Fault present, diagnostics complete!

Well, I thought that I had known every mm of the bike and was believing my issues were sealed in the mystery of epoxy, but I should have know better.The bike has stopped completely now, and with no spark present, it was time to get to the nitty gritty of finding the cause of all my troubles.

It didnt take long to remove the tank and seat to where i could easily access the wiring connectors.
But, with me being me, I was soon distracted from diagnosing the problem and fitted the new genuine KTM throttle cables as it would provide some sort of progress towards riding again.

It was at this point that there was no option Damn!... forgot to bring the multimeter home. Hmmmm... Looking around, I found a test light, a small flat blade screwdriver, and cut a piece of wire to make a continuity light using the bike battery. Using this I can check continuity on each of the coils/wiring on the bike to check for faulty components.

Uh oh! No continuity in the stator. I pull the bash plate and gear lever to pull the cover off to find the following....

I think that it may be a repercussion of an earlier failure where the bottom end was rebuilt, but the heads of three of the hex bolts have busted off and fallen into the stator and made a bit of a mess. I really hope that this is last of the troubles on this machine!! A quick trip to eBay us and a couple of hundred lighter to sort out a replacement stator and flywheel (the bolt heads have worn metal out of the flywheel) and I should be on the way shortly. 

Stripped down and awaiting parts, I move onto the dream of a new machine and working on the IT while I wait.....

If you replace everything, it's a new bike,...right?

Well I'm not going to lie,....I'm pretty ticked off. After making sure that everything was spot on before heading out to Crows Nest annual P&C Trail Ride, and runing the bike several times, it only took about one kilometer for a few issues to raise their heads.....(sigh)...

Kitted up, I set out after the brother'n'law to catch up to his crew on the 25 Km loop.  After showing the numbered sticker on my helmet, I was off. 850 odd riders had registered for the event, so keen not to get stuck in anyones dust I decided to get a wriggle on.

That was until the throttle locked on wide open. I quickly grabbed the kill button and the clutch and shut the old girl down. I always ride with a tool bag (bumbag) just for these instances, and will carry tie wire, tyre levers and CO² cannister, (fender bag has tube) a few lollies, plug, a couple of odd bolts, and the minimum amount of tools to strip the bike on the side of the track. Two minutes later and I find the culprit, the pull throttle cable had frayed!

Wasting no time, I did the 'walk of shame' back to the pits where we had set up and started asking around for spares....no luck. A few phone calls and it was an hour drive to Independent Motorcycle Wreckers for a fix.

1.30PM - I'm back at the scene of the crime, and wasting no time I catch a lift on a Chamberlain G9 back to the bike to put the cable in. The bike is together and I'm kitting up. I kick the bike over and it springs to life,......for about five seconds, the dies. Swearing at the bike, I remove all the gear, seat tank, plug, and check for spark....nothing!!!!

I swap the plug over and soon realise my vision of cutting up the trail on this machine is over. I park the bike up and yet again do another 'walk of shame' back to the pits.

Luckily enough, I have a really great old boy. He has had a few laps and offers a lap on his machine CRF450. I quickly suit up before the loop closes and join another one of our crew for a hot lap to end  the afternoons ride.

I forgot how large the power difference was between the old boys bike and mine. I tell you what, there is nothing like powersliding/wheelstanding through some open fast country. The 450 seems to pick up the front wheel with ease.

A few beers back at camp, and I'm thinking about upgrading the old girl to something newer. It was something that I have only daydreamed of, but would it honestly be the best option to improve riding ability, at least I would make it out of the carpark.

Before our return back to the big smoke the old man said something to me which I'll never forget. Im not sure if he was takin the piss or not. "do not let it get you disheartened, you have just about replaced everything now." Haha, I guess he's right. I have got a new genuine throttle cable set to put in this week, and are awaiting the arrival of a CDI (with harness), stator and pulsar coil. I am determined that 'next' time it is not going to spoil my weekend.

My birthday was this week and I was presented with many things, one of which was the December edition of ADB magazine (one of my favourites). I immediately start drooling. On the cover is my new bike. The 2014 Husky FE350. Even though they are not released until January, I want one so bad!

Until next week! I just thought that I would show you a picture of the cake I was presented. The mother'n'law has had a broken foot for a few weeks and finding inspiartion, made the perfect birthday cake for me...

Mixing bikes with family

It is always hard when some family members don't share the same interests as yourself. In our household there is a mixture of everything between basketball, cooking, playing with toy cars, or socialising with friends.

The bride reminded me the other day that when I bought the PW50 for the young bloke that she is not interested in attending trail rides and I would have to manage without her.

I'm willing to miss a few rides for the sake of the young bloke, but I'm hoping that she will change her mind in the next couple of years and help him to find his feet in the scene.

The camp ground of any bike facility, although being able to have great amenities, can be as boring as bat s#!% if your partner doesn't share the same interests. I'm looking at what is possible to bring to the table that can entice the wife to want to sit out in the stinking heat, with dust clouds passing through, and with the constant drone of bikes through the pits and into the distance (as much as I dont mind those things). I would love to have the dosh to get a nice 'toy hauler' that she could escape to. Some thing like the work'n'play (drool). This would suit our needs perfectly as it wouldn't matter if it was the whole family just camping somewhere (with or without the bikes), or if I went to a trail ride and wanted a good nights rest. Ah well, it's on the list.

Until the young bloke gets his training wheels off, its just the boys on tour. We will donate to the current venues local P&C committee when we want a bite to eat, and travel light. If it is just us, it is the ute, a couple of bikes, the swags, and an esky to keep ourselves 'hydrated' in the heat.

Which brings us to the weekend. It is time for the Crows Nest Annual trail ride! Im keen as mustard, because this will be the first trail ride that I will make it out of the car park (due to the top end on the bike letting go).

After checking with the lads at work, and the brother'n'law, it looks as though it is just my brother and myself in our convoy, but we will meet another eight or so out there. I dont mind, as it give me a good opportunity to share some quality time with my kin. We will also meet up with the old boy and one of his besties out there, as well as the usual crew that we hang around with while we are in the pits. Can not wait!

From this years events with the bike - I have been ready to give up hope (FML!) But alas, life still goes on. Its only time and money, right?!

Times may not be as smooth as in the past, you may have a lot more family responsibilities, financial restraints, you may have cut the apron strings and are finding the real stresses associated with lifes everyday demands. In these trying times, it is important to realise that you need to keep your chin up. You do not have the ability to instantly change the universe around you. Rome was not built in a day, and neither is your life story. Focus on what you are most passionate about, and do what you can to make it happen.....

That is enough inspiration for the moment, where was I??...Aaaah.., family. The glue that bind us all together. Your parents, wife, children, and all the people in your life who you call your extended family. These are the people that make my riding events happen. The spark in the young blokes eye when he rides the PW50 (or even when he see's a bike passing), the wife for 'letting me go' to the weekend long events (and putting up with the preperation), the oldies that will always shout for onsite repairs and a splash of fuel to keep us going, or even the friends who we carpool with and will assist wherever they can.

Unfortunately, not many pics this week. Although, I did pick up this bad boy from my cousins hubby on the WE. 

There are only a minority of arguments against these things. The more I read about them, the more it looks like if you want to do things with your kids, you should be wearing one. This is a leatt neck brace. Look them up!

Peace out! I'll come back to you after the ride on the weekend.....