DirtTorpedo

Ahh, the manual says 0.2 mA or less, so I probably do have a leak. I'll start pulling fuses.

Hey, long time no post, but I've still been lurking. Is this still an XX board, or can I only ask questions about the ZX-14 now? :icon_nono: Is a 1.7 mA leak too high on a 2001 XX? My battery won't hold a charge for shit. As soon as I take it off the charger, it begins dropping at a rate of .01 V/sec (I.e. A full volt every minute or so.) This is while it's hooked up to the bike. As soon as I disconnect the negative cable this voltage drop slows way down, but doesn't quite stop. I am getting a current leak of 1.7 mA. Seems a bit high. I have disconnected all aftermarket electrical crap - except for the one HID light. The battery is brand new (but has already been sucked dry several times.) WTF is going on? Thanks. - Ted Edit: Leak is 1.7 milli-amps, not nano.

8 blinks = loose or poor contact on TPS, open or short TPS wire, Faulty TPS TPS being throttle position sensor of course. See page 5-20 of your honda service manual for diagnostic info. I put the wrong cover sheet on my TPS report? I never got that memo. Thanks, I'll check it out.

Didn't see shit in the service manual about it. Anyone know the codes?

Thanks. Well, that went surprising smoothly. Of course, I haven't ridden it yet. . .

That clear plastic cylinder around the bulb - stay or go?

Stupid question: The Service Manual, page 13-24 calls for 483ml (16.3 oz) of oil. That's PER FORK, right? Reason I ask is that I only sucked out about half that volume in old (very dirty) oil per fork. I used a brake-bleeder pump rather than removing the wheel and using the drain plug. The manual also says to measure the level to be 5.6" from the top of the fork pipe. I don't get the point of this - if I sucked out all the old and put in the proper volume of new, shouldn't that be sufficient? Or do you never really get all the old stuff out? thanks, Ted

Is it supposed to shutdown? The digital thermometer starts blicking at you when it hits 250 - which I have seen a few times. I thought you were supposed to shut it down yourself when that happens. I saw 260 once and was about to shut it down for fear of damaging it, but traffic started to move, so I kept going. But afterwards the battery didn't have enough juice to restart. Oh, then get this - I'm now in downtown Boston on a busy Friday afternoon with a dead battery - and some guy wants my spot - I tell him he can have it - if he gives me a jump. He says he doesn't have time for that. ??? Like you're going to find another space anytime soon? But then he still expects me to push it out of the way for him anyway! Are you f'n kidding me?! I was most colorful in telling him to get lost. I ALMOST succeded in getting it jumped from another decent person (who didn't even want the spot!) before he made it through the next light. Too bad, I really wanted to lane split past him and test the protectiveness of my titanium gloves.

It turns out one of the quick disconnect leads going from the brake lever into that starter/kill-switch assembly was loose. Thanks for the tips. Now if I can just get to the inspection station before I'm caught. . . Ted

Any guesses where my problem lies? Oh yeah - - I was also supposed to get my inspection sticker 2 days ago. D'oh!!

That's what I forgot to do - disconnect the cable. Thanks guys.

Trying to remember how this works. Does this sound right: 1. Multimeter set to DC amps. 2. Positive test lead on battery negative terminal. 3. Negative test lead on bike frame/grounded part. 4. Reading < .2 mA is acceptable. Sound about right? I'm getting a reading of 0, which I hate, because there is no way to distinguish between a no leak, and me just not doing the test properly. :???: I'd feel more confident if I read something. If I turn on the headlight during the test, should I definately get a reading?

I guess my 2001 battery has gone dead a few too many times, as it doesn't seem to want to hold much of a charge these days. Any opinions on best type/brand to replace it with?

Thanks for the tips. Apparently, my problems weren't completely from my own bogus connections. I had hooked up a headlight modulater, and the symtoms were that the headlight would periodically go out - and stay out - then come back on several minutes later. (Much slower than the 8 flashes per second as advertised.) I completly pulled the modulater, and this was still happening. Then a VFR owner told me of a similar problem he once had with a bad starter switch. Next time my light went out, I tapped the starter, and it came right back on. So I guess I'll be replacing that. While searching the forum for related topics, I see you can also use the starter as a flash-to-pass. Cool, never knew that. And I've had a CBR for 9 years. Another side note - any opinions on headlight modulaters? Ted

Is there some trick to crimping these on to a wire? After a typical electrical mod I always have one or two come off the end of the wire within a few days. Am I just not squeezing enough? What a pain in the ass these things are. And they always wait to come loose AFTER you've put all the fairings and stuff back over them. It's like they know.

Where's the cheapest place around here to get new tires mounted and balanced? Last time I went to Cycles 128 they charged me 2+ hours labor! I don't know how much of that had to do with me not buying the tires there. Also, does handing them just the wheels instead of the entire bike make it any cheaper? thanks, Ted

Usually prepared meals are an automatic no-no, but Maple Leaf Farms makes a Chicken Cordon Bleu (pardon my French) that has only 11 net grams "per serving", or 22 grams for what most people would consider a meal. Tastey too. I've been holding steady at 200lbs for a few months now, 20lbs from my goal. I think I need to repeat the induction phase. Too much cheating lately. Ted

Thanks for the tips. I need to go find a skinny enough screwdriver, the key can't take the torque.

I pulled that little "stopping tool" out of my new CCT before it was installed. I was just too damn curious. Now I can't figure out how to reset the tension thingy - it is all the way out and doesn't want to go back. Did I just fuck myself? The good news is I hadn't started disassembling the bird yet, so I still have the old rattly one in place.

My fins never seemed very bent, just clogged. So I guess the water disolved the caked on mud. I'll have to do more long term tests to see the exact effect, but when the bike was new, it would sit at 176 on the open highway, and typically 210 in the city. After getting clogged it was typically 190-200 highway. Today it was in the 180's.

My bike has been running hot lately, hot to the point that I can't spend more than 10-15 minutes in gridlock before it hits 250 and starts flashing at me. I have long suspected a clogged radiator from months of driving down a dusty/muddy road. I tried poking out some crud with a small screwdriver, but it didn't help much. I'm in gridlock again last night, and it starts raining. 'Great', I think, 'Not only am I going to have to pull over to cool off, but I'm going to get soaked while I wait it out.' But the rain had an almost immediate cooling effect; the temp dropped from 230 to 200 within minutes. It also looked like I was a disco smoke machine every time I stopped. So I trudged on. Next day, dry out, ride to work, and the bike it still running about 15 degrees cooler than before. It's almost normal, like when it was new. The rain seems to have had a permanent effect. Perhaps all I needed all along was to hit the radiator with a high pressure garden hose?! Ted

Umm, let's not make that a quote of the week, okay? Certainly there were better ones from NEXXT that didn't have to be taken out of context.

Hmmm. Took the sprocket/clutch cover off; lever still has no give. Squeeze a few times with moderate force, it suddendly gives. I notice the piston doesn't seem to be coming out straight when I squeeze it, so I spin it around a few times, now it seems to come out straight. Put cover back on; start to tighten bolts; lever stuck again. Loosen bolts, retighten again more evenly, now it moves okay. Tighten all the way, still okay. So I am all set now. Started bike, everthing works. Should I maybe bleed the clutch after all my fiddling? I did squirt a little fluid, not lots. Thanks for your help. Time to go see if the extra 6% torque is worth it. Ted

Just changed my front sprocket and chain (went down a tooth). Everything seemed to go back together properly - no extra parts. But now the clutch lever has hardly any give to it at all. I seem to be able to shift in and out of gear no problem with the shift lever. (I haven't started the bike yet but I can tell by the ability to spin/not spin the tire.) Where did I mess up, besides not letting a professional do it? Plese tell me it's a simple adjustment and that I'm not fucked. :???: TIA, Ted

Another thing to check is the condition of the radiator "fins"; make sure they are not all bent or clogged. I regularly drive down a dirt road, and mine became all jammed up.