fastbob

1 minute ago, oldgrump said:

Going to Scotland in morning, lets hope them bloody midges aren't biting to much!.

If the weather is like today you won't even notice them . Just be prepared to move indoors as soon as the wind drops . Some friends have been in Skye all this week and it's been sunshine and total visibility every day . They actually saw the Cullin Hills ! What route are you doing? 

5 hours ago, Fozzie said:

Been a tad busy lately, had a holiday, and then had a CBR600F my girlfriends dad owns come through the garage. It got a full service, but the tyres are knackered, and the head/wheel bearings are feeling fairly horrible. Bike has a weird side to side sway as it goes down the road, which is quite gentle. I thought the front wheel was bent, but this sway should become a horrible shake/vibration at higher speeds and it doesn't. Pic of me mid service.

 

 

But back to the ER, and I have a problem, possibly a big one. I was about to swap out the camshaft provided by @fastbob, when I thought I'd look at the valve clearances. See how bad it was. I set piston 1 at top dead centre with the marks on the engine, and the manual says little dots on the cam sprockets should face up, and the "IN" marks be at the top..

 

Well... Both those cam lobes are meant to be pointing up... And...

 

I'm now thinking that screechy, chirpy noise it was making at idle was more sinister. The pen markings on the cam bearing suggest to me this engine has had someone in here replacing bits. They've bungled it up, the bike probably ran but not well and they sold it.

It did feel quite angry when I rode it, a lot of vibration, and I thought it was an old bike needing a proper service. So I rotated the engine so piston 2 was at top dead centre as this requires the line markings on the cam sprocket to line up with the head (and how I prefer to time the engine), and took out the cam shaft, moving it so that the marks on the cam sprockets line up with the head as the manual states. See pics below, after I'd moved the outlet cam shaft over a few teeth. 

 

 

The engine would also barely turn over by hand, it nearly needed a breaker bar and undid the bolt, and I found out why. The cam chain was stupidly tight, and when I took the cam chain tensioner out, it didn't pop out as many would. I noticed the plunger was fully extended, it has a ratchet device you push in, to reset the plunger back into the body. You then bolt it up, and the cap bolt engages the ratchet, which applies the right tension... This engine is going to need a cam chain now... As the last owner replaced the tensioner, and didn't reset it first. 

 

But can someone sanity check me before I throw this engine back in the bike... I'm not being crazy am I? This engines timing was pissed? I used the "C" mark on the rotor to line up piston 2 at top dead centre, screwdriver down the plug hole to confirm. The lines on the sprockets now line up, the lobes are both pointing up on inlet/outlet, although the exhaust lobe is just ahead of the inlet lobe. Which is what the Haynes manual shows in its (admittedly, hard to see, black and white) picture, and what I expect as after combustion stroke, the exhaust valves open, but the inlet valves tend to open as the exhaust valves are closing. And seems to line up with what I'm seeing.

 

It's going back together, PAIR removal plates installed. But this engine is going to need pulling apart a lot more aggressively than first thought later on. No matter, I like a challenge.

 

Hang on there ! If you had the cams out without removing the tensioner then it would fully extend the second the cams were dislodged . You needed to have first removed the tensioner internals followed by the body . Install the cams with no tensioner then fit the empty body first followed by the spring , rod and end cap . Hope this helps . I'll PM my phone number so you can give me a bell for a chat about it . Oh yeah , the other bike has tight steering head bearings ..

An 883 Sportster ridden gently wouldn't be a bad option . 

On 24/05/2022 at 19:58, Stingy1 said:

That GSXR in above pics, funnily enough, was the type I was thinking would interest me. An 1100. But would prob last two weeks before thinking "why have I" . In fact a kh500 will do as all I would do is around the block. 

A GSXR 1100 will take you a hundred miles from home before you've decided where you're going . You can do a four day tour of Scotland and find yourself back at home wondering what happened and what to do with the rest of the holiday . Speed and power are mostly about marketing but I realized this 30 years too late . 

I don't want to put a damper on things but a Race Track does not guarantee you protection from serious injuries . Somebody I know suffered life changing damage to a foot and a hand but it could have been much worse . Their Arai helmet was split in two . Probably if they had had more experience of kicking away from the bike in a slide it might have gone differently . 

No personal experience , but I would endorse the idea of building a Track Specific bike and buying a trailer . There must be loads of tatty R1's and Blades out there .

On 03/06/2022 at 20:14, onesea said:

Today I nominate me, for running out of petrol in the dinghy...

Infront of quay full of crabbing children.  To make it worse we don't actually carry oars (they get pinched to easy).  

However the dinghy thwarts (seats( work wonders.

So we lifted the seats out and used those.  

We must of looked most odd...

One of the funniest things I saw was an elderly couple in a dinghy who had some kind of tiny electric outboard connected to a car battery by crocodile clips . Well it might have been ok for going ashore in dead calm conditions but these silly sods were heading out to sea by trying to battle against the Race at Teignmouth .  This act of lunacy was performed right in front of all the Bass fishermen , including myself , that line the Race . When they eventually became swamped , the motor , which resembled an electric whisk , packed in and they were mercifully swept back into the safety of the harbour . Still makes me chuckle to this day . 

I've spent the whole weekend so far with a really bad back . I can only get comfortable lying on my side . Needless to say I didn't go to the Sportster day at Donnington which was , by all accounts , a huge success . 

Two days ago sitting in the filter lane to turn right at a big crossroads on the A45 in Coventry , a Lamborghini driven by a grinning idiot comes from the left also making a right turn . The car is very closely followed by a black BMW that's trying to turn inside it . Next follows the classic Supercar mistake , flooring it while still turning from a standing start . Vroom , screech , THUMP !! I look over my shoulder to see a growing cloud of dust and smoke and slowing traffic . Yep , another Lambo wrapped around a tree .I didn't stick around but the traffic was still moving slowly half an hour later . When are these idiots going to learn ? 

Anyone seen Bob ? 

This weekend I will be participating in something very similar to this . The Big One . Hundreds of Sportster owners will be riding with their local groups to form progressively larger groups before arriving at Donnington Park for a social and a ceremonial lap of the track . 

3 hours ago, manxie49 said:

Thanks very much for this, it's going to be really helpful.  Will look these up later.  Heading off just after TT, hoping the weather is going to be kind "and the midges" 

Ironically , the kinder the weather , the more vicious the Midges become . 

13 hours ago, Pip said:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/393601635150233

these do some decent rides great bunch from all over.

hope this is ok stu.

I clicked on the link and got something else called Rubber Side Down . Couldn't see content without joining and I've got enough FB feed already . 

18 minutes ago, rennie said:

Good Evening  Last shift of the week!  

Last shift tomorrow . Hope I get to process some more  Ukrainians . Lovely people and so pleasant considering what they are going through . 

11 hours ago, manxie49 said:

Thanks very much for that, I was just looking on my route app.  Yes, I do have what three words, if you could let me have the location for that app it would be really appreciated, thanks. 

Here we go then . 1/ scarves comically signal  2/ rail clerk giggle 3/ funded grouping wolves . 1/ is a wide open field with a view of the London to Glasgow line , the young River Clyde , the M74 and the B7076 . If you are feeling energetic , all the nearby hills have the ruins of ancient hill forts on top complete with stone hut circles. There is also a fresh water stream for your morning coffee or even a wash if you're that way inclined.  2/ has a hardstanding for the bike and is on top of a steep slope with a panoramic view of Loch Ewe . This is where the mighty Arctic Convoys were assembled . There is a solid concrete block on top of a rock that is part of a complex of gun emplacements and observation posts that still dot this coastline . 3/ This was used more in desperation than anything but it's a nice , quiet little spot about half a mile up a lane behind the village of Lochinver . It's like a little driveway to nowhere with just enough grass to get a few tentpegs into . With all of  these sites I advise arriving at dusk and leaving in the morning without trace . I'm off up there again in a few weeks and I intend to seek out more free camping locations . Hope this is helpful. 

3 minutes ago, Davidtav said:

It was a joke Bob. 

Oh ... One of those . 

Servicing Costs .... Yes it does

4 minutes ago, Davidtav said:

I’m a bit worried they might fall off because they are going so slow

Well you've obviously never ridden a bicycle then . 

39 minutes ago, manxie49 said:

Thanks, that would probably be useful, I've found a couple of spots but they seem few and far between, I don't want to fall foul of local restrictions that could potentially ruin things for other people 

Ok , the first one is actually between Crawford and Abington and I just use it as a stop over on my way up . Second is at Poolewe and definitely the best of the three because it's got a spectacular view and bike parking . There's even a seat . The third was up a lane behind the village of Lochinver but that was more of an emergency thing . I can give more specific details by PM if you are interested . Do you have What Three Words installed ? 

On 26/05/2022 at 08:56, Motorcyclesrule1 said:

blame... I mean blame!!

 

You can edit your posts . Click on the three dots . 

1/ Round the corner .  2 / Through the hedge . 

Meet Kiera , a Staffordshire Akita cross and possibly the most gentle dog I've ever met . I will happily leave these two together unattended for hours . 

That's not a lot of miles for an oil change . Is this some kind of Honda break in procedure ? 

1 hour ago, daveinlim said:

You can get protective clothes that look like normal jeans etc. But once you know this you can tell most of the time what's what. 

I'm in the camp of ATGATT. 

People will often wear just a helmet in the cities. Scooter drivers are the most guilty. often see Vespas with work suit and not even gloves. But if I said would you jump from a 30mph car in a tracksuit they would think you're crazy.

 

 

I thought jumping out of a moving car in a tracksuit was a popular sport , especially on council estates . I've seen it on the telly .