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Raining here for days now.

Posted by Leon Novello <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Leon+Novello' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 15, 2024, 11:43 pm

It reminded me of the times the Ariel would conk out in the rain; until I found that water was running down the high tension lead to the magneto and shorting it out.

Leon Novello

Re: Raining here for days now.

Posted by Andy C <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Andy+C' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 16, 2024, 8:05 am, in reply to "Raining here for days now."

Been dry here for a while now Leon - it's just starting to get colder, about 4 degrees this morning.

Your story rminds me of the Kawasaki KH 250 I had back in my youth, in heavy rain the centre cylinder would start to miss fire, dont ask me how it hapenned, but if you touched the tank when it did this you would get an electric shock !!

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Raining here for days now.

Posted by shiner <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=shiner' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 16, 2024, 5:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Raining here for days now."

Many years ago my 1st motorbike a James Ml I had stripped the spark plug with my enthusiastic servicing ability. Riding to work one wet soggy morning in my usual wet weather gear ,Wellie Boots I used to go down a very steep hill the technique was screaming flat out full throttle & shut down for engine braking effect , before negotiating the bend at the bottom this particular morning the spark plug blew out afttached to its HT lead by the knurled nut & brass terminal used to attach it to the plug and fell into the top of my damp wellie.

a really shocking experience.

Re: Raining here for days now.

Posted by JERRY <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=JERRY' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 16, 2024, 10:43 am, in reply to "Raining here for days now."

Leon you reminded me many years ago I worked with an old boy who was a keen bikers. He told a story that on one of his bikes he would get a stabbing pain in his neck while riding in the rain. Turned out to be his long trench coat he was wearing was touching the magneto sending a shock up the coat to his neck. He was a very serious guy so I believed him.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Raining here for days now.

Given what my KH used to do, I quite believe it.

Both shocking stories, shocking, electric, geddit, OK OK coat time

Who needs a signature anyway......

Re: Raining here for days now.

Make sure it's not a trench coat Andy

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Raining here for days now.

Posted by 6TDen <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=6TDen' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 16, 2024, 2:28 pm, in reply to "Re: Raining here for days now."

I had a coat that did that, was alright after I remembered to take the hanger out.
Den

Re: Raining here for days now.

Posted by Nigel B <iframe src='https://members5.boardhost.com/classicbikemart/info/user=Nigel+B' width='330' height='300' border=0 style='border:none;'> on November 16, 2024, 12:56 pm, in reply to "Raining here for days now."

Weather warnings for snow & adverse wintery condition up here early next week.

Only bike I have had that was prone to rain related ignition cutouts was the CB550F1 I bought after I passed my test - a big step up in performance from a CD175 !

I went down to Cambridge shortly after I got it to visit a school friend who was at university there. Weather was dreadful going down on the A1 & the 550 ran variously on 4, 3, 2 or 1 cylinders depending upon the intensity of the downpour. Life was "interesting" when holding full throttle to try to maintain headway on 1 cylinder when it decided to cut in on all 4 ! Under the tank the area around the coils was like Blackpool illuminations.

A filling station purchase of a can of WD40 helped things a bit, but cause problems later. Coming into Cambridge I opened my visor only to have it flip off never to be seen again - Stadium full face helmet with "press stud" visor attachment. I had a pair of goggles in a pannier, but the top had come off the WD 40 can & the goggles were liberally sprayed with the stuff - not great for visiblity and I couldn't clean them up well enough to use. I ended up riding most of the way home without eye protection - bloodshot red eyes on arrival, to accompany the frozen wet hands (and pretty much everything else) due to 1978 standard inadequate gloves and overgear.

Happy days ?

Nigel B.

Re: Raining here for days now.

The early Honda's sure did suffer with rain due to the crap metal plug caps.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Raining here for days now.

The early Honda's sure did suffer with rain due to the crap metal plug caps.

Pretty certain mine had phenolic NGK caps, Jerry - may have been fitted by the PO, as I bought the bike second hand @ 2 years old. IIRC the problem area appeared to be where the non-removable HT leads were bonded into the coils.

Wouldn't have been a problem if I had bought an RD400 like I wanted to, but my father (who was guaranteeing the bank loan) wasn't a fan of two strokes, hence the Honda.

Not a great bike - sieze-very-quickly flappy front brake caliper which was also reluctant to stop when it got wet, loads of problems with the carbs overflowing (which wouldn't have helped the sub-40mpg fuel consumption) and dubious wet grip TT100 tyres. I didn't keep it very long - sold it privately after about 6 months taking an MZ TS150 in P/x. Actually preferred riding the MZ !

Nigel B.

Re: Raining here for days now.

Nigel I raced a RD400 during the 78 and 79 race season. Fantastic reliable and fast bike. Mine was standard apart from rear sets, race bars and a must fit electronic ignition system. Managed to get a 7th place in the Avon production bike series so not bad for a standard bike that never once let me down. Happy Daze.

The oldest rocker in town!

Re: Raining here for days now.

I raced a RD400 during the 78 and 79 race season.

If you raced at Darley Moor in '78 I probably saw you Jerry.

I attended every meet there in '78 bar the August Bank Holiday event, as Yorkshire engineering companies didn't take the August Bank holiday (or May Day - both were used to make up a week off at Spring Bank). Didn't have Good Friday either, always Monday / Tuesday at Easter.

I do rather wish I had stood my ground and gone for an RD 400 - IIRC I could have got one new from a discout outlet for around the same £700 the Honda cost.

Nigel B.

Re: Raining here for days now.

I didn't race at Darley until the 90's when the Classic Racing Club started using it.

The oldest rocker in town!

Cancelled my afternoon ride

Only managed 20 miles this afternoon.

Heavy fog rolled in and it started raining, varying from light drizzle to medium heavy rain.

Must also look at my "waterproof" leggings. Bought a new pair of Richa's a few months ago to replace the previous ones I had which served me well for about 5 years before starting to leak around the crotch.

Have a very wet calf, the recent new Spada boots did not leak at all, but they are not as warm as my old DM boots that they replaced.

Who needs a signature anyway......

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