alfalfa

13 hours ago, Gyrocket said:

Hey fellas, we have had a couple pull out of our group

Does anyone need accom because I've got rooms booked that will now be empty

Cheers!

Hey buddy can you send me a PM or reply email back to anglia4 with names of who's pulled out so I can update the starter list?

I'm keeping an eye on the forecast and it's getting better each day so don't let that put anyone off at the last minute!

Hey riders, I've been through and updated the google maps links in the first post. I had some issues when I was opening them on my phone. Google maps insists on rerouting along highways wherever possible so I've fixed this with shitloads of intermediate waypoints. The same route should now appear when using desktop or mobile maps. Note that the Day 1 uses cycling mode as gmaps driving doesn't allow you across the Bertrand road bridge. I also had to split day 2 into 2 halves because google only allows 9 waypoints . Also Day 3 also finishes at the Bertrand road bridge for the same reason however we will obviously be continuing past there back to where we started.

Updated links are in the first post and also below.

• Day 1 - New Plymouth to Taumaranui https://maps.app.goo.gl/xHZrKrMuJRRwFZfu9
• Day 2 - Taumaranui to Pio Pio https://maps.app.goo.gl/gJE2dKd4EhQeVTeW7
• Day 2 - Pio Pio to Awakino Pub https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZY83ypAUv3Q7NGn57
• Day 3 - Awakino to New Plymouth https://maps.app.goo.gl/NfEvUgDpyMo2TW1AA

Hope everyone has their wet weather gear packed. It's looking a bit soggy!

So now that I had the top end apart I figured I might as well get some of the bits tidied up. Took the head, barrel and air cleaner cover pieces to the local vapour blaster to get cleaned up. He did a great job and they came back looking super tidy. My first time having alloy parts vapour blasted and I was really impressed, the finish is ideal for half-assed restos like this where a super shiny or polished finish would look out of place. 

I took the barrel up to the local kart shop and they spun it up on the hone and cleaned up all the garks. I tidied up the piston myself with sandpaper and got some nice crosshatching back on the skirt so hopefully it holds a bit more of an oil film. Put it all back together with a set of new rings. I also increases the main jet size back to a factory #210 from the #190 that was in there. I have a #200 that I might test out if it's a bit rich but it will probably stay in there forever...

Followed a progressive warm up engine break-in schedule from somewhere online and it seems to be running mint. All ready for 600km of mixed gravel as a shakedown run .

Next on the list was to figure out how I'm gonna carry extra fuel, spares and gear etc on the rapidly approaching Taranaki Tunnel Hunt. I had a blue plastic crate lying around that seemed like a good idea so I fiddled with some cardboard-aided-design to make a rack for it to mount on. Final version feels fairly solid but I'm only like 60% confident it will last the whole ride . The rack is ok but the crate is quite flexy...

booooo

I started putting the engine back together on the YB125 today and found one of the new rings has some kind of light green coating on it - should this one be at the top? They're NOS Yamaha. 

My secret plan to start yet another forum argument is working 

Gasket question - when I put the YB top end back together, should I be putting anything on the new gaskets? The base gasket is paper and the head gasket is metal. A quick google leads me to people using the bare gaskets with nothing else, a thin smear of grease, copper spray, gasket sealant and various other things, with everyone arguing that their way is the best.

On 05/08/2023 at 13:33, morkster said:

I am exited to offer myself and support vehicle (either 97 v8 disco or 21 mahindra pikup) for the trip if suitable? Please let me know if i'm acceptable and i will go ahead and book and fill out form.. 027 2850 199

Sounds good man, lock it in!

If anyone else is driving a trailer down with bikes on that wants to follow the group along the route that would be sweet, 2 support vehicles should be able to cope with anything that gets thrown at us.

30 minutes ago, Beaver said:

As an aside, other than the extra for experts whangamomona track, is the rest drivable?

Lots of narrow gravel bits but yep all standard open public roads.

On 29/07/2023 at 13:13, iwanttobeamole said:

Looks coooooooooool!  Sign me up!

I'll probably tow trailer over from Hawkes Bay if anyone on this side of the hill or in between needs a lift, I've got space. 

17 hours ago, WankBankA100 said:

I'm in! Sign me up Scotty.

On 28/07/2023 at 13:50, Beaver said:

Holy heck this looks good. Need to check the calendar on the back of the shitter door.

Cheer boes get that accommodation booked and fill the entry form in!

Bike choice: We're trying to keep this ride in the spirit of previous Eastcapescapades, so bring your small, old, shitty, modified motorbikes and scooters along.

50cc scoots should be sweet if you're comfortable enough on gravel. We've set the route so there is minimal fast highway riding and maximal slow backroads. If you can manage a cruise at 60-70kph you'll be right in the middle of the bunch.

If all you have is a DRZ400 then noone is gonna say no but it could be pretty boring when (hopefully!) everyone else is nangin' hard, throttle pinned trying to do 60kph up a hill. Buy or borrow something small and shit and send it!

Here's a 10/10 ADV Barry riding a bunch of the same roads and tunnels we'll be on

Oh shit, new post!

31 minutes ago, locost_bryan said:

The UK has no tax for 40 year old vehicles, or EVs.

You do not have to pay if you have one of the following types of vehicle.

Steam vehicles

You do not have to pay vehicle tax on any steam-powered vehicle.

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-exempt-from-vehicle-tax

Steam eh...

Any change to RUCs will surely have a more granular system implemented. Currently a tiny diesel VW polo is paying the same $/km as a landcruiser. Maybe there will be more weight categories or engine displacement based, or different rates for EV/PHEV, small and big diesel and petrol vehicles or something like that.

Cool cool thanks chaps, that's kinda what I was thinking. New piston and rings are only a little bit more expensive than a ring set on ebay so I'll have a look again if there are any better prices otherwise go for that.

Aware of the closed throttle high rpm issues - I always try to roll off slowly and not close all the way. I had also adjusted the autolube pump stroke to deliver a bit more oil than stock at the closed throttle position to keep a bit of extra lube flowing through when it's in that condition.

I might try and make a leakdown tester to check seals.

38 minutes ago, GregT said:

Top of piston does look a tad lean. Oil your filter element which will richen it up quite a bit. Timing you should be able to check with a strobe light.

I had scraped quite a bit of carbon off the top of the piston before I took those photos - it was fairly dark when it came out.

Will also get in and clean out that port before putting it back together.

Ok so I've got everything apart and am after some advice on next steps. 

Inlet side

Exhaust side

I can juuust feel those marks on the cylinder with a fingernail.

Hone cylinder, sand piston marks down and send it? New piston and rings? It's still factory size.

I've got some richer main jets coming. The current main is a #190 and the factory size in the manual is a #210. I had that on the list to change but hadn't quite gotten around to ordering it 

I also need to find a timing dial gauge to check that's in spec. On the last ride I'm sure I heard a rattle at higher rpms in 1st gear that was different to the normal 50 year old 2 stroke noises. Maybe detonating? I haven't touched the timing at all though but I guess it could be,

There are some timing gauges on aliexpress for pretty cheap ($60 or so) - has anyone had any experience with them?   https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004098969689.htm

Last ride ended with a few kilometres of state highway to get back into town after some twisties. I was all barred up from the prior hooning so once on the highway I just hit WOT and crouched down into a speed tuck. Coming up to a corner after a pretty long straight section I sat upright and rolled off the throttle to slow down and the little bugger nipped up! It started making a rank noise and rapidly dropping revs, lucky I was covering the clutch so whipped that in straight away and coasted to a stop. Gave it a few minutes to cool down and checked to see if it would turn over with the kickstart. Thankfully it had freed up so kicked it in the guts and rode home much more gingerly. Looking through the exhaust port and there is a definite gark on the piston that wasn’t there before. Guess I’m taking the head off after all…

I’ve been doing a bit of hooning recently, the weather and everything else has been lining up quite nicely. Goes hard (for what it is), and nothing major has broken or stopped working. On a big ride with @anglia4 @Itchybear and Bucket Barry we found a few kms of good gravel. The road tyres that came on it were fine but definitely left me wanting more. The forks also felt a bit shit. I’m not sure if this is because they just are (lol) or if they need some attention. I pulled them off and drained the oil out. Mmmm delicious smelly black fork oil.

The stanchions are mint which is great. I probably should have done seals at the same time but yolo will do them some other time. The service manual asks for SAE10W30. I had some 7.5W Motorex leftover from one of my mountainbikes so 165cc of in that went in each side. Found a steep speedbump and tried to do some jumps to give it a good test. Felt good, a noticeable improvement A+ would pest again.

In my quest for new tyres I discovered that 3.00-16 is not a common size and I had basically one (expensive!) option that was stocked locally. I emailed the NZ Shinko supplier and they told me if I want some SR241’s in 3.00-16 I would have to get my local store to order a minimum of 5, pay up front and wait 6 months for them to arrive. Thanks but no thanks. I got in touch with mxstore.com.au and they were more than happy to order a pair from their supplier and ship them express to NZ for free. The curse of rubbish NZ suppliers strikes again.

I fitted these myself - I’ve done plenty of MTB tyres but this was my first time on a motorbike. It’s a bit different with the long steel levers and not needing to worry so much about scratching or wrecking the steel rims. All went on ok, it’s much the same process just more aggressive. They look pretty good on there I reckon!

Took it out for a test hoon on some twisty roads close to home and did some skids in a gravel pit.

Now I just need to find a suitable rear rack or luggage carry system for some overnighters.

Bring on West-Pest ‘23!

On 09/07/2023 at 14:32, anglia4 said:

@alfalfa we should probably make this a thing

Yeah definitely. It's not like you're super busy with anything else at the moment...

The Big Yes