# The Great Ongoing Motorcycle Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 8, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279 "2023-10-08T17:12:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/221 "2024-06-25T04:21:35Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > And doubtless quite a tale hangs from the raised eyebrow of your emoji. Well, kinda. But not the one you expect. I’ve never run out of gas. But when I was a salesman, I sold a bike to a guy (who was obviously a somewhat experienced rider, we did a test ride and all that) who came back to the dealer after a day or so, and was kinda pissed that his bike kept running out of gas… All the time! He was putting in a half gallon at a time, or something, and would run out shortly, but hearing gas slosh around in the tank. He thought there was something wrong with the bike. I explained the reserve tank function on the petcock and how it worked, and he was cool, and I never saw him again. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/222 "2024-06-25T04:35:22Z")
That reminds me of when I was tricked into buying my brand-new, previous year-model YZF-R1. The salesman told me about a guy who bought a bran-new Honda Gold ~~Winnebago~~ wing. (Must have been at another dealership, as the one where I bought the R1 sold Yamahas and Aprilias.) The guy rode to the street and stopped to check for traffic… and forgot to put his foot/feet down. Motorcycles tend not to remain upright at a standstill without a third point of contact. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2024, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/223 "2024-06-25T05:18:43Z")
Don’t want to Shit the Bed here, but some of the biggest regrets from my time in the motorcycle Biz was hearing about the deaths of two people I personally put on the road. One other person came into the dealer all beat the fuck up, getting parts, after an accident. That one was hard, because I kinda knew that person should never have bought a motorcycle, but what can you do? They would have bought it from my scumbag coworker. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/224 "2024-06-26T22:43:06Z")
I ordered a cylinder block from a seller in Lithuania, and the package just arrived from the shipping point in Poland. Oh, boy! 🙂 I opened the box and removed the several thick layers of protective wrapping. There was my… cylinder _head?_😲 Yep, it’s a cylinder head all right, complete with valves and camshafts. Just before starting this post, I used Contact the Seller on eBay to let the seller know of the situation, and asked how we can resolve it. In actuality, a ‘new’ head is probably not a bad thing to have. But I really need the jugs. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/225 "2024-06-27T15:31:37Z")
I heard back from the seller: > Sorry for inconvenience. Our warehouse mistake I asked about returning the incorrect part, and he answered: > Keep this part it is not worth sending to europe. It cost us 120€ (17kg) to send it to you. Cylinder block shipping 70€ (6.5kg). Expensive fault 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/226 "2024-06-27T16:07:01Z")
Hooray for a good resolution to an oops that wasn’t your fault. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/227 "2024-06-27T16:16:47Z")
I hope I don’t need a new head; or, if I do, that this salvaged one will work. There’s a NOS cylinder head for a kilobuck from someone in Texas. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/228 "2024-06-27T16:23:25Z")
Your wife must be a Saint. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/229 "2024-06-27T16:30:29Z")
She doesn’t know about the engine parts. 😉 The jugs, including shipping from Poland ($80) and sales tax were $191. So not too bad. If I hadn’t passed on the NOS cylinder block ($750), then a NOS head might have been warranted. (But _way_ out of line for this bike.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/230 "2024-06-27T16:37:16Z")
“NOS” in this context is? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/231 "2024-06-27T16:38:04Z")
**N** ew **O** ld **S** tock. i.e., it’s an old part that is brand-new. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/232 "2024-06-27T19:13:07Z")
I did the opposite: pushed my bike for half a mile before remembering what that switch under the tank did. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/233 "2024-06-27T19:13:54Z")
That new head gun I bought at Harbor Freight was a double-sawbuck well-spent. The cowling had four (painted-over) graphics on it, one on each side, and two on the front. The heat gun is _much_ hotter than my wife’s hair dryer, and it allowed me to peel the graphics off – even without sanding off the paint around the edges – in minutes. My epoxy repair to the crack in the cowling sanded down well. I’m waiting for the epoxy-filling experiment in the crack (caused by my chain breaking in the '90s) in the sacrificial side fairing to cure. ‘Cures in an hour.’ Yeah, right. I’d _like_ to get right into sanding, but it’s a quarter past noon, and I should probably have lunch first. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2024, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/234 "2024-06-28T00:02:21Z")
Back in my desert racin’ days, it wasn’t uncommon after the Bomb to have a few riders blaze out ahead of me, only to hear them quickly die and grind to a halt. _My_ bike had the **“Turn the Gas On, Dummy!”** sticker in plain view. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/235 "2024-06-30T02:20:49Z")
I tested the paint on the sacrificial (damaged) fairing. After prepping the whole fairing, I used Rust-Oleum automotive primer on about a third of it yesterday. I sanded it with 1,500 grit paper today, and tried the OEM paint. Good news! The paint didn’t attack the primer (or vice versa), so I can use the inexpensive primer instead of the special primer from Color Rite. I put down two base coats, followed by three colour coats, followed by two clear coats. I’m very happy with the smoothness of the finish. But… 1. The colour is just a bit lighter than the OEM side fairings. It’s just slightly lighter than the OEM fuel tank. It should be acceptable though. 2. I’m not seeing the ‘pearlescence’ that gives the ‘reddish’ (in certain light) of the Reddish Yellow Cocktail original paint. I wonder if I should have used fewer colour coats? I assume the base coat is where the ‘pearlescence’ comes from. I’ll have to call Color Rite’s technical person on Monday or Tuesday. Anyone have any experience with this? I still have ⅔ of the damaged side fairing for experimentation. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/236 "2024-06-30T04:19:08Z")
I’m not a paint expert, but I highly doubt anybody can replicate that stock Yamaha look. That was one of the best-looking colors they ever came up with in my opinion. Yellow from one side, Cherry from the other. It was sublime. Of course I’m wrong. A Pro can make it perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/237 "2024-06-30T04:40:20Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > A Pro can make it perfect. It may come down to timing. The shop I go to can’t strip the frame for painting until Winter. I don’t have a paint shed. I could move the MGB and the R1 out of the canopy garage for a couple of days, but the only way I have to heat it is with a tank-top propane heater. I’m not too keen on spraying paint in an enclosed space with a propane heater on. So I’d have to take the frame to a paint shop. If I have to take the frame to a shop, then I may as well have the cowling repainted. But I’ll see how I can do on my own for now. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2024, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/238 "2024-06-30T04:44:38Z")
I have Full Faith and Confidence in You. I’ll buy you a beer anytime! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2024, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/239 "2024-07-01T02:02:54Z")
I took another look at the test panel. I _do_ see the pearlescence. I’m still going to try another test, using fewer colour coats. Would’ve done today, but my wife made me go to her church. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2024, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279/240 "2024-07-02T20:59:02Z")
Another box from Poland today… this time with the correct part (cylinder block). I have approximately _zero_ experience to tell if it’s any good. It’s clean though, and the bores look smooth. Maybe I’ll run it down to the shop tomorrow so the mechanic can take a look. I’ll take the mistakenly-delivered cylinder head too, why not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-motorcycle-thread/991279.md?page=13)