Things that go bump in your bike!

[theboogieman]

Well the intention was to spend my time actually playing on my 'new to me' 2010 ec 300, but a set of leaking seals made me realise I had to do at least some maintenance before having a good thrash round.
(my usual practice is to strip a bike or car when I get it so that I 'know' it's safe or race ready)
It would have been nice just once to have had a play first.

Anyway the struggle to get the front axle off began to set off alarm bells that the bike may not have had 'regular' maintenance.
By the time I had got the front apart and found the spacers were siezed solid to the axle, and that the bearings had fallen to pieces,
I realized that I was the first person to do ANY maintenance on it.

I couldn't belive how in just 2 years it could be so bad.



Then things started getting strange, (hence the thread title)

And as I can only put 4 images in a post for some reason, I'll have to split this into 2.

[theboogieman]

I decided that I would do a full strip and prep now and break the motor down later to do rings etc
(now that I was aware that I was the first to do anything on the bike.

On lifting the tank out, It rattled.
upturning it revealed the contents:





Now, even though I'm primed for the fact that things may get weird, this I did not expect.

I took the subframe away to clean and then lifted the carb away to clean out and note jet sizes, which revealed,

I'll let the pics tell the story:








I have no idea where an electical rubber grommet would have been origionally on the bike, if it ever was, or how the hell it got past the air filter carb slide or needle.
I can only imagine it being dropped in during some maintenace, but as I am definately the first to turn a wrench on the bike, the only other way it could get there would be at the factory?.

Haha, I'm curious to see how it goes with both sides of the reeds opening.

[Harry]

This looks like a case of having a three year old "helper" with you when you are doing maitenance, as I do.

[waycrazy]

Wow how did that bike even run????

[stainlesscycle]

how could so much stuff be wrong with a 2010... someone had a helper for sure.

[blitz11]

Did you know the seller? A disgruntled KTM dealer?

BTW, what is "gruntled?" Gruntled actually sounds worse than disgruntled.

[theboogieman]

I'm dreading taking the float bowl off. Or the clutch cover, I'll probably find someones teddy bear or sweet stash!

[Clay]

That looks like the rubber grommet that goes in the top of the radiator. I've dropped stuff in the air box before but how did it get past the air filter? Wow!

[REVERUP]

I just love the title of this post, it also goes with your screen name. That's some crazy stuff you found there......

[bowhunter007]

Perhaps the junk in the fuel tank was intended to help stir your premix, so it wouldn't separate