Broke down

[hciR]

Hi all, haven't been on here in a while sorry!I was out on the bike yesterday in the hot weather and broke down. I'm pretty sure it was the heat that did it because i was filtering in traffic for a long time so not much airflow into the rad. I started getting a tapping noise when accelerating from low revs, then it died a few times when i stopped but I managed to get it going, then eventually it just conked out and wouldn't start again. It would fire up briefly if I gave it a load of choke. So it was a long, hot push home
I think whatever it is, it sounds quite bad because i've heard tapping noises are a bad thing on these bikes. I will stick the battery on charge and see if I have any luck after that, but my hopes aren't high. What's the most likely cause?

[rover220]

i broke down today, fucking carbs pissing out the overflow. had to push the fucker the rest of the way to work

[hciR]

Yea you don't realise how heavy they are until you gotta push 'em!
I've now found that the bike is running only on 2 cylinders but I can't do a compression test because my tester doesn't fit the tiny threads these plugs have :smt013 and now I have ran the battery out ... again, trying to start it.

[hciR]

Seem to have fixed it now, the compressoin is ok and its firing on all 4 I just changed the plugs and it fired up! Gotta be a bit cautious though 'cos we originally thought the head gasket had gone as there was a bit of smoke and the bottom of the rad wasn't that hot, so i'm gonna use it locally and keep an eye on the coolant level. The tapping I heard before I broke down was pinking apparently, so I don't think it done any damage.

[parby81]

I'd check the thermostat with regards to the radiator. Far simpler than immediately going for the HG

[hciR]

Famous last words. Pretty sure it is the HG now. I left it for a few days then it wouldn't start like before, so I took the plugs out and tapped the starter and coolent shot out the cylinders:( has anyone done a tutorial on how to do the HG?

[masterofinsanity]

no but you can and the manuals are here to guide you

[hciR]

Well i'm getting there, got the engine out but not taken it apart yet. I just had a thought though, when the bike was running there would be a very rough noise coming from somewhere when accelerating below about 3k (without using any clutch) is this normal? I know the clutches are naturally noisey but this was something you could feel as well.