Fonzie

It's Halloween aaannnndd...........SHE'S ALIVE!!! Just fired her up with the starting fluid. She fired right off, but then stalled. Had to play with the choke some & spray some more fluid down her, but she ran for a good minute or so before I shut her down. Sounded good to hear her again......Been about 7 weeks!! :shock: Still waiting on the air filter to come in, but maybe I'll sew her up today with the old one so I can take her for a little spin.....beautiful fall day!!

Starter fluid is fine, but I wouldn't spray it directly down the cylinders (might foul the plugs). Just spray a couple of blasts down the carbs and fire her up naked ( :evilgrin: ). OK.........Finally got some time today.....got the plugs changed. Very black....carbon?? Blue stripes, NGK #CR9EHVX with a 9 below that. Sound like the originals? Gonna try firing her nekked like Obby said. Not gonna have stuff squirting out all over with all those hoses undone, am I....or damage something? I'm dreading where all those hoses connect.....Been a couple weeks & don't remember :roll: Will try to post pix of the plugs later for opinions.

Plugs came in today........picked them up. Gonna try messing with it a bit tonight. Still waiting on the air filter. What do 'ya think about squirting a shot of starter fluid down in the plug hole while I've got them out? Helpful/harmful or neither? Oooooorrr.....what about spraying/pouring some of that Isoheat or Seafoams Hurricane was talking about?

Linky?? :oops:

Anyone got an extra one they wanna part with? Just ordered the new plugs from my local Yami dealer. Usually takes them forever to get stuff in, but only game within 30 miles. I don't have the spark plug wrench in the bike's stock toolkit, and you guys all say it makes this job ALOT easier. Since I gotta wait on plugs anyways, plus going back into the work merry go round tonight....lord only knows when I'll get off again....probably gonna mark off sick for the kid's trick or treat this weekend...... Josh had a good idea when I talked to him last night of asking you guys if you had an extra one you wanted to sell. Thanx

Anyone got an extra stock tool kit spark plug wrench that they're willing to part with? Just ordered the new plugs from my local Yami dealer. Usually takes them forever to get stuff in, but only game within 30 miles. I don't have the spark plug wrench in the bike's stock toolkit, and you guys all say it makes this job ALOT easier. Since I gotta wait on plugs anyways, plus going back into the work merry go round tonight....lord only knows when I'll get off again....probably gonna mark off sick for the kid's trick or treat this weekend...... Josh had a good idea when I talked to him last night of asking you guys if you had an extra one you wanted to sell. Thanx! Think I'll double up and separate this with it's own thread as well. P.S.......thanx for checking that Pete

OK..........got some time off work & back at it again. Finally got that #$%@ airbox off.....I'll never remember where all those friggin' hoses go to!! Got the 1st 2 plug boots off, struggling with the next 2, though I'm just reading further in War's aid & see he recommends only taking one boot off at a time. Anyways.........think I may be screwed here. Just looked through my stock tool kit, and I have the box end wrench & the closed end wrench, but I don't seem to have the spark plug socket.....kit has 6 pieces total. What size socket do I need for these plugs, as it looks like I'm going to have to go buy one....all my plug sockets are standard, not metric? I'm assuming some kind of swivel extension as well then?? Getting ready for the kid's soccer/football games, but hope to get back to it tonight/tomorrow.

I'm at page 2, letter C of War's guide to change plugs. Tried to bring the picture over like Obby did.......wouldn't let me click on it for copyright purposes.....not sure how Obby did it?? Anyways....I don't see a side bolt like that where the solenoid is. I see 2 bolts on top of the solenoid. Am I OK to undo those to get that top tray piece to lift off, or will that unfasten my solenoids & make them fall down into the fairing/motor? Mines a '98...........Anyone know if the one in the pic is a different year so maybe they're set up a little different?? Just wanted to double check before I possibly make things harder for myself

In the middle of tearing it down now. Booooy.........lot different than my '82.......lots more hoses & electrical connections to the tank. Plus those intakes right under there........didn't have that with my V-twin. :roll: Thanx for the heads up about that........stuffed some clean socks in them to make sure nothing falls down them. Also......Thanx Obby for the warning about those side pieces needing popped out before pulling the tank off. Started to gently pull her back, and the one came off....then I remembered you in the back of my head :idea: Still haven't found the darn plugs........pulled the air filter out....thought they were gonna be under there from everyone's description. Gotta check that link to see where I'm at. Think it may still have the original air filter. Is that whole black plastic housing around the filter all part of the filter? I pulled it out of that tray, looked at it real quick & didn't see a way to separate them. It has Honda stamped on the black plastic part.

Hurricane..........I go to all different places for gas. Wherever's convenient & best price at the time. Not picky like one of my friends, though for the record, I do ALWAYS put in whatever their premium grade is. I don't think the gas sat in the tank for more than week or so before I went out to start again, and the tank is just below "full". My picky gas friend was over & we started the bike in the garage. It had been just shy of 2 weeks since I rode her. I remember she was running rough then........kept spitting & sputtering....but chalked it up to him starting it differently than I always do.......plus we kept tweaking the throttle before she was warmed up, which wasn't helping any, but he got to see the flames shooting out my exhaust!! :wink: P.S........sent you a PM

No.......haven't had time to deal with any of it lately. Busy season's starting at work. I've worked 135 hours in 9 trips. Had a 19 hour day Monday night........cab couldn't find where we outlawed at. Had to wait 4 1/2 hours for him to find us. Sad.........rail hasn't moved in 100 years since Henry Ford first laid it, but these guys act like it's a big mystery where we're at. Other reason I haven't gotten them yet is never really got a response from you guys about what plugs are consensus best for the Bird. I know everyone is going to have their personal preference, but figured there had to be top 2 or 3 that most would agree on. And when you say "clean them".........I assume you're talking about the old ones, right?? Don't need to clean the new ones, do you?

OK..........have this weekend off, so hoping to tackle changing the plugs finally, especially since this weekend is supposed to be nice & haven't gotten to ride bike in about a month. Anyway.....was just reading Arctic Flipper's similar post. Someone mentioned not to gap with conventional gapper. This leads into my question of "What is the proper gap I need"??? Thanx guys

I thought about that too..........common problem with the old bike.....but the tank is just below full.....thought maybe I could rule that out then

Let me 1st start by thanking all of you for your responses.....I appreciate the help/advice! Bike is just shy of 18,000 miles. Not sure what kind of maintenance was done on her prior to me. Couple of ????'s.......1st...enough of you have said fouled/bad plugs that I believe you may be right. My question though is why all the sudden. Wouldn't they gradually start acting up & being hard to start, rather than all of the sudden? 2nd.....About taking the tank off. Anything special I need to know, or pretty straightforward, just unbolting & lifting? I have the bad tendency of accidentally breaking things because I try to muscle them when I should instead be finessing. I know this will open a whole can of worms :roll: , but is there a concesus out there about which plug(s) work best with this bike? I seem to remember a poll when I first found you guys a few months ago on this subject.

OK Brett........your reply confuses me. First you say Full choke, then next sentence you say slowly open the choke?? I've tried both ways....neither is working. Battery is brand new.......just put in back in May. Judging by the lights & the sound it's making while 1st turning over, I think it's charging OK, until I start to wear it down from cranking on it. Haven't put the m/m on it though to get an actual reading. Yes, it's a '98......carbed. Not sure what the PC2 & ECM are, or where they're located. Haven't needed to buy a manual before this. Speaking of which.........where are the spark plugs located...under the tank? And if so, does our tank hinge up from the front towards the seat, like my buddy says his does (Busa)? Also........Bear in mind I've got the 4 into 1 2 Bros. exhaust and the carbs have supposedly been jetted. Not sure if that affects anything or the advice you may give me.

Tried starting the Bird yesterday to run some errands. Hasn't been started in about week & half. She fires first couple times, but won't stay running. Give her more choke........now she won't fire at all. Try tweaking the throttle a few times (carby), can smell the gas but still just turning over, no fire anymore. Now I smell gas, so let her sit for a few in case she's flooded. Try again......still just turning. Try holding throttle all the way open & starting........still just firing. Battery eventually getting low. Put her on the trickle charger before I left for work yesterday afternoon. Tried starting her again this morning when I got home after being on charger for about 20 hrs. Same processes & results.........no fire at all now, just turning over & over & over & over........ Any advice...........She's never acted like this before. ALWAYS started right away. Weather is starting to get down in 40's at night here in Ohio. She's starting to act like my Yamaha I just sold!!!! :shock:

I'm glad to hear I'm definately not the only one with this noise! I was afraid I had an impending tranny problem or something. Last year I was hanging out a bit on the Magna/Sabre/Interceptor board 'cause I was thinking of buying an old Interceptor, and those guys were saying the only thing you needed to watch out for was 2nd gear stripping or something. I think that's been kicking around in the back of my mind when I hear this noise.

OK........so I'm gathering from everyone's shock & dismay at my asking this question, that's there's no valid reason to do this?? Some people acted like it was a big deal when they saw the bike had a hydraulic clutch.......impressed or something...I dunno?? My old bike was an '82 Yamaha. This is a whole new game for me

I thought that was one of the benefits of having a hydraulic clutch.....for racing & stuff......so you don't have to granny shift?? That's what someone told me anyways. And Mikey.......You can talk to ME.......I'm right here :wink:

OK........repeatedly tried coming off the throttle and shifting without the clutch. Would downshift, but not up??

You had me goin' there for a minute Airborne!!

That's what I had kinda thought as well, but if that's all it was (which believe me, I hope it is!!) then why wouldn't it be doing it ALL the time was my next thought? Most of the time it shifts/feels the same as all the other gears.

Goin' ridin' in a little bit with a buddy. I don't think I kept the power on it before, but I try again today & pay closer attention. Let you know what I notice.......

I've had the bike since May. Sporadically......I think it has. I've put about 2,500 miles on it since I bought it. Mixed riding......sometimes I just cruise, other times I push it. Haven't done any wheelies on this bike, in 2nd or any gear. Have not checked the gear box......over my head :wink: Glad to hear yours makes similar noises Brian, but no long term probs

Still trying to get used to hydraulic clutch. I can't get it to upshift other than 2nd & 3rd gears, no matter how hard I pull the shifter. Seems to downshift OK w/o clutch. I'm assuming it's supposed to shift all 6 gears without clutch, right?? One of the service dept's told me I need to be careful 'cause I can really screw up my tranny if I'm not doing it right......something about I need to be in certain rpm range. Why would it be any different than if I was using the clutch? Can't I shift at the same points I normally would?