Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Well.. so much for that.

This morning I figured I might get a few miles in.. not much, just an hour or so to get the bikes ( and my) juices flowing a bit and help me prepare for the chores I need to get done this afternoon.

I go out to the shed and push her out, and it spins..and spins.. and spins. I let it sit for a bit then it spins and spins and finally starts. I let her run for a few minutes then go in to get geared up and when I return.. it spins and spins and spins... take a break and it spins for another long while and I finally crack the throttle about 1/4 and it starts again. It's a bit cool this morning so I shrug it off figuring it has been sitting a couple of weeks.

It has been acting a little odd since my igniter went out and since I couldn't afford to pay 600 dollars for a replacement, I bought a Procom unit and set it on the suggested detent... the bike hasn't been the same since. Had I known that it was not a direct replacement, I certainly wouldn't have wasted my money.. but I digress.

Anyway. I pull out in the road and of course it is running lean and coughing like it has since the module replacement until it gets warmed up. I then proceed to the fuel stop and pondered not even shutting it off but thought better of it and shut it down. Probably a good thing..

I had the nozzle in my right hand and mashed the premium button with my left and fuel began immediately spraying from the nozzle covering my tank, headlight, speedometer, gloves and front end with fuel. It seems the lever lock was engaged on the nozzle for whatever reason.

Dunno if it was stuck, I did it accidentally (though it has never happened to me any of the other 40+ plus years I've been putting fuel in machines)or what but nonetheless, I am now sitting at the pump with fuel dripping from my bike and onto the hot engine and headers.

Figuring I needed to remove the bike and myself from the puddle of fuel we're sitting in, I push the bike out into the sun in hopes of drying away the fuel and give a chance to wipe it down. Looking around I see that there is, of course, no fire extinguisher in sight.. nor even a water hose.

Sure enough it is in the headlight bucket(not a good place for fuel) console, front fender etc. so I dig into my saddlebags to finds that for the first time ever since I've had this bike, I didn't have one single rag. Now anyone who has ever ridden with me can attest that I usually carry at least 2.. but not today it seems.

So I did what I had to and took off my jacket then sacrificed a perfectly good Triumph T-shirt to the cause. I got out my tool roll (soaked with fuel as well) and removed the headlamp to clean out the bucket, wiped everything else down and sat for a bit to let most of the fumes dissipate.

Figuring that this wasn't meant to be. I decided to call it a day and head back home.... of course it didn't want to start again until I cracked the throttle.

So what, exactly, am I trying to say? Well I guess today just wasn't a good day to ride and Procom igniters suck... I am definitely not a satisfied customer.

Man what a bad day...........sorry you're having so much trouble. Might be a good day to do nothing as hard as that is.

Remember the Buick commercials from a few years back? They said something like "this is not your fathers Buick" with the impression the newer models are better.
Well the Procom could use they same catch phrase with of course a different meaning.Procom sure aint oem.

I've got two bad stock ligniters, both off on 03 models. Mine and a fellows bike I worked on a few weeks back. I might take a hack saw to one of these sucker just to see what makes em tick.
I swear it would seem someone could repair/rebuild these things. Maybe me?

That's a rough start - sounds like a good day to just go home and chill out.

Are there different settings for the procom?

Dang chy,

In the headlight bucket? 'You done it good'. You're gonna laugh about that one (in a couple of years)!

Yeah well.. better now.

I stripped down the bike to clean it up and figured while I was there I'd tinker with the igniter and found a setting that seems to be just what I needed. Just got back from a very 50ish mile run.. gotta say I'm feeling a lot better about it. No decel popping though.. bummer, but I'll adjust. I'll post details in the procom thread for those interested.

So, sorry Procom for hating on you.. I was having a moment. My apologies.

so ...everything happens for a reason?

Go and buy a lottery ticket.
After all that bad,maybe some good's coming

In a month it will make an amusing anecdote.

When I am in need of a rag and have none I usually use my socks. They are cheap, don't care about em and you don't look any different once you put your shoes back on.

ive used socks for tp on more than once.

That's an image I could do without on a Sunday night.

TMI thanks!

I hate it when people lock the pump after they use it and shut the fuel off. That happened to me on my way to the AR rally in '09. Fortunately I was pointed away from the bike but I always make sure the lock is disengaged now before I turn the pump on/flip the lever/hit the start button/etc. I've found more than a few stations don't even have the locks on there anymore which sucks when I try to fill up my truck.

I just hope I didn't leave any bike problem juju when I came by. The Daytona ran fine most of the way home on Monday but I went for a ride on Wednesday and the issue came back in a big way as I turned around and started heading home. Sorta looks like it's heat related since the temps here on Wed were in the upper 90's and the only way to limp home was to stop every once in a while and wait for a bit. Radiator was working fine. Praying that it's not an ECU issue.

When the station has those locks removed I just wedge my gas cap in there instead to hold it open.

Just so you know you're not alone...

In the course of transporting petroleum products, it is a near certainty that everyone involved eventually gets a head to toe petro bath somewhere along the line. It's kind of like dropping a bike - it's not if as much as when. I've had a few of these baths myself. Gasoline stings, & fuel oil stinks. I recall in my 20 something year old days sporting a #2 fuel soaked shirt sleeve into the local dive years ago, and proceeded to light the sleeve on fire to show off to the 60 something year old bartender. He was not amused.