Finding a Straw in a Cylinder Stack
December 19, 2007
I’m one of the lucky ones. I don’t have to winterize my bikes. Being in San Diego, I get to ride year round (neener neener).
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Many people aren’t as lucky, and have to winterize their bikes. One of the processes some people use on their Sportster is to spray fogging oil in the cylinder to prevent rusting. Most of us know it’s not really needed with a 4 stroke, but hey, it’s not going to hurt, right?
.
Wrong.
.
One guy was spraying that oil in his cylinder and had the straw come off the spray can and shoot in to the cylinder through the spark plug hole. DOH!
.
Some of the remedies I heard sounded ok I suppose. Like using a bright flashlight and a hemostat to fish it out. Or use a wad of gum on the end of a stick. Or a wire with a hook. Even one of those three pronged flexible grabby thingies.
.
Some things I kept hearing over and over was to not move the cylinder, not start the Sporty with the straw in there, that the straw could bend a valve or somehow cause the motor to malfunction, or that you have to be extremely delicate using metal inside the cylinder.
.
I’m not going to say these people off their rocker, but I’ve been working with steel and aluminum for nearly 3 decades, and I’m here to tell you that a piece of plastic getting lodged in your cylinder is NOT going to do much damage, if any at all. And you damn sure aren’t going to scratch the cylinder walls unless you stick a screwdriver in there, tilt it to the side, then smack it with the palm of your hand or a hammer.
.
But what gets me is that those straws are like 5 or 6 inches long, right? Seems to me if you move the cylinder to TDC (Top Dead Center, that’s where the cylinder is the closest to the spark plug (hole)), the straw will be moved up to where you can grab it easier.
.
Or just fire that sucka up! It’s not a metal bolt inside there, it’s a little piece of plastic. Harley’s aren’t made of wood, you know…
.
Many people aren’t as lucky, and have to winterize their bikes. One of the processes some people use on their Sportster is to spray fogging oil in the cylinder to prevent rusting. Most of us know it’s not really needed with a 4 stroke, but hey, it’s not going to hurt, right?
.
Wrong.
.
One guy was spraying that oil in his cylinder and had the straw come off the spray can and shoot in to the cylinder through the spark plug hole. DOH!
.
Some of the remedies I heard sounded ok I suppose. Like using a bright flashlight and a hemostat to fish it out. Or use a wad of gum on the end of a stick. Or a wire with a hook. Even one of those three pronged flexible grabby thingies.
.
Some things I kept hearing over and over was to not move the cylinder, not start the Sporty with the straw in there, that the straw could bend a valve or somehow cause the motor to malfunction, or that you have to be extremely delicate using metal inside the cylinder.
.
I’m not going to say these people off their rocker, but I’ve been working with steel and aluminum for nearly 3 decades, and I’m here to tell you that a piece of plastic getting lodged in your cylinder is NOT going to do much damage, if any at all. And you damn sure aren’t going to scratch the cylinder walls unless you stick a screwdriver in there, tilt it to the side, then smack it with the palm of your hand or a hammer.
.
But what gets me is that those straws are like 5 or 6 inches long, right? Seems to me if you move the cylinder to TDC (Top Dead Center, that’s where the cylinder is the closest to the spark plug (hole)), the straw will be moved up to where you can grab it easier.
.
Or just fire that sucka up! It’s not a metal bolt inside there, it’s a little piece of plastic. Harley’s aren’t made of wood, you know…
Yeah…I read the original story at: http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?t=118767 .
If you are wondering if the guy ever got the straw out you can find out here: http://xlforum.net/vbportal/forums/showthread.php?p=1016666#post1016666