Another day at the London
Motorcycle Museum
Monday 4th March
2013.
Back at the
museum again for another Monday. It’s
warmer today, the sun is shining and for only the second time this year I have
ridden my LE. It sits outside as the only vehicle in the car park displaying a
laminate, clipped to the front wheel, detailing the modifications I have done
to it. It is a quiet moment after morning coffee and gives me a chance to
recount the events of the last few days. On Friday I had arranged to take the
car into the garage to have my engine returned as I had been using a borrowed
one to get me around while the problem of a leaking exhaust manifold was being
cured by me. The manifold is difficult to hold to machine so I spend days
filing and fitting the manifold to get the best fit. Checking the reducing gaps
with feeler gauges until I was satisfied it was good enough for the gaskits to
hold. I received a call from the garage late afternoon to say the car would not
be ready and the engine was only running on one cylinder. I arranged to sort
this out on Tuesday morning as I would be at the museum on Monday. Saturday was
a DIY day with making drawers for the tall kitchen units. Sunday, as it was the
first Sunday of the month and Wey Valley Advanced Motorcycle Club runs meeting.
Social or observed for those aspiring to be better riders. I elect for the
“Back by one” social ride as I wanted to drop into the museum on the way back
and not be out all day. I was using the Kawasaki today as the Buell failed to
fire up. The battery was low as the Datatool alarm system tends to drain the
battery over a week and if the bike is left longer the battery is too low to
get the engine started. I put it on charge before I leave home. Our social run
group gathered in the Ripley Hall car park for a briefing, off to Shoreham and
unlikely to be back by one, before finally assembling astride motorcycles at
the “Posh Car” garage forecourt a little way down the road. This was the first
run out on one of these on the Kawasaki and I was not sure how comfortable I
would be doing 100 miles plus this morning. We were soon making good progress
heading out to East Clandon, around Sheer and taking the road to Ewhurst I
accelerate away from a junction when there was a horrible sound of a poorly
tuned engine and the raucous note of an open exhaust. I coast a bit to assess
what was going on. The engine was running fine but with a little throttle the
noise came back and there was a rattle. A quick diagnosis was the exhaust
system was broken. I carried on for a few miles to see if I could make the
entire run out but I would need to stop and check things first. Ahead someone
was marking a junction at the start of Ewhurst next to a pub car park and a
safe place to do an inspection. Narrow country lanes are not places to be
crawling around a motorcycle. The back marker stopped to have a look too. The
silencer can had parted company from the front pipe. The front pipe had sheared
off just before the silencer clamp. The can was rubber mounted so moved a
little and the front pipes were well secured. Safe enough to get me home, but
not wise to continue on to Shoreham airport a.k.a. Brighton International! I
retraced some of the route along the A25. I decided to pull in at Newlands
Corner and hand out more fliers for the museum and decide on the best route
home. I would stay off the motorways and follow the side roads through Ripley,
Woking, Egham, Old Windsor, Datchet, Iver Heath then picking up the A40 at
Denham to take me via Greenford, to the museum and home. I wanted to see Sam
and James about the link for the museum to my blog. I also dropped off the
remains of a tin of Christmas chocolates that had all the “too sweet for me”
creams and toffees left in. Back home and
having covered 88 miles I took some measurements and thought about what to do
with the exhaust system. Modern bike exhaust systems are just too expensive and
I was not able to find a supplier that would give me just the front pipes on
line. After all it was only a bit of pipe to sleeve. As the weather was
forecast to be sunny I thought I would take the LE to the museum the next day.
It would not even fire up. I kicked until I ran out of puff so I took the spark
plugs out to see what was going on. They were black and wet. A quick clean and
a couple of kicks later had the engine running nicely and would be ready for tomorrow.
Going to the museum, the LE did not pull well but it was improving as
everything warmed up and the engine loosened after standing for so long. At the
museum one of the volunteers was not able to come so that left me and Phillipa,
Bill’s wife, to hold the fort. It was around 11:30 and I had written about half
a page of notes when four guys arrived. Their first demand was where are the
toilets and thrust money into my hand for their entrance fees. Priorities
first, I took the money and then said follow me. Once comfort had been restored along with
coffee and chocolate drinks, discussions about motorcycles and cars ensued.
Phillipa had been washing the car out the back of the museum and when she
returned I gave her the money. I had forgotten how to use the till and thought
better of searching for the crib sheet over looking after the visitors. Their
desperation for the loo was obvious when they said they had come from Hastings.
Not long after another fellow, this time from Croydon joined the group and
added to the conversation about bikes and cars. The guys from Hastings were
Triumph enthusiasts and one was rebuilding an early speed twin. If it was not
for the barrier he would have wheeled it out for a closer inspection as it was
he was laying on the floor looking up under the engine. With the Home of
Triumph done and a viewing in the “barn” the Hastings group headed for the Ace
Cafe for some nostalgia and lunch. I sat down for my lunch with the fellow from
Croydon at about 1:30. He is a regular visitor and ex-RAF and was aware of the
use of Triumph engined generators and had intimate knowledge of the early ones
used on service trolleys. He left around 2:30. Time for a quiet cup of tea.
Almost closing time and two young men arrive. I said that they may not be able
to see everything, they did not mind as their interest was in Royal Enfields.
They had come from Shri Lanka and had been delayed in getting to the museum.
They did not know about most of the early motorcycles but when they go to the
“home of Triumph” There were ones they had seen back home. I took them around
and by the time they had left it was 4:50. They had had a good hour taking photos
with one of them up close to the Excelsior Talisman. Phillipa had managed to
put everything away and I headed for home. The LE ran better this journey.
Tuesday and I
went to the garage in Isleworth to try to get my engine running properly. It
took me about 20 minutes. The problem was with the bolts I had used on the
inlet side of the manifold. They were slightly longer than original and were
tight in the previously unused thread so it only needed a little “nipping up”
to get the engine running nicely on both cylinders. I left the guys at the
garage to carry on with the final assembly as my back is still not up to
bending double over the wing of a car. I went home to enjoy the sunshine. In
the afternoon I went out on the LE to buy a Mothering Sunday card and later
managed to remove the silencer can from the Kawasaki. I phoned my mate Bob who
has a lathe to see when he was available to do a bit of machining and to sort
out a bit of tube for the sleeve. In the evening, fed, watered, Gita and I were
geared up for a trip out on the Buell to Wycombe MAG. The Buell struggled to
start but finally went and when I engaged first gear there was a peculiar
whizzing sound. I engaged neutral, it stopped. I engaged first gear again and
let the clutch out to find I didn’t move. The drive belt had bust! We were
going nowhere!
Wednesday
morning, I phone Warrs and they have a belt in stock and with postage and
packaging it is a massive £227! But with next day delivery. Our inherited cat will not come in, we have
no cat flap yet, and Gita needs to go to work and I have promised to drop her
off on the way to Bob’s. As we are about to leave I get a call from the travel
agent saying that the booking I did last night had failed and the holiday would
have to begin three days later. Gita has to arrange more time off from work and
I walk to the local post office to post some letters and send a parcel while
Gita waits for the cat to come in. Finally the cat comes home and our day
begins. With Bob’s machine skills and a bit of scaffold pipe a repair tube is
created. It takes some time and I get home, have lunch and it is about 3pm
before I start work refitting the bits.
I am working outside when a guy called
Chris disturbs my working. Chris had owned an Ariel Square four that he had
restored and used for a while and had recently been to the museum. I apologise
for not stopping, but I had exhaust sealant on the pipes and wanting to finish
fitting the pipes before it dried. Chris talked away about his Square Four as I
finished tightening up all the bolts. I was laying on the ground securing the
pipe clamp and I don’t think it was doing my back any good in that position.
This bit done I could stand and chat properly to Chris. He was interested in the
LE and what I had done to it and what else was under the covers. I said it was
a Valiant, the OHV engined version of the LE that looks like a motorcycle and
there was too much around to show him but I said that I would do that another
time. I finished assembling the Kawasaki, fired it up and there were no evident
leaks. One bike back on the road. Time was marching on and I was half an hour
late in getting the dinner cooking. I continue with more DIY and give the
assembled drawer unit a coat of varnish to bare wood and cut chipboard edges. I
fit the runners to the tall kitchen unit and have to stop before I can fit the
runners to the drawers to go and fetch Gita from work. I do the final fitting
of runners and drawer front when we get back. I was supposed to go to a VMCC
meeting to hand out discount fliers for the museum only then when I check, I
have the right week, but the wrong day so I settle for a night in instead. As I
write this my new belt for the Buell has arrived and when it stops raining
it’ll be my next job.
