something every shade tree mechanic should read

axeugene27

axeugene27

Over 1,000 Posts
Had a crazy day today. Working on the bike in the driveway trying to get her running. Filled her with gas, checked the carbs they were a little leaky but i just proceeded. I checked the ignition timing gapped the points. I don't have a battery so i pulled the car up and connected it by jumper cables. started cranking the engine. The engine rolled backfired and then caught fire. within 15 seconds the bike was engulfed in flames. Some gas that leaked on the driveway caught fire and within 1 min my door on my car caught fire. This was about 10 feet from my house. I threw a bucket of water on the flame which did little to get the flame out. I jumped into the burning car and backed it away from my house. Maybe not the smartest idea but i did not want my house to burn down. Called 911. got the hose and sprayed the bike till it finally went out. my car continued to burn. It was burning on the undercarriage and into the engine compartment. i sprayed it until the fire dept called. Then i looked at my arm. 2nd degree burns down my forearm and on my left hand. Then came the pain. Burns hurt .... bad. Paramedics took me to the local burn unit where i spent the afternoon. never had pain like that before.

Lesson: to any of you who work on bikes in your driveway like me. The first tool we all should buy is a fire extinguisher. The bike should be far from the house when trying to start it. keep a hose hooked up and close by when working on your engine. Make sure your carbs are not leaking before trying to start your bike. any leaking gas should be cleaned up and leaks fixed prior to bringing spark into the equation.

If you are like me you wake up excited to work on your bike or get on your bike and ride. Please remember safety first. Today i almost burned my house down and seriously injured myself. Will i continue to work on bikes.....absolutely. Will i execute a hell of a lot more caution when working on the bike. You bet your butt..


stay safe guys
 
Incredible story. Glad you weren't injured worse. A good learning point, too. Fire can spread faster than you can imagine. Working with my Vol FD, I've seen several garage fires, that started with just a little gasoline leak somewhere, and ended up with the homeowner lucky to have escaped from the garage/workshop.

I always keep a fire extinguisher on hand, and whenever I move my toolboxes, gear, etc, around, I always make sure I know exactly where my fire extinguisher is located.

In fact, right after posting this, I'm going to check the gauge and expire date on my extinguisher...thanks for the nudge...
 
Pics or it didnt happen...

Seriously though, glad you and your house are ok. How bad is the bike? Make a list of whats really destroyed and post it up. Im sure some folks have bits lying around they couls hook you up with if ya ask real nice like.

Also... What actually started the fire? Im a little confused. Spark from the jumper cables (which is why I only use jumper cables on a bike if I HAVE TO)? Flame from the backfire? If thats the case, you must have had a CRAZY amount to fuel spilling out.

Anyway, again... Glad you and yours all made it out alive. Sorry about the bike and car.
 
Sorry man. Object lessons: Dont ever hook a car battery up to a bike.Sure way to fry something. Dont ever throw water on a gasoline/grease/petro fire-all that does is spread the flames. A shovel of dirt is far more effective or a good foam extinguisher. I have 2 in my shop and check them all the time to ensure they are good.Hope u heal up ok.Bikes are easy to replace but us human beans aint.bj :(
 
The 12v car battery won't fry anthing. The bike just draws what it needs. The engine backfired and shot fire out of the carb. There was enough gas to start a good fire and some overflow from the carbs leaking under the bike that caught so fast it was rediculous. The damage is negligible aside from my chargrilled gas tank. I do have another tank though and may be able to clean up the cooked one. Thank god i hadn't painted it yet. The bike is in poor condition as it is. The engine is in the frame i don't plan to use anyhow. The wiring is pretty fried but i was going to do a simplified new wiring job anyhow. I have another parts bike that i can pull stuff that got cooked. Thank you for the kind suggestions though. I was trying to get the the bike running prior to tearing it down to make sure it was salvageable. I think now i am just going to have to pull the engine and build this thing slow. I just hate to get to the end of this project and have a bike that won't run. BJ i was careless and paid the price. never again man.
 
Glad you and everyone nearby are OK. Going to go check the dates on my fire extinguisher tomorrow and replace the one in my garage (might put 2 in there actually, one at each end).
 
First, glad you weren't hurt worse. There have been several times I had gas leaking and started my bike while working on it. Thanks for reminding us how dangerous that can be. Quick thinking on moving the car. I don't know if I even own an extinguisher. That will be remedied soon.

As Von said, if there is anything you need, just let us know.


hocbj23 said:
Sorry man. Object lessons: Dont ever hook a car battery up to a bike.Sure way to fry something.
Click to expand...

This however is BS. That doesn't make any sense.
 
Yes doing Johnny Storm impersonations sucks. BTDT :-[

I was just thinking the other day, that I should get a bigger extinguisher for the garage. We have one mounted by the garage/kitchen door, I will add another close to the overhead doors.
Thanks for the incentive. ;)
 
Just a quick heads up on the fire extinguishers folks... There are different types. In the States (not sure elsewhere) you want an "ABC" rated extinguisher. Dry material. There are others out there that will do next to nothing if fuel or electical components are involved.
 
Just to add to this:

I was disassembling my engine in my garage, was using alcohol to clean some parts of it.
About 15 minutes later the spark advancer was stuck so I broke out the propane torch.
I thought all the alcohol was long evaporated. WRONG.

I believe what happened was the alcohol dripped off the parts and soaked into the wooden workbench and therefore didn't evaporate. Either way my garage was seconds from going up in flames when thankfully I was able to smother it with an extinguisher.

Fire is no joke.

When I was a teenager My friends and I were playing with Molotav Cocktails at the creek by my house.
My friend set a glass bottle full of gas too near the fire, so I pushed it out of the way with my leg (duuuumb), the glass had become very brittle from the heat and there was quite the explosion when my foot touched it. My leg was afire before I knew what to do. I eventually managed to get it out by pulling my pants off, but all the skin from my lower leg came with it.

Fire is no joke. :eek:
 
I've been talking about getting a fire extinguisher forever and keep procrastinating even after some close calls. I'll be picking one up on the way home today. Von, thanks for the ABC tip. I noticed my carbs leaking this morning and almost rode in anyway. Glad I talked myself out of it. I'll fix them tonight with my trusty brandy new ABC rated fire extinguisher watching over me. Glad to here you and the bike didn't suffer worse injuries.
 
So eerie that I read this today. Last night I was taking the Matchless down to the local club's Beer and Wings night, 2 blocks from home at a stop something told me to look down. The cover nut for the primary jet on the right side had come off and gas was pissing all over the magneto. Shut it down and pushed it home. Could have been a hell of an expensive bonfire.
 
Glad you're ok axeugene. I hope people take note. I have 3 fire extinguishers in my little shop. You can never be too prepared.
 
Glad you're okay man, I put myself in a similar situation with my last bike while showing off the "new" purchase to some buddies at a backyard BBQ. I had a ZX-11 go up in flames while I was trying to start it , thank goodness one of my wife's friends was there with her fiance (firefighter emt) and immediately grabbed the extinguisher just inside the kitchen door. He covered myself and the bike in a nice white powdery cloud before I could even get off and see if I was really on fire or if I had cooked a fuse. I was initially pissed and then realized he'd seen the gas flowing from a leaky carb bowl as I hit the start button and went running for the extinguisher when he saw smoke coming up from under my seat.

It's amazing how quickly fire spreads and how hard it can be to put out. I'll be checking my extinguishers in the garage tonight as well. I should make a not to check'em once a month like I do for the one in the shop at work.
 
Glad your ok. funny thing were not allowed to use extinguishers at work water only, stupit if you ask me. ive cought two locomotive on fire bad welding on them, i mean call the fire department bad. were suppost to tell the boss and sit back and watch the firemen when they get there. My union says "we ant paying you ta fight fires, those fucker are insured let them burn". It something to watch a 2 million dollar locomotive burn up over a rule
 
bradj said:
Glad your ok. funny thing were not allowed to use extinguishers at work water only, stupit if you ask me. ive cought two locomotive on fire bad welding on them, i mean call the fire department bad. were suppost to tell the boss and sit back and watch the firemen when they get there. My union says "we ant paying you ta fight fires, those fucker are insured let them burn". It something to watch a 2 million dollar locomotive burn up over a rule
Click to expand...

Getting your drink on early today Brad? That's cool, so am I. Rough week.
 
Wow! I feel like an idiot for all the times Ive had gas spill all over my bike and self, just kinda shrugged and carried on. Im so glad Ive replaced my shitty leaking carbs now!
 
Having a C02 extinguisher and a dry chemical is a great way to go as the C02 won't damage or create a great deal of clean up like the dry chemical. C02 extinguishers are primarily for class B and C fires. Know which is which and when to use them.

Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials such as paper, wood, cardboard, and most plastics. The numerical rating on these types of extinguishers indicates the amount of water it holds and the amount of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (green triangle).

Class B fires involve flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, grease and oil. The numerical rating for class B extinguishers indicates the approximate number of square feet of fire it can extinguish. Geometric symbol (red square).

Class C fires involve electrical equipment, such as appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Never use water to extinguish class C fires - the risk of electrical shock is far too great! Class C extinguishers do not have a numerical rating. The C classification means the extinguishing agent is non-conductive. Geometric symbol (blue circle)
 
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