So Close!...
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Mine own creation!...
It looks super bright (& a bit white) in the pic (or just ‘washed out), or it did in the original! but there is a reflector lense from one of those cheap stick on reflectors bonded over the red led. It’s actually no brighter than the tail light and kinda mellow. Beats carrying a spare bulb on long night rides...
Got it wired in with the front led spots...
I call them dog lites
Blown Again!
Above is my new Athena gasket. I should of checked it closer before fitting. I didn’t see the scratch cause it was black with the coating. So this time it’s on me (again!!
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You can see the leak path as a thin black line. The wetness in the head isn’t coolant, it’s unburnt oil (after a 70 mile ride!) Funny thing is the bike ran better after the head blew! The revs were crisp on pickup and really well ‘defined’. The rich mixture is another ongoing issue.
This is the plug after the same journey.
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Blown Again!
Above is my new Athena gasket. I should of checked it closer before fitting. I didn’t see the scratch cause it was black with the coating. So this time it’s on me (again!!
)You can see the leak path as a thin black line. The wetness in the head isn’t coolant, it’s unburnt oil (after a 70 mile ride!) Funny thing is the bike ran better after the head blew! The revs were crisp on pickup and really well ‘defined’. The rich mixture is another ongoing issue.
This is the plug after the same journey.
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And for my next trick!
This is within the last 70 miles...
What causes this? Overcompression? Overheating? It’s only disappearing below the spark plug so I don’t think it’s detonation, but I’m no expert...
Help!!...
@spookdog that is detonation/pre ignition damage! My dt was running 225psi compression before I lowered it and that suffered no detonation. Normally it's down to a lean mixture.
What heat range spark plug are you running?
Also heard of excess carbon build up causing detonation. -
Mine own creation!...
It looks super bright (& a bit white) in the pic (or just ‘washed out), or it did in the original! but there is a reflector lense from one of those cheap stick on reflectors bonded over the red led. It’s actually no brighter than the tail light and kinda mellow. Beats carrying a spare bulb on long night rides...
Got it wired in with the front led spots...
I call them dog lites
@spookdog I really like this, that blue looks gorgeous
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@spookdog I really like this, that blue looks gorgeous
@edfrearson Endurance blue is definitely a favourite of mine.
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@spookdog that is detonation/pre ignition damage! My dt was running 225psi compression before I lowered it and that suffered no detonation. Normally it's down to a lean mixture.
What heat range spark plug are you running?
Also heard of excess carbon build up causing detonation. -
@spookdog I really like this, that blue looks gorgeous
Wasn’t my first choice! I also have every plastic panel (& tank) in mid/flat black.
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@spookdog yeah they run a 9 heat range plug as standard. Could be a combination of raised compression and lean mixture. Can run lean running to much oil even.
There’s a thread somewhere that has the volume of 3mb & 3bn heads, even has the volume of the dome on (a Makita, done it again!) Mitaka! piston iirc. I can’t find it for looking. Can anyone please help?...
I did a fluid test on the 3mb head I have fitted and it was more than my spare 3bn head! So I really need 3rd party measures...
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There’s a thread somewhere that has the volume of 3mb & 3bn heads, even has the volume of the dome on (a Makita, done it again!) Mitaka! piston iirc. I can’t find it for looking. Can anyone please help?...
I did a fluid test on the 3mb head I have fitted and it was more than my spare 3bn head! So I really need 3rd party measures...
Why am I only now hearing about o~ring heads! How long has this been viable tech?...
Am I missing out on anything else? Backwards compatible airflow metred injector inlets that run off of a simple lambda probe in the exhaust?! Perfect mixture all the time?!...Ahhhhh 🤯
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Why am I only now hearing about o~ring heads! How long has this been viable tech?...
Am I missing out on anything else? Backwards compatible airflow metred injector inlets that run off of a simple lambda probe in the exhaust?! Perfect mixture all the time?!...Ahhhhh 🤯
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Apologies if this is a daft question as I'm late to the party, but if you're blowing head gaskets have you checked that the head and the cylinder surfaces are perfectly flat?
Could be an opportunity to take it off, remove the studs and lap them both flat again on a sheet of glass (or engineers table) to be 100%
Ignore me if you've already checked this issue
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Apologies if this is a daft question as I'm late to the party, but if you're blowing head gaskets have you checked that the head and the cylinder surfaces are perfectly flat?
Could be an opportunity to take it off, remove the studs and lap them both flat again on a sheet of glass (or engineers table) to be 100%
Ignore me if you've already checked this issue
@nottsbiker
No daft questions bud. I haven’t recorded all my nightmares. But yeah, I’ve removed the studs and cleaned , checked and lapped. The second and third time the head blew are down to me, once using a gasket that had already been fitted, again when I used a copper gasket without fully understanding the process and not using spray sealant. The final time there was a scratch in the gasket that I didn’t expect or spot.I’ve fitted another new Athena gasket and torqued it properly. I’ve fitted a newly lapped 3bn head that’s tip top condition, and weirdly higher compression (12.5~13ml) than the 3mb I was using (14ml)...
The gasket blowing is only 1 issue I’m having. I have a black sooty plug, bogging down over 1/2 throttle and a nasty bog 1/4 throttle where the needle valve kicks in, that has been happening since I first got the bike. Oh and unburned oil in the chamber/ around plug. I’ve no idea what previous owners did to the carb. It was running on a 180 main jet though...
Every time I get somewhere another problem kicks in...New Athena gasket torqued properly, I’ve disconnected the oil pump and gone premix. Rejetted the carb to standard and am going to take it from there. Square one again 🥴
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@nottsbiker
No daft questions bud. I haven’t recorded all my nightmares. But yeah, I’ve removed the studs and cleaned , checked and lapped. The second and third time the head blew are down to me, once using a gasket that had already been fitted, again when I used a copper gasket without fully understanding the process and not using spray sealant. The final time there was a scratch in the gasket that I didn’t expect or spot.I’ve fitted another new Athena gasket and torqued it properly. I’ve fitted a newly lapped 3bn head that’s tip top condition, and weirdly higher compression (12.5~13ml) than the 3mb I was using (14ml)...
The gasket blowing is only 1 issue I’m having. I have a black sooty plug, bogging down over 1/2 throttle and a nasty bog 1/4 throttle where the needle valve kicks in, that has been happening since I first got the bike. Oh and unburned oil in the chamber/ around plug. I’ve no idea what previous owners did to the carb. It was running on a 180 main jet though...
Every time I get somewhere another problem kicks in...New Athena gasket torqued properly, I’ve disconnected the oil pump and gone premix. Rejetted the carb to standard and am going to take it from there. Square one again 🥴
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This always bugged me! There is not supposed to be a ‘step’ there, eh?
These are the cases I’m using now. I matched both sides before rebuilding. Could this be problematic? 2 different unmatched cases?...
Best I’ve had! After 15 mile test run...
Same plug, different light...
Was revving ‘quite’ cleanly up to 9000rpm on 1/2~3/4 throttle. Just a little snaggle @ 1/4 throttle...
updated ran the engine up to temp for 15 mins on tickover and the plug was black and wet. I’m @ 1 & 1/2 turns on the airscrew. I will try up to 2 turns, then maybe go down to a .20 pilot jet. I have some genuine Mikuni ones now. The cheap fleabay ones are worse than a joke. I brought 10 varying from .10 upwards and they were all the same. Even though they were stamped
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Best I’ve had! After 15 mile test run...
Same plug, different light...
Was revving ‘quite’ cleanly up to 9000rpm on 1/2~3/4 throttle. Just a little snaggle @ 1/4 throttle...
updated ran the engine up to temp for 15 mins on tickover and the plug was black and wet. I’m @ 1 & 1/2 turns on the airscrew. I will try up to 2 turns, then maybe go down to a .20 pilot jet. I have some genuine Mikuni ones now. The cheap fleabay ones are worse than a joke. I brought 10 varying from .10 upwards and they were all the same. Even though they were stamped
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@Calum
Cheers...I forgot to say, I blocked/bypassed the power jet as well. I was getting bad random bogging above 1/2 throttle with loads of smoke. It’s stopped so far. I just wanted to cut out as many variables as possible and tackle them one at a time. I even bubble wrapped the ignition control modules under the seat in case they were getting a bashing and it was electrical...
Oil pump was definitely splurging
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@Calum
Cheers...I forgot to say, I blocked/bypassed the power jet as well. I was getting bad random bogging above 1/2 throttle with loads of smoke. It’s stopped so far. I just wanted to cut out as many variables as possible and tackle them one at a time. I even bubble wrapped the ignition control modules under the seat in case they were getting a bashing and it was electrical...
Oil pump was definitely splurging
Took it for a 70 mile test run today. The head gasket is holding in there!..
As it was running well a day ago, I thought I’d put the needle down a notch (from middle) to the 4th notch down, where it’s supposed to be according to the manual. The plug is a richer chocolate colour but it started bogging again. So tomorrow it’s back to the 3rd, middle notch. Make sure it runs as smooth as it was before, then address the pilot jet/airscrew mixture...
I’d never believed a single notch could cause so much change! Wish me luck...
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Took it for a 70 mile test run today. The head gasket is holding in there!..
As it was running well a day ago, I thought I’d put the needle down a notch (from middle) to the 4th notch down, where it’s supposed to be according to the manual. The plug is a richer chocolate colour but it started bogging again. So tomorrow it’s back to the 3rd, middle notch. Make sure it runs as smooth as it was before, then address the pilot jet/airscrew mixture...
I’d never believed a single notch could cause so much change! Wish me luck...
more variables:
Found 2 new potential problems: 1, the wires for the sidestand kill switch may of been crushed by the seat. 2, I had to fit an inline fuel filter because of the state of the tanks inside, it has been creating a ‘locked in place’ air bubble. I don’t know if it’s been affecting flow at high revs and causing ‘bogging’. I have managed to finesse the air out by holding the tank up and keeping the fuel line vertical...
My next test ride will tell...
