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Topics - Athame57
1
« on: September 15, 2026, 02:11:10 PM »
As time marches on more vehicles may end up with the historic status because all these eco restrictions they are exempt from are one more reason to maintain them, but is that jeopardizing our future? I guess I can only get opinions here!
2
« on: August 16, 2026, 07:10:33 PM »
Where to start? A friend pointed out to me that the silencer on my bike hung suspiciously low. Looking at images on the web I can see it now. The silencer I have was recently identified on this forum as a non standard Thruxton that should be no issue, but I'm beginning to wonder if it was ever meant for a CB400F at all. There is no gasket between the silencer and collector box (is that normal for a Thruxton?) Fitting this system when I take it off is the devils own work, and especially since I got the after market header pipes and collector box, I blamed them but maybe it is really the silencer. Could this be why previous owner down he line never fitted exhaust gaskets in the ports, to make fitting easier? I'm beginning to wonder. Trying to raise it's position has another issue, the bolt that secures it to the rear sub-frame would get in the way of the centre stand, see photo 2 below. The bold slides into the housing on the silencer head first. I see on DSS that the housing for the dual fastenings has captive nuts built in lacking on my single one.
By now I have on my bucket list a DSS pattern silencer, but that isn't sold with the fittings I would need, and I can't find those on the CMSL diagrams either, maybe I just failed to identify them? Whatever, until I know what they look like and have a part number to help me hunt them down there doesn't seem to be a way forward, can anyone help with this?
3
« on: August 09, 2026, 02:33:31 PM »
Classic bikes deserve classic gear to go with them.  I called in to The Junk Shop on Greenwich South St in Londinium, it's full of wonderful antique junk, you can even have tea & cake in the back garden (tiny) if you are seriously 'big' forget it the alleyways through all the stuff in there will be too challenging! I called to see if there were any real vintage goggles to be found, there wasn't but there was a pair 195/60s Waddingtons Rebel motorcycle gloves, complete with that classic flare to cope with the cuffs of a leather jacket. I paid £25.oo for them, which is probably a bargain, a much worse pair are on Fleabay for £47.oo and a better pair elsewhere for £63.oo. They are stiff as rigor mortis but no cracks or splits, so Mink oil has been ordered too to soften the leather and saddle soap to finish I already have, I use it on my other things. What I ve got doubts about is how to clean the inside, the wooly lining is hard and seems to be glued (?) direct to the leather, see image 4. Anyone dealt with this one before? Ideas?
4
« on: August 06, 2026, 01:13:22 PM »
I recently ordered my oil of choice, Westway's 10w40 4T mineral oil for classic motorcycles on eBay. But this was not before I spotted something and cancelled in time the first order. I had noticed the smaller writing on the illustration that said it was merely engine oil, it turns out for the likes of stationary engines like diesel/petrol generators and plant equipment. Would I have been in much trouble if I'd to have gone on and used it?
5
« on: July 10, 2026, 06:15:36 PM »
I got a nice little parcel today, it contained 4 x 10mm sockets.  I'm so fed up with looking everywhere for it when I need it  I thought 'hey, buy a bunch of them and this won't happen'. We shall see! 
6
« on: July 03, 2026, 08:37:50 PM »
I finally decided to fit the dust seal and washer for my rear brake drum. Alas, it caused so much trouble when I went to put everything back together I gave up with it. It was stopping me from getting the brake arm fit in a way that let the securing bolt pass through the recess in the brake shaft. Is this unusual, is it really important anyway? 
7
« on: July 02, 2026, 12:12:13 PM »
Does anyone know of any images or diagrams to show how to fit the return spring at the pedal? I've only just discovered this bit is missing and now bought one, but it looks like it may be difficult.
8
« on: June 13, 2026, 02:45:26 PM »
A couple of weeks ago my speedo stopped. Time for a new cable I thinks, so I got one on fleabay. After fitting all was well a few hours, and it stops again. I figured I had bought a naff one, but also observed my routing wasn't very good.
Okay, so I get another speedo from a different source and went to change them over but couldn't find anything wrong with the one I'd just taken off. Fit new one anyway and all was well for a few hours and zunk, it stops again. I take off cable, check it and refit but nothing. Any ideas what might be happening?
9
« on: June 10, 2026, 07:13:47 PM »
I'm getting that ugly brown colour on my tyre walls again, it might be something to do with the extended life span of old peoples tyres, the compound K tyres on my RG500s never lasted long enough for this.
But is there a good solution, some cleaning agent that works best?
10
« on: June 01, 2026, 08:47:02 AM »
Thanks to bars being set a bit too low the switch gear came into contact with the tank making a hole in the paintwork about the size of a match head, also strip of paint that came away when I took off some masking tape that was supposed to protect the tank when I refitted it. the effect I reduced by using a fine paint brush to apply some paint first sprayed into a cup, but it isn't very good. Is this the sort of thing a professional can deal with without doing the whole tank again, any tricks among you to share?
11
« on: April 05, 2026, 02:12:42 PM »
Has anyone tried this Blue Job chrome polish I've been reading about and can it really clear up the discoloration I'm starting to get on my new header pipes?
12
« on: April 05, 2026, 06:02:03 AM »
Many years ago when I was a dispatch rider in the 1980s I had a flat mate, a girl called Becky, also a dispatch rider. She bought herself an aging Yamaha DT175 to take the strain off her haloed CBX550, (or maybe to preserve the cam chain tensioner? ) Well, one morning she started it, went into gear to move off, and....WOW....it went backwards!  After a few more reverse starts it behaved itself again. Until it had an electrical fire ( it seemed) one night that caused a fire so hot in her garage it practically melted both bikes. Ok, what on earth might have made it go backwards though?
13
« on: April 03, 2026, 06:38:32 PM »
I rode all the way from east London to west London and back to central London, a staggering distance for someone of 69! This was to take part in the Rolling Thunder Ride 2026, an ex-forces veteran's rally that is also a protest platform against the treatment of certain Northern Ireland veterans like Soldier F by the current government, I even got to meet the shadow defence secretary in Parliament square. My own regiment, the Royal Green Jackets was quiet well represented too, I met some of them at last years ride and the Ace Cafe at times. Boy did we make a lot of noise too. I got interviewed and photographed by a journalist from Reuters, so look out for me! Here's pics.
14
« on: April 03, 2026, 09:35:16 AM »
This was is on the BBC website this morning. Weekly quiz: Why did bananas cause a stir in Orkney? We've got some people on the Orkneys, maybe they can tell us, has it got anything to do yellow CB400Fs?
15
« on: March 21, 2026, 09:16:04 PM »
Can anyone tell me if copper exhaust gaskets are an improvement over the originals?
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