What's your worst "horror" story from adopting a u

[stormi]

Hey all, When I bought my B4 last fall, I was in for a lot of hidden "surprises", thanks to poor care before she was mine.  

While doing her first oil change, I found that her drain plug had been stripped, and an oversized self-tapping one put in it's place. Just try findind a gasket to go on that puppy.  I get to use 2 BMW ones stacked til I can get to heli-coiling that back to factory spec.  

Then I decided to check the air filter, cos I was in for the afternoon anyway.  Lifting the tank just enough to snake my hand in (the tank was full, I was alone, and not strong enough to remove the tank) I sunk my fingers into something that felt like warm margerine.  Fighting that urge to scream ( hey, sometimes I have to be a little female, and sinking my fingers into something unseen that shouldn't feel like that is one of those times!) I yanked the filter out, and dropped it into the waiting grocery bag, and they both landed on the floor with a wet "splut".  I couldn't help letting out a shudder, as I checked on the contents of the bag.  There was -that- much oil in it.  I squished out the excess, and that netted around a 1/4 to a 1/3 cup of oil!  Well no friggin wonder she was running rich, she couldn't breathe!  Thinking there couldn't possibly be more of this, I put her back together.  She was stored right after this thanks to crappy early winter weather.  

This last weekend, we took the airbox off again, and I poured at least another 1/2 cup more filter oil out of her!  The poor girl!

I'm almost afraid of what I might find when we start doing more major work to her!


So,.. what other horror stories are there out there?

[PitterB4]

Well... the WORST problem I had after adopting my B4 wasn't so much from neglect as it was from its age and my stupidity.  Almost imediately after getting it, it started dripping fuel when parked.  I then noticed that I had a bunch of gas in the crankcase, too.  I had never wrenched before on anything other than mtn bikes.  I didn't know enough to ask the right questions here.  I had a friend who I thought was a competent wrench.  He assumed it was the floats.  We tore into them.  He messed around with the floats (no guage of any kind used) and jets and stuff....  When he was done, it still leaked gas and now ran like total shit.  Then, my local Suz shop re-tuned and balanced the carbs ($400) but still didn't fix the leak.  Now with a new petcock and o-rings it's great.

The dumbest thing one of the previous owners did was try to fix the starter/choke pipe on the #4 carb with silicone caulking.   it took me quite a while to figure out why it was SOOOOO hard to start.   God bless JB Weld (right Interfuse???).

[Maniac]

The dumbest thing one of the previous owners did was try to fix the starter/choke pipe on the #4 carb with silicone caulking.   it took me quite a while to figure out why it was SOOOOO hard to start.   God bless JB Weld (right Interfuse???).

Yours too? Thats the exact same one thats broken on mine!

[interfuse]

Bought mine DOA. Other then the fact that it wasn't running it was in pretty good shape. Except for some dents in the tank and a scrap on the engine casing. I had the dents fixed and the outside of the tank repainted.

The previous owner had let her sit for a few years with a half tank of gas and no stabilizer. The inside of the tank had rusted pretty badly. I cleaned out the tank, and recoated the inside with kream (I've had good luck with it, even though other people seem to dislike it.... 3 years later and its still strong).

The carbs had about 1" of rust in the bottom of the float bowls. Gave the carbs a seriously cleaning. As Rob said the o-rings all needed to be replaced to stop the carbs from puking gas into the engine.

After tackling all of that she is in pretty good shape. However now I'm working on jetting her properly for my riding style. (That's if I ever get squirt back from the shop... they seem to have taken a liking to her)

They joys of ol' bikes...

[interfuse]

The dumbest thing one of the previous owners did was try to fix the starter/choke pipe on the #4 carb with silicone caulking.   it took me quite a while to figure out why it was SOOOOO hard to start.   God bless JB Weld (right Interfuse???).

   

Have you ever read the back of the package on that stuff? Its got a bunch of quotes like:

"The City of Dallas, Texas repaired a cracked Caterpillar engine block with J-B Weld and saved $4,000.00 plus 30 hours down time."

I'm waiting for Rob's tesimonial...

"Rob, Oxford, PA, B400 owner. Fixed the starter/choke pipe on the #4 carb better then silicone caulking. Thanks JB Weld."

Serously though, you should send that in -- they might send you a free tube.

[stormi]

I had a friend who I thought was a competent wrench.  He assumed it was the floats.  We tore into them.  He messed around with the floats (no guage of any kind used) and jets and stuff....  When he was done, it still leaked gas and now ran like total shit.  

Ouch,.. I've done that,.. I let a guy rebuild the carb for my firebird on my kitchen table once.  Wow what a headache that made for!  He was pretty enthusiastic with the carb cleaner too.  In the end, he didn't change the float, to save me money,... and I required a third foot to drive ( since he's a manual transmission)

The dumbest thing one of the previous owners did was try to fix the starter/choke pipe on the #4 carb with silicone caulking.   it took me quite a while to figure out why it was SOOOOO hard to start.   .

Oh Duh! everyone knows that's what Duct tape is for!  

[stormi]

The previous owner had let her sit for a few years with a half tank of gas and no stabilizer. The inside of the tank had rusted pretty badly. I cleaned out the tank, and recoated the inside with kream (I've had good luck with it, even though other people seem to dislike it.... 3 years later and its still strong).

I think most people do this.  This winter we put the stabilizer in her, but couldn't get her to run, to get it through the carbs.  I think it's part of the reason she was so difficult this spring.   I'll have to remember that Kreem stuff, she's got just a touch of rust in the tank right now.

The carbs had about 1" of rust in the bottom of the float bowls. Gave the carbs a seriously cleaning. As Rob said the o-rings all needed to be replaced to stop the carbs from puking gas into the engine.

1" of rust?  That's gross!  The poor thing!  Ok,.. I have a dumb  question,... how would you know that it was puking gas into the engine?  Leaks?   Flooding?

(That's if I ever get squirt back from the shop... they seem to have taken a liking to her)

They joys of ol' bikes...

I'm not sure I could take her to a shop,.. I wouldn't want to have her out of my sight that long.  What are they doing to her?   I know what you mean about them liking her.  I have tons of people tell me what a great bike she is, that they wished they had one.  Of course then I get the ones that tell me she was never supposed to be in Canada,... or want to see her, because they don't believe she's a 400.

[interfuse]

I think most people do this.  This winter we put the stabilizer in her, but couldn't get her to run, to get it through the carbs.  I think it's part of the reason she was so difficult this spring.   I'll have to remember that Kreem stuff, she's got just a touch of rust in the tank right now.

I find its best to use stabilizer and drain the carbs. Friends of mine don't do anything and don't seem to have any problems. I guess it just depends on how lucky you are. If you don't go for Kreem there's also a tank liner by POR15.

1" of rust?  That's gross!  The poor thing!  Ok,.. I have a dumb  question,... how would you know that it was puking gas into the engine?  Leaks?   Flooding?

Couple of ways to tell. If you go to turn over the bike an it sounds like the starter is locked up. Chances are there's liquid in the cylinder. Or if your oil level goes up. Or you do an oil change and smell gas.

I'm not sure I could take her to a shop,.. I wouldn't want to have her out of my sight that long.  What are they doing to her?   I know what you mean about them liking her.  I have tons of people tell me what a great bike she is, that they wished they had one.  Of course then I get the ones that tell me she was never supposed to be in Canada,... or want to see her, because they don't believe she's a 400.

I took it in for a valve job after I f'ed it up... word to the wise make sure the locknuts are tight. Then they found a few problems with my carb (worn needles) so they are working on that. She's running good now under throttle but idles on 3 cylinders. I'm still waiting for parts. Going on 1 month! Everytime they get a part they realise something else is also wrong.

[stormi]

I find its best to use stabilizer and drain the carbs. Friends of mine don't do anything and don't seem to have any problems. I guess it just depends on how lucky you are. If you don't go for Kreem there's also a tank liner by POR15.

I think this is what we'll do next winter.  I don't want to go through all the problems that we did this year if I can help it.   Thanks for the recommendations on the tank liner!  I'll look into that as soon as I get a spare moment.

Couple of ways to tell. If you go to turn over the bike an it sounds like the starter is locked up. Chances are there's liquid in the cylinder. Or if your oil level goes up. Or you do an oil change and smell gas.

Oh yuck,.. ok,.. I"ll keep an eye out then.  So far, she reaks of gas sometimes I think because she's running rich.  That and I think we might have routed the thorttle cable wrong, cos if you turn her bars to the right, at a stop, the idle goes up.  If it's on choke, it goes to 4500 rpm and higher ( that's where I shut it off)  and she -always- reaks then...

I took it in for a valve job after I f'ed it up... word to the wise make sure the locknuts are tight. Then they found a few problems with my carb (worn needles) so they are working on that. She's running good now under throttle but idles on 3 cylinders. I'm still waiting for parts. Going on 1 month! Everytime they get a part they realise something else is also wrong.

That sounds like a few shops here.  Are you sure the things they're finding are "Wrong"?  There are a few here that seem to fix one thing and loosen another, so you're always going back, or else they find tons wrong with your vehicle, and charge you like crazy!

[interfuse]

Oh yuck,.. ok,.. I"ll keep an eye out then.  So far, she reaks of gas sometimes I think because she's running rich.  That and I think we might have routed the thorttle cable wrong, cos if you turn her bars to the right, at a stop, the idle goes up.  If it's on choke, it goes to 4500 rpm and higher ( that's where I shut it off)  and she -always- reaks then...

You might want to look into that cable routing. It sounds kind of sketchy. Might even be time for a new cable. At the begining of the season my bike decided that it wanted to idle at 4k. It was partly due to a knackered throttle cable.

That sounds like a few shops here.  Are you sure the things they're finding are "Wrong"?  There are a few here that seem to fix one thing and loosen another, so you're always going back, or else they find tons wrong with your vehicle, and charge you like crazy!

I'm always skeptical of mechanics and used car salesmen. But I'm somewhat mechanically inclined and know a fair bit about the bike so it's a little harder for them to pull the wool over my eyes. I always ask to see the worn parts. So far they've been on target with everything. Most of what they are fixing I figured needed to be replaced. However, I have no idea how big my bill is going to be.

[stormi]

You might want to look into that cable routing. It sounds kind of sketchy. Might even be time for a new cable. At the begining of the season my bike decided that it wanted to idle at 4k. It was partly due to a knackered throttle cable.

 

That's what we're thinking,... of course I'm a little afraid to look into the price of a throttle cable if they wanted $43 for the choke cable here.  We might take it apart later today or tomorrow and ses if we can find any obvious damage.  Since we had the carbs off, it seems likely that the cable isn't routed 100% or that we lucked into a vaccuum leak somewhere.  I sure hope these little problems that keep cropping up will work themselves out so I can just enjoy riding her for the few months that is riding season here.

Most of what they are fixing I figured needed to be replaced. However, I have no idea how big my bill is going to be.

Oi! they aren't giving you estimates as you go along?   With Carbs and valves,... and other things,.. aren't you afraid you're about to buy the bike again?    I paid $2500 cdn for Dita.  Of course, I'm told it was a hell of a deal too., because of the shape she appeared to be in.

[interfuse]

That's what we're thinking,... of course I'm a little afraid to look into the price of a throttle cable if they wanted $43 for the choke cable here.  We might take it apart later today or tomorrow and ses if we can find any obvious damage.  Since we had the carbs off, it seems likely that the cable isn't routed 100% or that we lucked into a vaccuum leak somewhere.  I sure hope these little problems that keep cropping up will work themselves out so I can just enjoy riding her for the few months that is riding season here.

How long is your riding season? In T.O. you can ride from April (kinda rainy, but its okay some days) to October (kinda cold some days).

Oi! they aren't giving you estimates as you go along?   With Carbs and valves,... and other things,.. aren't you afraid you're about to buy the bike again?    I paid $2500 cdn for Dita.  Of course, I'm told it was a hell of a deal too., because of the shape she appeared to be in.

That's funny I paid $2500 cdn for mine a few years ago. But it was DOA, with 30,000 km's. How many KM's on yer bike?  

I think I've already bought the bike again just in parts, for work I've done to it... not really worried about it. The amount that I save on the insurance alone makes it worth keeping this bike on the road. I got quotes this year for a gsxr 600 and they were like 5 times what I pay for my little bandit.

[stormi]

How long is your riding season? In T.O. you can ride from April (kinda rainy, but its okay some days) to October (kinda cold some days).

It really depends on how brave you are.  You could  ride in April here, many do ( They're also the ones still riding in December, because the roads are dry here often til nearly christmas, with only a big dump here and there),.. but I usually refer to them as crazy!     I didn't for 2 reasons.  I still didn't have my class 6 ( which is the bike license) due to a comedy of errors last fall, and because they hadn't swept up the gravel yet from Winter sanding.   I got the license 2 1/2  weeks ago, and so hope to be riding until late October.  It's pretty similar to your season, it's just that I'm a bit of a wuss when it comes to cold weather riding, so I cut the season short sometimes, if dirtbiking is any indication.

That's funny I paid $2500 cdn for mine a few years ago. But it was DOA, with 30,000 km's. How many KM's on yer bike?  

She has just under 42K on her right now.  The guy wanted $3k for her, but the guy we brought with us to look at the bike goes, it's going to need rear brakes, some carb work (cos she was running so rich, of course,.. we took care of 90% of that with the pouring out of the filter oil mentioned above), a new rear tire, .. etc etc.  And told me to negotiate appropriately.  Then after we left with the bike, I asked him how long til I'd need brakes, etc,.. he goes 1 or 2 years...   I had no idea he was bluffing,.. so I negotiated based on that info being accurate!

I think I've already bought the bike again just in parts, for work I've done to it... not really worried about it. The amount that I save on the insurance alone makes it worth keeping this bike on the road. I got quotes this year for a gsxr 600 and they were like 5 times what I pay for my little bandit.

Yeah! It's a high risk bike.  My ins broker has told me that there are a number of bikes the ins co's won't even insure.  the "GSXR" name  is the prefix on many of those bikes.  You're stuck with "Facility" on any of those, and they soak you pretty good.

Even as a 30yr old female with a clean driver's license, I have to go through facility on my little bandit, because I'm newly licensed.