Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Rascal the Sportster lives!!!

It's Wednesday and a few days later than when I charged up the Ironheads new battery. On Sunday, after having charged the battery for seven hours on Saturday, it was time to go back out to the shop and voltage meter that sucker again. As I suspected, it lost a few over night but that's no real surprise. Checking the acid level to bring levels up as needed, I hooked up the charger cables for just under an hour. After getting the voltage up to 12.65 volts, it was time to install it into "Rascal" and try it out. Just to be sure that not to much strain was put on the battery, the charger was hooked up and ready to assist. Good thing to as the carb was not wanting to cooperate making for mucho cranking. No fuel was getting through the jets, nary a drop so the carb stayed dry. The bike had last run a couple of months ago so some of the fuel had already varnished. The previous owner told me it needed a good cleaning for it had been sitting for some while. Not to fret, grabbed a can of ether and kept trying for thirty minutes until the bike decided to run on it's own. It spit and popped and shot flames out in defiance of being summoned from a long slumber like a dragon. The choke had to be continuously feathered until things cleared out and fuel began to flow through the carb. Though running clearer, all the choking made fuel collect in the front pipe at first and it turned cherry, cherry red at the cylinder. Letting the bike settle at an idle for a few minutes everything came to normal. Throttle response was right there with no backfire, or cutting out. But, the breather tube was dispensing with extra oil in the crankcase and forming a puddle in the driveway. Being that the bike was on reserve, it cut off with no fuel getting delivered while on the kickstand. Grabbing my helmet the bike was taken off the stand and when I hit the button it fired up quick. Ahhh, those neighbors are loving me about now revving up those un-baffled pipes on a Sunday afternoon. Looking both ways we pulled into the street making a right ... well, attempting to make a right anyway. Oil was on the tire which made for a slippery wide angled oh shit I'm gonna lose it right here. Letting off the gas it came back up fine and away we went round the neighborhood. A couple of rounds just to check things out to see how it felt. It felt good.
Back on my street and up the drive feeling like a kid again and then seeing my son standing in the garage watching me.
We observed that the oil trail followed me the whole route I'd just been on including back in the garage. Checking the oil level and seeing it's still full makes me wonder just how much is in that bottom end. What other way is there to drain the oil from a dry sump system that collects oil in the sump? ( these older bikes do that) A few hot laps perhaps.
Need to get a battery tender now so's not to kill this expensive battery in the cold.

1 comment:

Kathleen Jennette said...

At least I know what the battery tender is. I ended up buying it for the bike when I was in Northern California. They actually get winters up there and I didn't ride much. I found out how quick the battery dies. So now I have a tender. I love it and its easy. There... now that's my wrenching story. Learning slowly but surely :) You told me I can do it.