Author: Buck

Today I cleaned and washed the carb after it’s overnight soak. I put it back together (missing a part, dumbarse) and tried it. Still not running, so I started on the other jobs. I pulled the front brake off, stripped and cleaned it, put it back on then bled it. I tried to do the same with the rear brake but it’s got Torx bolts. I don’t know if Torx come in imperial but mine were slightly loose and the bolts are set solid. I didn’t want to strip the head so I’ve ordered some Torx sockets. In the meantime I bled the brake. I pumped the tyres up. It rolls forward and back now without too much resistance (other than it’s native standing mass, obvs) and the brakes both work. I remembered to test and both my brake lights work. Brilliant. I need to fit indicators but so far the only thing electrical thing that isn’t working is the horn. I’m happy about that because I hate electrics. When I put the carb back on I noticed one of the throttle to carb cables was slack. I was worried I’d done something wrong. I’m having issues with fitting the choke cable back in position as well. It’s one 17mm nut. What can possibly go wrong? Yet it doesn’t seem to want to work. Odd. Anyway, when I noticed the part of the carb I’d omitted (left it drying in the sun) I popped the carb off and rebuilt it. The slack cable came away in my hand. It had snapped in it’s sleeve. I’d already ordered a new set, but it was good to see it wasn’t me. I’m working my way through the peripheral jobs (it all needs doing) as I’m trying to get the engine started. I’ve ordered a cheap trolley jack (with support cups to position under the frame) and a fork seal and dust cover set. I’ll pop the forks off, drain the fork oil, clean inside and then put fresh oil, seals and dust covers on. I charged the new battery back up, held the choke open and tried to start it again after I replaced the carb, correctly. It didn’t go, but as I was rolling the starter off it did a little cough. I got a whiff of blue smoke! I thought I was going to be testing it out with my engine start spray today, I ordered it off Amazon specifically for the next day delivery. It mustn’t have been on Prime. It’s saying delivery on Tuesday, it’s Thursday today. After that blue smoke I got a rush to the head and ordered a cheap carb rebuild kit and a (whole) cheap replacement carb. If I can get it running I can relax and plod on with the jobs. One thing that’s bothering me is the oil in the air filter and that was clarted all over the jets. There shouldn’t be oil there. Today as I was trying to start […]

Day One: I dropped the van off this morning then cracked on with the bike. I’ve fitted the new battery, hotwired it, and I got lights, (low and high beam and clock and rear light, forgot to test if the brake is working) but no horn yet. The engine turned over nicely, sounded like good compression. I didn’t have any spark at the plugs though. I gapped the plugs and traced the wiring, the leads to the distributor were loose so I tightened them, SPARK! It still wasn’t firing so I took the air filter off and gave it a wash, then took off and stripped the carb. Oh boy. It’s not a carb design I’m used to, but I pulled the one obvious jet out. The top half of it was literally black. It looked like some oil residue that had solidified. I took the diaphragm out of the top and I’ve soaked the rest of the carb in Pinesol and Mukoff overnight. It might work. I’ve never seen the like though. I was just looking, you can get a complete, aftermarket, carb for the price of a carb rebuild kit. While I was searching for “oil in carb problem” online (bit worrying, I can’t think how it can have got there) I saw a top tip. Spray some of that engine start spray into the engine and press the start button. If it runs for a second or so you know the intake valves and outlet valves are working, your rings and barrel are good enough to maintain a working pressure, your plugs and the electrical system is all working. The problem is your carb. I’ve ordered a can of start spray. If it doesn’t run then I know I have more problems. You can strip it down to heads and barrels off with the engine still in the frame so it’s not too much hassle to do further investigation. Now I’m wondering which way I’m going to go with the bike. I’ve given it a brush and a wash and been at it with rust eater and metal polish today and it looks a lot better, superficially. But there’s the thing. Once I’ve got it running I can either run it as a scruffy heap, sell it, or strip it down to bare frame, and get every part back to original condition. Powder coating the frame £150- £350 New wheels £550 Tank and mudguards sprayed, say, £250 New stanchions £300 Engine respray? I’ll have to think it through. I’m making problems now. I’ve got enough on my plate just getting it running. Then I have to fit indicators, fix the horn, swap the headlight, take the forks off, drain, clean, put in fresh oil and new fork seals and refit, strip and clean the brakes, flush the brake fluid and refill it, and fit new tyres. Those are just the bare minimum jobs I already know I’ve got to do. On the bright side, apart from the […]

I went to pick it up today. That took me all day. All, stressful, day. Brand new rental van, it only had 280 miles on the clock when I set off, and they were being very picky about how I’d get royally screwed for any damage. So, no pressure. The guy I bought it off was selling off a bunch of bike projects because he was so ill. He looked proper yellow, it looked like kidney failure, poor sod. In a way it made me think I was right to get a Harley now, you just never know how long you’ve got. The downside is the camera was very flattering. up close all the chrome is rusted, there are no indicators and no ignition key. It’s a proper project. I’m not going to change the battery, fill the tank and ride it to an MOT. And, obvious when I think about it, I’ve had to buy new tools because American’s still use imperial sizes. Of course they do. All my lovely tools. Grrrr. Here’s some pics that more accurately show the condition of the bike. I near bust my back getting off the van and into the shed. I’ve got the spark plugs out and sprayed penetrating oil in the barrels. Tomorrow I’ll put it in gear and rock it, see if the pistons move at all. I’ve ordered some imperial spanners and Allen keys, they are arriving tomorrow. I’ll give it a decent clean and a wash, when my tools arrive I’ll swap the battery for a new one and see what’s working on the electrical side. One good thing, the clock says it’s only done 10,388 miles. It’s been off the road for decades so I can believe that’s true.

I’ve been looking at engines I could strip down, just for fun practice. That invariably leads me to looking at cheap bikes because I would want to get it running again afterwards to prove I’ve not broken it. This has been going on for some time. The cycle often leads to me stressing out so much I literally lose sleep over it. I’m not sure how, but suddenly I made the jump to wanting a more expensive, but really cool project bike. I saw a 1958 BSA A10 for sale for £2,750 and was going to get that. But then the doubts crept in, getting parts, whether it was what I really wanted, and as it was all ready running, if I would be able to replace my bulletproof VFR with a bike older than I am. And a Brit relic, at that. Then I saw a site selling “cheap” (relative term) imported project Harleys. I was very tempted. But they are still asking a lot for a pig-in-a-poke bike. One I liked was a 1971 1000cc, 4 gear engine, it had no wiring harness, no starter motor, was thought to be not seized but not guaranteed, wasn’t registered in the UK, and they wanted £2,000 for it. While I was looking I came across this: It’s a bog standard (apart from the headlight) 1991 883 Sportster. It’s been stood for 20 years so it’s a complete restoration project, but it’s a complete bike, UK registered, 2 owners from new, a 5 speed gearbox and the (more modern, more reliable) Evolution engine. It was up for auction, the starting bid was for £2,000. The auction was nearly over and nobody had bid on it. I put in a bid sniper for £2,055. If I got it for a bargain then fine, if not look for something else. I won! £2,000! It’s going to need a lot of work, but all the bits are there. I’ve ordered a new battery and a workshop manual. I’m picking it up on Tuesday. Of course it’s the arse end of beyond. Reading. Right down south. Ho hum, all part of the joy of motorcycling. I can’t wait to start playing with it. I hope it’s not seized but if it is it’s getting big bored to the 1200cc conversion. Fun times.

Some bikey goodness this week. My saddle finally arrived. It’s supposed to be gel padded and the ultimate in comfort for long distance riding. I popped it on. It certainly looks the business. Before, plain ol’ Betty Monroe: After, Mrs Ralph Hapshatt: I had my first 5 day week in absolutely ages at work so I had to wait until my day’s off to try and fit the new exhaust system. Update, this week I’ve had 4 shifts, next week I’ve got 4. Finally making some decent money again. It turned into a proper big job. Fairings off, seat off, top box off, centre stand off, tank off, battery, battery box and mudguard assembly off, rear shock absorber off, coils moved, just to get access to the exhaust. To add to the not inconsiderable degree of difficulty the bike needed to be propped upright, with the centre stand removed. It’s a single sided swing arm to I couldn’t just raise it up on a paddock stand. Improvise, adapt, overcome. That was in no way fun. It took me all day. Then I had to pop for some jubilee clips to finish the job (hold the down pipes securely into the collector box) today. There is very little overlap on the pipes. Assuming they stay put, that is job done. As I was fastening the jubilee clip I did notice one downer. One of the downpipes runs over the oil sump plug. So I’m going to have to take the front pipe off every time I need to change the oil. Irritating, but not a massive job. Poor design though. I had another go at that snapped bolt. I can drill but I still can’t get any purchase to turn the extractor. I may be on to something. I’ve seen and ordered a drill bit extractor set. If I can get them to work in my impact wrench I should be able to make short work of it. Fingers crossed. Bit of an update. The exhaust system is a blowing a little bit from the pipe joins but overall it’s really quiet. It came with a hi-level link pipe and aftermarket end can. As it’s so quiet I’ve weakened and ordered a baffle insert and a hi-level hanger bar. I’m going to try it, if it’s not too noisy it’s a serious upgrade to the look of the bike. I’m still waiting on the hanger to arrive. The other thing is the snapped bolt. I still haven’t been able to get it out, but now I’ve drilled so far that I managed to tap a new thread in the hole in and fit a shortened bolt. That should hold it. I’ll put locktite on when I fit it, just to be on the safe side. Whilst mocking it up I noticed another flaw with this new exhaust system, when you put the centre stand down it rubs against the exhaust to the extent it moves the pipes. It’s not a huge […]