johamilt

Thanks, Jason and Roberto, for the advice! I'll clean off the battery and check my connections first to see if that's not the problem and save cleaning the solenoid for later. joshua

Roberto, I think I might be experiencing something similar to what you're describing. After waiting for the fuel injection whir, I press the starter button and sometimes the engine seems to kick partway, then get stuck; sometimes just a pained click and moan that I'm guessing is the starter motor. Is there a thread that describes how to clean the solenoid, or might you be able to describe it a bit? thanks a million, joshua

Thanks very much, Lex, for such a complete and detailed response! I have a much better idea of what to listen/look out for when choosing my gas. Since winter riding here in Indiana is fast approaching, I think I will try a lower octane--with caution, since my risk adversity lies somewhere between the delicious, sharp corners of a country road and an instructor's bread-crumb stipend. jh

I think I'm getting the lower-end figures for my 2002 scura (stock): about 25 mpg in-town and 40 mpg on the highway @ 3000 miles on odometer. However, I'm a grad student and ride to school daily in extremely stop-and-goish traffic, keeping rpms around 2-3,000 most of the time My question for this forum, though, is how much the octane figure affects the engine/mpg. I use 90+ octane, but with prices soaring, the lower octanes look tempting (did I mention being a grad student?). I haven't seen but one reference (someone said they used 89 octane) to octane figures. Does lower octane create greater engine wear? chau!

Thanks for the comments al, I've looked through some of the threads on tank suck and will try out that fix, as well as inspect the overflow hose. The previous discussions on tank problems you contributed to were very clear and helpful, it sounds like you know the "ins" and "outs" of the MG tank again, thanks a bunch johamilt

I have a question for those of you who have worked with gas tank problems: I ride a 2002 scura, and when I top off the tank, go home, then park it in the sun, gas begins to drip then just plain spill from under the tank onto the cylinder head. I don't know if this is related to vapor lock or tank suck or whether I have a cracked overflow hose, but I'm not the most experienced gearhead and I wanted to ask before fiddling with the tank. I can tell you that the tank does get pressurized with temperature changes (in cool temperatures, air sucks in when opening the gascap, in hot temperatures it is expelled). Also, when the tank is down about a gallon, I don't have this gas dripping problem. Any ideas or experience with such a problem? Thanks a million, johamilt