Damn!
So set to working on the RGS and promptly dented the damned tank! I can’t begin to describe how much pain this caused me but I guess that forces the issue and the bodywork will have to be resprayed. A similar thing happened to the RGA tank a while back and £200 put it right (all because I was draining the petrol and had the tank on the workmate) – but damn, damn, damn!
Almost there
Anyways we have to move on otherwise I’d go mad and the bike has come down with not too much further incident. Well I say that but one of the studs holding the oil filter in place snapped – lucky there is a piece proud of the crankcase so it shouldn’t be too bad to get out and fixed. The nearside footrest hanger has a seized allen bolt so I have applied Duck Oil and walked away. Although the engine is just held in by the mounting bolts I haven’t stepped up to seeing if the front engine mount will cause the same problems as with the RGA but I’m expecting it to.
To make it easy to move around I’ve left the forks in for now. So the target is that by next weekend we will have the RGS engine out and then the journey back to working triples can begin.
The Atlas continues to start. I replaced the nearside indicator that I’d taken off as a pattern to use at last year’s Stafford Autojumble. I also inspected the ignition pickup to see if this is the cause of a misfire but it all looked clean inside. I’m going to need to check the air tightness of the inlet rubbers but in truth I know the problem lies with the carb settings. It’s no big deal it just means taking the tank off once again.
I took the bike for a 10 mile run and came home with an oil covered motor and left leg! Good job I ordered those dowty washers for the oil feed unions. Anyways oil leak aside the bike benefitted from the short road trial – I’m sure it wasn’t firing properly on two when I left but by the time I got home it was on two but misfiring over 5,500 rpm. That carb has sat in a box for a long time and I never checked the size of the main jets. Also it might be worth taking a look at the inlet manifolds for air leaks because it was a bit odd at the bottom end – racing like it had an air leak.
Final comment is how odd it felt after the VFR (not really a surprise). The rear shock is set way too hard but the slim profile and flickability of the narrow tyres made it cool round the country lanes – how the hell I rode it to Scotland I don’t know…
Nick 🙂
Bent screwdrivers, big hammers and old Laverdas 