Any bikers here???

[ged]

Argh, the indicators, fuel guage and gear indicator have stopped working :/ I thought it might have been a flat battery because i haven't ridden it for nearly a week but the headlights still work it I managed to start the bike - it took quite a while to start but thats normal if I haven't ridden it for a while.

What is "quite a while" to start? If it's only been a week then I'd expect any engine to fire up at the first touch of the starter. The bikes I ride will start first try after three or four months in the shed. If they don't, then I think either there's something wrong. Possibly with the battery (most likely), with the engine (less likely), with the fuel (very unlikely), or with my technique (I think I've got it nailed by now). How many miles has your bike done since the spark plugs were last changed? Some engines are harder on plugs than others, but five or ten thousand miles is reasonable. I don't think you're doing yourself nor the engine any favours if you leave it much longer than that.

I had to get a lift in to college today but I'm going to try taking a look at it later. Is there anything that you guys could recommend I look at to save me some time? Otherwise I'll have to get it picked up as theres no way I'm riding it for an hour to the dealer without indicators.

Mark is right about fuses. If it isn't a fuse then it shouldn't be too hard to diagnose if you can get hold of a wiring diagram.

I grew up on bikes which had no indicators so hand signals are second nature to me, and I would have no qualms about riding a bike to the dealership with faulty indicators for repairs. It is strictly speaking illegal if they're fitted to a bike and they don't work of course.

 

[Asa Samuel]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll have to take a look at the fuses later if I can find them!

Well it was about 8 o'clock this morning and its really windy so it's cold. Even in those conditions I would use the choke, and one, maybe two seconds on the ignition (It's an electric start) sometimes with a bit of encouragement from the throttle and it's away but this time I didn't want to just keep the ignition down so I did about four or five presses on the ignition before it started.

It's only done about 6,500Km and the spark plugs haven't been changed. The next service is at 8,000km.

Thanks as always your help.

 

[ged]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll have to take a look at the fuses later if I can find them!

You do have the owner's manual?

Well it was about 8 o'clock this morning and its really windy so it's cold. Even in those conditions I would use the choke, and one, maybe two seconds on the ignition (It's an electric start) sometimes with a bit of encouragement from the throttle and it's away but this time I didn't want to just keep the ignition down so I did about four or five presses on the ignition before it started.

It's only done about 6,500Km and the spark plugs haven't been changed. The next service is at 8,000km.

For a cold start on any engine, even in summer, I would use the choke/fast idle (my bikes are fuel injected, they don't have a choke). I would normally start a four stroke with the throttle closed, and only open it once the engine has fired enough to keep itself turning over. Two strokes are a bit different. Well, quite a lot different, and to be honest I ihave very little experience with recent examples of them (thankfully) apart from things like chainsaws. Most modern engines only need choke for a relatively short time, on a motorcycle just a few hundred yards once you're moving, but that isn't really the issue here anyway. Four or five attempts to start it sounds too many to me. I'd be thinking about checking the spark plug gaps and making sure they're clean, particularly the insulators. It might be worth collecting some rain water or defrosting the fridge and using the water you collect to damp a rag and wipe off the high voltage leads and spark plug insulators. Salt collects on things in the winter and a coating of damp salt can conduct electricity well enough to waste some of the energy in the spark.

If your bike has a four stroke engine I wouldn't think that the service plan will call for spark plugs to be changed at the next service, so you probably won't be wasting your time if you check the plugs now. There must be hundreds of sites on the Web which show photographs of how spark plugs should look when you take them out of an engine. When the engine has been stopped from running at a reasonable working temperature there should be nothing more than a trace of a brownish deposit on the insulator. If there is oil or soot on the plug when you take it out you need to find out why.

Two strokes are a lot harder on plugs. If you have a two stroke engine you really need to carry spare plugs wherever you go.

 

[John Fenna]

Hijacking the thread (just a littl )
Have any of the bikers on this forum read any copies of Adventure Bike Rider magazine?
As the title suggests it is for the adventurous biker and having read a couple of issues I am quite impressed by the range of info and articles.
OK - I admit I only started reading it after I was asked to write a Survival and Bushcraft column for them but aside from those pages it is pretty entertaining IMO.
Anyone else read it?
What do you think of it?
No affilliation except for writing the freelance S&B column....

 

[markie*mark0]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'll have to take a look at the fuses later if I can find them!

Well it was about 8 o'clock this morning and its really windy so it's cold. Even in those conditions I would use the choke, and one, maybe two seconds on the ignition (It's an electric start) sometimes with a bit of encouragement from the throttle and it's away but this time I didn't want to just keep the ignition down so I did about four or five presses on the ignition before it started.

It's only done about 6,500Km and the spark plugs haven't been changed. The next service is at 8,000km.

Thanks as always your help.

What bike is it?

 

[Grendel]

Hijacking the thread (just a littl )
Have any of the bikers on this forum read any copies of Adventure Bike Rider magazine?
As the title suggests it is for the adventurous biker and having read a couple of issues I am quite impressed by the range of info and articles.
OK - I admit I only started reading it after I was asked to write a Survival and Bushcraft column for them but aside from those pages it is pretty entertaining IMO.
Anyone else read it?
What do you think of it?
No affilliation except for writing the freelance S&B column....

Yep i'm subscribed to the Mag. Look forward to reading your writeups.

 

[John Fenna]

Yep i'm subscribed to the Mag. Look forward to reading your writeups.

How do you rate the main content of the mag?

 

[Grendel]

I find it seems to get better each issue for an armchair tourer like myself. But could do with more mechanical roadside repair stories.

 

[Asa Samuel]

Haha, I found the fuse eventually - the owners manual wasn't any help, it said it was behind the left chasis cover whereas its behind the right chasis cover Tried the spare fuse and no change so my dad reckons its a relay. Anyway I phoned the mechanic and he said there might be some hidden fuses and if we can't sort it out over the phone he'll come pick the bike up.

As regards to starting the bike, I tried it again and it started up as normal. It must have jsut been colder than I thought

The bike I have is a Lexmoto street 125.

Cheers for all the advice

 

[markie*mark0]

Got the bikes out recently for a bit of a photoshoot.....

 

[Grendel]

The bike I have is a Lexmoto street 125.

Unfortunately Chinese bikes are not renown for there reliability and long life which is why they are so cheap to buy. Dare I ask how much you bought it for and how long you have had it?

 

[ged]

Have any of the bikers on this forum read any copies of Adventure Bike Rider magazine?

Never head of it. Not sure I want my riding to be any more adventurous than it gets already.

... But could do with more mechanical roadside repair stories.

Well I was on my way to Italy a couple of years ago when at some motorway services in France I saw a couple of guys with a Duke and a Harley. The guy with the Ducati had it all to bits in the car park. I went over to them and asked if I could help, I thought maybe I could nip to get spare parts or tools if they didn't have everything they needed.

They said, "Oh, no, thanks, that's fine. We've got this van!" and pointed to their wives, sitting in a Transit full of tools and spare parts at the other side of the car park. They said when they go touring they always get the wives to bring the van along.

Haha, I found the fuse eventually - the owners manual wasn't any help, it said it was behind the left chasis cover whereas its behind the right chasis cover

Maybe it depends which end of the bike you're standing.

As regards to starting the bike, I tried it again and it started up as normal. It must have jsut been colder than I thought

What oil do you have in it? Multigrade? You might find that some oils are better for colder weather. Most engines are OK with 10W/40 but you can go to 5W/40 or even lower viscosities depending on the temperature ranges they're going to experience and the manufacturer's recommendations. Lower viscosities will make cold starting easier and improve fuel consumption but you need to be very careful that the oil is suitable for the loads that it will encounter. Motorcycle engines tend to be harder on oils than those in cars for example -- some bike engines in the 1000cc range will put out two or three times the power of a typical family saloon car. I didn't see a power output in the specifications for your bike but I'm guessing in the region of 10bhp. It's obviously air cooled so the oil will need to be good quality. Whatever oil you use, make sure that it's suitable for a bike. In most bikes thesedays the clutch and gearbox use the same oil bath as the engine. This means that some oils are not suitable because they contain anti-friction additives which will damage the clutch if it runs in the engine oil.

 

[Asa Samuel]

It was £1,300 on-road price and I'll have had it nearly a year at the end of this month.

I've never had to top up the oil myself and I didn't ask what they put in when it last went for a service. I'll check it out though when it next goes in.

 

[Asa Samuel]

Turned out the front wiring loom was full of water! He said it was all sealed up fine but it must have just seeped in over the load of rain we've had recently. He had to cut it open to get the water out but he cable-tied it and taped it back up. Luckily he didn't charge me for it or for picking the bike either so I'm back on the road without any expense. Before you ask, the bike is half under the cover of the shed and I have a full rain cover for it as well so it doesn't stand in the rain all day.

Feels good to have your bike back in working order doesn't it?

 

[Grendel]

Feels good to have your bike back in working order doesn't it?

Unfortunately with the Chinese bikes you get what you pay for. But must admit they do make some nice looking supermoto bikes. Glad to hear you’re back on the road. Any idea what bike your progress onto yet?

 

[Asa Samuel]

Unfortunately with the Chinese bikes you get what you pay for. But must admit they do make some nice looking supermoto bikes. Glad to hear you’re back on the road. Any idea what bike your progress onto yet?

Not yet, its going to be a while before I can get proper lessons to pass my test anyway so I'm not thinking that far ahead

 

[Grendel]

Makes sense.
I rode a Hyosung GT125 Comet for over a year on CBT before I took my full test and Got the Transalp.

 

[Asa Samuel]

I'll be coming up to a year at the end of this month. I've always wanted to ride motorbikes but for the moment its just transportation to college (I live in the middle of nowhere so there aren't any buses) and this bike is suiting me just fine so there's no hurry to upgrade yet.

 

[ged]

... he didn't charge me for it or for picking the bike either ...

Stone me! A real gent! I'd thought they were a thing of the distant past!

Before you ask, the bike is half under the cover of the shed and I have a full rain cover for it as well so it doesn't stand in the rain all day.

A bike should be able to cope with heavy rain, since it will likely be ridden in it. Well, if it's mine it will be. But it's a good idea not to let it sit and soak for months on end, most things mechanical don't like that very much. Have to say I'm slightly surprised that just having water in a wiring loom would stop indicators working but stranger things have happened I suppose.

Feels good to have your bike back in working order doesn't it?

Feels even better to be out on it, like last weekend.

But of course it rained.

 

[Grendel]

I'll be coming up to a year at the end of this month. I've always wanted to ride motorbikes but for the moment its just transportation to college (I live in the middle of nowhere so there aren't any buses) and this bike is suiting me just fine so there's no hurry to upgrade yet.

Must admit that’s the reason I bought a bike. Only gets used for commuting to work all year around since parking was a nightmare where I used to work.