Author: Buck

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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I was very positive last post, thinking I’d managed to bodge the stripped thread in the cylinder head with helicoil and metal paste. Not even. I left it overnight, but when I came to tighten the nut the post just span. I gave it another go, but no.

I went online to get that £30 cylinder head, but it was from an earlier model. The next best one was £70, with all the internals coming with it. I ordered that and a gasket. Then I thrashed the workshop manual, and it’s a good job I got the dearer one, apparently the cams are specific to the heads, you have to buy them as a unit.

Today I had to get up early to wait for a ‘phone call from the doctors’. They’ve doubled my dose of loony pills, yay! I was already a ton better, that should finish the job off. Then I had the guy coming around to buy the Bonnie at dinner time. That was a farce. Because he was an old guy his banking app stopped his instant payment as a potential scam. But didn’t say that that was what it was. After many attempts to get it to work he finally rang and had to jump through all the hoops to get them to clear it. He was grumpy when he got here, by the time he left he was jumping. It was funny. Job done. Money in the bank. Then I set to work on the VFR. There is so much donkey work to do just to get to the cylinder head. Tank, seat, airbox, carbs, radiator, fairings, downpipes, engine bolts, all had to come off. Lots of the little jobs were just fiddly and time consuming.

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I’ve been quietly falling out of love with the Bonnie for a while. Well, no. I’ve been pining for something else. The Bonnie is really good for what it is, compared to, say, a Kawasaki W650. That’s a beautiful retro looking bike, like the Bonnie, but absolutely gutless. You twist the throttle in anger and … that’s it. An angry twist and a lethargic plod forward. So, the Bonnie is fun, and comparatively lightning quick, but it’s still a naked bike in winter. And I don’t like the feel of it if you try and throw it into corners with gusto. And it’s going rusty. Winter is cruel on a naked bike.

I’ve been torturing myself looking at SV650s’, then changing my mind and thinking about a VFR750 again. We’ve not really had the money to buy one though.

I bid on a SV650 that was going cheap. I put my maximum bid at £750, but I put it in early, someone bid £770, which I thought was the start of a bidding war, so left it. It sold for £770! Dammit.

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