Tiny Terrier Tour

[PaulG]

I could have uploaded three different posts but since they all coincided with each other, I figured one would do.  Everything evolved from my extended test run I call the Tiny Terrier Tour by the shape of the loop I took.




So yesterday was going to be 20degC and partly sunny.  Great!  I can go out for a run to finally make sure everything is OK.  The riding season is finally becoming a late arriving reality.  The wife had the day off and I asked if she wanted to go.  She grumbled that she had to clean the house for the Easter w/e (apparently we are hosting a lunch).  But I was free do go, as she prefers me out of the way when she does her cleaning tornado routine.

I felt so guilty.      For about 3 seconds.    So I pack up the bike with extras like gloves, rainsuit, tools, and oil.  Check my tire pressures and - wait! - what the hell is wrong with my front fender?!



I confoozed.    How/When did that happen?  The left side is cracked above the side mount too. FFS!  Foggit!  I left it as-is and got underway.

After 30 minutes on the road the tempearture drops to 7 degC with a low grey blanket.  WTF!  Can I not travel in this country without entering a different climate zone everytime I travel accross one county?  Still the weather is bearable as I'm AGAT'd for it.  I did the usual zig-zag N/E of Toronto into the Kawartha district.

I get up to the eastern end of my loop near the village of Bexley.  One of those places where the mud left by tractors on the road is the only thing to worry about.  Mostly small cattle farms to raise beef, as the soil appears to be not much good for anything but grass and rocks.  On my way north out of the village the road turns from driveable to crater riddled.  Normally you can usually weave your way through these minefields, but there was no rhyme'nor'reason to to their pattern.  Too close together to weave through them, I had to stand up and ease through a few sections of them. Once I reached Monk Rd I headed west to steer the direction home.  It's taken about 2hrs to get here, just when the roads start to become worth it, but domestic duties beckon (I promised I wouldn't be too late for grocery shopping  ).

That's when I started to smell the gas fumes.  I look down and sure enough, the overflow tube from carb #4 is draining on my right boot.  Damn potholes!    No problem, I pull off and perform the well repeated method of tapping the float bowl to release the float.  Still dripping.... Tap again... Still dripping.  Take off the side cover and tap from another angle.  Still dripping...  Ok... hmmmmm... I'll open the drain screw and see what happens.  Clean gas comes drizzling out for a few seconds then I close it up.  I observe the overflow tube and it goes from a steady drip to a surge of fuel then stops.  Great. Ok. So why that would fix it I have yet to figure out, but it did.  So I'll put that down in my "Things I Didn't Know Yesterday" file.  

The weather is holding, but it seems to be getting chillier.  Once I start heading south, after about 1/2hr, the temperature comes right back up and the sun comes out.  I could see the difference in pressure zones by that distinctive line in the clouds that hadn't moved all day.  The chill that was creeping in is gone and I'll be home in 90min.

So home I get.  The wife is still on the couch where I left her.    And now it's off for groceries.  Going out the door I see a small stain behind the front wheel on the driveway.  It's not dark enough to be engine oil, so a quick swipe with my fingers, and yep - it's brake fluid.  I check underneath the fairing and I can see the splitter is wet and confirm it with a wipe of the fingers.  That'll have to wait for tomorrow (today actually).

So now it's tomorrow/today.  Off comes the front fairing.  I give the brake lever a squeeze and a drip comes out of the splitter.  Actually its from the top side of the banjo bolt that goes to the left caliper.




I check it with a ratchet, and there is some slack in it.  So I get the torque wrench and set it to the same as the banjos for the calipers. It had backed off maybe a little more than 1 turn.  A few squeezes of the lever and it seems ok now.  What I didn't notice when I left yesterday was the stain it left when I parked it there at the end of February after I brought it home from storage.  Duuuhhh!   If you go back and check the photo of the fender, you can just see the effects of the brake fluid on the paint/plastic.

Well I might as well bleed everything while I'm here.  After bleeding the fronts, I go to put the reservoir cap back on, the tiny allen head screw slips out of my hand and "tink" - off it goes into the ether.  I search and search but can't find it.  So off to Brafasco I go to get four SS allen head screws - for free.  I had gotten these last year but forgot to ask for SS, and they were starting to rust already.

So now that's out of the way  it's time to look for a new front fender.  I've already repaired the tabs twice, and it figures that once I installed the RPM fork brace, I demo the fender.  I have seen from this post Front Fender Alternatives  what can be used.  Is it just a matter of drilling new holes for the four top mounting bolts for these?

I'll be on the search over the next few weeks to find something, either OEM/used or one of these alternatives.  The silver lining?  I got about 73 cents worth of screws for free.  Awesome.  

[racerrad8]

I don't think I am going out too far on the limb here to say...

THIS




Caused THIS




You can see the paint bubbled up from the brake fluid. Then you can see the darkness on both sides of the crack and the white fuzzy near the bottom of the crack, which also indicate the brake fluid attacked the plastic.

Sorry to hear about the bad luck on the fender. Hopefully it was a spec of dirt causing the carb issue and the carb fix holds you for a while.

Randy - RPM

[PaulG]

The sticky float(s) is/are an infrequent thing (now) that I can normally resolve on the road.  It usually happens after hitting some really rough patches, and one of the floats (almost always #4, sometimes #1) will stick.  During the season I usually keep an eye on it if I'm on a rough road.  Being the first time out this year, I kinda .... forgot.   

Anybody out there got a fender that will work? 

[FJ1100mjk]

Went with this in the brake and clutch fluid systems to safeguard against the problems shown...

[jscgdunn]

Paul,
Stuck Floats/fuel overflow:  I had same thing last year (with brand new needle/seat valves) and Noel helped me out.  When you pull the carbs check for a small divot where the needle seat valve rests on the float.  If the divot is pronounced (ie deep) enough, the float will stick.  I replaced the float...issue resolved.

Jeff

[Pat Conlon]

Fresh crush washers are always a good idea.
I noticed that the FJ UK catalog has new fiberglass fenders for sale.

We really need to find a source here in the states.

[FJmonkey]

Paul, I can take a crack at welding it, no cost from me as I could use the practice. Just a shipping cost and some new paint. PM if interested.