Tell-On-Yourself Thread

Lou Ranger

Former xs400 Luddite
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If some of us are willing to ride our bikes and place them in photos of exotic places, I thought maybe some of us would be self-assured enough to be willing to share "Stupid Me" :doh: Motorcycle Moments. Maybe not. :shrug:
The other day I thought I would be doing a thread asking the Forum for help with a failing battery. It may yet come to that after what "Stupid Me" has done.

A week before, I got distracted and flooded it a bit cold starting and noticed the battery was weaker by the time it started. After the ride I plugged in my 2 amp charger with the computer chip which is supposed to diminish and stop the charge when it gets full. The next day the yellow light was still on. Didn't think anything of it and went riding. Stopped and started numerous times that day and so I plugged it in again. 2 days later, the yellow light is still on and the battery compartment was quite warm. Didn't repeat with the charger but the next day, I had to jump start it to go riding. After half and hour at the coffee shop it started up again, but barely. After another 10 minute stop, it wouldn't turn over and I had to push start it to get home.

Thinking I would need a new battery, I removed it today and noticed it had no water in it. :wtf:
All 6 cells showed nothing. I've filled it up and will test it to see if it will work for a while with water in it - maybe through the rest of the warm weather until I can find a cheap price. I just hate to shop with a deadline hanging over me.
:stupid:
 
I've hit my kill switch several times on accident and been "stranded" until I figured it out. I never use the kill switch normally.

Leaving my turn signal on after a turn always makes me feel like an idiot.

If I am overly aggressive on my motorcycle I often feel like a jerk later on, even if my frustration came from other people's mistakes.

It's been a while since I made a ridiculous mechanical mistake, but I assure you that there were many of them along the way.
 
My pastor friend rode up on his suzuki for a visit and I had just gotter my bike running reasonably well. he's the one who finally convinced my wife it was ok to have a motorcycle as he had gotten his first a few years earlier and managed not to die...assuaged her fears a bit.
So I unplug it from the charger, roll it out of the garage and get everything ready to start...no go. I try kicking it, I try the electric. and THEN I try it with the choke out.

Works much better that way.
 
I too have tried to start the bike with the kill switch off.

The other night I parked my Beemer K1100rs in front of my house without locking the steering. It was gone the next morning. Cops found it 1/2 mile away in the weeds with the wiring ripped out!
 
I have a habit of buying the same part as I forget I already bought it or can't find the damn thing, only to find it looking for something else!

A squirrel with his nuts :D
 
just today i was going for a nice ride with the new parts testin er out and i damn near ran outa gas on the highway. i started loosing power and was questioning my sanity when i flipped to res. and nursed it to a pump haha
 
I have a habit of buying the same part as I forget I already bought it or can't find the damn thing, only to find it looking for something else!
A squirrel with his nuts :D
This was the ONE thread that I didn't expect you would have anything to offer, Drewpy. My illusions are shattered. :wtf:
I was reading these and thinking, crap - I've done ALL this stuff!

I felt the dumbest early this summer when a nice older gent with a beautiful Yamaha V-Star was admiring my centre stand and telling me how much he wished the new big bikes had them. I expressed surprise and began telling him how 2 of us could barely pull the damn thing up onto the stupid stand while I held it from slipping with my left foot. :cussing:
He proceeded to walk over (asked permission) then showed me how one old guy can put it on the stand with one foot and one hand. Turns out you push DOWN on the thing and lift up! Who knew? :doh:
 
Ah hahaha !!! funny!
I messed with the carbs, timing, valves, ect.,ect, right?!...
take it on the road for a test ride and womp ...she dies.
Re-start and she wants to start but no go.
I thinks she is cold -pull full choke- she starts...ok good..
wooooohhmp.. she dies.
Oh shit what did I fuc*k up?!
Now she wont start at all
People are staring, kids are laughing, traffic is slowing down to look at the broke down old guy.
oh and BTW, my bike is dead.

Then it occurs to me...Dumass:doh:
The little vacuum line to the right side manifold/carb holder...sheesh:eek: that was stupid but oh so glad thats all it was :D
 
Every time I take a break/refuel/etc. and there is another rider around I make a little bit of fool out of myself. One thought I didn't know what the reserve was, another watched me kick it repeatedly with the killswitch off...
 
Overtorqued my spark plugs.

Buddy noticed lefty rattling in the cyl yesterday. We tightened it roadside.

Today as we rode I heard a loud POOT! and felt something slap my leg. The engine compression had BLOWN the spark plug out of the bore and it was hanging by the plug lead.

Guess who forgot to retighten it when he got home yesterday? This guy! Effectively stripped out my thread bore using gas pressure and the plug as a vibrating thread cutter. OUCH>

Helicoils, here I come.
 
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Well, it was years ago, but I had just gotten my first mc-a gs750. I was trying to look cool to all of my friends as I left the arcade parking lot at the mall. I opened it wide for the long straight stretch right before the sweeping left bend and just as I "tried" to lean left, all I heard was scraaaaape... Left the kick down and slammed into the curb and flew, for what felt like 20 or 30 feet on to the grass median. Only my pride was hurt. I still feel sooooooo stupid when I think about it...
 
bought a new 2012 Ninja 650 and went riding with a buddy about a month after getting it. all went well until I miss our turn to his place (so I thought)... Stopped at the side of the road only to put my foot down in the grass and SLIP! over I tumble, new bike on it's side with it's right mirror next to my head. Buddy saw the whole thing and pointed out his place was the next turn. Had some nice old guy laugh and rub it in as he drove by.
 
LOL, love this thread!! Ummm I'll start with the complete teardown and gasket replacement of my XS...got her all back together minus the tranny/stator side covers and thought putting the kicker on and rolling her over for spark to confirm all wiring connections were good (I was really green at anything mech) after 10 kicks I snapped theperch off inside the tranny case...good times ...dammit!! Another instance I'd rather no share was the time I put a new tire on my CB750 bobber and while I was at it scuffed up my drum brake pads and completely cleaned the drums because..I read online this makes your old drums work really well!! And it does, after 4 days of downtime finding the best tire that fit my hard tailed set up I slammed her back together with excitment and drove up the road about two miles and jammed the rear brakes like i used to..only to find out that the brake/anti spin linkage bar wasnt strong enough to overcome my 20mph to 0mph in .2seconds.. My brake linkage snapped off and wrapped it around my axle but not before it hit my battery ruining it and leaking acid all over my freshly painted frame..annnddd it also bashed my painted fender two times during my "ramp down"..Ahh that day was soo awesome...grrrr!
 
I was trying to sell a dirtbike a few years ago...2 stroke 125...ran great always started on the 2nd/3rd kick....guy showed up and we kicked it a thousand times...changed plugs...put gas down the cylinder and it would fire....finally realised that the gas was off....guy bought it regardless...we had a good chuckle!
 
First time I took the tank off, I drained it. Fast foward a couple days later and everything put back together, damn thing won't start. WTF? 20 kicks later...see, you have to put the gas back in.
 
3 times in a row last night while building a new wiring harness, i cut and soldered the wires together only to forget to put the heat shrink on the wire BEFORE you solder it.

I've done the kill switch thing a few times but usually figure it out after the 2nd or 3rd kick.
 
Removed the sissy bar on the old Harley and mounted an aftermarket fender brace with a taillight centered on the fender. The fender hugs the tire with only about a 1/2 inch clearance as the bike is hard tailed. I was *sure* the bolt I grabbed would be fine but as soon as I went for a ride it tore a nice deep groove down thru the middle of an almost brand new AVON Roadmaster.
 
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