24 Hours ago...

Great l need to make some for my bike. Made a clutch basket holding tool today out of a length of steel bar and a large metal circular light fitting base. I never throw things away got some pipe somewhere for the storage tubes too.

 

I have not had that issue as of yet, so can't help you out.

 

Must have been someone else lol.

 

Today was the shakedown ride. She ran really well, and the oil smoke stopped after about 4 miles (sorry neighbors).
I did find that I had to reposition the bars, and I still had condensation dripping out of the airbox after a 10 mile ride so I let her idle a while to get the rest of the moisture out (did I mention how it rained for 4 of the 6 hours on the second day of my return trip?).

Now I need to go through the throttle cable and linkage to find out why she wants to idle at 3k sometimes. I don't think there's a vacuum leak, but I'll check into that too.

The big plus is that after a year sitting in a field there were no wires eaten, and no nests built in the airbox or exhaust.

 

....I found the problem.





3 new vacuum caps and she's back to normal.

 

Bit of cracking on the inlet stubs too.

 

Just surface cracks. They all do that eventually (these are about 6 years old). It'll be several more years before any cracks get all the way through.

 

There are inexpensive ones made in China but l don't know how good they are.

 

These are them. I may be the only person here who hasn't had them fail within the first year though.
Len stopped selling them because of how many failed.

 

There was a thead on here about aluminium inlet stubs, 90 degree ones which looked great. I contacted the manufacturer but they advised they did not have them to fit our bikes. It was because of the angle, the carburettors are not in line with the carburettor inlet ports on the cylinder head. Someone with the welding skills and the right material could make a set I am sure.

 

They arent

 

But they could be, which is a real shame.

 

Add them to the list of things they make which look the same, until you use them. One day they will get it right, but who will know?

 

i bet your vacuum hose is in good shape, the vacuum caps are made from different rubber. just cut some vacuum hose, plug one end and slip them on. fixed for a long long time
and basically free

 

Yup, my China set lasted less than 48 hours. Sent me on a lengthy troubleshooting session because I never thought my new intakes were the issue.

Thankfully I got them from Len who took them back faster than you can say XJ!

 

It's a shame, too........and I know why they are failing, the mfg. is "stuck" using defective rubber sourced out of China, and won't/can't/doesn't know how to do proper testing of the incoming material to verify it's the grade that he's ordering (and paying for). The good rubber is more expensive, but will vulcanize correctly. Everyone is frustrated.......

 

Hmm... I just bought a set of Cheapanese ones, too.
Regarding the rubber, it was exactly the same problem with China-sourced (and UK stocked) fork gaiters. They lasted a year and started cracking apart. My suspicion was that the rubber hadn't been the right grade or wasn't properly cured.
Meantime, the Volvo steering rack gaiters I fitted to the other bikes are still going strong, and will probably last me out.

 

I finally had time to take her on the freeway. Not one issue, not even a tiny drop of oil anywhere on the engine (thanks to Chacal's gaskets and o-rings).
Now I need to decide if she's getting the paint fixed proper (there was some flaking from the fall) or if I'm just going to clear over the scars.
The new windscreen and deflector came in too, so I'll be fitting those eventually.

 

24 hours ago my best friend was still alive.

f*** CANCER!!!

I hope that you and your families all stay well.

 

I'm thankful for having my 2-wheeled therapist back.
She's keeping me from breaking again.

I'm also thankful for the support from this community. You are good people.
Take care of each-other. There is nothing more important.