about bloody time kat build

[johnr]

small advances today, cos im on call, im a bit time poor till weekend, so ive done a couple of small jobs, first ive sealed the tank with por 15 as its had a couple of days in the conservatory drying after i cleaned and de rusted it.
also, my jets came today, so ive fitted 150 main jets, set the needle circlip to the central circlip and the pilot air screw is set to 2 and 3/4 turns out, these are starter settings that i can fine tune once on the rd, ive also got 120 and 137 main jets that i can use if the 150s are a tad rich. but until im off call i cant really get too involved in it.



so, as i need to leave the tank for 4 or 5 days before i can put fuel in... i need to, in no particular order, fit the carbs and modify them for the choke operation. (theyre currently cable operation) fit the filters and cables, fit a chain oiler, wire in an accessory socket (for sat nav and phone charger) then fit the seat and finally a few bits of trim to cover the edges of the metal. undertrays. all i need is for the bloody phone to not ring!

[johnr]

soooooooo, week on call over, and back in the shed we go. carbs that were ok last week now overflow pop and fart like the others, off the come, check em out, refit, still overflow, fit new needles and o rings from my spares stock, bingo, no leaks but only runs on 3, number 2 not playing. out comes the plug, it sparks ok, so take number 1 out, that sparks but is a different plug type, so, 4 new plugs from stock, and it runs on four again, lumpy but running. so out come the vac gauges, and its miles out, so i balance the carbs, but its still lumpy. then i realise that at rest the vac gauges arent reading the same, so ive just set the carbs out of adjustment but perfectly synched on the gauges. feck, my gauges are fucked! however you only need two gauges to balance four carbs, and two of my gauges are the same at rest. so i balance carbs 1 and 2 to each other, theen pop the tubes onto the other pair and balance 3 and 4 together, finally i balance the centre adjuster which synchs 1+2 to 2+3 and its smooth. however its a bit tappety from the top end, and as im planning to run this bike to europe this year, i whip the cam cover off with the sense that im going backwards on this build, tappets are out, and i mean a lot out, inlets should be .10 and exhausts .15 all the inlets are in excess of .20 and the exhausts are between .20 and .25, but cos its a shimmed head, i cant just adjust them and pop the cover on, i need to check the clearances, then remove the cams, to allow me to access the shims, which i can then remove, and measure, and then you do a bit of maths and play shim swapping to get the clearances you need and only order a handful of shims hopefully. i suspect the previous owner of this motor hadnt adjusted the shims in years, pretty easy to understand as he is a mechanic!, anyhow, when theyre done im gonna need to check the balance on the carbs again, but that aside, its ready for mot time, its a shame its not going to be this week though! bugger!





literally every clearance is twice what it should be, no wonder it was a bit tappety!

[johnr]

infuriating lack of progress whilst the valve shims i ordered edge their way through the british postal system with all the haste of a fucking glacier. so i fitted a chain oiler to the bike tonight and as one positive, my funky new vacuum gauges have arrived. im just waiting for thee shims now so i can take it for an mot test.





twin sided chain oiler.

[johnr]

and thats it, fate has pissed on my bonfire once more. the shims i ordered have come, all the wrong size, zo ive zero chance of getting it done and mot tested this weekend which means im not going to get to nabd on the kat and will need to come on the beemer, fuckety fuckety fuck. so near and yet a million miles away. with it being a bank holiday weekend even if they sent me some out now, i wouldnt get them till medweek and that doesnt give me time to get it mot'd insured and ready to use in time to ride it next weekend. arse!

[fossie]

I’m going for my MOT this afternoon so no certainty I’ll be on a Kat either.[/quote]
what!!!!

[pookie]

As it happens it passed other than a problem with the horn, which we both put down to age [/quote]

Nothing that a dose of viagra can't fix

[johnr]

so i have a flash of inspiration tonight, there's a bandit engine in the shed, i just need to whip the cam cover off and see what sizes are inside. so off i go, one of the bolts is a bit recalcitrant, but i persuaded it with a small chisel, got it off...................................................................
bollocks.......................................
fecking screw and locknut!......... arse.

[KeKat]

Hi John what size diameter are the shims. Penny size like the old GS models, or five pence size. I have a set for a Kawasaki zzr I don't need.

[johnr]

So, latest update! Nothing. That is all!

I had planned to do nabd this weekend on the kat, but the shims didn't come. Typically today the bloody things have dropped on my mat. Too late for nabd as the beemer is packed and ready, but I'm expecting to complete it on mon or tue so i can take it for an mot this week.

[johnr]

Hi Keith, they're 9.5mm not huge like the old GS ones. Iirc Kawasaki ones use the same shims too, but mine came today so I should be OK now! Thanks anyway though.