You start off by wiping off a drip of oil then end up looking at this.
I needed to get that oil tank off the bike before I could do anything about mending it and, as I said last time, either the engines has to come out or the frame has to be split. I chose the latter. It actually went fairly well.
Seat off first. Discovered why the saddle was sort of “steerable”. It’s been mounted with plates having 8mm holes and therefore an M8 nut and bolt through them to secure the front of the seat to the frame. Trouble is the frame mount is for an M10 bolt.
Next I took off the plate over the battery which turned out (as expected) to be a home made item cut from aluminium. It’s not symmetrical so I might make a replacement when I’m done. The battery could then come out which wasn’t absolutely necessary. It’s tiny.
I disconnected the front brake cable at the drum, then removed the front wheel after securing the bike on my bench so that the rear wheel was held down. The front wheel arrangement is interesting. You remove the nut and washer from the right hand side of the wheel, then the larger (29mm!) nut from the spindle (also on the right side). This actually holds the brake plate to the forks. This allows the spindle to be pulled out. The spacer on the left hand side can then be pivoted out of the way on its bracket rivetted to the fork. I’ve never seen this arrangement before but it means you can’t lose the spacer in the desert sand or wherever you might be. With the spacer swung out of the way the wheel and brake can then be pulled toward the left and out of the right hand fork.
I disconnected all the wiring from the battery area – connections for horn, brake light switch and tail light. Then brought it all forward of the steering head. The clutch cable was disconnected at the clutch end and the decompressor cable at the handlebar end.
Now. The twist grip. It looks like an Amal throttle but isn’t marked. I only had to “crack” one of the handlebar fixing screws and it came off the ‘bars. It was only staying in place because a piece of fine wet and dry paper was between it and the ‘bars. Anyway, disconnecting the throttle cable was easy enough. I’m also aware that the carb end of the cable just rests on the carb top. There’s no adjuster fitted. There is, however, an unused one in the redundant choke cable hole. The choke mechanism has been removed as they often are. It’s another thing to add to the list. The original throttle assembly came with the bike and it’s not beyond me to make a cable or get one made.
The oil lines were disconnected from the tank. There was the feed to the pump from the filter and two returns. One under the front of the tank and one right at the back. That one was a bit tough to get to. I’ve bought a 14mm flare nut spanner for when it has to go back on.
I then unbolted the oil tank from the frame in the hope that it would drop out when the frame is lifted away. Four nuts and bolts which take an 11mm spanner. They should be reduced head M8 nuts and bolts. Both have undersize heads. One has been lost and replaced with an M6 nut and bolt. I’ll probably have to make a replacement.
The bolts holding the front frame section to the rest were slackened then the bench lowered so I would be able to stand over the bike to lift the front end away. I rested the front forks on a wooden box (my garage seat) and some wood, then removed the bolts completely. The bolts either side of the spring box are different so I made a note of what went where.
One last check to make sure nothing was still hooked up. There was – the spark plug lead. This was dealt with and it all came apart. However the oil tank wasn’t left behind. It was stuck in the frame and an absolute pig to remove. I think the sides of the tank had “belled out” a bit and clearance is tight anyway to the filler tube. I didn’t want to hit it with anything as I was frightened it would fall apart if I did.
It took a while, a break for a cuppa but eventually it was out and on the bench. I did squash the sides in a bit with a woodworking clamp which helped.
It’s all a bit cramped in my garage so I put the two frame parts back together and raised the bench again.
I washed out the oil tank as best I could with paraffin and examined the damage to the filter housing. I decided I would solder it up with a little plate of copper over the hole for good measure. I also noticed a pit in the housing not far away so thought it would be best if that was filled as well. The area to be repaired was thoroughly cleaned and the repair made. I’m pleased with how it looks.
I propped the tank up with the oil filter and oil line fitted in such away that the paraffin couldn’t escape, added paraffin and left it overnight. I thought I’d replace the oil filler cap to stop spiders etc climbing in and the thing fell apart in my hand! It’s broken in the past, been glued and that’s now failed. “Good grief!”, I said. Or something like that.
I’m by no means an engineer but I think I’m experienced enough to say the previous owners of this machine weren’t either.
In the morning I found the underside of my repair was wet but had not dripped. I also noticed that there were traces of paraffin higher up on the tank. It seemed damp under the paint. I dried my repair then packed paper towel around the suspect parts and left it again. for another 24 hours. My repair to the oil filter housing stayed dry this time but the paper towel didn’t. Clearly, I’ve got more work on this oil tank ahead of me. I’ll strip the paint and de-rust the rest of the tank. Then I’ll solder up all the suspect areas. It won’t be for a while though as I need more solder and flux which I’ll have to order on-line. I also won’t have much of a chance to get in the workshop for a week or so and then it’ll be Christmas.
The Racing Rhino 