Andys FXR180 project

That was my guess. I visit Canada often, and they are based on your system. They have Ministrys for everything.

It is control down to the level where it makes you crazy.
Don't even think of finding alcohol in a grocery store in Canada.... Don't get me started. It took me 4 hours to figure out how to buy a beer the first time I visited. Even their signs are in code. Nothing that says "bar" or "cold beer" like in the U.S.

Canada is really a nice place, but much different than the U.S. in the small things that make it hard to get around until you get the secret decoder ring.

 

Well despite my lack of optimism it's only taken 10 days to get the registration documents and tax disk from the DVLA. Just need to get the registration plate made up and get it tuned up and I'm on the road. Whoop Whoop

 

Hi guys.
Done a small amount of work this weekend on the FXR. Replaced the temp sender unit as I have not seen the gauge move since I hade it started. Also the spark plug has been replaced as a precautionary measure. The scooter has only really been ridden on a couple off occasions but the scoot doesn't seem to pick up very well at all. Seems to be firing erratically and the plug is wet and oily.

On that note I decided to take off the generator cover just for a quick gander. Decided to plastic prime and give a coat of silver paint. This got me thinking...what is the hole in the side casing for? The one that is plugged with the rubber bung? I thought these scooters had fixed timing with the pick up and stator plate locked. If this is not the case is there a chance that mine is out?

 

Hi again
Since i have taken my carb off to frig around with the jetting I thought I would strip off the convoluted reed valve assembly and inlet manifold. I bought this lot from Midland Scooter Center about 2 years ago. I needed somthing to mount the OKI 24mm carb onto and this was suggested by the guys in the shop at the time.



The first item on the Left is the reed valve (obviously). Now I fitted a set of reed stops that came with the kit. If you can see in the bag there are a couple of thin plates and a few screws. These were all that were holding the reeds in place before i dropped the stops in. If anybody can offer some advice in this area should i remove the reed stops and revert back to the original set up from a performance point of view. I haven't set the scooter up properly yet and only rode it a small distance to the MOT test center so i am pretty much re visiting this area due to messing around with the carb.

The item second from left is a small black plastic item that you pop in the mouth of the reed valve. No i can only assume that this is to smooth the air flow into the reed block. The only problem is it seems to cause more problems than it resolves. Reason being that it actually protrudes into the opening of the inlet manifold by a 1 - 1.5mm (the first part of the manifold being the round item next to it in the photo). Should i ditch that part and suffer a bit of turbulence in the reed block area, or would the restricted aperture be the better of the two evils?

The round part I have just eluded to in the previous paragraph is the first part of the inlet manifold. It consists of a ring that bolts into the crank casings which in turn locks the reed block in place. It has a series of threaded holes which allow you to adjust the angle of the second part of the manifold (far right in the photo). I noticed when I matched the parts up that the gasket was too small as was the size of the inlet aperture on the main inlet. I couldn't live with this so decided to get the dremel out and modify to suite

 

Ok chaps. Taken half a day off work today and thought I would have a tinker with the beast. Popped everything back together after my mild porting work and sparked it up. I have upped the pilot jet to 52 and retained the 130 main jet as it's the closest to the suggested I have until I get my full set off jets through the post.

I was thinking I would go round the corner to a cul-de-sac to have a mess around and try and set it up. After a short period of time I realised I had left my helmet at work (along with my Vespa) due to collecting the Lotus from the garage yesterday.

So I was restricted to few yards up the driveway before dragging the scooter back for another run. Well I did this a couple of times and realised that it was still running like a bag of Shiite! The symptoms were the scooter revved to the point where the clutch kicked and the scooter moved along very slowly and the engine seemed to fire erratically as if there was an electrical malfunction. Now I was thinking CDI unit or coil.

So thinking there was something wrong with it that required parts I parked it up again in the garage and pondered with the idea of having it couriered to the local scooter shop for them to sort out. Was really reluctant to go down this route as I have managed to get the scooter to a very good state of refurbishment for £750 (including the cost of the bike, tax, registration & parts). Taking it to a shop where you are paying upwards of £50 an hour labour would have made a mockery of my budget and I may have just gone out and bought a running scooter with the upgrades I wanted.

Then I started thinking about what was really happening. The issue was obviously not jetting of the idle system, and certainly not a main jet issue either. That would manifest itself in a stall in the early throttle position for idle..and let's face it I never got to any sort of speed to mention for full throttle/main jet. So then I thought 'what if it's needle position?'. So I popped back into the garage, dropped it onto th e leanest setting and WOW, it takes of like a good un

So now I know my issues are just a fine tweaking on the carb, I decided to build it back up with all of the plastics. Only issue is getting access to the plug for checks on the FXR for mixture strength. Think it's going to be a battery out job each time.


So after a long time in the project stage I feel (short of a few tweaks) that this it's going to be my choice of vehicles for the next few months. Then it will all be down to the FXR as the sole work horse when the lotus is retired for winter.

 

We always say, when it pisses you off, walk away for an hour, have a cup of tea, and come back to it later.

 

Just for the record, been round the block a few times on the scooter and it's crazy quick. It's my new favorite toy

 

Who's a happy bunny then

 

Hi there,
Couldn't start my scooter on the starter motor this evening from work. Just clicks. Charged the battery when I got home and tried again...still just clicks. It's it likely to be the starter...or the relay?

Thanks in advance

Andy

 

If it clicks that's the relay you can hear, check the earth strap to the engine first, might be dirty or loose, if no joy whip the starter motor out and try it off the bike, positive to the terminal, earth to the body of it.

 

Had a go at removing the starter motor. More to it than first meets the eye. Leave it for now and try again at the weekend.

 

Well the old process of elimination didn't work for me this time. Bought a new starter motor after swapping my relay for another one I had kicking around. Still no joy. Click, click. So thinking I had two duff relays I bought another one. Click, click.

So I ended up stripping the side casing off to have a look at the mechanism that sis the other side of the starter motor and engages with the gear pulley. No obvious signs of damage butt it wouldn't turn. Wiggled it out and hey presto, a small piece of metal wedged in the gear system.

Only cost me best part of £60 for the relay and starter motor...

Well at least it's all sorted now

 

Ok so you found the problem..............now comes the question.................where'd the metal come from???

 

Well I had a good look around the inside of the casings but couldn't find anything to match the shard of metal. Not going to worry about it until I have to. Scoots running great