Bike repair take #2

Bike repair take #2: It's quite tricky to weld the engine switch properly, this time besides welding it I'll prepare a plan B (just in case :-)). The problem is that the switch is not original and the Honda cables are too thick for the mounted KTM switch.

Got everything welded and function tested before putting the screws on to fix the switch. Guess what, once the switch was put back into place it stopped working ... all cables where still on place, it looks like the switch has something broken inside and is complete garbage. Good thing I had a plan B in place so, no need to start all over again. Just put everything together and do another test ride with Ricardo who spent the day here with me instead of enjoying Kyrgyzstan. Thanks Ricardo! I really appreciated that.

During this ride I noticed that something was wrong with the fuel pump, even though the tank was full and the engine was only idling, the pump was working at full speed as if the fuel was running out. This bike seams to be a never ending story...

This was end of the road, the soil was covered with thin layer of sticky mud that let us drift all over the place and had almost no traction.

Besides the annoying noise of the fuel pump the test was ok but when I checked the radiator, another 200 ml liquid were missing.

Bike repair take #1

It was already late when I finished my push workout, I was tired and didn't had a clue where the electrical failure could be, a couple of good reasons to postpone the research to the next morning. Trying to avoid having to take off the heavy full tank, I decided to start by checking the connections on the ignition key and go from there. I took the front right fairing off, funny fact, the fairing has 4 screws fixing it but they are all different and I needed a different tool for each of them :-) (note: this is not by design). Once I exposed the ignition switch I immediately saw the culprit.

Now I just to take care of it, I welded it as good as I could, did a pull test on it and it seamed ok, then protected it with gorilla tape, mounted it back and everything looked fine. Allen and Ricardo, who had just arrived the evening before, offered themselves to escort me during the test ride (just in case).

We stopped around 10 kms to talk about where to go next and I switched off the engine, when we agreed everyone left, I turned the key on but nothing happened, tried moving the cable on the engine switch but it didn't help, meanwhile Allen and Ricardo had returned and Allen called for a truck to pick us up.

By the time we're back, another day was gone and the bike was still not working properly. Besides that I saw that the water expansion tank was completely empty and during the short ride I also noted that the steering bearings were not ok, another thing that bothers me is that the bike has no working speedometer or tachometer, that means I'll never know exactly how many kms I've done since the last refill and that's not good.

Finally

It has been a while, since a friend of mine told me, that a good friend of his would drive a bike all the way up to Magadan and drop it there due to time constraints with no intention to hold it. This was back in 2012 and I had already booked a flight to Brasil, so unfortunately I could not be the lucky one but passed the opportunity to a good friend of mine, who was happy to do the job, if you can call it that. Since then I was offered to drive back from Magadan in 2014 but the guy heading there canceled his trip, then this year again from Osh but again at the final moment, nothing. This time however, I thought about being me driving east and let someone else do the back route and while I was starting the plan, a new opportunity came up. After exchanging some information and adjusting expectations we nailed it down.

The first day didn't start so well, two passengers on my first flight dropped their luggage at the check in but didn't show up for boarding, delaying the flight for over an hour. On the second flight wasn't any better, I don't know what happened but we had to wait another hour on the ground, landing in Bishkek shortly after 5:00 am.

Spent the day checking the bike and doing some maintenance, it was supposed to be a turn key, but it soon proved to be different. Placed in a new battery and changed the chain kit. First problem raised when I found out that I had no tool to rivet the chain.

Then tried to start the engine but it didn't work, the tank was empty. Tried again after pooring some fuel in but again no luck. The bike is equipped with a non standard, Facet fuel pump which I know to produce a lot of noise when it runs out of fuel but this one was completely silent, tried connecting it directly to the battery and it worked, checked the battery connection and solved the problem.

All attempts to rivet the chain without a proper tool failed, the host I'm staying with remembered about someone who should have one and was very kind to organize it by the next morning, cannot thank him enough for that.
The panniers are also in pretty bad shape, dented on the corners an with cracks on almost every place it was weld.

This morning I was finally able to rivet the chain and do a first test ride in the backyard, got my helmet and went to the gas station but 500 meters later remembered I had forgotten my papers and turned around to get them. Stopped the engine, went in for the papers and when tried to start it again, nothing, complete blackout. Pushed it in, took of the seat and found the battery cables to be loose, tighten them up, turned the key on, pushed the start button and it run again. Fueled it up and decided to do a short tour to get a feeling for it an check that everything was OK but just after 2 km the engine stalled and all lights went out, took once again the sit off  but all cables were fine, none loose.

With no chance to get the engine started I had to push it 2,5 km back. At least there was a little supermarket on the way to get some water.

This is a typical house in Sokuluk, surrounded by tall walls, preventing any view to the inside.

to be continued ...