My New Project arrives after a 44 year wait!

[Laverdaroo]

No worries Dave, it’s still in the drawer and available should it be required.

Good on you Ash, that’s a proper stash, you’ll have made Dave’s day


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[Laverda Dave]

A bit of progress over the past few days although for every step forward I appear to be going two steps back🙄. The stripped thread in the sump has been a pain and trying to source a replacement is proving impossible (the subject of another thread). Today I have been preparing the frame ready for an alignment check before blasting and powder coating. This involved replacing the swing arm, shocks and rear wheel. I've fitted a spare set of crankcases I having hanging around as this is what engineer needs to do the checking (the PO said he had an 'Off' some years ago so it would be silly not to gave the frame alignment checked).

I attempted to strip the forks by holding them in the lower yoke and held this in a vice. Unfortunately the cap head bolts in the fork bottom just turns without undoing from the damper. I have tried to compress the legs hoping the spring pressure would stop the damper turning but no luck. I then resorted to the torque gun hoping to shock the bolt but nothing doing there either. I was going to do the unthinkable and resort to drilling the head of the bolt off but that won't work either as the bolt head is in a recess preventing me holding it and the drill just spins the bolt! This is the first time I've had this problem with fork legs, they normally put up a bit of a fight but usually a bit of a compress of the leg does the trick. Does anyone have any ideas how to separate the damper from the leg?

[AshimotoK0]

How about a length of dowel shoved down the stanchion and forced against the damper. Not sure if broom handle is too large a diameter. Pretty sure the fixing had thread lock on it from factory.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

popped up before -

https://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,26667.msg246225.html#msg246225

[Laverda Dave]

popped up before -

https://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,26667.msg246225.html#msg246225

Thanks guys. I've just read the link and there appears to be salvation in a broom handle🙂

[Nurse Julie]

Put an extender on the rattle gun with the socket on the end Dave.

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[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I have found the longer the extension bar the better my cordless impact driver seems to work - I call it the torque stick effect!

[Laverda Dave]

Well they are finally apart . I paid £1.99 for a broom handle, pushed it in with a bit of force and hey presto the cap head bolt came undone, happy days .
Thanks for the tips, I was genuinely stuck with what to do next.

[Laverda Dave]

I have made some progress with the bike over the past week. On Monday I dropped the frame in to Hybrid Motorcycles in Sarratt for a frame alignment check. In order to undertake a proper check I had to refit the swing arm, shocks, rear wheel and the upper and lower crankcase.  It should take 3-4 weeks as he’s busy.

I dropped the sump off at SRS in Sutton yesterday to have a 12mm timesert fitted into the stripped oil drain plug. The cost of £25 to fit is a lot cheaper than buying a timesert kit at £90! After Sutton it was off to Banstead (on the bus and train!) to SWS to collect the lower crankcase following the welding up of the crack close to the main oil gallery and oil filter. The welder has done a good job although I will dress the weld to blend it in to the surrounding alloy prior to vapour blasting and painting.

Today I assembled the crank into the crankcases with some green plastigauge to measure the shell clearances. This wasn’t good news! I already knew No.3 main bearing shells were scuffed due to a piece of grit finding its way in there and I polished the journal using 3000 and 5000 grit paper on Bryan’s advice. Whilst the other bearing shells don’t have scuffs they appear to be pretty worn, I attach a couple of photos of the plastigauge reading on No.5 journal and No.3 journal (the scuffed one). The readings on all the journals were above the maximum plastigauge indicator of 0.175 so they will all be replaced. And if I’m replacing the main bearings the con rod bearings also appear to be equally worn and will also be replaced.

In terms of the bearings I need the crank codes (working from No.1 to 5) are: 1A, 1A, 2A, 2A, 2. The case code is AABBB. So, having looked at the bearing table I think I need the following bearing colours: YELLOW, YELLOW, BROWN, BROWN, BROWN?
Connecting rod big ends are coded C2, C3, C2, C3. Having checked the bearing table I think I need the following bearing colours: BROWN, BLACK, BROWN, BLACK?

Can anyone confirm my thinking is correct before I spend some more family inheritance on very small but obviously very precious metal bearings?

Tomorrow I’m off to the Kempton Park Auto jumble and Classic Bike show where I hope to find a tacho and the small but rare as hen’s teeth wire metal clip that holds the cables to the frame behind the headstock and fixes to the horn mounting.

[MCTID]

I used a length of angle iron to lock the bits when I replaced the Oil Seals on my Kwacker ZZR1100. Locked everything up quite nicely. It failed it's MOT on leaking Oil Seals....although it was actually the oil mist from the WD40 that I always used on the exposed areas of the forks - but the MOT Tester at Kays Motorcycles wouldn't have it ! I should have wiped the forks over before I put it in for it's MOT !

The following year it was failed for the headlamp aim.....even though I said if any minor adjustments were needed, just to do them and i'd happily pay. Getting the bike home again and back to Alf's in Worthing was a right ferking PITA !

I never went back to either Dealer again.

[AshimotoK0]

Always love reading your resto posts Dave.

Looking at Yamiyas site I wont be able to get you any yellow mains  shells but DS has some. Unless anyone on here has any to sell you?

Not sure but I think the tacho mechanism is the same as the CB250G5 but has idiot lights fitted... so you could fit a new face to one and blank off the warning lights at the bottom. I will check to see if I have one. I assume you have the S/S 'dish' for it .. deffo have one if you don't.

BTW there was a discussion yesterday on the CB250RS FB group as someone spotted your old bike at Frank's ...Motorcycles Unlimited. 

[Laverda Dave]

Always love reading your resto posts Dave.

Looking at Yamiyas site I wont be able to get you any yellow mains  shells but DS has some. Unless anyone on here has any to sell you?

Not sure but I think the tacho mechanism is the same as the CB250G5 but has idiot lights fitted... so you could fit a new face to one and blank off the warning lights at the bottom. I will check to see if I have one. I assume you have the S/S 'dish' for it .. deffo have one if you don't.

BTW there was a discussion yesterday on the CB250RS FB group as someone spotted your old bike at Frank's ...Motorcycles Unlimited. 

Thanks Ash, I always like to throw in a bit of detail  . The tacho that came with the bike is I'm sure a G5. I have already spoken with Peter and he has advised he may have the parts to convert the G5 to a 400 but Kempton is always worth a look anyway as a couple of the traders have crates of old speedo's etc. I do have the dish although haven't inspected it yet, its in the bottom of the box the PO gave me and awaiting it's turn in the fumigation plant 

You can tell it was late when I typed the main bearing codes, I read them back to front (from the ignition timing end and not from No.1, alternator end!) . So, the correct sequence should be: 2, 2A, 2A, 1A, 1A. Case code remains as AABBB . The bearing colour codes should (I think) therefore be: GREEN, GREEN, BROWN, GREEN, GREEN. Lucky I still had the photo of the crank open as I went to switch off the laptop and noticed my schoolboy error otherwise I would have ordered the wrong ones and I'd have to break the news to the O/H she won't be getting a christmas present this year :'(. Of course this assumes I have read the crank webs correctly and cross referenced them to the chart as I should have done .

I check Frank's site now and then to see if the RS has sold and I noticed it's still there, the price imo is just too high but he must know it will eventually sell I guess as he's been selling bikes long enough but at the end of the day a bike is worth what somebody will pay for it.

[Laverda Dave]

It’s been a busy time in the man cave over the past few days so time for a photographic progress update .

Firstly a big thank you goes to Ash for not only coming up with some elusive parts in exchange for a CB250RSA swap shop but who also has a contact in Japan who has managed to source some all important crankshaft journal and big end shells. Thanks also to Bryan for his knowledge and help with how I could clean up and properly measure the crankshaft.

I got the lower crankcase back last week from the welder who managed to weld up the potential crack, it certainly looks like a crack in the photo. This was caused as a result of the PO using a longer front lower engine mounting bolt than he should have done after removing the crash bars. I cleaned the weld up once I got the crankcase home and had to ease the thread of the oil galley drain plug as I think the heat of the welding may have slightly distorted it but it’s all fine now (or should I say ‘It fits just perfect’  '.

I have decided to use an old sump pan I had with a damaged sump thread rather than use the original sump that had been badly helicoiled to the extent there wasn’t much metal left to put a timesert in. I instead had a timesert fitted for £25 at SRS in Sutton into the spare sump pan, a bargain really considering the kit is over £100 if I wanted to buy one. The timesert fitted is about 12mm in length and has been sealed with loctite to prevent oil weeping down the thread . This shorter length will allow the oil to drain out fully during an oil change; the original helicoil was 50mm long so the oil would have had a difficult job to fully drain!
I collected the frame on Tuesday after having its alignment checked, all was good there, and it was spot on which he was surprised about as even new frames are always at least .5 deg out. The PO had a previous ‘off’ back in the day and I think the frame was checked then and maybe ‘tweaked’ as the bike not only had a new mudguard but I think it also had new forks. When I checked the headlight and indicator mounting frame though I found it was as bent as a banana and it took a lot of heat to get it straightened out. Whilst I was collecting the frame and removing the dummy crankcase and rear wheel, a bolt of lightning came through the workshop (it is at the edge of an open field) and struck the tools on the bench 6ft away from me with an almighty bang! As a result of my potential outer body experiance I have bought a lottery ticket for tomorrow night’s draw .

The plan with the wheels was to re-use the old ones but... the PO has fitted a much wider rim to the rear wheel to allow the fitment of a bigger, as in fatter rear tire to go with the cruiser look he was aiming for. The tire only just clears the swingarm so that’s going now as well! I had to cut the spokes as after removing the tire I found CWS who built the wheels used a grinder to grind the heads off the spokes in the rim making it impossible to turn the spoke in the nipple. At least it gave me a chance to inspect the wheel bearings that were like all the other main journal and big end bearings in the engine, worn out .
 
Today I took the engine castings, hubs and carb mounting rail to R D Cox and Son in Reading for vapour blasting (the same company as used by a certain Mr A Millyard so they know what they doing when it comes to blasting motorcycle engines). Doug also paints the cases as well with two pack and the results really are good. I am having all the cases, covers and bare hubs painted but not the barrels, head, sump and oil filter housing, these will be left as vapour blasted and similar to how Honda left them originally (I know they were not vapour blasted originally but vapour blasting leaves a finish resistant to corrosion and I also know Honda did not paint the lower crankcase half either but I consider that as penny pinching). I know I could have painted them myself at home but in my view it is not worth the hassle especially considering the weather is too cold to paint, I don’t have an oven in the garage and to buy one s/h will cost at least £50 and have no room for it and I’ll probably only use it only once anyway and then I’m stuck with it. If I use the oven indoors it will stink the house out (and probably those either side of ours as well) and it will take days to cure everything. The O/H is also semi-retired so opportunities for me to do some ‘home baking’ and become Star Baker with my Showstopper that looks remarkably like an over baked motorcycle crankcase will be limited and at the end of the day it will also be inedible . All in all I went for the easier life option knowing the 2 pack paint will last as will my marriage  .
 
I had to repair the carb mounting rail after discovering a big hole where the locating dowel to hold the spindle should be. I drilled and tapped for a 4mm grub screw and locknut after having the hole welded up for a fiver (and I don’t have a welder!).

The pitted fork sanctions I took to Phillpotts in Luton. Gez, is it expensive now to get them hard chrome plated . They are going to do the fork top nuts as well. I asked them if they could do the carb spindle as well, they can.......£130!, thanks but I’ll leave that piece, it’s not that bad!

I’m just finishing off stripping the frame and painted parts before taking all these to microblast in Windsor next week for plastic coating. I’m having trouble getting the fibre bushes out the swing arm; they are just breaking up into tiny pieces. Next up will be finishing off the repair to the front and rear mudguards ready for chrome plating. The blacksmith did a remarkable job of filling the holes with braze.

Onwards and upwards. More news as it comes in.

[Johnny4428]

Some great work done there Dave, a bit of skill involved with that mudguard repair! If get a hacksaw into that bushes they should come out OK. Maybe you’ve done this already. Worked for me.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Those marks on the oil gallery look like casting marks engrained with dirt.
Very unlucky if its a crack from an overlong engine mounting bolt.