Taken one system at a time...
Electrical,
Air flow,
Fuel flow,
Air/fuel mix,
Compression,
Spark...
Every little detail...
Be clean...
Be mindful...
Get to know its body...
Its inner workings...
Beneath tangled wires, cables, and hoses
Is simplicity...
A simple four chambered mechanical heart/lung brought to life by a timed spark...
No need for a brain...
Take the whole thing apart if you have to...
Bolt by bolt...
I did that once...
Can't even remember what kind of bike it was,
But it was an actual motorcycle...
A bit more than 49 cc under the seat...
A wreck that a gas station pretty much gave to me
So they didn't have to pay for its disposal...
I was reading Zena and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance...
Took it apart
Bolt by bolt...
Completely...
Laid all the parts out...
Fixed a cracked oil pan...
Gave it fresh oil...
Then put it all back together (with the help of a Chilton's manual)...
Turned the ignition...
Engine turned over...
Almost started...
Sputtered out...
Gave up, thinking I failed...
Didn't remember that,
Of course,
I had emptied the gas tank before the disassemble...
And, of course,
It was stolen that night...
The very night I realized that I was actually successful
At getting to know that engine...
All it needed was gas...
This time, with the moped, the situation is a somewhat reversed/similar...
Got stolen from my parking lot on St. Patty's day,
But reclaimed about a week later...
It wasn't in working order when it got stolen from me...
I had just started working on it after about a month of cold weather
(About all you get of that in Austin, TX...)
Bad spark plug...
And, as it turns out, stale gas...
Found that out later...
An arrest had been made,
But the machine came back in "less working" order
Compared to the level of "not working" it was already experiencing...
May as well have been thrown in the bear cage at a zoo...
With very curious, active, and destructive bears...
Bears who do not use the proper tools for the job...
So, diagnosing problems involved replacing stolen/missing parts
And creatively redistributing the remaining bolts...
Then,
System by system,
Modifying and testing...
Had to learn how to hotwire it
Just to be able to troubleshoot the electrical system...
Keyed ignition destroyed...
Air filter casing shattered...
Dozens of YouTube videos on troubleshooting, and wiring, and air flow, and etc.
Patience became more fine tuned...
That happens when there is a clear goal...
Following every wire,
Every tube and hose,
Learning the landscape...
Being quietly productive...
Appreciating the moment when that little engine finally went full throttle...
A success...
Something that was just me...
Unaided...
This bike, once upon a time, stolen,
Balanced things
With that old, once upon a time, stolen bike
That never came back...
The old "what goes around, comes around" ploy...
There is balance,
If you seek it...
Aide and abet it when you see it...
Watch...
Observe...
Assess...
Plan...
Name it.
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