What did you do to your bike today?

[Hoggs]

19 minutes ago, bonio said:

Nope, I'd never have guessed. What a great bike. Looks amazing. Bet it's a blast to ride too.

You anywhere near Old Buckenham @Hoggs? Send me a message if you ever go along to the Tuesday night bash there; it'd be worth the journey to hear one in real life.

I'm apparently around an hour away! never heard of it but will look into that! 

[Hoggs]

16 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

 

That's so unfair, I want one! 

 

Congratulations, this week is going to drag.. 

get one they're fun do it do it

[Tinkicker]

Finally got around to fitting a CHT gauge to the DT175mx.  Best looking and easiest way without making a permanent alteration to the bike was to simply cable tie it to the clutch cable where it is supported by the handlebar and chest protector.

High temp alarm is set to a conservative 196C (385F) so a bit of headroom to account for gauge lag.  Apparently it flashes red when max temp is exceeded and the temp numbers flash also.  Danger point is around 225C (440 - 450F) .  Would not want to be going much above that.

It will be nice to know how hot she runs at various throttle positions.  Since I fitted the genuine #130 main as per UK spec, I must admit the plug is a very nice dark tan colour.

The gauge unit has no means to be switched off which is odd, but at least the CR2032 battery is easily replaced and the temp reading seems accurate as when I first activated it in the living room, it agreed with the heating thermostat readout.

Hopefully no more blown pistons.

[Hoggs]

Brought it home (bonus veg patch in background)

[Simon Davey]

Great looking machine, glorious shiny red bits. 

Congratulations 

[Tinkicker]

Three bikes..

 

1. Taxed VFR750 so it is officially back on the road.  Shakedown ride tomorrow.

 

2. Took DT175 for a 30 mile ride to observe the CHT on the new gauge. Outside air temp 16C.

 

Around the towns and villages at 30 mph ish.. 4th gear and maybe 3500 rpm she was running steady at 155 - 160C.

Open road, wide open throttle or close to it, the max I saw was 185C with average around upper 170s.  A nice bit below the danger zone.

 

Only thing is the cylinder head is a fair chunk of metal.  It takes a good while to heat and a good while to cool.  Even with the gauge you have to bear in mind that the piston will heat quicker and run far hotter than the gauge would suggest.

 

Now I can use the throttle without fear of blowing the piston, I am pleased with the way she is running.  Crisp in the lower gears, but a tad over geared in 6th.  I am thinking of putting her back on stock gearing.  Now I am not afraid to let her rev, I think she will be much happier overall and with a higher top speed.

 

Took little yeller out on the same route over 30 miles.  By far her longest run so far.  I had a big grin on my face the whole way round the route. 

What a lot of fun that bike is.  Lovely crisp and free revving motor, fair chunk of power for its size and can be thrown about like a bicycle.  I hit 55mph once, but she must have been at or very close to redlining, she is far happier at 45mph, and maybe 50 at a pinch.

She is so small that 40mph feels like 80mph.

 

So 60 two stroke powered miles today.  Have not done that many two stroke miles in one day for over 40 years.

 

Both bikes behaved impeccably.

 

Little yeller.  Tiny bike with a big heart.

Edited June 1 by Tinkicker

[Simon Davey]

10 minutes ago, Tinkicker said:

Three bikes..

 

1. Taxed VFR750 so it is officially back on the road.  Shakedown ride tomorrow.

 

2. Took DT175 for a 30 mile ride to observe the CHT on the new gauge. Outside air temp 16C.

 

Around the towns and villages at 30 mph ish.. 4th gear and maybe 3500 rpm she was running steady at 155 - 160C.

Open road, wide open throttle or close to it, the max I saw was 185C with average around upper 170s.  A nice bit below the danger zone.

 

Only thing is the cylinder head is a fair chunk of metal.  It takes a good while to heat and a good while to cool.  Even with the gauge you have to bear in mind that the piston will heat quicker and run far hotter than the gauge would suggest.

 

Now I can use the throttle without fear of blowing the piston, I am pleased with the way she is running.  Crisp in the lower gears, but a tad over geared in 6th.  I am thinking of putting her back on stock gearing.  Now I am not afraid to let her rev, I think she will be much happier overall and with a higher top speed.

 

Took little yeller out on the same route over 30 miles.  By far her longest run so far.  I had a big grin on my face the whole way round the route. 

What a lot of fun that bike is.  Lovely crisp and free revving motor, fair chunk of power for its size and can be thrown about like a bicycle.  I hit 55mph once, but she must have been at or very close to redlining, she is far happier at 45mph, and maybe 50 at a pinch.

She is so small that 40mph feels like 80mph.

 

So 60 two stroke powered miles today.  Have not done that many two stroke miles in one day for over 40 years.

 

Both bikes behaved impeccably.

 

Having followed the restorations, that's so good to read. 

 

[Mickly]

3 hours ago, Hoggs said:

Brought it home (bonus veg patch in background)

The ‘New Bike Grin’ is one of those things that can never be over estimated

[veracocha]

I pointed my bike toward the gate that takes us to the open roads in the morning. It's taken nearly a week for my new drive to be completed and I couldn't get her over the rubble and new tarmac until tomorrow. Roll on the morning sun.

[Tinkicker]

Took to the road on the VFR this morning with some trepidation.

 

I know I have two venerable old bikes running perfectly.  To have three running perfectly is unknown.  Always some niggle that needs working out.

 

So kitted up, got her out of the shed and running.  Gave her a bit of a warm up as VFRs are notoriously cold blooded.  A minute later and she was answering sharp blips of the throttle without bogging and time to open all the gates to get out of Fort Knox.

 

Out on the road, through the village at 30mph and 3000 rpm and no problems.  Reached the country lanes, opened the taps a little..

Hard misfire and popping through the exhaust at 5500 rpm.  It cleared at 7000 rpm.  Aha that must have cleared it

Changed up a couple if gears and loaded her up.  Hard misfire around 5500 rpm and popping back through the exhaust.

 

Dammit, a plug starting to fail, probably because of all the abuse they suffered under the blowlamp when drying the stale fuel off them.  I resolved to take the next left turn back to village and order some plugs.

 

Left turn looming ahead and misfire felt a bit better than before.  Do I go home or continue on to the next village?

 

I resolved to continue.  The misfire gradually went away over the next two miles and by the time I got to the next village, it was gone completely.  Lovely silky smooth engine at all throttle openings and rpms.  Must have been fouling due to all the crap they endured during the winter.  This winter, I am draining the fuel and carbs and putting in a couple of litres of Aspen fuel in with a splash of two stroke oil in, just to keep things "wet"and corrosion proof. 

I will never trust pump fuel and those carbs ever again over the winter layup.

 

Enjoyed a 40 or so mile ride on her, filled her up.with fresh Esso 99 premium and as ever on the first ride of the season, marvelled at just how good she is at everything.  Of course, chassis being fully rebuilt, she feels like a brand new bike, which she pretty much is.

A moment of consternation at the petrol station.  Ignition on, pressed the starter button and nothing.  What the hell?

Five seconds of panic ensued until I noticed that I had inadvertantly knocked off the kill switch. Switch back to run and  "ah thank God". It cranked and ran.

 

Turned off the A19 and onto a long straight leading back to the village.  Opened her up in first and at 7000 rpm, the front wheel lifted and hovered 6" above the road in that delightful way VFRs do.  Second gear, 7000 rpm, sit back on the seat, and up she came again, floating 6" above the road.  Very satisfying.

 

Shakedown ride over.  I have four days to work, then a week off.  I hope the weather is good.  The missus and I plan to do some trips out on her this holiday.

 

Resting after an eventful shakedown ride.  In my opinion there is no finer bike ever made, it just does everything so well (apart from two up, long distance touring) but then I am a tad biased.

 

[geofferz]

Pcp ended so I sold it. New bike shopping time. 

 

Also hey hoggs! Been a while no? 

[Hairsy]

On 01/06/2024 at 14:47, Tinkicker said:

Only thing is the cylinder head is a fair chunk of metal.  It takes a good while to heat and a good while to cool.  Even with the gauge you have to bear in mind that the piston will heat quicker and run far hotter than the gauge would suggest.

 

Not sure whether this is practical or helpful but, earlier in life, I flew paramotors competitively. In the early days I flew 2 strokes and overheating was alway a bit of a concern although I never actually had a problem. You're of course absolutely right about the CHT being a late warning so some people would use EGT warnings as a proxy for, potentially, rising CHT. The downside of EGT was that the sensor was more of a pain to fit (and introduced a permanent hole). The CHT sensors were just mounted on the thread of the spark plug - is that what you're using?

 

Having said all that, your readings suggest that you probably haven't got an issue so perhaps unnecessary in your case.

[Simon Davey]

Whip the tank off, pop off the carb's and give those idle jets a clean.....

WTF? 

Took 90 minutes to get the tank off, 89 of those minutes were spent trying to disconnect the fuel sender. 

Strewth, even the air box was a bitch. 

Anyhoo, now what? 

I have a feeling I'll be putting it back together to take to the mechanic. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

A day of appointments over a wide area...and by the time I got back to foam bit off the cardo mic was missing (I may have inadvertently eaten it of course) and the Cardo unit itself had fallen off. (I didn't fit it, the bloke at J&S did it.) 

 

The unit was still attached with the wires so I can fix that ready for the Dave Myers run on Saturday.  

 

When I did the oil on both bikes I had some Castrol Racing left over from the Bobber so I chucked it into the CBF. The gear change is now very slick. 

[husoi]

13 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

A day of appointments over a wide area...and by the time I got back to foam bit off the cardo mic was missing (I may have inadvertently eaten it of course) and the Cardo unit itself had fallen off. (I didn't fit it, the bloke at J&S did it.) 

 

The unit was still attached with the wires so I can fix that ready for the Dave Myers run on Saturday.  

 

When I did the oil on both bikes I had some Castrol Racing left over from the Bobber so I chucked it into the CBF. The gear change is now very slick. 

The mic sponge thingy is widely available online. like 10 for £1

[Bianco2564]

Did a bit more on the 380.

Replaced the badly corroded front indicator extension arms, bought some shorter and nicer condition ones along with spare lamps and lens. Replaced a pattern indicator lens with one of the used OEM lens. New genuine lens in that style aren’t available anymore

Finished off the front caliper service: painted the caliper, replaced the piston and seals, replaced the bleed nipple, fitted a rubber boot to cover the sorry looking hose and banjo bolt, replaced the pads and retaining screw and bled the system.

Started to replaced all the chewed and corroded engine casing screws.

[Mickly]

3 hours ago, Bianco2564 said:

Did a bit more on the 380.

Replaced the badly corroded front indicator extension arms, bought some shorter and nicer condition ones along with spare lamps and lens. Replaced a pattern indicator lens with one of the used OEM lens. New genuine lens in that style aren’t available anymore

Finished off the front caliper service: painted the caliper, replaced the piston and seals, replaced the bleed nipple, fitted a rubber boot to cover the sorry looking hose and banjo bolt, replaced the pads and retaining screw and bled the system.

Started to replaced all the chewed and corroded engine casing screws.

Which one you taking to Daventry Bikefest ?

[Bender]

On 23/05/2024 at 12:00, S-Westerly said:

Found the dreaded V100 coolant leak so took it in to local dealer who has promised to get it sorted by tomorrow evening. Need it for Saturday so here's hoping. Guzzi forums are full of this issue so not a surprise but as I'd made it to 3000 miles I thought I'd dodged the bullet. Hey ho.....

What is the cause of the leak, least if it's common they will know exactly how to fix it......and should be quick to boot.

[Bianco2564]

44 minutes ago, Mickly said:

Which one you taking to Daventry Bikefest ?

Sadly won’t be going this year, was in Cov hospital for 3 days this week with para-influenza, bit like covid. Had cough and sore throat last week,woke up early Sunday coughing to the point I couldn’t breathe. So at home isolating with Mrs B until it’s cleared up.

[Bender]

2 hours ago, Bianco2564 said:

Sadly won’t be going this year, was in Cov hospital for 3 days this week with para-influenza, bit like covid. Had cough and sore throat last week,woke up early Sunday coughing to the point I couldn’t breathe. So at home isolating with Mrs B until it’s cleared up.

Best of luck and a speedy recovery, wife was ill bout a month ago luckily I appear to have missed it.

[S-Westerly]

17 hours ago, Bender said:

What is the cause of the leak, least if it's common they will know exactly how to fix it......and should be quick to boot.

Turns out I didn't have the known water leak. (Hose clamps that cut the hose. Mine were switched before delivery.) I've something more exotic  - naturally - but apparently the bike is fine to ride "as is" and the dealer will take it in when I go back to sea and sort it out. Apparently needs to take the engine out so quite what it is I've no idea!

Edited June 8 by S-Westerly

[Trooper74]

Swap all jubilee type hose clips for Norma Wave Spring clips … they expand and contract with your cooling system .. cost pennies and don’t cut your hoses.

Edited June 8 by Trooper74

[husoi]

Removed both wheels of the pan.

Installing internal sensor toms to replace old one.

Tried to DIY but it's too much work for what I will pay for a garage to do.

Plus, I don't have balancing facilities.

Old external sensor. A pain if I need to top-up.

 

Hopefully this system is as good as old one

[Trooper74]

21 hours ago, husoi said:

Removed both wheels of the pan.

Installing internal sensor toms to replace old one.

Tried to DIY but it's too much work for what I will pay for a garage to do.

Plus, I don't have balancing facilities.

Old external sensor. A pain if I need to top-up.

 

Hopefully this system is as good as old one

Just pull the fuse and check your tyre pressure once in a blue moon like the majority of us do … simples  

Edited June 9 by Trooper74

[fq-craigus]

Thought about cleaning mine today after getting caught in the rain yesterday……. Then had a nap instead