Bike engine problem, and maintenance queries...

seamus

Right, a few bikey queries. My bike gets a lot of mileage for a 125, and so maintenance and replacements are quite regular, just wondering basically, should I be doing this much maintenance. She serves me well though, and has never broken down or done something strange in the middle of nowhere, leaving me stranded.

First off, the engine is giving me some gip. The idle speed seems to be erratic at best. It usually takes a couple of gos to get her started from cold, increasingly worse these mornings, and once started, I have to keep her revved at lights, etc, otherwise it just cuts out. This probably due to me not using the choke, which I basically keep 'forgetting' to do.
When the engine is warm though, and I'm stopped, sometimes it idles nicely, ticking away. Other times it just barely stays alive (ie the idle speed is *just* above what it needs to be before it cuts out), and other times, especially when the engine is really hot, it idles really fast, with me having to release the clutch slightly to slow it down again. Again - is this a problem with the engine, or another symptom of me not using the choke enough?
Acceleration can be poor too, particularly if I've just come to stop, and I have to go again straight away (do't you hate when that happens?).
I'm guessing all of this is part of the same problem, so any insights on that would be helpful

As I say, I seem to be doing a lot of work on it, and it may be more hassle than it's worth, in terms of money. I love working on it, but when I'm spending more in some months on parts than petrol, it gets worrying.
Basically, bought it with 17K (kilometres) on the clock. A bad move in hindsight, but the bike still serves me well.
18.5k - Replaced Gasket, Cam chain, Cam, Rocker arms. Some pretty big engine work but FOC cos it was still under shop warranty.
20k - Replaced Chain & Sprockets. €80
22k - Replaced rear tyre, front brake pads, rear brake cable. €210 (Labour included in that)
27k - Replaced front tyre, chain. €120
30k - Replaced Spark plug. €5
33k - Replaced Accelerator cable. €35 (it snapped just yards from the house...lucky me)
36k - Replaced Engine Air filter. €40
38k - Replaced Front brake pads, brake fluid. €40
39k - Replaced Chain & Sprockets. €60 (Cheaper parts supplier )
Replace oil filter & engine oil every 3k @ €10 a pop. €70
I also have to top up the engine oil roughly every 2-3 weeks, I dunno it jst burns it off or something. Works out to about €7 a month.

So in the 18 months I've had it, I've driven it 23,000 kilometres and spent roughly €660 on maintenance. Sounds a bit much to me? It is high mileage, so maybe looking at it from a time perspective is the wrong thing.
It's also been over 20k since the engine has had any proper work done on it. Should I have someone open it up, check it and service it, even though there's nothing particularly wrong with it?

Cheers all

Eye

hey there seamus.

just curious but is the bike your driving a crusier? something like a marauder/intruder/virago/dragstar 125?

the only reason i ask is that i myself had a 125 marauder for a year and i put up over 20k kilometers on it, but i know that all throught the winter i had similar problems with the engine idling funny at times and an awfull lot of the having to keep it reved up at lights and roundabouts during those frosty mornings.

what i found was my problem anyway was ice in the carbs, a mate of mine, who knows a hell of alot more about bikes than i ever will, suggested it so when i took it for it's next service i told the mechanic the symptoms and he said the same thing, so when he serviced it he just stripped down the carbs and cleaned them out and things were right as rain for another while but unfortunatley it came back after a couple of weeks, although not as bad.

my friend said that alot of the reason why it came back is cause with the marauder, and with all crusiers, there is no fairing around the engine block, so when your driving in the heart of winter with snow, freezing fog and god only knows what else, the engine gets the brunt of it and becasue it ain't a terribly big engine it simply ain't keeping it's self hot enough inside to keep the idle speed up at normal revs (thus resulting in you having to keep it reved up at lights etc) and also with ice in the carbs that accounts for your lack of power when taking off too.

apart from those problems i have to admit my marauder also serverd me very well for the year i had it, very reliable, but since then i've been on my 650 dragstar and though i was having similar winter problems last year, it was acting up on me and all that, turned out this time to be the inlet rubbers for the carbs, they were cracked in many places and was drawing in way too much air, since i replace them, not a bother on it fantastic machine

hope this helps somewhat

seamus

Yep, tis a Marauder

Originally posted by Eye
my friend said that alot of the reason why it came back is cause with the marauder, and with all crusiers, there is no fairing around the engine block, so when your driving in the heart of winter with snow, freezing fog and god only knows what else, the engine gets the brunt of it and becasue it ain't a terribly big engine it simply ain't keeping it's self hot enough inside to keep the idle speed up at normal revs (thus resulting in you having to keep it reved up at lights etc) and also with ice in the carbs that accounts for your lack of power when taking off too.

That's what I was thinking alright. When you say carbs, you mean carburettor right?
I'll see about getting it serviced so..cheers