Wasting away again... in Fishersville

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Wasting away again... in Fishersville

Postby Chiba » Sat Sep 22, 2007 10:53 pm

The day dawned muggy and overcast, but Steve Villanueva, my trusty Channel 4 weatherman, said it would burn off in a couple hours. It did, and the weather was glorious from about 0900 on. GLORIOUS!

Feeling chipper from my recent victory over my hard-start gremlin, I planned a day of Void practice. That is, as a way of prepping for the Void, I'd be gallavanting around the countryside gathering up QIT points, doing it the Rally Way(tm), and generally having fun.

First gas receipt - 0805 - and we're off.

I made Waterlick VA by around 0930 or so, part slab, part fun roads. Next stop...

Head Waters VA.

Interesting road, US 250 to Head Waters. It goes right through George Washington National Park, up one side of a mountain and down the other. 15 mph hairpin curves, most nicely banked. I always do better going uphill than down, but it was both fun and pucker-inducing in both directions - followed the same road out & back.

My bike was running great. Smoother than I think it's ever run since I got it. New ignition coil, new plug wires, new plugs, fresh engine oil - just a smooth ride all around.

I didn't see many motorcycles during the early part of the day, but all of a sudden, in Strasburg (this is after Waterlick), there were ... 20 or 25 cruisers rumbling by in the other direction, seemingly from out of nowhere. Pretty cool.

Anyway.

I jumped on I-81 S, then onto I-64 E to head to my last QIT spot for the day, Lovingston VA. From there, I was going to visit my mom, who was in the hospital earlier in the week due to an infection of some kind. Mom lives in Bumpass VA, and as I was planning on staying the night, I planned on gathering the points for that location on the way home Sunday morning.

Tomorrow morning.

At Exit 91, I decided to jump off the highway, hit the Sheetz mentioned on the signs, and grab some lunch. It was, after all, about noonish. A nice cheese & veggie sub with some chips and a nice bottle of water would set me up nicely til suppertime at my mom's place.

I ordered, I ate, I relaxed with my helmet off. I took a leak, then geared up to head to Lovingston...

...which is when the sh*t hit the fan. Until that precise point, the only "problem" I'd had all day was discovering that the mount I bought for my 2610 doesn't fit quite as snugly to the bar as it needs to to keep the GPS from slowly drifting downward, but some duct tape in Waterlick had fixed that problem up pretty quickly.

A new problem emerged. My bike wouldn't start. At all.

No matter what I did, the fuel pump would not prime.

I went over every connection - vent hoses, electrical wires, fuel lines. Went over them again. In the parking lot, 8 feet from the front door of Sheetz.

Nothing. I mean ... nothing.

I remembered at that point a conversation I had with myself 15 seconds before I walked out the door. "Self," I said, "do you think you should take your BMWBMW member book, the one with all the phone numbers in it?" "Nah, Self," I replied, "you fixed the problem with that new ignition coil and those g-damned expensive spark plug cables, remember?" "Yeah, Self," I re-replied, "I did, didn't I? Won't need the book."

I started making phone calls based on the numbers I have stored in my phone. Chaz was first. Then Wiredcur. Then my brother. Then my in-laws. Then my other brother. Then my wife, who I knew wouldn't be able to help me, but at that point I just wanted to talk to a human being instead of a voice mail system. Little did I know the battery on her cell phone died 16 hours previously. Then I called my friend Jason.

Finally, I called my mom. Well, my stepfather, who happens to live with my mom. He lives in Bumpass, too :)

He hooked up his trailer to his truck and drove the 80 miles / 90 minutes to pick me and my dead m-f'ing bike up at the Sheetz.

In the meantime, I talked to Chaz, Wiredcur, Kitty, one of my brothers, Jason, and my in-laws. I got Anton's phone number - and Anton's voice mail.

For those of you wondering at this point, Fishersville is slightly NW of Waynesboro - 30 miles or so west of Charlottesville. To get from F-ville to Bumpass, we had to pass C-ville on I-64. I figured if I could get Anton, I could take the bike to him and he could fix it.

Because, frankly, at this point, I'm ready to make a ritual sacrifice of the f'ing thing and dance naked around it in the moonlight as it burns.

My stepfather took me back to his house, arriving about 1700 or so, where I met up with my wife & kid and learned of my wife's cell phone dead-ness. We had a nice spaghetti supper, ooh'd and aah'd over my daughter's artwork for the day, then loaded up in stepdad's truck to trailer my soon-to-be-crispy motorcycle back to my house, where it is currently sitting, still on the trailer, as I ogle the brand-new Caberg Justissimo my wife bought me as an early Christmas present.

Right now, this very second, I'm actually thinking that I may never need the shiny new lid.

At least I'm home, though. At least I'm home.

--chiba
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Postby Unity » Sat Sep 22, 2007 11:06 pm

:(

--John 8)
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Postby wiredcur » Sat Sep 22, 2007 11:18 pm

I hope you don't take that drastic measure, Chiba. Glad you made it home safe and sound.
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Postby Hello Kitty » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:49 am

Glad to hear you're safe and sound, but sorry about the bike. Let us know what you find.

But you better find it QUICK! Void in a few weeks!!!
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Postby Chiba » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:53 am

I accidentally left the key in the ignition overnight.

It's still on the trailer, though. I guess the hoodlums in my neighborhood thought the tie-downs were too much trouble. Either that, or they KNOW that when a Beemer's on a trailer, it ain't worth stealin' at that point in time.

I forgot the best part of the adventure when I was typing up the above last night.

I'm in the Sheetz parking lot. I have my tank disconnected and raised up so I can check all the connections.

No less than 3-4 random people ask me - do I need help, do I need a phone, did you know Shenandoah Harley is just up the road a piece? 2 women, a couple, and a teenager - none of them on motorcycles.

During the same stretch of time, no less than 8 bikers passed through the Sheetz. Not *ONE* of them asked me the same questions. Ever. Not one. Two of the guys - cruiser riders - walked past me FOUR times as they left their bikes parked side-by-side at the pump for a solid 15 minutes (keep in mind, this is about, oh, 1330-1400 on a busy Saturday afternoon). Yet not a single one of my "brothers" asked if I was OK, did I need help, etc.

One guy on a cool looking Goldwing-ish Yamaha did ask if I needed help, but by that time everything was put back together and my stepfather & I were getting ready to put the bike on the trailer. I declined his help, but thanked him for asking.

That, I think, is more discouraging than the broken bike. Sad, too. I think of how many times we (collectively) around here have stopped to help other riders in need, and it makes me think that maybe I won't be helping out cruiser riders any more.

--chiba
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Postby pjamet » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:40 am

From reading your post over the last few months, I know that this is not your nature
it makes me think that maybe I won't be helping out cruiser riders any more
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Postby Dough Boy » Sun Sep 23, 2007 9:50 am

chiba,

Man, that sucks. Sounds like you have some sort of intermittent problem, and I certainly have wanted to burn my bikes before too. (Haven't done so yet.)

Glad you got it back home, let me know if I can help.
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Postby pjamet » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:17 am

Dough Boy wrote:chiba,

Man, that sucks. Sounds like you have some sort of intermittent problem, and I certainly have wanted to burn my bikes before too. (Haven't done so yet.)

Glad you got it back home, let me know if I can help.


are you offering to help set it ablaze? :wink: :lol:
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Postby Bicyclist » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:39 am

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ARRRGG!
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Postby Unity » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:58 am

Dough Boy wrote:I certainly have wanted to burn my bikes before too. (Haven't done so yet.)

We are assured that when you do, you'll post pictures. :wink:

--John 8)
2002 R1150RT, Silver
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(Trust me.)
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Postby Hello Kitty » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:02 pm

pjamet wrote:From reading your post over the last few months, I know that this is not your nature
it makes me think that maybe I won't be helping out cruiser riders any more


Yeah! And don't judge all by the dozen or so you encountered. I KNOW that you know better than that.
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Postby BchrisL » Sun Sep 23, 2007 1:40 pm

I am sorry you got stranded out at a gas station.

I went back and reread http://bmwbmw.org/bmwforums/viewtopic.php?t=9234 to see if there was a clue in the post that might lead one to suspect the Hall sensor.

First off, sometimes it starts right up, and sometimes it doesn't.

When it doesn't, it will just crank & crank & crank but never catch.


and this one: http://bmwbmw.org/bmwforums/viewtopic.php?t=9164

my fuel pump isn't coming on (whiiiiiiiiiine) every time I turn my bike on


It sounds to me like a classic example of hall sensor failure, since the puel pump would not engage.

The hall sensor tells the computer when to start the fuel pump. If it never says "when" then the computer never says "GO" to the fuel pump, or the injectors or the ignition for that matter.

Image

Image
I have the little box to test the sensors if you would like to use it.


Image

OK folks Lets work the problem!
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Postby Chiba » Sun Sep 23, 2007 6:50 pm

That's a great idea, how can I catch up with you to get that funky-lookin' box?? Oh - and PLEASE tell me that the hall sensor is under the tank, because I'm getting REALLY good at removing my tank. I can do it now in under 3 minutes, including removing the tank-edge plastics.

I'm also thinking - maybe the sidestand switch.

Now my bike's sitting down at Jim & Tina's house - as yet unburnt - and I've returned my step-d's truck & trailer. Kind of a beautiful day to spend cooped up in cages.

pjamet wrote:From reading your post over the last few months, I know that this is not your nature

Yeah, you're probably right :)

Today I saw one, debated with myself briefly, then turned around and went back about a half-mile to ask a side-of-the-road biker if he needed help - I figured, hell, worst case he needs a trailer - which I happened to have at that moment.

He'd just been stung by a bee or wasp or something and was taking a moment to recover. It got him on the neck!! Ouch!

I was secretly a little glad he didn't need help. Just a little.

--chiba
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Postby BMWGirl » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:08 pm

yup - I saw the little devil in our driveway. Jim's pretty sure he knows what's wrong with it - so MAYBE we can get this bad boy running WITHOUT the use of a match!! :lol:
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Postby Chiba » Sun Sep 23, 2007 10:21 pm

Tell Jim not to work on it himself... I've taken advantage of him enough in the past - PLEASE ask him to let me do the work w/his supervision.

(That's why I didn't leave the key :) Nice cover, though, eh? Thanks for the inspiration on that one!)

I was joking with the wife earlier, it went something like this.

Me: So a guy on the board thinks it might be this thing called the "hall sensor", which has something to do with the electronics that regulate the fuel system.
Her: That's not what you said it might be, though, right?
Me: No, I said I thought it might be the sidestand switch - but what the f* do I know - I just spent almost $200 on parts I probably didn't need *AND* wasted 2 weeks f'ing around with my bike when I could have fixed the real problem and been riding trouble-free all month.
Her: So how much is a hall sensor?
Me: About, oh, I found one for $115 used, so that probably means $200 or more new. Plus, it's a cast-iron bitch to get at, according to my Clymer manual. It looks like you have to take half the bike apart to get at it.
Her: How much is the other thing?
Me: The sidestand switch? $15 used, so probably $40 or 50 new.
Her: Easy or hard to get at?
Me: Real easy, though getting the wiring out looks like a little bit of work. Like 2 bolts and the wires though.
Her: (thinks)
Her: It's the hall sensor.

--chiba
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