New MZ Baghira 660 owner!

[chisleu]

Very excited... Siting around waiting on insurance agent to get my insurance going is driving me nuts. Taxes paid and just need this guy to email me proof of insurance so I can get my plate and go!

This is my first bike. I've test ridden it around the neighborhood here. I couldn't open it up or anything. It has a lot more kick than my dad's HD Ultra Classic, and is much much more nimble!

I can't wait to hit some curves. I did some searching last night, but couldn't find links to the english owners manual (I think I found the yamaha engine manual though.)

I can't wait to get this thing on the road today! Wish me luck!

[chisleu]

I over tightened the gas cap today and it cracked so now it splashes me with gas if I get into the throttle too fast. Of course it was right after I completely filled it up.

The cap seemed to fit a 400cc Grizzly ATV at the local powersports shop so I ordered one ($20) but it comes in on tuesday/weds next week!!! It's suppose to be killer weather this weekend and I would really like to spend some time on my new bike! Any ideas? Duct tape doesn't work.

[Tigerboy]

Welcome to the forum.

Where are you located? I've been an MZ Baghira rider for four years now, and 25,000 miles later it's obviously the bike I ride the most.

I'd done lots of little repairs to keep him going, but in your case, I'd either use a sock to plug up the gas tank, or plastic wrap with an elastic band. Either of these should work until you get a replacement cap.

I most recently got back from Maine, that was a big trip in a fairly short amount of time, so I had to use more Interstate that I wanted, and promptly wore out the middle of my rear tire. I lost my gas cap somewhere on the Interstate in Mass (brain dead me forgot to screw it back on). I backtracked and was lucky to find it face-up in the middle of the road. I won't lose parts of my motorcycle if I can avoid it.

My adventures are at www.tigerboy.com

[chisleu]

Rad. I'm near Myrtle Beach, SC. I ended up putting a ziplock bag over the gas tank and screwing the cap onto that and it stopped the leak for now.

Thanks for the tip! Yeah I hope this new gas cap fits. It's for some ATV so hopefully it seals up properly.

I'm hunting riding gear now. I want to get something that I can put on over my normal clothes and will help if I lay this thing down. I also need a helmet with a full face guard/visor. This open face helmet I used to use for autocross is NOT going to cut it! bugs are painful at night. haha.

Loving this bike. I let dad ride it and it scared him. haha.

I am going to tear into the manual now. I need to figure out how to bleed the front brakes. It has plenty of fluid but it's super squishy and provides almost no braking power.

[chisleu]

Ouch. Just fell. "Enduro with street tires" means "street tires"

Speed bumps, OK.
Powder sand, Not OK.

Bike's fine, it was low speed and a soft landing, but the radiator left a 1/4" imprint in my calf and a little bit of a burn.

I'm really glad I had a 300lb bike to fall on me instead of a 800+lb beast, but of course, I wouldn't have been foolish enough to take a Harley into the sand (once.)

[chisleu]

So I got the bike looked at today. Replaced the brake pads, oil and filter change. Everything is much nicer now that I have front brakes.

I have got to do something about the headlight though. It is way too dim and for some reason my "high beam" doesn't work. Maybe it's just the bulb, but I'm betting it's wiring as there are other wiring issues on the bike.

I am thinking about replacing the whole headlight fairing/housing thingie. Anyone have any suggestions that might be less expensive? I've been searching but haven't found anything definitive.

I could replace all the bulbs with LED's and then mount an HID. Just hoping to get info from people who may have already done the job.

[chisleu]

Today I did some riding. Laid the bike down again. This time on pavement at 1mph. I was cutting in a tight circle and let the engine stall.
Everything was fine again. I finished breaking the left rear view so I went ahead and removed it all together. When the bike was down I noticed a little gas leaking out of the left. It doesn't normally leak. Maybe it was the carb overflow?

I got up to 70mph cruising a back road and the engine started to act like it was out of gas again. I switched to reserve and tried to get back up to speed but it forced me to slow down as if I was out of gas. Eventually it let me get back up to 55 and then it did it again.

The thing that seems to make the most sense is it's running lean? Maybe I should take the carb off and clean it up? Maybe it needs a larger main jet?

Any input/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I found out yesterday that the speedo is off a bit. It must have a dropped gear ratio or something. I get about 60mph when it says 120kph. I think this affects the odometer as well.

Thanks!

[DAVID THOMPSON]

all most all running problems i have had of late are
water in the gas or a sticking float in the carb
laying a bike down gets the water mixed up and then the float bowl is full of it...


i have found my 3 mz bikes to be good handlers..
but they don't tell you there going to toss you off
when you do something wrong....
dave

[basser23]

try running some SeaFoam in with the fuel for a tank or so( 2oz per gal is good i think) this will clean the carbs ....if it still does it then pull then and check the float level

[chisleu]

Thanks a ton for that. I think I have some seafoam already. Gotta go check the shop. I'll dump some in and see what it does after this tank.

What about methanol or iso heat?

It also pops loudly when I let off the throttle and allow the engine to brake. I've read that I should adjust the pilot mixture screw and that it's hard to get to. I've looked at the explosion but that was hard to see exactly where it would be. Anyone have some tips for finding it? Does 6 turns out seem to be right for everyone?

EDIT: I found *A* screw adjustment between the block and the bowl of the carb. It's kinda in a shroud, is a flathead, and requires the use of a driver bit to adjust with your fingers because a normal screwdriver will not work. It was adjusted ~3 turns out from closed. I set it to 6. I still get popping but I don't want to set it back to 3 if this is the screw that is suppose to be 5-6 turns out. I should note that I have a very loud pipe installed (labeled sebring). Bike sounds like 1/2 of a harley. haha

[chisleu]

Here is my idea on headlights.

Replace the stock light fixture with this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLACK-HEADLIGHT ... 115wt_1392

Install a DDM tuning HID 35W ballast and H4 bulb in that housing.

Then install two of these as floods somewhere:
http://www.ddmtuning.com/Products/LED-Work-Lamp

The 156mm version, one mounted on each side. The floods would be like a high beam. I would have a separate switch to activate them when I'm on back roads and such (where I really need the flood light.)

[harold]

Your air scew adjustment is about where it should be at 6 turns, but you should have noticed a reduction in the popping, as well as more snap off of idle. The carbs are quite hard to get off, as they hit the frame and oil lines when you move them back to get out of the intake boots.

One thing you can do easily to see if there is a float problem, is remove the drain bolt on the right side carb that doesn't have the float bowl. You can get to it without having to remove anything. Gas should flow out, which you could catch in a clear jar to see if there is anything floating around in there. If it doesn't, then you are only running on one carb, and you will have to take them off.

Your lights look pretty good for the price. I would like to replace mine too, as it doesn't do a lot. What were you saying about a ballast? Does this light not work out of the box?

[chisleu]

Your air scew adjustment is about where it should be at 6 turns, but you should have noticed a reduction in the popping, as well as more snap off of idle. The carbs are quite hard to get off, as they hit the frame and oil lines when you move them back to get out of the intake boots.

One thing you can do easily to see if there is a float problem, is remove the drain bolt on the right side carb that doesn't have the float bowl. You can get to it without having to remove anything. Gas should flow out, which you could catch in a clear jar to see if there is anything floating around in there. If it doesn't, then you are only running on one carb, and you will have to take them off.

Your lights look pretty good for the price. I would like to replace mine too, as it doesn't do a lot. What were you saying about a ballast? Does this light not work out of the box?

Thanks for the info. I'm going to run this tank out as far as I dare and see how it does. This is my 2nd tank of seafoam spiked gas. Then I will drain that and see what happens. It did not stop the popping. I'm betting the carb is super nasty.

The light itself would work out of the box, but I would want to convert it to an HID high voltage ballast and lighting system. It takes a few seconds to warm up, but it puts out a ton of light for the heat it makes, and the energy it uses. A good 55w ballast/light will absolutely wreck the output of a similar halogen bulb.

That with 2 LED floods as a highbeam/fog type light and I think I'll be set!

[chisleu]

I just went through all 32 pages and read this entire forum. I feel like I must have learned something, but the beer is keeping me from coming to any epiphany as to what it might be.

[angustoyou]