is it safe to ride 3 miles to work with one cylinder down?

tony532 · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 May 2004 Karma :

hi all.

an engineer from work managed to get two new plugs into my honda hornet today (the far left and the far right one). after one cyclinder started misfiring in sunday.

he said the two middle ones are a pain in the arse to get to and didnt have short enough sockets on him and a lack of time as he drove out to my house on his lunch break.

question is.. in order to save him time tomorrow as he said he may need to bring the bike back in a van is it very harmful to the bike to ride it 3 miles with only 3 cylinders working properly?.

the bike will keep running with the choke on and a tiny amount of revs but will not idle.
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bikes owned :-

aprilia rs125 - suzuki gsxr400rrsp 1990 - yamaha yzf600r thundercat - honda hornet 6

veeeffarr · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

Probably not a great idea really as the cylinder will still be getting filled with fuel.

Blau Zedong · Banned Joined: 26 Jun 2006 Karma :

As Toby says..you WILL f**k it riding it with a cylinder down.
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18:54:48 Rob Fzs: jews don't give away stuff for free

18:54:59 Rob Fzs: unless its their clothes/ hair/ golden teeth

beans · Scooby Slapper Joined: 12 Feb 2005 Karma :

Dont do it, there will be unburnt fuel inside the bore and on the piston petrol is very good at washing away oil so you may effectivly end up running that cylinder dry. You may even hydraulic lock it if enough fuel gets in and doesnt burn. Saying that though its a Honda and it wouldnt really suprise me if you got away with it but dont risk it.
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Yamaha FS1E- Suzuki RG 125 - Honda CB-1- Ducati Monster - Kawasaki ZX6-R F1- Kawasaki ZX6-R G1- 2003 Yamaha R6

veeeffarr · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

Saying that I rode my GS 20 miles with a coil disconnected, but the difference is that I don't give a f**k if that goes bang.

T

cestrian · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Karma :

If I were you I'd.....

1. Start the engine and run it for a few seconds, make a mental note of the engine sound. Then.....

2. Remove plug cap No. 1 start the engine and listen. Does it run any worse? If it runs worse, then cylinder 1 is running OK. Stop the engine and replace the plug cap.

3. Remove plug cap No. 2 start the engine and listen. Again, if the engine runs worse, then cylinder No. 2 is running OK. Stop the engine and replace the plug cap.

4. Carry on testing with the other plug caps. You are obviously looking for the cylinder which (when the plug cap is removed) gives the same angine sound as in step 1. Ie ' Hey, this plug aint workin whether it's connected or not, so it must be f***ed'.

I'm sure you understand.

Regards

tony532 · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 May 2004 Karma :

edit:- @cestrian

i cant remove the fuel tank on my own it's a major pain in the ass to get to the plugs on a hornet (at least to me) which is why i had to get an engineer from work to have a go today.

cheers advice taken on board.

me and a mate from work wheeled the back of the bike out of the house and fired her up.

i checked the pipes before coming from the cylinders and they were all hot!.

indicating i assume that all cylinders are firing to a degree.

i have just noticed that the fuel tap was still in the off position Embarassed

.

i cant wheel the bike out of the house on my own now but even if i drag my mate back round later am i likely to see any difference when firing the bike up initialy even though there would have been fuel in the carbs before?.
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bikes owned :-

aprilia rs125 - suzuki gsxr400rrsp 1990 - yamaha yzf600r thundercat - honda hornet 6

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

I'd ride it. 3 miles isn't going to hurt it at all.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

owdamer · World Chat Champion Joined: 06 Oct 2004 Karma :

are you sure its the plugs and not just a lead thats shorting out?

tony532 · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 May 2004 Karma :

not sure owdamer until i get the last two plugs replaced.

hopefully find out tomorrow.
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bikes owned :-

aprilia rs125 - suzuki gsxr400rrsp 1990 - yamaha yzf600r thundercat - honda hornet 6

veeeffarr · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

phantomtek · Lil Joe Tek Joined: 20 May 2005 Karma :

I'd throw water on them to see which is hot instead of touching them, if you get it wrong its going to hurt.

veeeffarr · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Jul 2004 Karma :

Pete. · Super Spammer Joined: 22 Aug 2006 Karma :

WD40 is better.

Don't run your bike with spark-plug caps off though as you could well ruin the coil.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good Very Happy

tony532 · World Chat Champion Joined: 29 May 2004 Karma :

i outsourced the job of checking the pipes to my mate by holding his hands on them and his cries of pain confirmed that they were indeed upto temperature!.

does this confirm that all cylinders are at least firing as they should do?.
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bikes owned :-

aprilia rs125 - suzuki gsxr400rrsp 1990 - yamaha yzf600r thundercat - honda hornet 6