mattycoops43

It's an original lever and original master cylinder. A brand new piston was bought for it, and part of the piston is a short intermediate link rod and this was 1mm too long.

Update for you guys. After stripping the master cylinder and relieving the equalising hole, put it back together and saw that the lever was pushing on the piston just enough to close the valve over said hole. Easy fix, Guessing it's not the right Lever? Just shorten the business end of the lever slightly and job done.

I used to mig and arc weld for part of my job, plus welding tons of landrover chassis. I enjoy mig welding, and am quite good at coaxing a weld on dodgy thickness outriggers! Tig just offers so many options for things you can't mig.

Thanks for the advice (mostly) Been doing some research. You need AC to weld Ali, the cheap sets are just arc welders, you can put a tig torch on any arc welder basically. but only weld steel. When you look at AC units you have a couple of choices, the chinese brigade can be had for about £350 plus gas and regulator. Apparently they weld ok, but it's a gamble on longevity, apparently they give up the ghost anywhere from 1 to 4 yrs into life and they are basically a bin job, no circuits are interchangeable (lots of circuit boards in an AC tig) There are the mega bucks industrial units from 1.5k up to silly but they are out of the question for most of us mortals. Third option probably the most realistic, there are a couple of companies in Germany making them and selling direct through ebay etc, about £550 plus £50 postage, they come with a 5 yr warranty and full parts and service back up. Personally, having experienced German audio gear from companies like Thomann, I would happily go this route, however, given that the all in cost with gas etc is about £750 it's going on the back burner for now! Got more important things to buy.

Not a bad idea that. I am assuming you mean hire a cheap one? Not sure if they are hireable, tends to be the dear things that are available. I'll have a look for.

Hiya Been wanting to learn to tig weld for a long time, Been looking at the Arc/Tig welders available now from places like machine mart. You can get set up for around the £250 mark. I KNOW a proper tig welder costs a LOT, but I don't have a LOT. Just wondering if anyone has used them? Do they actually work? I have been looking on you tube and it looks like they are not as easy to use as all singing and dancing ones, but for the money, if they work I would be quite tempted to have a go.

sitting stationary with either brake held on after a run is asking for warped discs. If you have to do it, move the bike back and forward a few inches while you are waiting.

Wait for the road rage cagers to cut me up (you know the ones, they have a big red vein throbbing in their neck already and want to get mad) then smile and wave at them and thank them for cutting me up and it drives them ballistic, they get madder and madder till they go pop.

Had a chat with Simon this morning, we both think you're all on the right lines, but he showed me in the manual there is a cable version, and it is a little unit mounted on a plate that is the same base as the slave cylinder and it's all self contained so because hydraulic clutches are generally a pain, he is just gonna change it. I don't blame him, they do seem rather hard to bleed.

Thanks Stu. It's hard to describe, but it really does FEEL like fluid not returning.

Yup good thinking, the bike has only done 200 miles since built, but it was a long time in the building, not sure how long it's been in there.

Hi peeps. Bit stumped here, I have come across the same problem on two different bikes which we can't work out. One is the hydraulic clutch on a custom intruder and the other is a hydraulic rear brake on a trike with a reliant axle. Both do the same thing, all rebuilt calipers on the trike, new master cylinder and slave on the clutch, both bikes ride fine when cold, but as the brakes heat up, the system pressurises and they gradually lock on, if you disconnect the linkage from the slave cylinder it will release enough pressure to free up and the clutch on the intruder is fine till the engine is properly hot when the clutch starts to slip and all the freeplay at the clutch lever disappears, if you crack the bleed nipple and do it up again, some fluid comes out and the clutch starts to work again. Not exactly the same systems I realise, but the problem seems to be very similar. Has anyone come across this? I have never had to strip a master cylinder but was wondering if there is some kind of groove which means that at fully open position it allows fluid past the seals to allow for pad wear etc. No idea if this is the case but trying to think of ideas that would explain a hydraulic system self pressurising? I thought if that was the case and you had the wrong piston travel at the master cylinder it might not allow fluid to equalise after each stroke, but that really is a guess. Intruders have a rep for bad clutch, and people say it's air, but this has been bled, reverse bled, bled with the slave up high etc etc a load of times. We could be wrong but think there is no air in there. Any ideas welcome really.

Don't worry Bex, I think anyone with half a brain or more knows teachers work very hard!

Fantastic news! Is this where we all start telling you what an easy life teaching is and there's no work after 4pm etc etc???

They are mostly too tight because as the valves wear the clearances drop. perfectly normal.

Well..... they are going to close up as they wear. I never worry about ones that are a bit near the upper end of the scale.

How old is the bike? just wondering what a difference it will make. If it was honda serviced, won't it be on a database?

Yes Bob, there are a few makes that are expensive, and most painters will tell you to use a certain brand, I just don't know where to start. I used to know some people who airbrushed rc car shells, but I don't see them really any more. £10-£15 for a little 50ml pot I don't want to get the wrong thing.

I got the 4s on misinformation, and I should have got the 3s. I found out after I fitted them (was told different by tyre place) PR3 is medium in the centre and soft on the edge, and the PR4 is hard in the middle and medium on the edge. I was told the only difference was sidewall stiffness which is why I went for 4. 4 is plenty grippy enough but I am not doing many miles so would have opted for the softest possible by choice. Think these 4s will be out of date before they are half worn!

Thanks. I am finally reaching a point where I am not happy unless it is a proper finish, hence I am not happy with this stuff yet as it's not clean enough. Should flat back ok though and then a load of coats of lacquer will make it work!

Hi peeps. http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x103/mattycoops43/Bikes/Tank1.jpg http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x103/mattycoops43/Bikes/Guard1.jpg Did the stripes on this today, very pleased, but got some fluffy edges to the stripes because I was using pin stripe stickers as mask and it didn't work. Definitely moving my painting on to another level though. Next step is to get the airbrush out and have a go at using that for fine stuff. I have used it in the past for mdel making but using earthy tones and green tones for weathering etc. I have never used it for actual colour painting. The acrylic paints I was using were rubbish for it and kept drying in the brush. Can anyone tell me a good make of airbrush specific paint that comes in a good range of tones for doing bike stuff? Also, a good brand of masking tape that comes in thin and doesn't creep? Thanks ps-it's a cbr600 tank and gurad that is going on a cbr6 custom and it's for a Ford nut, hence the mustang stripes!

Is your 'h' broken?

Honestly? So much stupid I don't know where to start. I love the definition of a highway, that's particularly pleasing. Some people just shouldn't be on the 'highway' at all.

I don't think I ever read the first post as I didn't think there was any chance of me getting there! good to know, should be able to get up there for an afternoon if nothing else.

Has it moved then?