Honda-SOHC

All insurance companies are fine with the no MOT law on Historic, as long as the bike is maintained to a safe and roadworthy condition at all times.

Oh yes they comply to the law.  I asked my insurance (pj) what they thought of the new(ish) mot rules and they replied that in the event of a claim they would "go thru the bike" checking for defects. 

So I chose to have an mot done.  Especially after a complete rebuild.  Apparently bikes with an mot history fetch better money at auction.... So they say.  It must help in the selling anyway.

I think it was an error to remove the need for an mot on older vehicles anyway.  Once every 2 years would be better.

Well I finally bought myself a mini ratchet and found I could get the outside float bowls off.  In the end I took the whole set of carbs off again.  Did my best to check the float hight and clean the float valve hole.  Rechecked the pilot jets were clear.  Put all back together and did a static fuel test - sitting under the fuel tank for hours.  No leaks.
 
So put the carbs back on the bike... Tank on - no leaks.  Bike started and did run better but still needs carbs setting up better.

Then the rh carb starts dripping.... and only stops with the tank fuel tap set to off.  No amount of "tapping" the carb would stop it dripping either.

These carbs really are a pain..... Other than that this old 550K3 is almost ready for its mot, then get it changed to "historic vehicle"

So.... a part of the resurrection of my K3 was the refurb of the carbs.They are the originals.  So I took them mostly apart and cleaned up.  Then back together.  I made a jig to hold them and did a static fuel test........ They flooded.

Anyway after a bit of effort and re-setting the carbs up they would sit on the end of the fuel line from the tank and not flood or leak.  Which was all very pleasing.

So I put them on the bike and connected up the cables and air box.  It initially ran ok, no flooding but the idle and balance was a bit off.

Some 10 days later I get around to checking for air leaks on the carb rubbers etc.  Except now the carbs flood again.  Well one of them is - the lhs one.  Which is a pain.

My question is..... These are the old original carb floats.  Do they fail with age??.  I am thinking that they have sat there for nearly 2 weeks fueled up.  Do they go porous with age and now dont "float" as well when left in fuel.

I think its the last issue to fix before going for the mot. Its a long time since its been on the road so its still not registered as 'historic'

Ta
Nairb

Just use the croc clips to the battery.  I'm sure a more sophisticated way could be done but it works for all the bikes I have.  Its the purple thing in the pic.  I think it came in other colours too.  It does work!.  I have charged the phone up several time over the years. Just get an data cable that suits your phone.

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It saves having to charge the phone before you set off.....
 

I made up several sets of replacement rectifiers years ago expecting them to fail..... Some with heatsinks and others without.  Not one has failed.  Not had a battery go flat either.

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Another useful thing from fleabay was a small digital readout.  I put some long wires on and clipped it to the handlbars to check the charging voltage.  Nice to see for a few days. All worked as it should with the new setup.  They seem to be reliable
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Mirrors & side panels .... where do they all go.  I need to get a set of mirrors as well but I dont remember throwing the originals away or breaking them.  So what happened to them.  Several house moves may have left one or two in a shed somewhere.
Anyway I am going to need another set, but it was only another 20quid to insure the bike for a year on a rider policy.  And being historic (bike that is) its cheap to run - hopefully.

I have had my k3 from new.  With regular oil changes its done 42k miles....... You are making me think I should have replaced it when replacing the piston rings.

Its ages ago i started the re-build for the 550.  In fact I have built a couple of other bikes since.....  So its the same old story - many years after the re-build started I finally returned to finish it.  The frame & bits have all been powder coated etc so its been well apart and now nearly all back together again.  Almost.

There is a earth strap from the engine to the battery.  Which is good.  But was there an earth strap from the engine to frame and/or a earth point on the wiring loom.  The wiring diagram shows a earth point.  So I need to earth it somewhere.  I cannot find an earthing wire from the loom.  Was it a bullet connector and wire to frame.

Digital cameras make re-builds much easier nowadays.  Back in 1995 when I started to fix the 550 the cameras were a bit pricey. 

Ta
Nairb