drained the carb float bowls and tried again last night to restart it. No joy.
Tonight I changed the plugs, and it fired right up. Linus has his security blanket back!
Trouble is, the plugs I took out don't seem to be all that bad. They were the correct kind, and didn't appear to be all that bad. I'll post pics and maybe yall can tell me if you see anythign wrong from it. I get the feeling I'm missing something.
As for the experience at changing the plugs on the New Magna versus the V30, I had been so hopeful when I saw how Honda had thoughtfully outfitted the radiator on a pivot that allowed it to move out of the way for ease of access to the front plugs.
In reality, I've discovered that ease of access is a relative concept. It was still a bit flusterating, but better than the V30.
I wonder how you're supposed to give the plugs the requisite 1/2 turn following seating, in order to compress the washer, as the manual says. I mean, you can't really see what you're doing and it's hard to gauge how much you've turned it when you're turning it a click at a time.
I suppose I shoulda figgered how many clicks it takes to get to half a turn, and counted clicks.
I did notice a steady stream of smoke rising off the left rear cylinder -- right at the exhaust manifold. I wasn't sure if it was burning off some oil that had leaked onto the exhaust pipe or what. I shone a flashlight on the spot and couldn't see any more. The smoke went away. I'll see if it returns next time I start it up (after it sits for a day) and see if it could be oil leaking out onto the exhaust manifold.
I think I'll chalk it up to some misplaced motorcycle polish that was deposited on the exhaust pipe when my 5-year-old daughter helped me polish the bike last week.
I know that previous sentence makes no sense to you Sabre owners. If you're a Magna owner, you'll understand...
I think we can determine one thing that was wrong with them already.
ReplyDeleteThey wouldn't fire your motorcycle.
Don't overanalyze. Before you replaced them, it wouldn't fire. With new
ones, it fires.
Go ryde and remember the lesson.
were they wet? you think they may have been coated
ReplyDeletewith the stabil or whatever you put in it preventing
them from firing properly? you may want to give them a
good cleaning and re-insert them back into the engine
(yeah i know you said that is a PITA) to see if they
will run once cleaned. that would tell you if it were
gooped up or whatever.
It's possible it's not the plugs themselves, but the plug wires. I had a similar problem with my V65 Sabre once (though there were extenuating circumstances that I'm sure others will gleefully jump in here to share). Anyway, with a fresh set of plugs, he'd fire immediately then, after 4-5 rides, no go. New plugs, fired right up; 4-5 rides later - nada. Tried new spark plug caps but it still didn't help. Turned out there was just enough resistance from the plug wires that, once the plugs got slightly worn, they didn't produce enough of a spark to fire. I didn't even have to replace the wires (although that probably would have been wisest); I just snipped an 1/8-1/4 inch off the end going into the new caps to get a cleaner connection and voila!
ReplyDelete