There goes my weekend...

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I posted in another thread that I’ve bought a kayak. I was really, really hoping to take it out this long holiday weekend. But…

I may have mentioned elsewhere that the City ordered the building owners to make repairs on all of the units. My apartment needed the most work (earthquake damage from 1994, carpet that was worn out when I moved in, paint). I basically have to “move out” so the work can be done. I rented a storage unit and have been moving stuff into it over the past several weekends (I work all week and have a long commute, so weekends are the only time I can do anything). Last week they painted the living room, vanity, kitchen and bathroom. They want to paint my bedroom on Tuesday, then start on the carpet.

Now, it’s taken me 15 years to collect all of my stuff. It’s a big job moving it! Today I’ve been working on the (very large) bedroom closet. I’ve taken seven boxes of (very heavy) books to storage, plus eight “extra large” U-Haul boxes of other stuff. I have six “XL” boxes in the living room now, plus four more heavy boxes of books and two boxes of vinyl records and cassette tapes. There are some odd-sized boxes with framed pictures in them, and four plastic storage boxes. There are still a few boxes in the closet.

I’m beat! I’ve been at it since before 9 this morning. I guess I’ll try to move the stuff in the living room into storage today. Tomorrow I’ll have to think about the bedroom. I only have to move things away from the wall so they can paint. The living room needs to be cleared for the first half of the carpeting. Then I need to move the bedroom (full-size bed, dresser, utility shelves, movie cameras, a couple of small bookshelves and my A-7E ejection seat) into the living room so they can carpet my bedroom and closet.

So it’s a holiday weekend, and I’m working. Being a single guy whose close friends live out of state, I have to do it all myself. I’m not getting to paddle my new kayak. I’m tired and dirty. My place is a mess.

I’ll be very glad when all of this is over. When I transfer my stuff to storage in WA, I think I’ll hire a couple of guys to load the truck. I’m tired of it.

By the way, they raised the rent.

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Johnny, that sounds like an awful lot of work. And i thought my weekend was busy! I’m only sorry I can’t get a group of my guy friends together so they can go down there and help you. Hopefully, you’ll move everything without TOO much fuss, or wear and tear on yourself. Still, it sucks that you can’t do what you’d rather be doing. Let us know how things go… you might be done sooner than you think! :slight_smile:

F_X

3

geez, and here I was feeling sorry for myself because of the crap week I had (my pet bird escaped, a co-worker died from unknown causes, etc.) and my allergies are driving me nuts (running nose, slam-your-skull-into-a-wall-to-feel-better sinus pain, sore throat from mouth-breathing, itchy eyes, the occassional wheeze, new and exciting rashes, etc.) AND I have to cancel that long-weekend aviation extravaganza I had planned.

But moving is, in my mind, equally sucky.

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I would spend time here and commiserate, Johhny, but I’m on my way out to fire up the Yamaha for a sunny Sunday afternoon spin. See ya! :wink:

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Flamsterette_X: The good news is that when the storage unit is full, I’ll be halfway to being halfway moved! In a few of months I’ll get it up to Washington, then all I’ll need is to find a job up there! :slight_smile:

Broomstick: I hope you feel better. Being sick is one of the things I hate most.

Bastardo!

Here’s my MSNBC horoscope for today:

Now considering there are probably close to a half of a billion “Jiminees” around, the odds are against this being “my” horoscope. OTOH, I might be able to use it as a handy excuse to go paddling today! :wink:

6

Aahhh… nothing like zipping over a windy countryroad besides a meandering river at 130km/h!

Got in about 200 clicks today, not a bad ride at all.

[sub]The bitch still is hard to start, though. I’ve noticed that push-staring it in second gear helps to “clear it up”, and then it will start just fine - and run flawlessly. Spark plugs? Some clogged up filter? You tell me…[/sub]

Signed,
El Bastardo

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I took the kayak out for a couple of hours. Rather than hijack my own thread, I posted about it here.

Coldie: Do you have the starter circuit (Yamaha’s version of choke) on? Two clicks? My bike usually starts right up, but it’s a cold-blooded beast for the first mile or so.

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Mine has a regular pull-out choke. Must be a Euro thing. :slight_smile:

The starter engine revs, but the engine doesn’t “catch”. Then, I put it in second, run up and down the street for 200 meters or so, releasing the clutch every now and then. The engine audibly starts “catching on” then. Then I stop, and it starts. Another thing: with full choke out, it will idle at 800 RPM (which is below the standard 1200 RPM) for about 4 seconds, and then the choke seems to get hold, and the revs go to about 3000 on a full choke. Maybe I’m flooding it by applying too much choke, and I should try with half the choke out?

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You mean it has a cable choke? Or does it have a little knob on the left side below the fuel tank? I’ve always called it a choke, but someone told me that that’s not technically what it is. I’m pretty sure the manual calls it a “starter circuit” (nothing to do with electricity) and it enriches the fuel mixture like a choke.

When I pull the knob out to the second detent, I still have to work the throttle a little bit to get the bike started. Once it warms up a little the RPM will increase to 3,000. That’s when I go to the first detent. It could be that your idle is set too low, but I don’t know.

As you know, there are three things needed for an engine to run: fuel, air, and a spark. Since your bike runs eventually, I assume it’s getting fuel and air, and that your computer is operating correctly. If your engine cranks normally, then your battery is good. IANA mechanic (and I’m still on my first cuppa joe), but let me try to muddle through this…

The current goes through your battery and into your coil. The coil amplifies the current to make a spark at the spark plug. The spark jumps across the gap and ignites the fuel/air mixture. If your coil is bad, I would think that the bike would run poorly once it was started. Have you checked the plugs? They might have carbon deposits or other debris (“crud”) that is shorting the electrodes. They could be fouled by excessive oil. IIRC, the porcelain at the electode end should be a dry, light brown colour. If they are covered with oil, maybe you need a hotter plug? Does it start up immediately after it’s warmed up? If so, then maybe your plugs are too “cool” for easy starting but the warmer fuel/air mixture is still ignited by them after warming up the engine?

The XJ600, as I said, is cold-blooded. It shouldn’t be very difficult to start, but if I don’t ride mine for a few weeks (one carport space, two cars and a bike make it a “process” to get the bike out sometimes), then I’ll have to crank for quite a bit to get it running. Try this: Pull the “choke” out to the second detent. Try to start the engine without touching the throttle. Once the engine “catches” crank and add a little throttle – on and off. If it stops “catching”, lay off the throttle because you may have flooded it. You should be able to start the bike before you run out of battery!

One other thing: I’ve pulled out the “choke” and the bike was difficult to start. Then I realized I had only pulled it out to the first detent. Even in Sunny (bloody hot!) Southern California, it needs the knob all the way out to start a cold engine.

Of course, the kayak gave me no such problems. :smiley:

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Oh – Since it’s Labour Day, I guess I have to labour! I slacked yesterday, paddling around and looking at sharks, but I still have to get the stuff out of my bedroom so they can paint tomorrow. And the news said that today will be another scorcher. :frowning:

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I never thought I would say this Johnny, but: I have the same knob as you do. :smiley:

Description fits, little knob on the left below the fuel tank. Only it doesn’t seem to have two positions: I pull it out all the way, and tone it down a notch or two once the RPM’s rise to 3,000 - which is a tad rich for running it in with its tail towards my downstairs neighbour’s window. :wink:

If I work the throttle while trying to start it, it invariably floods, resulting in a lot of pushing. It will ALWAYS start eventually. But I have on one occasion actually ran the battery empty while trying to start. I’m smarter now, and know that I need to push it for a bit to make it more responsive to the starter engine.

After warm-up, the bike usually starts up with a .2 second press on the starter button. Sometimes, it’s a tad more difficult (say, 1 out of 20), but I hear that’s evaporated fuel getting into the carbs or something, allegedly a typical Yamaha thing. It’ll always fire up, though.

I’ll check out the spark plugs, and see if they’re dirty. Does a “hotter” plug mean it’ll ignite more easily, thus giving the bike a better chance to start up?

I ALWAYS have to use full choke. Yesterday, it was about 28 degrees Celcius. Doesn’t matter, it won’t start at ALL without it.

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LOL @ “the same knob”…

You can see how diligently I’m doing my housework…

The knob should have two detents, but if you’re getting 3,000 RPM when the engine warms up, then it sounds like you’re at the “full on” position.

A “hotter” plug will, I believe, make a larger spark and allow the fuel/air mixture to ignite more easily. But a plug that’s too hot may damage the piston (or so I’ve been told). Go ahead and check the plugs to see if they are dirty, and check to see that they are properly gapped while you’re at it (the specs will be in your owner’s manual). You’ll want to consult with your mechanic to get the right plug for your engine.

I always have to use full choke to start the cold engine unless the bike has been sitting in the sun on a hot day.

(You may want to change the title to “There goes my weekend… New and improved with motorcycle hijack!” :smiley: )

Okay, now I’m really going to start packing up the bedroom!

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I’ll take it apart this weekend, probably. My neighbour will surely help me out, I saw him changing the oil of his Virago the other day, which makes him a mechanic in my book. :slight_smile:

14

Well… Saturday I cleared out most of the closet. Today I packed stuff in the bedroom and moved much of it into storage. I moved much my film equipment into the living room, and it’s a mighty stack My bedroom has the bed, the dresser, and some wooden utility shelves in it, and I’ve moved them to the centre so the painters can do their thing. I did have to move some stuff back into the closet. If the painters want to paint the closet, they can move it themselves.