Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Loose head
There is a little play in the head bearings. It was easy to get the forks out and the upper triple clamp removed although a did need to buy a 28mm 6-sided socket to avoid damage to the alloy adjuster bolt.
The stem and lower clamp were stuck fast.
Anyway I'll add a few days of material here.
I tried a little heat and some hitting with a hammer but could not get the steering stem through the upper bearing. On other bikes where I've done this it has been a firm fit, but nothing like this tight.
A technician colleague suggested applying pressure with a bearing puller, then hit the stem, tighten the puller a fraction of a turn, hit again and so on. It worked perfectly.
(0) comments
There is a little play in the head bearings. It was easy to get the forks out and the upper triple clamp removed although a did need to buy a 28mm 6-sided socket to avoid damage to the alloy adjuster bolt.
The stem and lower clamp were stuck fast.
Anyway I'll add a few days of material here.
I tried a little heat and some hitting with a hammer but could not get the steering stem through the upper bearing. On other bikes where I've done this it has been a firm fit, but nothing like this tight.
A technician colleague suggested applying pressure with a bearing puller, then hit the stem, tighten the puller a fraction of a turn, hit again and so on. It worked perfectly.
Saturday, March 20, 2004
Fork studs
Duirng this week I've done various cleaning jobs on the X1 and loosened the bolts around the triple clamps and the axle lock nuts. Two of the studs came out with the nuts and were replaced with Loctite havin gestablished that threads were sound.
I've noticed an oil leak on the left...is it a gasket or the clutch?
(0) comments
Duirng this week I've done various cleaning jobs on the X1 and loosened the bolts around the triple clamps and the axle lock nuts. Two of the studs came out with the nuts and were replaced with Loctite havin gestablished that threads were sound.
I've noticed an oil leak on the left...is it a gasket or the clutch?
Thursday, March 18, 2004
Shocking
The rear suspension unit on the X1 had a worn bush at the lower end shown by rather excessive freeplay in the swing arm, as well as that rather odd remote gas chamber. The unit on the X3 seemed fine. I removed both and found that the X3 unit was around 10mm longer but the mounting points were identical. As the basic weight and geometry of the bikes is similar I risked a swap.
The extar length of the shock gives a slightly higher ride height and will theoretically have speeded up the steering. However if I reduce the preload to increase sag, all that will be back to normal...I hope!
(0) comments
The rear suspension unit on the X1 had a worn bush at the lower end shown by rather excessive freeplay in the swing arm, as well as that rather odd remote gas chamber. The unit on the X3 seemed fine. I removed both and found that the X3 unit was around 10mm longer but the mounting points were identical. As the basic weight and geometry of the bikes is similar I risked a swap.
The extar length of the shock gives a slightly higher ride height and will theoretically have speeded up the steering. However if I reduce the preload to increase sag, all that will be back to normal...I hope!
Saturday, March 13, 2004
Ready to run
All the engine bolts were now refitted and tightened. 2.5 litres of fresh engine oil was added. The old cam belt was gently teased off (I threw it away later so why bother?) and a new size B cam belt fitted. As the X3 engine 12V coils are being used in the X1 frame I elected to place the generator cable through the upper case hole. So I added the cable cleat from the seized X1 engine to make sure the cable stays out of the flywheel.
All other electrics were cut off the X1. The split 6/12V system is crazy and most of the terminals are corroded. However I was desperate to get the engine running. Morini ignition doesn't need anything but the generator, pickup and a pair of transducers, all of which were intact.
I added a heavy ground cable from the engine case direct to a stainless bolt which is, in turn, the ground for the transducers. This lead is often thought to be a solution for troublesome ignition systems.
Then there's the plumbing. The big sump breather seemed essential as I have heard of these spitting oil. Then there were the exhaust headers and then the inlet manifolds.
I cleaned the float bowls, gave it a shot of Easy Start and, after a few kicks, it ran!
(0) comments
All the engine bolts were now refitted and tightened. 2.5 litres of fresh engine oil was added. The old cam belt was gently teased off (I threw it away later so why bother?) and a new size B cam belt fitted. As the X3 engine 12V coils are being used in the X1 frame I elected to place the generator cable through the upper case hole. So I added the cable cleat from the seized X1 engine to make sure the cable stays out of the flywheel.
All other electrics were cut off the X1. The split 6/12V system is crazy and most of the terminals are corroded. However I was desperate to get the engine running. Morini ignition doesn't need anything but the generator, pickup and a pair of transducers, all of which were intact.
I added a heavy ground cable from the engine case direct to a stainless bolt which is, in turn, the ground for the transducers. This lead is often thought to be a solution for troublesome ignition systems.
Then there's the plumbing. The big sump breather seemed essential as I have heard of these spitting oil. Then there were the exhaust headers and then the inlet manifolds.
I cleaned the float bowls, gave it a shot of Easy Start and, after a few kicks, it ran!
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
The swap
A work colleague kindly agreed to help swap the engines. But first make a note that the white tagged ignition pickup lead goes to the transducer for the front cylinder. Wonder if this is true for all Morinis?
By now I'd got all the engine mounting bolts loose and removed all but a few essentials. It is obvious that once the front engine plates are removed the engine should be pulled forwards from the rear mounts. This was helped by having a few slips of MDF on the frame lower rails to take the weight.
But then it was stuck...it took a few minutes to realise that if the engine was rotated clockwise 90 degrees so that the front cylinder moved out of the right hand side of the frame it came out readily.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could just take the weight of the engine myself.
We had 2 engines to remove but only 1 to refit. Insert rear cylinder from right, twist anticlockwise and slide back into mountings. Easy!
(0) comments
A work colleague kindly agreed to help swap the engines. But first make a note that the white tagged ignition pickup lead goes to the transducer for the front cylinder. Wonder if this is true for all Morinis?
By now I'd got all the engine mounting bolts loose and removed all but a few essentials. It is obvious that once the front engine plates are removed the engine should be pulled forwards from the rear mounts. This was helped by having a few slips of MDF on the frame lower rails to take the weight.
But then it was stuck...it took a few minutes to realise that if the engine was rotated clockwise 90 degrees so that the front cylinder moved out of the right hand side of the frame it came out readily.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could just take the weight of the engine myself.
We had 2 engines to remove but only 1 to refit. Insert rear cylinder from right, twist anticlockwise and slide back into mountings. Easy!
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Getting ready to swap
Even when you think you're ready to change engines you can find 101 items still connected. The carbs and airboxes have to go if you want an easy time with the engine. Then there are the sump guards which were each carrying a thick layer of greasy gravel.
As I've no intention of running the engine for long with an old cam belt I removed the flywheel from the X3 engine. My flywheel tool wouldn't fit so I fabricated one from a table tennis bat-shaped piece of 9mm HDPVC sheet and stainless bolts. It took longer than anticipated as I mismeasured the radius of the holes and so had to do lots of adjustment to get it to fit. Once that was done it worked a treat.
(0) comments
Even when you think you're ready to change engines you can find 101 items still connected. The carbs and airboxes have to go if you want an easy time with the engine. Then there are the sump guards which were each carrying a thick layer of greasy gravel.
As I've no intention of running the engine for long with an old cam belt I removed the flywheel from the X3 engine. My flywheel tool wouldn't fit so I fabricated one from a table tennis bat-shaped piece of 9mm HDPVC sheet and stainless bolts. It took longer than anticipated as I mismeasured the radius of the holes and so had to do lots of adjustment to get it to fit. Once that was done it worked a treat.
Friday, March 05, 2004
Tidy the engine
The oil was drained from both engines and the mesh filters cleaned. The 'runner' had dirty oil, suggesting neglect. The oil from the seized engine contained a number of metal pieces, both steel and alloy. Looked expensive.
The airbox and carbs of the runner were cleaned. The float bowls had some debris within but not too awful.
In view of the age of the engine the generator was removed and a new cam belt fitted. It was rather fiddly to do this without thinking that you'd moved the cam. Here's the flywheel holding tool I made for the electric start rotor.
As I intend to fit a non-electric starter side cover I removed the locating dowels. I tried heat and pliers to no avail. However a sharp drill bit into them and enabled them to be extracted.
(0) comments
The oil was drained from both engines and the mesh filters cleaned. The 'runner' had dirty oil, suggesting neglect. The oil from the seized engine contained a number of metal pieces, both steel and alloy. Looked expensive.
The airbox and carbs of the runner were cleaned. The float bowls had some debris within but not too awful.
In view of the age of the engine the generator was removed and a new cam belt fitted. It was rather fiddly to do this without thinking that you'd moved the cam. Here's the flywheel holding tool I made for the electric start rotor.
As I intend to fit a non-electric starter side cover I removed the locating dowels. I tried heat and pliers to no avail. However a sharp drill bit into them and enabled them to be extracted.
