Sunday, August 16, 2009

Rough Running Bike

A small group from church went on a short ride towards Nenana. Actually, to the Monderosa, a small restaurant/bar about 5 miles outside of Nenana. It was raining when we left town and I preferred not to be part of a group in the rain. The newer bikes have much better brakes and features such as ABS than my 26 year old Beemer. After going through a couple of downpours, I noticed that the engine was running a bit rough. The "R" engines are pretty well balanced and the sound (and smoothness) have been compared to a sewing machine. It definitely didn't feel that way at the time. No apparent loss of power and the vibration went away when the clutch was pulled in so it was definitely the engine. Revving the engine didn't seem to have any effect. A couple of miles after the rain stopped, the vibration went away. About a year ago, Charlie6 had a post describing similar symptoms with his R80 airhead. He discovered hairline cracks in the coil as the source of the problem. Initially, my first thought was unbalanced tires, low tire pressure or a bad u-joint. I'm glad it wasn't anything like that.

Anyway, I arrived at the Monderosa about minute before the rest of the small group (4 other bikes, 2 of them were 2 up) without further incident. We had a great lunch. I had their jalapeño burger with a salad and it was great. Everything I've ever had there has been very tasty. They must have a very well seasoned grill. I rode back with the group and was kind of reminded why I don't like riding in a group. The bike in front of me would occasionally slow for curves much more than I normally would and I'm not a very aggressive rider. Also, I would rather not have to keep track of the bike behind me and adjust my position on the road to match. I have grown used to taking up the whole lane. I really enjoy the fellowship at the stops but prefer to ride on my own. Very little rain on the return trip. No rough running. I guess I should pull that tank and take a close look at the coil.

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