fastbob

It was the pomposity that I got tired of in the end . I just wanted an MOT not the whole life story .

I seem to recall that they quoted me £600 to shim and balance the GSXR but in the end I checked all the clearances myself and they were all within service limits at around 40,000 miles . I had the bike from 4,000 miles and I never bothered with the 5,000 mile service or any other recommended service for that matter . I just changed the oil and filter every year and polished it . Speaking of Ken B , he once told me that a direct acting bucket and shim engine should stay within valve clearance limits for " The life of the bike " whatever that means .

I have no personal experience but I think these guys in Meriden are worth a look . http://www.roadandraceperformance.co.uk/

No . The only job I had done there was a clutch replacement on my GSXR because I couldn't get the centre nut off . They told be to bring it in on a Monday and they were just getting started on at five o'clock on the Friday . Not acceptable when it's about an hour's work . I supplied the clutch and gasket so there was no excuse for a whole week of bullshit every time I phoned up . A few years ago he offered to sell me a rusty Royal Enfield for £600 but when I turned up with the money he denied that we had discussed a price . That said I still use them for my MOT because I got fed up with Ken B .

Great for when you have to spray a clutch cover with a sight glass in it .

I think I would have put the Cush drives in first and then masked them off . I use coins to mask circular things . Great work though .

They don't fit " In " the engine on this bike believe it or not .

I had to double check , but to my great surprise the gaskets on this bike don't sit in a recess . So , as James says , they would just fall off . Unusual .

Looks as it should . The gaskets don't sit in a recess ( Surprisingly ) you do have to crush them though . What's the torque setting ?

I took it up the road and back and it pulls in all gears . I'm not one to tempt fate so that's it , end of protect .

Remember when I told you to glue them in with Silicone Sealant earlier in this thread and someone said it would affect the sensors that you haven't got ?

I don't know whether Halfords do them . I get mine from Toolstation . They call them Contour Sanding Pads and they come in a pack of three grades . They resemble Scouring pads but don't use them in the kitchen or you will have no pattern left on your best dinner service .

As above , remove all gasket from both mating surfaces . I also use an old Stanley Blade but you must take enormous care not to inadvertently dig into the metal . When there is only a thin layer left I use a little bit of Scotchpad or the Toolstation equivalent combined with some Cellulose Thinners . This job can take hours to get right so be prepared . It's the engine half that I don't envy you .

So how badly have you f****d it up so far ?

I rode an early Buell and I have never experienced engine vibration like it . I could literally not see properly at junctions because my eyeballs were jiggling in their sockets . I can only assume that that was part of the appeal of the thing . Good luck to the latest incarnation but it's only a Buell in name since they moved away from sticking Sportster engines in a Naked Sportsbike .

Good point . A lump of wood resting on one of those lugs and tapped with a hammer might do it . Listen for the sudden change of note when you hit it then move to another lug and repeat .

The guy is riding the bike and he insists that it's one up five down with the standard backwards facing lever .

I quite agree .

Not quite the ideal conditions for rolling around on the ground .

Hi James . Have a look at these four points and see whether there is a corresponding point where you can insert a lever such as a very big screwdriver or a tyre iron . If so , be very gentle . Remember , you are NOT trying to wedge anything between the jointing surfaces , you are just trying to pop the gasket . Once you do get it off , the biggest job is going to be cleaning all traces of gasket off the engine and the new sump without digging into the metal . We'll cross that bridge when you come to it .

It hasn't got a gear linkage nor is the lever on backwards .

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this ? Someone I know is building an ER5 . They said that it refused to go into third gear so they split the cases and discovered that one of the cogs was " the wrong way round " so they corrected the fault . The result is that they now have a fully functioning ONE UP , FIVE DOWN gearbox . Now bear in mind that the ER5 engine is derived from the EX500 / GPZ500 series . Is it possible that Kawasaki designed it this way so that it would easily convert to a race bike ? I can provide more details if needed . So , as I say , has anyone heard of something like this before . ( And before anyone mentions it , it is NOT my bike . )

Fair enough , curiosity satisfied .