Rear Wheel Bearing

The rear wheel has away had a lot of play and I have put that down to worn out wheel bearing. I took off the rear mud guard. I had a couple reasons for that. First, the mud guard has to be painted. Second, I need to sort out the rear lights and wiring loom that feeds the rear light cluster is attached to the mud guard and lastly it makes getting wheel out easier. When I had the mud guard off I took off the rubber mud guard extender. That was a bit of a wrestle. Pinging off the wiring loom straps was easy.

Getting the wheel off was easy. I looked at he brake linings. They were a good condition. However the wheel bearing weren't. I pulled off the dust covers and spacers. They were completely caked in thick, sticky, oxidisied grease. I put the taper rollers, dust covers and spacers in a degreasing solution. Then I degreased the bearing surfaces inside the wheel's hub. I then turned my attention to the fit of the wheel to the drive spline. I offered the wheel up and it still felt like some was holding it off. I took that wheel out and replaced it with the new Ebay wheel. That wheel had a bit a play in it too. I put the new stainless steel spindle in and had a good look at it. I had a old steel spindle which I had to dig out of the bottom of the spares box. I compared the two spindles. The stainless item look wrong when compared with the original item. There was not much in it but then again the play is only small. The old spindle was a much better fit but it is a bit rusty.

The next job is to clean up the old spindle, repack the bearing with grease then refit the wheel and hope the play disappears.

Oil Leak

The right hand cylinder base has been pouring out oil during the recent hot running. I thought it was the oil pressure switch but I tracked it back to the cylinder base. The join does not have a gasket. It a machined face to face fit with rubber "O" ring. Whatever the oil tight mechanism it was not working. I dismantled the cylinder from the engine block and cleaned up all the oil. When it was all clean and oil free I squeezed on a liquid gasket and re-assembled the cylinder. As expect the oil rings where fiddly but I preserved and got them engaged. After that it was just a question of doing up all the nuts and bolts, refitting the carbs for the umpteenth time. However the tappets needed adjusting. I read the manual for the clearance but could I find it? I had to come in from the garage, get cleaned up and go on the Internet for the measurement. Having found the settings I went back to the garage and set the tappets clearances. When the engine is new the clearances should 0.05mm greater than for a run in engine. Since I had the right cylinder of it was easy to set the tappets. Having finished that side I went round to the other side, took of the rocker cover and reset the tappets which I considered too tight. I put the rocker cover back on and tidied up.

I drained the petrol off the old tank into the new tank and fitted the new tank to the bike for the first time. It fitted as you would expect. I still need a rubber for the front tank mount.

Whilst turning the engine over by hand spotted the back wheel was going round. I jacked the back wheel off the ground a jostled the gearbox into neutral. The tested the clutch and it disengaged. I had been concerned that the clutch was not disengaging. It is, that is good.

I had a look at the new "Ebay" wheels. I am not that impressed. The spokes need a good cleaning and a drive spline on the rear wheel is very worn. I should be able to fit the twin discs but the front wheel but they need to go as a pair. It is quite nice that the disc on the new wheel is a cast iron item. Cast iron discs work better than stainless steel discs as brakes but rust quicker and since the bike will probably sit around, stainless discs are probably the right choice.

It fitted the new seat and it fits properly. I took it off again again and stored it.

Another Tank

The ebay tank turned out to be a big disappointment. I went to local bike restorer to see what could be done with the tank. There was a lot of teeth sucking. He came back with a number and no promises of the fuel tight tank. I went back on the hunt for a petrol tank. It took a few weeks to locate another one. I did find one but it was a tense time to win the ebay auction. However I go the tank for a very reasonable price. The tank came with a key and tank cap as well two petrol taps which was just as well because the tank was half full of petrol.

I also bagged a seat. It was in good condition. I have fitted it to the bike but it will be coming off again the tidy up the seat base.

I have found where the oil is leaking from, right hand cylinder base. It is going to be a bit of a job to sort it. The clutch is permanently disengaged. I think this might be just the length of the cable. I have decided I am going to get a new oil pressure switch. On the up side I have started the bike a few times and it is fired up without any trouble.

The next big task is to find a painter. H and I have been looking at colour schemes of BMWs. We have decided on gloss black with a cream twin pin stripe in the style of a 75/6.

A day of two halves

I had a few hours free on Saturday afternoon. During the week my ebay purchases had arrived, a tank, front brake master cylinder and a head light. I offered the headlight up to the shell and was happy to find it would fit once I had tidied up the wiring in the shell. I set the tank to one side. It look fine when a collected it on Wednesday evening. I stripped the master cylinder of the braided lines and the hand lever cable. In the process I dropped the spacer pin and could not find it. I knew it could not get far. I took the wire brush to the metal body and gave it a good scrub. I finished it off some wire wool. It came up to a fair finish. I had some spray enamel paint in the cupboard so I gave it a few coats, setting it aside between coats to dry. I cleaned the rubber boot. The unit must have been sitting in water for all the rust to be seen. I took the reservoir cap off and was pleased to see uncontaminated brake fluid slowly swishing about. I had picked up a new 70mm Jubilee clip during the day. I place the master cylinder where I thought it should go on the frame and fitted the Jubilee clip to loosely secure it in place. Then I put the rubber tank buffer in place and dry fitted the tank but no matter now a fiddled with the position of the master cylinder and buffer I could not make the tank sit correctly. I took the buffer off and low and behold the tank sat perfectly on the forward and rear tank mounts. I had another look on the floor for the spacer pin and the tank mount finger nut. I found both of them. I did the jubilee clip, fitted spacer pin and did up the hand lever cable. I left the brake light and fluid level sensor disconnected for the time being. Whilst I had the tank off I re-routed the throttle cables. I am get a dab hand at whipping the cable on and off the carbs. The throttle now returns to the shut position, if slowly.

With the master cylinder fitted the tank sat properly on the bike. During the week I had made my mind up to use the existing fuel taps as the ones that came with the ebay tank where rubbish. I took them to pieces and left the parts to soak in a cleaning solution. On Saturday and scrubbed and polished every piece of the two taps and put them back together and fitted them to the new tank. I got the new fuel hose out along with the fuel filters. I polished up the metal tee pieces that make up the balance tube on the fuel lines. I had to loosen the air filter casing yet again to fit the fuel balancing tube. Working from the bottom of each carb I cut the hose and pushed the hose on to the tee. Above the tee came the fuel filter, remembering to fit it in the correct flow direction. Then the last piece of hose on to the union at the bottom of the fuel tap. I did the job on both sides. It was a tight fit including the filters into the lines.

Now for the moment of truth. When I started the bike for the very first time it would not fire or run on the right pot. I hoped it was just a fuel issue which all the work on the tank and taps would resolved. I put petrol into the tank but something was not right. Petrol was pouring out of the bottom of the tank even though the taps were switched off. I put the fuel can down and rush round to far side of the bike. Petrol was gushing out of the top petrol tap union. I tightened it up with spanner but it made no difference. A closer look showed the fuel was coming out of the tank. I picked at the paint which opened flood gates. I managed to catch some of the fuel. when all the petrol was gone I took off the tank and found big hole in the tank which had been covered by paint. There was language! I cleaned up the garage. I had to take up the carpet in the garage and throw it out. It had soaked up the petrol. I opened all the windows and doors in the house, lucky it was a nice day, to rid the house of petrol fumes. H was not impressed when she came home.

I switched over the fuel taps from the "new" tank back onto the old tank. I put the old tank back on the bike, connected the fuel hoses and put some fuel in it. I slipped on the silencer and offered up a small prayer. I turned the key in the ignition, put the choke and thumbed the starter button. In two turns the bike burst into life. What a result. It was running a bit lumpy but after adjusting the throttle cables it was much smoother. I wanted to jump on it and ride away but I have no front brake, seat and a knackered rear wheel bearing. I had to be content blipping the throttle. The down side is that oil is pissing out the oil filer cover. I hope that is nothing but the oil light would not go out. I hope that is a electrical problem.

I am going start a new list on the blog...................jobs to do to finish.

Winning ways

I have secured a couple of good wins on Flea Bay. First I bagged a front brake master cylinder but it comes with the, rubber boot, brake cable and two braided hoses. I was going to get braided lines so that is double bubble. You usually have to pay extra for the weather proofing boot but it was included, so that's good. It was a tense couple of minutes as the auction counted down.

Secondly, I bagged a petrol tank and for just 50 quid. I have been outbid at several auctions on tanks. It looks in good condition. The only downside it is a none standard blue. I was going to paint the tins anyway. I will have to put up with the lurid blue until I can afford for the tins go for paint. I am watching a seat rail and a pannier frame set on Flea bay. If I am lucky I might get those too. So just two big things left to get, a seat and a paint job.

Noo carbs

The new carbs came in the post on Monday. The place I got them from were good enough to supply the right size carbs from the model and with new jets. There is a problem with this bike because it is a mish mash of bikes. The bike came with two sets of carbs but neither were in good condition and on refection they were probably not from this bike. The set I have been sent are 32mm diameter.

I fitted them on Tuesday evening. It only took forty minutes to fit the pair of them. Then went on quite easily which makes me think they are the right diameter as the set that came with the bike were a struggle to fit. I re-fitted the air hoses as well as the choke and throttle cables. Again all looks well. The throttle twist grip is not snapping back so I may have to re-route the cables. I checked the petrol taps but only one was passing petrol. I need to get fresh petrol, let he battery charge up and fit the missing exhaust can before I try to start the bike again.

A rainy day

Saturday 17th July was a rainy day. I had got soaked at the allotment in the morning so not having much to do on on rainy Saturday I had a look at the the bike. The electric clock had run down the battery. I had some acid left over from the initial fill so used it to top up the battery acid level. The voltmeter started to register an increase almost immediately. I plugged in the battery charger and watched the volts increase.

Whilst I was pondering what needed to be done I started rummaging in the boxes. I got the handle bars off the garage rafters and fitted them to the headstock. I found the clutch side handle bar cluster. A bit of digging and I found the lever and pivot pin. I assembled the cluster and fitted it to the handlebar. More rummaging turned up the brake side cluster, pivot pin, throttle twist grip, the throttle cable pull and the cover. I had hung up the throttle cables months ago and had soaked them in oil. Now that I need them I just got them off the rack all ready to go. I assembled the brake/throttle cluster. It was a bit fiddly but it went together without much trouble. I routed the throttle cables down to the carbs then positioned the switch cluster. That turned out neat enough.

The handlebars look fairly complete but there are some bits that need work. The clutch cut off switch looks a bit tired. The hand grips are heated but I have not tested them for operation. The wires for the heating elements run inside the handle bars but the wires on the end of the grip are not long enough so the handle bars are going have to come off again for the grips to be wired properly. That is a job for another day. There is another problem...where are the switches to control all these gadgets to be located?

I fitted the ends of the throttle cables to the carbs. It made a nice job. I turned the ignition on and cranked the engine. The engine made no effort start which was a shame. I resolved at that moment to get a new, second hand pair of carbs. The bike looks a lot more finished but there is still a bit to do.

Hunts Manchester

One of my brothers is involved in a small way with a Honda dealer, Hunt's Motorcycles in Manchester [Click HERE for Hunts website]. A couple of times a year Honda have a road show where members of the public can have a spin on the latest models. The week of 13/14th February was this years event. It bloody cold to begin with, however the cold was kept out by my new long-johns I got the day before in Ashby. Highly inelegant but toastie warm. In contrast the afternoon was almost balmy at 9 degrees, until the sun started heading for the horizon. Blue skies all day and very little wind. My brother had asked me to come along and help marshal the ride outs. It is strange that some people think they can turn up and trash other peoples bikes. When you have 170 brake horsepower on tap that is very fast and dangerous on ordinary suburban roads and even on motorways. I have something of a reputation and my job is to discourage folks from tearing off on the bikes. I know a few of the top brass that do the roadshows so whilst we waited for the shop owner to turn up we had some blokish banter. A very refreshing change of pace from work especially as we help the butty van to get positioned and they were quick to get the brews and bacon butties on.

My brov was keen for me to have a spin of the new VFR1200F. Which I did. I did not get on with it at first. As the day went on and speed went up the VFR really showed where it was best and that is at higher speeds of motorway or fast "A" roads. There was loads of torque, completely neutral steering and very stable. The colour coded, integral panniers were rubbish considering it meant to be a touring bike. I guess that is the compromise for the styling and massive exhaust. The trouble is the Pan European still exists and each time I had to ride it I felt right at home.

The Gold Wing was a laugh. I cannot take it seriously. Everyone plays with the toys and forgets about riding which might be the point. It is very comfortable and the heated seats and grip were very welcome in he early morning. It is the physical size that gets me. H and I were talking about bikes and she said she liked the freedom. I questioned freedom. H said the idea you can filter in traffic, the quick acceleration, park in small spaces, always get on a ferry even if you turn up last minute and in that sense I think she is right. The Gold Wing does not tick all those boxes.

We had someone stall a Fireblade and fall off at zero miles per hour. Brov directed traffic, I picked up the bike, made him and bike safe then got it started again. I drove it back, the wally got to ride the DN01 which is 800cc twist and go. He got the shock of his life back at the showroom. The waiver he signed meant any accident had a £1000 excess. He scratched the exhaust, alternator cover, bar ends, levers and some other bits pieces. The bill came to £1200. It put a bit of a damper on the day for a few hours but we soon brightened up. He was a berk and obviously though he was better rider. Stalling one thing. Stalling and falling off is quite another.

It was good to talk bikes for a few hours and generally have some blokish banter. On balance the Pan is the all round bike to have. But for weekend blasts and the occasional long run I would not have a VFR but would have the CB1000RR instead. The CB is fast, nimble and stable. It has a good seating position, not too sports bike cramped although being naked the weather protection is minimal but I guess that is the trade off. the VFR is heavier but could do longer journey's with ease but the weather protection is that much better than the CB. The CBR600 and CBR1000 are too focused as sport bikes and far too fast for the road. The other Honda's marques don't register with me. Models such as Hornet, Deauville, CBX, DN01 and latest niche Honda, the Fury [Click HERE for a picture]. It is just wrong but folk buy them. I have no idea why.

I have never bought in the American dream. We are European by geography and British in outlook. Where USA uses brute strength the UK use engineering and brains and much the same can be said for the Japanese. I cannot reconcile riding a Harley wearing denim and leather like a bad boy Hell's Angel but trundling round UK cities or trundling in groups round the country "A" roads. It must be a life style thing but why pick the USA? I could see the point in the US of riding Harley or other chopped or semi-chopped bikes in wide open spaces of the US or on California Pacific Highway but shows a sign of weakness to buy so heavily into USA culture and do it part time in the UK, accountant by day - Hell's Angel wannabe on a sunny Sunday.

I have ridden many Harley's but they do not make sense. They are brash; mechanically unsophisticated, technically better than they were, it has to be said but that is not saying much, woeful handling but then they are not designed for corners and bobbins brakes. What message are putting out. Like Ferrari's it is a cry for help or someone trying to project an image but as anyone knows there is a way to project a wealthy image. The price tag for a top of the range but standard offering is nearly £20,000. The sky is the limit for the extras.

All in all a splendid day out. Perhaps next time brov can persuade Hunts to let him and his buddy Murph run the show. Hunts and Honda chaps have no real clue how to manage the ride outs. I am not complaining, I got to ride for free and was fee and watered all day and it was sunny. What more can you ask for?