DIY Farm bike repairs . . . WTH???

Kiwi Rider

Registered
Just had to show y'all something that I found today . . .
A Suzuki 400 quad was brought in by trailer today, not running, and the owner wanted a service and to get it running again.
He gave us no history info to work on, just dropped it off and left in a hurry.
I was the unfortunate tech that was given the job so this is what happened.
Cranked it over and it hydraulocked momentarilty in the cylinder. Clue No 1.
Removed the spark plug, wet with fuel, no spark. Clue No 2.
Checked the oil level, way overfull, double the right quantity, Clue No 3
Checked the airbox . . . 2 liters of fuel in the bottom . . . . Yup, overflowing float bowl on the carbie.
Cause? To start with the vacuum fuel tap was on the 'Prime' position.
Removed the carb, removed the bowl and lo and behold, this is what I found . .
An ingenious solution to a lost needle valve clip . .
Yip, this Farmer takes away the prize for 'The Most Resourceful and Idiotic Makeshift Jury-Rigged Repair EVER'
1607577

Hmmmmm . . I wonder why the float level was a little high???
The float tang (not pictured) was bent on a horrific angle also.
1607578

This one takes the cake, I've seen a lot of dodgy sh*t over the years, but this? On a whole different level lmao!!
 
Oh I can top that . Customer with NEW Mikuni RS 34 mm on a XS1100 couldnt get float pins out so broke not 1 but all four aluminum float pin post so he could change float height . Then used Marine Tex putty to put them back together .
He did not know the pins only come out on one side with that model carburetor .

To Marine Tex credit they still hold , and work to this day ! that has been 5 years now of use .

Marine-Tex® Epoxy Putty | Marine Tex
 
I knew a guy growing up who had a pair of vice grips for a shift lever on his '60s something Honda.

I zap strapped the air compressor on the mount in my army truck back in the early '90s during an exercise, drove it for 3 months like that (kept forgetting to replace them with bolts).
 
I knew a guy growing up who had a pair of vice grips for a shift lever on his '60s something Honda.

I zap strapped the air compressor on the mount in my army truck back in the early '90s during an exercise, drove it for 3 months like that (kept forgetting to replace them with bolts).
I’ve seen vice grips replace a steering wheel on an old van back in the 70’s, it was a friend of mine, a guy about 18, stayed like that a month til he got pulled over by a cop one day and the cop went ballistic at him and took the keys off him and made him walk home, the van was towed and he sold it to a dismantler. It was a rusty old wreck.
We still laugh about it to this day!
 
Oh I can top that . Customer with NEW Mikuni RS 34 mm on a XS1100 couldnt get float pins out so broke not 1 but all four aluminum float pin post so he could change float height . Then used Marine Tex putty to put them back together .
He did not know the pins only come out on one side with that model carburetor .

To Marine Tex credit they still hold , and work to this day ! that has been 5 years now of use .

Marine-Tex® Epoxy Putty | Marine Tex
Years ago I bought a used set of RS36mm fkatslide Mikunis for my GSXR1100G.
I stripped them to set them up and check them over and found one of the float pin posts broken and repaired with an epoxy, looked like araldite, it was a yellowish clear colour.
It seemed solid enough and I used those carbs for years with no trouble, but I must admit, it was always a worry that at any time that carb could break and flood that cylinder with fuel, if on a long ride would be a PITA.
 
#25 is a gen 1 6th gear driven with 4 dogs .

#29 is a gen 2 6th driven with 5 dogs .

Also looking @ gen 2 the gears are ordered differently on the trans shafts . Meaning shift drum is different most likely too .

Screenshot_20191112-133206_Chrome.jpg


Screenshot_20191112-133019_Chrome.jpg
 
You should post more (DON'Ts or weird or interesting findings) from customers. Its very interesting aswell as good to learn from people mistakes. I love reading your posts!
It can be bit of a risky situation taking photos of customers bikes due to privacy reasons, if a customer sees I’ve put up pics and a story about their bike there could be repercussions I’m thinking.
I guess if I don’t show the reg plate or customer details it’s ok, I’ll start a thread on interesting and quirky stuff if you like?
 
It can be bit of a risky situation taking photos of customers bikes due to privacy reasons, if a customer sees I’ve put up pics and a story about their bike there could be repercussions I’m thinking.
I guess if I don’t show the reg plate or customer details it’s ok, I’ll start a thread on interesting and quirky stuff if you like?

Yes that would be great. maybe dont call them bad names and dont show the plate or obvious signs that its "their" bike. That should be fine I guess. It should be more for educational purposes rather than mocking people :-)
 
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