Just a small update.
The bike has 160 miles on it now. It starts, runs, idles and charges great , and it doesn’t do anything that worries me. It makes all the right sounds and doesn’t make any scary noises.
I did the first oil change on it yesterday and there was a pretty good amount of metal flake in the oil and in the side filter. I am attributing this to the fact , that it has so many new parts in it, bedding in. I’m willing to bet that the next couple oil changes will see a significant reduction in sparkly stuff.
I checked the timing and it was right on and advancing properly. I also adjusted the timing chain, which didn’t take much.
I also took the time to go over the bike, looking for any loose fasteners, and I did find a few.....some valve cover nuts, and one that surprised me was the rear fender mount bolt,
Under the fender is a rubber washer and a fender washer, lock and nut. I grabbed the fender and was surprised to see there was a surprising amount of movement. I looked underneath and the rubber washer had been chewed up from vibration? I replaced it with a thicker one. I may have overtightened the first one and damaged it during installation.
Some first impressions
The bike rides and handles really nice , but you can feel it squirm a little if you try to push too much speed going into corners. I believe most of that is due to the retro tire tread pattern of the Dunlop K70’s, also the 34mm forks probably have a little flex to them. The tires are also
VERY wiggly when rain grooves are present.
I have been a little surprised to see that despite the fact that every gasket and seal have been replaced, she’s still a dirty girl. Reminding me of my old Triumph Bonneville. Oil vapor seeps past the valve cover gaskets, my starter gear cover gasket , the base of the oil tube on the front of the motor, and don’t get me started with how messy the two crankcase breather hoses are. The underside of my bike was an oily mess. When I got the bike, the crud underneath was THICK. I can now see why, if you don’t stay on top of it. I may have to revisit putting some PVC valves or something down there.
I was also a little worried about my cam shaft seals , if they would leak or not. I know some guys have had a lot of trouble. One side was bone dry, the other had just a really small drop of oil inside the housing, I can live with that.
Mostly, I’m just enjoying riding it, and I hope it just gets better and better as the miles go on.
—Bob