WELSH FLAT TRACK REVIVAL

[GLJ]

Reason I asked is your rotor has what may be rub marks on it.

 

[Adamc]

Reason I asked is your rotor has what may be rub marks on it.
View attachment 241478

Thanks @GLJ You are correct. I believe they were caused when running with mis-fitted stator. It seems to be turning freely now so I will report back after a brief test.

 

[Adamc]

CHARGING WOES........... Go Away

OK, so came back to the bike with fresh Shell V-Power E5. Rigged up my remote fuel supply.
Checked all the wiring again. Fuel on. Choke out. Key on. Press start and she burst into life first press of the starter.
Let her run a few seconds then push choke in half way to keep revs up.
Volt meter to battery terminals and get a reading of......... 14.5 Volts.
So I guess I'm good with that.

If I've missed something please chip in.
Special thanks to @Jim and @jpdevol for help along the way.

Back to tidy up the wiring and refit LH case, Tank and seat unit. Should be good to go then.

Cheers as always,
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[Adamc]

CHARGING WOES........... Go Away

OK, so came back to the bike with fresh Shell V-Power E5. Rigged up my remote fuel supply.
Checked all the wiring again. Fuel on. Choke out. Key on. Press start and she burst into life first press of the starter.
Let her run a few seconds then push choke in half way to keep revs up.
Volt meter to battery terminals and get a reading of......... 14.5 Volts.
So I guess I'm good with that.

If I've missed something please chip in.
Special thanks to @Jim and @jpdevol for help along the way.

Back to tidy up the wiring and refit LH case, Tank and seat unit. Should be good to go then.

Cheers as always,
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[JesseeS]

CHARGING WOES........... Go Away

OK, so came back to the bike with fresh Shell V-Power E5. Rigged up my remote fuel supply.
Checked all the wiring again. Fuel on. Choke out. Key on. Press start and she burst into life first press of the starter.
Let her run a few seconds then push choke in half way to keep revs up.
Volt meter to battery terminals and get a reading of......... 14.5 Volts.
So I guess I'm good with that.

If I've missed something please chip in.
Special thanks to @Jim and @jpdevol for help along the way.

Back to tidy up the wiring and refit LH case, Tank and seat unit. Should be good to go then.

Cheers as always,
Ads.

Glad to hear it!

 

[jpdevol]

Volt meter to battery terminals and get a reading of......... 14.5 Volts.
So I guess I'm good with that.

So the issue was the power to the regulator (brown) wasn't connected into the M-Unit?

 

[Jim]

So the issue was the power to the regulator (brown) wasn't connected into the M-Unit?

The tap off that to the rotor brown brush was missing.

 

[Adamc]

Glad to hear it!

Cheers @JesseeS
You should post an update on your build; if its moved on.
I was really enjoying the progress. I know you made a conscious decision regarding biking; but wondered if you would finish what was developing to be a great bike.

 

[JesseeS]

Cheers @JesseeS
You should post an update on your build; if its moved on.
I was really enjoying the progress. I know you made a conscious decision regarding biking; but wondered if you would finish what was developing to be a great bike.

Hey Ads,
No update as of late. Life has gotten seemingly more complicated and not sure when it shall clear up. That said, I was hoping to maybe get enough coin together this summer to get the wiring speedo and m unit ordered and wired up. That way I can just walk up and start it when I need a little therapy haha. The bike will live on! Just taking longer than I hoped for.

 

[Adamc]

Hey Ads,
No update as of late. Life has gotten seemingly more complicated and not sure when it shall clear up. That said, I was hoping to maybe get enough coin together this summer to get the wiring speedo and m unit ordered and wired up. That way I can just walk up and start it when I need a little therapy haha. The bike will live on! Just taking longer than I hoped for.

Thanks for the update @JesseeS
Sometimes life can be difficult, often by things outside your control; don’t ask how I know. I trust you are a glass half full person with a positive moral core.
Bikes are a great distraction to keep our morals up. And love for all around us is a good driver. Keep us up to date as and when.
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[Adamc]

Following the Shake Down ride:
Adjusted the handlebar position, pulling it back more to easy wrist ache.
Adjusted bar switch positions to make indicator buttons more accessible.
And ordered some new rear shocks as below built to my bike / body weight and riding style.
Fully adjustable units too. Now the automatic James Bond ejector seating may be resolved!

Price for the pair delivered = £432.00 including taxes,.

Bought them from this dealer: https://bikerevival.uk/product/2win-motorcycle-twinshocks
Dealt directly with a guy called Simon who asked a lot of questions regarding my bike; its build and my riding usage.
As my bike is customised (Radian Swing Arm), Simon needed extra details so I sent in images and dimensions of the mounting points.
They expect a 10 day turnaround for the items to arrive. So far a great service.
Installation will be recorded in my build thread.
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[Adamc]

A second shake down ride following clutch mods and adjustment below:

Clutch worked nicely when on the bike stand.
On the road the clutch action was much smoother and lighter than before; however finding neutral was impossible, whether moving or stopped.
More adjustment required me thinks.

A second issue raised its head on the ride, fueling has become problematic. The bike would only take a quarter throttle. Any more and it would bog down, feeling very strangled; banging and popping through the exhausts. Acceleration was impossible beyond quarter throttle.
I have checked the Tech area for pointers; but under the Carbs section half of the links do not work!
Time to take the carbs off again and see whats what. Any ideas feel free to chip in.
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[Adamc]

Good Morning Ads - That sounds like a fairly significant problem. "fueling has become problematic"; so the bike did run fine and this is a new problem? And....what ignition is present?

hello JP,

Thanks for the quick response.
As you know the bike is a customised 1980 bike with standard TCI ignition. New coils from Yambits.co.uk. New leads & NGK caps; new NGK BP7ES plugs correctly gaped. Both plugs are very sooty; suggesting a rich mixture?

BS34 Carbs were cleaned and rebuilt with Yambits.co.uk kit: Standard jets - Main 132.5 / Pilot 42.5 / New needle / gasket etc.
I think these may need to increase due to running genuine UNI filters. Exhaust it quite long with minimal baffling.
But increasing the jets would enrich the mix more.

I can confirm it was not running great before my rebuild; it would barely start and would not rev.
The bike now starts on the button with steady idle. Take off from standstill is good. But I'm forced to change up at relatively low revs. It will not cleanly run at higher revs. like its flooding / popping and banging through exhaust. It almost feels like it is being strangled, like a sock has been shoved in the system.
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[Adamc]

Yes, put a strobe on it and see if it goes bonkers at the same time the banging and popping starts. That'll give you a pretty good indication on where to look... carbs or ignition.

Thanks for the lead @jpdevol and @Jim
Jim always says Ignition first so that’s what I will do.
I will borrow a strobe of the garage mechanic across the road.

JP I’m sure the carb guide would be handy to have.
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[Adamc]

Good Morning Ads - That sounds like a fairly significant problem. "fueling has become problematic"; so the bike did run fine and this is a new problem? And....what ignition is present?

Hi @jpdevol,

I kinda overlooked your question I'm sorry.
When I rebuilt the bike for the 2022 calendar it actually did run fine. The 40T rear sprocket meant it ran at higher revs most of the time without a problem.
I since rewired the bike and installed a Motogadget M-Unit -basic. Also changed the sprocket to 33T rear. Had the Stator & Rotor on and off a couple of times to sort out a lack of charging; all good now. I may have dislodged something when pulling the stator/rotor.

As advised by you and Jim I have ordered a strobe timing light to check whats what.

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[Adamc]

Meant to add a note about what I am working on.
I ran my arduino tci all last summer. I hooked up my original tci module for the last few rides last fall. I concluded that the design was about 90 -95 % effective. Most of the time it worked flawlessly, but over the summer and accumulated rides, I noticed some instability at idle and the occasional problem starting. Back to the drawing board, or in this case, back to the IDE. Anyway this spring, I noticed that my idling and starting issues were getting worse. Tried some carb cleaner additive. Bike shop who sold it to me called it Jesus in a bottle... I guess it does miracles. It got it idling better,but still lots of popping in the exhaust at deceleration. So I currently have the carbs on the bench and refurbishing them. At least one of the throttleshaft seals are leaking. The mixture screw o-rings are crap. Will also replace float needle valves and pilot jets. Also..fuel line tee is cracked. Currently waiting for parts to arrive.

Hi @sleddog83
thanks for the tips. May I call on your advice if needed?
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[Adamc]

In the last 4-5yrs I've dealt with about 6 bad TCI boxes. I have two on the shelf right now and recently tested one for Gary. They all start and idle just fine. They start breaking up as you add throttle and the advance curve kicks in. In short, I've not seen a single one that just completely failed. So... that may have been your experience, mines been completely opposite.
Fwiw, I hope it is the carbs Adam. That's prolly the cheapest fix.

Fingers crossed @Jim, still waiting on the strobe. I guess TCI boxes are unobtainium? So it would be a used on fro fLea-bay / auto jumble.
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[Adamc]

THESE BAD BOYS ARRIVED TODAY:
2 WIN Brand; custom made to the XS650, Solo /Pillion? And accounting for my Weight and riding style.
Fully adjustable. Quality and finish is excellent. Price was competitive @ £430.00 Considering quality and features etc.

They are to replace the SOLID No Movement ones ejector seat ones I have currently installed below:

Installation was straight forward and took all of 20 minutes:

Truth is told; I think I prefer the chrome ones on the bike aesthetically. In hindsight maybe should have gone with the HAGONS.

Test ride to follow once I sort the Ignition / Fuelling issues. And side by side shot of both will be loaded.
Let me know what you think when done.
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[Adamc]

Should look like this (idling) and as rpms added the rotor mark should move clockwise to the drain groove. We're also looking for the light (indicating spark) being steady with rpm and not breaking-up above your 2000rpm symptom mark (indicating loss of spark)

STROBE LIGHT SHOW

So I warmed up the bike and attached the strobe gun as instructed.
At at idle (1000rpm) the flash coincided with the 'U' timing mark, on both spark plug leads.
Like in the video @jpdevol posted.
Above 2000rpm the flash moved to be inline with the drain slot on the case.
I guess this indicates the ignition is OK?

If so on to the carbs........
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[Adamc]

If I may suggest; One of the first things I'd do, given your symptom, is remove the pods and check for proper diaphragm/slide operation: start it up and peer into the bell and verify the slides are lifting with rpm. If not, or if they flutter @2000, press the choke rod in (attempting to overcome a leak) and see if the slides respond. Otherwise I'm also paying particular attention to the diaphragm operation (14sec drop test)

Hi @jpdevol
Started up a warm engine and raised revs to around 2000rpm. Slides raised as expected; and dropped to normal idle position.

Appreciate your comments of course.
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