Topic: The Motorcycling Thread

[dkaz]

I'm starting this thread as a general feel free to talk about everything and anything motorcycling thread to prevent specific motorcycling threads from going off topic (see the G310R thread), but seeing how all the other threads eventually end up in a heated stick shift minivan with proper 4x4 system debate, I feel like my efforts are futile. But anyway, may the first person break the ice!

[johngenx]

When the missus and I move to the mountains, I'm 99.99% sure I'll pick up a bike.  I miss riding, but the city is a $hit-show.  Living in a small community with access to nice roads will change that.  As much as I love the big uber-powerful GT bikes, I'll be looking hard at something light like an FZ-09 or similar.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I'm replacing the windows in the house finally. Bike will have to wait a bit more.

I'm thinking something 400cc or less. Insurance is a killer on newer stuff. I might consider an antique, but no more barn bikes.

[dkaz]

It's pretty amazing how light the FZ-09 and the XSR900 I test rode is. The XSR900 weighs practically the same as the CBR 500R, the FZ-09 a little lighter.

[blur911]

I'm replacing the windows in the house finally. Bike will have to wait a bit more.

I'm thinking something 400cc or less. Insurance is a killer on newer stuff. I might consider an antique, but no more barn bikes.

Speaking of barn bikes, the guy I bought that RV90 from had obviously raided a few barns.  He had a collection of restored and soon to be restored dirtbikes.  Husky 390, CZ with a coffin tank, Suzuki 250 trials bike, a couple of small Kawis, a vintage Triumph street bike, and a newish CRF250L.  Nice stable.

[dkaz]

On a sad note, a Vancouver rider, CB500X owner and avid offroader I knew from a local group lost his life this morning in a collision with another motor vehicle.

[johngenx]

On a sad note, a Vancouver rider, CB500X owner and avid offroader I knew from a local group lost his life this morning in a collision with another motor vehicle.

 

[blur911]

Quote from: DKaz on Today at 03:26:02 pm

I'm done with carbs. I ride everyday, I don't want to worry about having to rejet for elevation changes, burning up my valves because I'm running too lean, having fuel freeze up in them when it gets too cold which causes the engine to stall at WOT, destroying valves with E10 gas left in too long which causes the engine to stall at WOT, having my engine randomly shut off at stop lights when it's kinda warm but not quite there yet (I blame my Vino 125's auto-choke for that one). I lived a little, I'm done living. lol.

Quote fromdirtyjeffer
every bike i've owned in the past had a carb, and none of them had any issues...that said, i don't live in an area with mountains and large elevation changes, so i get your point about that...the other points really have little to nothing to do with carbs though...for one, you shouldn't be putting any ethanol fuels in small engines...period...and the issues regarding it being "too cold", etc sounds like it has more to do with your choke than the carbs...that's not to deny FI is better, it is, but the carbs weren't THAT bad.

I'm tempted to say the same thing, but I have a love/hate affair with carbs, they take some fiddling, but on some bikes, fiddling is part of owning them.  For everyday use in all conditions they can be a pain to nurse along sometimes.
I just got my first bike with EFI, I'll have to see how I like it.

[dkaz]

I'm done with carbs. I ride everyday, I don't want to worry about having to rejet for elevation changes, burning up my valves because I'm running too lean, having fuel freeze up in them when it gets too cold which causes the engine to stall at WOT, destroying valves with E10 gas left in too long which causes the engine to stall at WOT, having my engine randomly shut off at stop lights when it's kinda warm but not quite there yet (I blame my Vino 125's auto-choke for that one). I lived a little, I'm done living. lol.

The 200 Duke looks nice if they ever brought it here. Here's the KTM service intervals and time, I assume the time is in minutes and not hours. http://www.ktm.com/globalassets/service/service-periods/2016-jun/servicezeiten_2016_06_en.pdf

I think we need a general motorcycling thread that can go off topic all it wants.

I think you're being a bit dramatic IMO.  You may have a concern about elevation...but a properly jetted carb is easily usable in 5000ft. elevation change from base setting.

Gosh, you make it sound like the millions of KMs I've done with carb bikes was pure torture and unpleasantness.  It wasn't.

To each their own.

Have you really done millions of kms on carb bikes or are you being dramatic? 

All those things have happened to me. Stalling uphill was a worrysome one to the point where I would not take the highway uphill in those conditions. Even outside of those conditions, I've had the odd WOT uphill stall. Stalling while kinda warm continues to be an issue.

Quote fromdirtyjeffer
every bike i've owned in the past had a carb, and none of them had any issues...that said, i don't live in an area with mountains and large elevation changes, so i get your point about that...the other points really have little to nothing to do with carbs though...for one, you shouldn't be putting any ethanol fuels in small engines...period...and the issues regarding it being "too cold", etc sounds like it has more to do with your choke than the carbs...that's not to deny FI is better, it is, but the carbs weren't THAT bad.

I'm tempted to say the same thing, but I have a love/hate affair with carbs, they take some fiddling, but on some bikes, fiddling is part of owning them.  For everyday use in all conditions they can be a pain to nurse along sometimes.
I just got my first bike with EFI, I'll have to see how I like it.

Maybe it's just the Vino 125's carbs that suck, I never had an issue with my prior BWS scooters. Maybe the auto choke system in it sucks too, I didn't have any issue with my 04 BWS' auto-choke. My 99 had a manual choke. I do avoid ethanol, pure gas tends to cause my Vino to stall less and of course I avoid the potential corrosion issues. Sure tinkering is fun -- I have to replace my rear tire every 4-5,000km and the exhaust bolts shear off every 1,000km. That's about as much tinkering as I need. I don't want to tinker, I want to ride.

So yea I long for the reliability of my CBR 125R again.

Ok I do admit the Honda Reflex 250 scooter I test rode which is carbureted with an auto choke system performed reasonably well. But I think in general it's just a better engineered bike.

[dirtyjeffer]

I'm replacing the windows in the house finally. Bike will have to wait a bit more.

I'm thinking something 400cc or less. Insurance is a killer on newer stuff. I might consider an antique, but no more barn bikes.

i hear ya...we just put a deposit on a new roof (likely to be installed in the next few weeks)...not quite at the point where it REALLY needs to be replaced, but it keeps losing shingles every winter and rather than keep paying a few hundred bucks every spring to delay the eventual inevitable, we decided to just replace it now...it's a metal roof...it's expensive...but it only needs to be done once.

while YMMV, if you don't really need a big bike, the 400cc stuff seems very reasonably priced to insure...my last quote was $148/year for basic or about $275/year for everything.

[rrocket]

Have you really done millions of kms on carb bikes or are you being dramatic? 

If it's not a million, it's really close.  Have been riding since I was 7.  There was a string of several years in a row where I did 30-50K on my bikes.  All sportbikes!!     And none of that counting the many thousands of hours off road and racing.

So I'd say I'm really close..if not there already!   

[dirtyjeffer]

All those things have happened to me. Stalling uphill was a worrysome one to the point where I would not take the highway uphill in those conditions. Even outside of those conditions, I've had the odd WOT uphill stall. Stalling while kinda warm continues to be an issue.

that is odd...drain the tank, fuel lines and carbs...i wonder if you have water in the there...another option would be run a couple of applications of gas line antifreeze (methyl hydrate) in the next few pure gas fill ups (seriously, avoid ethanol)...if you had moisture in your tank, and kept using ethanol gas, you'll never really get rid of it since ethanol absorbs moisture, then gels in cold temps.

Ok I do admit the Honda Reflex 250 scooter I test rode which is carbureted with an auto choke system performed reasonably well. But I think in general it's just a better engineered bike.

hey, my first ride was a Honda Elite 250 scooter...that thing was great.

[dkaz]

On a sad note, a Vancouver rider, CB500X owner and avid offroader I knew from a local group lost his life this morning in a collision with another motor vehicle.

 

Makes me wonder sometimes if it's worth it for me to ride. He was also an advocate of defensive riding and ATGATT but one can only do so much to avoid an accident.

If it's not a million, it's really close.  Have been riding since I was 7.  There was a string of several years in a row where I did 30-50K on my bikes.  All sportbikes!!     And none of that counting the many thousands of hours off road and racing.

So I'd say I'm really close..if not there already!   

Doing the math, I think you're right.

that is odd...drain the tank, fuel lines and carbs...i wonder if you have water in the there...another option would be run a couple of applications of gas line antifreeze (methyl hydrate) in the next few pure gas fill ups (seriously, avoid ethanol)...if you had moisture in your tank, and kept using ethanol gas, you'll never really get rid of it since ethanol absorbs moisture, then gels in cold temps.

hey, my first ride was a Honda Elite 250 scooter...that thing was great.

My carb is out of my scooter so it's bone dry right now. The fuel in my tank is E10 as I did not expect the motor to blow up but I did put fuel stabilizer in there and topped up with Chevron 94 ethanol free.

Ethanol absorbs moisture all the time compounded with the issue of phase separation. Neither are an issue for someone who rides a lot.

while YMMV, if you don't really need a big bike, the 400cc stuff seems very reasonably priced to insure...my last quote was $148/year for basic or about $275/year for everything.

I almost pay what you pay for basic in 3 months

[johngenx]

I've owned a lot of bikes with carbs, and never had that many issues with them.  Sure, you need to take care of them, and you need to treat your bike differently than one with FI, but I never found it that big of a deal.  Cold morning?  Choke it, start it, let it warm while I get my gear ready.

That said, Honda's extensive use of Keihin CV carbs starting in the late 70s really brought carbs to a point of working well and being reliable.  Even the massively complex six carb set of VB28s on my CBX was reliable and the bike ran flawlessly.  Oh, yeah, carb synch, blah blah blah.  The reality is that dealers made $$ on synching carbs that didn't need it.  Many owners had no clue as to how a multi-carb bike ran when the carbs really weren't in synch.  It ran badly!  The butterflies weren't doing the same thing at the same time - so idle and drop throttle performance sucked.  Ramping idle?  No, or erratic, rpm drop between shifts?  Then you need a synch.  Drops to idle from rpm?  Leave it.

In the winter I'd drain the bowls, drain the tank and lines, and in the spring, she'd be ready to be filled and run.

Would I prefer an FI bike now?  Sure.  Would carbs stop me from buying some cool 70s or 80s vintage bike?  Not for a second.

[dkaz]

Sure if it was a toy bike I rode for fun, I wouldn't let carbs stop me. For a daily rider where I have to ride it day after day except for scheduled maintenance, it has to just work.

[rrocket]

Sure if it was a toy bike I rode for fun, I wouldn't let carbs stop me. For a daily rider where I have to ride it day after day except for scheduled maintenance, it has to just work.

And they do.  I've owned more carbed bikes (by far) than FI bikes.

[dkaz]

This is getting amusing at this point. I get the same reaction when I tell people my next bike must have ABS, it's like I've offended the Queen or something. You have fun with your carbs and I'll have fun with my fuel injection.

[rrocket]

This is getting amusing at this point. I get the same reaction when I tell people my next bike must have ABS, it's like I've offended the Queen or something. You have fun with your carbs and I'll have fun with my fuel injection.

I can see ABS, as it's a legit safety item and in certain situations can save your ass.

I see nothing wrong with a carbed bike with ABS.   

[Arthur Dent]

Carbs are lousy when they have a pile of emission equipment strapped to them - think 70s and 80s carbs. Bikes don't seem to have been saddled with the same regulations (or any). The carb on my Nighthawk works great. The other place carbs suck is if you let them sit for years on end with no use.

Single carbs = works fine
Complex carbs with miles of vacuum lines = sucks

[dkaz]

I can see ABS, as it's a legit safety item and in certain situations can save your ass.

I see nothing wrong with a carbed bike with ABS.   

I did ride a carbed bike with ABS! 2007 Honda Reflex. It was actually very enjoyable to ride. Too bad the engine only produces about 19 HP so it tops out at 130 km/h or so, but acceleration was surprisingly brisk. I like the sport bike looks. This is one carb bike I would consider. The dealer is asking $3600 though.

Carbs are lousy when they have a pile of emission equipment strapped to them - think 70s and 80s carbs. Bikes don't seem to have been saddled with the same regulations (or any). The carb on my Nighthawk works great. The other place carbs suck is if you let them sit for years on end with no use.

Single carbs = works fine
Complex carbs with miles of vacuum lines = sucks

My Vino 125 has more emissions controls stuff that you can count on one hand. I heard my Vino 125 also has an accelerator pump that could be some of the cause of my stalling woes but no one's told me where this accelerator pump is and I can't figure it out.