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Darn Hydro-lock

S Smith

S Smith

Northeast Area Director
Member
Bike hydrolocked a bit more than 2 weeks ago. Initial inspection revealed fuel only in #1 cyl. Colin provided pointers on making sure engine was not damaged and I hooked up a AUX fuel bottle and fire her up. Dodged the bullet on major repairs. Ordered new petcock, carb rebuild kits, fuel line, and seals/gaskets to do valve adjust. Speedy delivery from Murph got them to me in a few days. Norm came by this afternoon and helped with the carb rebuild, sync & valve adjust (THANKS MUCH NORM). Bike is running great. I need to hang the plastic and tank and will be good to go. Thanks to all who provided assistance. It is much appreciated. -- Steve Smith, COG #3184 COG Northeast Area Director (somewhere in south central CT)
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If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
 
Ya...ya...whatever :confuse: Dave Muir 1980 LTD1000 - Rocket 1999 Concours - Rocket II 1997 Dyna - wife's CT-COG #3649
 
Cool. Nice to see one come out on the positive side. 2003 Concours, 56K COG #6953 IBA 28004 http://home.comcast.net/~slybones/Concours/connieMain.htm
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It is my intention to write up how to diagnose and repair a Connie from a hydrolock for a future Concourier and library article. Having fixed 4 of them now I guess its time to share LoL. I guess I should say 3 9/10ths as InCOGnito III is not finished yet. Colin Prior COG IT Director Lake Forest Park WA COG#7767 AMA#1081764 ROK#20000617
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Bike hydrolocked a bit more than 2 weeks ago. Initial inspection revealed fuel only in #1 cyl. Colin provided pointers on making sure engine was not damaged and I hooked up a AUX fuel bottle and fire her up. Dodged the bullet on major repairs. Ordered new petcock, carb rebuild kits, fuel line, and seals/gaskets to do valve adjust. Speedy delivery from Murph got them to me in a few days. Norm came by this afternoon and helped with the carb rebuild, sync & valve adjust (THANKS MUCH NORM). Bike is running great. I need to hang the plastic and tank and will be good to go. Thanks to all who provided assistance. It is much appreciated.
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Wow! You dodged one there, Steve. did it jam up on starting or did it actually fire up before seizing?
 
Luckily - I did not have the enricher on when I gave a quick momentary press of the starter. It just locked and never fired. Maybe a combo issue of float valves being worn, and the fuel valve was not shutting down completely/fast enough. There was little to no fuel on the ground or in the air box, although I could smell fuel in the garage. I dismissed it as a possible overfill, as I have just fueled up the bike the evening before. Could have been much worse and way more costly, which would have put repairs out of reach at this time. I was very fortunate that nothing was damaged. The lucky rabbits foot is noit such a bad idea. -- Steve Smith, COG #3184 COG Northeast Area Director (somewhere in south central CT)
larryline.gif
If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space.
 
Well... one more reason not to procrastinate anymore for the installation of the overflow tubes, which I'm planning for this coming winter.... this dreaded hydro-lock is now all the time in the back of my mind... even if I had the inside of the gas tank coated as soon as my '05 was out of the dealership.... Steve, I'm very happy that at least you didn't suffer any serious damage ($$$$$).
 
Raymond, what overflow tubes are you referring to? I came very close to hydro-lock a few years ago and really think there should be some kind of preventative fix for this. Thanks
 
Mark, see the "other forum" at http://forum.concours.org Do a search for Float Bowl Drain Tubes and you'll find many discussions on the subject. Look at the most recent one under the heading: A new "twist" on overflow tubes for the carbs (a couple of weeks ago). I believe threading the tubes is the best method and it's the one I'm planning to do.
 
Most interesting. Thank you for the info. That is a clever mod and I like the threaded implementation. I dug around in those threads and decided to plunk down the plastic at Murph's for the Bergmen manual petcock mod. I'm olde fashioned, having been raised on an enduro bike, so my natural reflex is to turn off the gas when you park anyway.
 
I filled the bike @ a station not far from the house once, & the next day I went out to the garage & smelled gas. I think the heat from the engine had expanded the gas enough that a little got out through the overflow/vent. Now I fill the bike @ Costco on my way home from work. It's about 15 miles from the house & uses enough fuel that the air bubble in the top of the tank takes care of the expansion. This way, if I do smell gas, it's something that needs investigating. Don
 
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