Indian Tradegy

[Baytown]

G'day everyone.

You need to look at this video. It's enough to make you cry. I won't post
details, but it involved a dear friend of mine and they didn't do anything wrong. One of those things. It happened a few weeks ago in Finland.

Check your fuel lines!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-kCR6bH7gs

Best wishes.

Ken.

[Ohio-Rider]

Your right Ken. That is sad enough to make one cry. I can only imagine the owners pain in watching his baby burn like that. I'll be looking at my fuel lines today, you can bet on that.

[Baytown]

Burning Outfit

Best thing is that no one (especially my mate and his son) were hurt.

Jeez, I can't spell tragedy either!

[Chris Haynes]

In California it is illegal to use copper and a fuel line. Yet it seems that every Indian I see had copper fuel and oil lines on it.

[74moto]

The film says it all !

Our hearts are with You, Brother!!!!!!!!!!

Hard times don´t last but strong people do.

J and K

[George Greer]

Ouch!!!

Chris... I saw quite a few harleys at Dinlkesbuhl AMCA meet with copper fuel and oil lines.

I won't use it.

As a matter of fact, I have been working on my WLA just this past weekend just to stop a pesky fuel seep that always bothered me.

George

[Coolbreeze]

Hot Chiefs need to carry convenient fire extinguishers

Another Vintage Iron Rider member and I have had our Chiefs burn under us. You got that right -- we were on the bikes when the fires started. One fire was caused by a split in the soldered seam of a gasoline tank. The other was caused when the bike was run without muffler and exhaust pipe (header only) + only the left tank had a fuel line connected + the right tank had gasoline in it. The vibration of the engine caused the spigot on the right tank to turn open, which allowed raw gasoline to run down the side of the bike. Without an exhaust pipe, the header was shooting ~8" flame when the trottle was closed. It looked "cool" until raw gasoline hit 8" of flame. Then, it got quite hot.

Both Chiefs survived the baptism of fire.

I still have copper gasoline and oil lines. I have had a seam split whilst on a run and experienced raw gasoline hitting a hot engine. Fortunately, there was no fire that time.

Every now and then, I see a horrifically expensive small fire extinguisher for either a Harley or an Indian on e-bay. Does anyone know where a reasonably priced fire extinguisher can be found that one could mount in a convenient place on a motorcycle?

[Chris Haynes]

Every now and then, I see a horrifically expensive small fire extinguisher for either a Harley or an Indian on e-bay. Does anyone know where a reasonably priced fire extinguisher can be found that one could mount in a convenient place on a motorcycle?[/QUOTE]

Those are carbon tetrachloride extinguishers. Now illegal in most places as they are a really bad carcinogen. Breathing the fumes can cause cancer.
eBay sellers always list these brass extinguishers as being Harley or Indian. If you look in the old H-D Accessory Catalogues you will see that extinguisher. When you read the description of it the first word you see is CHROME. Those brass ones were sold in hardware stores ETC. and were not a Harley-Davidson accessory. I don't know what the Indian people sold.

[23JDCA 808]

Every now and then, I see a horrifically expensive small fire extinguisher for either a Harley or an Indian on e-bay. Does anyone know where a reasonably priced fire extinguisher can be found that one could mount in a convenient place on a motorcycle?

I favor the Halon extinguishers although I have not had to use one. I keep a 10 or 15-pounder in the middle of my garage floor. I favor these over the powder types as you do not have to clean up powder afterwards, and it won't be sucked into the engine.
Problem is, if you have continued gas flow and a source of spark, you will be fighting the ongoing fire. There is a limit.

[Paps]

I thought they banned Halon ? I saw the stuff do its' job before. It works well. Paps

[exeric]

I had a 1969 FL that I got from Bruce Palmer. It was a wonderful motorcycle that took me all over the Southeast, however, towards the end of our relationship some sort of bad voodoo kicked in and we had two bad accidents and a fire that spelled splitsville for our riding days. I will take responsibility for the fire but a friend of mine really was the cause. He had a bike shop and when he saw that I didn't have a fuel filter he said I was killing the engine by allowing abrasive grit to pass with the fuel. He was a good salesman and sold me the filter. Unfortuantely, the filter was cheap piece of crap and leaked gas which found it's way to a really hot "S" pipe. This happened on one of the 5 busiest roads in Orlando during 8:00 a.m. rush hour traffic. Talk about panic. Everyone near my flaming bike was bailing out of their car, screaming and cussing me out. The hero of the day turned out to be a burger flipper from a McDonald's who ran into the inferno with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. Get this, after the fire was out and people were standing around in contemplation, this guy's boss chewed him out for wasting the fire extinguisher on non-McDonald's business. By the way, 28JDCA is right about powder type extinguishers, they are a mess and that stuff is corrosive too. But, any boat in a storm.

[23JDCA 808]

I thought they banned Halon ? I saw the stuff do its' job before. It works well. Paps

http://www.epa.gov/ozone/snap/fire/qa.html#qA1
Guess you're right. Shows how long I've had my extinguisher. Ozone Layer concerns.

[23JDCA 808]

Here is a article about alternatives to Halon extinguishers.
http://www.ilpi.com/safety/extinguishers.html
There appear to be replacements for Halon-1211; Novec 1230, Halon-1508 and FE-36. I'd just contact your local extinguisher supply and recharging store.

[c.o.]

Wasn't there a tech tip in a back issue of "The Antique Motorcycle" that said to carry a 16oz beer in you saddle bag. Shake it up, pop the top and voila an instant fire extinguisher!

[Magic]

Good tip and it was sad watching that video

The halon extingushers were excellent for protecting computer equipment as they dispersed the O2 needed to sustain fire without leaving any residue, however the people working in the area that needed to leave as well when they dumped needed O2 as well to breathe as they left. Dry Chems are ok to a point if used quickly and early on fuel spill and the fuel supply is off, and yes they leave a mess. CO2 extingushers disperse O2 as well without the mess but can push a fuel spill around by the pressure they expell. The can of beer is a good safe way of puttng out a small fire when shook up as well because of the foaming blanket laid on. Running fuel fires are a bit different and also need to be cut off from the air (O2) as well. shutting off the fuel supply first is important, if possible. Move the object...in this case it would be our motorcycle quickly as the fuel runs fast and down and burns away and fast unless more is added...hence keep moving if possible. I'm not saying riding LOL A blanket or leather jacket thrown over a fuel fire will cut off the O2 needed to sustain the fire. Hopefully not your favorite leather jacket but that's what we most often wear. There isn't a whole lot that actually can burn on a motorcycle without fuel except the seat, tires and saddlebags if any. Why did I write so much a subject like fire? It's what I do for a living and understanding one of lifes most horrible experiences makes it easy. Fire without one of the 3 parts doesn't exist. 1-O2 (air) 2-Fuel (liquid or matter) 3-heat (ignition) cut off any of the 3 it goes out. it can be overwhelming when it happens to a person. I carry a small B-C extingusher on the metal fuel line connected motorcycles I ride and hopefully never have to use them. Merlin in Pa.