THE GOOD BUCK

I have been having some serious issues with the seals on the valve cover. It’s the simplest of jobs. You do all the time consuming work stripping all the bits off the bike to get access to the cams and such, do all that tricky stuff, then bung a strip of rubber between the two surfaces and tighten it up. That’s it. I’ve never had a problem with it on any other bikes, including lots of VFRs. I had to re-do the front one this time. Which is an arse to get to. I was paranoid about seating it right the second time. It took me lifting the cover about 3 or 4 times (to adjust where it was slightly out) then quadruple checking the seal was seated all the way around, to get an oil tight seal. Hopefully that’s the last time I’ll have to take them off for a few years. I’ve changed the cams, the valve clearances are within spec, the seals are tight.

I dropped the oil (and had to remove the radiator so had to refill that) so I’m hoping I’ve got the stray metal fragments.

My next job is fairly simple, just clean the new carbs when the arrive and swap them.

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Every job I do on my bike leads to another!

Today was my first day off of three so I set to on the bike. I stripped it down. Again. Took the carbs off, removed the seals and jets, then left them to soak in Pinesol. One of the pilot jets had blocked again. I’ve cleaned that out. Hopefully it will be running on all four cylinders on tickover now. If not, I’ll have to get them properly ultrasonically cleaned and refurbed.

When I took the rear head off I had to remove most of the exhaust system to refit it. It was blowing afterwards so I’ve chopped off the old Jubilee clips and fitted new ones, after squashing the pipers together more. Hopefully that’s fixed it.

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I’ve just had a nightmare 4 days with the bike.

I was doing the final job, checking and adjusting the valve clearances. I did a pretty good job of it. I needed two 1.90 shims that I didn’t have. I was going to leave them out of spec, but when I checked the finished job two were out of spec, too small a gap. The videos say they tighten up over time so you should err on the side of too big a gap. So I went back and replaced the two shims with 1.85s. All good. Then I went to tighten the followers down and put the cams on in the wrong position. The right timing mark, but you need to turn it 360 and put it back on the timing mark. I was rushing and knackered, and just wanted it done, so I wasn’t thinking straight. I tried to tighten it down. The was a big spark and my when I tried turning the engine over it was stopping. I panicked. I thought I’d snapped a valve by ramming it into a TDC piston. I immediately set to removing the rear cylinder head. It took me the rest of the day. I got it off and looked. It was fine. What?

I thing the cam gears jumped a tooth under pressure and screwed my timing up. When I reset my cam timing it was turning over OK. Then I had the absolute nightmare of fitting refitting the rear exhausts.

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That last attempt worked. I’ve ridden it hard for about 50 miles and it’s still oil tight. What a palaver. Never even knew that could be a problem. After I’ve finally sealant-ed the defective seal in place and got it working, the new seal has arrived. I had to contact the seller of the seal, and of the Seafoam. I think they may have sent me replacement items.

I was off today so I fitted the handlebar risers and poured the Seafoam into my tank. I fuelled up then rode to the motorbike accessories shop to get a new helmet. I’ve been promising myself one for many months. The difference is amazing. My old one had got worn in, the foam inside had flattened to the extent it was a bit loose, and if I tried to lie over the tank it would fall over my eyes, so I had to ride with my head cricked back. I got a size smaller today and the ride back was fantastic. Suddenly I had a huge field of vision and could lie over the tank or lean off the bike. And still see! It’s crazy what you get used to. It must have been a very gradual process, presumably I wouldn’t have bought a helmet like it ended up.

So, cylinder head, oil, filter, radiator coolant, spark plugs, screen, brake light switch, and helmet replaced. Handlebar risers fitted.

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After the test ride, just to Birchwood and back, at speed, on the motorway, I checked the front cylinder heads. Everything seemed to be fine. No oil showing, the exhausts are properly seated and sealed, the bike didn’t blow up so the valve timing and such must have all been right. I patted myself on the back thinking it was job done.

I rode to work, 12.5 miles, mostly motorway, and when I parked up a puff of smoke came up. I panicked. I had a look and there was a little bit of oil dripping from the back of the engine onto the exhaust. All I’d done at the back of the engine was take off the valve/ rocker box cover. So the floppy rubber seal mustn’t have sealed properly. I’ve ordered a new seal and taken the cover off again and cleaned and dried all the surfaces. When it arrives (hopefully tomorrow) I’ll clart it in silicone sealant and fit it. As it’s the rear cylinders I didn’t have to take much off. I should have it back up and running in an hour or two.

I initially had another problem as well. One of the cylinders wasn’t running on tickover. I think the pilot jet must have been blocked. I’ve ordered some Seafoam carb cleaner (just pour it in the tank and it de-gunks everything) and a new jet. I’ll use the Seafoam anyway (no harm in cleaning stuff out, seeing as I’ve already bought it) but the last time I started it it was firing on all four again. If the problem comes back I’ll strip and clean the carbs when I do the valve timing.

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