Week ending 6th October we thought the work load would start to drop off, but it seems to be busier than ever!

It’s been a busy week in the workshop. I started the week with a Yamaha R1 in for a full service, chain, sprockets & head stock bearings. I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for this model as I had a new one back in 2003. It was my first 1000cc machine after passing my test. This one looked a bit sorry for itself,  but under the grime it’s a good bike that’s not been tampered with. Although it was very dirty, everything cleaned up and worked well. I spent a bit of time cleaning the brake pistons before installing the new brake pads & fluid. Head stock bearings came out without too much resistance as did the chain and sprockets. Running a one tooth less front sprocket makes it pick up a bit quicker!

On completion of any major work I like to give the bike a wash, not only to help my OCD, but to give it an extra once over. Washing helps to cast that extra eye over the bike. In this case I discovered that one of the exhaust hangers was loose. Worth that extra few minutes checking. The sun was out so I decided to ride it for its MOT. Straight through. My record still stands 100% pass rate!

We were asked to look at a KTM 300 exc as it overheats quickly, blowing the coolant out of the radiator within a few mins of it running. Sure enough I hadn’t got a lap of the estate in before my left leg was getting soaked from the coolant escaping from the cap. A quick squeeze of a hose confirmed the engine

was pressurising. So, I pulled the cylinder head off to find the inner head gasket seal had been trapped when fitting causing the compression to escape into the cooling system. Pulling the barrel off revealed a damaged piston, melted by the water rapidly cooling the hot piston. After a bit of searching I managed to find a new one, along with a small end bearing and a gasket set. Next up I stripped the carb and put the body through the ultrasonic cleaner. This has proven invaluable over the years as it sends a vibration through the parts, while a combination of a sea salt solution loosens the grime, even out of the bits you cant see. A quick blow out with an air line and it was ready to put back together. The customer had bought a new FMF fatty exhaust and DEP silencer but from a slightly later machine, as this 1990 bike is proving hard to get parts for. Surprise , surprise  it doesn’t fit correctly! Therefore the hacksaw and MIG welder will be out in the next few days to modify it.

 

Finishing up this week we had a beautiful Ducati 848 in for a set of plugs and an oil change.  I had been out for a ride with  the owner a few weekends  ago and it had become very hard to start when it was warm.

Coming up next week:

• Honda CB1000 Recommissioning
• Harley Davidson with a broken exhaust
• Honda CBR125 with a broken chain
• 3 Datatool TrakKING installs
• KTM 400 non start
• Completing the KTM 300