Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

th e la w s, and to m o n ito r co m p lia n ce among sta tes . In ad dition , Cooper's bill wou ld remove a key section of federal law whi ch wo uld a llow th e Secretary o f T ransportation to impou nd funds from states whi ch do n o t pass the laws. HR3925 a lso lim i ts th e gra nt in centives to 90 p er cent of a sta te 's 1989 Sectio n 402 fnnd ing a llocat io n . HR3925 h a s' been j ointl y refe rre d to t h e H ouse Pub li c Works a nd Transportati on Comminee a nd th e Hou se Commit tee o n Energy a n d Com merce, o f w h ich Coo per is a member. Acco rd in g 10 a n a ide fo r th e T cnm-ssce Con g r essm an. R ep . Coo p er is lo bb yin g m embers o f thes e Co m m ittees to co-spo nsor th e b il l. T h e AMA's Covcru m ent R e la I ions Depa rtment u rges a ll riders to write R ep. Cooper ex p ressing oppos i t ion 10 the leg isl a t io n . " W h i le m otorcycl ist s mu st con tin u e wri ti n g Se n . C hafee and th eir U.S . Se na to rs." sa id AMA Vice Presi dent of Government R e lations R ober! Ra so r , "we mu st not lose sight of th e fac t th at Rep. C ooper's bill a lso poses a threat to th e freed o m th a t m ot orcycling n -prrscnts to us all. " Rasor added , " P u t yo u r feelings in a court eous let te r expla inin g th at as a m otorcycl is t, you a re o p posed to HR392 5 because you want to have t he freedom 10 ch o ose when a nd w he re to wea r a ' h elm et. T ell h im that th e bi ll is a blatant form o f "b la ck ma il " aimed at forcing states i nto e n uc t in g mandarory h e lm et laws and th at stat e legi slatures are 'th e a ppropri at e p la ce to deb at e such issu es ," W rit e to: T h e Honorab le jumes Cooper, 125 Cannon Buildin g. Wa shington. D.C. 205 15-4204. Ya m a h a FZR 75 0 R S uperbi ke for ·1990. Yamaha Motor Corporat ion will be providing t e c h n ic al assistance and p arts s a les in Dayto n a Inte rn at io n al Speedway's gara ge n u m b e r 4 9 beg in n in g Tue sda y, · . M a rc h 6 . Parts will be ava ilable f o r T Z250, FZ R 600 a nd FZR 7 50R- R/ OW01 Ya m a has, w it h a lim it e d a mount o f Ya maha racing ' p a rt s f or the OW01 a v a ilab le th ro u g h Tom Halvers on. Grand Prix road 'ra cer Randy Mamola and Reg Pridmore of California's Leading Advanced Safety Schools (CLASS ) wi ll co n d uct a Save th e Children Foundation benefit riding sch oo l at L aguna Seca Raceway in M onterey, Cal ifornia, April 14-15. Mamola w ill lead a tra ck tour fo r stu de nts a nd specta tors a like (provid ed they donate at least $5) during the lunch break on both days, and a ben efit a uction wi ll be held at the (Continued to page 46) Legislation would force states to pass helmet laws WESTERVILLE , OH, FEB. 12 Fo llowi ng th e lead of Sen . C ha fee (R- R ho d e J oh n ' Isla nd ), Rep. J a mes Cooper (D-Ten nessee) recen tly introduced ;I b ill, I-1 R 3925 , in th e H o u se o f Rep r e sen ra t i ves th at w ou l d requi re th e fed era l goverurnent to wi th h o ld fed er a l hi ghwa y co ns tr uet ion funds from sta tes tha t fail to adopt mandat ory motorcycl e h elmet laws for a ll r id ers, plus seat belt laws coveri n g a ll a u to mo hi le drivers. H R 3925, enti tled "The Nat ion al . Highway Trnffir Fa ra lit y a n d Injury R edu cti on Act ," would p ena l ize states fai ling to en ac t such la ws b y 1994 by with holding five p ercent .of t hei r Iedera l-a id h ig h w a y funds . After 1994, stat es not adopting th ese la ws wou ld lo se 10 p ercent of th e federal funds. Li kewise. Ch a lee's bi ll , 5 1007 , won ld sa nction states ' fai li ng to pass h elmet and seat be lt laws. U nder the terms o f S1007, the sanctions wo uld beg in after 1992. But un like th e Chafee b ill , whi c h on ly in cludes a sma ll incentive gra n t progra m H R 3925 en rices sta tes to pass the la w s by offering $95 m ill ion in gra nts appropria ted out of the H ighway T rust Act. T he grants wou ld be u sed by states to implem ent s;lfety programs de signed to ed uca te th e ' p ub li c on th e im po rtance o f motorcycle safety and seat' be lt u se, to trai n pol ice in th e en fo rcem en t of is Workb en ch a week ly co lumn deal in g with motorcycle m aintenance, performance and eq uip ment. Have so m ethi ng tha t Wor kbench ,_ can address? Then drop a line to Workb ench, Cycle N ews , P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498. Sparkolog y 201 : Spark plugs revisited Last week we learn ed what all thos e confusing symbols on your spark p lugs mean . This week we mov e on to the core (p un intended) of the subject. Much like a thermometer is used by a doctor to measure a patient's sic kness , a spark plug is often used in the same manner by a mechanic. A quick p lug check usually reveals whether an engine is sick or well, and at th e same time helps in the diag nosis and subseq uent cur e. For the most pan a properly-t uned en gine results in lig h t grey or tan deposits on the p lug's fir ing end. T he electrode on a healthy p lug sho uld also show sligh t erosion - don't expect the pl ug to look brand new because you 'lI find yourself disappointed. . T here are generaII y eigh t di fferen t symptoms used in spark plug analysis: carbo n fou ling; oil fou li ng; lead fouling; over heating; pr e-ignition; mechanical damage ; torch ed sea t; and bro ken insula tor. Fouling is norm all y ca used by a plug temperature-that is lo wer tha n the selfcleaning temperature (u sua lIy somewh ere in the 750-850 degre e range), or by an air-fuel mixture that is richer than 8:I to 10: I. The beau ty of a fouled p lug is that it can be used aga in after a thorough cleaning. If your motorcycle doesn 't wan t to fire to life, or if it misfires and/or does n 't a ccelerate as well as norma l, yo ur problem is mos t like ly to be di agnosed as car bon fouling or oil fouli ng . ' Both are easi ly detected via a pl ug check. A plug that is bein g fou led by carbo n will have a n in su lator a n d electrod es tha t are covered wi th a black, sooty su bsta nce. Whi le the p lug will be 'dry, its ins ula tion wi ll be abno rma lIy decreased . A p lug tha t has been foul ed by oi l will also appear bl ack i n co lo r, bu t i ts insu lator and electrodes wi ll be oily and wet. Agai n, the p lug's insu latio n wiII have deter iora ted. There are a n um ber of likel y reason s for car bon fou ling. One may be choke abuse - leaving the choke on beyond the necessary warm-up inte rva l provides the engine wi th a n air/ fuel 'mixtu re that is Bill to prohibit lane .splitting introduced in California By Farren Williams SACRAMENTO, CA, .FEB. 190 L os An ge les Democrat G wen Moore recently introduced a b ill in the state asse mbly that co u ld make lan e splitting by motorcyclists i lleg al in Cali fornia. AB2560 wa s introduced J anua ry 4, and ten tatively h a s been sched u led for a March 5 hearing before the Assembly T ransportation Committee , ac cording to Amy King , a traffic safety co ns u ltant with Moo re's office. If the measure clears b oth h o u ses of the leg islature a nd is signed b y Governor G eorge Deukm ejian i t will make lane sp li tting a n infraction, Ki n g sa id . (Co n tinued to page 4) too rich ; ot hers incl ude"' an air/fuel mixture tha t is too ric h du e to improper jelli ng; the deterioration of the ignition system; a n over-retarded ignition system; prolo nged low-speed ridi ng or idling; and the use of a plug tha t is too cold. Oi l fouling, though less common, is a problem that two-s tro ke engine users ofte n ru n into. Again, poor starting hab i ts a nd misfiring are the u su al symptoms. This time, however, the cause in two-stroke engines is premixed fuel wit h too hi gh an oil/fuel ra tio . Oi l fouling is also some times fou nd in new or recentl y rebuilt engines, or engines tha t have been filled wit h the wrong pis ton rings or cylinders (or in the case of four strokes, valve guides). T he third type of fouling is lead fouling. Lead foulin~ is detected by yelIow or tan cinder-lik e deposits, or a shiny glaze coating, that form on the insu lator. It results i n misfi ring wh en the spark p lug gets h ot , usually under sudden acceleration or at high speeds, and the likely cause is the use of gaso line wi th high lead co nten t. While running your engine with too rich of a fuel /air mixture ma y result in a poo r-ru n ning engine and foul ed spark plugs, a mixture tha t is too lean can result in an overheated, and sometimes seized, engine - a mu ch costli er error. Overheating rears its ugl y head in th e form of a n extr emely white insu lator . with small black dep osits and premature electro de erros io n . .When excessive ly overheated, pre-ignition (when combustion begins before the timed spark occurs) begins and the electrodes an d insulator tip are melted , causing severe p isto n damage. T he problem will become apparen t by a loss of power at hig h speed . Whi le ' the most com mon cu lp rit for an overhea ted spa rk plug is a too lean fuel mixture, the problem can also be caus ed by: over-advanced ignition timing; excessive deposits ,accumulated in the combustion chamber; insufficient cooling and lubrication; a loose spark p lug; low-octa ne gaso line; or a spark p iug tha t is too hot. A p lug th at h a s undergone preignition (the harshest degree of overheating) will fea tur e a melted or burned center and/or ground electrode, blistered insulator, and aluminum or some other metalli c deposits on the ins ulator. T h e ca uses a re m uch the same as th ose discussed above in overheating. Althou gh it is not very common, there is a chance tha t a spark pl ug 's insulat or wi ll break. This results in misfiri ng and is usuall y caus ed by severe detona tion or careless gap setti ng. If you pull the p lu g from your motorcycle and the electrode is bent and the insulator is broken , there is cause for alarm. Ei ther the p lug reach is too long and is subsequently slam ming agains t the p isto n, or there is some thing destru ctive float ing aro und in the comb ustion cha mber . Ano ther of the more gruesome srark plug problems is a torched seal. I the pI ug is melted in the thread and seat area of the plug ho using, you 'll lik ely face a loss of power follo wed by engine damage. This pro blem is usuall y ca used by in sufficient p lug tightening. Pau l C arruthers r-----------------------------------------------------------------,I ORDER FORM . SUB~CR I PTI ON . Na m e _ _-:-:--;:-::--,::=c-:-:~::=,.,----------...c...----------[P L EA S E PRI NT C LE A.A l V l Add res s C ity O rder Da te : _ -'- S ta te .....L ip Z _ l I' I L _=c Ch arg e my 0 Visa 0 Mastercard _ OK, please start my subscript ion t o Cycle News and send me the newspaper ' I o T h is is a renewal o P lease b ill m e o Enclosed is chec k or money o rd er ~ :~:~~ :::~ :~~ ~~~ ~::~~~~~~si~:~lefs~rf ::~605~00 S ig n a t u re I 0 six m on th s sec ond c lass (2 5 is s u e s ) for $18 .00 '- S en d t o : Expiration Date • CYCLE NEWS, Inc., I I I I i M C /V isa # On e yea r (5 0 issues), 2nd c lass Canada or M ex ico and all other foreign countries $7 5.00 (U .S . funds) . First class and airmail rates availa ble upon re quest . I I I I I I I I P. O . B o x 49B .Lo n g Bea c h . CA 90B0 1 -04~B i (213) 427-7433 I I I -----------------------------------------------------------------~

• Cover