Honda-SOHC

+1 on plastigauge measuring. Will let you know what your clearances are. Take your time, walk away from it for a while. When the plastigauge turns up, give it another go.

Hi Julie, I am booked in, ticket No 23.

70 mile ride today with 260 miles since rebuild. Carbs now much better and bogging down/poor idle gone after cleaning pilot jets and adjustments to air screws. Just off the B664 which is one of Simon Weirs routes in his book Bikers Britain, great weather for it.

Thanks Deano that's a useful link.

Bike not charging so I have been reading through the posts on the issues. Regulator seemed a good place to start. The upper contacts were badly pitted so I cleaned them up with 800 grit, as well as the two lower contacts. Put it back on with no improvement. Next I looked at cleaning two connectors from the alternator, the white and the green - maybe striped I can't recall. All the yellows looked good so I left them alone. Started up and now charging OK by testing the voltage across the battery. I then disconnected the battery with the engine running and it kept going, which gave further reassurance.

Here's the but... Sorry it is a bit long winded

I've included photos which should help. Basically, the post that holds the contacts is adjustable, I removed it to get better access to the contacts for cleaning, then noticed the retaining screw goes through a slotted hole, allowing for up and down movement. Securing it in the upper position means more force is needed to pull the upper contact down and therefore a higher voltage? My question is, is there an optimum height to set this post.

I fitted the regulator to the bike with the cover off so I could see it in action. When the ignition is turned on, the electromagnet pulled the contact down, this is one of the clicks you commonly hear when turning the key. When I started the bike, the contact moved up, into the charging position and the voltage increased across the battery. After stopping the engine and waiting a minute or so, then turning the ignition on, the contact didn't move down this time, presumably because the voltage was now a bit lower. Started the engine and charging commenced straight away. I'm concerned with the post height where it is, it could be overcharging.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/371c31D4Nqcc2iQx8

As ever Ted I am following your lead. I've done 90 miles now and only just started to think about charging. I have a new Motobatt so it would probably cover that mileage without a charge. When fully charged it measures over 13 volts, can't remember the exact figure. Checked today and it is at 12.4 volts so I will need to keep an eye on it and do the voltage test when running tomorrow. I'm guessing you have a new battery too.

Good to be out on the newly restored bike, 60 miles on the clock now, not venturing too far away just yet though. I have kept the revs below 5000 so far, 4000 up to 30 miles, the shells are original so really the only frictional things to bed in are the rebored pistons. Any tips on a running in regime would be welcomed. The only issue at the moment is a reluctance for the revs to fall back to a decent idle when warm. I need to check the cable routing before I dig deeper. I installed taper roller bearings in the steering yesterday which has greatly improved the feel of the front end, also the handlebars now line up with the direction the bike is travelling, which is a bonus. Never having ridden one of these before, the cornering is amazing, makes my Bonneville feel like a big fat pig.

I had 1 awkward one off by hitting the edge with a hammer and chisel. The tappet cover broke and came off easily, with no damage to the rocker cover. Replacements are in good supply.