The Joy of Motorcycling
Nov. 28th, 2003 05:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lprovenThis is my first day in this week - daytime or evening. Monday and Tuesday I've been helping a client, seduced by the elegance of a PowerBook Titanium G4 1GHz, to Switch. She seems to like it so far. Tuesday was fighting recalcitrant CD writers and punting for a new client. Thursday fettling ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tamaranth's PC, upgrading its hard disks from 4GB+750MB to 13GB+4GB. She's now got about 75% free space which should do her for a little while. If anyone has a spare ATX motherboard + CPU going free which will accept PC100 DRAM and is pokier than an AMD K6/233, though, she'd appreciate it.
This was followed by a trip to see Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Tanya,ladymoonray and drplokta. A fine film which I enjoyed hugely. Perhaps I shall try reading some Patrick Russ O'Brian after all.
So, today, after making some phonecalls etc., I thought I'd go shopping.
By bike, since I've got a load of recycling to take and need a fair bit of stuff.
Oh, no.
Trike: still dead with unidentified engine problems, post trip back from Sheffield. Scratch that one.
Miniscule cycle (the H100): some little toerag has nicked the cap off the end of the HT lead. Again. That's the 2nd time. At least I only had half a dozen goes at kicking it over this time. [Sigh]
Outfit: this failed to start a few weeks back when I tried to givemolesworth a lift to the Tube. I had a more concerted attempt this time. Firstly, Clarke's JumpStart supplementary battery pack attached. Turns over happily, but not even a whisper of it catching, which it at least did last time. After 5min of this, plus a breather for the carbs to clear, I try again. Nothing.
After a few more minutes, I recall a can of Holt's ColdStart in the garage. There are no handy ram-air intakes on a BMW R80/7 to spray it into, but since the battery's been recently moved into the sidecar boot¹ I can spray into the airholes on the filter housing.
And vroom! She's alive. For about a second, 'til the ether runs out. (ColdStart spray is basically diethyl ether, CH3CH2OCH2CH3, also known as ethoxyethane.) Then she dies.
I'm at a loss. There's fuel in the tank. The tap is on, but reserve makes no difference. The battery is weak but has charge. She turns over freely and runs fine on the spray. I can hear the carbs sucking away. Maybe fuel isn't getting through from tank to engine somehow? It's beyond my ken.
I really do hate all this. I just want to press a button and go. Perhaps it's time I got a car, likedrpete. Need a license, though. Maybe it's time I accepted khaylock's offer of an informal residential driving course in Carmarthen.
¹ Firstly, as batteries for R80/7s are hard to get now and expensive when you do. Secondly, with a chair on, the recommended method of replacement - up on the centre stand, undo the rear subframe, drop the back wheel down, lift out battery backwards - is impossible. So I have to detach the carbs, remove the air filter housing and filter, remove the battery out the space thus freed, charge or replace it, then reverse the procedure - conservatively, a 45min job each way that removes all the skin from all my knuckles and a year off my life expectancy due to stress every time. ++Unfun. Thirdly, as she's old and a poor starter these days and a car battery in the boot delivers a lot more oomph for about ¼ of the price.
tamaranth's PC, upgrading its hard disks from 4GB+750MB to 13GB+4GB. She's now got about 75% free space which should do her for a little while. If anyone has a spare ATX motherboard + CPU going free which will accept PC100 DRAM and is pokier than an AMD K6/233, though, she'd appreciate it.This was followed by a trip to see Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World with Tanya,
ladymoonray and drplokta. A fine film which I enjoyed hugely. Perhaps I shall try reading some Patrick So, today, after making some phonecalls etc., I thought I'd go shopping.
By bike, since I've got a load of recycling to take and need a fair bit of stuff.
Oh, no.
Trike: still dead with unidentified engine problems, post trip back from Sheffield. Scratch that one.
Miniscule cycle (the H100): some little toerag has nicked the cap off the end of the HT lead. Again. That's the 2nd time. At least I only had half a dozen goes at kicking it over this time. [Sigh]
Outfit: this failed to start a few weeks back when I tried to give
molesworth a lift to the Tube. I had a more concerted attempt this time. Firstly, Clarke's JumpStart supplementary battery pack attached. Turns over happily, but not even a whisper of it catching, which it at least did last time. After 5min of this, plus a breather for the carbs to clear, I try again. Nothing.After a few more minutes, I recall a can of Holt's ColdStart in the garage. There are no handy ram-air intakes on a BMW R80/7 to spray it into, but since the battery's been recently moved into the sidecar boot¹ I can spray into the airholes on the filter housing.
And vroom! She's alive. For about a second, 'til the ether runs out. (ColdStart spray is basically diethyl ether, CH3CH2OCH2CH3, also known as ethoxyethane.) Then she dies.
I'm at a loss. There's fuel in the tank. The tap is on, but reserve makes no difference. The battery is weak but has charge. She turns over freely and runs fine on the spray. I can hear the carbs sucking away. Maybe fuel isn't getting through from tank to engine somehow? It's beyond my ken.
I really do hate all this. I just want to press a button and go. Perhaps it's time I got a car, like
drpete. Need a license, though. Maybe it's time I accepted khaylock's offer of an informal residential driving course in Carmarthen.¹ Firstly, as batteries for R80/7s are hard to get now and expensive when you do. Secondly, with a chair on, the recommended method of replacement - up on the centre stand, undo the rear subframe, drop the back wheel down, lift out battery backwards - is impossible. So I have to detach the carbs, remove the air filter housing and filter, remove the battery out the space thus freed, charge or replace it, then reverse the procedure - conservatively, a 45min job each way that removes all the skin from all my knuckles and a year off my life expectancy due to stress every time. ++Unfun. Thirdly, as she's old and a poor starter these days and a car battery in the boot delivers a lot more oomph for about ¼ of the price.
