When I had first purchased the bike...

I just found some pictures from when I first purchased the bike, if anyone is interested in how it started.

A little nasty explosion on the left side

PO thought that the battery had exploded, but the right side doesn't seem as bad.

How she sits now.

Spark check

So I purchased a spark plug last night to check and make sure that the bike is sparking correctly. I got too lazy to check it last night, so I checked it quickly a short while ago.

Neither cylinders 1 or 3 sparked (the back two cylinders). Immediately I suspected one of the spark units was out. I replaced spark unit for 1-3 with one of the old melted ones from the fire...yes one of the old melted ones, a desperate attempt to test the spark. Guess what? It sparked! It just sucks that I had purchased one on ebay that was obviously defective. I'm going to see about getting a refund on that or picking it apart and see if I can fix it. Meanwhile I will need to source out a new spark unit (the old burnt one is frayed a bit).

Hopefully I will get around to starting this on Sunday. Oh and I figured out that the turn signal is not a relay issue, so I am assuming a wire is smushed in the headlight.

Also, I realized that 1/4 inch vinyl line fits appropriately on the carb bowl drains. This helps with draining the bowls carefully into a tank/fuel bottle.

Hooked up the freshly charged battery

So last night I had left the charger on the battery until I went to bed and I felt that it would be safest if I unplugged the charger since I wouldn't be monitoring anymore. When I finished work today I plugged the charger back in and a few hours later the battery was up to full charge.


Meanwhile, I semi-finished connecting the 3-yellow wires. By "semi-finish," I mean that it will work, but not look pretty, things are just twisted together and covered in electric tape for now until I get a chance to solder them. I did start to cover the wires with a wire sheath (with is listed as anti-flammable, how appropriate for these infamous wires). I got too excited when the battery was ready and I just wanted to start up the bike.

3-Yellow Wires, being covered with a black wire protector

I put some battery terminal grease on the battery terminals and connected the battery. Instantly the clock came on. I inserted the key into the ignition and then all the lights lit up on the wonderfully designed 80's era dash. I immediately noticed a few issues, let me know if you have any solutions:

1. Front turn signals turn on and stay on, unless i move the turn signal switch. If i put on the left switch, the left turn signal shuts off completely. If I put on the right switch, the right turn signal shuts off completely. The rear turn signals always off.
2. Warning light on- I don't know what this means.

Trying to start the bike up.

I didn't realize that the gasoline IV line wasn't the same size as my fuel line. Impatiently, I used a turkey baster to inject gasoline into the carbs. Probably a bad idea...I flooded the engine. I tried starting the bike, but it was too flooded (at least this is what I hope the problem was). I drained the bowls and decided to pack up for the night. Before I finished, I did plug the battery back in, as it had drained itself from starting attempts.

I realized I will need to check and make sure all the spark plugs are sparking and I should have done this in the first place. The first thing I'll check tomorrow night will be the ignition system then and try to locate any possible issues.

Filling new Lead-Acid Battery

It's been a while since I've updated, mainly because it's been a while since I have completed any actual work on the motorcycle. Although I got the bike for a winter project I have found that I have been way busier in the winter and also not very willing to work in a cold garage.

After returning home from a weekend ski hiatus, I decided its time to pick this thing back up and get it started. I should only have to solder the famous "3 yellow wires," trailing from the stator to the R/R and then install the battery. Since I recently conditioned/coated the tank with POR-15 and still have the petcock in pieces I don't really want to fill the tank (since I will not be riding the bike...any time soon). So when I eventually get to starting it, I picked up a test stand gasoline "IV." This would definitely be a very helpful tool for motorcycles that need their tanks removed for carb adjustments. It incorporates a small fuel bottle with fuel line and an ON/OFF petcock. I will be able to hang it off the handlebars and bypass the petcock, thus avoiding vacuum issues/priming the bowls for the first start up.

Fuel "IV" test bottle, ebay pic

I took a few minutes researching on how to fill the battery, checking the WWW for tips and tricks. Youtube, surprisingly, didn't have great information. I found a few helpful and informative websites, listed below, that I pulled information from:

http://www.ibmwr.org/otech/newbattery.html

http://bmwmotorcycletech.info/newbattery.htm

I basically followed some of the steps that are listed on those websites, so I am not going to go into detail on how to fill a motorcycle battery. In the process, one of the things that surprised me was that the battery cells used a significant amount of acid before the liquid shadow was visible on the side of the battery. Finally, when filling/maintaining motorcycle batteries and working with highly corrosive acids, always remember your PPE! (gloves, eye protection at minimum in a well vented area)

Everything that I have used or will use for the battery

Doing some of the charging tonight, then will finish it off tomorrow at some point.

Battery all filled up with vent tube