I think I have one of THOSE bikes

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:30 am

In that it's bent on it's own destruction or mine. I put new pipes and mufflers on last week, the bolts break off the muffler mounts and I lose my brackets. Make new ones, use grade 8 bolts, all better. The next ride, front MC jams up. Make temporary fix. MLP shows up, talks me into going for a spin and the kill switch unplugs itself at 90 mph. Okay, fine. Proceed. Several miles later, the mirror disintegrates and comes off in my hand. I find it works better if I sit on it and hold it up to use it anyway.
Alright, get to MLP's house and he gives me an old mirror from his spares stock. Then he parks his newly running Hodaka too close to the black bike and it won't start. Alright, maybe the plugs were fouled but I think my bike has a sphere of dark influence.
So yesterday, on a trip to the grocery store and back I notice one exhaust clamp has come loose and the muffler is kind of wobbling around. There's no way it can actually come off, so I keep going.
Then, suddenly I'm running on one cylinder in rush hour traffic and the bike just stops running.
Suspecting that the spark plug lead has come off the coil for the umpteenth time, I lift up the seat to find that the part that plugs into the coil has broken off and fallen away somewhere. So I cut off the end of the boot and jam the connector into the coil and go home.

Anyone else have things like this happen, like one after another after another and so on? It seems like my bike has to have something wrong with it, even if it's small, once it's out of the driveway. Sometimes it won't even wait that long. Seriously, I mean--how common is it? Is it that motorcycles are just unreliable on a fairly consistent level?

Bigshankhank · Post by **Bigshankhank** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:49 am

There is a movie called "Gichi Manitou" or something, it was an old cheesy horror movie centered ln the premise that machines have a spirit in the Native American theology much like birds and streams and shit. But in the case or machines, having been built and thus forced to exist that spirit is often evil. My first bike had an evil spirit, like yours it would break in some meaningful way literally every time I rode it. Would a full rebuild exorcise that spirit? I don't know, but at some point you need to cut your losses and get something more reliable. Otherwise you'll keep fixing it one broken part at a time until you either get hurt due to a breakdown, or get so frustrated you'll stop riding because it won't be run anymore. Good luck.

dozer · Post by **dozer** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:53 am

you need a suzuki bandit 1200

rolly · Post by **rolly** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:27 am

Is it British?

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:31 am

It's so British if it had teeth they'd be crooked and rotten.

My Little Pony · Post by **My Little Pony** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:45 pm

And big ears.

My Little Pony · Post by **My Little Pony** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 3:59 pm

Holy shit, I just found your bike on CL. Whoa!

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 5:14 pm

Yeah, I wasn't kidding. I'll give you a good deal...!

guitargeek · Post by **guitargeek** » Sat Sep 11, 2010 7:52 pm

You might want to modernize, step up to the Hinckley version...

Sisyphus · Post by **Sisyphus** » Sun Sep 12, 2010 3:56 am

I'm shopping around. I've narrowed it down to a few things. I have to unload this first, though. Epilogue: As soon as I listed it it's developed an intermittent pop from the exhaust. Now looking for air leaks/rich condition at low throttle opening.

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I think I have one of THOSE bikes

I think I have one of THOSE bikes