Stuck in Argentina with carb/ fuel pump issue

[TedK]

I'm riding a 2003 640 lc4 Adventure with about 35,000 kms on it right now.
Left Colombia about a month ago, southbound, went about 10.000 kms, started having starting and gas leak issues about 1.000 kms ago. 300 kms ago, in southern Argentina, it took a big dump, with gas leaking out everwhere.
I got a tow to town, then found some nice mechanics who opened a little square fuel pump and found a thin 4 cm square membrane which had a 1 cm rupture. It's a material which really isn't rubber, more like a tough piece of cloth, but the mechanics found some thin rubber (still about 4x the thickness of the cloth square) and cut a square piece and replaced it. The bike ran great that day, and I rode fast for 300 kms to a little town where I stayed the nite. Turned the fuel off that nite, of course.
Next morning, difficult starts. When running with the throttle off (ie, coasting to a stop sign), it kept dying. Later, rolling around town, I needed more and more throttle to keep it running. Eventually it just quit, again, but this time without the gas pouring out.
It is Christmas and I cant find a mechanic in this little town.
My guess is the rubber piece they put in place isn't working. I could cut another piece of that same rubber, open up the pump, and re-install it and hope it gets me up the road again. When stores re-open on Monday, I could visit some small engine shops and see if they have a similar piece of clothlike material I could buy and cut to fit.
OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING ELSE
Any smart folks out there able to lend me some advice?
I've helped a few stranded folks on the road over the years, so I am hoping it comes back from you...
Happy Holidays by the way
// ted
ted_kunz@yahoo.com

[bajadog]

Sorry to hear about that Ted.
Merry Christmas.

Do you mean the mikuni pump #20? There are a bunch of posts
about that on ADVrider.

[TedK]

Originally Posted by bajadog

Sorry to hear about that Ted.
Merry Christmas.

Do you mean the mikuni pump #20? There are a bunch of posts
about that on ADVrider.

Wow, thanks for your response. Funny story, the problem turned out to be a membrane in the vacuum fuel pump. We ended up finding some similiar material (basically some thin rubber with thread woven in for strength). Using the ruptured part as a template, we cut another square to fit, installed, and I quickly got moving again for Ushuaia, which I made on 30 December 2011, just in time for festivities. I'm now in Santiago, and the fuel pump issue has not been a problem again!
Thank you very much for your help and sorry for not getting on here to look earlier.
On a separate note, the little button on my control panel, which allows me to toggle through modes, isn't working. I unscrew the panel, take off the plastic screen, and everything looks clean and orderly and the rubber button seem to work just fine.
But it doesn't. Any thoughts, wise man? I promise to get back to you with my thanks, in a more timely fashion!
Best // ted

[bajadog]

Ted, glad you got back up and running.

Do you mean the button on item #2?

[TedK]

Hey, thanks! Yes indeed, that is the one. The bottom left button (the set button), works fine, the top one (mode button) is the one giving me trouble.
Any thoughts?

[bajadog]

I've read on ADVrider some guys using a little WD40 on the switch contacts.

Also they do say those switches go bad, especially after 9 years of vibration.

[TedK]

The WD worked! So cool! What a relief to be able to read my instruments again!
Who are you? Some sort of saint sent to help out the rolling knuckleheads?
If you are curious I do a photo and short story on FB once a day. I'm under a pseudonym there, Chuck Castlewood. If you are on FB and you want to follow the trip, send me a request!
And THANKS
// ted

[TedK]

To The Very Helpful Guy:
Now, water from the radiator is leaking into the plastic box which houses the air filter, and then the water is dripping out a little drain pipe the right side. I've been keeping the radiator full to keep the engine from overheating, so no problem there.The bike basically seems to be running fine, but I'm just obviously concerned something more serious is probably going on.
I took the seat and gas tank off to look everything over, to be sure there were no obvious hose problems, but I saw nothing.
Any thoughts?
// ted

[alaskasail]

I have to comment about how the world has changed where we can travel to far-off places, get help, parts diagrams and advice from folks thousands of miles away. Not too long ago when that little thing-a-ma-jigger broke, you were just screwed. It's wonderful. Now, if we can just get Picard's "Transporter" up and running we can get resupplied when we run out of beer!