Motorbike project - first ride!
Discussion
Well, got it all running well, got the brakes working really effectively too. I had to replace the brake pads and use Wet and Dry paper on the insides of the drums as they were rusty.
Me and a couple of mates took it out for a blast, one of whom has a Suzuki GS500 (he let me have a go- tis pretty nippy!). All was going well until Mr GS500 got a bit overconfident and tried bouncing the bike from one tractor rut to the next - well the front wheel went over, the back didnt, leaving him with a wheel in each rut - he managed to hold it sideways for a short distance before binning it into the deck.
Result - clutch lever etc all bent round and one very mullered gear shifter. The kickstart also fell off and we had to go back to find it! I had to ride the bike all the way back in second gear as i couldnt change to a different gear! We've now removed the shifter and aforementioned mate has taken it away to get it straightened or replaced.
Bloody good fun while it lasted though!
Oh, and the clutch is slipping a little and it kicks out a LOT of black smoke! Ho-hum.
Me and a couple of mates took it out for a blast, one of whom has a Suzuki GS500 (he let me have a go- tis pretty nippy!). All was going well until Mr GS500 got a bit overconfident and tried bouncing the bike from one tractor rut to the next - well the front wheel went over, the back didnt, leaving him with a wheel in each rut - he managed to hold it sideways for a short distance before binning it into the deck.
Result - clutch lever etc all bent round and one very mullered gear shifter. The kickstart also fell off and we had to go back to find it! I had to ride the bike all the way back in second gear as i couldnt change to a different gear! We've now removed the shifter and aforementioned mate has taken it away to get it straightened or replaced.
Bloody good fun while it lasted though!
Oh, and the clutch is slipping a little and it kicks out a LOT of black smoke! Ho-hum.
Sounds like you need a top-end overhaul to me. A piston and rings are pretty cheap and shouldn't be hard to find. It may be a bit more of a hassle if it needs a rebore. I wouldn't ride it again until you've lifted the head if I were you - otherwise you may end up causing some potentially expensive damage.
One of the real benefits of a bike like this is that if you drop it on a rut you can laugh, kick it straight and ride it home again!
One of the real benefits of a bike like this is that if you drop it on a rut you can laugh, kick it straight and ride it home again!
It was more black then blue - and it did seem to use quite a bit of petrol. I couldnt get the top off the carb, only the float bowl, so i havent cleaned the top of the carb out yet. Ill have to have another crack at it in that case!
And No, i didnt give my mate a kicking - he let me ride his GS500 too and we both knew 'you break it, you bought it' and hes being really good - hes quite happy to replace the shifter if he cant get it straightened. With any luck ill have it back within a couple of days and be able to ride the bike again!
And No, i didnt give my mate a kicking - he let me ride his GS500 too and we both knew 'you break it, you bought it' and hes being really good - hes quite happy to replace the shifter if he cant get it straightened. With any luck ill have it back within a couple of days and be able to ride the bike again!
Good on ya mate! 
Glad to see you got it up and running. I used a nut and bolt through the shifter arm on one of my trial bikes for ages - worked a treat! Great if you're a skint student as I was at the time!
When you get the top off the carb, you might need to adjust the height of the needle jet - it's the thing that lifts as you open the throttle.There should be several different grooves for the circlip allowing it to be set higher or lower. Also you might need to adjust the mixture screw on the carb. Usually this is all the way in and 1.5 turns out - minor adjustment in or out from there should sort it.
Glad to see you got it up and running. I used a nut and bolt through the shifter arm on one of my trial bikes for ages - worked a treat! Great if you're a skint student as I was at the time!
When you get the top off the carb, you might need to adjust the height of the needle jet - it's the thing that lifts as you open the throttle.There should be several different grooves for the circlip allowing it to be set higher or lower. Also you might need to adjust the mixture screw on the carb. Usually this is all the way in and 1.5 turns out - minor adjustment in or out from there should sort it.
Hey guys,
Well, the shifter arrived next day and i spent a decent amount of xmas hooning around the local trails on the bike! Mucho fun!
I had a couple of minor 'offs' though - first one, i would doing a big rolling doughnut around a field, bike got away from me and took a chunk of my left shin with it. Nothing major. About an hour later, i was hooning along a deeply rutted track with a mate on the back, bike kept losing traction as it was very muddy. In the end though, it completely lost traction, back slid, which was fine, until it made contact with the central verge, gained a shed load of traction and threw us (still with bike) straight up a steep bank, through a load of foliage and into a fence. Bike ended up with its front wheel at head height, back wheel near floor, completely vertical with throttle jammed open! We had to cut the engine before it blew itself to bits and drag it back down the bank. Jammed throttle was just the cable being bent back where it meets the throttle grip. Other damage includes bent bars, and the front brake lever snapped clean off! My mate was fine. I have a few scratches and bruises - oh and i pulled a muscle in my bank, meaning i could barely move for a couple of days. We had to push the bike for 20 minutes to find some tarmac on which to bump start it as it wouldnt start!
Prior to the above incident, i had a few very close shaves - let a mate have a go, he rode like a woman, so in true daftie style i said "here, ill show you how its done!" Cue me nailing it off, spinning it round and nailing it back. This was on tarmac. All fine til i hit a patch of mud, throttle wide open in 4th, and lost traction - cue a scary fishtail/tankslapper type experience where i only just kept it shiney side up!
Bloody good fun though!
Well, the shifter arrived next day and i spent a decent amount of xmas hooning around the local trails on the bike! Mucho fun!
I had a couple of minor 'offs' though - first one, i would doing a big rolling doughnut around a field, bike got away from me and took a chunk of my left shin with it. Nothing major. About an hour later, i was hooning along a deeply rutted track with a mate on the back, bike kept losing traction as it was very muddy. In the end though, it completely lost traction, back slid, which was fine, until it made contact with the central verge, gained a shed load of traction and threw us (still with bike) straight up a steep bank, through a load of foliage and into a fence. Bike ended up with its front wheel at head height, back wheel near floor, completely vertical with throttle jammed open! We had to cut the engine before it blew itself to bits and drag it back down the bank. Jammed throttle was just the cable being bent back where it meets the throttle grip. Other damage includes bent bars, and the front brake lever snapped clean off! My mate was fine. I have a few scratches and bruises - oh and i pulled a muscle in my bank, meaning i could barely move for a couple of days. We had to push the bike for 20 minutes to find some tarmac on which to bump start it as it wouldnt start!
Prior to the above incident, i had a few very close shaves - let a mate have a go, he rode like a woman, so in true daftie style i said "here, ill show you how its done!" Cue me nailing it off, spinning it round and nailing it back. This was on tarmac. All fine til i hit a patch of mud, throttle wide open in 4th, and lost traction - cue a scary fishtail/tankslapper type experience where i only just kept it shiney side up!
Bloody good fun though!
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