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Have some queries:

1. The battery keeps draining very quickly. Got it checked, but the guy says there is nothing wrong with the battery, rectifier or the dynamo.

2. Bike does not accelerate freely. Got the carb and filter cleaned but issue remains. Anything to do with electricals??

3. Bike does not push smoothly after 80. Problem?

Gordon.

1) Does the bike have a shortcircuit somewhere? Looks like it does. And how old is the battery?
2) Does the bike have TCI ignition, if yes it needs battery power and a weak batt can affect the ignition.
3) What exactly happens after 80?

Does the bike choke and flutters trying to revv out but doesn't, does it sound like a fuel starvation. It could be related to electrical gremlins too. Need more info regarding points 2 and 3. Need to know what exactly the bike does when you try to push it. How does the plug look? Wheels are moving freely?

The bike I'm speaking about is my Machismo AVL 350. Thanks Sankar :)

I fear this. i have an extra pilot lamp at the rear which isnt working at the moment. The bulb is good, but I think its getting short somewhere. But isnt it true that if it does get short, none of the electricals should work and the amp should show full negative reading?

Wheels are moving freely.

After 80, it feels like its not getting fuel. Somewhat like a misfire. The carb, jets and filter are clean n well. Even the oil discharge box is cleant completely. Bike is serviced with new oil.

The plug is clean and well.

1. Is the bike being used for very short hauls. It might not be getting enough time to charge the battery.

2. Lots of points in a thread called Jerky Power created by me.

3. Have you checked air pressure in the tires?

Dear Gordon,
1.There must be some earthing some where which is draining the battery
2&3. Sounds like a retarded timing. Is your exhaust pipe blueing?. You may need to retune your bike. If you like to tune your bike yourself. You can try the following.
First set the tappets then
1. Remove the spark plug and Check /set the spark plug gap to 0.5mm
2. Turn the kick starter slowly and locate the Piston TDC ( In this condition both the push rods will be free). You can locate the the TDC by inserting a stiff wire inside the plug hole and feel the movement till it reaches the maximum. (If you have an adaptor with a dial guage, you can accurately locate the TDC)
3. Clean and set the contact breaker point gap to 0.35 to 0.4mm
4. The company setting of timing advance is 0.8mm below TDC( you will require the adaptor and dial guage set to do this setting)
5.The other way is a trial and error setting .Timing advance is done by turning the base plate in the anti clockwise direction. Loosen the the no:8 two nos bolts and using and move the base plate by a few degrees. Tighten the base plate and start the bike. Retune the carburetter. It will run leaner now( airscrew need to be opened). Drive and check for engine knocking. If required you need to re adjust the timing and carburettor.
Note: You can advance the timing by increasing the contact breaker gap also
Trust this helps
Suresh

His bike is an AVL so timing preset.

Check the wiring and accessories, check the rear marker lamp you have put. Disconnect the wires going to the rear marker lamp and see if the batt is still draining. (My bullet drained it's battery out overnight when i forgot to switch off the ignition, but it had a points ignition and prolly the ppints were closed, but still the rate at which it discharged was fast, so a small short/earth can drain the batt).

If you think it's starving for fuel after 80 and the carb is clean and running OE jetting then you should check if the fuel flow from the fuel tap is good enough. Clogged fuel strainer in the tank and under the fuel tap can cause this.

Fuel flow can be affected adversely if the fuel tank vent is clogged, the vacuum thus created inside the tank would hurt fuel flow. To check replace the fuel tank cap with another Bullet's and go for a trial run.

Probably it wouldn't be nothing major if you hadn't done anything else to the engine recently.

Thanks again Suresh_Stephen and Sankar.

Will get the wiring checked soon. Even if the bike is switched off, by next morning the battery is flat! Even the neutral bulb wont show. And it gets dangerous while riding since the horn doesnt work well and drains the battery even more.

For a test, I'll disconnect and remove the wires for the extra pilot lamp.

Will check the fuel tap. Will get it cleaned anyways.

The bike currently has stock jets, carb, filter AND exhaust.

Also noticed another thing, at times it works very well. But there is EXCESS vibration when I go in higher rpms.

No engine modifications have been done or will ever be done on this ECR :)

Is this applicable on AVLs?! I would never dare tune my bike, and there are NO mechanics I trust today with my bike. All have fallen short.

On another note, I'm looking around for a Bullet under 20-25k. Any leads?!

Is this applicable on AVLs?! I would never dare tune my bike, and there are NO mechanics I trust today with my bike. All have fallen short.
Sorry, I thought your bike was a standard model with Contact breakers.
Suresh

Okay, this is what I did today.

1. Cleaned the petcock.
2. Got the brake serviced again.
3. Disconnected the rear pilot lamp completely.
4. Changed the spark plug and plug cap.

Bike runs a little smoother than before, but still struggles. Mechanic claims:

1. Piston and bearings are gone.
2. CDI needs to be checked.
3. Coil needs to be checked.
4. Power loss is mostly due to electrical problem.

[quote=Gordon;1230049] Mechanic claims:


1. Piston and bearings are gone.

I owned a RE many moons ago and this is what I know:

If the piston or the rings are gone, then your exhaust will be oily. Similarly, the spark-plug will have a film of oil after a ride. And ofcourse the oil level in your sump will keep getting lower every few days. Check your exhaust with a finger - if you get dry black soot on your finger tip, the piston and rings are fine. If its oily too, you have a problem.

For main bearing do the following check - start the bike, muffle the exhaust note by putting your palm on the exhaust end. Blip the throttle and try to hear if there is a grating noise coming from the engine. Release the exhaust gases every 15-20 seconds by moving away your palm. Basically, what you are doing is trying to hear the engine noise without the exhaust boom.

Bblost, thanks for that thread :) will go through it in detail. Whats the rubber mainfold you mentioned?

Bomi, the piston seems fine since I am not losing any oil. And read that if the piston is gone, then white smoke appears. There isnt any white smoke.

No oil on spark plug or exhaust detected.

However, the mech did exactly that. Was listening carefully to the engine. I tried the same and I'm afraid there is noise coming from it. A grating noise. Is it a grave issue? Any idea what it'd cost to replace the bearings?

The carb is connected to the air filter on one side and the engine on the other.
The rubber manifolds on both sides is how its connected to them.

In a Machismo, I think only the air filter -> carb side has this rubber manifold.

Mine had gone old and brittle.
Replacing them both resolved the jerky power issue.

Thought as much, but got confused. I thought you referred to an "exhaust manifold rubber".

Anyways, the Machismo does have a rubber manifold from the carb to the engine (see pic). So replacing the rubber manifold on both sides of the carb solved your problem?! Any ideas of the cost of these spares?!

The engine side manifold if leaking will cause a hanging RPM issue, and it will pick up speed and revs but engine would overheat and die.

Why don't you try mounting the filter straight onto the carb? It will improve things for sure. This particular mounting doesn't look nice for good flow into the venturi.

Where is the grating noise coming from, which part?

Actually I'm not even using the HP filter now. The stock filter is on. And now I just went through what you called "safe mode"!

I actually changed my spark plug, got the carb and air filter cleaned. Apart from that I was actually going to open up the bike to check the 'CDI' and coils and all the electricals!!!

But nothing of that is going to happen now.

The problem is solved. Thanks to bblost's analysis. I went to check for a new manifold. Before even putting it, I thought "what if my manifold is just not tightened and lose?" So I got a cross screw driver and tightened the clip holding the carb in place at the engine side. Took it for a spin and NOT A SINGLE MISFIRE! Bike ran welll. Here are the speeds attained in each gear. Didn't push too much though.

• 1st - 30-35
• 2nd - 50-55
• 3rd - 70ish

Didn't cross that limit. I was satisfied since I know that the problem was solved. Before thightening the clip I was getting these speeds:

• 1st -25
• 2nd - flat 40
• 3rd - flat 60
• 4th - 70
• 5th - 80 and then a lot of struggling!

Thanks guys to help me solve the problem. Anyways, it was a good thing with the wrong diagnosis and fortunately I didnt spend a bomb. Got most of the basic things done like:

• Oil change
• Brakes tightened
• Spark plug changed
• Carb serviced
• Filter cleaned
• Oil filter replaced
• Oil discharge cylinder cleaned
• Petcock cleaned

Sounds like its coming from the engine itself, cant pinpoint a location.



Actually I'm not even using the HP filter now. The stock filter is on. And now I just went through what you called "safe mode"!



Before this I actually changed my spark plug, got the carb and air filter cleaned. Apart from that I was actually going to open up the bike to check the 'CDI' and coils and all the electricals!!!



But nothing of that is going to happen now.





The problem is solved. Thanks to bblost's analysis. I went to check for a new manifold. Before even putting it, I thought "what if my manifold is just not tightened and lose?" So I got a cross screw driver and tightened the clip holding the carb in place at the engine side. Took it for a spin and NOT A SINGLE MISFIRE! Bike ran welll. Here are the speeds attained in each gear. Didn't push too much though.

1st - 30-35
2nd - 50-55
3rd - 70ish


Didn't cross that limit. I was satisfied since I know that the problem was solved. Before thightening the clip I was getting these speeds:

1st -25
2nd - flat 40
3rd - flat 60
4th - 70
5th - 80 and then a lot of struggling!


Thanks guys to help me solve the problem. Anyways, it was a good thing with the wrong diagnosis and fortunately I didnt spend a bomb. Got most of the basic things done like:

Oil change
Brakes tightened
Spark plug changed
Carb serviced
Filter cleaned
Oil filter replaced
Oil discharge cylinder cleaned
Petcock cleaned
Sounds like its coming from the engine itself, cant pinpoint a location.

Problem 2 and 3 are solved. Problem 1 however still persists :(

Okay now for the next issue. The front brakes squeal. Its not causing any scratches on the disc. And when I open and check them, it seems to be fine. I haven\'t changed them since I got the bike. Have sanded them, so their effect has minimized for the moment. Is it the pads causing the noise, or something else?