"I pulled you over for Speeding. Do you have any idea how fast you were going?"

Regardless of what you ride, even if you don't ride at all, EVERYONE is welcome here.

Mr. Motorcycle


I am

My photo
I live at 1 Frozen place in, Minnesota, United States
My real name is Mark. For many years now my wife has called me Mr. Motorcycle. When I started my Blog I was looking for a catchy blog name, so I went with it. I'm happily married and I'm also a father of 6 children. I have two human offspring, one dog, two cats and one custom Harley. I believe that makes 6 children. When I'm not doing my real full time job, or going for a ride, I like to do art, custom paint jobs, and of course BLOG. If you would like to contact me, my e-mail address is phonetically spelled for avoiding spammers. (I actually do use the number 1 in the beginning.) 1mrmotorcycleATgmailDOTcom

*****This is my Bliss*****

*****This is my Bliss*****
Depending on your settings, Click, or Double Click on the image for full size photo.
The photo above is my ride :
"Kenny" started life as a stock '97, 883 Sportster. It's been a work in progress since the day I bought it many years ago. Its mostly custom with a built, "slightly juiced up" 1200 motor.
The Metal Fabrication, bodywork and custom paint was done by me.

How the Hell did I come up with a name like Kenny for my bike you ask?...... Most people who name their rides, go with chick names. I of course had to be different. I think bikes look tough, cool and masculine; not feminine. Plus, my father "Ken" has helped make me who I am today. Therefore with a little twist on the name, my bike was named "Kenny".

KUSTUM PAINT

KUSTUM PAINT
Come check out my custom paint! Click on the logo above to go to my custom paint blog.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Bad motorcycle! Go to your trailer!



On Saturday from 10:30 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, I spent power washing my deck, in preparation to sand and re-stain. It was actually a lot of work. I rewarded myself with a trip to the liquor store, bought a case of beer, and came home. Savored a beer, and decided I should also reward myself with a nice long bike ride. So off I went. I rode for a good while, letting the stresses of the day blow off of me in the wind on a nice long winding back road that I like to ride. I stopped for gas, got on the bike, turned the key, and nothing. No lights, no click, no starter, no nothing. This is a good way to ruin a ride. I've had problems with the starter a bit before when it's hot, but always seems to work on a second try. This was not the starter. Like I said, no nothing, not even a click. I checked my battery terminal connections, etc., and all were tight. I got ahold of my mechanic via cell phone, and explained the situation. He said, he's seen this happen 3-4 times on Sportys in the last 10 years. He said it sounds like my positive cable has a short. He said if I can find the pigtail coming off of it and isolate it, I might be able to bypass and jump it. Me not being a mechanic, which is why I called him in the first place, really did not understand exactly what he was saying. I caught him with almost no battery life left on his cell phone so he could not talk long either. He was out, so cell was his only way to talk. I said I've got no tools with me to do squat. I was lucky to use my key to get the back screw off to get my seat off to access the cables. I believe the next thing I heard was "Hmmm, Your fucked. Get a tow, or a trailer."

So begins Kenny's punishment. He Shall be banished to a trailer for not starting. I called my wife, (God, I hate when I have to do that), who does not drive with a trailer, and kindly asked her to pick me up. She couldn't get the heavy trailer out of the shed and hooked up so I'd have to backtrack. She drove all the way out to where I was and picked me up. I drove home with her, then drove back with the trailer and picked up the bike and headed home again. It was dark by the time I finally arrived back home with Kenny in tow on my trailer. I had a beer, showered, and hit the sack. It was a long shitty day.

Update. Yesterday morning, I was up bright and early. I'm up to my elbows doing surgery on Kenny, when My wife finds me in the garage working, and say's "I thought you were going to help me today." (I did say I would). We had lot's of things to do for preparation for going to her sister's house for Father's day.

Prior to my wife reminding me that I had other commitments, I was able to test the battery. It had 12.53 volts, so the battery was clearly not the problem. My mechanic, Stormy might just be right on this one . The battery is now out of the bike. This was the last I've done on it.
Kenny's still in solitary confinement on his trailer.
Naughty bike.

P.S.
If any of you gear heads have any ideas on why he is misbehaving, I'll gladly take advise. I am for once, going to try to fix this one on my own. I do still have to check the positive cable though. That won't happen till tonight (maybe).

17 comments:

Baron's Life said...

no click...could be the starter, or starter cable
I din't think the battery cable is shorted, it would have drained your battery overnight

Dean "D-Day" said...

I'm definitely no mechanic but any time I've encountered a problem like that, it's been a cable (usually the ground cable). Make sure all battery cables are CLEAN and TIGHT.

Come on Willy and Big D, this one should be child's play for you guys.

Anonymous said...

Having your mechanic on speed dial might just be a sign of a deeper problem..... I'm just sayin'

~The Wife

fasthair said...

Mr. M: I'll take a shot at it. Can you hold your monitor up next to Kenny so I can get a closer look? :)

All kidding a side. 12.53 volts is a red flag to me. I'll bet it was even lower before Kenny set all night and gave the battery a chance to recover a bit on it's own. Did you try to start it again in the morning before you tore him a part? If so what happen?

While the cables must be checked I've got to wonder about the circuit breaker on this one. No power anywhere is why I say this if it not a loose or bad cable. Once you do get it started a charging system check is in order just to make sure it is working like it should.

If you want shot me an email with your cell number and I can call you and see if we can't get it sorted out. This shouldn't be all that hard to figure out.

Mrs. Wife... hahaha... funny lady!!! You're lucky you're married to Mr. M. because if that was me with a bike on a trailer you would have been going to Fathers Day events alone... I'm just saying... :)

fasthair

Danny said...

It might be stupid to ask but are you sure about that battery? I had some issues earlier this year. Checked everything, replaced a few things and still wouldn't start. Turns out battery store gave me two bad batteries after my old one died. When I gave up and took it to the shop all they did was replace the battery. No problems since.

Ann said...

I will have Big D comment on this, but in my experience, it's usually the battery itself. We had all kinds of issues with our bike, and couldn't figure out what was going on...we replaced the battery, and all was well. How old is your battery?

And WillyD is on the road back to Cali this morning, so he probably won't comment on this for another day or two.

Dean "D-Day" said...

Yes, the battery is a pretty good bet but 12.53 is not that bad. If your battery is 3 years or older, pitch it and get a new one. I get a new battery every couple years as a matter of "preventative maintenance" and don't have the "no start" issues any more.

GYMONR said...

My advice would be to use this to your advantage...mention to your wife had she let you buy the other bike you wanted a few post back this would have never happen and you would have more time to spend on HER projects…you never know it might work. Ha-ha.
Big Al

mq01 said...

LOL big al... :) ..could work..
my sporty did this to me, but only once. and it fired right up when she cooled off. im interested in hearing what you figure out...

Big Daddy said...

Under the seat on the rear fender Are 4 relays.
Take a test light and check for continuity.
[attach ground to frame, them the tester to the post. if the test lead lights up on one side..it should on the other]
Cheap replacement if ones out..and easy to do if you take your time.
buy all 4 and repalace if one is bad, [One is higher amp rated then the other three] Cheap insurance.
BTW the battery sounds fine.
if still unsure about it..have it load tested.

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Baron's Life,
It's not the starter, or starter cable, because I don't even have lights. Possibly ignition wiring?

Dean "D-Day",
I already made sure all battery cables are CLEAN and TIGHT. No go.

To my wife,
Having your mechanic on speed dial... Welcome to motorcycling.

Fasthair,

I tried to start it again in the morning before I tore him a part. No changes.

I'll get in touch with you.

Danny,
The battery is only two years old. Will check it as last resort. Have not had problems with it in the past.

Ann,
See above comment to Danny. Will check battery out too.

Dean "D-Day", I might just look into it.

GYMONR,
Tried it. Didn't work. It's not that She doesn't wan't me to have the Street Glide, We can't afford it now. Even If I sold my bike, I'd still need a loan for the Glide. My bike has been paid for for years.

mq01,
I was hoping cooling off would be all it took, but unfortunately, this was not the case.
I'll definitely post what I figure out.

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Big D.,
Thanks. I'm going to try this.

RazorsEdge2112 said...

Wow, some good suggestions. I recently saw some messages on the XL e-mail list about a fellow who had problems with the ground cable where it connects to the engine casing. Just something that came to mind.

But, hey. At least you have beer. :-D

Mr. Motorcycle said...

Razors Edge 2112,
Thanks for chiming in. I appreciate comments from folks who don't usually leave there here.
Before I disconnected the battery, When I tested the voltage, It was from a ground poimton the case of the motor that I checked as my negative contact, so I know the ground was good.

IHG said...

Wow...I learned a lot just reading everyones posts on your problem! Sorry that Kenny is having issues! Hope he gets let out of his grounding very soon. Having to sit in a trailer has to be sad, sad, sad!

Lady R (Di) said...

I'm like Stephanie... I've learned something here, but I have nothing to contribute. Other than I can chime in and say.."Bad Kenny! Go to your trailer and stay there till you decide to run right!"

Maybe his feelings got hurt because he overheard you talking about a nice big touring bike. ;(

Hope your on the road again soon!

Mr. Motorcycle said...

IHG,
sad, sad, sad! You summed it up perfectly.

Lady R,
Regarding: "Maybe his feelings got hurt because he overheard you talking about a nice big touring bike." And I thought I was jinxed, because I wore the same pair of jeans I crashed in.