MT Riders Club

Not literally but definitely figuratively
Mot time for both little Honda and mt so to save multiple journeys bunged them in the van.only job to do on mt was wind in the front brake adjuster to harden up front brake.mot man hates it when lotsa movement on front brake lever so I put on one off a beta trials bike. Instead of lock nut it’s got a knurled nut with a big strong spring underneath it to stop it moving on its own accord.I trail brake all the time so hard lever seriously annoying.once mot,d just twirl knob and normal service resumed both passed( he has tried to buy the mt off me a couple of times so loves it .it really makes a lot of noise but he didn’t,t question it but the little Honda, which is way quieter got a monitor and repair warning of course I decided it’s not necessary! Anyway got home and jumped on mt to go visit someone and it just had a hissy fit,having been behaving perfectly for mot etc,coughing,spitting back and a struggle to keep running.popped bottom of carb and seemed to have fuel,cambelt fine ,scratch head time,have cup of tea and it fired up as normal so off I went- well it lasted 1/2 mile and cough bang splutter and dead. About the only tools I ever carry is plug spanner and couple of plugs so changed plug in desperation and it fired up again.got nearly home and dead again.now walking is not high on my list of pleasureable hobbies but it would not start again.luckily friend passing and gave me lift home.so van time and back in my shed.pulled the carb off( mikuni tm-2 34) and clean as a whistle. Turned fuel tank tap on and seemed to flow ok but on reserve nothing came out! Why does things like this only happen when the tank is brim full drained into 25 litre drum and took off the fuel tap- my tank metal large one I put on when I bought it.it’s gleaming bright zinc inside with a new tap put on at the time as old tap lost its metal filter and the little pipe so in effect no reserve.tap came off no problem but left the plastic filter behind.really hard work to get the filter out without destroying it cos packed all over by funny red stuff.paint!I was scratching my head for a minute- like how did bits of flaky paint get in my tank- when the penny dropped.the local garage isn’t,t that local and in a direction I rarely need to go in so every time I fill up my Land Rover I fill either a 10 or20 l Jerry can( depends on who on till cos an ex cop works there and will not let you fill up 20l jerrycans).well lotsajerry cans have red paint inside and one or both cans slowly sabotaging my bikes.I,ve now got to sort my bantam,t160,and the little Honda,s tanks as all will have red paint in them cos they normally get filled from them. Fuel filtered and back in bike and normal service resumed except that it now effortlessly tick over and needs hardly any choke.before choke needed for about a mile a good tick over not possible until bike properly hot and even then could not be relied upon.took it out to play on a little used road right up on top of the wold.single track,good tarmac,starts with a hairpin bend out of a wee valley,up a short slope and onto a 1.5 mile long straight.it’s a bit bumpy but no hedges or junctions and perfect visibility .came out of the hairpin in first ,into second up the short slope aaand changed into third at the crest with about 6000rrpm on the clock- well the front wheel just decided to stay airborne until I hit about 9300 on the rev counter- it’s never done that before- and continued down straight where it effortless hit 100ish- needle pointing at r in Harley about the ton but can,t remember what gearing i,m running at moment.
I,m told one gets wiser the older on gets- well I,m pretty ancient and still manage to act like a brainless muppet and sabotage my own bikes
Fergus

Not mt but...
.learned this few years ago....lawnmower packed up and offs i go to the guy thats fixes them,, cpl days later back to collect he gives me rollucking....lol....stop filling that up with 2stroke( he knows its always in my van....lol) i protested i hadnt after he fixed it previously when i had used to much 2 stroke....lol....
back and forth we went much fwords and laughter.....but i knew for a change i hadnt...... but he had proof....a red gauze filter!!!!.....
then like yourself it dawned on me.....petrol lifting the paint from the jerry can.....id filled 20lts thinking id save time over the summer cause the petrol garage is oh....about a mile down the road.....lol never stored petrol since in a metal jerry can!!

Had both Jerry cans a long long time but presume it’s the ethanol in the petrol that’s eating the paint quietly.
Fergus

That makes for a nice read. . I don’t think you need any of Minters power conversions if she will do 3rd gear power wheelies! Take it easy. Nige.

not really a power wheelie- just accidentally perfect timing with the slope levelling as I dropped it into third with the throttle pinned back against the stop and probably I did it clutchless as well.tend not to use it when trying hard.I,m not really a wheelie fan- having spent lotsa hours on racetracks the front wheel in the air is just a nuisance and normally slows you down but my mt will power wheelie pretty easily in first and sometimes at gear change to second the front wheel just floats up if trying hard up hill.nothing high or silly- maybe a foot or so off the ground till lt crashes back down when it remembers it not actually a lightweight little racer but more like a Sherman tank on two wheels
Fergus

Thank you for an entertaining tale. I will stick with my plastic 5 litre fuel can and ditch the metal one in future

I too will stick to plastic- dug around in shed and found what I was looking for- rapid fill dump tank. Not technically mine but been in my possession for about 10 years and probably no longer acu approved for use in pit lane so true owner won’t want it back.you do get funny looks filling it at petrol station but tops a tank off nd never spills a drop. My Mrs saw it and went on red alert that I was going seriously playing( still got acu race ticket) but think my explanation was believed but totally sure if I dug out my one piece leathers she would go berserka
Fergus

Remember the army filled them from gerry cans on exercise and even more so from gerry cans within units as many petrol pumps on camps were decommissioned or changed to Diesel!

Minter wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 14, 2023 7:15 pm

Remember the army filled them from gerry cans on exercise and even more so from gerry cans within units as many petrol pumps on camps were decommissioned or changed to Diesel!

I first started driving Saladin in 1972. We did have a fuel point on our camp but it took a long time to fill up the whole squadron, a Saladin tank was about 50 gallons from memory.

On exercise we used jerry cans and a funnel which had a flip down filter. The idea was to drive up alongside a Bedford and tell them how many cans you needed , then drive a short distance away, fuel up as quickly as possible then scoot. It was a most dangerous time, not only were we sloshing petrol into a large funnel just to one side of a hot engine, we couldn't defend ourselves if attacked.

Theoretically we were supposed to use the flip down filter in the funnel but that reduced the rate of flow so we flipped the filter up out of the way to get petrol in as fast as possible. Replens were done both day and night. After we'd refuelled, it was a case a dispersing far and wide.

The the Bedford driver then had to collect the empty/ half empty/ never used cans and take them to be re-filled. I can't ever remember a vehicle having a blocked carburettor but fuel cans weren't left empty so rust wasn't a problem.