More Motorcycle Stuff

So, you'd think I'd have learned the lesson by now, right? Nahhhh, brain dead apparently.

Bike had been reluctantly turning over when I pushed the starter button. Struggled to turn, then kind of revved up. In retrospect of course it was a starter issue, but what did I know. It took me right up to the moment it died, on a Monday morning in a ferry lineup. You know, one of those kinds of days where you're hoping to get a great jumpstart on the week by showing up at the office all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?

OK, so they let me push start it to get it on the ferry, then it worked (thank you) for the exit. Worked at work, kept it running to get on the ferry, and then asked them to park me at the top of the ramp in case it didn't start on the exit at Southworth, which it didn't. Ran it down the ramp, rode it home, and put it to bed for a week or two.

Finally got the energy and time, got down on my knees and belly, and figured out how to remove the starter. After all that time, THEN I Googled it and found the instructions, since the manual I have was pretty cryptic about it all. Sort of "loosen the bolts and slide it out", forgetting conveniently the part about "loosen the entire exhaust system, remove the exhaust manifold, remove the stud bolt from the exhaust manifold flange, and then carefully extract the starter while the entire bike is on the side stand not the center stand, so that the chain gear does not fall down irretrievably into the crankcase....."

EBay supplied the starter rebuild kit. I removed the brush cap, determined it was the brushes, replaced them, tested it on the bench, reinstalled it with MUCH difficulty (note the starter gear internal alignment issue that is the reason it was to be disassembled on the side stand) , and it ran wonderfully for ten starts. Then, nothing.

Open it again, this time removing the field coils to determine that the internal contact on the positive electrode has broken off; figured I'm in for a penny, so brazed the contact back on, re-assembled and re-installed the starter, only to have it not work at all, even after the bench test confirmed it working.

Push-started the bike, drove around for ten miles, re-tried the starter, it worked like a charm, each and every attempt.

So, fueled the bike up, and went to leave the gas station on the way for a Sunday ride and?

The clutch cable broke.

Walked a block to the WalMart, bought a cheap vise-grip, clamped the cable-end to the clutch handle, and nursed the bike home..... Jumped in the sports car, drove 125 miles to the dealer (round trip, Port Orchard to Tacoma to Lynnwood return...) and finally got the new cable installed late last night.

Apparently it works. And, with the new rear tire, we're actually confident about leaning into a turn and seeing what will happen.

Yippee, my commuting times just dropped by one and one half hours daily, and the cost just dropped by 2/3. Ya gotta love motorcycles.

So, I bought a new engine for $100 bucks, just to have a spare, AND the guy delivered it right to my back door.