Well, I guess we could all see it coming & therefore our first blog of 2021 is from within another National Lockdown!

As we watched the announcement on Monday evening, we had that sinking feeling again. However, as an essential business we can still operate & we have had an overwhelmingly supportive response from our incredible customer base who have all said they intend to keep their bookings! We are very grateful for all their belief in us.

Therefore, lets see what we’ve had in the mono motorcycles workshop in the first week of 2021.

On Monday we welcomed a VN1500 for some running issues.

The VN1500 had already been to two other garages but was still running rough. On test it was only running on the front cylinder. Following an investigation, Daniel found the right combination to make it run poorly. A Powercommander on a stock engine, with a blocked air filter = fouled plugs! all topped off with gone off fuel, blocked rear injector & it’s not charging! No wonder it didn’t want to idle!

Having replaced the plugs, the gone off fuel & cleaned the injectors, Daniel was able to get the VN1500 to fire up. However, it was at this point that he identified that the VN was not charging. Therefore, we now are waiting for Regulator Rectifier to arrive to enable Daniel to road test, get the VN up to temperature & then see if the injectors are going to need replacing.

On Tuesday we welcomed one of our great supporters 15th Anniversary (2009) Triumph Speed Triple’s to the mono motorcycles workshop. Our customer advised he was having issues with the battery holding a charge & was concerned about a charging issue.

This is not the first time we have seen charging issues with this model of Speed Triple.

Having tested the reg/rec & the stator on the 15th Anniversary Edition, we are now satisfied that it is the regulator rectifier which is failing & causing the charging/battery failure issues.

Having spoken to our customer this afternoon, he has now authorised us to replace the stator & the reg/rec, to ensure that the entire charging system is robust enough for the daily use this motorcycle is used for (customer has already fitted a new battery recently)

On Wednesday Daniel & Nathan were working on the Ducati Multistrada which is with us for its big Desmo service.

We also need to replace the exhaust control cable which will involve removing even more of the bike to gain access! These parts are due into us next week.

 

On Thursday we welcomed a Suzuki DR125 which came to us as a non start. Having arrived at the mono motorcycles workshop as a non start & no spark, following an investigation Daniel found, amongst others things, that the air gap for the pick up sensor was too wide @ about 2mm, should be 0.2mm He also tidied the connectors to the wiring, refitted the original coil & checked all the electrical plugs for corrosion. Once he had tidied these bits up, the DR fired up. Our customer was extremely happy with the result.

Throw back Thursday!

Another opportunity to see our video round up of some of the motorcycles we welcomed to the mono motorcycles workshop during 2020.

During this week Daniel has also been catching up with some of the work we had in before Christmas.

The Triumph Thunderbird which we were trying to get running to enable our customer to sell it, has thrown up some more issues. Having spent time replacing the carb diaphragms as they had all perished & ultrasonically cleaning the carbs & rebuilding them, Daniel then emptied the oil this week.

Sadly, a grey murky milkshake poured out of the Triumph. Water & oil. Daniel was authorised to check & see if the head gasket had gone. Once apart, although it looked like it had age related wear & tear; the head gasket had not blown.  As the water pump on these is separate, we are concerned that the water has leaked due to an unseen crack somewhere in the head or the block.

We are awaiting further instruction from our customer as to how to proceed.

The MV Augusta which joined us as a non start before Christmas, having had a battery fitted incorrectly & blowing all the fuses; is now running.

Having found that the main fuse kept on blowing each time Daniel tested the electrics & having had the loom completely off the bike; Daniel found one small diode buried deep in the wiring loom to be the culprit.

The diode having been now fitted, the MV started first go. Another happy customer.

On Friday we welcomed a 70 plate Yamaha MT10 to the mono motorcycles workshop for a Valet & ACF50 Winter Treatment. Our Winter Valet options start from £99 + VAT.

As we all fathom our way through the next phase of our Covid Lockdown, we just want to say a huge thank you again to everyone who supports us. It is humbling how kind people are & we are eternally grateful to our customer base for their continued support & belief in us.

As always for all your motorcycling needs, contact Daniel or Katy on T: 01243 576212 / 07899 654446 or contact us through our contact page.