The outside of a motorbike engine seen up close near the exhaust

Home Repair And RestorationThe Battle Of The Exhaust... - By Ren Withnell

Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 3

Another day...without the 125.  The poor 600 is really very dirty, but at least the car is playing ball...at present. 

The cylinder head was removed from the engine, taken to a work colleagues house where between us we drilled out the studs and helicoiled the holes.  I say helicoiled...he used Silverline thread inserts, but they're basically the same thing.  The actual task of re-tapping the holes and inserting the inserts is easy, it's just that I'm not entirely conviced that they'll hold.  One worked fine, pretty much as you'd expect, but the other got tangeld with bits of the old stud that hadn't come out.  You know how sometimes things give you a nice warm feeling inside, well this one did not.

That said, experience tells me a nice warm feeling is no indication of final results.  All too often I've been proven wrong in both postitive and negative ways.  There really is only one way to tell, that's to rebuild the motor, put it back in the frame and see what happens.

Bike spare prices are strange.  No-one online seems to sell CLR 125 City-Fly cylinder head gaskets, or gasket kits.  I'm sure the motor is the same as some of the other Honda 125s, but I'm not certain which ones.  So with great fear and trepidation I went to my local bike shop to see what the cost of a genuine part might be.  £1.52.  Yes, that's one pound and fifty two pence.  It's not the full kit, JUST the cylinder head gasket, a small sliver of steel.  I was expecting £20 or £30, something stupid like that.  The parts lady jokingly offered to allow me to pay in installments, I didn't think that would be necessary this time.

Back home I've semi rebuilt the motor.  I'm considering this as a dry, run, a learning curve, gaining the techniques and tricks required for the final real build.  It's a good idea actually, I'm glad I did it.  I've learnt to fit the cam chain tensioner AFTER the rest of the cylinder head has been fitted.  I've learnt the best way of getting the camchain over the top sprocket.  There's nothing special I've learnt, just practised the best way to do things, and the order in which to to them.

In the greatest tradition of murphy's law, work has gotten real busy, just when I want to be fixing the bike and getting everything else sorted.  This means that tonight rather than sorting the bike insurance, cleaning the 125 motor and painting the 600 exhaust - again, I'll be working.  I just hope I earn enough to pay for all the bloody stuff I need to get fixed, sorted and put right.

Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 1
Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 2
Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 3
Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 4
Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 5
Battle Of The Exhaust - Day 6 - Success!
CLR 125 Exhaust Converted - At LAST!

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Home Repair And RestorationThe Battle Of The Exhaust... - By Ren Withnell

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