The Borders

Today we're just over the English border at a small meeting. Very windy and some showers but a great run down the road, very enjoyable and mvd going great.

I know its boring but.....

Well what a week its been for weather! Gales on Monday shut loads of roads in Scotland due to trees been blown down, I reckon its because Bob & Kate returned from two weeks motorcycling in the sun on the Continent on Sunday so I'll blame them.
The plot thickens with regards to inlet valve seals, the picture shows (although not very clearly) the "Genuine" on the right and "dubious" on the left, there is a distinct difference especially when you see them in the flesh (or rubber!!) So my reccomendation is stick with genuine parts once again, it'll save you grieff in the long run.
Norrie Miltons sidecar Rally this weekend in the Borders so looking forward to that, hopefully the wind will die down enough to let the tent stay up!!

More Garage time

So another Sunday in the Garage trying to get the Mk3 Commando back together, the timing side is built and now waiting for a points seal (why didn't I order one!!)I spent about an hour and a half grinding/sanding the primary chain tensioner plungers as they are out of stock so decided to make the new non fitting ones fit.
I thought I'd pop the valves before putting the head on to check the inlet seals after a spate of issues with other's bikes, guess what, the inlet valve seal HAD come off so just as well I did, so another call tomorrow to order some more!
Luckily It very windy with heavy showers today so I don't feel to aggrieved at missing out on wasting petrol!
A tad fed up with the shite that gets sold these days though, when things like inlet valve seals start coming off its a major job to replace them, I have NEVER heard of or had this in my 30 years of Norton ownership so why has it just started happening now?
The Breva is now fixed and had its first test run yesterday and seems to be fine, the list of jobs to do is getting shorter so I suppose I better start looking to fix some of the "annoying but liveable" issues I have with some of the bikes, either that or just not bother and leave it to the back end of the year............

Why does nothing fit!

So a day in the garage, working on the mk3 commando. First thing that didn't fit was the washer's for the through bolts for the barrels. 45 minutes to get them ground down. Then the chain tensioner plungers were 0.2 mm too big so a call to norton tomorrow. Then finally the replacement camshaft had badly formed threads so needed another 45 minutes of work to allow the sprocket and nut to fit. Complete shite really because the parts are no longer cheap. Oh well on the bright side I may have wasted most of the day trying to fit crap parts but at least I managed a run out on my roadster pictured above. Satisfying despite the hassle.

This week

This week has been mainly garage based (when not working) servicing the Guzzi, and working my way through the wiring making sure all is clean and well. The RHS inlet valve had a gap that a small car could have driven through (which is where the ticking noise was obviously coming from) but the main issue was the last rocker cover screw sheared as I was taking it out, every other one came out no bother except the last one, sods law, now its a drill and fiddle about job to repair it. Luckily its easily accessible otherwise it would have been a head off job.
Out on MVD today for a run after putting in new clutch plates, I have to say there is a marked improvement but we'll se how it holds up over the next few weeks.
Cyclists out in their hordes today annoying everyone, funny I even heard other members of the public complaining about them and their attitude, the highway code obviously doesn't apply to them! Time the police started harassing them instead of motorcyclists.

A good day out.

The forecast wasn't so good today but I dragged MVD out for a run, great to be back on a Norton that does nearer 300 miles to a tank than 70. Its running well, still the odd drop of oil appearing from the head but the fork seal I replaced last week seems to be holding up. The brakes though are dire, obviously contaminated with fork oil so new pads required. Oh and the digital clutch (either on or off) is needing sorted out but apart from that its great. We even managed to escape most of the rain!

A warning.

The picture shows what happens when you forget to switch your ignition off on your Norton dominator. Sandy came into the workshop to find that his coil had exploded. Impressive, first i've seen as bad as that.

Lucky again

Well the weather held up and I'm glad to say the Commando made it up to Cromarty and back without any dramas! Guzzi still being repaired and MVD hopefully back on the road by the end of the week. Full marks to Gavin and the other organisers and helpers at the weekend, a memorable occasion indeed. Picture shows the Sunset on Friday night (there was a better one on Sunday but drink had taken its toll by then!!