Sunday, October 4, 2009

Is There A Doctor In The House?

Ok, So this last week has marked a very sad turning point in my Harley Owning life.
Last Sunday I was heading out to help a friend fix the brakes on his car. I got close to where I was going to meet him & his family and when I slowed for a stoplight, Kate lost power & died. It doesn't sound too bad, but it's never happened before. It continued to happen at nearly every stop until I got to his house. I checked my oil first, it was a touch low but not bad enough to trigger that kind of reaction.
I thought briefly that maybe I had gotten too much gas in the tank & blocked the vent (I've had some experience with that in the past) or maybe even got a batch of bad gas, but even after I replaced the gas at the proper level, the same symptoms occurred. When she gets hot and then I pull to a stop, she loses power.
When I pulled into the driveway from work on Wednesday She died again.
That's IT! I called the service dept. I was told my Mechanic was busy on a big job & couldn't work on Kate until next week. I made arrangements to drop her off for a diagnostic.
I dropped her off yesterday and was told he might be able to start on it THURSDAY, Ugh! SO I'm stuck for at least a week with no bike...
Day 1... Withdrawal tremors setting in...
I think maybe I need an intervention. Does it have the same effect if you request it?
I have no idea.
Somebody go on a ride for me, ok? And, by all means, any advice or encouragement to help get through the week is greatly appreciated.
I'll catch you on the road...

5 comments:

Julie said...

No worries, my Honda's still humming along, with a 6 year old battery and no major malfunctions. I feel for you though. Hope it's minor and you're back on the road soon.

~Motormama said...

Hope Kate is back to her good hummin' self soon! =)

Legal Help Guy said...

I have have some trouble with our bike sometimes not starting. I found two issues.
1. some loose wires.
2. Low battery.

solutions
1. Tighten the screws
2. I added a "Battery Tender Jr." so I could keep the battery fully charged when it would sit for more than a day or two.

This really helped and I have not had to replace a battery in six years.

Chris Beason said...

Could be the ignition module. Sounds kind of like the trouble a friend of mine was having with his. After he had his replaced, he hasn't had any trouble. My husband decided that he needed a knew one so his could be a Stage 1 too. Harley said it was plug and play, but it's not. Programming it isn't hard tho, it just takes a little time and a battery tender.

Marg said...

Well, I don't know where you are located but at Bay Harbor Motors aka Staten Island Kawasaki, New Yorkers and New Jersey residents always bring their machines to us because we have the leading parts and service department in the country. You should check us out if you're in the area.

Peace,
--Marg