Oops, I did it again

I whipped the seat off today, and the (probable) cause of the weird missing problem was immediately obvious. I've fitted an aftermarket POSH CDI, which is larger than the stock CDI and consequently needs a custom securing solution. I'd just wired it in place to the frame at the front of the seat area with the connector (actually a plug converter) supported on top of the mount that the old air box had attached to. So when I put weight on the front of the seat, it pushed the CDI down and strained the connector. D'oh.

That seems to match the symptoms that I'd been experiencing, and a quick re-positioning of the CDI seems to have sorted it, although I'll need to do another long run to confirm that. While I was fiddling, I adjusted and lubed the chain (it was seriously slack after the Truncated Way Roond), nudged the pre-load on the rear shocks up one notch and put the carb needle back to the middle position, since the bike had a thirst on it on the last leg home.

So yet again I've self-inflicted a problem on the bike. If I'd just leave it alone, it'd be fine. But where's the fun in that?

WIN!

(partial)



This is a £720 (+ pimping) Chinese bike half way up the 20% gradient Applecross pass, shortly before tailgating a Jeep up the rest of the way.

The Issues that dogged day #3 seem to be in hand, and minor. Here's the story.

I dropped the bike on day #3 (while dismounting, obviously) and later that day, it started missing pretty badly when it was hot and under throttle. It also had real problems pulling away from a stop, backfiring and dying in 1st gear unless I thorougly thrashed it (like, 7000rpm) and let the clutch out verrrrry slowly.

Fix attempt #1 was to pop the rocker cover and check the tappet clearances, which seemed fine (i.e. there were some, but I didn't bring feeler gauges). I loosened both tappets another 1/2 turn to be sure, and checked that there was an audible buzz.

The bike was just fine when cold, and started off strongly. However, when it had heated up, the problem came back in spades, and I this time I noticed that it was missing noticeably whenever it hit a bump in the road. Very curious. I suspected fuel issues because of that.

Fix attempt #2 was to strip the carb, check that fuel was getting to it, that the floats were free and the jets weren't blocked. While I had it apart, I richened the idle mixture a little more, and raised the needle one notch - I'd previously put it back to the centre position. All seemed fine, so again we carried on.

Oh dear. The bike hopped and staggered its way on to the remote village of Kinlochewe, where I charmed the natives into revealing that there was a Man Who Fixes Motors round the back of his (unsigned) farmhouse just up the road. After another cooldown, I thrashed the bike to within 200 yards of said house, when it just up and died. It was then a push-job to get it to the surprisingly well equipped little garage, where the spanner monkey highly skilled professional initially said "I don't do bikes" until I engaged his interest by assuring him that it was really primitive and old skool, and going through the things that I'd tried.

We had a good fifteen minutes of prodding and poking, with the bike (again) starting and running absolutely fine while cold, and refusing to misbehave. Eventually, the Man Who Fixes Motors noticed that the spade connectors on both the coil and rectifier were loose, and crimped them up. Off I went for a quick test run, expecting the bike to die any second, which it absolutely... didn't.

RESULT!

So just crimping the connectors seems to have sorted the missing problem, at least while running, and at least when I'm sitting towards the back of the seat. Yes, it's that weird. When I shift my weight to the front of the seat, the bike stumbles. You know what I'm thinking? The accursed side stand cutout switch, which I'd "cleverly" relocated under the seat...

Unfortunately, my confidence had taken a knock, so we bailed on our John O'Groats aspirations and headed back for civilisation, in the form of Inverness. You can tell that it's civilised because there's nowhere to park. We made it there, and slightly past, to Fort Augustus on day #3, then pushed the other 150 miles home on day #4.

There's not a lot to tell from the last day, since it was almost all on the A82. It's a nice enough road, with some stunning sights, but the winds down Glencoe were just vile, and it was a relief to get past there and into the central belt.

I'm confident that once I get the seat off, there will just be a bit of loose wiring to find and fix and the bike will be pristine again.

Overall, I'd say it did very well. It was caned on and off for 4 days solid while carrying a significant load, often in excess of an indicated 50mph with the throttle pegged up Ben and down Glen. The only wobble in the whole trip was when I hit a wet cattle grid at a slight angle and was forced to correct. Contrast with my chumrade's CBR125 which was reportedly quite twitchy in the bends, especially in a crosswind, so that said chumrade was slightly slower through the twisty stuff. On the other hand, while I was pegging it in 4th up a hill trying to reach 50mph, he got bored and just zoomed past, so fair play to the little Devil Machine.

We both had a blast, enjoyed our bikes, met some interesting people (fully half of whom weren't nutters) and saw some astonishing places. I've lived in Scotland all my life, but haven't seen more than a tiny part of it as an adult, mostly the central belt and A9 corridor. There's much more to see, and a bike is a brilliant way to see it. What are you waiting for?

Lang Way Roond: truncated

I had a delighted call from Mr Borg this morning - they were in Applecross having tootled over this rather nice road and had an absolute blast. Apparently he doesn't mind single-track roads now, not on his motorbike in any case. Next stop was due to be Ullapool.

Alas a text at teatime revealed things had not proceeded according to plan, and they were in Inverness. Later this evening he called to elucidate - he was having bike troubles and had had to stop a number of times to tinker with it, eventually having to push it into a garage. He and the bloke in the garage managed to get it going again but he didn't feel confident in crossing Mongolia heading into the remoter parts of Sutherland with it playing up so they'd made for Inverness, then headed down to Fort Augustus to a campsite.

They've decided to bail as Andrew's bike is also struggling a tad now and they're both knackered. But they've both had a great time and the trip is clearly labelled success from that point of view.

They're hoping to get home tomorrow, all being well, and he'll presumably update with pictures/stats/rants/road reviews himself.

Mileage = 279km or 173.3706 Mediaeval miles.

Running total distance = 279 + 210 + 349 = 838km or 520.7332 Renaissance miles.

"It's amazing scenery here - it really reminds me of Scotland."

Actually that's a picture I took at Loch Morlich last week but as Mr Borg informed me in today's telephonic update that it was a little rainy I thought this'd be appropriate.

Stats for the day:

Sheep - 4 (seen? run over? he didn't specify).
Dolphins - 4.
Rain - ALL.
Drops - 0.
Falls - 0.
Gearshifts fixed - 1.
Bikers met - 2.
Ex-bikers met - 3.
Knitting - FAIL.

Mileage: 2029 - yesterday's (1819) = 210km or 130.494 Prehistoric Miles.


This evening they've stopped at Kyle of Lochalsh, having travelled via Mallaig and taken the ferry to Skye. They took a little tootle around Skye - "Got to Portree, had a good pee, then turned back" and headed for the bridge. They stopped in Broadford to see if Teo's Handspun was open but it wasn't - 973 Excellent Husband Points for trying though. 'We were going to go to the Scary Fairy bit but were too scared' (No, I haven't the foggiest).

Oh yes, the title refers to Obi Wan McGregor's comments every ten miles or so of Long Way Round.

Lang Way Roond: the Beginning

"With great power comes great responsibility."

or

Mwahaha, revenge of the missus.

Blogging powers now passed over to Mrs Borg.

I've had several updates from Mr Borg today. He set off at around 9.40, the 9am start he'd predicted being, predictably, optimistic. They made it to Oban and then to Fort William in excellent time and were hoping to get to Mallaig before stopping for the evening. However they seem to have taken a very scenic route (by which I mean really, really the Lang Way Roond) involving sheep, via Strontian, after which strontium was named - must be true, both the sign-post and Wikipedia say so. They've given up for the night and are camping in Strontian in a campsite with facilities, i.e. showers. So they're not stinking yet.

Mallaig and Skye tomorrow, though Skye may be skipped depending on the weather. Roads are great (apart from the single-track sheep-infested highways that Mr Borg is not so keen on) and the scenery is likewise great and 'we really must go there together sometime'. This is going in print so I can remind him.

Some stats for the avid readership of this blog:

• Helmet drops - Rogerborg 2, Chumrade 1
• Bike drops - Rogerborg 0, Chumrade 1.
• Mudguards jammed against wheel by weight of toolbag - Rogerborg 1.
• Clutch adjustments - Rogerborg 1.
• Textile panniers resting on exhaust downpipe - Rogerborg 2.
• Panniers fixed - Rogerborg 2.
• Sheep on road avoided - ALL.
• Sheep hit - 0.
• Distance travelled - 1819-1470 km = 349 km = approx. 216 Old Folks' Miles.
• Sump plugs lost - 0.
• Campervans overtaken - 1.

Lang Way Roond: the Inventorising

Keep away from the baggage, foul denizens of Ullapool, lest I send you back to the frozen Hell from whence you sprang!


Bike #1: Huonaio HN125-8
1 x bike-in-a-box, some modifications, just serviced
1 x rider, containing spunk, possibly gumption
1 x pair textile panniers
1 x pair of large leather panniers
1 x backpack
1 x cargo net
1 x pair motocross boots
1 x pair thin canvas shoes
4 x cotton/synthetic shorts
1 x pair Sealskinz(tm) waterproof socks
5 x pairs anti bacterial sports socks
2 x cotton vests
1 x synthetic T shirt
1 x synthetic long sleeved shirt
1 x textile jacket
1 x textile trousers
1 x back brace
1 x helmet (style still to be decided)
1 x neck/face warmer
1 x pair summer gloves
1 x pair waterproof winter gloves
1 x waterproof poncho
2 x emergency space foil blankets
1 x Gelert solo tent
1 x self inflating mat
1 x summer weight sleeping bag
1 x small angler's stool
1 x wind up LED torch
3 x disposable lighters
1 x eye mask
5 x pairs ear plugs
1 x roll toilet paper
1 x pack 80 baby wipes
1 x set eating utensils
1 x small umbrella
1 x talc
1 x antibiotic handwash
1 x factor 50 sunblock
1 x pack Immodium(tm)
1 x dry shampoo
1 x toothpaste
2 x toothbrushes
1 x deodorant
4 x anti-blister plasters
1 x roll sticking plaster
1 x multitool
1 x small chain (for chaining items to bike)
1 x disk lock / alarm
1 x collection of assorted nuts, bolts and washers
1 x junior hacksaw
1 x 1/4" socket set
2 x mole grips
2 x monkey wrenches
4 x assorted spanners
1 x set spare bulbs (including headlamp)
3 x assorted screwdrivers
1 x spare chain (428 / 118 links)
1 x set Allen keys
1 x plug spanner
1 x needle file (flat / half round)
1 x 12v power socket
1 x Cheap-O-Matic^tm sat nav
1 x 12VDC->240VDC + USB power inverter
1 x mobile telephone + charger
1 x Kodak DX7440 camera
1 x gas camping stove (can't find my petrol one)
1 x set camping pans
1 x backpack full of trail provisions (chocolate, spiced sausage, dried fruit, noodles, etc)
1 x hip flask with 1/4 pint malt whisky
1 x empty 5 litre can of petroleum distillate (to be filled during ride if it seems necessary to get us me through the Wilds)

Bike #2: Honda CG125
1 x silly overpriced miniature Japanese trinket, just serviced
1 x rider, containing optimism born of lack of experience
1 x pair teeny weeny "sports" panniers
1 x tank bag, effectively doubling the height of bike
1 x oversized 2 man technical tent
1 x giant squishy sleeping bag
1 x handkerchief
Perhaps some spare pants, although I wouldn't count on it

Let's riiiiiiide!

Really, really slowly.

Lang Way Roond: the Announcening

Inspired by such adventure biking legends as The Chinese Bike Forum's SteveF and his planned jaunt from London to Cape Town, and... uh... The Chinese Bike Forum's SteveF and his planned jaunt from London to Inverness, I'm going to be setting off on a mini-epic tour of Jockland next week.

I'll be teaming up with my workmate, fellow L'rner and (soon to be) staunch chumrade, Andrew, and his accursed Japanese devil machine, a Honda CBR 125.

The itinerary is (approximately) Glasgow -> West Coast -> Oban -> Mallaig -> Ferry to Skye -> Around Skye -> Bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh -> the sheep tracks up the West Coast, all the way round past Ullapool -> North Coast to Thurso and John O'Groats -> East Coast through Wick down to Inverness -> Speyside through Aberdeen -> Dundee -> Queensferry -> Back to Glasgow.

Well, that's the plan. Obstacles include one or both bikes exploding, running out of fuel half way up Sheep Fancier Pass, or being kidnapped by the six-toed locals in the back of beyond and locked in the cellar with their sister-daughters. Alternatively, having time called by the missus and having to cane it back home by the shortest route.

I'm figuring on an average of 40mph (and that's optimistic) with 4 hours riding a day, so 150 miles a day or thereabouts. That should see us finished in... uh... actually, I have no idea, since I haven't measured the distance. Preparation is for people with fat chested PR bunnies tucked away in their London command bunkers. I'm looking at you McGregor.

Win, lose or horrible Lovecraftian human sacrifice, it should be a trip to remember.

Next post (and the last before kick off) will be an inventory of gear. I'll be carrying most of it, since the CBR 125 is about the size of a razorblade, and Andrew has gone for "sports" panniers. I can fit two big leather panniers on the back, plus two small ones on my front crash bars, so I guess I'll be pack muling the loo roll and beers.

Lube jobs and tappets and bolts, oh my.

Lube jobs and tappets and bolts, oh my.

Another long delay between updates, following the usual story: the bike won't die or throw a real hissy fit, no matter how actively or passively I neglect it.

In no particular order, I have...

...dumped some Activ 8 friction reducer in with the oil. The huddled fearful masses who haven't tried it will swear blind that it will wreck your clutch, cause your piston rings to give up the struggle, and inflict leprosy on your sons and your son's sons. Those who have tried it (well, SteveF from The Chinese Bike Forum, anyway) tell wondrous tales of increased response and improved power under load. This humble correspondent has noticed nothing, yet, with a 60ml to 950ml dose and several hundred km running. However, I've just done another oil change (well premature) and dumped another 60ml in the new oil, which is when Steve noticed the big improvement. We'll see - more of that in the next post.

...re-adjusted the tappets. SteveF (again!) noted that his tappets had closed up over the course of just 500km, to the tune of bending a pushrod. Steve really looks after his bike (or did until Codger Man wrote it off), and I'd noticed a loss of high rev power and a sinister silence at the end of a long run, so I whipped my top off and founds that my tappets did indeed have no - zero, nil, zilch, nada - gap, only a few hundred km after adjustment.

I gapped them again to the generous side of 0.08mm, and they've held steady this time after another few hundred km, although I haven't been doing any fast runs during that time. So the jury's still out on whether they're prone to major slippage during high rpm runs, or whether I'd simply badly mis-adjusted them in the previous service. Either way, the valves and pushrods seem to have survived the experience.

...replaced one of the stock chromed exhaust manifold nuts that dropped off when I was doing the test run after the tappet adjustment! Now, this one is definitely Idiot Rash, since I'd noticed the nuts slackening off, and done nothing about it. Given the expansion and contraction in that area, it's not really surprising, and I should have followed the Way of the Spring Washer. All the nuts are now washered up, and seem to be holding. Again though, I'm slacking, since I should have replaced the studs with the A2 steel that I've bought for the purpose. They are going to go, it's a common issue on these engines, and it's just a matter of when. I did have a tentative go at removing them, but they're pretty solidly screwed into the head, and I wimped out on crushing the threads in order to attempt removing them. I figured with my luck, I'd just shear them off rather than extracting them, so might as well wait for them to shear under their own steam. The seem in good condition just now, but I guess they're going to go without warning when they do go.

Which brings up back to our old friend, Mr Sump Plug. The bodge job (crush washer replaced with a rubber seal) is holding up fine with not a drop of leakage, although the plug itself was actually slightly slack when I did the recent oil change. I splashed out on an M12 bolt from B&Q and cut it to slightly longer than the sump plug bolt, but it's not for fitting, and I don't want to force it and chew up the sump any more. It appears that while the thread pitch is the same as the stock plug, each thread is slightly thicker than on the sump plug. I'll keep the bolt for an emergency repair attempt (in my new Pimp Tool Roll), although I'll have to bite the bullet and helicoil the sump sooner or later.

It may be sooner, since I've planned something a little... rash... which we'll cover in the Next Exciting Installment of bikeinabox. I see you shiver with antici...

Until then, I'll just confirm that the bike is still a sweet runner and great fun to ride. It reaches 50mph without breaking a sweat, then pushes on a bit higher, and that's all she wrote. Despite all the gearing changes, CDI, coil, filter and jet fiddling, the plain fact is that peak power is at 8500rpm and (with a 17 tooth front sprocket) that's an indicated 60mph, or a fraction over on the flat. That's south of the 100kpm required for an A motorcycle test, so you honest learners might want to beg, borrow or hire a genuine Japanese hack for sitting your test.

...pation.