what is this thing hanging off of my bike?

[ferien]

Hi, I'm new here. I had a few long standing questions about my '02 Katana 750.



1) I have this thing hanging off under my engine... it's covered in oil, i think. A spongy material. Can someone tell me what is it and if it's something serious? This area of the engine is also scratched, I remember the previous owner mentioning a minor drop.

2) The other day, my bike wouldn't start. I thought I somehow drained the battery and had to jump start it so I looked at the battery, and saw that a part of the screw was glowing from heat. It was a bad connection, and the bike started after I tightened the screw. But the screw kept sparking as I was tightening it with the bike power turned off, is that normal?

3) Last winter I ruined the carb by incorrectly storing my bike. A mechanic told me that an easy way to store my bike is to empty the carb by running the bike in 'off' position until the fuel runs out. However, I then found out that katana has on, reserve and prime positions and not 'off', so I was wondering if there is an alternative? What do you guys do to winterize your bike? I really dont want to spend another $800 fixing it up next spring.

Sorry I have many questions, any help you can give me is appreciated!

[Black_99_GSXF]

im curious about this as well my bike has the same exact thing but instead of hanging straight down it points toward the inside of the bike?

[Scout]

My guess as to what the "spongy" thing is, it's a gasket that needs to be replaced like last month. Stabil is how I winterize my bike.

[IndyGunner]

^ that

[Slofuze]

^^ That.....and I used marine grade last year. Just make sure you run your bike a few minutes so it gets in the bowls. In the Spring after my first tank I use Seafoam every once in awhile.

[ygolohcysp]

The bolt glowing with the battery seems like it was probably a bad connection. Resistance causes head. Aside from the connection being lose, it may be dirty. It might be worth cleaning all the contact points and reconnecting again.

Scout seems to be right about the gasket. Shouldn't be that expensive.

I've read/heard good and bad about both kinds of Stabil fuel stabilizer. I've only read/heard good things about something else called Startron or something. It's a "fuel enzyme", whatever that means, that's supposed to be better for the ethanol blend that's being used in gasoline these days.

Althernatively, you could also start the bike up and run it for a while every week, although, unless you do so enough to actually go through the gas in the tank, you may still have problems, and you also don't want to overheat the engine. So really, use some kind of fuel treatment, and ride it around a bit before storing it to make sure that gets mixed with the fuel and into the fuel bowls on the carbs.

Also, if it's just sitting all winter, consider getting a battery tender/charger. It'll really make the battery last longer.

[rexazz2]

I store with a healthy dose of Sea Foam fuel treatment
X3 on the side cover gasket
The sparking while tightening the bolt would be due to some or any load on the circuit and if it was loose it will heat up really fast

[DarkFury]

Welcome. That looks like the lower fairing. If so remove it to see exactly what it is also download the manual.

[ferien]

Thanks everyone for the helpful input!
I'll try to clean the battery area, and I'll ask my mechanic to look at the gasket.
As for the storage I guess emptying the carb isn't necessary if you have stabilizer throughout the system, right? So I'll read up on stabilizer, and use one and leave the petcock simply on the 'on' position over this coming winter.

[TRPUT]

No need to have a mechanic look at that gasket - although it seems to be a different style of gasket from what I have in there. It will only cost you a few $$ and a few minutes to replace it yourself - just make sure you put the bolts and washer in the right spots (something you couldn't guarantee a mechanic would do anyway).

[Scout]

Seems to me the gasket was put in upside down, or something. I've had all three of my side covers off, and that one looks to be the one that covers the timing gear. If so, the gasket was rotated and put in wrong. It appears to have an offset bolt hole in the wrong place, or the gasket was torn, and whoever put that cover back on just half-a$$ed it, anyway.