Does anyone know of a decent mechanic near Evesham that can wo4k on old British bikes. I've almost given up on my A65.
Just had a rebore, new pistons and rings, new valves and valve springs static timed.
Starts easily but as soon as I set off it starts to cough and splutter and very quickly dies.
New Boyer Ignition, new coils. Tried to do a compression test but found that of all the connections in my kit non of them is the right plug thread. I thought I had the correct one it started ok then got a little tight so stupidly I forced it a bit and now there is probably a bit of dwarf sitting on top of new piston. Got away with the thread in g3neral. Plug still goes in and tightens up but worried that if there is a little swarf in there. I gues# the head will have to come off again. That won't fix the problem though so I'm a bit fed up.
You can try Nigel Wynn of Classic Motorcycle Spares. He's based in Cricklade just south of Cirencester easily accessible from the A417 and not too far from Evesham. I've dealt with Nigel for years and he's very good. Try him on 01793 295014 or 07889 727120 or email on orders@classicmotorcyclespares.com. Google 'Classic Motorcycle Spares' and take a look at the website. Hope this helps. Don't get fed up, keep going. I know how it feels tho'. My A65 is virtually all up together and I still can't get the bugger to run...won't even cough and splutter. Keep at it, you'll get there!! Cheers. Rob
the engine dying issue with electronic ignition is a common symptom of a loose wire, particularly the ignition earth wire which i would check first, 12 volt feed to igniton and pick up wires are all suspects.
any swarth on top of thee piston will most likely pass through the exhaust valve into the exhaust.
Thanks for the replies guys. :)
Do you have a constant 12v plus when the bike is running? Have the battery load tested. Its possible for a plate to "warp" as the charge increases which drops the charge down to 10+ volts. Anything under 12v and the EI wont work.
I found my other compression tester and tested. One cylinder 110 the other varies between 40 and about 70 managed 100 on one kick. I think one of the valves isn't seating properly. The other thing it could be, when I was trying to fit the barrels and get the rings into the bores I did have a lot of messing about squeezing with a screw driver etc and the rings did move. So it's possible that the nicely spaced ring gaps ended up over each other and could be losing compression there. Anyway the heads going to have to come off again and then take it from there.
It's desirable to have the ring gaps equally spaced to cut down on localised wear patters (tram lines) but it makes no difference to the compression.
starting easy doesnt sound like poor compression. poor compression usually means hard to start. check the valve clearances and engine timing is correct.