i hate mechanics!

[Nessism]

i will add that when i bought this bike last summer i rode a 900 mile round trip to GA. and it ran fine.

What did you do to the bike prior to your trip? Were the valves adjusted? Fresh O-rings inside the carbs and on the intake boots? Seal up the airbox? Check the charging system and fix any bad grounds? Guess what I'm driving at is...old bikes need maintenance and just because they are running okay at some point doesn't mean there are not mechanical issues lurking just around the corner because of bad maintenance. For example, I've rebuilt about a dozen sets of old motorcycle carbs in the last few years and each and every set had hard/brittle/cracking O-rings inside. Some of these bikes would have run with these old O-rings, but it would have only been short lived.

[bluewool]

What did you do to the bike prior to your trip? Were the valves adjusted? Fresh O-rings inside the carbs and on the intake boots? Seal up the airbox? Check the charging system and fix any bad grounds? Guess what I'm driving at is...old bikes need maintenance and just because they are running okay at some point doesn't mean there are not mechanical issues lurking just around the corner because of bad maintenance. For example, I've rebuilt about a dozen sets of old motorcycle carbs in the last few years and each and every set had hard/brittle/cracking O-rings inside. Some of these bikes would have run with these old O-rings, but it would have only been short lived.

see post #10

[DanTheMan]

Check out the petcock, it may have some lint around the pickup tube in the tank. I've had that happen before, happens a lot in early spring, fall, cold weather in general. Comes from gloves usually. Also, make sure your gas cap is venting properly, there's a vent hole in the lip on the tank that has to be open.
Of course, another possibility is the diaphragm in the petcock is disintegrating and clogging the screens in the carbs.

[steve murdoch]

I like the idea from DantheMan about a clogged gas tank vent. It might not be practical to do but if you are riding it and it happens again crack the gas tank lid and see if it changes anything.
Another area to check...i had similar symptoms with a GS1000 that would start to bog after 5 minutes of riding. Turned out to be a cracked/aged coil that would take that long to heat up, expand, and kill two cylinders. Pull over at the side of the road for 10 minutes, things would cool down and the problem would go away.

[Mr.Blue]

why is that most mechanics wont touch these older bikes? and every one i talked to always says "your carbs are dirty". or suzuki is known for having electrical problems. then i proceed to tell them i have checked over the electrical and cleaned the carbs. then they dismiss what i tell them because im not a mechanic or you dont know what your doin. i hate askin for experience and walkin away feelin like im an idiot. im about done with this this freakin bike.

Ok let me start by saying your problem is taking your bike to a "mechanic" when you should have taken your bike to a technician. Another poster is correct about the rust thing. also the biggest thing that keeps technicians from embracing your diagnostic testing conclusion is because he doesn’t know you or your technical ability and if he goes on your word that the electrical system is fine and spends 2 hours looking at different system’s and it dose end up being a electrical problem he’s out cash from believing you.

example that happened to me recently:
customer came in and told me his window didn't go down so he "tested" the window regulator and found it to be bad. After he dropped his car off i tested the switch and then the regulator and the switch was bad. less than 1 hr (1hr min.) of my time and 30$ in parts the customer was out the door for 70$......if i took his word and replaced the regulator it would cost more than 2x that amount not including labor to not solve the problem and I’m sure the customer would pay that without a problem

source: myself, formally educated auto technician

[bluewool]

Ok let me start by saying your problem is taking your bike to a "mechanic" when you should have taken your bike to a technician.


source: myself, formally educated auto technician

semantics. They were once called mechanics(like when our bikes were made) Now they're technicians because it sounds way cooler.

[yotaman423]

Check out the petcock, it may have some lint around the pickup tube in the tank. I've had that happen before, happens a lot in early spring, fall, cold weather in general. Comes from gloves usually. Also, make sure your gas cap is venting properly, there's a vent hole in the lip on the tank that has to be open.
Of course, another possibility is the diaphragm in the petcock is disintegrating and clogging the screens in the carbs.

well i did as you said drained the tank and sure enough there was some trash around the filter on the petcock. also i had put an in line fuel filter on as a precaution so i took it off too. went for a ride and all is well. there is a huge hill by my house a good 1/4 mile long so i pulled the hill pretty hard thinkin if it was a fuel flow ploblem it would run short near the top. anyway overall the bike ran great so we might have found the problem. thanks for the suggestion guys and for the record i "dislike" mechanics/technician sometimes.

[DanTheMan]

I would say that was a lucky guess on my part, except I was pretty sure that would be the problem. I forgot to mention an in-line filter, but usually somebody does. I've seen a lot of stupid fuel problems over the years and the hardest one to find is the clogged pickup tube/sock/filter in the gas tank. I had all the same symptoms on my '73 Fiat 124 wagon on a long winter trip, removed the gauge sending unit and pickup tube and there was a ball of lint clogging it.
I'm glad I could help out, congrats!

[bluewool]

'73 Fiat 124 wagon on a long winter trip,

that just sounds like a bad idea from the start

[DanTheMan]

that just sounds like a bad idea from the start

Actually, it was a great trip, 13,000 miles with a new '78 13' Scamp trailer on behind. I was on 67 days of leave + travel time when I re-enlisted, nearly every state from CA to MO east, all the way around the perimeter of TX, stayed in Big Bend Nat. Park for a few days, visited friends in Brownsville, went north to my mother-in-law's house (Christmas) here where I live now in MN, then west on Hwy 2 to see friends in WY, MT, through the ID panhandle tp WA state, then all the way down the coast hwy 101 & 1 back to CA, stopped at my parent's house in Chino Hills, put new ball joints on (88k miles); down to San Diego for Instructor Training School, then back east on I-70 to IL where my next duty station was, in Great Lakes. My son was 18 months old, born in HI, never had a hat or a coat on in his life, he was a little miserable at first.
We were in HI for 3 years and my wife was tired of driving in circles.

[RedBaron]

You shouldn't judge all mechanics/technicians for the failures of some. All the dealers I have worked at over the years have a cutoff date for the units they will service, mainly because most folks don't care for their old bikes as good as the folks here in the forum, an old bike is worth much less to sell if a customer ditches his bike and bill, and in 20 or 30 years it's pretty well guaranteed that some idiot has been into a bike.

I've never in my life had an "I already cleaned it" carburetor pass when tore down for cleaning, but it can be difficult to do it correctly if you don't do alot of them. Not saying it isn't possible and not saying ya'll boys can't clean carbs (renobruce you make me jealous). As a mechanic you pretty well have to count on everything the customer has touched being screwed up as a football bat, because... well that's just how things work. I'd imagine that 40% of my work comes from backyard mechanics and "real" dumb*** official mechanics, with an additional 40% being carb cleans, and 20% attributed to everything else.

I will admit that about 80% of dealership employees shouldn't be allowed to clean chewing gum off the underside of tables, but there are a few that have an honest to goodness love for their job and take pride in what they do. Nowadays most business owners seem to care nothing for the motorcycles any more than any other widgit and are only in it for the money, and the customer suffers.

Tuning a motorcycle by ear and seat of the pants seems to be going the way of the dinosaurs, I honestly don't know why some "technicians" cant seem to learn, you can beat it into them and beat it into them and throw tire irons at them and they just keep on being stupid. Honestly the same guys that can't tune your carb, can't diagnose fuel injection issues either, stupid runs from one end of them to the other - and most mechanics that care enough to service your carburetors properly, take an interest to learning all the modern technologies they don't have experience with.

When I could I would sneak in older bikes for service, at management's dispair, I would lose money over the services and tire changes I could be doing, but the customers joy when they see their GL or GK or CB or KZ running at the service gate makes it worthwhile. I love it when people love their bikes.

Find a service department or independent mechanic you can trust, I know it's unfortunate that they can be hard to find (honestly it's a rare find), but if you find the right ones they will love your bike just as much as you, and have the experience to make it all that much better. Best of luck to ya folks. Sorry for your misfortune. Hope all gets better for ya.

[Mr.Blue]

semantics. They were once called mechanics(like when our bikes were made) Now they're technicians because it sounds way cooler.

ill agree that they were mechanics when our bikes were made but now with all the electronics and different systems (unlike turning a screw on a cab that anyone or anything with 2 fingers can accomplish or changing springs for ign advance)now calling a technician a mechanic is like calling a electrical engineer a apprentice electrician

[bluewool]

calling a technician a mechanic is like calling a electrical engineer a apprentice electrician

Poor analogy. Electrical engineers have a degree and are considered Professionals.
An Electrician is an apprenticeship based trade.

"Motorcycle Technician" and a "Motorcycle Mechanic" are both apprenticeship based trades. They are the same job the technology an title may have changed throughout the years they are the same trade.

Call yourself what ever you like.
No title makes up for dedication and experience. (that is not directed at you personally, and I hope you don't take it as such)

I think the Red Baron understands what I am saying.

welcome.

[Ranger]

It is rare to find a tradesman today with principles other than, "xx/hr two 15minute coffees, and 1/2 hour lunch" when expressions like "Looks good from my house" are handed down as inspiration from foremen.

Theres a guy local around my moms place that doesnt charge and hourly rate. He checks it out, then gives a quote and sticks to it. $15 to vac synch carbs

Downfall is, slow turn over rate since he's a one man shop but I guess you pay for the quality and service and not the speed.

[Steve]

... but I guess you pay for the quality and service and not the speed.

There are variations on the quote, but it goes something like this:

"You want speed, quality or price? I can give you any two of the three."

.