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nab301 said :-
Ian, Thanks for the explanations (plunger and joint replacement!)
@ Glyn, I've no idea what the usual recovery period is for knee replacement but hopefully you'll be back out in the garage over the coming months completely pain free. Keeping it politically correct Surely it can't be worse than childbirth ...!!
Nigel
14/01/2026 12:04:20 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I'm now starting to get an idea of the setup. This is the chassis in position with 9" sidecar wheel lead, but a bit further away from the bike than it will end up to allow adjustments. As I thought the forward mounting on the chassis is far too far forward to be of any use so will need to make more split clamps.
Mr Waitrose's grovery boxes are ideal for this job!
14/01/2026 12:40:26 UTC
nab301 said :-
Looking forward to the end result , although you still have your work cut out!
Nigel
14/01/2026 13:06:29 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
The hard part as always is actually the thinking and going through umpteen scenarios before discovering flaws and having to reimagine. Of course once tool meets steel new issues raise their heads but nothing that can't be overcome. My little lathe is struggling a bit trying to face off 3" square blocks of mild steel. Aluminium alloy is no problem.
Once the attachments are finalised I then will have the problem of the nearside radiator which as far as I can see want to occupy the same space as one of the struts.
And then of course the body. I hope to have the basic attachments and alignments sorted out within a week or so, then to tackle the radiator issue before doing a dry fit of the body before it goes off for paint. But that isn't scheduled till the beginning of March.
15/01/2026 14:48:11 UTC
Glyn said :-
Theres a lot of knowledge on these pages. As mentioned by Ren, there are considerable financial savings to be made on toilet roll when one mixes anaesthetic, codean and liquid morphine. None of the tablets work very well, that includes painkillers and Senna pod derivatives. “Movement” is the watchword here for both of the situations I find myself in. The joint, when attached in the theatre, is pretty much full strength immediately as it’s stuck in with some epoxy type glue. The rehabilitation is generally to do with making the displaced muscles etc work again. I can achieve (close on) 90 degrees bend which is good going after 5 days but theres a long way to gg before I consider that the joint is flexible. I am definitely a determined sort of chap which I’m relying on. Thank you all for your well wishes.
15/01/2026 15:31:13 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Your body and your experience will be quite different to mine Glyn - but - coming off the painkillers was a good thing for me. They seemed to make little difference to the pain while simply bunging me up giving me another problem to deal with. 90 degrees is pretty good! Just think about all them muscles and tendons and nerves they'll have been shuffling around to get the joint in. I mean it's pretty complex (not as complex as getting to the tappets on a CB500X though).
16/01/2026 07:59:42 UTC
Glyn said :-
Ian, this sidecar build is brilliant, I can almost hear the cogs whirring in your head. I realise now the complexities of the set up. Being heavily into Trials riding , including outfits, in my younger years, I had no idea of how tricky they were set up. I do remember a local chap who got a Triumph 650 twin to fire on both cylinders at the same time. This was to make the engine “less smooth” to allow the rear wheel time to grip the terrain. There has always been clever buggers but, I fear, less of them per shed these days.
16/01/2026 13:53:47 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It's certainly more challenging than I'd envisaged. I am lucky in that the sidecar is actually a new old stock one from a defunct dealer. I got it from David Angel of F2 motorcycles - he had planned to build it but didn't have the time. So I don't have the common problems of rust etc. He supplies fittings but at eye-watering prices - for example a simple frame clamp with clevis is £72 + VAT. My version costs around £12 and I think is actually superior. I attach a photo of his clamp below. A full fitting kit costs over £700 + VAT - more than I paid for the sidecar!
I do enjoy the challenge - as much the thought processes and research as the physical work of turning, boring, welding and tapping.
I'm having a short rest from machining etc. I have a split steel clamp which I bought as part of a job lot but needed to skim .060" (OK 1.5mm) from the inside face. This is easy with the alloy I've used for the other clamps but a bit tortuous with steel as I was limited to .010" cuts and even at that it was a clonky affair. I'd probably have been better off just making another new one.
Would you believe I've already used the whole of a 1 metre length of M14 HT studding and need to buy more?
16/01/2026 14:25:30 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
ps Glyn, I used to ride in pre-65 trials in the 1990s on my Royal Enfield Bullet. One of the blokes in the club (Midland Classic) rode a fire breathing 750 Triumph outfit with a very brave "passenger" - a misnomer if ever there was one as they do as much if not more work than the rider / driver. It was always advisable to stay well clear of the back wheel when he took off.
Even more so with the Norton Wasps and occasional big BMW long distance trial outfits I was lucky enough to get close to on occasion. These were real monsters and I did toy with the idea of using one on the road till sense and self-preservation took over.
17/01/2026 14:19:10 UTC
kiwiJeff said :-
Hi All, Inazuma fixed, was the coil. Measured ok with resistances, was firing ok outside motor with plug held to engine earth but obviously didn't like the firing inside the cylinder? I figured out how to disconnect the high pressure fuel line suzuki connectors to get tank of so was able to swap coils and proved the fault. New coils from Aliexpress 30 pound for two so once they arrived swapped a new one in and bike now back to normal. For any Inazuma owners reading this the Aliexpress coils were supposedly for a Suzuki GW250 (Inazuma) but the leads are a bit shorter than standard! You can still use them but need to re-route the plug lead. Picture below to see the difference. Thanks for all the advice was all appreciated. Regards Jeff
24/01/2026 10:18:44 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Well done KJ. It just amazes me how you work upside down.
I know!
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
24/01/2026 18:42:05 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good result Jeff. Coils are one of those things that it's difficult to test properly without expensive kit. Yes you can check reistances but that's only half the story as you've found out. Re plug lead length: I needed to change the lead on my DR-Z400 engine but found the HT lead just screwed into the coil like it does with a plug cap. It was however a real hassle finding a long enough plug cap as the plug is embedded so deep inside the cambox. Eventually found one at the green spark plug people who are very helpful.
25/01/2026 14:18:40 UTC
nab301 said :-
That's good news Jeff , luckily you could prove the fault before purchasing parts and hopefully you didn't waste too much time following my advice re injectors... one maybe to watch out for on my Dl250 V strom.
Nigel
26/01/2026 14:25:38 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Glyn , I hope the rehab is progressing nicely , by coincidence I bumped into a neighbour at the weekend while on foot , he was walking quite well with one crutch .. on enquiring he had had a knee replacement 3 weeks earlier , like you found, he said the pain was intense but he had been sent on a course of physio before the operation which apparently can help with the post op recovery and obviously post op physio .
Nigel
26/01/2026 14:34:50 UTC
kiwiJeff said :-
Nigel if the coil checked out ok the next step was to take out the injectors so your advice had been noted. I'd had a listen to the injectors with a screwdriver held to my ear and they were clicking merrily away so thought at least that part of the FI was working OK. My neighbour is an ex diesel mechanic and he pointed out that they might be opening and shutting ok but whether anything was coming out was another thing! I wasn't too concerned about pulling the injectors out and checking if they were blocked and replacing filters and o rings and seals if not the entire injectors the parts are available and cheap out of China. I treated the whole exercise as a learning experience and I'm now a bit more comfortable with FI vs the old carby technology so slowly becoming more "modern" lol! Regards Jeff
27/01/2026 09:01:55 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
At the risk of boring you all to death, I've posted pics of the mounting struts for the B'Zuki'Steib. All made out of 1" diameter thick walled seamless tube with steel inserts internally threaded m14. I'll start welding when I pluck up the courage.....
https://www.iansoady.org.uk/BSA/index.htm...
27/01/2026 12:48:10 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
It's coming along very well Ian.
The weather is not up to much for riding, you are better off in the garage.
27/01/2026 13:40:01 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice work Ian. Very over engineered just as it should be. You have to love a Nyloc too. I wonder when those first turned up on a vehicle, I know they were used extensively in the mid to late 70's.
Upt.
27/01/2026 17:21:09 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Jeff , as you've discovered once you get your head around fuel injection , component wise it's less challenging than a late model engine with a CV carburettor which in itself is an engineering marvel .
@ Ian , nice work there , is it the inserts you have to weld to the 1" tubing?
Nigel
27/01/2026 17:35:09 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks for kind comments. Nigel - yes, the inserts will be welded to the tubing. Welding's not my strong(!) point. I have a stick welder that works fine for these heavier items but no good for delicate work, not that I go in for that.
I've had some sensible comments from a sidecar forum, one if which suggests I make the forward upper link to the vertical hoop as otherwise all depend on effectively a friction fit around the chassis tube. I think I can manage that, in fact have added a couple of pics showing that configuration.
I think nylocs came in shortly after WW2. There were also variants on the theme, some with a little split that allowed the top of the nut to distort, and I think others which had a slightly oval section.
Actually a quick ask to Claude tells me a version of nyloc was invented in Sweden in 1927 which is long before I'd thought.
28/01/2026 10:14:13 UTC
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