fastbob

I quite agree, I was just using Opie as a rough guide to show that if you want good oil you have to pay for it . I didn't notice any 10w30 Castrol in Halfords, only the 10w40 .

Did you get to have a look at the vintage scooters at Magpie Motorcycles while you were there ? They have some immaculately restored early Lambrettas but interestingly they also have some unrestored examples that are worth a lot more left exactly as they were found with only the mechanical bits refurbished. No,I took the parts to his home as I don't think he was working yesterday. Just checked out the Magpie website though,looks like a decent indy workshop. http://magpiemotorcyclesandscooters.com Don't get the whole fascination with scooters and the value of them can be crazy,but each to their own. Was at my mot tester the other week,there was a scooter outside around 2003 model,had got 107kms on the clock and he said the owner had been offered thousands for it. Just looked like any other scooter to me. I would probably have said much the same thing until I visited Magpie Motorcycles . If nothing else, I feel sure that you will be impressed by the standard of finish on their restorations . Just a thought, good luck with your project.

Took the parts to Phil today. Thanks for the lead Did you get to have a look at the vintage scooters at Magpie Motorcycles while you were there ? They have some immaculately restored early Lambrettas but interestingly they also have some unrestored examples that are worth a lot more left exactly as they were found with only the mechanical bits refurbished.

10w-30 is a little unusual , most four stoke bikes use 10w-40 . Anyway, if you're new to biking you may be a little shocked at the price of good quality motorcycle oil but if you want your bike to last that's the price you will have to pay . ( For goodness sake let's not have the old car oil versus bike oil argument all over again ) Here you go , other brands are available . https://www.opieoils.co.uk/p-914-motul-5100-4t-10w-30-semi-synthetic-motorcycle-engine-oil.aspx

We'll I'm very pleased for you that its now fixed but I still stand by what I said . I know its difficult to be objective where your bike is concerned and I fully understand how easy it is to form an emotional attachment to a piece of machinery. I believe some dealerships exploit the perception that as soon as you ride a bike away it somehow becomes your responsibility. But the cold fact is that it is a consumer product and it should be replaced if it is faulty in the same way as a pen that doesn't write or a toaster that burns the toast . Anyway,good luck with it , ride safe and according to reports the summer is far from over with warm weather predicted well into October.

No I don't think so , if they are described as in good working order then I am fully protected by eBay,s returns policy anyway. Might not come to that, it could just be a bent selector fork . And failing that I've still got a good gearbox in my other engine . If I can sort this issue out I've got all winter to carry on working on this spare engine. I fancy a rebore and new pistons and maybe new valve springs . Meanwhile the bike is still rideable , its just got a lot of vibration due to the very slack primary chain . Why did Kawasaki favour primary chains anyway ? Everything is close enough together to be gear driven so it doesn't make a lot of sense to me . ( you not off to this rally then ? ) Did consider going to the rally but step son is just out of hospital following a major op, Missus is a nervous wreck and I need to be on hand in case he needs her or needs a lift anywhere - was in A&E with him for 5 hours last Sunday as his catheter got blocked and started bleeding We'll I wish him a speedy recovery.

Don’t you wonder why that is ?? Not coz it’s a common problem and they’re all bolloxed is it ..... No I don't think so , if they are described as in good working order then I am fully protected by eBay,s returns policy anyway. Might not come to that, it could just be a bent selector fork . And failing that I've still got a good gearbox in my other engine . If I can sort this issue out I've got all winter to carry on working on this spare engine. I fancy a rebore and new pistons and maybe new valve springs . Meanwhile the bike is still rideable , its just got a lot of vibration due to the very slack primary chain . Why did Kawasaki favour primary chains anyway ? Everything is close enough together to be gear driven so it doesn't make a lot of sense to me . ( you not off to this rally then ? )

A quick update, despite the crusty exterior everything internal is absolutely mint so far . I've had the sump off and there were no metal particles at all and surprisingly little sludge . From here I can see most of the gearbox and again it looks mint , no chipped teeth or worn dogs . The external shifter mechanism is in good order so I am beginning to suspect that the fault lies in the grooves in the selector drum . I seem to be able to get neutral and SECOND rather than neutral and FIRST as I initially thought. So next job is going to be to split the cases and do some inspecting and measuring . The good news is that there are loads of selector drums and whole gearboxes on eBay for very little money.

Bob's lost interest , I borrowed a Haynes manual from the library and every time I try to read it he comes and sits on it .

What time are you thinking as we are all going for a ride at around 12:30 ish! Not sure when we will be back Hi Stu , dunno really, I'll just see how the day turns out , its a nice run from where I am anyway . thanks for the info .

I presume its ok to pop in for a few hours on Saturday. Hope so , see you all tomorrow.

Googled it , Derby not Coventry.

But it would be out the sun This may be an urban myth but here goes . During the fuel delivery strike a taxi driver in Coventry decided to stockpile fuel in a wheelie bin in his front room in a terraced house . When the bin melted the resulting deluge of fuel caused a large part of the street to be evacuated as a precaution .

No. Yeah I thought so , never mind.

I don't know for sure but wouldn't Halfords fit a battery for free ? ( maybe they don't touch motorbikes )

He's not chopping up the end can , he's chopping up the existing pipe work 2 inches FROM the end can .

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on . There's a receipt with my bike where someone paid £60 for a battery and an additional £60 for fitting it. I've bought bikes for less than that !

Ahh , I remember when everyone took acid at rallies

You have been given the correct advice, get a new battery. If you ride around with a knackered battery you could fry your rectifier / regulator which will cost you more money. And please don't pay anybody to fit a battery even if they do let you watch . All you do is un bolt the leads and swap batteries then put the leads back on .

I see what you mean. I have all the plates out and I'm spinning the inner hub which is slowly rotating the rear sprocket in first . So far I haven't been able to get any other gears but this is by no means conclusive.

We'll I've spun the clutch by hand while trying to shift gears but it isn't looking good . Next job will be to scrape off 19 years worth of chain lube so I can get into the shift mechanism. Never mind its just a bit of fun , I've got all winter to build an engine out of the best ( least worse ) of the two . The one I've bought has a good primary chain in it which is worth way more than £ 50 alone .

I quite enjoy watching some American yobbo falling off trying to do a mile long wheelie wearing a tee shirt in the middle of a busy freeway . It helps me understand how Trump got elected .

63 tins worth to be precise.

And so it is ! I never thought to count . What's also a bit puzzling is that the OP wants the bike to trundle along at around 50 mph which for a bike capable of 110 mph is a bit unusual. It's a chopper by the way .

No worries, I work for the government so I've got loads of spare time with nothing to do . I reckon I'll get a rubber cusioned one myself next time around. I didn't know JT did them until now . http://www.jtsprockets.com/catalogue/sprocket/JTF512RB/