Oh for a maintenace free ride...

Samargh · Post by **Samargh** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 12:23 am

warning.. major whinge and b*tch coming..

feel free to skip to next post.

I've had my 86 nifty fifty for what, 3 months now?

Don't use it for recreation, just to and from work, plus the odd small grocery run. probably done about 350 miles on it.

it seems as if there isn't a week where I don't have to do some kind of work on it after a breakdown or some other minor niggle.

So far:-

add missing wing mirrors, re-upholster seat.

three days spent fault finding and re-wiring a bad earth on an indicator.

Fix back light.

replace air filter.

clean and reconnect air-box, then reconnect it a further twice because it keeps falling off and either overrevving or bogging the engine. eventually i've used a large hose clamp to make sure the darned thing stays on.

cleaned the exhaust and carb as a matter of precaution, then cleaned the carb again since it was already loose because it tried to fall off while I was riding it ( I guess I should use loctite huh?)

then theres 1/4 of a tank of gas lost when it just cut out on the way home when I stopped at lights and aparently blew the carb gasket.

oh, and the other gasket further down that got damaged when the carb tried to fall off.

recharge the battery every 4-5 days because the alternator doesn't seem to be charging it properly (not sure about this, as i know the elctrics aren't the best on these bikes and its a legal requirement to allways run with lights on no matter the time of day).

then there's the bolt that came off after I cleaned the exhaust, the one that runs through the top rear of the gear housing and has since caused an untraceable oil leak somewhere round the rear wheel.

its a love/hate thing... In nice weather (a rarity in the middle of winter), I really enjoy riding, and the ground here is so flat its just nice to cruise around. I grab a jerry can of fuel once a month and just fill up at home, and I've worked out I'm getting around 33km/litre, which I worked out as pretty close to 80 miles/gallon...not counting the amount it decides to vomit on the road! That still works out to a fuel bill of around $15US for the month and is about a fifth of the fuel bill for my Honds Civic.

sigh.. but the amount of time I have worked on the darned thing...

OK..

rant over...

stillspeeding · Post by **stillspeeding** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:13 am

At least you know what the problem is vs. the kidz who post cuz they have no clue how to fix engines they just want a quik fix!

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 1:26 pm

Dont worry, after a couple years it will start agreeing with you and work.

burnt_toast · Post by **burnt_toast** » Fri Jul 04, 2008 3:06 pm

aren't old spree's a joy

Samargh · Post by **Samargh** » Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:26 pm

oh, forgot to put in the removal and straightening of the kick stand that was dragging on the ground whenever I took a left hand turn...

<sigh>

Is there some form of bribery or arcane ritual I can perform that will appease the beast and get it agreeing with me sooner than a few years?

like threaten it with a hammer, feed it bourbon in the fuel tanks and perform maintenance only on a full moon while dancing naked?!?!?!?

I mean, OK, you guys seem to pull your bikes to bits on a regular basis, but I haven't worked out if its a necessity or you just like putting it back together again... whats the average time between breakdowns supposed to be on these things?

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:19 am

I find mine stopped * constantly after I wrecked it a few times and put about $150 into it.