jon v8

Valve clearances,compression test ?

Yes,it took nearly 2 days ! Just have to redrill the swinging arm pivots and stick it all back together ready to make the exhaust, air and battery boxes.

Just put some up on my photo bucket thingy - with all the other stuff.... Its here, http://s470.photobucket.com/albums/rr62/AllyV8/

Did anyone go to the Malvern one ?

I sold my 1986 RTL in 1989,and never needed to do any engine work.BUT, I did keep a photocopy of the workshop manual and parts book - no idea where they are.I would imagine the cam chain replacement / adjustment proceedure is the same as the XL/XR/TLR singles of the same era.I did a cam chain on my TLR,(along with a new barrel,piston,head and cam)after only 22 trials - dont remember it being too much trouble. If anyone else can help quicker thats great,otherwise I'll have a hunt round for my copy of the manual,cheers Jon.

Forgot that - I ended up with fingers in ears,dont mind loud,but that was too much. Next year it needs to change,more bikes,parking,less noise.

Good show,shame about the hour spent queing to get into a car park that was full ! Some nice bikes there,met a few people I know and chatted to a few I didnt. For how well it was advertised there could have been more bikes there - big step,but maybe next year ?

I'll be there on Sat - going to charge up me new camera specially for it ! ( And disable the credit cards too,incase I lose control....)

No,I'm going to keep going - moving the swinging arm pivots is no real drama and there is no hurry.If I can build a reasonable bike form the TY and the Serrow I'll be happy - 4 reasons; 1 Its not a Honda. 2 Its electric foot. 3 Its a well proven and reliable 4 stroke. 4 It wont cost more than about

B40RT, I'm not counting the hours - I'm savouring them as time enjoyed doing something for myself that I really like,(As I locked the workshop door this afternoon I agreed with my father that earning a living is a pain in the bum as it gets in the way of living ! ) had lots of ideas over the years but often they never get done. Moleman, I still need to sit down and actually work out the best way forward,but I think the compromise,(as you rightly say) will be to raise the pivot by approx 25mm. With the CV carb I'll have a fair bit of room for the airbox,but my memories of Strombergs on Rover V8's was that they like a bit of depression upstream to make them pull properly,but thats a bit further on.I spent a couple of hours fitting points/condensor and cleaning the carb on my TY250 - not ridden it at all since September,it was in a bit of a state - water in the float bowl etc,very poor waveform when I scoped the plug lead.So having a nice 4t twinshock hybrid to ride will be a waste of time if I'm so rusty and fat its not true ! First Bath trial is 14th Feb,better start practicing.....

I've added a couple more pics,to show how wrong it is.The white cross is where I am thinking of raising the pivot to - 25mm higher.Not totally decided,but it sorts out the chain run and there isnt much more I can do.It will mean cutting and raising the subframe mounts and adding extra metal around the new pivot hole.By leaving the top shock points in the same place I should end up with pretty much the same height/ground clearance,the only worry is the rise/fall under power. All good fun,if it does not work I'll build a frame from scratch,using a jig that keeps the original dimensions and angles from the TY frame - lets hope its not needed.

Moleman,you are right its not the camera angle.Damn ! The chain will contact the bottom of the swinging arm at full travel,and the frame will need altering at the top chain run too.What did you do with your MAR to sort it ? I havent had time to really suss it out and take measurements etc,but one thought is that originally I was going to use a very small front sprocket to keep the size of the rear one down.Now I'm thinking it may be better to keep a big front sprocket and work out what I need in terms of a much larger back sprocket.I did quickly rule out turning the whole engine clockwise,(looking from the nearside to lower the output shaft in relation to the swinging arm pivot.It would just make the carb/top frame tube situation even worse - even if I did use a different carb.(Plus I REALLY dont want to go through make all new mounts again.) Ho hum, as lonbg as its ready for the Dartmoor 2 day !

Cheers !

Bo,dont know where you got the picture of the Cotswold from - any chance of a pic of the other side of it ? I'm hoping to start on the exhaust this weekend and a few ideas would help,cheers Jon.

I've just made an alloy tank for my Ty175 / Xt 225 Yamaha project,have a look on the Yam forum for the link to the Photobucket thing to see some pics of it. The cap is a Mocal weld on alloy one that is supposed to be for an oil tank on a dry sumped car.It came from Merlin Motor sport as a plain cap and was taller,so I turned it down a bit and tapped a 6mm hole for the breather pipe.The breather fitting is an LPG injector for a Rover V8.There must be an easier way or better place to buy caps from,but it was all local and easy for me.

Thats sweet,just what Yamaha would have built if I had my way.Those Cotswolds are built by Jon Bliss in Cheltenham ? Theres a chap called Bob who used to ride one in the Bath club trials,think they had a Jiahling Honda copy engine.I was hoping to get the battery down below the air filter at the back of the engine to keep the weight of it as low as possible.Once the exhaust is done its only mounting the battery and nicking the wheels out of my Ty250 and it should be ready to try.

No,not my day job - thats the first alloy bike tank I've made,its not that good.Nor is the rest of it really,its taking hours and hours,but anything that does not work can be redone.The battery from the Serrow was quite large,so Im off up the village to look at what is used on the leccy start Kawasaki off roaders to see what size/shape I can get away with.... Day job is fixing Land Rover products,mostly diagnostic work.The tig welding was for repairing corroded and cracked cyl heads.(Surface finish was not an issue,porosity was.)

Just added some more pics of the tank I've been making,now I cant decide what to do about painting it - or not to.I intended to paint it yellow as I really like the Majesty's with yellow frame/tank etc, but now I'm thinking it might be nice just to spray the frame silver and just polish the tank and exhaust properly - bit like a modern cub.Any ideas ?

Cant help with the bearing size,but JK Hirst list them at

Knew you would take the mick,hopefully the engine will be less prone to stalling than my RTL was ! My right knee is not too good so sometimes starting bikes can really hurt - esp if they kick back.So to have an alternative 4 stroke from the Honda's I never really got on with will be a big treat,esp with the electric boot.Just hope it works.

Here we go,try this - Visit My Website Please shout at me for IT inadequacies - total lack of training etc.Next week I hope to really get on with it as I have no work booked in.

Yea,yea yea - will get the camera and sort it out ! BUT,today I picked up a nice sheet of ally to make the tank out of.The engine is now fully mounted in the frame,its not the elegant solution I'd hoped for,but it should work.If I really like it I'll build a frame from scratch to properly address the taller engine and the way the exhaust port exits the head. All I want is a quiet few hours in the workshop with no phone ringing !

Glad its getting sorted,pressing a new rod kit into the crank is no real drama - quite a nice little job if you have the right kit. It will be good for anaother 30 years aswell !

I ended up doing a total rebuild on my sons TY80 a while ago,my advice is to get one who knows to tell you what needs doing - and do it.The other thing is that I spent over

At a slightly ripe age of 43,I still am child like - according to domestic staff. I'm waiting for the sales after Christmas for an even bigger bargain.Hopefully over the holiday I'll be able to find time to really get stuck into it and have more to take pics of,hoping to be able to ride it in the 09 Bath series and esp the Dartmoor 2 day.