badmotogoozer

Yes, you can run without it. Many here have binned it completely. If your old one is a Bitubo - throw it away. They're garbage and you don't need to spend $ repairing garbage. I ran without mine when it started leaking and had no problems. I put on a Hyperpro damper and it transformed the bike. Not cheap but boy is the bike ever smooth now! cheers

Both mine split last summer. Welded them up and so far so good but the wall is so thin on these pipes I won't be surprised if they pop again. I just can't bring myself to spend $400+ on crackproof pipes...

You can always spot a Yorkshire man, he's got really short arms and really deep pockets.

That is correct 0.100 ohms, with 25 amps through it generates 62 watts of heat.

Yup - it sulfated. Steve - my Sparko lasted until this spring when I bought a Hawker. The Sparko was still going strong, but I figured I was pushing my luck with it last summer. About the only thing that's never been a problem on my bike! cheers,

Yeah it's good that you made the correlation to the 60W bulb - everybody can relate to that. The important thing is to note that even at 100 milliohms you have significant heat. cheers!

Is it every spring you need one - ie after being in storage? If so you may have a circuit that is drawing a small amount of power even when off. If this were to drain the battery down it would get to a point where the battery sulfates and never works again. When storing, try removing the battery completely or at least disconnecting it. You can test this by measuring if there is any current draw from the battery when everything is off.

By no means accurate... I've left out things like a high I low V circuit has a low resistance, which is increased by terminal decay, leading to lower current and therefore power, but I figured some tool would require in depth analysis when I simply wanted to show how much a little resistance in a high I circuit creates significant heat. My numbers are certainly not by any means definite, but I tried to illustrate the worst case example.

This is a resistance problem and it will be right where the heat is. Likely some resistance has built up over time at the point that the fuse blades contact the holder. Let's put some numbers together as there seem to be many folks here who need numbers... It isn't a current problem, otherwise the fuse would blow. Let's say that it wouldn't be unusual for a circuit with a 30A fuse to be drawing 25 amps under normal operation. Ideally the fuse connection would be resistance free but in the real world this is usually around 100 milliohms or less. Let's next assume that over time oxidation, high current arcing, and/or vibration have caused this resistance to increase, let's say it is now 2 ohms (not uncommon). Power dissipated = I^2 X R, or 25^2 X 2 = 1250 watts. This is how much power will be consumed by this deteriorating condition, and it will be dissipated in the form of heat. Compared to the original state 25^2 X .100 = 62.5 watts. You can see that in a high current scenario, even a slight increase in resistance creates a massive increase in heat. Find where the heat is and you will find the poor connection. Resistance can be lowered by cleaning with contact cleaner and cycling the fuse in an out a few times, increasing tension on the fuse holder sockets with a small screwdriver, or replacing the fuseholder altogether with a heavy duty unit rated for high current. cheers,

It's more insulation than reflection. The stuff I used is really thick fiberglass weave covered with a flame proof coating. I don't think you'd find a better insulator from ambient heat. As Al says, it slides on in a couple of minutes and really should be the first attempt at solving the problem. It's been successful for me so far.

You're right, I was too big to fit so I stuffed the neighbor's kid in there. He started screaming about darkness until I let him out so I think we can safely conclude that the light goes off when the door closes.

Do you mean no rear brake at all? My rear brake, even when new, doesn't do much to stop the freight train.

Did the light stay on? I'd think the radiation would have lit the bulb anyway. Kinda like holding an NE51 bulb next to your microwave to test how well it is sealing (bulb glows eerily if seal is shot...)

Thanks guys! And a really good suggestion on the protection - thanks Steve! cheers,

Ok, I'll get in the fridge and report back.

I bought this MG tank bag on ebay but for the life of me I can't figure out how the front straps attach. They are far too long to just go around the headstock, and there doesn't seem to be a logical, obvious way to attach. Hints? cheers,

Yeah, you could try Lordco - I found it out at the airport (Lindair service desk IIRC). I had a look last night but I think I gave it all to Nicola a few years ago. It's good stuff - really thick insulation. I think you could lie it against the head and not have a problem. Aeroquip Firesleeve http://store.summitracing.com/egnsearch.as...k=KeywordSearch I don't remember the size... I'll have to look if there is a visible # on the sleeve as they don't give any ID sizing in the Summit catalog. Lindair sold it by the foot, Summit you have to buy 5ft. You only need a foot of it. here's another that has ID sizes http://www.hosexpress.com/hydraulic/accessories/624.htm cheers,

No matter how good your pump is it will not pump air, at least not in a system that also contains fluid. Air/vapour is compressible, fluid is not. All the pump does is compress the air, not move it through the fluid and out.

You're not alone Nancy. I regularly have "3 Ring Circus" spinning about in my brain. I posted something about VapLok in the other thread but I've little hope of creating a link as I'm currently well into the juice and gin, well mostly gin. Does a squirt of lime constitute juice? I think it does. There's some tonic in there too. I really only drink gin for the quinine. Oh, and the gin. Which seems to have dribbled out the big hole in my glass. Off for another, with dreams of sweaty leather and butt crack... You know, I might not last the six months. I might have to hit on you sooner. cheers,

Ok - I spent a ton of time dealing with this about 5yrs ago. What I learned is that it is fuel vaporizing in the line before the fuel pump. Like you say Steve, when you burp this line and allow the liquid to get to the pump intake it will prime and off you go. The vapour gets locked between the closed petcock and the pump (off), and is created by the line's close proximity to the head. Rerouting the lines helped but I still had issues with it. I ran some aircraft/racing fireproof insulated hose sleeve (Firesleeve @ Summit) over this line from petcock to pump. Never had a problem since. My theory is that as long as you keep the fuel in liquid form at the pump inlet it doesn't matter if there is or isn't vapour in the pump, it will still prime. Like I say, five years without forced rest intervals. I sent some to a few members years ago - anyone else using it? Nicola @ Brital bought my extra (I had bought enough to do every line on the bike...) and did the same thing to every bike that came into the shop with the VapLok issue. He says it works. Steve _ I'll let you know if I still have a bit of it around. 50/50 shot of me finding it as I've got motors apart everywhere at the momment. cheers,

Supermoto's?! I was thinking tiddlers under 200cc would be about right in there. But if you figure we got room for supermotos I'm game.

I find this solid advice can be applied to nearly all of life's problems. With the exception of alcoholism.

Hey Steve - how's he doing that? One of my coworkers bought one a year or two ago (Built in 70's serial number confirms, was restored in China and shipped over). Customs told him it was a new one he was trying to sneak in and banned it from the country. Last I heard he had it stored at a friend's in WA. He fought with them a long time. cheers,

My first thought is a deteriorating earth (ground) but I haven't spent any time with this section of my bike... good luck!