Recommend Me A Local Mechanic To Work On An Old British Bike, Please.

Hi there all!

I posted this on the (worldwide) Triumph forum, but I think that I need to ask the question more locally, so I though that I'd try here as well .

As per the thread title, I would very much like to know if anyone can recommend me (from personal experience) a bike mechanic anywhere in the south-east of England who meets the following criteria;

• Can collect a non-running bike (in a van).
• Is proficient in diagnosing electrical faults in electronic ignition systems.
• Is proficient in carburettor tuning.
• Has a good understanding of British motorcycles (especially Triumph twins) and has the correct Imperial tools to work on them.
• Charges a reasonable hourly rate and won't replace parts unnecessarily or overcharge.
• Does a tidy job - no bodges!
• Is reliable, trustworthy and can complete work within a reasonable time from collection (i.e. from a few days to a couple of weeks, but not months).

I'm not asking for the moon on a stick - I just want someone who has a bit of integrity .

Thanks, in advance, for your recommendations.

Andy

 

Thanks a lot, BH ! That's three more ideas than I had an hour ago .

 

What Model Triumph is this?. Is the Electronic Ignition after martket? Single or twin Carb? Are carbs origina(s)l or replacement(s)? Airfilter or Bellmouth(s)?
What other work need doing? Why is it a non runner?

 

STOP PRESS!!!

I thought that the reason that the bike was only firing on one cylinder was entirely due to the ignition system (seeing as how the carbs are virtually new and clean), but today I decided to investigate another theory. I did a compression test. The 'good' side measured 140PSI and the side that wasn't firing ... just 25PSI .

So, it is looking more like a stuck valve or tappet issue than anything electrical (even though the spark still looks very weak to me).

I'm going to wait a few days, until I have the time to take the a better look, then see if I can fix the compression issue myself before trying to start it again. Maybe it will run properly on two cylinders again after I've cured the 'leak' .

Still, it's good to have had those recommendations from everyone, as I never know when I'm going to need someone to bail me out when I run out of skill .

Cheers!

Andy

 

If it was a stuck valve you would either get blowback thru the inlet or" puffing" thru the silencer and very pronounced tappet noises.
Put two or three drops of oil down the bad cylinder thru the plug hole and try the compression test again may just be a "gummy" piston ring(s).

 

Cheers Rob!

I'm going to have a look at this tomorrow. I've never had a bike as unreliable and problematic as this before, so I have relatively little experience with diagnosing and fixing these kind of problems. Still, I'm not complaining - I bought it because I wanted to learn about these things and acquire some new skills (I just wish that I could have ridden it more than once before it packed up for the first time ).

Andy

 

Anther thing to try would be to swap the Ignition coils to rule out a failure.
Most if not all problems can be rectified and cured. Fitting electronic ignition, solid state zenor diodes, sealed alternators will/can sort out electrical problems. Careful reworking of gasket faces along with use of silicon sealants will stop oil leaks. But like any piece of older machinery it will/does require regular checks and maintenance.
If you post details of make and model I may be able to help with specifics.

 

Give these a try
http://www.cosmoclassic.co.uk/

 

Thanks Rob! I may take you up on that offer if things don't improve soon .

Just to clarify, the bike is a 1973 Triumph T120R Bonneville (650 twin cyl, twin carb) and has had the old 'canister' ignition coils replaced with a 12v dual coil (first a Boyer one, then an Emgo one for the Wassell ignition system). The old Boyer MKIII box was first replaced with a Boyer Micro-Digital box and today I went out and bought a Wassell Micro MKI ignition kit to replace all of the Boyer stuff - so far, it's only half installed. The main problem with the bike is that I haven't been able to get a decent spark at the plug. Maybe this will change tomorrow, when I finish fitting the Wassell kit !?

As for the compression issue, it turned out that there was no locking nut on the adjuster for the left hand inlet valve and so the adjuster had vibrated itself out until the push rod fell off its mounting and stopped sending the rocker backwards and forwards for that valve. Also, the clearance for the remaining (RH) inlet valve was set to 0.02" (instead of 0.002"), which definitely wasn't helping matters . Now, the valves are all functioning normally again and the clearances all set properly.

I started the bike after all this work was done and it ran, quite sweetly, on one cylinder (again). I'm hoping that when I finish fitting the Wassell ignition kit tomorrow, I will get a stronger spark and that both cylinders will fire (at last)! Fingers crossed .

Thank you, Murph! I phoned them a couple of weeks ago and was told that they were "too fully booked to have a look at my bike for at least the next few weeks". So, maybe I'll try them again if I still can't get the thing running in the next couple of weeks .

 

When you fit the the "new" ignition pickup check for any wear in the camshaft bush and the clearance(s) between the rotor and the sensor(s)

 

What should the clearance be, Rob - as close as possible without actually touching, or is it better to have more of a gap?

Also, how would wear in the camshaft bush affect things? Would it make the rotor oscillate and affect the switching somehow!?

I did actually have a problem with both of the previous Boyer stator rotors, in that the screws that hold the two magnets on were fouling the solder on the back of the stator switch plate and gouging out chunks of solder. I filed the screws down and that stopped, but I wondered if I may already have damaged the mini coils on the stator switch or even the Boyer box itself in the process!? That was a large part of the reason for investing in the Wassell kit and staring all over again.

I finished wiring in the Wassell kit this morning, but was horrified to see that I am still getting a poor spark at the plug, just as before. One plug sparks slightly better than the other and when I switch that plug from, say, right to left hand HT lead, it continues to spark better on the left hand HT lead. I've tried 12 new spark plugs on the bike now (Champion, NGK and Denso) and so I don't think that the plugs themselves are to blame. When the engine does fire up though, it always seems to be the right hand cylinder only that is running.

I think that there is more to this issue than just ignition components. Mind you, I've spent about 30 hours working on it over the last three weeks and I just cannot get to the route cause. I'm afraid to say that it may be time for me to throw in the towel and get someone who knows what they're doing to take a look at it. As the bike won't run, that means getting the bike collected and probably facing a large bill for labour, too. I really don't have much money left now, after stretching my finances to buy the bike and then pumping £200 into improving the front brake (which was very successful) and nearly £300 on ignition components (which has turned out to be a bit of a disaster). So, I will continue to ask around and see if I can find anyone local who won't charge the earth for what may turn out to be a fairly simple job (for them).

Thanks again for your input!

Andy

 

You've probably done it already, but have you swapped/tested the HT leads to rule them out ?

 

Yes, that was one of the first things that I did (back when the bike had two separate ignition coils). Since then, it has two different (brand new) 12v dual coils fitted and countless different spark plugs. Thanks for the suggestion though .

Anyway, I finally gave Ian (The Motorcycle Man) a call this morning and am waiting to see if he can maybe help me out . Fingers crossed that he's not too busy (or too expensive ).

 

If wear allows the rotor to touch the magnet it would "short" out the signal.
There should be a slight gap even on either side.
If there is room try putting the statorplate on 180 degrees out.

I quote from http://www.grintriumph.com/images/Electrical/WasselIgnition/WW61495.pdf

"Both spark plugs are fired at the same time thus, if the engine only runs on one cylinder, the fault can be traced to a mechanical/spark plug/ignition coil/ht lead and not the transistor pack or stator plate."

You mention "long screws". From memory(think the last time I set one up was probably in the 1980's) is there/should there be insulating/spacing washer(s) behind the backplate
Run a temporary wire(s) direct from the pick up to the coil, this will check if the existing wire(s) is/are broken/shorting out.
How good in the engine earthing? (had trouble once after have a frame powder coated )
How are you setting the timing? Disc or strobe? Have you checked the valve timing?
Also I suggest you remove the rocker box and find the missing" nut" if it was present and has come loose it could cause serious damage if it drops down one of the pushrod tubes!!
This is not meant to be negative but if you cant find the nut and the previous owner "forgot" to fit it then I personally would strip the engine to see what else he forgot!

 

Good points, all .

I've asked Ian to investigate the ignition fault and will supply him with the instruction booklet for the Wassell kit. As far as I can see, the magnetic rotor from that kit is passing cleanly by the stator plate.

Engine earthing is very good - as well as the connection through the frame, there is a dedicated wire going from the battery + terminal to the cylinder head. I've measured 12.2v coming from the spark plug hole when holding the other end of the multimeter to the negative terminal on the battery.

I was attempting to set the ignition timing using a strobe, but it became very apparent then that only the right hand cylinder was receiving a pulse down the HT lead, as the strobe only fired about once in every 12 revolutions of the engine when the 'inductive' (is that a proper word?) pickup was clamped over the LH HT lead .

I did indeed remove the inlet rocker box and search down the pushrod tube for the 'missing' nut. I removed the pushrods (which were undamaged) and put a magnetic pick-up tool down there, as well as taking pictures from my camera phone, but there was no sign of any nut. When I reassembled it, I set the inlet valve clearances to 0.002" - the one that already had a locking nut on was set closer to 0.02", so I do wonder about the standard of the work last carried out on this engine !?

Anyway, (Motorcycle Man) Ian is coming to collect it tomorrow night, so maybe I will soon find out what is really wrong with it.

Thanks for your input, Rob !

 

seems bizarre as it designed to fire both coils, as camshaft runs at 1/2 engine speed and crank is 180 deg with coils joined in parallel you should get a spark from both coils every engine revolution.
Let us know what the solution is

 

I'll do that . The bike's gone off to someone who understands these things much better than I do, so I hope that it will soon be fixed and the mystery solved.