Lost Not Found's poor mechanical skills thread. Surely he wouldn't try and fix electrical problems with sellotape? Now with added Volvo bothering.

[LostnotFound]

Carried on from CraigthePrincess' thread which details this being trailerd home. I've been told this is the friendly go to place for all bad ideas that have a motor of some sort attached.

 

At some point in everyone's life they decide they need a motorbike, a decade and a half later getting a place with a garage makes this a real possibility.

 

So I headed off to do my CBT with the intention of doing a full DAS course, however as I was the slowest person to complete a CBT whilst actually enjoying it (the radio message of 'it's a bit embarrassing to let the bloke on a moped get away) sums up my riding. The instructor recommended I get a 125 to pootle around on and do my full licence next year.

 

Now I'd been looking at 'proper bikes' with mot'd sv650s starting at a grand, I was a tad unimpressed to find that for the same money you can be the proud owner of a 15 owner 25 year old all drum brake 50mph CG125. Yes the upside is that you can always sell it for what you pay, but wheres the fun in that?

 

So given all I needed was something simple and easy to get a bit of experience and confidence riding on the roads the obvious thing to do was buy a high mileage slightly tired 2 stroke import from France that needs registering and as such won't be on the road till the weather has properly turned and I've missed the last dregs of summer. First thing is to get it it's mot so I can send off for the registration, it's booked in for tomorrow on a wing and a prayer, I'm hoping they'll be kind to it just so I can get the ball rolling. 

 

Once MOT'd there are a few things that need sorting on the bike, first up is the choke is stuck into the carb in the down position (you can see it in the middle of the photo) is there anyway of unsticking this without taking the whole carb off?

 

 

Enough of the waffeling, like sun readers we're only here for the pictures so.

 

 

 

 

[castros_bro]

Dear Plungie McPlungeface,

 

Yon large nut which the plunger spindle goes through should unscrew. First release the bent metal plunger operating arm, then unscrew the afore mentioned nut complete with plunger. It'll have some manky 0 rings so may need some persuasion, clean everything as there are holes which the plunger blocks and unblocks depending on its position. if the holes have crap in then you will have to remove the carburettor to clean

 

Here I draw a typical carb with its starter plunger though other plungers are available.

 

[drum]

Does it start and run?

 

The old 2 stroke petrol has probably gone like glue. I'm not sure the how best to clean it in situ, but I have boiled a carb in water in a pot on the stove to clean the varnish off.

[wuvvum]

Ooh, TDR125.  Nice.  These go a bit when derestricted.

[LostnotFound]

Ah cheers, so I am meant to be able to prise the limiting bit off the choke, I was a bit paranoid about bending it and not being able to refit it. I'll see if I can get it out in situe before trying to wrestle with the fairing.

 

 

It started and ran the day I picked it up. It wouldn't start on Sunday but yesterday when I replaced the spark plug, the old one was covered in oil.

 

Hopefully it'll start this afternoon for its mot.

 

I'm not sure it'll need de restricting, if it does 50 I'll probably lose my bottle at that speed anyway!

[martc]

Another common cause of non-starting 2 strokes is a blocked exhast pipe/silencer causing back pressure.

 

Remove said items and see if it starts (noisely). if it does decoke the offending parts.

[LostnotFound]

Well that went fair to middling.

 

She started with no issue and rode happily the couple of hundred meters to the mot station.

 

Below is the summary. Given the plate is just the old French one that won't be on it if I ever manage to get it registered and the light can be fixed with duct tape, it's really only the rear wheel bearings that failed it. 

 

Ideally I'd like to get some uk headlights, I'm presuming they will be relatively plug and play but have no idea if they are. There are also mph back plates for converting the speedo at just marginally extortionate prices on ebay. Does anyone know if taking the clocks apart to install is likely to be a tough job?

 

I feel a tad more confident now, there's a fair bit of fiddling that needs doing but hopefully that can be done in stages.

 

[LostnotFound]

So thanks to some advice from the bikeshite thread I bought the cheapest paddock stand on ebay, which happened to be from Demon Tweeks but free delivery through ebay rather than 6 quid delivery through their website.

 

Once up the wheel wasn't exactly keen to rotate (and there's something loose rattling around the inside of the tyre...) I've taken the wheel off and popped the seals off the bearings and they aren't looking pretty. I've got a tad stuck at that point due to the youtube method of moving the spacer and tapping the bearings out not being available as the spacer just doesn't have any movement. I shall be tapping up my work colleagues to see if any of them have a bearing press I can borrow.

 

Getting ahead of myself trying to find uk headlights for the thing doesn't bring up a lot of options, let a lone a straight handlebar as this one is apparently marginally bent.

[LostnotFound]

People may have worried how autoshite this thread would be, but fear not this bike isn't going to be on the road anytime soon at this rate!

 

With the rear tyre having 2mm tread and making a rattling noise I thought I'd ring up for a quote for a new tyre and see how much they'd charge to do the bearings at the same time. I wasn't expecting it to take 3 phone calls and almost felt guilty about the time they'd spent researching this quote when I almost spat my tea out.

 

£120 (if it's easy) to £140 to change the bearings. So obviously, I've ordered a cheap blind bearing puller and a set of bearings and seals. Given used wheels are available for half the quoted price if I cock it up, at worst I'll dremel the bloody things out.

[Dave_Q]

I've never done wheel bearings but I think its a pretty agricultural process.

 

Hammers are going to be your friend here, if it was me I'd probably have at it with a long extension bar and some light to medium hammering to get them moving.

 

Obviously doing it properly is better.

 

Plate can just be removed as they're testing it on the frame number - that's one fail fixed for £0gbp and not many minutes.

[Guest Hooli]

I've done wheel bearings on a bike once. A nice hammer & a stick to poke through the inside of the wheel to twat the inside of t'other bearing worked for me.

 

Really must be getting towards time to do them on my current bike, they are still original at 108k.

[Eddie Honda]

+1 Wheel bearings are usually a piece of piss to do.

[strangeangel]

Wheel bearings are pretty straightforward, and I'm entering Smug Mode thinking about how many times I've saved £120. Is that really the going rate, or is OP's quote a piss-take, do we think??

 

I would echo the sentiments expressed above, but just to add that it's worth spending a bit extra to get decent bearings, e.g. SKF or FAG.

[michael1703]

You don't need a puller for the bearings, you need a hammer and a good 'drift'

 

Something like a bit of 8mm round bar about 10 inches long would be fine.

 

Now, interestingly most bikes with 'excessive bearing play' typically have the Cush drive spacer missing or the spacers are arse about face.

[LostnotFound]

Cheers all, I've had a go tapping them out the other day with no success. The spacer in the middle only shifts down one end and the improvised drift I was using bent well before the bearing shifted.

 

I need a new rear tyre so thought I'd ask for a quote for both naively thought they'd just talk a few quid on as the professionals on YouTube make it look simple if you know what you're doing.

 

The hope with the blind puller is the one I can't hit might shift using it then give me a clear run at the rustier looking one.

 

The seals had gone and they bearings need a fair bit of pressure to turn they are definitely shot. That's not to say the spacers are correct (although there is no cush drive so it can't be that).

[Guest Hooli]

I got blind bearing pullers off ebay for not too many pounds, they kind of work too. Can't remember what the hell I got them for though.

[DodgeRover]

I tend to warm up the wheel with a blow lamp or boiling water when changing bearings to save the alloy getting drawn out.

French TDR will probably not be restricted.

[LostnotFound]

I got blind bearing pullers off ebay for not too many pounds, they kind of work too. Can't remember what the hell I got them for though.

 

This is what I did, well after chasing ebay as it didn't come when specified (marked as despatched on the 10th, not received by courier company on the 19th until my ebay request for a refund yesterday morning, and it made it here today. Of course that could be coincidence, but anyone that uses fucking yodel is as guilty as they are for poor delivery imo.

 

On the downside it was rubbish as a puller the arms bent before getting enough grip. On the upside the handle made the perfect sized punch and combined with having sat in penetrating oil for a week waiting for the bloody thing I actually had success!

 

The number on the old bearings even matches the numbers on the new ones, so they're in the freezer chilling out.

 

After over a week of being stuck, it's nice to see a little progress.

[Dave_Q]

HAMMERS!

[Guest Hooli]

That there is the same bearing puller kit wot I haz.

[LostnotFound]

That there is the same bearing puller kit wot I haz.

 

I hope you found better use for it than I did. After resorting to using the main body as a drift one of the weights perfectly matched the outer race of the new bearings so was perfect to gently* knock back in.

 

 

A quick update, so bearings are now in. I have also installed a set of UK headlights which did cheer me up about my bike as the state the mounting frame they came in was in showed just how much love and attention Pierre must have give my TDR 125 whilst cruising the Champs Elysee with a Gitanes pressed between his lips and one of his mistresses on the back. 

 

The choke is now operational, I'd love to say this is the result of some real high level mechanical wizardry but it appears penetrating oil and prodding it with a screwdriver each time I looked at it eventually worked. I've also had a play and knocked the idle screw right back. Given the fouled up state of the original plug my theory is that to compensate for the choke not working it's been being run incredibly rich.

 

So UK headlight fitted and new wheel bearings in I smuggly wander out to the garage to pump up the tyres and take the French number plate off (the 3rd and final MOT failure), before I get a chance to do that, I start her up feeling smug about how she now starts on the button without resorting to easy start or charging the battery to within an inch of its life, switch the lights on to show myself how good I am at changing the headlights....

 

Then the bulb has gone that illuminates the speedo... now this would be a pita, but I already know that the flush mounted bolts holding the vlovks together are rounded off as I've got a mph underlay I wanted to put in but decided to kick that into the long grass till after the bike was registered. There goes my plan on walking down to the MOT place and booking it in next week.

 

So, how's the best way to drill out soft allen bolts? I've got a set of screw extractors but there are plenty of warnings about the risk of snapping them off? A picture of the offending bolts will be posted tomorrow.

 

 

These are the offending bolts below, despite not being user serviceable in the handbook I was pleasantly surprised to find I could easily swap the bulb that had failed so the bike is now ready for it's mot. I will still need to open them to get the new mph underlay on at some point.

 

I was less pleased to see the place down the road closed yet again when it's meant to be open. I may well have to borrow a bike trailer or rent a van and take it elsewhere to get it's first MOT.

[Dave_Q]

Hammering a torx socket in usually works, although you'd have to be careful in this case not to break the clocks.

[LostnotFound]

The risk of damage is what has put me off. Most of the parts for the bike aren't extortionate, the only clocks that are correct and not described as faulty on ebay are 250 quid! Given it's not beyond my mental ability to do the maths converting to mph, I think I'll leave it until I find a suitable set of clocks that I can fiddle with before installing as a unit.

 

Just had a look down the alley way of the local MOT place, closed until November the 27th

[DodgeRover]

You can buy a little gearbox that goes onto the speedo cable to convert from kph to mph, motrax used to supply them.

Dead handy just remember the clocks are reading in mph...

I bet this is a right laugh if it's unrestricted

[paulplom]

I can't tell by the pictures. Is it left or right hand drive?

[LostnotFound]

It's ambidextrous, I suppose basically it's a Maclaren F1...

[LostnotFound]

Hurrah, it now has a MOT!

 

After being mugged off by a place that offered collection and delivery, agreeing a date and a time which they never showed for. When I rang an hour after the appointment they said 'oh the bloke with the van hasn't come in yet he'll ring you' he obviously didn't. So eventually the firs mot place decided to come back from holiday and I managed to get it in there...

 

It did picked up an extra advisory on a fork seal, google brings up 'Seal Mate' is this even worth contemplating or just a good wheeze to flog stuff to lazy people like myself as a short cut from proper maintenance?

 

The registration documents are in the post with a cheque to mt DVLA, I may be able to try and potter about before xmas if it's a quick turn around. There should be no reason for them to say no, but just in case I don't really want to spend any more until I get the reg number in my hands.

 

All going well how this leaves a current to do list of:

 

New tyres - Rear is currently just above legal front hasn't got loads of tread so for piece of mind I'll get a new pair, I was quoted up for a pair of Avon Roadriders which appear to have ok reviews and with no extra cost for just riding in rather than having to take the wheels off and take them by car.

 

Fluid leak(s) it has pissed out petrol from the carb overflow once after being turned off and left in the garage. It hasn't since I knocked the idle right back now I have a working choke, I remain suspicious but hopefully won't have to take the bowl out to look at the float.  The is also a bit of what is presumably petrol / oil mix forcing it's way out near the spark plug. The first plug was massively gummed up, with this I really want to be able to get on the road and just run the thing properly and see if it can help it. There is also tiny leak from top of the oil reservoir where it goes through a short rubber pipe. Not currently serious but if it get's worse it would stop me keeping an easy eye on the 2 stroke level.

 

Clutch maybe needs adjusting, I was having issues with it stalling when put into first on way to the MOT, I'm hoping this is just as I was running late and hadn't let it warm up properly (you may get the idea that there is a lot of 'hope' for these problems..)

 

Coolant / Gearbox Oil / Air Filter change, god knows when any of this was done, oiling the air filter will involve removing the tank from the frame which I'm not looking forward to.

 

Open cocks to change speedo to MPH underlay I have (see rounded bolt moan above)

 

New straighter handlebar, preferably combined with a new headset bearing and alignment of the front end and possibly fork seals.

 

 

This list my be exactly why people pay less for a brand new Chinese 125, than something old and Japanese, but where is the fun* in that. 

 

I've just realised the massive wall of text that is so congratulations for skipping through to find a bonus picture of the only useful item I've purchased for the bike.

 

[Dave_Q]

I wouldn't recommend the sealmate, replacing them properly is nowhere near as bad as it first sounds/looks. 

Another hammers and spanners type job, may need some circlip pliers if you don't have any already.

 

If the wheel bearings were a "2 spanner" job on the Haynes scale of lies I'd say the fork seals are 3 spanners max.

 

For the sake of £20 or so for the seals and a bit more for some fluid I'd say do it properly - especially as you have an enforced off the road period currently anyway.

[LostnotFound]

Cheers, I may well keep an eye on it to start with, I do wish I had a workshop manual I'd have far more faith in taking the front end off as I might have a chance getting it back together. I also guess doing the headset bearing at the same time would make sense. Although it all feels like putting the cart before the horse in terms of a bike that wasn't meant to be a long term keeper if I actually get on with riding a motorbike on the road.

 

It's also a pain in the arse that I've just been given some bad 4 wheel news which doesn't bode well. A 60 mile round commute at midnight in Winter on a 125 is probably not the recommended way to learn to ride.

[Dave_Q]

If it was just an advisory for "light misting" mine had that on the 2015 MOT and managed about 10 months before the light misting turned into extensive leaking.