Re: From a workshop in rural Norfolk...
Posted: Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:15 am
Thanks Tony !
Two big milestones this week; starting the engine and on it's own wheels at last...
I knew the engine basically worked ok as I'd run it and even ridden the donor bike a little after buying it, but that was almost 18 months ago. I'd reused the engine wiring harness which is mostly simple to reconnect but was left with a couple of wires I couldn't identify no matter how many wiring diagrams I looked at on the web. Rather than guess, I talked to Al and he suggested I contact John Thorpe who was able to help out - I owe him a pint for sure!
I put petrol in the tanks and checked there were no leaks in the low pressure side of the system but there was a leak on the high pressure side around the UFI filter despite new copper washers etc. Massive overtightening virtually eliminated it but another filter has been ordered as the shaped nut of the filter looks awful now. With fuel flowing I attempted to start it up. Lots of cranking got the oil pressure light off but no life. As part of the build I'd externally cleaned the engine and sprayed the cylinders with a silver exhaust paint which resists the heat and looks pleasant to my eye. I'd left the plugs in when I did this and had sprayed over them too. It occurred to me that the paint might be acting as a conductor so I cleaned the insulation on the plugs and the engine fired up but not on both cylinders evenly. It was evident the left cylinder was misfiring badly so after checking the plug/HT lead I took out the injectors.
I metered them out to check coil resistance which was ok, then connected a 9v battery. You can hear a slight click when voltage is applied to an injector, the left hand one was not making any noise. There is a lot of stuff on the web about cleaning petrol injectors which I followed and I managed to unstick the injector by liberal amounts of carb cleaner. However, rather than put it back in I decided to send them both off for full servicing. They've been in the donor bike engine for 24 years and although it hadn't done a huge mileage I think time is more the enemy of bikes than usage.
One of the rubber seals had a chunk out as well so I sent them to Injectortune who stripped them, cleaned them ultrasonically, fitted new seals, micro filters etc all for the sum of £34 including return postage. It certainly runs better but really needs lots of good long trips to blow the cobwebs out. Anyway, that's the engine taken care of for now... It's also now on it's own three wheels which is nice though you forget how low a Triking is when you've been building it on a waist high stand for a few months... One thing I've noticed straight away is how the front suspension is more compliant, kind of softly sprung but well damped (this was always Colin Chapman's maxim I believe) so I can't wait to start driving it on our bumpy country roads...!
Two big milestones this week; starting the engine and on it's own wheels at last...
I knew the engine basically worked ok as I'd run it and even ridden the donor bike a little after buying it, but that was almost 18 months ago. I'd reused the engine wiring harness which is mostly simple to reconnect but was left with a couple of wires I couldn't identify no matter how many wiring diagrams I looked at on the web. Rather than guess, I talked to Al and he suggested I contact John Thorpe who was able to help out - I owe him a pint for sure!
I put petrol in the tanks and checked there were no leaks in the low pressure side of the system but there was a leak on the high pressure side around the UFI filter despite new copper washers etc. Massive overtightening virtually eliminated it but another filter has been ordered as the shaped nut of the filter looks awful now. With fuel flowing I attempted to start it up. Lots of cranking got the oil pressure light off but no life. As part of the build I'd externally cleaned the engine and sprayed the cylinders with a silver exhaust paint which resists the heat and looks pleasant to my eye. I'd left the plugs in when I did this and had sprayed over them too. It occurred to me that the paint might be acting as a conductor so I cleaned the insulation on the plugs and the engine fired up but not on both cylinders evenly. It was evident the left cylinder was misfiring badly so after checking the plug/HT lead I took out the injectors.
I metered them out to check coil resistance which was ok, then connected a 9v battery. You can hear a slight click when voltage is applied to an injector, the left hand one was not making any noise. There is a lot of stuff on the web about cleaning petrol injectors which I followed and I managed to unstick the injector by liberal amounts of carb cleaner. However, rather than put it back in I decided to send them both off for full servicing. They've been in the donor bike engine for 24 years and although it hadn't done a huge mileage I think time is more the enemy of bikes than usage.
One of the rubber seals had a chunk out as well so I sent them to Injectortune who stripped them, cleaned them ultrasonically, fitted new seals, micro filters etc all for the sum of £34 including return postage. It certainly runs better but really needs lots of good long trips to blow the cobwebs out. Anyway, that's the engine taken care of for now... It's also now on it's own three wheels which is nice though you forget how low a Triking is when you've been building it on a waist high stand for a few months... One thing I've noticed straight away is how the front suspension is more compliant, kind of softly sprung but well damped (this was always Colin Chapman's maxim I believe) so I can't wait to start driving it on our bumpy country roads...!