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Info Longford Motorama 2022

Discussion in 'Rides and Events - Clubs and Groups' started by Frankster, Mar 14, 2022.

  1. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Part 1 - The Trip

    Hi All,

    Yesterday, I thought I'd go for a bit of a ride and blow the cobwebs out of myself and the little Suzuki Across. Having only recently started riding again, I wasn't too keen on anything like one of Murdo's long distance adventures, so I decided to go to the Longford Motorama. It's about a 180km round trip from my place, so that was plenty as I was riding solo and taking the back roads which turned out to be a bucket load of fun.

    The town of Longford has a special place in Australian Motor Racing history and if you want to know more, then you should use the following link.

    http://www.speedwayandroadracehistory.com/longford.html
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2022
  2. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Part 2 - The Pain

    So, after having a fun country ride to Longford, the bike started running rough coming into Longford and eventually stalled as I pulled into the first service station to get fuel and maybe see what was wrong with the old girl. Fuel (91) was only $2.09 per litre, but deisel down here is crazy, $2.28 is the cheapest I've seen.

    Anyway, after putting some fuel in the thing and letting her sit for a bit, I attempted to get her started. She eventually came to life and with me blipping the throttle, I rode off to the motorama. Again, she stalled once I went to park her. I shut her off and let her sit for a couple of hours while checking out the show.
     
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  3. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Part 3 - The Bikes

    I went to Longford as the local VJMC had a stand and I thought there would be plenty of bikes on show...there wasn't. It was more a car thing, so that was a little disappointing. Tasmania is a really weird place when it comes to old vehicles. Considering the population is little more than 540,000 people, it's amazing how many old, well-maintained, vehicles there are down here. I found out the other day, that a bloke around the corner from me has 4 complete model T Fords in his shed! Another neighbour has several rideable 1930's inline 4 Indians.

    Anyhoot, the VJMC stand was okay, but only a handful of bikes on show.

    Longford 2022 01.jpg

    Longford 2022 02.jpg

    Longford 2022 03.jpg

    Longford 2022 04.jpg
     
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  4. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Part 4 - The Cars

    There was a lot of cars, both street and racing. I have posted a few below, but there was a lot of really interesting displays and it was a really good day. Hopefully, the VJMC got a bit of interest with their stand and display. There was the odd other bike in the place, but not too much.

    Longford 2022 05.jpg

    Longford 2022 06.jpg
    Longford 2022 07.jpg
    Longford 2022 08.jpg
    Longford 2022 09.jpg

    Longford 2022 10.jpg

    Longford 2022 11.jpg

    Longford 2022 12.jpg
     
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  5. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Part 5 - The ride home

    Well, I knew I was in trouble when I got back to the bike and she didn't want to start. Felt like she was trying to run on at least one less cylinder than what is concidered normal. I can't be 100% sure what was causing the problem, but my first thought was "Mikuni carbs...damn you all to hell!".

    Anyway, she eventually started and with me again blipping the throttle all over the place, I eventually made it out onto the open roads and she seemed to be going okay as long as the revs were kept highish. When I eventually got home, I pulled up expecting the bike to stall and the bloody thing just kept on idling as if nothing had happened. I started her again later in the day and went for a quick lap around the block and again, all was well. Weird.
     
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  6. GreyImport

    GreyImport Administrator Staff Member The Chief Contributing Member

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    Some nice machinery there :thumb_ups:

    Mikunis have a habit of spoiling peoples days :cool:
     
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  7. risky

    risky risky

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    and bendigo soon.
     
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  8. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    @Frankster some nice machinery there.
    I do not know what all the fuss is with Mikunis. I have never really had any great dramas with them.
    From what you have described, it sounds like some sort of fuel starvation thing.

    Have you checked the filters on the float needle valves? Some of the Mikunis have tiny little gauze filters installed above the needle and seat assemblies. Designed to filter out bricks on old crappy fuel. These can get blocked. For the trouble they can give you can just pull them out. You need to remove the needle and seat assembly from each float bowl. Also check the filter/strainer on the fuel inlet from the tank. Not sure if your bike has one. The strainer on my cbr250rr has given problems in the past.
    I think the plastic material they use swells over time and blocks the fine little holes.

    Good luck.

    Peter.
     
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  9. Frankster

    Frankster Grey Pride...Adventure before Dementia Staff Member Premium Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Hi Peter,

    These carbs were pretty bad. The engine would instantly flood if you used the choke and you could only really ride it in Summer and even then it had terrible flat spots. So, I ordered some bits from Litetek and rebuilt and balanced them. The bike was running fine, but that was the first long ride it had been on since the carbs were rebuilt. I'm not knowledgeable on Mikuni carbs, but I wouldn't think it was a filter issue as it idled and ran fine when I got her home (you'd think a blocked filter wouldn't unblock itself). I actually thought it had fouled a plug and cleared itself once I got going again. It was a hot day (28), but nothing crazy. I was hoping to have a long chat with the chief this weekend about these carbs, but that's no longer an option. I'll watch how it runs on the next ride. Fuel economy was terrible. Do you lower the needle if it's over-fueling?

    Rebuild.JPG

    Rebuild 2.JPG

    Rebuild 3.JPG
     
  10. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    Lowering the needle (raising the clip up one position) will make it run leaner.
    The balance by your synchrometer looks to be pretty decent, so don't change that.
     
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