lol, thanks, I'll need it. As long as I can keep them out of the shed for a while I should be all right.

 

I find it best to tell my parents beforehand and allow them to give their advice, then I can ignore it properly

 

Okay, so it still won't stay running. It'll rev up to redline just fine after i start it up, then when I try to ride it, i get to about 2k and it sputters and dies, in gear or neutral. This is quite frustrating[>:] I thought I tightened down the battery leads but maybe they are still loose. I guess I'll head to the depot this weekend and get a couple bolts with a larger thread and see if that does anything for me.

 

Okay, so I swapped the bolts for the + and - battery terminals and they tightened down just fine. I must have got them mixed up when I pulled the battery last week. So the battery leads are secured just fine now, I started the bike and let it warm up a bit, got it to the end of the road, then pulled in to a parking lot to do some figure 8's and circles to get used to the bike and the damn thing won't go past 2k again. I pushed it home and was pissed off. (sucks when the neighbor walking his dog says ok, some people walk their dogs, i guess you walk your bike) A friend on mine comes over a short while later, she wants to hear the bike run, I hit the starter button and I get nothing. So I get on and try again, nothing. I bounce around a bit (landing pretty hard on the seat) and it starts right up! The battery leads are secured, what else could be causing this problem?

 

lol, I have two dogs that need walked! hmm? lol
How do you mix terminals/battery leads?

 

The - lead went to the - terminal and + to +. It is the bolts that I switched that hold the leads to the battery terminals. If they don't go in the proper terminal on the battery they won't snug down, though they appear to be the same. Here I thought I was doing myself a favor by replacing the starter solenoid, and since then I have been unable to ride. oops!

Shortly after my encounter with the neighbor I walked my two beagles... they never stop running! (okay, sometimes they do)

 

hahaha, you have two healthy bastids

 

haha yeah, I love 'em like a brother and sister. Before I moved out we used to all pass out on the bigger couch. they would be the same way but with me in the middle with my feet up on the coffee table. They are like a couple of furnaces when they get all smashed next to you sleeping.

Anyways, I have some good news and some bad news

good news: i think i figured out why my bike wouldn't run
bad news: I'm a moron.

I had the fuel petcock off. It must let just enough fuel through to run for a few minutes before whatever fuel supply got by it runs out and the thing stalls. I had assumed the notch in the petcock indicated the position it was in, but until i took a closer look last night i didnt realize there was an arrow on the handle, as well as no way for me to actually turn the gas off if the notch was the indicator.
[sm=sigh.gif]

 

Hope you got things figured out now. Now you got to keep your parents from finding out LOL. i'm sure they hear it when you redline it. I'm sure your busted by now.

 

Nah, they don't know yet. My neighbor was walking through his yard up to my yard and he said he didnt hear it, and he was outside in his backyard, closer than my folks.

and I hope I have things figured out, too. I good friend and coworker from rochester is in town today. he said he'd follow me around for a while if I wanted to ride. I still haven't heard anything from the company around here that offers the MANYS class (NYS equiv of MSF) I was considering taking it in rochester instead since i'm out there every week anyways, and the community college where it is offered is booked solid for the summer.