Author Topic: Hello all.  (Read 1796 times)

breezer

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Hello all.
« on: January 10, 2009, 01:13:10 PM »
Hello all, I'm Ollie, I'm 22 and am from England.  I live in London, but my parents have a farm so I decided to bite the bullet and buy a Pilot (Having driven one when I was 12 and having wished for one ever since!).

I just picked up a 1990 FL400R from Ebay: it cost me a reasonable sum, but less than half what they fetched in 2008, and it's only money, after all...(man accounting! Lol)

Anyway, it's an ex-corporate entertainment one, so it's not too fast at the moment - I know these places restrict the power output and throttle movement, so tomorrow I'm going to tinker with the latter.

With regard to the former, I imagine I'll need to work on the carb.  Can I just adjust the jets, or are new jets generally required?  If so, does anyone know where in the UK I can source these?

I've searched the forum and found these settings:

Main jet - from about 2/3rds throttle up
Needle - about 1/3 to 2/3rds
pilot - down low.

Will these be okay for current weather (circa 0 degrees Celsius, 32 Fahrenheit)?

I'll read the rest of the site and get some ideas for quick and easy modifications to get me started, then look at a 460cc conversion I read about somewhere.  Ideally I want to end up being able to lift the front wheels!

The plan then is suspension.  I saw someone with 14" of travel.  Sweet!

Anyway, this is my first Pilot, and the first time I've touched a 2-stroke engine since I stopped competing in TKM karting when I was 18, so be gentle. ;)

Thanks guys!

PilotHawK

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Hello all.
« Reply #1 on: January 10, 2009, 06:09:36 PM »
Welcome to the site. You really need the manual. You can download it here http://g2buggy.g2-innovations.com/gentech/manuals.htm

There are a few riders in on your side of the pond so I am sure they well welcome another pilot rider to the group. Congrats on the find.

breezer

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Hello all.
« Reply #2 on: January 11, 2009, 06:47:23 AM »
Thanks for the welcome, and the link.  I won't have time to look at the carb today unfortunately, but I've let pack the throttle stop and it's now got a proper top-end.  

I now mix the fuel (normal 95ron) at 30:1 (prev 20:1) and I'm sure I felt a slight power difference.  Most likely purely psychological though!

I can't believe how big the tank is.  I put 6l of mix in and it's still on the orange light, and a dipstick test confirms it's near the bottom. :shock:

Anyway, UK riders are welcome to get in touch to share experiences etc. Will be nice to hear from y'all.  :)

PilotHawK

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Hello all.
« Reply #3 on: January 11, 2009, 07:25:45 AM »
The tank is something like 13l

The front of the manual has tons of information regarding general maintenance and tune-up type stuff that you will most likely need to do in order to make the machine as reliable as possible. It is likely that most of it hasn't been done in years if ever.

breezer

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Hello all.
« Reply #4 on: January 11, 2009, 11:25:06 AM »
Pics:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...f&id=199706450


I'll give it a proper service next time I'm in the countryside.  Maybe if I get a free weekend I'll take off the roll cage top bars and respray them properly.

Brakes definitely need rebuilding!

Weed

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Hello all.
« Reply #5 on: January 11, 2009, 01:17:07 PM »

breezer

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Hello all.
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2009, 04:08:04 PM »
Ugh, that's a fairly major problem.  The drive belt just snapped! It then proceeded to chainsaw through the electrics that run across the rear of the chassis.

Please can someone advise me where in the UK I can pick up a new drive belt?  Is there an upgraded one that won't snap?

I hope the maintenance manual I've downloaded shows me how to replace!

Is it a difficult job?

Sad, as I was having great fun in the snow. :(

Thanks.