New toy!

It's been a while but finally making some renewed progress

Motorbikes and cycling France top to bottom has taken away from the garage time, however back on track hopefully!

Trim going back on and windows going back in.

Noticed some scratches in the glass but should polish out ok, it's the original glass but think they might have got damaged in storage. 

I did notice the packaging label on the trim box which has 2008 on it, which shows just how long the project is taking!

Have made a commitment to get back on the road for next year- might even have it ready for a drive down to Volksworld 

The sister blog...

http://www.l2p-jogle.blogspot.co.uk

This years round of madness is in France for a little jaunt down to the med, you can follow our progress on the blog

2.5 hr delays on the Eurostar today

Resulted in some if this:

Whilst waiting for the ride home 

A post from the top of Stelvio Pass

Just ridden up Stelvio on the CBR600RR, simply an amazing experience- biking Mecca 

CBR600RR touring edition....

Whilst I am sure some would think slightly  mad I have done a reasonable amount of touring on it. Last year down through France and into Spain. 

This year another trip planned, and thought it was time to make the pannier install better. 

Using a cheapo rentec carrier which is only installed when carrying luggage have welded on some extra bars to prevent the panniers rubbing on the paintwork. 

The panniers mount on bars off the rear foot pegs and again are only in place when carrying the luggage. 

Using cheapo B&Q tubing welded them up and a quick cost of aerosol paint and voila!

Hoping to change the bike next year for a GS always wanted one, and as such probably the last time I will use the carrier so haven't been too precious about the finish. 

Suzuki V Strom 1000

This surprised me today, went into Orwells to pick up some new waterproofs and spotted the new v strom, looked so much better in the flesh.

Images borrowed from the web

Spotted on A14

Heading home today and spotted some Volkswagens, think they were enjoying the sunny weather as much as I was. 

Lovely evening for a road trip once you get through the traffic..

New barrels and pistons

Took the opportunity to replace the barrel and piston set for a better quality Mahle set. 

Also upgraded the pushrod tubes to a set from CSP which have a wider head opening. 22mm up from 19mm with the scat tubes, which should avoid the pushrods "touching".

The seal sits out a bit due to the width but presume will seal ok. Makes you wounder why the aftermarket heads don't have an increase hole size for greater clearance with higher lift cams. 

 

They come with a fitting tool which maks the install super easy. 

A view from inside the head:

Wing bolts

To complement the original, genuine wing beading managed to get some VW bolts with the deeper head section and correct sprung washers. 

Whilst could have gone for a "generic" stainless bolt and it would have been cheaper, preferred the idea of using the correct part. 

Gear selector refresh

The old gear selector rubber bushes had perished through age. Interestingly the rubber had transformed itself to an oily mess that smelt of pungent marmite!

Ordered a genuine VW part however the central spindle in the part was far inferior to the original resulting in lots of play, which I was trying to avoid. Even so called genuine parts these days seem questionable and in the spirit of maintaining originality and quality, reused parts from the old with the new bushing to complete. 

Now a great fit with no play, feels like a new gearbox...

Who said beetle parts are cheap...

Some bling for the engine!

Motomec fittings a lot easier than cutter style. 

XZX fitted

Michelin XZX

Dream engine-dream car....

Polished Speedmasters

The polishing and finish on the wheels is superb- a step up from the "midland" budget wheels I have had previously. 

Mooneyes speedmaster wheels

Goodies arrived today courtesy of CSP, wheels in et13&21. 

Also finally managed to get a pair of 185/70 tyres, looked at classic Michelin to complement the XZX for the front but just too expensive not far off £300 per tyre!

Pirelli P6000 looks ok though with a chunky section thanks to that 70 section. 

Tyres ordered through www.tyreleader.co.uk and came from Germany in less than 4 business days would recommend. Only place I could find a decent price on the Pirelli and Pirelli were the only "modern" manufacturer who seemed to do a 185/70. 

Mooneyes Speedmaster wheels

The better half has very kindly treated me to a set of polished speedmasters!

Tyres on order, 145/15 XZX and a 185/70 section for the rears. 

Picture of the wheels below and go check out speedhunters.com

Engine breather box location

In an effort to maximise space in the engine bay, and keep it looking clean and simple routed all breather pipes through the front tin. 

This then connects to a CSP  six port breather box, which I have painted satin black to conceal it and made up some brackets to suspend it above the gearbox. 

The box is tilted to "hopefully" ensure some drain back into the valve covers. 

Filter breathers to be mounted on the upper two ports, upwards of the internal baffle. 

Only time will tell how this works in practise, concern being whether the box is high enough, but hopefully with clever routing of pipes will encourage drain back to the engine if needed. 

Easter progress...

Finished off the prep of the rear wheel arches, with acid etch primer two coats and stone chip in satin black. 

Test run

After some starter motor issues, ran the engine as per cam break in rules and also increased concentration of zinc with "CamShield".

Great to see it run after all this time prepping it.

Chromoly pushrod cut to length

Cut the pushrods to length this morning, all cut to close tolerance and ball ends inserted using an old lifter.  

Engine on the test stand

Stand sourced from air-cooled-parts one of the nicest firms to deal with, based in Ireland. 

See link : http://www.air-cooled-parts.com/cat/product_info.php?cPath=330&products_id=38821

Finally getting close to using it now that I have transferred the engine from the build up stand. 

Linkage and flaps works well, just need to connect up the thermostat, lower tin and finish off the alternator restore and plumb in the oil lines and almost ready for the break in run. YouTube awaits!