Get a friend to do the starting honours while you stare down the exhaust pipe watching for signs of life. If it fires up you will have your black hair back in an instant!
Friendly chap with huge kickstart foot required!
- Thread starter Phil Baker
- Start date
The ball between the clevis fork and the push rod is 5/16" not 1/4". It is thus trapped and can only be inserted from the gearbox side and cannot disappear down the push rod tunnel.
Looks like I'll have to take the chaincase off and the outer clutch cover and push the rod out to check exactly what has been fitted before I start adding bits. I can also check (thanks, Stumpy!) which make of primary chain has been fitted...... Ho hum, another day of fun!
If the clutch was working before, albeit stiffly, loosen off the adjustment to the operating arm by means of the
adjusting nut under the lozenge shaped cap and remove cable. Now check if the clutch is engaged. It is possible after re-fitting the gearbox cover to have the clutch arm bearing on the sides of the clevis pin fork instead of fitting snuggly in the slot. This would hold the clutch out. Castrol Spheerol semi-fluid grease for the gearbox.
adjusting nut under the lozenge shaped cap and remove cable. Now check if the clutch is engaged. It is possible after re-fitting the gearbox cover to have the clutch arm bearing on the sides of the clevis pin fork instead of fitting snuggly in the slot. This would hold the clutch out. Castrol Spheerol semi-fluid grease for the gearbox.
Yes, I see what you mean, Hugo, but the clutch was very stiff and with little movement before I started on the machine so I have removed the outer chaincase and taken out the pushrod halves and a single ballbearing in the middle. The rods have not been cut square on the ends and this leads me to think that they may well not have been case-hardened either.
I still think that the overall length is too short and I'm going to experiment with different lengths until it all operates properly. Incidentally, it has a Renolds primary chain fitted.... should I change this (Stumpy thinks I should!) Phil
I still think that the overall length is too short and I'm going to experiment with different lengths until it all operates properly. Incidentally, it has a Renolds primary chain fitted.... should I change this (Stumpy thinks I should!) Phil
The pushrods should show signs of hardening at both ends, i.e. slight blue/blackening, where they have been heated to cherry red and quenched. (God, I'm on dangerous ground here.)
I am sure Stumpy is right. Renolds are not the same company they used to be. If it is an original Renolds chain it will be good quality but clapped out. If it is a 'modern' Renolds chain I would not guarantee the quality. Better safe than sorry. a broken chain can bust the chaincase. A 1/4" roller is better than a ball. A ball will tend to wear concave depressions in the push rods ends and that shortens their effective length. Unfortunately this sometimes also happens at the end of the clevis pin where it bears on the 5/16th ball.
I am sure Stumpy is right. Renolds are not the same company they used to be. If it is an original Renolds chain it will be good quality but clapped out. If it is a 'modern' Renolds chain I would not guarantee the quality. Better safe than sorry. a broken chain can bust the chaincase. A 1/4" roller is better than a ball. A ball will tend to wear concave depressions in the push rods ends and that shortens their effective length. Unfortunately this sometimes also happens at the end of the clevis pin where it bears on the 5/16th ball.
The primary chain was an old oil-over-rust Renolds (had to take a photo and look at it on the computer - eyesight's going! OK, Hugo - keep with the cherry red!) so I've got a new one coming, together with two rollers with which I shall adjust (with the ballbearing) the pushrod length and then I'll grind off and case-harden both ends of the two rods before refitting.
Stumpy turned up this afternoon with the proper tool (a face-off socket for the large crank nut) just in the nick of time - must be psychic! Thanks, mate! We used the rope-down-cylinder trick to lock the engine - I think I've found a way to increase compression but Stumpy said I had to take the rope out again
Stumpy turned up this afternoon with the proper tool (a face-off socket for the large crank nut) just in the nick of time - must be psychic! Thanks, mate! We used the rope-down-cylinder trick to lock the engine - I think I've found a way to increase compression but Stumpy said I had to take the rope out again
Ah. Found out why the clutch was not functioning correctly. Clutch actuating arm was fitted with the external dimple facing out towards the gearbox casing and, when we had to investigate further, the arm itself was missing the bottom section and had been glued in with heavy grease. A bit of excellent welding by a friendly local garage, hole-drilling by a tool company (cobalt drill - these arms are HARD!) and some grinding and reshaping by me and we have a working clutch arm. The adjuster was not running smoothly in the outer casing either so more 1200 grade wet and dry. Now it's all smooth action and I'll be making a new pushrod from silver steel very soon. The break in the arm was obviously an old fracture and the bit was not in the bottom of the gearbox so it had been put together like that.
Phil
Phil
And now the clutch works perfectly, just as a Honda clutch should. What a surprise! The bike is back together and looking good..... pity my knees are too knackered from the first bout of kickstart effort three weeks ago to even think about kicking it... OK, I had a couple of goes but it didn't start. Tomorrow's another limb.
Phil
Phil
And it's back to the beginning again - why oh why will this motorcycle not start??