[drdeepudev]

Originally Posted by Abhishek3001

Is the krrrr... sound coming from the front disc brake under braking normal?
How can I check that the chain tension is correct on my bike?
.

Hello Abhishek,

The solution in detail has been given by ArizonaJim . Since your bike is new, I mean around 2000km, dirt or grime in the disc pads can also cause this sound while breaking. Cleaning of these pads may help you. Please see to it.

Also, regarding chain, please see previous posts, you will get a fair idea.

Regards and wishing you a safe ride.

[AWD]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

Mate although I am not sure if this will work with UCE motors but I have been practicing cleaning my CI spark plug
bucket seats for RE Classic and you will get the options.

I washed with pressure hose & cloth & uniformally sprayed water. Water may have entered the silencer also, could this also prevent it from starting up ?

Thanks, sure will check out the bucket seats. Im from up north, Pun.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by AWD

I washed with pressure hose & cloth & uniformally sprayed water. Water may have entered the silencer also, could this also prevent it from starting up ?

I am not really sure if water would have entered the silencer unless you deliberately pressure hosed the water into it. First try to remove and clean your spark plugs and then proceed with other diagnostics.

[man_of_steel]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

When the brake pads clamp tightly against the sides of the spinning disk there is a slight scrapping sound mixed with the noise air makes as it is trapped in and released from the holes in the disk and some, usually high frequency vibration of the disk.

I always assumed that the 'Krr' sound was coming due to the semi-floating setup of the rotor. It was there on all the bikes with semi floating setup I have ridden!

[AWD]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

I am not really sure if water would have entered the silencer unless you deliberately pressure hosed the water into it.

Actually it went by mistake, I was cleaning with cloth while unknowingly the hose was facing the silencer exit. Btw just tried now & it fired up on the 2nd kick. I think some water may have been preventing the startup yesterday, must have dried up by now.

[navin_v8]

Originally Posted by AWD

Actually it went by mistake, I was cleaning with cloth while unknowingly the hose was facing the silencer exit. Btw just tried now & it fired up on the 2nd kick. I think some water may have been preventing the startup yesterday, must have dried up by now.

I am still not sure if water can penetrate that deep into the silencer that it prevents starting the motorcycle unless the silencer is completely submerged and water enters the engine. Anyways now that your motorcycle has sprung to life take care henceforth while washing it.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

NOTE: The air enters thru the inside diameter and passes thru the filter paper towards the outside on its way to the engine.
If a blast of air is used to clean out the dust, it must be directed from the outside of the filter towards the inside.

Sir, the direction of air filtration is different with respect to models.

In my 2011 Standard, the intake hose is positioned in the center of the circular air filter (air filter assembly sits over the intake passage) and hence the direction of filtration is from the outside to the inside. So I clean it by air blasting it from the inside to the outside. I think it is the same in Electra 350 UCE.

In the C-500 models of the same period, the air filter setup is of the type you have mentioned. Actually this was a design goof up by RE, which they rectified by installing a plastic cover over the air filter and intake hole to prevent dust / unfiltered air entering the intake.

So the rule of the thumb is that
1. If you have a plastic cover over the air filter and on removing that you can see the air filter and the intake passage sitting side by side, then you have to clean the air filter by air blasting from outside to inside.

2. If your air filter sits over the air intake hole, then you will have to clean the air filter by air blasting from inside to outside

Originally Posted by drdeepudev

@Adrian, @man_of_steel, @Arizonajim

Update: Replaced the chain lock yesterday. The cost was Rs 29. Now its far better. The sound is not there and the overall driveability is much better.

Thank you.

Thanks for the update Doctor. Happy to know that your machine is back to good health

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by adrian

Sir, the direction of air filtration is different with respect to models.

...

So the rule of the thumb is that
1. If you have a plastic cover over the air filter and on removing that you can see the air filter and the intake passage sitting side by side, then you have to clean the air filter by air blasting from outside to inside.

2. If your air filter sits over the air intake hole, then you will have to clean the air filter by air blasting from inside to outside



...

Thank you for correcting me Sir.
The information is greatly appreciated.

About the pressure wash and the no-start condition.

IMO, water entering the exhaust silencer would be very unlikely to prevent the engines starting.

Even if the silencer were half full of water and it was pouring out on the ground the upper half of the pipe is still above the water level so there is sufficient area to accommodate a idling or starting engine.

The most likely reason the engine did not start is because water got into the high voltage wiring caps that plug into the coil or onto the spark plug.

The ignition voltage to the spark plug is well in excess of 17,000 volts and it will always follow the path of least resistance.

When everything is dry it is easier for the voltage to create the spark at the spark plug tip.

When water gets into the spark plug cap or the ignition coil it is easier for the voltage to zap thru the water to ground than it is to jump the gap at the spark plug tip. If this happens there will be no spark in the cylinder to ignite the fuel/air mixture.

If a similar thing happens after washing or riding the motorcycle thru a rain storm, the first thing to do is to is to make sure the spark plug cap and the spark plug insulator are totally dry. Even a little dampness can cause a problem.

I am not a fan of pressure washing because the high water pressure can blow past the rubber seals that are intended to keep the water out and the voltage in.

It is also important to keep water out of the many small wiring connectors on a motorcycle and even more so on the new computer controlled motorcycles.

While the connectors are designed to keep rain water out, a blast of high pressure water can overcome the seals on the connectors allowing the water to penetrate into them.

Most of the electrical wiring on these motorcycles is operating at very low voltages.
While these low voltages are not likely to short out to ground like a spark plug wire does when things are wet, the possibility of corrosion developing in the electrical connectors is high if water finds its way inside them.

Even the slightest corrosion in these connections will create an electrical resistance that can keep the computer from working properly.

This is why I shudder at the thoughts of people blasting water into all of the nooks and crannies a motorcycle has. (Yes, I find no acceptable excuse for a mechanic or repair shop to be blasting your nice motorcycle with high pressure water.
If they (or you) want to wash the bike, use a bucket of water and a rag.

Forget the instant gratification of blasting the bike with high pressure water.

[drdeepudev]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

This is why I shudder at the thoughts of people blasting water into all of the nooks and crannies a motorcycle has. (Yes, I find no acceptable excuse for a mechanic or repair shop to be blasting your nice motorcycle with high pressure water.
.

I had a similar experience. At the dealership, after a regular service, they washed the bike with this high pressure wash and after that the bike was not starting at all.

As you said, that cap above the sparkplug was the culprit. Again, they used high pressure air to dry that area which also failed. Finally, they replaced that at my cost and soon after the bike started. It was the same dealership who sealed my primary drain bolt and this was my last visit to them. Lesson learnt, the hard way.

[navin_v8]

Jim buddy you bring so much wealth of information on this forum with your knowledge and experience. I always watch out for your posts and also since you are a DIY guy I take your advice very seriously. My suspect about water not entering the exhaust silencer and spark plug being the culprit was close enough as per my experience after pressure washing. I too am not a very big fan of pressure washing as I know water is the greatest enemy of metal and electricity. I use pressure washing services once a year after monsoon and I stand next to the pressure wash fellow like a shadow and direct the spray gun away from all the electrical parts. You are right about taking adequate care while washing the new EFi controlled motorcycles as they have many electronic parts. A bucket and a cloth is sufficient to clean the bike provided one has patience and time. I have both on weekends .

[farhadtarapore]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

Jim buddy you bring so much wealth of information on this forum with your knowledge and experience. I always watch out for your posts and also since you are a DIY guy I take your advice very seriously. My suspect about water not entering the exhaust silencer and spark plug being the culprit was close enough as per my experience after pressure washing. I too am not a very big fan of pressure washing as I know water is the greatest enemy of metal and electricity. I use pressure washing services once a year after monsoon and I stand next to the pressure wash fellow like a shadow and direct the spray gun away from all the electrical parts. You are right about taking adequate care while washing the new EFi controlled motorcycles as they have many electronic parts. A bucket and a cloth is sufficient to clean the bike provided one has patience and time. I have both on weekends .

I also use bucket and cloth. But for those hard-to-reach areas where my fingers don't go, I use the Resqtech (www.resqtech.in) 8 liter manual washer (pressure = 3kg/m2). It's sufficient to wash off the dirt at a mild pressure especially now on the wet and dirty roads of mumbai.

[//M]

My 2012 Classic 500 had developed strange tak-tak noise from the engine compartment and also used to emit white smoke at times. My mechanic says the piston ring, connectors and packing could be an issue. So he will be inspecting the bike today for all these, however I'm shocked that how can these issues crop up so early in the lifespan of the motorcycle. It has just done 33000 kms and I have maintained it fairly well. The motorcycle has never let me down so far, until this recent issue.

[ssingri]

Please check if noise is more prominent when throttle is closed and engine is revving down. This will point to gudgeon pin bearing failure.

[adrian]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Thank you for correcting me Sir.
The information is greatly appreciated.

You are welcome and you can call me adrian or Arun.

regards Arun

[Shubhendra]

Originally Posted by adrian

Happy to know that your machine is back to good health

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

Forget the instant gratification of blasting the bike with high pressure water.

Need help,
I have 1997 RE CI 350 CC engine, recently i have faced few issues related to carburettor and my mech suggested me to change the carb. I have few questions:
1) Should i really need to change the carb or use carb service kit to replace internals
2) If i really need to change carb which carb should i opt for ? older model which came in my RE or newer one which started coming few years back ?

Regards,
Shubhendra Singh