Under pressure

It’s June 19 and there’s lots of events on today, but I’m going to the Salisbury Club Solstice Run. Well, was going.

I cleaned the mirrors and checked the tyre pressures, then wheeled the bike out of the garage. It’s a 1992 BMW R100R I bought from Difazio Motorcycles in 2005. Cosmetically it’s grubby, but I do keep the mechanics up together.

Thinking I was ready to leave, I pressed the starter and ‘click’. No!

The battery should be okay, I thought, so I pushed it up a long nearby slope to bump start it. This is when Andy Westlake appeared on the scene and gave me a push. I let the clutch out and the rear wheel dragged. It even dragged in fourth gear!

Andy brought his jump leads out and we tried jumping from his bike. The starter just clicked and the engine wouldn’t turn. I thanked Andy, who was now off to Sammy Miller’s Rickman Enthusiasts’ Day on his Royal Enfield.

I went home for a coffee and phoned my friend Chris, who has BMWs. He suggested to try to turn the engine over with the spark plugs out. I went back to the bike and took the plugs out. As I took the right-hand plug out, it hissed, releasing pressure, and the plug was wet. I turned the engine over on the starter and petrol pumped out of the right cylinder head.

I checked the oil level, which was okay, and put the spark plugs back in and pressed the starter. The engine started and ran well.

I phoned Chris back, who said to ride it over after dinner and he would have a look. Chris fitted transparent float bowls to check the float levels, which appeared alright.

We detached the petrol pipes from the taps for a while to check for leakage from the taps. They also appeared okay.

Chris fitted a new float cut of valve to the right carburettor and the bike has been fine since.