Monday 09/12/16

[dirt dame 561]

1. A friend of mine recently got a nice surprise present from her husband, a brand new KTM 350 dual sport bike. She hadn't gotten out into the dirt more than just a few miles with it, and wanted to take it out and christen it with a real ride. So we made a plan to meet up near Big Bear and do a nice easy loop.
   
   We met at Heart Bar on a lovely, sunny morning. Temps were cool and a breeze followed us all day long. Karen was digging her new ride, and I was enjoying my old one. We were having a great time until about the halfway point. Coasting down Rim Of The World road into Fawnskin, with about 46 miles on the odometer, my TE 450 just quit running. Not even a sputter or a whimper, it shut off as though I had hit the kill button. Puzzled, I restarted it instantly, but the power seemed rough and uneven. We hit the pavement and rolled up to an intersection where the bike died again. It would always reluctantly start back up, but would die within seconds. It had been running perfectly all morning long, and this was really the first time it ever gave me any real trouble out on the trail since it was new almost ten years ago (besides the the time right after I got it t that it had a starter motor problem). I was pretty sure that it was acting like an electrical problem. My friend and I decided that I shouldn't try to ride the bike any further, so she rode back on the highway to the staging area for her truck. We loaded my bike, then went to late lunch...or early supper at my favorite Mexican restaurant, before heading back to the staging area, where we offloaded the 450 and got our own bikes loaded on our own vehicles. It was around 5 p.m. by now and time to head home.
   
   The next morning, I went out to the garage and tore the wiring connectors and starter switch apart, cleaned them, inspected the wiring harness for any damage. Checked the spark plug (it looked like new, because I had just done a valve adjust and changed the plug before the ride). The bike started right up and purred quite smoothly. Later in the day, I took it on a 50 mile ride, where it performed flawlessly for the duration.....so I have no idea what caused the problem. I hope that cleaning up all the connectors took care of the mysterious ailment, but I am suspicious that it is some sort of intermittent electrical bugaboo with one of the ignition components. I guess only time will tell.
   
   Karen does an over the cliff selfie.
   
   It looks like this from her camera's point of view.
   
   
   Stopping for a peek at the view around 9000 ft.
   
   
   Looking down into Yucca Valley.
   
   
   Happy camper with a new pumpkin.
   
   
   Creek crossing with a freshly built, overly ambitious bridge. spanning a very dry creekbed.
   
   
   This crossing seems to be a waste of tax payers money, but what else is new?
   
   
   Riding buddy fist bump.
   
   
   Overlooking Baldwin Dry Lake.
   
   
   Karen checks out somebody's posted memorial.
   
   
   
   
   
   End of the line for ol' Trajan The 450 at the Fawnskin fire department, while I was waiting for Karen to come back with the truck.
   

 

 

 

[Dan Diego 40]

Very nice write-up and photos.

[Dress4Less 162]

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[meatmord 0]

awesome. 

[Beezzz 6]

beautiful photos, thanks.  big bear looks wonderful.

[Uncle Champ 116]

Must be time for a new bike, did you compliment your friends new bike within hearing distance of your bike? Did you think "oh I'd like a shiny new bike" ?

Poor old bike.

[robertaccio 412]

question whats wrong with red husky? don't know unless she stays in failure mode.....

Answer get a white ktm....and actually there is a late model FE350S trade in sitting at GP Motos as we speak..........formerly owned by an SDAR inmate who went 2 stroke on us.

[mctrails 38]

I had a similar experience on Monday in Utah.  Was riding my 2013 TE310R and all was good with the world.  After making a stop at the top of a mountain the bike started missing, coughing and just didn't want to run at over 1/4 throttle.  I made it back to were I was staying and looked into it the next day.  I saw some broken wires from the petcock to the wiring harness (low fuel level sensor I think) so I spliced them back together but did not fix the problem.  That was my last day in Utah so headed home the next day.

I was checking the Café Husky website and I sounds like it could be any number of problems.  I'll check the valve clearances and look into it further when I have time.  It's strange how something like this just pops up and ruins a good ride.  At least I got a couple of rides in Colorado and Utah before whatever happened.

Then when I got home I find that my drivers door window in my car is not working.  Crap!  At least it should be covered by the extended warranty.  Dropping it off at the dealer today.
 

[Wierdrider 189]

Nice write up Mimi, hope solved the problem by cleaning. 

Like all the photos, but really think the fist pump is cool. ?

[dirt dame 561]

1 hour ago, Wierdrider said:

Nice write up Mimi, hope solved the problem by cleaning. 

Like all the photos, but really think the fist pump is cool. ?

With most electrical problems, I like to start by cleaning and inspecting switches and wiring before anything else.  No sense testing electrical components if other smaller items might be at fault.  The last problem I had with electrical stuff turned out to just be corroded and broken connector pins.

Karen seems to have taken most of the cool photos, and with the camera on her phone too.