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Messages - the-chauffeur
1
« on: September 17, 2020, 07:31:44 PM »
No worries. I'm pretty sure it's Tom (AncientDad) over at the VHT forum who made his own - either that or he linked to the thread where that was discussed at a time when the HT forum search function still worked  I ended up buying one of the Cappellini baffle plates a while back. Nicely finished but not cheap for what it is (and the fact that the UK importer is pretty much hopeless doesn't help). As I've found out more recently, they're very sensitive to placement - I've managed to shave down one of the edges because the plate was fractionally to close to the side of one of the cam lobes. Trouble is, it's virtually impossible to see whether it's fitted correctly - you've just gotta put it in place and sort-of hope for the best. I've kinda gone off the idea of the bearings for now. Can't remember the reason off the top of my head but it's something to do with the machining down of the journal ends. Might end up going for one of the oversized standard oil pumps at some point, but right now I'm more concerned with trying to iron out fuelling issues following a Mikuni carb swap.
2
« on: September 06, 2020, 10:59:59 PM »
I've never been able to get hold of Evaporust when I needed it, so I used a rust converter solution that's closer to home. If you're not in any hurry, mix up some of that stuff, leave it in the tank for a few days and agitate periodically. I'm sure the instructions claim it acts faster, but my experience is that the longer you leave it (within reason) the better. If the rust is only surface deep, it'll clean it all out. Any heavier and it'll work, but for piece of mind you'll probably want to go the electrolysis route as well, just in case. The difference between the chemical and mechanical methods are that the chemical options convert what's already there; in that sense, they're non-reductive (not the right word but you get what I mean). With mechanical methods like gravel, you're taking stuff off. Personally, I'd go with the conversion routes esp. with the low impact converter solutions because they tend to be very gentle.
3
« on: September 06, 2020, 12:25:52 AM »
Why can't you have rusty petrol tank shot or bead blasted? You can - nothing stopping you. If you mean why isn't it a good idea that's different - and I can tell you that having had the outside of a tank sandblasted, I'd be very wary of trying to do the insides the same way. Long story, but I'd decided to get a tank powdercoated (yeah, long story . . . don't ask) and since the frame was going the same way, I just added the tank to the set of bits to get blasted. Saw it halfway through the process and it looked absolutely fine; paint free and no rust either inside or outside. Powdercoating completed and it looked great. Things started to go sideways when I put fuel in it . . . . . . the grit was sharp enough to put two near microscopic holes in the underside. Poking around confirmed there was no rot; the grit had simply found a couple of very slightly weak spots around weld seams and blown though. Fuel and powdercoat really don't mix, and so I ended up needing to get the tank done again. And then the rebuilt fuel tap leaked . . . Suffice it to say that unless you're going to use a very soft media type or do something like vapour blasting, it's really not worth risking the cost of a paintjob simply to save a couple of hours work. At the same time, the insides of tanks can incorporate some very odd shapes that aren't easy to blindly work around. The tank I had done is from the mid-60's and has such a high middle section where it straddles the frame that it needs a connector hose to get fuel from one side to the other (hence the number of weld seams). Working around that sort of thing would be a nightmare - and as others have pointed out, getting the media and the ultrafine dust it generates out when you're done would be more trouble than it's worth. You really don't want any of that getting into the engine . . .
4
« on: August 25, 2020, 08:51:29 PM »
Can't find the Black Bomber fiche that shows the crankcase hardware. Fortunately the later year fiches are more helpful. Part #2 on this fiche looks a lot like that. And yeah, it's a starter motor cable clip.
5
« on: August 04, 2020, 12:47:50 AM »
. . . the ad doesn't show the photos with the bully, nutter, weirdo posing by it any more Is that the same fella who's in the other items listed by the seller? Looks like it might be this geezer. Um . . . oh.
6
« on: July 30, 2020, 05:17:44 PM »
If you buy stainless spokes from reputable sources, you'll generally be offered a choice of nipples including nickel coated brass (I think) because the don't react. As Dave says, you can run into problems with bimetallic corrosion (where two different types of metal fuse together) if you use the wrong combinations. Again, so long as the source is reputable, they'll be able to advise what's most appropriate. Either way, I use small amounts of waterproof grease on the spoke threads when I'm assembling, just in case.
And whilst water can (and almost certainly will) get into the rims, the rust it causes won't be visible while the tyres are on. Equally it's unlikely to ever eat it's way through or become dangerous unless you're very unlucky. Depending on your perspective, the problematic stuff tends to be caused by things attacking the outer surfaces because as you've noticed, they spoil the overall look of the wheels
7
« on: July 29, 2020, 06:54:08 PM »
+1 with the give it a go crew if you're in any way mechanically inclined.
One of the great things about Honda twins and fours of the 60's and 70's (and maybe beyond) is that the wheels are a fairly basic design. Two types of spokes in each wheel - one 'inner' and one 'outer' - and the rims centre on the hubs. Whereas owners of other bike marques of the same era can have things like multiple spoke sizes and wheel offset (where the rim is pulled more to one side than the other) to contend with, all you'll have to worry about is getting the spoke pattern right and tightening up to run true.
As the others have said, you can learn a lot from online guides and there are plenty of folks who've put videos of the process on YouTube. Basically, take photos and take your time. Materials-wise, much will depend on how much effort you want to put into keeping things clean; personally I prefer stainless rims because I've had chromed rims go bad quite quickly, but bear Trigger's points in mind. Given the popularity of your bike, you should have a fair choice of off-the-shelf stuff and not have to do any measuring spoke or nipple sizes (yeah, there are different nipple sizes . . . ).
Equally, you don't need much in the way of tools to lace a wheel - a spoke spanner is helpful, and you'll need something to hold the wheel when it comes to straightening/tensioning. As useful as they are, wheel building stands aren't really necessary. I started out with a couple of short lengths of wood screwed upright to an old workbench, with the axle held in place by nails and a piece of coathanger to act as a pointer when truing. So long as the wheel can spin and axle is parallel with the floor, you'll do OK.
And there's no harm in having a go with one and seeing how far you get. If you get it all done, great. If not, you can just pass the bits/job on to someone who can finish it for you.
8
« on: July 12, 2020, 10:59:35 PM »
Sorry - my earlier post was predicated on the fact that you'd mentioned idle being a problem. Based on your last post, it sounds as though you've got issues with your throttle cables. If the revs don't drop, chances are the slides aren't closing after being held open so there's either something odd about the cables themselves, or the routing's not right. What sort of handlebars are on the bike - are they standard or aftermarket? And if they're standard, are they UK or US spec? The UK spec were the flatter type; the US have a higher rise on them. If they're the US spec and you're using UK spec cables, it's possible one (or both) of the cables is fractionally too short. And that being the case the throttle slides will be prevented from shutting freely/completely under certain conditions. Silvers sell both types - look down this page. If it's not that, have a look at how you've routed the cables. Any sort of sharp bends in the way they're routed can cause the inners to get hung up on the outers. Another test - if the revs rise/fall when the handlebars are turned lock-to-lock, something about the cables is not right. I'd also add that pictures (of both the front end and the cable routing/carbs from above) will help more knowledgeable folk here help you narrow down what needs attention.
9
« on: July 12, 2020, 05:05:10 PM »
If it's only at idle that you're struggling to hit the sweet spot, it might be that you need to look at a set of different size pilot jets. As I'm finding with a different bike and non-standard carbs/filters, the wrong size jets for any given application will cause some odd things to happen.
In my case, I was told the jetting was spot on, but it clearly wasn't - after a short time running at idle, the bike would die. I was adjusting the air screws and it was making no significant difference. And pulling the plugs showed they were black with carbon. So what that told me was the slow/pilot/idle jets were too big. I've gone down one size and the bike doesn't die at idle, but the plugs get blacker than I'd like (but nowhere near as bad as they were) so I'll try going down one more.
As the others have said, pod filters/different exhaust are likely to change the airflow characteristics to the point where they move away from the book settings and you won't be able to iron out the idle/fueling without changing something. Fortunately, that something is likely to be pretty small in the grand scheme of things, but it might take some messing around to get to where you want to be.
10
« on: July 10, 2020, 08:48:00 PM »
Have a word with 21st Moto in Swanley. Won’t necessarily be cheap but they’ve got some good people there.
Rob the boss has a collection for of older Honda’s including a K0 750 and last I heard a K0 Goldwing. Dave in sales has been around them for years. And if you stick your head in, you might even get to talk to Keith from the workshop. He’s done a bunch of my ‘70s stuff and given the choice, he’s the one I’d want working on anything like this.
11
« on: July 10, 2020, 10:54:48 AM »
You might also want to take a quick look inside the carbs at the little towers the carb floats attach to.
It's not unheard of for the metal casting to have degraded over time or just be generally poor quality. If the float arm catches on rough edges as the float shifts off-centre very slightly, it'll prevent the float assembly from falling cleanly as the fuel level drops.
12
« on: July 08, 2020, 12:22:43 AM »
Seems to be fairly common in the 'states in vintage race classes. Team Hansen is one place to go for spring conversions. Sounds like they used to do a drop in conversion kit at one time. There's a bunch of other places that do camshaft regrinds for race 450's, and there's a number of profiles that are accompanied by the warning only to be used with valve spring conversion heads.
13
« on: July 08, 2020, 12:08:06 AM »
Ash - I've just found an old thread where you were pondering a roller bearing conversion on a 350 engine. Did you ever get anywhere with it? I'm asking because I'm considering going the Cappellini route with a 450. I'm a little paranoid about the fragility of the exhaust cam and so along with the conversion kit I'm thinking about adding the oil filter kit, oil line and bored out/bigger oil pump piston mod. Yes, that's probably overkill for a road bike, and yeah I've probably got more money than sense . . . but given the lack of liquid cooling in the 450, I don't like riding in modern day city traffic on a bike designed for 1960's roads because of the stop/start nature of the journeys I do. I want to keep heat to a minimum and I suspect the rollers will help. K2-K6 - would the fact that the 450 cams are suspended at height with no access to oil until it's forced round by the pump make any difference to lobe wear from start-up? In the case of the nearside exhaust lobe, received wisdom is that it can take anything up to 90 seconds for oil to get to that point from cold (I have no idea how true that claim is). Given the oil will also be at its thickest when cold and that's likely to reduce its spray coverage, that's gotta be tough on that lobe. It's not a phenomenon that seems to happen much in other similar bikes and I'm wondering whether that's because most have oil baths immediately below the cam lobes that offer even very small amounts of lubrication until oil starts being pumped/sprayed about. Couple that with your theory about oil condition/contamination and I guess it's easy to see why the 450 exhaust cams fail so regularly.
14
« on: July 05, 2020, 01:51:42 AM »
If you can't be bothered to cut down, Zed Parts do a variety of different size JIS stainless bits. I've just done the same. From what I've listed, the bits are as follows: M6 40mm x4 M6 50mm x1 M6 63mm x10 (Zed do either 60mm or 65mm) M6 75mm x2 M6 80mm x2 That should be all of the bolts inc. the two that are inside the breather cover, but check more authoritative sources first. Incidentally, unless you've got the engine out of the frame you might struggle to fit the central bolts - those under the frame/coils are obscured from above when the engine is in the frame, so you'll find it hard to tighten them down. If the engine's in the frame, you're probably better off with Allen head bolts.
15
« on: July 02, 2020, 11:34:08 AM »
For anyone else who gets stuck . . . It's been a while since I did it, but I registered an imported bike that had no NOVA or similar records, and it wasn't all that painful.
Basically, I had to complete a form VAT414 - Motor vehicles brought into the UK from within the European Community (EC). And no, as far as I can tell it wasn't brought in from the EC; it came from the US but since I bought it in the EC and I couldn't be sure of the original importer, I figured that form was good enough. Anyways, the form was pretty basic and asked for details of the bike, with sections for the registered keeper and the acquirer to complete.
As there was no registered keeper, I put my name in the keeper section and put minimal details about the bike in. I couldn't give any details of date of import, where, when, how and so on. There's also a section for how much was paid - in my case it was just over a grand. And then there's a section on the back about who it was acquired from; I just put the details of the place I bought it from.
TBH I thought I was taking a bit of a punt when I submitted it with the registration documents, dating certificate and so on (together with a receipt/proof of purchase) but that was about it. Took a few weeks to get the registration through, but no longer than others I've done with all the right papers.
Again, that was a while ago, but I can't see the process having changed too wildly. Since HMRC had someone to trace back for the original import (assuming they cared - the value may have been low enough that it wasn't worth the effort), it wasn't a problem for me. I get the feeling that so long as the DVLA have a form/receipt/bit of paper to pass on to HMRC, they can tick that box to say it's done - because they don't care about the tax side. It's then up to HMRC as to whether they follow up, but tax alone shouldn't affect the registration.
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