Author Topic: Three Problems With My Bandit (Read 5769 times)

mddolloff · « **on:** March 11, 2005, 05:07:25 PM »

I am having three problems with my bandit and i was hoping for some help on them.

1) I have a very strong exhaust smell. When I ride the bike anywhere or even just have it on for a couple of minutes my clothes get saturated with exhaust smell. Any ideas on this one at all?

2) My rear brake is not functioning at all. I push down on the brake lever and the caliper doesn't contract. It's almost like it's not pushing any fluid (even though the resevoir is full).

3) I have gray smoke when I first start the bike after it has sat for awhile. I am assuming that this is condesation (it doesn't smell like oil), but I was under the assumption that the condesation hole in the muffler was supposed to account for this. The bike has been dumped on it's side (previous owner) and the muffler is dented so I don't know if that would have anything to do with it or not.

Thanks in advance for your help. And by the way I am relatively new to working on bikes so the simpler you can make things the better

Red01 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 11, 2005, 07:13:25 PM »

1) First thing I'd look for is exhaust leaks.

2) Loosen the bleeder on the rear caliper, position something to catch any fluid, then press on the brake pedal and see if fluid comes out. If not, you either have a clog in the line (less likely), or the master cylinder needs to be rebuilt or replaced (more likely).

If fluid does come out, then the caliper needs to be cleaned/rebuilt/replaced. First try cleaning. Remove the pads and the caliper (you won't have to disconnect the hose) and clean any crud that has built up around the pistons and seals, reassemble and test the brake. If this hasn't cured it, you'll need to rebuild it (if a kit is available) or replace it.

3) If it only does this when cold, I wouldn't worry too much - as long as you're not loosing coolant. There could be moisute in there that can't find the path out thru the drain, either by design, or due to age and the path is now clogged by the dent or with rust/crud.

Be sure you're not loosing coolant, if you are, it's a sign that coolant is finding its way into the combustion chamber, either from a bad head gasket or a crack in the head or block. If it's small enough, in the right place, it may sort of seal itself as the engine warms up, but in these kinds of cases, its just a matter of time until you have a bigger, and possibly catastrphic, failure.

mddolloff · « **Reply #2 on:** March 13, 2005, 04:06:54 PM »

1) Is there an easy way to do this?

2) I'll check this week on this

Red01 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 13, 2005, 08:44:05 PM »

1) Closely inspect the exhaust system and look for stains indicating a gas leak. If you don't find any, run the engine and run your hand close to the exhaust and head and feel for anything blowing hot gas. You may need to run your engine at various rpms if you don't find it at idle.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 13, 2005, 08:55:53 PM »

For #2, if you do get fluid to flow, I would flush the whole system. My fluid was dark brown and THICK. Totally flushing it, 'til I got fresh, clear fluid through it did wonders for mine.

mddolloff · « **Reply #5 on:** March 13, 2005, 08:57:24 PM »

Quote from: "PitterB4"

For #2, if you do get fluid to flow, I would flush the whole system. My fluid was dark brown and THICK. Totally flushing it, 'til I got fresh, clear fluid through it did wonders for mine.

Thanks for the suggestion. I have to first get the stripped screw head on the resevoir out LOL

mddolloff · « **Reply #6 on:** March 27, 2005, 04:30:59 PM »

Quote from: "PitterB4"

For #2, if you do get fluid to flow, I would flush the whole system. My fluid was dark brown and THICK. Totally flushing it, 'til I got fresh, clear fluid through it did wonders for mine.

Thanks for the suggestion. I got the cap off and boy was the fluid dirty. I flushed the system and put in new brake fluid and things are working now. I bet that fluid hadn't ever been changed. Thanks.

Now I just have to figure out the exhaust problem.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2005, 08:56:22 AM »

Glad you got that working with the easiest solution! This might be obvious but if the back was that bad, I'd flush the front too.

For the exhaust smell, are you running really rich somewhere in the revs? How do your plugs look?

mddolloff · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2005, 05:36:13 PM »

Quote from: "PitterB4"

Glad you got that working with the easiest solution! This might be obvious but if the back was that bad, I'd flush the front too.

For the exhaust smell, are you running really rich somewhere in the revs? How do your plugs look?

I flushed the front already too. Not as bad as the rear, but it made a big difference in the breaking power on the front.

I'm not sure what you mean "running really rich in the revs" (I'm kind of a newbie when it comes to repairs). The plugs are fine. They have maybe 1000 mi on them.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 29, 2005, 09:48:59 PM »

How did the old plugs look?

Do you have a manual? If not, download Echo's (see stickied thread in this forum). There's a good How Carbs Work 101 in there. If one of the systems is too rich, you could have some unburnt fuel in the exhaust causing the odor.

mddolloff · « **Reply #10 on:** April 03, 2005, 05:28:46 PM »

Well the bike is psedudo running now. I got the new battery in and everything and the bike turned over after a little coaxing (no popping so that is good at least).

Big problem now is that the bike won't stay running much below 3500 RPMs. In addition the throttle is very very slow to respond (lags in pick up and lags in let off too).

I also noticed that when I place my hand in front of the exhaust, the exhaust flow is not smooth. It kind of putt putt putts out. And there is still a very strong exhaust odor.

All of these things to me seem to indicate that I am going to need to clena the carbs out (I'm a newbie though).

I haven't pulled the plugs that are currently in the bike to see what they look like, and lord only knows where the last ones went.

Any input people have would be great.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #11 on:** April 03, 2005, 09:47:03 PM »

The revs being slow to rise and fall and irregular exhaust flow sound like the carbs are out of synch. Synching is easy if you have a synch tool and some way to get gas to the bike while you do it (hell, I can even do it!). This post in the FAQ has some good info.

mddolloff · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2005, 02:54:35 AM »

Quote from: "PitterB4"

The revs being slow to rise and fall and irregular exhaust flow sound like the carbs are out of synch. Synching is easy if you have a synch tool and some way to get gas to the bike while you do it (hell, I can even do it!). This post in the FAQ has some good info.

Could that be the reason for the slow throttle response and strong exhaust smell too?