Aha !                    
Now I get it !  

I'll have an order out shortly, it's incredible but I can't find these super slim tools over here, bikes have a box for things under the saddle... has anyone ever made a compartment for things on the Savage? (other than the barrel-style tool pouch under the front light)

Maurizio

Yes, I am aware of the small compartment to the right of the battery, and stay well assured that, 17 years and 6 owners on, the only tools left are two spare fuses...
That's why I bought myself a leather barrel-type toolbox, I like to pack !

Maurizio

OK guys, I need   [glow=red,2,300] A L L [/glow]   the help I can get.

Remember my previous posts re: the bike that won't start?
I have changed the spark plug,
I have changed a full tank with new clean gas
I have cleaned the air filter
I have fitted a fuel filter...

Bike started, chuggachuggachug, would not go beyond 1500rpm, lots of black smoke from the exhaust, and eventually she died  :'(

Allowed her to rest a bit, opened air filter box, without the air filter she restarted for a second, chuggachuggachug then POFFF and died again.

Battery flat.

I have asked around, and have been advised:
- check that the fuel bowl isn't full of muck [glow=red,2,300]HOW? [/glow]
- check the connections to the coil
- check the coil-to-spark plug connections
- check if the decompressor mechanism isn't jammed/dry/whatever and leaves the exhaust valve partially open (just a draft)  
The guy who gave me this last tip had a Honda Dominator he had stripped and disassembled to the bone, it took him months to realize it was the decompressor that only needed oil and a few wiggles.

Any help on how to pull down the fuel bowl?
I am on the brink of depression... :'( :'( :'(
I bought $500 worth of accessories and can't even start the bike  :'( :'( :'(

Maurizio

Maurizio,
In response to your question, the decomp valve is accessed on the valve cover, behind the chrome cover on the left-hand side of the bike (the one that you remove to change the plug).  Toward the front of the bike atop the head cover, there will be a small actuator lever with a cable attached to it and a shaft running into the valve cover near the left-hand exhaust valve (it looks something like a throttle unit).  This is the decomp valve actuator assembly.  It is controlled by a solenoid that fires and pulls the cable when you press the starter button--just before the starter motor begins to turn over.  This actuation is the intial "click" you hear when you press the starter button.

Hence, a simple check of the system can be done by removing the chrome cover, turning the bike's ignition to "On" and lightly pressing the starter buttom.  You should hear the solenoid fire and see the cable pull the decomp lever up several millimeters.  If you hear the solenoid click, but the lever doesn't move, check to see if you can move it with your hand:  if not, lubricate the shaft with bearing grease; if so, check the free play on the cable.  As I remember, the cable needs 3 to 5 mm of free play to actuate correctly.  Primarily, what you want to insure is that the cable is not so tight (or that it's not binding such) that it cannot "bottom out" against valve cover.  Adjust the cable travel if necessary (there is a pair of locknuts on the cable housing just above the decomp lever for this purpose--it adjusts just like the lower end of your clutch cable).  Obviously, if the cable is not moving or you can't hear the solenoid operate, then the problem is on the electrical end.

With that said, what you describe seems more likely to be a problem of carburetion.  As others have suggested, I'd remove the carb, disassemble, and rebuild, removing any gunk that may have worked its way in.  At the very least, remove and clean the fuel bowl and check that the float is operating; also, I would clean the carb slide, clean the slide walls, and reinstall the slide with a very thin coat of 2-cycle engine oil.  If you continue to get a back flow of gas into the airbox, it sounds like a stuck slide or defective/improperly adjusted float may be to blame.

Reelthing wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:11:


Thank you Reelthing and DangerDave, I will answer your questions.

No, when I pulled the tank away I do not recall seeing any fuel dribble down the vacuum line. To be honest, I'd change the petc0ck for a traditional style fuel valve, On/Off/Res, but I'd have to drill the fuel tank and tap the (thin) sheet metal. Frankly I doubt it would work.

I have drained the fuel bowl, but would rather not pull down the whole carb, I'm not comfortable with that. I have also generously lubricated the decompressor assembly with 'three in one' oil, it worked alright since the beginning but some extra oil can't do any harm.

I have also checked the coil and cleaned the low voltage leads, but the HT lead seems to be glued on (vulcanized?) so I can't pull it off and clean that as well.

Last but not least, battery not quite dead but quite low, so off she comes, appear ye olde battery charger, clip on the wires and... smoke. The battery charger short circuited. A Bosch battery charger that breaks down?

[glow=red,2,300] :'( Is my bike jinxed ?  :'( [/glow]

Maurizio
(I can't believe a whole month has passed since I UNsuccesfully tried to start her, and she STILL won't start!)

if you want to consider it there is a post in the tech section on how to convert the petc0ck to a on/res/off
setup - I like the vacuum petc0ck myself - but you may not. -

Be sure and check out that oil!

Reelthing wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:11:


Reelthing, one innocent question...

If the bike won't start, it stays cold...
...which means, I can only drain cold oil.

10W/40, hope it's fluid enough.
Considering the local temperature is now in the low teens (Centigrade, fifties Farenheit) how efficiently will the oil pour out?
How can I tell if it's OK (it's only done some 500 Km, 350 miles) or if I must change it? Like, droplets of gasoline in the oil? Smears?

Maurizio