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Categories: all aviation bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater Sat, 15 Mar 2008I had a work thing happening at 11:30 tonight, so I figured I'd blow an hour in the garage, after I'd finished watching my latest Netflix disc at 10:30. (Negima, Magic 101 or something; fairly typical anime, I guess.) So I trundled out to the garage, and set about the tasks I knew I had: retorque cylinder head; adjust valves; check compression. The first two went well enough, if you discount the copious gasoline spill that resulted from trying to empty the tank by removing the petcock (note to self: just be patient next time). By the time I got around to checking compression, it was 11:20. I screwed the compression tester into the left cylinder, and tried kicking over the motor. With the bike up on stands, it's surprisingly tall, and between that and a weird angle, I managed to let the kickstarter fairly mangle my leg: I'm now sporting an angry abrasion on my shin, and a throbbing proto-bruise on my calf. The real kicker, though, (so to speak) was that the compression gauge read a paltry 120 PSI. 120 PSI!? Between the throbbing leg, the late hour, and the baffling compression test, I went to do my work with anger in my heart. It was supposed to read 140-170 PSI if the engine is normal and healthy. 120 meant that all the rebuilding work I'd just done was completely in vain! I did my work (very minor, as it turned out), and got up to return to the garage. I swore to myself, "I'm just going back to lock the door," since I knew I was definitely too tired to do anything more tonight. But I got there, and as I was regarding the traitorous motorcycle, a random synapse fired: I'd forgotten to open the throttle! You always do a compression test with the throttle wide open, otherwise you're guaranteed a low reading. Renewed with this momentary inspiration, I tried again, and was richly rewarded: 160 PSI. The right cylinder read 165 PSI. That's so much more like it. Way better than 120 PSI. But now, it's definitely time for bed. Posted at 00:08 permanent link category: /motorcycle Categories: all aviation gadgets misc motorcycle theater Written by Ian Johnston. Software is Blosxom. Questions? Please mail me at reaper at obairlann dot net. |