Maybe a problem

[Pavlos01]

Hi again,

This weekend I went for my first long range trip, and it was great.
The bad thing was that at the middle of the trip got a spike in my back tyre so had to go and fix it..... should I replace it ..?

Anyway this morning when I started the bike, it started OK with choke but when I dropped the choke a little bit, revs went down to 2k and flunctuated slowly up and down.

After a few mins I closed the choke and it just died, which was very strange. So I rode a few Kms with choke on and it was OK even when I closed the choke.

Now when I came back I found a rather big splat of liquid at the place I usually park. It was sticky and clear in color, is it battery fluid ..?

Any ideas ..........? Thanks again

[john]

Battery acid isn't sticky.  It's very similar to water.

Your fluctuating RPM's with the choke partially set doesn't seem too different than what I remember with ours.

Now the nail in the rear tire is an issue.  I have for a short time ridden with a plug in a tire, but replaced it as soon as I had the money.  I recommend you start saving now, and get a new tire as soon as you can.

[weaselnoze]

my choke is very touchy as well.  fullchoke - stays at about 2-3k for about 30seconds then makes its way up to 5k.  then i adjust the teeniest bit to make it drop to about 4k.  after a few min, i turn off the choke and give it a blip.  if it dogs then i havent warmed it up enough.   you might try letting it warm up a lil longer

[scratch]

got a spike in my back tyre so had to go and fix it..... should I replace it ..?

Yes. Did you or someone patch it or plug it? If it was patched and the hole is small enough (not noticeable), you may just run the tire. But, better safe than sorry.

After a few mins I closed the choke and it just died, which was very strange. So I rode a few Kms with choke on and it was OK even when I closed the choke.

Turn your idle up a little.

[cummuterguy]

the general rule of thumb is a puncture of less than 3/16ths of an inch in diameter can be repaired by patch from the inside, with no need to replace the tire.
 Plugs are a no-no and should be only used as a temporary emergency repair (keeping in mind that the hole a plug makes in a tire will exceed the 3/16ths.... you plug it, you bought it.)

technically the tire can no longer be considered "speed rated" after patching it, but other than law enforcement, i've never seen anybody follow that rule.

[Pavlos01]

Well lets start by thanks for all the data...

Now re the the chock it did it only yestrday, today was fine .. probably due to extreme cold .... There was some ice on the seat ...

Now re the tyre can you tell me of the diameter in mm ... anyway it was quite big and long one like the ones they use in constraction sites, with the spike in it was loosing pretty strongly and I lost all stability in corners .....

Pavlos

[cummuterguy]

3/16ths is 4.5mm ??  about?  sorry my math is rusty.

there's 25.4 millimeters in one inch, that much I know for sure