I checked the oil flow before replacing the rocker covers; all good. Round about 20 Jan 21 I took her outside for a first start and test run - started well (thanks to clean carbs) and no unusual noises! Awesome, I thought! But on blipping the throttle, I heard a very unusual 'rattley' noise, which I thought might be down to the exhausts...
The headers were fine but the silencers, which looked ok, were an aftermarket variety which didn't fit very well. They had no exhaust brackets because when I tried to fit a pair, they didn't fit very well, and pushed the headers out of the heads (the header didn't go inside the silencer far enough before stopping). So, luckily, I had a decent set of Keihans on the shelf. A swap and repeat.
No joy. If anything, the rattling had got worse. Long story short it was the gearbox. Luckily, I had a spare gearbox on the shelf. This took a bit longer than the silencers to replace....so while I did that I took to some of the other jobs:
- New fork stanchions and fork internals, with vapour blasted sliders and some stainless bolts
- New brake pads (RHS had got leaked on) and replaced the brake oil; callipers inspected ok
- removed black paint off the top yoke, took the yokes off to check the bearings and re-grease
- Replaced the handlebars (were RS) with a standard R90 set that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Corrected all the wiring at the front end and put a proper BMW cockpit wiring harness that, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced the amateurish-painted handlebar clamps with a restored pair which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Replaced a faulty light relay and re-introduced a functioning clutch switch
- Repaired some of the handlebar switch wiring
- Got the exhaust nuts vapour blasted (I've got a local garage that does this, which is handy. Trouble is, they are an Aston Martin independent, so I get charged Aston Martin money!!)
- Compression check - brilliant and balanced
- Replaced the oil switch (leaking) on the engine. Luckily, I had a good one on the shelf.
- Replaced the fuel lines with new
- Replaced the choke cables with good spares which, luckily, I had on the shelf
- Fitted a replacement throttle quadrant and grip (luckily.....)
- Replaced the carbs main jets (I had had a bike from South Africa before and, knowing it had been used at some height (6000ft in Johannesburg area) the jets were of a smaller size. The danger is a too lean mixture)
- Removed and refitted the main loom (it had been fitted on a most peculiar way)
- Replaced the holed seat with a better one (luckily....well, no, not really. I bought a new one for my 'own' R90S and fitted its seat to this bike)
- Replaced the battery cage (old one was a bit needy). Luckily....
- Replaced the horn (ghastly thing - see early photos). Luckily...
- fitted a RHD headlamp (had to buy that one!!)
- A new gearbox/swingarm gaiter went on (of course with new bolts).
So it was a fairly busy winter, just as predicted. Some other good news along the way was that the exhaust threads were perfect. I think the valves and guides may have also been recently done.
I also started the hunt for a mph speedo, which, as I discovered, was like the search for the holy grail (more later).