Today I have been mostly working on the Nordie. Starting well but very low on fuel so I treated her to a gallon of BP Ultimate. Started up again and running very crisply considering the original OEM silencer is back on for MoT duties. Started work on fitting the mini-indicators when I suddenly caught a strong whiff of petrol and looked down to see fuel dripping on the floor. Bollocks forgot to turn fuel off - but never done this before. Check fuel line - OK. Check main jet covers - OK. Check float bowl joint - OK. Look in to the bellmouth of the right hand carb to see that it is flooding. No amount of running and tapping succeeded in re-seating the float needle. A quick call to Allens carburettors confirms that the rubber tipped float needle is the most likely culprit. If I am lucky just a bit of shite, if not there may be a ridge in the rubber due to age and lack of use. What confuses me is that it was OK when I first started it a few weeks ago. So presumably more pressure from a properly full tank - or does 'ultimate' reach the parts other petrol cannot reach? Bastard float bowl won't come off unless the carbs are off. This is a non-trivial operation as they are not standard, requiring the complete carbs/manifold assembly to be eased out from a very tight fit between head and frame. Oh and just to please me even more my mini-indicators wink brightly and perfectly but the warning light doesn't. Not the bulb, because if I switch to the side not done yet, with no indicators at all connected, it does flash. Is this an MoT failure even if the indicators themselves operate OK? Tits. At least I have not made any non-reversible changes to wiring so I can revert to the standard units. Best idea really as they will come straight off again for the hill climbing. Just fancied using the neat, small but very bright carbon fibre finish Motrax ones I had lying about. -- +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Pete Fisher at Home: | | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z | | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+
All warning lights like indicator repeater, high beam etc need to work just like for the car MOT IIRC.
Pete Fisher says... As I understand it, if you can see the indicators flashing from the riding position then you don't need a repeater on the dash. So I'd bung a bit of duct tape over the repeater lens and "indicator" wording. The MOT tester is not permitted to remove it to check what's behind the tape - same goes for tape covering "Not for road use" on an exhaust. They'll just fail the exhaust for being overly loud if they want to get snotty about it, but my testers never do.
Duh. Elementary Watson. Anyway it seems to be sorted. Carbs off and drained. Float bowl off. Looks surprisingly clean and crud free , although TBF the long time standing was with carbs off and drained anyway. No sign of float sticking or bent pivots or the like so j,j, jiggled gently a bit then I blew down the fuel pipe with the carbs inverted - no flow of air, then the right way - flow. Repeated a few times. Put back on and all seems well. As you say shit in the carbs flushed in from the tank. Didn't think this was such an issue with plastic tanks [1] as it used to be in the old rusty innards days. [1] The Nordwest was, I think, one of the first bikes with a 'legal' plastic tank. In fact IIRC this grey import WeeVee 92 model was probably not strictly legal when first registered. -- +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Pete Fisher at Home: | | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z | | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+
My tester is very accommodating [1] but I suspect the Nordie bulbous plastic tank covers and nose fairing prevent a visual check of the indicators from the riding position (particularly min ones). So back to standard it will have to be and I must borrow one of the GFR to replace the indicator melted by the exhaust gases from the race can. Still can't understand the phenomenon though. The special relay I ended up with has only two connections just like the OEM unit. I could just about get my head round a too slow or fast wink because of different resistance from higher wattage bulbs, but no wink from the warning light at all ? TBF I suppose I ought to try it with the standard units first to be sure that returns normal behaviour. The absence of indicators (switch stalk removed and slot taped over) and bicycle speedo on the Nordwest engined Saturno (not an MoT item anyway) never bothered them. -- +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Pete Fisher at Home: | | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z | | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+
I'd agree. AFAIK the law was changed to coincide with Triumph's Tiger being launched with a plastic tank in 1993. -- Krusty www.MuddyStuff.co.uk Off-Road Classifieds '02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250
Suggestion: Is it a single repeater or one for each side? If the former, the repeater is AFAIK wired across the indicators and relies on low resistance in the "off" pair to work. If they're lower wattage or *possibly* LED ones then the current may not be enough to light the bulb much.
In communiqué <>, Pip Luscher Hmm. A single repeater and TBF I haven't actually tried it yet with all four indicators actually connected so perhaps I had better do that before giving up and reverting to standard. -- +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Pete Fisher at Home: | | Voxan Roadster Gilera Nordwest Yamaha WR250Z | | Gilera GFR Moto Morini 2C/375 | +-------------------------------------------------------------+
*ding* Still don't quite understand it, but by connecting just one of the missing two indicators on the other side (using a 10w Motrax one) the warning light now functions as it should. The fourth unit needs a new bulb but I am confident(ish) that all will be well, thanks. Plastics back on tomorrow and a the stop/tail bulb to replace before checking the brake light switches still work (notoriously naff little cannister job for the rear brake).
Basically, when you turn one one pair on, one end of the repeater lamp is connected to 12V via the flasher relay. The other end is connected to ground via the other pair of indicators. The indicators, having a much higher wattage than the repeater, have a much lower resistance, especially as their filaments will be cold and the repeater's will be hot, so the bulk of that 12V drops across the repeater.
