hardleydavidson

Yep, homeward journey was a disaster, did managed to get in to third at one point but that was uphill. The final drive chain, is that the chain?? the one that's attached to the back wheel, it does look a little slack.

Hi, I had real trouble getting home yesterday, I could shift to 1st no problem but then nothing, it wouldn't go in to second at all. I finally managed to get it in to second by pulling the clutch freewheeling then through 1st to second but I think that was more a case of luck than anything technical. This morning I managed to get to work but it would only change in high revs. I fear I'm going to have the same issue this evening. Any ideas? I should add that my bike is straight four and not one down three up

Absolutely typical. Went over with my Dad and a load of tools to sort it out, started first time, been fine ever since. Grrrr

I'll check that tomorrow, of all the tools I have onboard guess which one was missing...................plug socket.

Don't think so, have bright ignition light, electric start turns the starter no problem and as it keeps trying it doesn't decrease in speed or sound.

yeah tried shaking and rocking back and forth even tried lifting the back and dropping it in case it was a sticky float, still no joy.

Hi, I had to visit some relatives today so I got the bike out, started first time off the button, ran great all the way to their town, didn't sputter or stall ran like a dream. So I do my thing at theirs and am about to leave, ignition works, fuel tap on, doesn't kick over on the button, kick start it and the same thing, it wants to start and sometimes I can get a few revs before it dies. At one point it backfired but just wont start. Put more fuel in it but still no joy. I'm thinking a clogged pilot jet/main jet maybe both? any ideas? at the moment I've had to leave it there so will have to fix it tomorrow.

Could be tank sealant, but why it would suddenly come off or disappear is beyond me, might explain why the bikes been a tad sluggish lately. Probably worth checking the fuel filter and carb bowl.

Last time I looked, the inside of my fuel tank was gold in colour much like the inside of those aluminium drinks bottles. It's now plain silver metal. Should I be worried? am I going bonkers? I'm 99.9% sure it was gold.

Thanks chaps, It was the wheel bearings, stuck a new set in and now have a slight increase in speed as well.

I get abuse all the time, that is, when I'm not pushing the bike, you just have to develop your biker growl

Air filter looks ok, bit of oil in there when I last looked but only a very small amount. It's seems to run better after a longish ride, the hill in question isn't a problem after say a 5 mile warm up, the exhaust sounds a bit diferent too mor e of a phut phut to it so I'm beginning to think there may be some air getting in somewhere.

This is the stuff, won't do anything for pitted rust but brought my ali rims up a treat. http://www.betterware.co.uk/miracle-met ... cream.html

Ahhh I see, thanks Must be another reason for it being sluggish then, going to try the compression test tonight wouldn't be surprised if it needs new rings.

I use Magical Miracle Metal cream, works a treat, takes care of surface rust and brings up ali like new but takes some buffing, smells slightly of ammonia so may be corrosive but so far I haven't had any issues with it, just don't leave big blobs of it on there for ages. Think my missus got it from the Betterware catalogue!!

Hi, On top of the numerous other issues I've been having with this bike it seems to have a judder on the front wheel. When pushing the bike (something I've done a lot of) if you steer left it judders but goes away when straight or steering right, I've checked the brake cable and it's not catching on anything and the brake operates normally, also it seems to go away if I feather the brake. I've looked at the brake but it's not loose and looks ok, not that I know what I should be looking for. Any ideas?

I had a similar issue, turned out to be the kickstand cut off switch even though the bike had a cover it didn't cover the switch and rain got in.

Shifting the rear wheel back with the adjusters will lengthen the distance between the drum and the pedal exterting pressure on the rod? at least in my head that's how it works??

This is weird, made it up the hill last night, lights on as well so it's definitely not the battery. I was in 2nd but only doing 10mph, seems like overall the bike is running better but somewhere along the line i've lost 10mph on the flat and uphill. Could be the oil change has made a difference. Was only this morning it dawned on me, when I adjusted the rear wheel to sort out the slack chain, I didn't readjust the rear brake, brake light isn't on but I reckon it might be semi engaged.

Thanks guys, I'll give the plug chop a go and see what it's like. The tyres could probably do with a pump up too would this affect power uphill?, I'm wondering if water is getting in anywhere, we've had a lot of rain down these parts. When I checked the bike over the rubber cover where the throttle cable meets the carb was split quite badly. There was also some oil in the air filter which for the life of me I can't work out how it got in there. Way back when I first got the bike I had the exact same problem which turned out to be the carb, a new carb sorted it and I haven't touched it since so in theory the carb settings should still be the same. Could it also be compression? I'm thinking if the rings are worn then it might struggle under load?

Ok, so I've charged the battery, checked the fuel lines and fuel filter, checked the airflow and air filter, Checked the electrics and given it an oil change, adjusted the rear wheel and tightened the slack chain. Still having power issues up hill. I'm thinking it may be a duff battery, I don't have much cash for a new charged battery but the dry (DIY) one's a are dirt cheap, are they any good? how hard is it to fill them?

Hi, I have a little 50cc that has until recently been getting me up the hill on my journey home from work, albeit in 2nd and at around 20mph. I don't expect to get much more than that, I'm a big lad with a small bike but recently it's started slowing down to the point where 1st is struggling and then it dies. Restart the ignition and take off in 1st and I can make it the rest of the way. I've charged the battery, removed the fuel cap and replaced it incase there's a vacuum issue but I can't put my finger on what it is. For some reason new fuel seems to make a difference and after a longer journey it seems better. It's also being tempremental when I stop and not idling properly even though I haven't touched the idle screw at all. It's 50cc 4 stroke Any ideas??

Yay it's working, complete new carb did the trick. Thanks for all your advice, I know a lot more now than I did!!!!

Ok, really getting hacked off with it now. won't run unless the choke is on, with choke off the throttle kills the engine which would suggest too much air getting in somewhere, check the spark and it's black suggesting too much fuel. Makes absolutely no sense to me, unless it's too much mixture in general? is that possible? too much air and fuel?

a very very thin piece of wire and I was super careful not to make the hole any bigger