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Ian Soady¹ said :-
I got as far as Studley this morning which is about 4 miles away. There was a traffic queue and when I stopped the bike the engine just died. I managed to push it into a convent=ient driveway. Fortunately this time I had some tools with me. I popped one of the plugs out and again it looked very white. I had one spare so put that in its place and it started OK. So a quick U turn and back home upon which it died on me again. It seems fine when riding along but idling seems a problem.
I've been using "Brisk" plugs which are highly recommended. But when I had the bike in the garage I replaced them with Champion N4s and again it started immediately. I daren't take it out again yet......
09/09/2025 11:42:07 UTC
nab301 said :-
I think we all do our own repairs for the satisfaction of diagnosing correctly and also for cost saving . I remember as a 14 tear old repairing my older brothers Yamaha 80 (2 stroke) and correctly diagnosing a blocked main carb jet just on his description of the issue.
Ren , as for tyres if you can choose when to fit them , they always slip on easily in summer on hot days , or I suppose you could turn on (or up) the heating at home....
Wandering around a local dealer recently there were numerous signs stating that workshop labour rates are €100 euro inc vat per hour , I wonder how much a valve check on a 24 valve 6 CYL BMW is ?
Nigel
09/09/2025 11:43:18 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Yes, labour rates for bikes are ridiculous especially when very few actual repairs are done these days. The local small garage I take my car to charges £70+VAT which is fairly cheap - and they do a very good job. But even if I wanted to where will I find a local garage which can fix my Norton?
09/09/2025 12:58:15 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Oh Ian! Well at least you got home under your own steam. Is it worth getting a used motorcycle trailer and teaching Mrs Soady how to hook it up then sat-nav to your pin? It might be a prudent investment. You could collect and deliver your own motorcycles too!
As for actual repairs Ian? Goes to show just how reliable modern vehicles are. As/when/if we do go fully electric there'll be even less physical repairs save for the rolling chassis. Most of it will be diagnostic and mostly by replacement not careful investigation.
Shim check and replace K1600 nab301? A quick search suggests £700-800 at a workshop, a grand for an official BMW dealership.
09/09/2025 13:06:11 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I already pay the nice people at Britannia recovery £150 a year so am very happy with their service. And I also have breakdown cover "free" with my insurance but haven't tried them yet. No doubt I will one day.
Meanwhile the Norton is languishing while I work out what to do with it. In the meantime work continues on the little BSA C11. And the B'Zuki sits there saying "Why don't you just take me out - I'm far more reliable than that old clunker." Which is of course true.
10/09/2025 10:30:20 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Oh the embarrassment!
I took the tank off the Norton to check the fuel flow. There was nothing with the (newly fitted) tap in the "On" position but a steady flow from reserve. Clealy I'd effectively run out of petrol and hadn't even thought to try reserve. When I stopped, putting it on the prop stand probably tilted the tank enough so that a bit of fuel flowed into the tap (on the left hand side) so was enough to start the engine and get me home. And my fan club may remember that I'd come to the conclusion that the previous breakdown was fuel starvation - yes it probably was, and for the same reason.
I think the tap allows a very generous reserve which of course is a good thing. Which may be foolproof but not against this fool.
I should have applied Occam's Razor and gone for the simplest explanation first.
10/09/2025 14:50:49 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , at least you posted a reply I was scratching my head wondering what the issue was! .
I had something similar on my current Enfield 10 yrs ago , I eventually sorted all the electrical issues and the bike would pull "strongly" up hill but had issues on downhill stretches , you've guessed it, fuel starvation downhill below a certain level in the tank.
Nigel
10/09/2025 15:45:16 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'm glad it's not just me...
Ren. Feeling slightly smug and less dumb than usual
10/09/2025 20:27:52 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It's starting well now with a gallon of Texaco's finest E5 in the tank. The first fine day with no other commotmets I'll venture out. Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye....
14/09/2025 15:42:54 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Fear not Ian - I'm arranging for Glyn to come and collect you on his trike...
15/09/2025 07:56:28 UTC
Glyn said :-
It’ll need a bit of patience though, I don’t pick it up until Wednesday and I’ll need a bit of time for the rebuild but should be there by Xmas if you’re still waiting.
15/09/2025 22:17:06 UTC
Glyn said :-
A different form of transport but travels non the less. Life at 4 mph is not exciting but we probably need the break. Wine is cheap here so there’s a plus. Picture of the Captain on the bridge.
21/09/2025 17:42:32 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Having steered and parked a canal boat once - life at 4mph can be terrifying when the steering doesn't react for half a minute, overreacts when it does and the brakes are "reverse and pray". Mrs Glyn looks happy enough as your captain. Enjoy your holiday!
22/09/2025 08:03:21 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
My parents had an old steel-hulled cabin cruiser kept at Ripon. It was known as "Crusher" as the usual fibreglass jobs wouldn't stand a chance.
We borrowed it for a holiday once and went down the tidal Ouse south of York. At Selby there's an old toll bridge with very narrow gaps wetween the pillars - see pic - and you approach from round a blind bend. We were on the ebb tide and I nearly collapsed when I saw this thing looming out of the morning mist as we approached at abput 10 knots. Fortunately we managed to scrape - literally - through.
A little way firther down river we needed to get into the Aire & Calder navigation at Goole. Still on a strong ebb tide, we had to U turn in the river, then using maximum power with th boat pointing upstream just managed to get the nose of the boat into the lock. It was a bit like getting the Minis into the coach in the Italian Job - suddenly having to stop from (relatively) high speed.
I never fancied boating after that.
22/09/2025 12:46:56 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Sorry guys, I can't contribute much, my only river boat trip involved a canoe down the river Wye, camping en route.
Have a good break Glyn.
22/09/2025 17:14:36 UTC
Ocasional Lurker said :-
Hello again folks,
You may recall I was happy with my alterations to make my little left-hand drive CB250, a little more "longer-legged" , and much less "frantic" and buzzy at anything more than jogging speeds ... It was a much more pleasant and civilised ride ... That wasn't the only upgrade / alteration I embarked upon ...
Whilst cosseting and cleaning it's many nooks and crannies one day, my eagle-eyes zeroed-in on the join between the carb and the inlet manifold ... I saw something not very "Honda" ... The gasket was definitely not "factory"... It clearly showed evidence of being shaped with a pair of scissors ... I thought why has the carb been removed, on a bike that has only done a whisker over 4,000 miles ..? This has been messed with ...
I called a carburettor specialist who had done a sterling job on another bike I own, and it was duly removed and delivered to him ... He asked what I was ultimately looking for, and I said, it is only a 26mm single carb, and I knew that I coudn't turn it into a fire-breathing dragon, but I would like it to be somewhat more eager in the "real-world" roads that it would be ridden on ...
I collected it from him two weeks later, and he had ultrasonically cleaned every bit, replaced the 110 main jet with a 120, and shimmed the needle to give it's power a little earlier in the rev range, as well as replacing everything with regard to the accelerator-pump ...
It,s test-ride was very, very nice ... It did everything I was looking for, which was everything he said it would do ... So much so, it was my choice of wheels for a two night trip to Moffat, in the Scottish Borders, (two weeks ago ) ... This involved a party of six riding to Moffat, without using the M6, on a Sunday, Monday, enduring a 200 plus mile ride around The Dumfries and Galloway Forest, returning home the day after ...
That is all for now, I will post again with the astounding figures I have regards the miles per gallon I am achieving ... Now to try to post a picture of today's ride, ( Taking a breather by The Jubilee Tower, The Trough of Bowland, Lancashire ) Regards, Tony
30/09/2025 20:35:57 UTC
Ocasional Lurker said :-
Edit .... Regarding new main-jet for CB250 ... Original main-jet was 110 .... Replaced with 115 ... Oops.!!
30/09/2025 21:05:29 UTC
Rev. Mick! said :-
Hi Guys,
Have been away on my travels again.
Thinking again about the quiet internal space on long motorcycle journeys I came upon this
https://www.advrider.com/peace-amid-the-madness/
American I know but still.
Off to India in November, my youngest daughter and I are trying to persuade herself 1000km along the Western Ghats on a 110cc scooter is within her abilities!
https://www.advrider.com/peace-amid-the-madness/...
01/10/2025 08:24:20 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
"Perhaps the last refuge of solitude in a century that’s only going to get noisier is while we’re in the saddle of a motorcycle".
What complete Americanised twoddle and double twoddle. This might (?) be this man's escape from day to day, but I actually doubt it because he's probably constantly thinking this is how he escapes rather than the actual escape. It probably made him a few bucks for the story, which again is very American; write about escapism but don't forget to share it with the world.
Twoddle.
I can honestly say on a selfish and personal note that my life is pretty OK (well nothing that a good surgeon couldn't put right) and that's whether I'm suspended on my own two legs or two and four wheels, I certainly don't need to escape the rat race, that's because I choose to avoid it.
Enjoy India Rev and avoid Americans of this nature.
On that note I would like to mention Roger, a fine old American I was chatting to last week over a glass of Vino Callapso in Tuscany. Fine American if ever there was, he did say America had changed, full of over self important righteous bigots, nuff said.
Upt.
01/10/2025 09:30:28 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
The trouble is it isn't actually full of them but there are just enough to drive the country in an awful direction.
Some years ago we had a holdiday in the USA in a rented motorhome (or RV as they call them). We met loads of lovely people. One night we parked up in a State Park which had already closed for the season but the bloke that ran it let us stay in the parking lot beside a lake. It was brilliant watching the pelicans in the early morning.
But I digress. At face value, we would have run a mile from this chap - his pickup truck was festooned with stars and stripes, he had rifles in a gun carrier in the cab and looked like a stereotypical redneck. But as we chatted, although our worldviews were completely different and our solutions to life's problems similarly diverse, we discovered so much that we shared. We certainly left that encounter quite thoughtful and hopefully he did.
There's a series in the Guardian Saturday mgazine called "dining across the divide" which brings two people of apparently very divergent views together for a meal. This frequently has a similar result to our experience. If people would only talk instead of shouting at one another......
01/10/2025 10:11:33 UTC
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