You know your a newbie when?!
 

Today i figured out that i had done a total newbie mistake..

Lets take it from the start..

Ive spent the past 2 days trying to figure out why i had such a bad back fire after doing an oil change??!!

Well the problem was THE OIL CHANGE.

i went as far as taking of my pair reed valve plates off only to figure out the last guy who owned the bike put in the valve blocks from whatever company it is..

well i then remebered it was sort of hard to get my lower fairing on.......

I PINCHED THE 2 OUT OF THE 3 TUBES THAT HANG AMIDST THE LOWER FAIRING AFTER CHANGING THE FILTER!!

well i took the lower fairing off, moved the tubes to where they should be and waaalaaa!!! NO MORE BACKFIRE AT ALL!

and now i know my pair system has been disabled..

its been a long couple of stressfull days...

i may just change my handle to chicken little!

Nothing permanent, and you 'fessed up. You're forgiven.

:noob: :bitchslap: :spank:


Ahhhhh...fun with Smilies. We live and we learn, right?

Why is it so much fun to confess our silly little mistakes anyways. I prefer to have those in private without anybody watching when I forget to put spark plug wires back on and then wonder why my bike runs like crap. I mean theoretically speeking...

we should keep this going as the official come clean im a jackass thread

the day i picked my bike up from the dealer, i was taking the motorcycle safety coarse that weekend and have not been on a motorcycle in over ten years. So I was a little nervous, as I started my bike and put in gear and it stalls. repeat 3x and my sales man comes out and says put the side stand up and please be carefull.

lol.. raises hand for side stand..

Also, when I get to where I'm going on the bike to shut it off.. I just kick the stand down... usually. EVERYTIME I use the kill switch on the handle bar.. I forget... Look at the bike.. WTF?!?! I was just riding it, why wont it start.. DOH! for got to flip it back to "run"... I've even been riding down the road one day and accidentally hit it.. freaked me out so bad to be SO far from home with no ride.. it took me a couple minutes to figure out I hit it.. lol..

There's mine.. NEXT.

BTDT!

I got a kick out of this one:

http://forum.svrider.com/showthread.php?t=80308

Self confessing Sidestand man here.........LOL....

Engine kill switch wont let the engine start? Ohhhhhh! Thats where that big ass backfire came from. LOL Some people called it flooding the carbs. I called it Mikes a moron lmao

I was once reassembling the 351 in my '71 Bronco and my wife was calling me for dinner just before I put the intake manifold on. I asked her to give me fifteen minutes to complete the job - and quickly installed the manifold with new gaskets and Permatex. When I went out after dinner to install the pushrods, I searched the entire garage with no luck.

Yup, they were wrapped in a shop towel, in the lifter valley, under the intake manifold.

i done the ,

stalls when put in gear because kickstand was down, i couldnt figure out what that damn "S" lit up in the cluster was..

and I have tried to start the bike with the engine button OFF and almost called for my wife in my truck with the bike ramp..

i ve also hit my start button for about 10 minutes when i finally realized the key had to be in the on position..

these are all newbie mistakes... im sure everyone has done these at least one time

I usually coast up to a stop like say for gas and turn the key too turn off my bike but eveyr blue moon probly habits from the dirtbike I hit the button... get gas come out of store and theirs me looking like a idiot thinking "it was running fine!!" oh.... yeah.... vrooommm

I love the thought process posts.. I can actually follow them.. lol..

and yes.. it DOES backfire when you do the kill switch attepmted start thing.. when it finally starts...

ive crapped my pants about 4 times not expecting "the start with kill switch off " backfire... i always get looks too...newbie.. my wife always asks me " what do you need to buy for the bike now?"

I think driving off with a padlock in the front rotor was one of my worst moments. Made it about three feet, had to buy a new rotor.

I hate the kill switch. I always, always use my key to turn the bike off. Kill switch always remains on. A bump from your hand or the helmet will confuse the shit out of me for about a minute till I check it.

Ummm... left the oil fill cap off after an oil change?

("Gee, why does it sound so strange??")

Oh, and I have the kickstand problem so often its not even worth mentioning..

lol when I bought a padlock I made sure I got the lil dummie cord. then when somone stole my lock as it was laying on the ground (no key just lock) I got the alarm one now if I even sit on the thing without taking it off my ear drums burst

From the resident newb, I've had my share as well. Can't say how many times ive forgotten the disc brake lock over the years. Or the time when I was trying to bend the frame stand on my DL-1000 while on the bike. It ended up on it's side. Or the time I was putting in a new clutch on my truck and had the bellhousing bolted back down only to realize i left off the throwout bearing. Or maybe the time I was trying to remove the pinion bearing on my new rear ford 9" third member and ended up cracking the housing. Fun times..

I've had the habit of hitting the kill when parking if the radiator fan is running when I stop, just to let the fan run until it stops on it's own. Of course, I forget to undo the kill switch and try to restart later with obvious results. Last time I did it at work, I called out the GEM (Ground Equipment Maintenance) with their jump truck because I thought it was my weak battery not allowing the engine to crank fast enough. After a few minutes with the cables hooked up and cranking the engine over again and again and again, I noticed the kill switch. Yeah, felt like a winner there...

I think I can win this one!? 2 weeks ago thursday I pulled into
work, shut the bike off, swung my right leg over and proceeded to hyperextend my left knee/drop the bike on my left knee and fracture my femur. It all happend so damn fast I'm not even sure if I put the kickstand down. Luckily no surgery required to fix the fracture, but 3 months non-weight bearing and zero mobility until the doctor says so. Anybody got an
extra clutch lever??? (mine is f'd beyond repair)

Ouch! Sorry to hear that. Damn, ten more weeks?

its always the best when you got a crowd

Yer a noob when......

Gear is important, yes it is. First the jacket, then the helmet gets strapped on, then the gloves pulled up and velcroed.

First the helmet comes off to put the sunglasses on, then the gloves come back off because the ignition key and lock key are still in the pants pocket. Twice on the same ride, to the noisy amusement of your riding partner.

Yeah, now throw an iPod on your wrist and add remembering to put the earbuds in yer ears into the mix, and you have my version of "the dance".

Tip: Get a piece of the velcro used for bundling wires (Home Depot) or some kind of clippy thing and put it on your keys. When you get off the bike, velcro/clip the keys to the d-ring on your helmet. This prevents two issues: (1) putting on your helmet and then not being able to find your keys; and (2) riding off without your helmet. The latter has never happened to me, but for some (likely those who have had several adult beverages during their stop), it has been a concern.

I usually keep my gloves in my helmet, and so remove the key from the helmet d-ring and put it in the ignition, drape the gloves over the triple/ignition area, then go through the rest of it. Gloves go on just before turning the key (and when the big v-twin roars to life, discovering that the iPod earbuds aren't in). :rolleyes:

I was riding back from lunch today and noticed a guy on a ninja 650 sitting in a lane blocking traffic at a major intersection. I pulled around and got on the sidewalk. At that point he was on the side walk letting people by. I walked up to him and asked if he needed help. He said the bike just died and wouldn't start. I looked down and his kill switch was on. I flicked the switch and the bike started right up. He said he didn't know what happened. I shrugged and said it happens to all of us. He was in shorts and a t-shirt and it looked like he just got the bike. :)

Major rectal cranium Impaction.........
 

I bet NOooo One has done this b4....I got home at 2:00 am 12 hr shifts etc .... decide to change my mixture so i take off the seat were i keep my "Tools" for tunein da bike and stuff.
For Some damn retared reason i take the key out of the lock i think i was gonna put it in the ign. Then start the bike but i decided it was too late so where do i put the key ???? up my ass would have been easier to get back... i stuck it in the seat hole of DOOM!!!! so long story short 3 hrs later i got my key back....Time to go make a spare.... i had to get my straps and cherry picker out and jack the back of the bike up almost vertical and smack the bike around to drop the key into the frame it was a bitch!!

Still a braindead nOOb at times even after 8 years of SH ownership. Long, but this self disclosure should make you guys feel better. I have COMPLETELY torn down and rebuilt this bike chassis, engine and trans and yet, some days I wish my wife would lock my tool box and hide the keys.

After sitting in the shed for 3 mos. I pulled the Hawk out a couple weeks ago to diagnose my no power between 2500 - 5500 that developed. Checked valve lash, cam timing, plugs, etc., etc. and found it was a bad rear coil. I just happened to have a new one in my box so I replaced it and took off for a much needed ride. I flogged it for 15 minutes or so and noticed the faint smell of oil. I get back to the house and realize I have oil all down the side of the bike and all over my pants. It was too late and I was too tired, so I brake-cleaned my pants and headed for bed (luckily, I did remember to take them off first).

Skip to the next morning. I pull the tank to find the leak, which was difficult as oil was everywhere. Though I've pulled the tank at least 100 times, this go 'round I managed to drop the nut for the hinge bolt on the rear of the tank never to be recovered - the thing literally disappeared! I pulled the rear plug boot to clean out the oil that had pooled in the head and cleaned all the oil and ran the bike. No visible leak, so I figured I need to ride it a little to put a load on it. Putting the tank back on I bumped the completely loose valve cover bolt and realized the source of the oil. Grabbed a 10mm and tightened the bolt happy I found the problem though feeling like a moron. But hey, I'm only human. Adding to my happiness, I found a replacement for the lost nut in my tool box.

With it all back together I fired her up excited to go take an early Saturday ride, but I immediately noticed she was running like crap again at low RPM. After a few minutes of cussing, I pulled the tank up and reinstalled the plug boot. No big deal said my ego, I just need more coffee. Fired her up again and she sounded sweet for about 20 seconds, then quit. I tried to fire for about another thirty seconds, followed by a few more minutes of cussing. Then, again, a (dim) light bulb went off in my head and I pulled the tank up again and opened the fuel valve. My ego, disgusted, then retracted any and all support and said, "I give up, you're a moron."

Some mornings you just shouldn't get out of bed...

You're right, that does make me feel better.:D So did you walk to get the coffee? I'll never work on the bike (or my truck, for that matter) without getting a cup-o-joe up the street.