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After almost two years of having not ridden my 1980G, I pulled off the bedsheet which had covered the bike that got me back into riding motorcycles and pulled the seat and put the trickle charger in place and plugged it in. A full day later I got the light indicating a full charge and decided to turn the key and hope that my long neglected superbike would fire up. This bike has had a history of not wanting to start with the petcocks in the vertical position, so I cranked them both back to the reserve position, opened the enriching circuit (choke) and then turned the key and pushed the starter button, hoping to hear at least a stumble. Didn't get much of a wind up at first, pistons were no doubt dry, and then tied a second time. That's when I smelled gasoline and watched it pouring out of at least two carbs
Crap, the floats were stuck and fuel was literally pouring out on the garage floor. After the initial panic, I returned the petcocks to the "run" position and looked at what appeared to be a pint of fuel on the floor, but what was probably less. Common sense said to open the garage door immediately and get the fumes out, which I did.
Why did I stop riding my favorite bike? Two reasons, I bought a 1996 Road King from my best friend and took it on a 73 day 12,000+ mile cross-country solo trip, and then had the misfortune of tearing my left quadriceps tendon (thigh muscle), which took me out of riding for nearly a year. No excuses, the Harley is a temptation, sort of like taking a younger lover while your mature wife sits at home. One good thing was that my total maintenance on my trip was a rear tire and oil change.
Anyhow, looks like I need to remove and clean carbs to get the much loved "G" back on the road. I also need to reinstall and tune carbs on the '81 H full dresser I originally planned to take on the cross-country trip. I have too much time and money invested in my old Yammies to totally go over to the dark side. The XS-11 site has to be the best resource that any vintage Japanese motorcycle owner can use to keep his bike roadworthy. Anyone coming to the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Rally on August 16-18 in PA?
Oldbiker
Crap, the floats were stuck and fuel was literally pouring out on the garage floor. After the initial panic, I returned the petcocks to the "run" position and looked at what appeared to be a pint of fuel on the floor, but what was probably less. Common sense said to open the garage door immediately and get the fumes out, which I did.Why did I stop riding my favorite bike? Two reasons, I bought a 1996 Road King from my best friend and took it on a 73 day 12,000+ mile cross-country solo trip, and then had the misfortune of tearing my left quadriceps tendon (thigh muscle), which took me out of riding for nearly a year. No excuses, the Harley is a temptation, sort of like taking a younger lover while your mature wife sits at home. One good thing was that my total maintenance on my trip was a rear tire and oil change.
Anyhow, looks like I need to remove and clean carbs to get the much loved "G" back on the road. I also need to reinstall and tune carbs on the '81 H full dresser I originally planned to take on the cross-country trip. I have too much time and money invested in my old Yammies to totally go over to the dark side. The XS-11 site has to be the best resource that any vintage Japanese motorcycle owner can use to keep his bike roadworthy. Anyone coming to the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Rally on August 16-18 in PA?
Oldbiker