Gmc28

Thanks Docc. I probably used too many words on my post, confusing the issue…. I have been using a manual 10a charger for the old battery, doing the discharge and charge cycles, and so far with some apparent success, but question is about the other charger: Whether anyone has heard of the BatteryMinder branded 8A charger, one of the ones approved by Odyssey, ever doing what its doing to me, where it kicks off from the AGM & 8A mode after about 10 mins, when it then shows “weak battery”, and reverts on its own to Flooded & 2A mode.

Interesting. I did check the spark the simple way, grounding it against the case, and both fired visually just fine in that little test, but perhaps as you’ve indicated not the case in the chamber. Easy enough to address that! Thank U Pete

Thanks Phil - makes sense, just never had it be this bad. But if there is in fact gas that old in there (I thought i freshened it up last time around, but maybe not), then the smoking gun will be easily fixed tomorrow! Years ago someone brought me their Cagiva Gran Canyon (ducati 904) to see if i could get it running right for them. Both times after going through all the usual stuff, which took some man-hours, i finally realized it was just old fuel. Felt stupid, but they got a sweet running bike back. Then I did the exact same thing again years later….. Embarrassing. You’d think I’d learn, but, well, what can i say. But in both cases the bikes (both Ducati 904’s) would run, just real poorly. Maybe this gas is just older.

Looking to sort out what would keep Goldie (v11 lemans) from getting fuel, other than the usual culprits (petcock off, bad filter, bad pump, which all are fine). I’m thinking this week just changing out the old fuel which has been sitting way too long will be the solution to why she won’t start. But it’s nagging at me that she doesn’t run poorly with the old gas, something I’m familiar with, but she won’t run at all, won’t even cough/fire, and the plugs are dry. Is there something in the fuel injection setup that will just cause fuel to not be introduced to the throttle bodies? Fuel injection on bikes for me has always been “works good, lasts a long time”, so I’ve got nothing to draw on there in my personal memory banks. The clues for those indulging me with reading this quiz: goldie was my sweetheart till the friend i bought it from said he’d like to buy it back. So I parked her and bought Red, and have been riding Red ever since, so about 3-4yrs. (And no, still hasn’t bought goldie back yet :->) Goldie went into storage mode running perfect, back then. Then each year some new problem would come up when I’d run her. Last go-around was the fuel pump died, so replaced that and the filter. Then she’d run, but poorly. That was about a year ago, maybe longer. I think i put in some fresh gas then, but thinking maybe i didn’t, or i did but that gas is now also getting old on top of the other old gas that was in her plumbing. Fuel pump runs smooth and pushes fuel out the return line like it should (when i disconnect it). Thinking I’ll just empty what fuel is in her using the fuel pump via the return line (partly because I’m sick of pulling that tank off), put in some fresh gas, and maybe problem solved. But I’d think she should at least cough/splutter a bit with that old gas? If so, am i missing something obvious as to why she’s maybe not getting fuel? Will sleep on it and maybe erase this post out of embarrassment of the obvious solution which may come to me….

Thread is already bloody long, but same topic, so…. 545 in Goldie wasn’t happy at all, presumably because despite me saying I’ve not had issues over the years using the “wrong” little deltran float charges (~1a units), that delusional reality fell on its face in Goldie, which pretty much has sat in the shop for about 3yrs, or maybe longer, on a little deltran 1.25a float charger. So for “fun” will try and bring it back to life. Have my trusty Battery Minder 8A unit I’ve used for such things, with its AGM setting (etc). Weird thing, and the point of this post, is that it starts its usual charge, then after 5-10 mins, the yellow “weak battery” light comes on, then it cycles itself away from 8amp/AGM charge to one of the other settings (i think its the “flooded” setting) and goes to 2amps. Weird. So I’ll try it again, same thing. Never seen that before with this charger. Sign of a really bad battery, or is there an evil spirit in the Battery Minder? Hit the (highly) suspect battery with a 10a charger after discharging it, repeated as described in this thread, and it seems to be coming back, but the battery minder is still doing the same thing, cycling away from its proper amperage and battery type setting on its own after about 10 mins, after the “weak battery” yellow light comes on. (I’m only able to use the big 10a manual unit for the charge cycles). Seems to work fine still on the other V11’s. As an anecdotal side-not, to keep working on Goldie I temporarily popped in a Shorai Li-ion battery I removed from the KTM about 6 yrs ago, it was strong! Crazy. Half the size, twice the CCA, and she worked a charm.

Finally got a chance to pull her off the stand and get her out on the road, for a run-in-the-sun down to the local ethanol-free gas station. Proof of life. She has a different feel than the Lemans(s), or at least more than I had expected. She starts, idles, and runs sweet, but is a bit more buzzy at some rpm's (pods/airflow/TBS, etc), and I feel as though she's a lot smaller for my tall-ish body than the Lemans, though I know that's mostly in my head. Now back to Goldie, to see if I can get her ready for the June 28 MG gathering at John Day, for my Guzzi buddy to ride (i'll be on Red)

sounds about right. i'd say just lack of fuel, like with most other pumps which start to howl when they run out of fluid to pump. however now that you mention it the fact that it ran smooth/quiet when bench tested, dry, means that just running dry isn't the issue, but instead would be a pressure issue, as you've noted. whether that would be a drop or an increase..... i'd think the flow was decreased and the pressure increased downstream of kink, which is upstream from pump. getting into the weeds a bit, but interesting. I can just confirm that uninterrupted flow = happy fuel pump.

This is perhaps old news for some, and it may never be valuable info, but for what its worth, the howling sound that may come from one of these fuel pumps can be good ol’ fashioned cavitation. MGcycle sent me a new pump lickety-split, but it was still bothering me why this original new pump they sent me was howling. Maybe Sucked in some grit stuck, or was it somehow mounted too tight and causing the case to rub on the internals (i knew that wasn’t it), or?? Bottom line is that when i pushed up hard on the main fuel line from the tank to the pump to ease the L-shaped “kink” in the line, the same kink that was there from before all this project started (same hose, same routing), the howling stopped. Removed line, shortened it and re-routed it slightly, and problem solved. So i’ll send this un-used new pump back to them (which they sent me no charge)… with a little egg on my face.

The beast is alive. She starts and runs sweet now, and looks nice and tarty…. However, the new/replacement fuel pump works, but is buzzing loudly, so the good folks at MGcycle are sending along another one. Now can get that thing off my lift, after way too long, and make room for Red, who needs her annual shop-love. In other news, the beloved KTM 990 will go for sale very soon, as its time, and is the opportunity to remove the final Germanic influence from my garage.

I can look for the other source…. But I think the other one was also German, so probably lousy shipping cost options there also.

Good thinking. But it (tank) was clean and dry for the paint work… so if there’s a smoking gun beyond just an old, bad pump, then my little brain leans toward something related to paint…. Residual tape, or overspray, or that kind of thing. I’m good/careful with that stuff, but last I checked I’m still human, so prone to some error (am still hoping for an android upgrade, like Steve Austin, or Wolverine) Might just be chasing ghosts, as the pump may be all there is to it. Will know when the pump shows up next week. Already have a new filter installed now… had a spare for red sitting on shelf.

Agreed. Never have before and didn’t need to, but sounds like a good idea. I was just surprised there was that much residual pressure in the line 24hrs later. But maybe it shouldn’t a surprise…

for sure replacing pump and filter. On order. Did a quick check on the two little vent lines today, and they seem fine: 1 to the charcoal canisters, and 1 to the ground(bottom of bike). The one to the ground has the one way check valve in-line, which worked fine…. It will allow air/fuel to exit tank but not draw back in. Now that I’m caused to think about it, am wondering how the tank vents air IN… via the breathers on the gas cap ring area, or just via the charcoal canister pathway? But also has me thinking about how the return fuel line to tank, the one that goes to right/rear side of tank and into that reg there. How does one test that? When I pulled that fuel line off, the line was quite pressurized…. Sprayed a good bit of gas. I expected it to drain some, but not spray it so forcefully. I had not run the pump since yesterday. thoughts?

All makes some sense. For sure am replacing the filter too. And I’ll see if i can force some air through the tank vents. New pump and filter are enroute….

Certainly comes to mind, and i have a new filter coming as well. I’m just thinking that even though it’s been sitting for a couple years, which is no small thing when considering causes for issues, but it did run reasonably well before it went into the surgery room. So, new paint on the tank i can’t help but be suspect of… tape, overspray, or something like that perhaps. Gotta get back out to shop and check the return line and vents. Just hard to get motivated to get my butt back out there, sitting here by the fire…

Yessir, that’s the one in my basket with MGCycle. But am still thinking about whether there was more to it…. Did it just fail from sitting there and aging, or was it helped along toward destruction because of something else. Still wondering why it sprayed more fuel when i had the tank cap closed then when it was open. Venting issue comes to mind, so I’ll check for that, but even then why would it behave like that?

Crank case now vented properly. And she’s all buttoned up, TPS set, CO trim good, valves & plugs, good, TB’s themselves were a mess inside (another reason to not use pods), and last thing left is TBS. Alas… key on, fuel pump gives reassuring whirring sound, but then i notice fuel spraying from positive electrical connection point on the pump. Hmm. Repeat action, same result. Thinking its maybe ricochet from elsewhere, but confirmed its from the positive terminal spot. Only sprays while the pump is running, and its cycling off properly after initial prime. Open the fuel cap on top, and the fuel geyser when pump is on goes from an aggressive spray down to a tiny dribble. So that means tank venting seems logically suspect. Tank was painted, so maybe something got messed up with paint, or my tank vent lines i messed up when installing (unlikely, as thats pretty simple, but I’m certainly not immune from doing the occasional stupid/oops). Or it’s just a bad pump, and all will be well when i replace the pump. Pump runs great, so it’s a bummer, but combo of age, ethanol fuel, and having been sitting for a couple years up on the rack in the shop…. Who knows. Thinking I’ll just order the pump, unless anyone has any other wise thoughts.

audiomick and lagrasta, all sounds good. I saw some of those threads, where folks talked about a lot of oil coming from the breather/system, and some saying that wasn't the case for them, but those seemed to all be in regard to the actual case vent (hose). On this greenie the breather hose is in place and looks intact, the infamous one that is prone to failure (crack/leak), as is the return line which goes down to the oil pan, so the essentials are in place. Hard to imagine not letting it "breath" from the 3rd, top-most hose would be an issue, but thats what i'm noodling....

had a little time to do some reassembly on Greenie last weekend, after have her bits laid on shelves for last couple years. All good, except the top, forward frame vent hose (just behind good neck, no top, front of tank) I see is just capped with a bolt. PO removed the airbox and installed pods, which i'm leaving alone for now (for various reasons), so that hose that would terminate at the airbox is now plugged. Question is whether plugging it is ok. I got the bike that way from PO, but a lot of stuff wasn't right on the bike, and I'd think thats the case here. I'd think that would need to vent, so i'll look into best way to do that, but thoughts on that? Hose 16 on web sourced diagram from a spine frame of some sort...

Touché… makes sense. My German is only just slightly better than “zero” so I’d not catch those details for words that aren’t related to food, hotel rooms, or beer. And for any that might wonder, that file photo shown, which several sites use of the nut makes it look like it’s used, but the real product does in fact look new.

Lucky phil suggested checking with Stein Dinse, which is what I did. Found another source or two at similar prices. Looks like I paid 18 euros for the little bugger, but then a bunch more to ship it. mine, as shown in earlier pics in this thread, was in ugly shape. here’s a screen shot of my order. They use the term “screw fork”, which seems obscure. I think steering head nut was the term I used to find it from other sites. and as phil points out, it’s not chrome, it’s a stainless finish, which is different than stock but much preferred in my opinion.

Agreed….I used the scotchbrite for most of the cleanup originally, but had the 600 out at the end to quickly address a bit of orange-peel in one area. I got a little carried away with it, assuming the 600 wouldn’t actually have much “cut”, but misjudged a bit. Also took the opportunity to pull flyscreen off and hit the un-finished backside with some satin black. I’ll sleep better at night now…

Decided for now to strip it then clear coat the aluminum (cast) piece, as I wasn’t loving the idea of layers of primer and paint, and all the exposed transition edges. So far it’s looking ok, way better than the damaged aluminum-colored paint that I got it with, but will be easy to pull and do again if I don’t like how it looks on the bike. Got a little carried away with the 600 grit in a couple spots, and didn’t want to buff it any more and get it any shinier, as too much shine is what will make it not look right on the bike. We’ll see. And Stein Dinse delivered the new stainless nut today. So re-assembly can commence this weekend, and maybe get ‘er runnin finally, soon.

Looks like audiomick and others have thoughts on where u might go. I enjoyed visiting Melbourne, wouldn’t mind going back especially this time of year, but as an Oregonian I don’t know any guzzi techs over there :-> I could however recommend some good wine tasting places in McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley, which is only 8hrs away 😉 The “decent tuneup” from docc is key, even for those who have and use tech shops near them, where they may have techs do some things their own way that may not be ideal. I can say with confidence that it ain’t the shop, it’s the individual doing the work that matters. (Not that you can’t have the right person overseeing someone else’s work, but you get the idea). The “laptop magic” I’m referring to would be part of the tune up, and could address things that are part of your fuel burn issue, but unlikely to be any kind of silver bullet. In broader terms however, the “computer magic” pertaining more to your ecu map and exhaust configuration may be a hot lead. Don’t need a dyno for that, but do need to know if your bike is chipped or re-mapped (and the laptop can show the map)

Excellent. Even minor misery loves a little company :->. We’ll stay ever vigilant for the elusive fix for the some-times naughty behavior. And it provides the appropriate excuse to always have more than one motorcycle!