Cat & Fiddle yesterday :-|

[brickboy]

Bloody hell, I'm glad I headed west then, had a cracking run out onto the Cheshire Plains. The last 3 times I've headed up the Cat there has been cops everywhere and all riders / drivers mimsying about, it's only fun on weekdays or during October to March these days

[Andy S.]

Originally Posted by Tim66 STi8

Try going over the A5004 long hill, Buxton to Whaley Bridge. Not sure what the speed limit is there now but some nice twisties.

Top road Drive it every day for the last 8 years but stay out of my way!!! seen couple bikers fall off trying to fallow me!! luckily only dented fairings and pride!!

Originally Posted by CrisPDuk

Know it well Tim, you're right it's a cracking road It's still 60 for the most part too, at the moment

obviously you dont know it that well as its been spoilt by a 50mph limit for the last 8 months!!

Originally Posted by brickboy

Aye, another vote for the A5004 Then through Whaley, onto the Chapel bypass for a bit of WOT then onto the road past Tideswell

I haven't actually seen the supposed detection gear / cameras on the Cat & Fiddle, has anyone else?

The MCN article claims the equipment isn't yet being used for enforcement, just info gathering. Mmmm.

Detection gear is installed but no cameras as yet, they are on long hill as well though!!!! just the detection system but no cameras so cant actually get done by them yet. They have had police motocyclists on long hill along with a purple and rusty Vauhall Monavo van with a camera out of the back. so beware!!

[CrisPDuk]

Originally Posted by Andy S.

obviously you dont know it that well as its been spoilt by a 50mph limit for the last 8 months!!

Really Not had cause to use it for a few months. Chalk another one up to the killjoys then


Won't be riding anywhere for a while now though, the CB's crank decided to stop rotating in spectacular fashion this afternoon, it was doing 9k rpm in 5th just moments beforehand

[brickboy]

Oh sh*t, what happened? Did it lock up straight away? You manage to whip the clutch in in time?

Any idea of the cause -- seized piston, dead bearing?

[CrisPDuk]

Oh yeah, it locked

But I did manage to pull the clutch in time to prevent a bad day from turning into a really sh!t one

Whipped the motor out in the back garden yesterday, the #1 rod has welded itself to the crank, so i'm assuming the bearing failed
Now it's apart though, I'm surprised the motor (untouched in my ownership) has lasted as long as this, one of the head studs didn't even have a nut on it, another one was loose, and whoever last had the engine apart obviously reused the head gasket, as there is evidence that it has been in more than one piece and glued back together
The crank & barrels are definitely scrap, the pistons look like they've seen better days, and the head, although it looks to still be OK, was being replaced next winter anyway. So all in all, not to bad really

On the plus side, the lower case halves and everything in them (crank excepted) are still in one piece. I'll just have to bring forward the planned 550/650/750 mutant hybrid build by a few months

[CrisPDuk]

Oh yeah, and there's a bit of a flat spot on my rear tyre too, but I'm sure that'll scrub out

[brickboy]

Glad you're OK

I wonder if the oil pump gave up first, although I would've thought that would lunch the cam before the big ends ... unless the big end picked up a little bit of swarf or summat.

You can just never tell with previous owners, can you? The good thing with old Jap stuff, there's always more engine bits than there are shiny bits, so it's a good job you got that clutch in

I was lucky-ish when I got mine, I reckoned the little ends were on their way out and haggled accordingly. The head had never been lifted in 20+ years, although that caused its own problems, as two of the head studs were stuck fast ....

Get Thunderdog out there earning his bones

[CrisPDuk]

Latest news; I went over to Ashbourne yesterday to see a woman who had a complete 550 motor advertised on ebay. Turns out she imports cars & bikes from the US by the container load, and actually had a selection of them. She let me have the pick of the bunch to take away there and then Everthing spins freely and all the valves move, But I'm going to whip the head & sump off tonight and give it all a thorough clean

I'm away next week , but with a bit of luck the old girl could be back on the road for the middle of July

As for the Thunderdog, that's a whole other can of worms. After all the messing about with the clutch and alternator, and finally getting them sorted, I thought I would try giving it a test run on our drive last weekend. Got everything connected up, hooked it's not to clever battery up to the trust Micra to give it a bit of assistance in the cranking department, banged some fuel in, primed the pump, pressed the button, and..................


Nothing, Zip, Nada

Solenoid clicks OK - Starter attempts to rotate - Main fuse blows Twice

Took the end cover of to see if the crank rotates OK, no problems there.

Wrestle the starter motor off to check the brushes, and bingo! Starter brushes come out of the end cap in powder form, and the commutator looks like a map of the alps.

Check online & nobody does replacement brush kits for these motors

Therefore the current state of play is; Does anyone have a spare starter for an '80s Yamaha that they don't need

[brickboy]

Didn't know there was a place in Ashbourne, I know AP near Matlock are good too. Sounds cool -- hope you get it sorted.

I'm surprised you can't get brushes for the FZ, they used that motor in loads of bikes ...

[CrisPDuk]

There's two types apparently, one with two brushes, and one with four. Brushes are only available for the type with two, guess which type I have

[CrisPDuk]

BTW I've just looked the lady up on t'interweb, and she is part of AP. I picked the engine up from her home.

California Connection - AP Motorcycles - Importing vehicles from California for restoration

[brickboy]

Interesting stuff there. Couple of nice big 2-stroke crossers, there's a Yam YZ400 and what looks like a Maico 460, could make a good daytime supermoto out of those

[Tim66 STi8]

Originally Posted by brickboy

and what looks like a Maico 460, could make a good daytime supermoto out of those

Lol back in the mid 80's my cousin and I bought a maico 460, only had it a few weeks as we couldnt kick her over. Was only 15 and 7st

[CrisPDuk]

So, after a fantastic week long break in the Lake District with wife & hound, I've come back to some good news

The motor I picked up from the nice lady at California Connection is absolutely immaculate inside
The barrels have gone off for a hone, just for peace of mind, and the head will be treated to a decoke and valve lapping session, but I should be full steam ahead into the rebuild later this week when my gasket kit arrives

And, the Thunderdog lives
I managed to find a guy who had a reasonably priced secondhand starter motor just before I went away, and there it was waiting for me when I got home
I took it apart to give it a precautionary overhaul, and it turned out to be absolutely immaculate inside, with hardly any wear on either the brushes or the commutator
Threw it on the bike yesterday, checked all the fluid levels, and away we went

The outcome;
I should really have bleed the brakes, just because they feel firm at a standstill doesn't necessarily mean they will inspire confidence when rolling
The vented discs aren't warped though, which is a bonus
If there is any oil left in the forks, I bet it will fit in a teaspoon
All 100ish horses appear to be present, fed, and ready for action
10+ year old tyres aren't the best thing to be riding on No matter how much air is in them, especially when only one of them is doing all the carrying

[brickboy]

All good, CPD

See you up the Cat soon then!

[brickboy]

@ CrisP, is the 550 back together yet? Cat&Fiddle is crawling with cops at the moment :-|