.

I apply the brake fluid to the outside of the pistons after cleaning as best I can and before pushing them back in to give the pistons some lubrication so they slide in easier (only use brake fluid other lubricants can swell the rubbers). This is only if I do not intend on rebuilding the caliper and intend only on pushing the pistons back in and reinstalling calipers as they are. Applying air to the brake bleed valve is only if you want to pop the pistons right out, and replace the seals after cleaning pistons and bores. in which case at this point you would have removed the calipers completely from the bike and now have them on the work bench. generally I keep the bleed valve closed and apply the air to were the brake line was attached. place a thin piece of wood were the disc pads sit or set in an old disc pad than slowly apply air until the pistons pop out. A rag covering the caliper and air line during this process helps avoid getting brake fluid in your eyes.

I use a socket and wide punch or two sockets one socket that catches the yoke but the cup can fall into the other slightly smaller than the cup and just drive the smaller socket with a hammer, which drives the opposite cup down and into the larger socket on the otheR side of the yoke. Other times I straddle the open jaws of a vice or two blocks of wood on the floor and drive the joint out that way.

I usually use a c-clamp or channel lock pliers using mild force, after first cleaning and coating with brake fluid. If they are difficult to compress than they may need to be popped out cleaned and new seals put in. keep in mind the excessive effort it takes to squeeze the pistons back in is also additional effort required to apply the brakes. As well they may not fully retract when the brakes are released causing brake drag. When rebuilding the calipers they do not recommend splitting the calipers in two. I generally do anyway though it is not necessary and the proper size and thickness o-rings that go between the halves may be hard to find.

I have always used Bel-Ray fork oil

I agree with Spencer. However if it does end up needing a starter do yourself a favour and try to acquire a 4 brush starter. It is like day and night specially when trying to crank over a hot engine.

Another of the old guard stepping away. Another one to be missed. when you next chat with the old Pucster make sure to let him know saddlebum thinks about him. I am surprised Dingy sold tweety though they seemed inseparable. He did have another project bike conversion on the go though. I wonder if he completed it.

You can also jump from the battery right to the post on the starter. let the bike get well up to temp and repeat the test with the bike hot. if it cranks over healthy like both hot and cold, the starter is likely Ok. If not than you just narrowed it down to the starter. Sometimes a bad starter is fine when cold but binds up and draws a lot of currant when hot. Keep in mind a starter can fail due to worn out or seized bearings as well as electrical issues.

Jim is correct about the master fuse it is a replaceable blade type fuse held by a screw on each end and often that same plastic case will have a couple of spare blades stored in it. I went a step further and replace it with a 40 amp MAXI FUSE https://www.littelfuse.com/products/fuses/automotive-aftermarket-products/blade-fuses/maxi/max40.aspx

It is and very interesting video. This follow up video was sort of interesting as well specially when he talks and explains the theory behind Harley's well known vibration. least ways I thought it was a bit of an eye opener.

Would have to see a flow diagram but I am thinking what may occur, is the Anti-dive would block fluid flow and so when the fork attempts to compress there would be increased pressure on the fluid in the forks causing it to be forced against the seal. If the Anti-dive is faulty and creating more fluid flow blockage or back pressure than the design intent, I am thinking the seal may leak. This could be compounded by A softer inferior after market seal which may even be more unable to with stand this added pressure. However I am just making a somewhat educated guess here and could be way out in left field but I once hit a pothole hard enough to pop the top seal on one of my forks.