My New Project arrives after a 44 year wait!

[Laverdaroo]

That’s the do dah’s Dave well done mate. Getting there now pal


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

My only observation about 400 carbs is anecdotal if the flooding is not when the bike has been running normally.

lf the bowls have little or no fuel in them you can get a situation where as the float bowls drop down down at an acute angle they rest against the bowl side causing a potential sticking incident.

This enables a situation where sometimes there is a jam of the valve in the 'gap' between the float bracket brassware and the valve seat  as it is out of the normal operating range/angle of seating due to the low fuel level in the bowl.

The above jam is such that even thought the petrol is pouring into the bowl the float is unable to rise as it should as the valve is stuck in the above 'gap'.

This does not happen as an event every time my fuel is switched on after being stood for a few days or drained over winter.

I have just rocked the bike from side to side whist astride my 400 this causes the flooding to stop pretty much immediately after any petrol in the overflow pipe has run out.

I suspect it is linked to the brassware attached to the float and possibly previous attempts to adjust the float level.

[Rozabikes Tim]

Peter Horton refurbished the original clocks including converting the rev counter to a suitable 400/4 item from the 250 rev counter that was on the bike. They look fantastic and I asked Peter to put the MPH/KPH face on the speedo for no other reason than I like them :-).

This morning I collected the finished paint set from Tony at Cyclesprays in Horsham, Sussex. He has done a marvelous job considering the tank I took to him! He placed the decals on the tank (decals supplied by Piki (Reddice) on here) and clear coated them with the same on the side panels. I'll decide it I want to put the saving lives sticker above the fuel tank, I don't really like the look of it!

I went to refit the carbs yesterday but thought I'd bench test them first with fuel to check the floats, of course one leaked really badly (No 1). A frustrating three hours spent adjusting the float and re-testing got me nowhere and it looks like I'll have to fit one of the new Keyster float valves to replace the original as the tip looks worn. What is it about 400/4 carbs, they work fine one minute and flood the next!

Next job will be to fit the carbs and handlebars with the switches.

That's so fast Dave,  just sitting on the table in such a yellow way!!

Seriously top job on the paint - local guy to you?

[taysidedragon]

Great work on the clocks and paintwork.  Lovely job.

The bike will be up and running in no time. 😎

[Laverda Dave]

My only observation about 400 carbs is anecdotal if the flooding is not when the bike has been running normally.

lf the bowls have little or no fuel in them you can get a situation where as the float bowls drop down down at an acute angle they rest against the bowl side causing a potential sticking incident.

This enables a situation where sometimes there is a jam of the valve in the 'gap' between the float bracket brassware and the valve seat  as it is out of the normal operating range/angle of seating due to the low fuel level in the bowl.

The above jam is such that even thought the petrol is pouring into the bowl the float is unable to rise as it should as the valve is stuck in the above 'gap'.

This does not happen as an event every time my fuel is switched on after being stood for a few days or drained over winter.

I have just rocked the bike from side to side whist astride my 400 this causes the flooding to stop pretty much immediately after any petrol in the overflow pipe has run out.

I suspect it is linked to the brassware attached to the float and possibly previous attempts to adjust the float level.

I mounted the carbs in the workmate and made sure they were on the level. Frantic tapping of the bowl did nothing to free a sticking float (if that's what it was). Looking at the float valve needle with a pair of watchmakers glasses I can see a very slight ridge so this is probably enough to prevent the valve properly closing. I have a bag of old carb spares so I'll see if I have an old valve as fitting a full set of Keyster parts once before they all leaked!

[Laverda Dave]

Peter Horton refurbished the original clocks including converting the rev counter to a suitable 400/4 item from the 250 rev counter that was on the bike. They look fantastic and I asked Peter to put the MPH/KPH face on the speedo for no other reason than I like them :-).

This morning I collected the finished paint set from Tony at Cyclesprays in Horsham, Sussex. He has done a marvelous job considering the tank I took to him! He placed the decals on the tank (decals supplied by Piki (Reddice) on here) and clear coated them with the same on the side panels. I'll decide it I want to put the saving lives sticker above the fuel tank, I don't really like the look of it!

I went to refit the carbs yesterday but thought I'd bench test them first with fuel to check the floats, of course one leaked really badly (No 1). A frustrating three hours spent adjusting the float and re-testing got me nowhere and it looks like I'll have to fit one of the new Keyster float valves to replace the original as the tip looks worn. What is it about 400/4 carbs, they work fine one minute and flood the next!

Next job will be to fit the carbs and handlebars with the switches.

That's so fast Dave,  just sitting on the table in such a yellow way!!

Seriously top job on the paint - local guy to you?

🤣. Luckily the phone camera has a very fast shutter speed Tim and I was able to capture the photo despite the speed of that tank in its full yellow glory🫣.
Cycle Sprays is a 120 mile round trip for me but Tony is really good (it took him just over a week to paint everything once we had decided on the exact paint colour). I've used him a few times before and when I find someone who is good and does what they say they will do I stick with them.
To do the full paint set (two sidepanels, tank and headlight bowl including the prep (I stripped the old paint off the tank)) including applying the decals and clear coat cost £580 which to me is a good price. I could have got it done cheaper elsewhere but there's the old saying 'If you think a professional is expensive wait until you employ an amateur'. Tony is also a biker, he had his Harley V-Rod at his shop yesterday with an amazing paint job as you'd expect!

[K2-K6]

Are the moving taper part of the valve brass or rubber tip Dave ?

If brass, you could spin them in lathe and use a emery stick fine finish to dress the taper again.

[Laverda Dave]

They are metal tipped Nigel. I would need a suitable collet to mount them into the lathe. I tried putting them into the chuck of the Dremel but they wobbled!
I have some old genuine valves so I'll clean one up and try one of those.

[Johnny4428]

Nice work there Dave on the clocks and super fast yellow bits!🤣 Always good to see bits and pieces ready for fitting.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I mounted the carbs in the workmate and made sure they were on the level. Frantic tapping of the bowl did nothing to free a sticking float (if that's what it was). Looking at the float valve needle with a pair of watchmakers glasses I can see a very slight ridge so this is probably enough to prevent the valve properly closing. I have a bag of old carb spares so I'll see if I have an old valve as fitting a full set of Keyster parts once before they all leaked!
[/quote]

I believe members here have used a mild abrasive to bed in used valves, I guess it's unlikely to work on a badly worn valve.

[Bryanj]

Dave, i have a robbed set of 400 carbs, you can have what you want for postage

[Laverda Dave]

Thanks for the kind offer Bryan.
I've been kept out of the man cave today as the O/H has a day off. I'll be back to restoration duties on Sunday and will try the spare valve and see how it goes. I may be in contact for bits if this plan fails😁👍.
You don't have a couple of the carb drain clips that fit to the swing arm pinch bolts do you? Happy to pay.
Cheers
Dave

[Bryanj]

Not those no sorry mate, whats left ofvthe carbs is after rebuilding a mate of mines at work and comfys on here and to be honest is a load of not much, the mains just went to Roo but i know at least 1 has a float so must have needle