What did you do to your motorcyle today?

[kaw74]

Hardrock, I bought some shims from Z1E and the hard coating came off the shim and took out my Cam.

They said it was lack of oil but they are full of chit because the one I took out was fine..

There was a guy on the site that had factory shims but can remember his handle.

[azr]

hmmm.....doubt it's the shims. Vacuum or possibly your cam timing is off?

[hardrockminer]

Hardrock, I bought some shims from Z1E and the hard coating came off the shim and took out my Cam.

They said it was lack of oil but they are full of chit because the one I took out was fine..

There was a guy on the site that had factory shims but can remember his handle.

I remember that you mentioned it.  In my dealings with Z1E I've had only first class advice and first class parts.  Jeff gets shims from PMC in Japan.  I'm surprised you had an issue and we will see what happens to mine.  Just before I closed things up I squirted oil on each lobe to prevent issues during start-up. 

One lobe on my exhaust cam is right at the minimum size limit, but the valve clearance was on spec when I set them, although I had to use the biggest shim (3.20) sold.

Yes, maybe a timing issue, but I set the timing chain on the cams according to the book and used my carpenter's guideline (measure twice, cut once) before I tightened the caps down.  It's on my check list when I open things up again.

Carbs had vacum before I took the head off and the engine seems to run normally, although I've only run it on choke or at idle.  That's why I wanted to take it on the road for a few miles before checking everything over. 

Moving the individual synch screws makes the engine rev up or die down but doesn't seem to change the pressure on the gauge like it did before the head repairs.  Moving the air screws does absolutely nothing.  I may have to take the carbs off and do a bench synch.

[hardrockminer]

Last night I re-adjusted the carbs.  Set the air screws at 1 turn from lightly closed and then dropped the slides one by one.  I was able to get a decent idle with about 5 cm of pressure.  Not anywhere near normal but better than before.  Tomorrow I'll get my insurance and try the highway for a bit before checking clearances.  So far so good!

[754]

 Do you have to pull carbs to synch them with a rod ?  I figured out a good method, that was quite accurate using a brass rod..

[azr]

Last night I re-adjusted the carbs.  Set the air screws at 1 turn from lightly closed and then dropped the slides one by one.  I was able to get a decent idle with about 5 cm of pressure.  Not anywhere near normal but better than before.  Tomorrow I'll get my insurance and try the highway for a bit before checking clearances.  So far so good!

You're only getting 5cm at an RPM of around 2200?   you are doing your vacuum synch at 1700-2200 RPM, right?

[hardrockminer]

Do you have to pull carbs to synch them with a rod ?  I figured out a good method, that was quite accurate using a brass rod..

No, I don't pull the carbs.  Bike is running.  I have the multi tool and it works well.

AZR, I'm following the book for synching carbs.  It recommends 950 to 1050 rpm, and they recommend to not use the tach to determine rpms.  But that is what I am using.  I find a gauge bounces too much.

[Twisted_Twin]

Oops...

[Twisted_Twin]

New shoes for my Italian girlfriend.

I priced out Endura silver. They've been huffing too much of their own product. $72.00 for a quart of component A. Then there's hardener and primer A and B as well.

I decided to use the silver wheel paint we use at work instead. It's tough as nails and comes in a rattle can for $10.00. I'll probably spray them again when it's time for new tires. It's an easy enough job.

The rims have been converted to tubeless, blasted, painted and new Avon Roadrider tires (or tyres, they're made in England) installed.

[hardrockminer]

The rims have been converted to tubeless, blasted, painted and new Avon Roadrider tires (or tyres, they're made in England) installed.

Why did you chose Avon?  Did you consider any other t[y]res?

[Twisted_Twin]

I've been happy with Avon in the past. Nice and sticky.

Not many other choices in these sizes. Alternatives were Bridgestone Spitfire and Dunlop.

[hardrockminer]

I've been happy with Avon in the past. Nice and sticky.

Not many other choices in these sizes. Alternatives were Bridgestone Spitfire and Dunlop.

Sticky is good!  How do they last?

[Twisted_Twin]

Not really sure, The LeMans had Avons on it when I got it and they were pretty worn down but looked quite old.

I put the Avon Speedmaster / Safety Mileage combo on the Matchless and they did well but I suspect that bike was hardly taxing the capability of the tires.

Usually you trade stickiness for long life so I expect they will wear faster than the Bridgestones will.

Shawn

[Twisted_Twin]

Took my wife out for her first ride on pavement today and she's doing awesome.

She passed her skills test this morning!

We're having lunch in Fort Langley and then heading home

[Twisted_Twin]

Guzzi fiddling tonight.

Someone converted the heads to dual plugs a long while ago. The previous owner told me that he had never been able to get the plugs out, no socket would fit.

Here is the offending hole:



Aha! I thought, I'm a -ing rockstar, I have the solution, this person simply doesn't know about Snap-On thinwall sockets!

Nope. None of my sockets fit either.

The 5/8" goes down the hole easy but won't fit the plug. The 18mm won't fit down the hole.



Hmmm... I wonder if the 5/8 is too thick to get all the way to the bottom of the hole

Nope. Machined the socket down and it STILL wouldn't grab the plug.

Strange.

No sacrificial 18mm deep socket lying around.

Well, 11/16" is pretty much 17.5mm and I have no idea what size this damn plug is. 11/16" will work on a 17mm with a bit of wiggle and will -probably- work on a 18mm if I push on it hard or give it a bonk with a hammer. Here we go...



The world's thinnest 11/16" socket, only 0.030 left in the corners.



Down the hole, tap with a hammer to seat it on the plug and out it comes!

The original 18mm hex plug is on the left, the new, correctly sized 5/8 hex plug is on the right. For future reference for anyone who needs it DC is the NGK prefix for the 5/8 hex plugs and D is the prefix for 18mm.



Chances are, sometime in the past a parts counter monkey subbed one for the other, not realising the havoc it could cause.

Looky here, a 5/8" conventional plug socket fits just fine.



I think the center electrode is a bit eroded on this one: