Saturday December 28th 2024 Being in the period between Christmas and New Year, this was a relatively quiet session… However… Motobi Moped… Jose’s 1960s Motobi moped still refused to run continuously and the engine insisted on dying for no apparent reason, then refused to re-start.  Graham helped Jose by inspecting the contact points and checking the points gap through the holes in the generator rotor.  With a gap between 0.3mm and 0.4mm the setting seemed to be about right.  A mark on the outside of the rota indicated that the points were opening in roughly the right place.  Of course checking visually isn’t accurate enough for good running in the long term.  This could only be achieved through the use of a timing buzzer and a dial gauge to determine the precise position before dead centre (BTDC) that the points were opening.  However our rough test would be sufficient to ensure the bike should run.  The fact that the feeler gauges slipped easi...

  Saturday December 14th 2024. Kawasaki Z550 AJ, Jack and Jon worked on the bike, AJ in particular was overcoming some final electrical problems around the headlight.  The front brake light switch was found to be faulty and a new one will have to be ordered.  AJ got the bike running outside the hall with vacuum gauges attached to try and establish why the engine was not idling smoothly. Unfortunately the club’s gauges were not playing ball. Hopefully a balance issue would explain why the exhaust of No 1 cylinder was not getting hot.  The respray of the bike’s tank and side panels was still a work in progress. Kawasaki Z550 on the brink of completion? Kawasaki Z250 Steve and Allan worked on the bike’s rear disc brake. The vacuum brake bleeding device the club had bought couldn’t be persuaded to work due to its o-ring having warped.  However with Phil Howell’s assistance Steve eventually got the fluid into the rear brake caliper.  Steve had concluded that the...