What is the dumbest thing you have done?

[Waihou Thumper]

Regarding the maintenance of your trusty steed? :argh:

Seeing we are on the topic of Man Caves and such-like. Be brave guys, I know we are great at talking and playing etc, but what would be the single most stupid, absent minded, dumb thing you have done with your bike in the privacy of your own man cave or garage?

Keep it clean, I don't want any kinky stuff...:Playnice:
I will kick it off and it only happened in the last hour, so this got me thinking, I bet some others have done similar or am I just really absent minded here....
Anyway, here I was with 4 litres of nice clean, new oil for my Husaberg. I read the manual to refresh my memory (looks like I needed it afterall)
to do the required oil change.
I measured out accurately the 1 litre needed and made a funnel arrangement with the hose and suspended it from my handlebars. I was proud of the cleanliness as usually the floor is covered in oil and my hands the same.
It is a very tight fit and not the best engineered design as the oil filler cap is right under the muffler and poses a hard angle to fill unless the bike is nearly laying down.....
Okay, here I am filling, slowly mind you, the litre of oil, looking at the sight glass and got to the stage of thinking that I must be seeing it by now when.......
I went around the other side of the bike and saw all this lovely clear new oil dropping straight into the drip tray...:whistle:

Clever me had in my excitement forgotten to put the plugs back into the engine casing....Doh!!
So, the bike got a nice flush with new oil and I wasted only 300ml but it sure was stupid!

I have done many many other things but this is the freshest in mind at present. Must go to the doctor and check my memory if I can remember where it is....Or what the number is....:2thumbsup

Spill the beans fellas, let us all have a laugh at the expense of ourselves and see what humerous, dumb things we have done with the bikes during maintenance times...:(

[vifferman]

Oh, I've done something much dumber (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=3614&highlight=lunchtime) than that...
Although it seemed like such a good idea at the time.

[junkmanjoe]

ok yes i fit in to this thread.

when the safari tank arived, and i got it fitted.
put in some gas, and in all my excitment with haveing a big new tank.
i had not conected the second fuel line, under the tank.:oi-grr:
and gas was going stright on to the floor as the fuel tap was turned on as well.
as i was on the other side off bike i didnt see it untill i saw the puddle under the bike.....:whistle:

:stupid:

[buggsubique]

draining the sump but not the frame tank, so overfilling with oil...

trying to bump start with the kill switch off...

snapping an ezy-out off in the bolt and being unable to drill it again...

teaching my 2 year old to start my bike....

[vifferman]

trying to bump start with the kill switch off...
That's always a goody. :yes:
Yeeeeeears ago, I had a 250 2-smoke dirt bike. I went home for lunch one day, and couldn't get it started after lunch. Must've kicked it 15 or 20 times before noticing I'd knocked the killswitch to 'Off'.:Oops:
No worries - flicked it to 'On' again, and gave it another kick.
The accumulated gas ignited, the engine massively backfired, and the kickstarter kicked back, shooting my kneecap into the bottom of the mirror mount. :pinch:

After several minutes of swearing and hopping around, I was able to walk again...

[warewolf]

I've done lots of silly little things, lots of the kill switch off moments (usually someone else's bike) nothing major comes to mind - but I tend to work slowly, methodically and carefully, otherwise I probably wouldn't be here today.

I nearly missed the start of a XC race when my 'mates' didn't tighten up the throttle for me. I volunteered to help someone else at the last minute, my mates were supposed to finish putting my bike back together. Got the other chappie going, raced back to my bike, got all my tools packed in my backpack, all my gear on, jump on the bike... FAAAAAAAAAAARK! get half my gear off, tools out, grrr!

Another race I'd cart-wheeled the bike in the sand. Before going to scrutineering for the next race, I checked the bike ran OK with the tether kill switch in place. Got to scrutineering, the kill switch... didn't. Arse. Back to the pits, hurriedly strip the bike down to find the wiring fault. Damn, all looked good. Finally thought to check the switch itself... yep, full of sand. Arse, all that work for nothing. So remember: check the simple stuff first!!

Tyre fitters are easily distracted. Watched one fitting a tubeless tyre to my rim, I was wondering how he'd install the tubeless valve stem after the tyre was on. He replied, "normally I'd put this second side on, then notice there's no valve when trying to pop the bead, then take the second side off again, fit valve... repeat." Noticed another had my tube sitting aside, thought he'd fitted a new tube without asking (it was pretty had it) so didn't mention it. Gotta watch them with the LC4 rears, the chain being on the 'wrong' side means they can fit directional tyres backwards if they aren't checking.

[bogan]

two parter of dumbness to this one:
1) got new rings for two stroke, slightly the wrong ones for the pistons, the locating tabes were on the inside instead of the underside, now worrys i though, ill just file the dowels down a bit and itll fit anyway, did that put in bike was going fine.
2) part two was frigging with the carbs, a mate reckoned you move the needle clip till its just running too lean then pop it down a spot (or up cant remember) anyway running too lean is too hot, and too hot expanded the dowel out (or summat like that) and result is i now have a large score mark at the rear of each barrel.

other silly thing i did recently was put one of those disc locks on my bike, now i dont actually have disks so put it on holes in the mags (just fit), just assumed it wud stop the wheel going round cos a disclock is pretty massive, took it out of the shed and rode off, handlebars start shaking violently, at this point i remebered i had a diclock on the front. I was also wondering why the alarm was not going off, got back to the shed and sure enuf, alarm goes off, fuck, now gotta unlock shed, find key and disarm.

[warewolf]

Oh yeah, ridden off with a disc lock fitted. Didn't get far, fortunately I'd parked behind a car so was able to use my body as a fender and stop any damage to either bike or car.

:stupid:

[Waihou Thumper]

:banana: Wheeling the bike out of the garage with the Disc Lock on, didn't get far and wondered if the brakes were stuck on, hmm, looked down and then...:argh:YES!

[klingon]

... here I was with 4 litres of nice clean...

Hmmm... I read that as 4 litres of ice cream... see, things could always be worse! :pinch:

[Waihou Thumper]

Hmmm... I read that as 4 litres of ice cream... see, things could always be worse! :pinch:

:2thumbsup After re-reading it, yes it does look and sound like that...
Mind you, if it had been ice cream I would well and truly be :buggerd:
as I would have eaten most of it and the Husaberg would be a little light in OIL,OIL......okay, not Ice Cream! :whistle:

[YellowDog]

Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................

[bogan]

Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................

bugger, ive always lived by the rule, if you have to ask whether its enuf, it almost certainly wont be. Havent been standed yet.... well for a fuel problem anyway.

[junkmanjoe]

QUOTE=YellowDog;1129248951]Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................[/QUOTE]

:doh:................

[Oscar]

Stopped to fix my bike in the middle of a transport section.
Took off one glove to use screwdriver.


Ten kilometres later realised throttle hand was colder than clutch hand....

[NordieBoy]

I'll just start it up for a minute to get the oil circulating and then top it off.

Ok. Maybe I should have put the oil cap back on the bike...

[pampa]

Looks like enough fuel left to get me past this petrol station and too the next one, which can't be more than 45km away?

W R O N G......................

or, the next one was less than 45km away, mind tho it was closed :wacko: (it was 25/12)

[Waihou Thumper]

I'll just start it up for a minute to get the oil circulating and then top it off.

Ok. Maybe I should have put the oil cap back on the bike...

Losing the cap somewhere right? You would have been okay without a cap for the ride till you got home and realised? :2thumbsup OR....

You left it at home and all was well? Did it bubble out of the casing then....after riding it so hard, or just fell out with the amazing angles and jumps....hehe

[CrazyFrog]

I sprayed degreaser onto a hot engine a couple of years back.... it started to smoke like hell, no worries I thought, that'll help evaporate the oil leak, next thing, it was like, woaaaaahh, farkin flames!! Lucky for me (and the bike) it was in the driveway and the hose was nearby. Damn it, next time I'll read the warning on the aerosol can.......:lol: SHAME, but no damage done.

[JATZ]

draining the sump but not the frame tank, so overfilling with oil...

trying to bump start with the kill switch off...

Aaaaah Yup, guilty of both of those :Oops:


I'll just start it up for a minute to get the oil circulating and then top it off.

Ok. Maybe I should have put the oil cap back on the bike...

Guilty again :Oops:

How about "fcukin bike won't start, I just put a new plug in too" and forgot to put the lead back on. :doh:

[k14]

bugger, ive always lived by the rule, if you have to ask whether its enuf, it almost certainly wont be. Havent been standed yet.... well for a fuel problem anyway.
Did that. Ran out 18km north of Kaikoura (where there is that bay on the side of the road where the surfers go). Walked about 3k before someone picked me up. Got petrol in Kaikoura and managed to get a ride back to bike with the same guy! Good bastard.

[NordieBoy]

Losing the cap somewhere right? You would have been okay without a cap for the ride till you got home and realised? :2thumbsup OR....

You left it at home and all was well? Did it bubble out of the casing then....after riding it so hard, or just fell out with the amazing angles and jumps....hehe

No. Just started it up on the stand whilst leaning over the hole...
At least the engine warmed the oil while I was pouring it in.
Cold oil in the face would have been terrible...

[babysteps]

I sprayed degreaser onto a hot engine a couple of years back.... it started to smoke like hell, no worries I thought, that'll help evaporate the oil leak, next thing, it was like, woaaaaahh, farkin flames!! Lucky for me (and the bike) it was in the driveway and the hose was nearby. Damn it, next time I'll read the warning on the aerosol can.......:lol: SHAME, but no damage done.

Thats Gold!!! :rofl:

[bart]

Filling up with gas is a bit like taking a piss when on a pub crawl.

TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY

[Woodman]

Nothing too stupid really save forgetting to put the spacer inbetween the wheel bearings. seem to do that every time.

Once trying to get home on the old IT, I lay it on its side once too often to drain gas into the carb and leaned it out so much it siezed.

Oh putting tyres on backwards is always good to.

[marks]

stuck in the killer rut on the east end of the Makiro blocking all the other bikes
revving the snot out of the klr and getting nowhere

wave at Balrog behind me and he drops his whale and comes and helps me push while I still rev the snot out of it to try and get some forward motion

exhausted - get to a shallow part of the rut and still no drive

look down and see bright green light on dash

OOPS

[NordieBoy]

Pulling the front tyre off to spin it around to wear the other side of the knobs and putting it back on the same way...

Touching the leads on a Stebel to a battery to hear what it sounds like...

[Padmei]

Touching the leads on a Stebel to a battery to hear what it sounds like...

:lol:

ftcr

[Paladin]

stuck in the killer rut on the east end of the Makiro blocking all the other bikes
revving the snot out of the klr and getting nowhere

wave at Balrog behind me and he drops his whale and comes and helps me push while I still rev the snot out of it to try and get some forward motion

exhausted - get to a shallow part of the rut and still no drive

look down and see bright green light on dash

OOPS

LOL! I'm forever revvin the snot outta mine in neutral thinkin I'm in first!

:argh:

And I've had the DR almost 4 months and my stupid little brain STILL looks for 6th gear!

:wacko:

[vifferman]

How about "fcukin bike won't start, I just put a new plug in too" and forgot to put the lead back on. :doh:
How about putting the plugs back in and forgetting to tighten them with the plug spanner? (Although to be fair, I was distracted at the time by two friends turning up just then and saying, "C'mon- let's GO!"

The running out of petrol thing is probably pretty dumb, especially when you've done it before, you're in town, and you've been past no less than four (4!!) petrol stations and each time you've gone, "Nah... there's plenty left; I'll do it later..." :rolleyes:
I'm not sure if it's dumber than leaving your wallet at home, and not realising until you've filled with gas. I've done that 3 times in one year... :o

[warewolf]

Touching the leads on a Stebel to a battery to hear what it sounds like...I hear ya, bro!

[slofox]

Touching the leads on a Stebel to a battery to hear what it sounds like...

I did that....what? what? speak up!!!

[slofox]

Two dumb things - first one I actually did. Second one I picked up just before I did it so avoided the disaster...


1. Many years ago, I took a carefully laid out gearbox (so I could put it back in the right order) to a dude to find out what was wrong with it. He grabbed everything, pulled all the bits apart, made some comments and then shoved all the little wheels and gears back into the box, totally mixed up. I spent a week figuring out where everything went after that...


2. Setting up a distribution box for auxiliary power a couple of weeks ago...came very close to making the fatal mistake of putting the positive and negative sides on either side of a single set of connectors, forgetting that they were connected to each other...thereby causing a direct short circuit...looked at it and realised "oh yes...I need separate connectors for positive and negative don't I?"...how dumb is THAT!

[clint640]

I'll just start it up for a minute to get the oil circulating and then top it off.

Ok. Maybe I should have put the oil cap back on the bike...

Heh heh, been there but worse - on the KTM you turn over / run the motor with the top frame bung out to bleed the air out of the oil filled frame section, then stick the bung in when the level gets to the hole - after watching this intently on the rhs of the bike I then went around to the other side to find a nice spray of oil over everything from the engine filler bung that some idiot had left off. :pinch:

Clint

[3L4NS1R]

Helping a mate who was very new at biking change oil in his FZR. He pointed to what he thought was the sump bolt. I agreed. He took it out and we watched it drain into the pan.

I made a comment saying "that oil is mighty clear..." Bent down for a closer look.

"Hmmm." says I. "We need to get you some more coolant".

[NordieBoy]

i hear ya, bro!

pardon ?

[Skinny_Birdman]

Where to start....?
Riding off down the road with the Dzus fastner undone on the quick access panel on the side fairing. Up to 100km/h and woosh! Off comes the panel bump scrape down the road; bike no longer mint :doh:

Checking the timing on an elderly pommy car with a strobe in a darkened garage. Came within a whisker of putting my arm though the rotating steel fan, which appeared to be standing still in the strobe light.

Leaving chuck key in electric drill... repeatedly. They sure do fly out!

Crossing sump plug thread on beemer. Bolt is a bit tight, a bit tight.... oh, now it's really easy. Really easy:doh:

[warewolf]

Checking the timing on an elderly pommy car with a strobe in a darkened garage. Came within a whisker of putting my arm though the rotating steel fan, which appeared to be standing still in the strobe light.After overhauling the distributor/points/advance mechanism on my old ...ahem! Torana... I very carefully set the timing using the strobe... to zero degrees :slap: then set off for a weekend trip out back of beyond. Slow trip that one.

[Moki]

...one Valentines day trying to surprise the old dear with a dozen long-stem roses. Thought I'd pick some up and gently place them in my back pack. Not far to ride home, I thought to myself, I'll just take it steady. Easy....

I handed her a dozen stems

[Waihou Thumper]

...one Valentines day trying to surprise the old dear with a dozen long-stem roses. Thought I'd pick some up and gently place them in my back pack. Not far to ride home, I thought to myself, I'll just take it steady. Easy....

I handed her a dozen stems

That is similar to the time I bought a very nice pie at the Clowns Cafe in Raetehi. It was so good, I bought another to take home. I placed it in my rear box and went home. Got home and it was no longer a pie but a soggy brown bag laced with lumps of steak....
Should have eaten it afterall...:Oops:

[Rosie]

Leaving chuck key in electric drill... repeatedly. They sure do fly out!

I did that on a lathe once :gob: No damage to Rosie/lathe/surrounds, but it's not something you want to repeat :pinch:

[awayatc]

mate of mine went on overnight trip on sprots bike...improvised/tied everything onto seat on back. wondered why everybody was honking their horns at him......
until he had to stop at a trafficlight to find his sleepingbag was in fllames...
(had touched high slung exhaust...which had gotten hot...)

just a few weeks ago I couldn't start my Pegaso after it had been locked in away for 4 weeks in a container.
I had twisted the throttle to often thus flooding it....battery not quite up to it, so I decided to push start it......2nd gear and building up speed,jumped on it but didn't quite want to go, so hopped off but kept running alongside and keeping throttle wide open.........

Yes it did finally and suddenly and very violently start.......
A 650 single starting on full throttle in second gear does lengthen ones arm by approx 2 inches before ripping em out of your sockets......

Did manage miraclously to hang on and somehow end up in seat while closing throttle....:wacko:

[NordieBoy]

...one Valentines day trying to surprise the old dear with a dozen long-stem roses. Thought I'd pick some up and gently place them in my back pack. Not far to ride home, I thought to myself, I'll just take it steady. Easy....

I handed her a dozen stems

Gomez? Is that you?

[MXNUT]

At Desert Storm trailride 2 years ago on my RM250.
Woke up on the sunday morning to -4 degrees and bike covered in frost, got all my gear on and went to start the bike to head out on to the trails. Bike would fire up and run for about 3 seconds. It did this for a few minutes, so being a mechanic i thought i know whats wrong ... the carb is icing up. :cold:

Took half my gear off and went for a walk to the main sign on tent where they had a large hot water earn for making coffee.
Managed to carry back four cups of boiling water which i then tipped over outside of carby to warm it up. Kicked over bike and it ran for 5 seconds this time. Kept kicking for the next few minutes untill i was buggered. :sweatdrop

By this stage the group of riding mates had grown to about 9, all waiting for me and they were just deciding to head out anyway and catch up with me later.

I climbed off the bike and sank down into a camp chair behind it to catch my breath - as i sat down i noticed something orange in the outlet of my rear muffler !!!!!!! :Oops:

Decision time , do i let them all go and then remove the ORANGE MUFFLER BUNG i had placed there last night ( & tell them that i had fixed the bike ) or do i fess up and look like a total idiot in front of them all.

I fessed up and went riding. :stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid:

[junkmanjoe]

at least your carb was nice and hot....:Oops:

[warewolf]

I climbed off the bike and sank down into a camp chair behind it to catch my breath - as i sat down i noticed something orange in the outlet of my rear muffler !!!!!!! :Oops:Nice one!

I did similar with my DR-Z after washing, but to be fair the plug was a wine bottle cork - fitted the standard 250cc outlet perfectly, but not so easy to spot.

I tried to kick start the bike, as doing it when the bike is cold is harder so good practice. A few attempts, she no go. Try the electric leg, whirr whirr... she starts, running quietly pffft pffft pffft, starts to slow down, getting quieter with each pffft, then stalls. Ah... idjit!!

You'd think I'd learn, but did it again sometime after that. At least the second time, I recognised the sound and pulled the cork before it stalled.

[TLDV8]

I can think of a few over the years :pinch:

I had got the Kawasaki Z1000J cylinder head back from being enhanced by Alec Saunders with porting and a three angle valve job etc.
It came time to refit it and so i did,new head gasket,head in place,main head bolts torqued leaving the two outer bolts,one each end of the head.
They were longish 6 mm items with a nice chrome head,i check the manual to see they are torqued to over 100 ft/lbs ;) wow they must be special steel to go that high (The only thing high was me :laugh: )
I proceeded to the first one and started to torque it and.............snap it went,
That was the day i learned about inch pounds so i should have divided the number by 12 to go from inch to foot pounds.
Off came the head again and luckily it had snapped above the surface of the cylinder so was easily removed and no real damage done and only a replacement bolt needed.
Special steel,still can't fathom what i was thinking.


The Desmo rag story can be latter tonight. :wacko:

[Woodman]

That is similar to the time I bought a very nice pie at the Clowns Cafe in Raetehi. It was so good, I bought another to take home. I placed it in my rear box and went home. Got ome and it was no longer a pie but a soggy brown bag laced with lumps of steak....
Should have eaten it afterall...:Oops:

Very similar to riding down to a bonfire on a Westcoast (SI) beach 2 up with 3 half g's (flaggons the glass kind) in a backpack.
I was pillion holding the backpack steady that me mate was wearing when the flaggons smashed together and all of a sudden got quite light.:Oops::crybaby:

[skidMark]

Didn't check my oil level..... bang....

roast bearings on a spit with conrod crackling.

[Moki]

Gomez? Is that you?..

Heheheh...:laugh:

[DerekP]

1)Changing oil in FZR400, put oil filter in backwards.....Twice:Oops:
Result was run main bearings - then figured out what the letters "front" on the oil filter ment... :bash::stupid:
P.s for sale large amount of FZR400 engine parts - no cranks...:crybaby:

2)Swapped engines in my 600 race bike - forgot to tighten the timing cover on RH side of engine which promptly fell out.
Coming around the track in practice I notice oil rings on the wet track and thought "some c*nt has dropped oil". Result was a fire truck to the track to wash the oil off before racing could begin.... they didn't let me out again that day for some reason:spanking:

[Padmei]

Practising wheelies today on a naked KLR & forgetting to tighten up the seat bolts:Oops::lol:

[warewolf]

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about tightening your nuts, but I can't quite get a grasp on it.

[Waihou Thumper]

I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about tightening your nuts, but I can't quite get a grasp on it.


Tightening of the nuts happened when he forgot about the bolts, then shortly after there might have been a relaxing of some other muscle....:woohoo:

OH, you mean the nuts that hold the seat...:gob: Of course! silly me...

[That looks like fun]

There I was in the middle of the bush, just me, a gentle breeze, a bike, a setting sun and a pot of cold Irish stew, PLUS a brand new self igniting (no matches required) camp cooker. Can life get any better. Just push this little button and soon we will have a meal fit for an Irishman Ok just push this little button again, and again,and then again.In fact lots of times. Bucka, Cold stew, Its moments like these I wish I took up smoking, a match would be really handy about now.
I Know!!!! If I take one spark plug lead off, stick a fork in it, short it on the motor turn on the cooker, hold it close to the spark then wind over the bike the cooker will be alight :done: What could possibly go wrong :innocent:
So lets recap..... turn on gas, roger that :laugh: hold close to fork whats stuck up plug lead, roger that, reach across bike (maybe should have used plug lead on the other side?) and hit starter button :done: feee feee feeck Im being elctocuted by me scooter :shit: feeh feeh feeck its feeh feeh feeh feeck its fired up and its running on one and Im still being electrocuted :shit: Did I mention I had turned on the gas some time ago :innocent: feeh feeh feeh feeck, Im in the middle of the bush, hugging a bike thats electrocuting me when suddenly I am also surrounded by a large ball of flame :shit:. Fortunatly when I threw myself backwards the cooker didnt go out :whocares: . So turn off bike, reconnect spark plug goodo, heat up stew, have a big nosh up, lifes good :done: Breakfast was cold

[pete376403]

Does it have to involve bikes? Well too bad anyway - not long after I started my apprenticeship at GG&H, I had to drain the engine oil from a Cat D8. They hold a lot (a LOT) of oil. The sump plug had a 1"square recess, and was very tight. "I know" sez I, and hauled the 1" drive air impact wrench under the tractor, thinking (? yeah right) that I would "just loosen" the sump plug. It spun out pretty quick, next thing I'm being hosed with gallons of dirty black engine oil. Had to clean up the whole workshop floor before I could go and clean myself up. Never tried that again.

[Underground]

I can combine those two last posts (buldozer + electricity)
Last week after spending 2 weeks getting my Cat D6 running I had the petrol motor that starts the main engine running and while wrestling with the various levers for engaging it my hand touched the little live bolt that sticks out the side of the magneto, man do those things pack a wollop !
It must be what it feels like when they stick those paddles on to start you up ,got the big chest contraction and certainly felt a bit different for a while,
Just as well my wife was the only audience this time ,last time I did it (couple of years ago) it was wet (better electrical contact) and there were 4 guys spectating ,:clap:It threw me from my perch on top pf the track into the mud ,

[Jox]

So its many many years ago and we just dun the moto on my mate Yam IT175, its getting late in the arvy and we had a few beers to keep us going, so we finally get it all together and he gets on the thing and starts kicking, and he kicks and he kicks, we check all the usual suspect, fuel flow, check, spark, check, something blocking air way, check, kill switch (should have been first) check, okay maybe it just need a bit of speed to get going after the rebuild, so how about that old fav, the push start, so we get it to the top of the drive and I push him down, the bike tries to start and you can here it fire but it wont run, ok now we are confused, lets try one more time.

So I push him down the drive again and this time he pops the clutch and then pulls it back in quickly, well well what do you know the bike is running really great, or is it, when he lets the clutch out it starts to move backwards !!!!!, holy shit the engine is running backwards, WTF, how the hell were we going to fix that. Anyways after much checking and discussing the possibilities (surly it cant be a mechcanical thing) I find we have crossed to of the wires for the CDI unit and by simply changing them back all was sweet.

Still cant believe how well it ran backawards tho, revved up just great an not even a stutter. LMAO.

[bart]

So its many many years ago and we just dun the moto on my mate Yam IT175, its getting late in the arvy and we had a few beers to keep us going, so we finally get it all together and he gets on the thing and starts kicking, and he kicks and he kicks, we check all the usual suspect, fuel flow, check, spark, check, something blocking air way, check, kill switch (should have been first) check, okay maybe it just need a bit of speed to get going after the rebuild, so how about that old fav, the push start, so we get it to the top of the drive and I push him down, the bike tries to start and you can here it fire but it wont run, ok now we are confused, lets try one more time.

So I push him down the drive again and this time he pops the clutch and then pulls it back in quickly, well well what do you know the bike is running really great, or is it, when he lets the clutch out it starts to move backwards !!!!!, holy shit the engine is running backwards, WTF, how the hell were we going to fix that. Anyways after much checking and discussing the possibilities (surly it cant be a mechcanical thing) I find we have crossed to of the wires for the CDI unit and by simply changing them back all was sweet.

Still cant believe how well it ran backawards tho, revved up just great an not even a stutter. LMAO.

pfffffffffffffffffffffffffft :shutup:

[bogan]

So its many many years ago and we just dun the moto on my mate Yam IT175, its getting late in the arvy and we had a few beers to keep us going, so we finally get it all together and he gets on the thing and starts kicking, and he kicks and he kicks, we check all the usual suspect, fuel flow, check, spark, check, something blocking air way, check, kill switch (should have been first) check, okay maybe it just need a bit of speed to get going after the rebuild, so how about that old fav, the push start, so we get it to the top of the drive and I push him down, the bike tries to start and you can here it fire but it wont run, ok now we are confused, lets try one more time.

So I push him down the drive again and this time he pops the clutch and then pulls it back in quickly, well well what do you know the bike is running really great, or is it, when he lets the clutch out it starts to move backwards !!!!!, holy shit the engine is running backwards, WTF, how the hell were we going to fix that. Anyways after much checking and discussing the possibilities (surly it cant be a mechcanical thing) I find we have crossed to of the wires for the CDI unit and by simply changing them back all was sweet.

Still cant believe how well it ran backawards tho, revved up just great an not even a stutter. LMAO.

thats nothing, I once put a wheel bearing in upside down, started the bike, and holly shit the whole bike takes off sideways. Took it out, made the mistake of turning it round, instead of over, and next time I started it the bike went sideways again, but to the other side. Had to buy a new set of bearings cos I couldn't remember which way it was sposed to be after that.

[Padmei]

thats nothing, I once put a wheel bearing in upside down, started the bike, and holly shit the whole bike takes off sideways. Took it out, made the mistake of turning it round, instead of over, and next time I started it the bike went sideways again, but to the other side. Had to buy a new set of bearings cos I couldn't remember which way it was sposed to be after that.

Man I'm glad you shared that story before I put my indicators back on. If they were on wrong would they suck lite in & push 12volts back into the battery?

[NordieBoy]

Man I'm glad you shared that story before I put my indicators back on. If they were on wrong would they suck lite in & push 12volts back into the battery?

It's a good thing they don't let you near anything eletrickle then isn't it :D

[twotyred]

Man I'm glad you shared that story before I put my indicators back on. If they were on wrong would they suck lite in & push 12volts back into the battery?

you might be onto something there: no more flat batteries!

[jellywrestler]

Nout to do with bikes but I once thought I'd help out a charity and organised a charity auction for the Tourettes syndrome people, it was very entertaining I tell ya

[Newguy]

I stripped the oil drain plug on my R80G/s shaft drive. then tried to repair it with a helicoil. heli is no good to contain oil...

Almost forgot. On that same service I never tightened the wheel bolts properly. Sure did explain why the bike was wobbling :sweatdrop

[slofox]

Had kids and got married...in that order.

[McDuck]

Forgot to check dates for a music conference, Drove 500kms a week early....

[bart]

ZXR750. Crossthreaded sump plug. Got it welded (professionaly). Next oil change, either sit bike on side and use a bolt on the side of the engine...............or...............take off oil filter and start engine.

It was all in the timing. Took off oil filter, started bike for a few seconds, no drama. Did it a few times. Was it really that dumb?? :shutup:

Maybe I'm just lucky. :innocent:

[Woodman]

couple of years ago took a week off work planning to go riding every day on the trusty old xl600. Well on the Wednesday!!!! morning after spending 4 days getting through a long list of chores i was ready to go for a ride.

i went down to the shed and carefully put my gear on, then while talking nicely to the xl i gently kicked it over and it started first kick (first time ever), and settled into a nice throaty supertrappy idle. I then swung up the garage door and wheeled the bike out onto the drive, then walked back into the shed to get my gear. On the way out of the shed i gently swung the garage door down ready for me ride, unfortunately my left middle finger caught the door some how and got folded back so the nail was touching the middle knuckle and the end was semi de-gloved.

I looked at my finger then looked at the bike then looked at my finger again, lifted up the door turned bike off wheeled it into the shed and drove to A&E.

Spent the rest of me break in a cast thingy then weeks and weeks of physio, and the finger is still bent.

Worse thing is i never got a ride, but at least i got me chores done:angry:

[scumdog]

Subscribed to Kiwi Biker...:whistle:

[bogan]

Man I'm glad you shared that story before I put my indicators back on. If they were on wrong would they suck lite in & push 12volts back into the battery?

Exactly, but it would be a bit more complex, depending on the light level you could push up to 24V into it, which would not normally be too bad, but because it would be an intermittent voltage push (indicators go on-off-on etc) you would create a catastrophic feedback loop with the potential to generate 3.7million volts at 400 amps discharge current, more than enough to permanently explode the testicles (or ovaries) or anyone currently on the bike. Of course if for some reason you had the fuse in backwards as well this would all be negated, and the indicators would probably work like normal.

[bart]

Often wondered what would happen if a fuse was put in backwards.

[Padmei]

Exactly, but it would be a bit more complex, depending on the light level you could push up to 24V into it, which would not normally be too bad, but because it would be an intermittent voltage push (indicators go on-off-on etc) you would create a catastrophic feedback loop with the potential to generate 3.7million volts at 400 amps discharge current, more than enough to permanently explode the testicles (or ovaries) or anyone currently on the bike. Of course if for some reason you had the fuse in backwards as well this would all be negated, and the indicators would probably work like normal.

You fool - you obviously know nothing about electricity. The rider sits on a foam seat duh!! Their respective gonads would be totally insulated...

unless of course they were silly enough to touch the footpegs...

[bogan]

You fool - you obviously know nothing about electricity. The rider sits on a foam seat duh!! Their respective gonads would be totally insulated...

unless of course they were silly enough to touch the footpegs...

well, LA, DI, DA, whos a flash guy with foam on the seat. Some of us working class folk are still stuck with bare metal seats, and we count ourselves lucky its not made from nails as it was back in the great Mother Russia.

[Woodman]

You fool - you obviously know nothing about electricity. The rider sits on a foam seat duh!! Their respective gonads would be totally insulated...

unless of course they were silly enough to touch the footpegs...

Only a problem if you have taken the rubber off the footpegs.

[Padmei]

Only a problem if you have taken the rubber off the footpegs.

:Oops:
FTCR

[NordieBoy]

Only a problem if you have taken the rubber off the footpegs.

It's always a problem when you take the rubber off.

[Jox]

seems i'm not believed about this one, from the amount of piss taking LOL, but I swear its true, and if you think about it on a 2 stroke, no valves and shit, so it just a matter of timing as to when the spark plug lights up to determine which way the engine runs and if its 180Deg out well then it runs backwards, in other words the piston is going down when it should be coming up, (oh I can't wait to see how this piss gets taken out of me now for posting this) :wacko:

[bogan]

what, pisstaking, never, my story was all true as well ;)

[klingon]

seems i'm not believed about this one, from the amount of piss taking LOL, but I swear its true, and if you think about it on a 2 stroke, no valves and shit, so it just a matter of timing as to when the spark plug lights up to determine which way the engine runs and if its 180Deg out well then it runs backwards, in other words the piston is going down when it should be coming up, (oh I can't wait to see how this piss gets taken out of me now for posting this) :wacko:

I believe you - just wait til Ixion finds this and tells his stories about running two-strokes backwards (I think he might have run them backwards more often than he's run them forwards...)

[Brainflex]

seems i'm not believed about this one, from the amount of piss taking LOL, but I swear its true, and if you think about it on a 2 stroke, no valves and shit, so it just a matter of timing as to when the spark plug lights up to determine which way the engine runs and if its 180Deg out well then it runs backwards, in other words the piston is going down when it should be coming up, (oh I can't wait to see how this piss gets taken out of me now for posting this) :wacko:

Hey man dont worry about it, I have seen it happen before. Out playing on trials bikes when my brothers fantic semi stalls as we come to a stop, We chatted a while discussing next play spot with the engines idling. Race you there I said to my bro, he then dropped the clutch, already in gear, and went flying over the bars as the bike went backwards. Brilliant WTF? look on his face as I pissed myself laughing. Talking to others afterward we were told that it can and does happen in two strokes.

[Woodman]

BSA Bantams were renowned for it