got the bike back today; i had told them to take their time, and they fixed it for free, since it was the same problem i had taken it in for while it was under its 1-month warranty back in february. sounds like it was a problem with the flow needle in the carb.
rode two miles to the gas station to fill up, and then realized the fuel switch was on PRI; they hadn't set it back to ON, and i didn't think to check it. i flipped it up and hoped no damage had been done.
then i got home and let it idle for a minute while i looked around. to my surprise, i saw what the attached picture shows: a cable with a spark plug at the end of it, just dangling loose next to the engine. i took it back to the shop, and after likewise being surprised that his mechanic had left the bike like that, the service manager put the spark plug wherever it's supposed to go.
i'm not sure how the engine worked without the spark plug ...? (the one guy said vacuum-something, i think.) would riding it like this have done any damage? i took a 20-mile ride immediately after they fixed the dangling spark plug, and it seemed fine.
