What have you done with your bike/s today?

[berger]

i can build you a 500 ss engine like my beast in betsy the growling beast bike or the even beastier engine for the berglar build on the kitchen workbench , possibly a little bit better than rivet mans effort using my ex mineworkers  hammer and chisel. only joking it's not going to go bang unless you hold it on full chat for 3 days, i threw it together like i threw mine together . i told you after the serious stuff was done i would put your engine in my frame and ride it like i stole it. some may say why didn't i repair everything properly when i had it and i would say i hadn't a clue it had knackered threads in the sump but knew the one,  two, three ,7 -9 in the timing side case were well dodgy  and then we get to the how MUCH is this build going to cost!? well for a start different cases or a specialist welder so i could set it up on MWAS mill and re thread the timing side case. plus it is giving you satisfaction and experience while tinkering in your nicely painted breeze block abode. do you know why they call them breeze blocks? i do because the coke breeze  the dust after the screening process was put in the mix and fired off with heat to leave the holes. large coke for a rich person up the nose , grade  1's for the lesser well off ,grade 2's for your parkray fire 3's for factory boilers   4's. { beans for power stations , breeze for breeze blocks.

[Worty]

Cheers Bergs, I may take you up on that

Seriously though, I know the motor is the best it can be given the litany of horrors.  I never thrash the beastie, and always listening out for different sounds, etc.  As for screw/bolt threads, etc, yes you could end up spending £££££s, like the sump stud, but it's very satisfying to find a cost free solution.  As we've said before, this engine would have been recycled into drinks cans years ago BUT, it's still on the road.

I must admit, I have been surprised at how much maintenance has been needed.  To say I've had nothing but trouble with this bike isn't short of the truth.  Alongside the two engine builds (or 1.5 if you consider RM's attempt), there's been 5 ATDs, a maggie replacement, the cush drive spacer + new chain + fettling, fitting  the spin-on filter, endless checking the sump gauze for bits of engine, dodgy electrics, broken rocker oil pipe, leaky fork seals, sloppy centre stand, broken side stand, constant oil leaks, losing nuts and bolts, clutch nut coming loose, broken dynamo chain,etc, etc, and this isn't to mention the routine maintenance like valve clearances, chain tensioning, and trying to get parts to fit when they don't want to, etc, etc.

The most reliable thing on the bike has been the wheels and brakes - requiring virtually no maintenance at all.

Still, for some very, very odd reason, I still like fixing it.

[berger]

worty the only sounds i hear from mine are the exhausts ,  oh and the normal ally head tappet rattle until i wrap my legs onto the petrol tank then it goes away, special leg soundproofing

[Worty]

Off with the timing side cover today to see if all is well - it is, except for some oil getting into the dynamo chain cavity (maybe it's because all the oil ends up in the sump and is finding its way into the timing cover - ??).  Tightened the dynamo chain a little and put it all back together.  Checked the tappets which needed a bit of adjustment.  Have gone for 9 thou inlet and 15 thou exhaust as a sort of compromise due to bashed valve stems (I think Bergs had them at 8 and 14 on rebuild) but they had closed up.  Shoved the front pipe back on (primary side) and went to replace the rear brake cable.

WTF - why are these pattern parts so ill thought out?  Turns out that the knurled adjuster knob and knurled lock nut wouldn't go past the torque arm retaining nut on the brake plate.  Of course, the old one had a small locking nut which was fine, but this one......  Anyhow, ended up having to grind down the adjuster knob and locking nut so they would clear the nut.  What should have been a 10 minute job turned into about an hour or more.

So, what's left to do - top up the gearbox oil, fill the oil tank, pump the tyres up, check wheel alignment (I did measure the adjusters with a working vernier to see if they're the same length which they were, not sure if this translates into correct alignment though?).  Last check of all nuts an bolts and go for a ride.

Oh, and I've given up trying to make it oil tight - just ain't working for me.

[berger]

worty where is it leaking oil and as for wheel alignment get a scaffolding plank

[muskrat]

G'day Worty.
Don't trust the adjusters. Have a look here https://www.a7a10.net/forum/index.php?topic=1636.msg47503#msg47503
Cheers

[Greybeard]

I took my new GS to my dealers workshop today for an engine management software update. Many of the new BSA's have been been having the occasional random flame-out, hence the update.

[muskrat]

G'day Gb.
Most makes have teething problems with new models. The new Mahindra BSA will be the same. Good for them to get on to it quickly.
I don't like to buy the first model of anything for that reason. Doh, I did buy the first CB750FZ to come into the country in "81 but it was in the States for a few years (we had the 900, they didn't). Oh and the first XL500S in "78.
Cheers

[Worty]

worty where is it leaking oil and as for wheel alignment get a scaffolding plank

It's not from anywhere that you rebuilt Bergs   Primary cover and gearbox are the main culprits, along with a bit from the oil tank feed and return pipes (at the union with the tank itself), although I may have cured the sump plate leak with my completely genius stud work.

[rocker21]

my a7ss is now oil tight, copper rocker box gaskets fixed that one as it was impossible with normal gaskets, permex copper spray for a sealing compound sprayed onto the other gaskets, carbon fibre head gasket, no oil in the primary dive as it has a belt drive conversion by bob newby , works well. done about 1500 miles since rebuild and starting to push it a bit now, it will cruise at 70mph on the dual carriageway without problems.

[berger]

took urma yonda out yesterday because betsy has no gearbox oil yet!!! cheers AZTEC!! i might play them that song . i had a run to Matlock where there is normally a few bikes to look at but only one bike there, mine! so i went further afield to high peak and met a nice geezer from stoke who was out for a run on his nutter space rocket ninja.  Musky the 750fz was based on the 900 that some country's had and others didn't. i must change one of the sprockets on urma this winter  because at the moment i keep going for a sixth gear . i know these engines are more than capable of revving high but it does my head in. maybe a scania 12 speed will fit

[Worty]

Nice Bergs.  Used to go to Stoke quite a bit when I lived in Stafford, there was a really good bike shop there called Foley Motorcycles (Fenton) which I spent a lot of time at.  Think it's changed hands now as it was the best part of 40 years ago.

I do like your references to Yapanese space rocket ninjas, just sums them up perfectly - mad, crazy-fast things.🚀🚀

As I said, I should come down on the Beeza for a cup 'o char visit when she's fettled up and settled in a bit.  Will give her a couple of runs and check primary chain tension and clutch operation before venturing out.  It'll be the first time you'll have heard her fired up since the rebuild (1000m and counting).🤞🤞👌😎

Itching to get back on the road, but I need to be patient as I've spent four days straight in the garage and Sue's wanting a door painted!!

Keep your bikes locked up ready for Storm Agnes.

[berger]

WHAAAAT!!!! sue wants a door painting, give her the paint and a brush joking mate you know

[Worty]

WHAAAAT!!!! sue wants a door painting, give her the paint and a brush joking mate you know

I know   Even after explaining I'd been scraping around the floor in the garage, covered in oil, skinned knuckles, tired and hungry etc, etc, she still gave me 'that look'   I was just about to hand her the brush when she picked up a knife - guess I chickened out at that point

Why are women so odd

[Topdad]

My dear old dads take on that Worty was that they came from Venus and that they should be kept in gages and only brought out when needed however this was just after he'd had a bit of a disagreement with mum  and I never heard him mention it around my Mum either probably why they were happily  married til he died !