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At this point I've worked on quite a few motorcycles — many more than I've owned or made videos on. I've never had one take so many start attempts and so many repairs without a successful start.
A tired leg
Had I pulled the top end right away, I'd have had better luck — though the other repairs would still have been needed. Either way, it took many start attempts and hundreds of kicks over a few days, and my leg was fatigued from kicking this thing over so many times.
Back together in hours
Once I finally got the painted engine back into the frame, it didn't take long to put the bike back together.
It's basically the same bike as my IT. The IT bikes of this era are more or less the same motorcycles as the YZs. I've had my IT apart and back together so many times I can manage it in a few hours — not counting cleaning and repainting, which take hours to days on their own.
Ear plugs and boots
The YZ400 is a really loud motorcycle, and starting it up has always given me a bit of anxiety. None of my other bikes give me that feeling. I always put in my ear plugs and put on my boots. They maybe help some, but I'm sure it's mostly a placebo.
Signs of life
It didn't take long to show signs of life, as a running bike should. I've never been so happy to get a bike started as I was this time.
The thing smokes like a person from the '40s and is loud as hell.
It smokes like a person from the '40s and is loud as hell.
A fouled plug, not a new mountain
During the heat cycles, I fouled a plug. I was using the old plug, and it may have been on its last legs anyway.
I was so used to major issues that I assumed something was seriously wrong. But I changed the plug for a fresh one, and it fired back up.
The new plug has held up so far. If something else is causing the fouling, I may need to do more repairs — so I'll keep an eye on it.
A fouled plug is one coated in oil or fuel, so it can't spark properly. A freshly rebuilt two-stroke running rich through its first heat cycles is an easy way to foul one.
Thankfully, this time there was no new mountain to climb with the bike running.
Thankfully, this time there was no new mountain to climb.