Carb Ice? Bad gas? Filter issue? (edit with update)

Took the bike out and headed to work this morning. I got about 4 or 5 miles away from home and the bike died. Ugh. That's how I felt too. It was acting as if it were out of gas even though I know I have a full tank. It was very weird. The bike started up as usual without any trouble on the third try. Had the choke on the usual amount of time for me which is when it starts to rev really high. The warm up begins when I walk out to the bike. I start it up and let it run with the choke all the way open. While it warms up, I put my duffel bag on the back, my earplugs in, my helmet on, my glasses on, my jacket on, and my glove liners and gloves on. During the gearing up, I usually have to close the choke but it continues to run and warm up. Then I close the garage and hop on, put it in gear and slowly roll down the driveway. This morning, as I was leaving the driveway, it bucked a bit as if it was losing power or running out of gas. But, as soon as I hit the street and rolled on the throttle it was all good. I double checked the petcock to make sure it was on and it was. I figured it was just cold, even though it had never done that before and it really wasn't cold because I'd warmed it up. The temperature this morning was in the 40s. I could see my breath but it wasn't at all unbearable. Just a regular cold morning. I've ridden in colder although not this season.

So, then about 4 or 5 miles later, the bike really loses power and I think, that's weird. I had the throttle open but it wasn't going anywhere and wasn't even sounding like it was trying. But the bike was still running so I thought maybe it would pass. (I don't know what I mean by that!) But, then I'm going to slow for traffic and figure I need to pull over. As I pulled in the clutch to pull over, it died right away. Just like I'd run out of gas. Crap! That's what I thought. I am out of traffic more or less, in the fairly wide bike lane. It isn't as wide as a shoulder but there is little traffic here and I'm clearly visible so I get off and take off my helmet to think about it. Nothing is leaking. Nothing fell off. The lights are on so the battery is ok. Checked the petcock again and it is still on. Shake the bike - full tank. I tried to start it and it made the out of gas noise. So, I call hubby. While I'm talking to him, telling him what's going on and where I am, I decide to switch to reserve and try to start it. He kept saying it sounded like I wasn't getting gas too. Flip to reserve, hit the button, and it starts up. It idles just fine. Weird. But, hubby says I shouldn't drive it to work so I head home and get the car.

Later he finds this article about carb icing. That sounds like it to me. Weird. The conditions didn't seem any different or cold or anything to cause ice but what do I know. The garage is pretty cold and we've had huge swings in the temperature. Maybe there was condensation on the bike. Could very well be. I hope that is what happened because that means nothing is wrong with the bike. It didn't feel or sound like anything was different or wrong aside from, you know, the dying part. :-) One thing I noticed, when I started it up and getting back on it to head back home, there was a whistling noise. That was different. I'll have to remember to tell hubby about that bit.

So, I didn't get a good ride in today after all. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice and even warmer!

Edit:
So, nothing is wrong with the bike. I need to take some ginko. Even though I thought I'd filled up my tank at the end of the last ride. Apparently, I did not. So, I'll be riding tomorrow and going straight to the gas station. I should google which is closest. D'oh!

Grumpy

Not being able to ride this week sure has made me grumpy. It was bitterly cold and snowy and icy at the start of the week. The ice stuck around on some of the roads all week long. The temps today are supposed to be close to 50, plenty warm enough to ride, but the sand and patches of ice here and there have kept my bike in the garage. And it is bumming me out big time. :-(

And the Saints lost in Chicago again.

Not a good week.

Snow and temperatures well below freezing are coming back on Sunday too.

Harrumph.

New accessories! Yay!

New over gloves from Aerostich! Got them from their clearance sale page. They are supposed to be for rainy or cold riding to keep your gloves and hands warm and dry. I haven't had a chance to test them out yet. Our cold weather came with snow and ice so no riding for me. And the warm day yesterday was too warm even for a jacket liner!



My sister-in-law and her hubby gave me this neat helmet liner to keep my visor from fogging up. Also very cool!! And I also haven't had a chance to test it yet. It attaches by velcro to the inside of the helmet. It comes with a sticky backed pad for the inside chin part. But, I discovered that my HJC already has velcro-like stuff built in there! Cool! The sides are attached by velcro to the cheek pads and also held in place by the chin straps that go over the top of them. It seemed to work well when I tried to breathe really hard to fog up the visor in the house. It doesn't work with the modular helmet though. But that's ok. I'm planning to get this new helmet maybe next season.

Sunny day

So, of course, today is nice and sunny, the way yesterday was supposed to be. And I drove the car to work. Sigh. I was so cold all day yesterday, even had to run the space heater under my desk to warm up. I felt like I never did warm up from the ride in the morning. So, I drove today. And now I wish I had the moto. Oh well. Maybe I can leave work a bit early and take it Costco to gas up. That would be a nice quick run.

As hubby said, "Woulda, coulda, shoulda."

Getting colder......

I took yesterday off from work to clean before Turkey Day arrives. Today I rode to work as it was supposed to be warmer than yesterday, which was a nice day. The high was supposed to be near 60 degrees. I think they were mistaken. It was also supposed to be sunny. Not so. I'm thinking it won't be any colder than it was on the ride in, so I should be just fine. But, I was kind of hoping for some sunshine. I guess those days are numbered. Should be snowy (maybe) by Thanksgiving. :-(

Might be time to begin the wrenching projects. :-)

Commute & new parts bike

Rode to work today. Haven't done that in a while. I got all bundled up because the TV said it was 41 degrees when I left. It sure didn't feel that cold. Not that I'm complaining, but I definitely had on more layers than I needed. Oh well. I should enjoy it while it lasts. :-) It was pretty windy too. The high today is supposed to be close to 70. Tomorrow is supposed to be over 70 a bit. Yay!

Hubby and I took to the new parts bike yesterday. I had been calling the other bike the "parts bike" so we've decided to call this one the "wrecked bike" so we can differentiate between them. They were both black so we couldn't use their color to distinguish them. Although, the newest one is an 87 and the other an 86 so maybe we can call them 87 parts bike and 86 parts bike.

I keep staring at the 87 parts bike and imagining the wreck it was in. Yikes.

I've got a few of the easy parts off that I plan to sell on the Rebel board. Maybe I'll post that tonight if I get more photos ready. I need to double check one of the parts to make sure I have it on the 86 parts bike. I'm not really sure what prices I should ask for but we'll see what happens there.

Aargh! Winter temps?!!

Well, I've been a wuss and haven't ridden at all this week! It was soooo cold on Monday; I actually had to scrape ice off my car windshield. Black ice on the roads too! Sigh. I am so not ready for cold temps yet. This morning it was still in the low 30s but the high temps are creeping back up the rest of the week. I'm planning to ride tomorrow. It isn't like I haven't ridden in the cold before. It's just that I wasn't ready for it right now. I've got these fancy new hand guards for my bike too. Maybe hubby will put them on this weekend if he doesn't have to work. That would be very nice. I wonder where that really warm balaclava might be.....

I've got some new gloves to try out as well. Got them at my favorite motorcycle gear store - Motogear Outlet in Arvada. I guess, I'll be trying out my new boots as well since I haven't ridden in the cold with them yet.