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Messages - PatM
16
« on: November 03, 2019, 07:44:32 PM »
Yep Steve- I concur with your Parents.
My lot would remove the plate and I could hear my younger Brother coming from miles away at night (on the odd occasion I was back from the Pub before him) - they had that distinctive roar- the 4 cyclinders helped to make it smooth- In them there days we were used to Brit Bikes- twins- making a din- so these were a nice change! He took me to work early one Saturday up Regent St- I used to work at the BBC in those days- the noise was deafening, as it bounced of the glazed shop-fronts. I think I had one on a 400/4 I had in the late 80's, but i cant remember..so many bikes- but Dunstall was local to us in s/e London and went hand-in-hand with a 400/4.
I know if my wife heard it (should i fit one)- she would say 'DUNSTALL' as its a raor you dont forget!
17
« on: November 03, 2019, 04:30:50 PM »
Im a fan of that set as I went through the mill trying to polish my rusty pipes and tried to get a re-chrome for a reasonable price-but no luck with that one. My rebuild was always going to be on the cheap as Ive a few other bikes to concern myself with-oh and them 4-wheeled things.
So, 9 years ago those kits came out and I bought and fitted one-its not a 1/2 Hr job as they either don't fit the head or wont seal-As said-theres only one retaining bolt but they are a decent fit into the collector box and a smear of paste does the job of sealing. I know this sounds heresy, but I had to grind a few of my collets down to get them to fit. The result was pleasing and I had nice shiny exhaust system as opposed to 3 rusty pipes with no chrome and a welded collector-box that was more weld than metal.
As I said, 9 years now on and yes, they have discoloured as they are single-skin, but they are far better than what was on there-even though I had a few rusty sets of pipes/boxes to mix n match.
18
« on: November 03, 2019, 04:11:01 PM »
I remember a mate of mine fitted a kit to his 250 and it seemed to go ok- certainaly wheelies!
19
« on: July 11, 2019, 08:29:22 PM »
Its brakes- so its one of things I wouldnt skimp on. The metal is light alloy casting and your problem isnt uncommon due to the angle of the fitting that has to scre into it.
Id replace .
20
« on: July 09, 2019, 11:22:26 PM »
Heres mine- note the spring.
I drilled down and inserted a tap to help pry the old lock out.
21
« on: July 08, 2019, 06:15:00 PM »
Sadly this is covered in the above answers.
I reinstated my steering lock- just to keep oportunists at bay- and kids whom think it game to jump on your bike and waggle the steering yoke.
if you want to reinstate the lock- but one from a supplier and drill out the brass pin- you can clean it all out and instal the new barel. I pop-riveted a pop rivet and washer to retain it all- It doesnt shift and ive a selection of rivets, so i used one that was a good fit.
I could bemoan bike thefts as Ive lost a few over the years- My Firms BMW GSA 1200R was whipped off a bike bay in London- I wasnt a regular parker there- it was a opportunist sucess and they go the lot, ally panniers full of my kit to do my job, lid, satnav -you name it, It was in it for a couple of hours while i was 'just' going into our office and got way-payed, as you do . After that, my Firm forbid bikes and i had to buy my own or change my role.
The only thing they didnt get was the laptop,
May they burn in Hell- Blokes my age always had a downer on bike-theives as they were a breed apart- most of us needed opur bikes for gettting to work- I never lost a Rat, but my pride was my (our- as it was my wifes too) GT750 Suzi- which went in 1979. never forgotten that bike.
A couple of determined scrotes and a van and bye-bye. They dont even use them for bits over here, they ship them now.
22
« on: July 07, 2019, 09:59:06 PM »
Its a matter of what you are happy with and personal choice really. Mine were not as bad as those but i changed them as although i could polish the metal- as the chrome and long-gone on the downpipes- they still rusted and i was kidding myself.
I didnt want a MOTAD or similar and as luck would have it, DSS started to do the replica set, which although are single-skinned and have two clamps at the collector-box- made me happy and took a bit of fitting, but were a vast improvemnt on what I had fitted. Come to think of it, mine were a mixture anyway of at least 3 sets of 2nd hand ones.
The exhaust , the seat, the headlight were probably my best purchases after id got my non-runner running again and dealt with the essentials to make the bike rideable.
Some bikes on here are perfect and a credit to thier owners who have toiled and spend lots of cash achieving what they are happy with- I, on the other hand, do not have the budget but as I said- you have to be happy with what you ride. And thats all that matters!
24
« on: March 14, 2019, 06:30:55 PM »
My petcock after many years...
25
« on: March 14, 2019, 03:18:03 PM »
Ive had various tanks with that problem- bits in fuel.
I had a brace of Mobylettes a while back and used CITRIC ACID and sealer.(Moby's have integral frame and tank, so wont fit in a tumble-dryer!!)
My present tank has a sealer applied- which has come away in lumps- looks like bits of gel-coat.
Anyway, ive cleaned out what I can and fitted an inline fuel-filer- its been like that for about 5 years now with no further issues except a leaking inline filter- which i replaced.
26
« on: March 13, 2019, 05:09:20 PM »
Sorry Julie!
I recall a few years back inlet valves were unobtainable.
Id not be suprised that a full strip and rebuild could cost £4-5k, given what horrors could be found- your pistons for example.
I started my journey on this 400/4 9 years ago (bore...) and Ive spent about £3k in total inc purchase price. i was supposed to be 'get it running and flog it'
I can think of at least double that if i had the money to lob at it- Wheels, clocks, bars, mudguards, shot-blast frame, etc etc...
No, out of my budget, ill admit- I prefer to jump from one thing to another and keep the cost down but have fun- Ive a lovely Red CLK/Cab...I paid a Grand for it, Ive an MGTF for nearly 4 years, that was £1500- none of them mint but all get remarks- and all get used every week.
PERFECTION COMES AT A SHOCKING COST!
27
« on: March 13, 2019, 04:59:30 PM »
Hi,
Q1. might be a stupid question but are all the bolts around the frame and fixtures all a standard metric pitch? I was thinking of buying a bagful or two before the build so I have the various sizes to hand.
I read this and remember with horror when many years back- 25 probably- I put the wrong lower engine-bolt - ie , too long- and it picked up the captive nut but then with my enthusiastic tightening- drove it right through the lower casing/crank-case!! (LH side, if yourve wondering..) Now, I know this is slightly off-topic, but I thought Id mention it because in those days, there were plenty of scrap 400/4 motors around for £30-50 quid, but now, not so!
28
« on: March 13, 2019, 01:46:16 PM »
Julie- Over to you girl! £££
29
« on: March 13, 2019, 11:06:33 AM »
Well, I have had the 400 for 18 months and I haven't missed a modern more powerful bike enough to buy another. I have had plenty of fun days out on local roads so all good.
Ive had my ‘latest’ one for 9 years now and ridden it locally, down to the shops, around Maidstone, back to The George’ in Shoreham- to re-live the ‘days’ when we had these (or better) and often thought- ‘I don’t need anything more than one of these?’ Then reality kicks in and the thoughts that you describe surface- Nothing lasts forever! They are aluminum engines and steel fastenings- as Julies say- if it ‘aint broke… Personally, ill keep my 400/4 in its present condition and use it as I please. I have other bikes and do long journeys for work- so take one of them. My brother has a mint 400/4 in his collection (well, currently only 2- the others a mint RD250) and he’s very much limited to distance because he’s two up- but not overly large- I think his other half is only about 5 foot tall.. but, you take my point? I live in the middle of Kent and we, as a Group, ride out to the coast or towards where we were brought up in SE London- both journeys can equal 120 miles return- using 40-year old machinery will take its toll. So, I’ve a Triumph 1200- my 2nd one now- and I will pile the miles on that and no doubt, it will break as the last one did…
30
« on: March 11, 2019, 08:27:41 PM »
Ok, Ive garages on my side but also age...i think the 400/4 cost me £100 a year. The Tiger 1200 is about 270 from memory and the R1 i really cant remember. We still suffer thefts down in mid-kent because its a world of haves and have-nots.
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