Sparkling

New Spark of Enthusiasm


The Sanya motor's unruley behaviour is listed on the Net and in the Honda Haynes manual as being for any of the following reasons:
    Running rich (carb)
    Poor sparks
    Drive train
    Fuel flow

Now, I know I could go back to the distributer to get it sorted, but their on-line reputation seems somewhat sullied of late and I'm in no mood to get fobbed off by anyone suggesting the bike was not set up correctly in the first place. Also, anyone who knows me well will know I like the odd puzzle and will prat about for days trying to solve this before daring to ask anyone to help (unless you offer, guys).

I've played with the carb (closely following good advice to only tweak the more accessible jet and adjust the idle speed to match) and now I've taken a trip to Trevor Pope's shop for some good advice on which plug to purchase.

The factory-fitted Torch D8RC plug was described by the shop assistant with the oiliest finger nails as, "another one of those Chinese excuses". I take this to mean their reputation, in his mind and experience, is not too sound? Anyway, I'd already done some Web work on finding the exact NGK version but struck dumb on a standard figure of 4163, or in NGK DCPR8E. Now the Suzuki EN-125 the Sanya closely resembles uses a DR8E, which was the closest Halfords stocked, but the young lass there had no idea on plugs and tried to send be to Currys.



Shop assistant No.2 at Trev's offers the DCPR8E to be the best bet, but assistant No.1 reminds us the nose might be protruding, or not, and that his recommendation gives the same heat and bore / length as the longer numbered plug, but his offering has the same nut size as the Torch: the DR8EA. At less than a fiver for it and a plug wrench (Halford's wrenches were all over £15)I thought this a jolly deal and bought the set. I'm aware from my research that there is some tollerence in deciding which plugs to fit.

Behind Trevor Pope's is a motorcycle mechanic workshop. A bloke older than me with wisened features cam to look at the Sanya. For no money at all he inspected the chain to eliminate it it from my enquiries and he found a stiff link and recommended I buy a new chain - especially as I plan to do some miles. But, they're really busy - over a 2-week wait. Hmm. Shame. Anyway, I appreciate his advice and fit the plug. I'm also happy he blipped the throttle (now seen as standard currency in any diagnostic) and happily reported my "friend" who had adjusted the carb had done not too bad a job. (I claimed a friend had done it in case I'd ballsed up, of course).

Once fitted and after some horse riding with the family (bloody beasting by the way - sit ups and lunges in the saddle!) I took the Phut-Phut out for a test ride. Okay, it's still a little uneven, but on the way in to Trev's it was REALLY uneven and almost unridable. Now it's feeling much smoother. Tomorrow I'll give it a longer run out to test it fully before trying to commute Monday. If it's all well, then the spark plug changing recommended by Sanya air-heads seems good advice: however, they also see the HT-lead needing changing (as well as the chain).



Next I got the Honda out and explained the difference in both machines to the Misses: she sat aside each, blipped the throtles (in a non-diagnostic way), spoke crap about cars, and decided she'd cycle to work tonight. At least I managed to fully justify my expendature to date and almost flogged the Sanya on to her, t'boot, but I think she'd struggle with the manly multi-tasking required of clutch and hand brake. (No, she won't read this else I'd become another statistic of domestic violence).

Both bikes got a good clean and some photos as the Sun was shining - then I high-tailed it back to the couch to see the F1 qualifying from Canada with Hamilton my hero, Dr Who, and the IoM TT 2008 (Dr Who wasn't at the F1; he was in The Library with his future wife who made him a virtual widower). Now I'm too excited to sleep and left wondering how I can exchange the chain without waiting 2-weeks for a mechanic...I don't see why I shouldn't; chain breaks seem painful. No wonder the Deauville, the most sensible bike I could and do own, has a shaft). Good old Dilbert.

Comments

Pat Godfrey said…
Did I mention the tyres, too?
8 June 2008 at 01:03
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Picking up Sherbert

Image
To recap, we'd been awake and travelling to Offenburg, Germany since 2:30 am. Bikemoto's offer of a free coffee felt overwhelmingly generous while we waited for Sherbert's paperwork to be readied. There was a hire agreement to cover our ride back to Ireland, the ownership documentation, Certificate of Compliance, manuals, sales agreements, and more. It all took time. All the time I was taking stock of the enormity of the day and second-guessing the plan. Self doubt I'd not ridden for nearly 5 years since fixing Arod's speedometer sensor and finding his fork seals were leaking. COVID 19 and working from home were little motivation to set things right. Now I am about to ride a new-to-me model of bike I've not ridden before. Sherbert is heavier than an ST1300, a weightier insurance liability, and has a dual clutch transmission (DCT). He's extra expensive to buy and more-so to fix. I'm riding on the right side of the road in Europe and with my wife rid
Read more

28 February - Jammed Screen Blues

Head Trauma The LHS winder for the screen is jammed. I’ve had the screen at a medium-high stetting for the cold and rain but this really gives some buffeting in some conditions – especially at speed on the M-ways. It was so bad on the way to Stoke I had to stop and hand-force the screen all the way down for some relief. It needs either another overhaul (gave it a good oiling when symptoms first appeared) or replacement, which is just so expensive. Even a knackered one from a ‘brakers seems to command an inflated £100+ tag. Daft greedy b’stards. Anyway – the jobs waiting for a quieter moment. Too much going on to rip the plastics off Shadowfax just now. We both have a job to do.
Read more

To Offenburg from beyond

Image
Offenburg is a couple of hours south of Frankfurt.  Initial plans were to fly to Frankfurt, catch a train to Offenburg, and then a taxi to the bike shop. Unfortunately, RyanAir fly to Frankfurt Hahn airport and don't hint at the fact Hahn is two hours west of Frankfurt. We discovered that gem after booking the flights. No plan survives first contact, right? So we adapted and hired a car to drive the 3 hours to Offenburg. Adapt or fail We learned that RyanAir will only allow helmets on spare seats–one helmet per seat by the read of it. Otherwise your life-saving equipment needs to go in the hold to be crushed, battered, and invisibly compromised by damage. Our new Shuberth C5s had arrived only a couple of days ahead of the flight in two smart boxes within a single purpose sized box. Mrs G called RyanAir and confirmed a 'suitcase' can be a box and what the maximum dimensions can be.  The box fitted the bill. Into Hahn Typically, the Friday flight out was at around 6am and w
Read more