Finished! The A10 is back on the road

 

Completed.  After a couple of minor problems the bike is up and running really well. 

The first problem was the carb

It just wasn't running right.  So, after a chat to a couple of motorcycle mechanics, some friends & the people at AMAL, I decided to go for a new one.  I got the standard 376/80 but with the hard anodised slide and a stay-up float.The dealer that I got the first carb from got it all wrong - the 389 carb for an iron head does not work at all. Now the bike ticks over & runs really well.

The second problem was a bent pushrod

I took it out for a run around the block and it handled well, so I did another 25 miles just to make sure everything was OK.  I took out the spark plugs and they were a nice brown colour, so no more sooty plugs.  On the Sunday I took it up to Sudbury, Suffolk, to a bike show.  I checked the plugs again when I got there and they were the same nice brown colour.  I spent a very nice day there... unfortunately... 5 miles from home the bike started to run very rough, with a loud popping noise on the left hand side exhaust.  So the very nice man from the AA took me home.  Next day, I took the rocker box and head off and found a very bent pushrod and a sticky valve.  I went back to the engineer who did the head job for me, and he said it was not enough clearance between the valve and guide.  So I ordered new valve and guides and pushrods and he redid the job for me.  And today, Friday, I finished putting it back together. After a 50 mile ride everything was running right - except for one more thing, the amp meter was showing no charge.

The Amp meter 

There is a little story to this. I bought the bike back in early May 2009. The man that I got it from told me that the battery wasn’t charging, so he had put a new regulator on; but it didn’t solve the problem. So, I assumed it was the amp meter, and put on a new one on, but still no joy. So, was it a duff regulator that the previous guy had? So, I bought a new regulator from MTML which is called DVR2 - again no charge, but as I don't use the bike at night it never really bothered me too much. So, I just charged the battery if I was going out at night. But now I have finished the bike and the battery is still not charging, it is now a bit of a pain. So, when a friend came round for some clutch parts that I had in my spares box, I came across the original regulator that was on the bike when I first bought it. This also is switchable for 6 or 12 volt as well. So I thought I had nothing to lose and that I would try it on the bike now that everything has now been replaced. Guess what? The amp meter works & the battery is now charging. Now, I’ve got to wondering - could it just have originally been a wiring problem or dynamo not working? Because, after doing the rebuild, all the wiring works on the original regulator. So, is the new regulator the DVR2 that I purchased from the dealer, faulty?

       

 Some pictures of the finished bike

Video I am the one filming (no sound)

Me on my A10 filming the boys in front sorry no sound

Motorcycle Mobile Phone Dedicated Waterproof Holder By UltimateAddons

 

Hi. I have just fitted a phone mount on two of my motorcycles. The mount takes either a waterproof or standard phone holder - I bought both, one for the wet weather and one for dry weather.  The latter one has a hole in the back so you can use the video camera on your phone while riding.

As the phone I have is a HTC smartphone, it allows me to download all the android apps. For use on the bike, I have downloaded the Sat-Nav (so I know where I am going);  a GPS speedo (which shows large digital numbers - so I can see how fast I am going); and a compass (so I can go South and head for the sun!).

    

Front and rear pictures of the handlebar mounts made by UltimateAddons.

My HTC phone in the waterproof holder

This is the standard mount which fits in the car or in my case on the motorcycle. The big hole at the top is where your camera lens would be if you were using the dry weather case.

     

Pictures of Sat-Nav and GPS speedo

The good thing about the HTC phone is that I can also connect it to my crash helmet (by using my Cardo Scala intercom system). It also allows me to talk on the phone and play my music.

The Big Start-Up Day

 

Well the big day has come for me to kick over the engine and hope that it starts first time. Unfortunately, the only thing that it wanted to do was backfire through the carb. But after adjusting the points it did start but was running a bit rough. After talking to a friend of mine at one of our club nights he offered to come round and look at the timing for me - I jumped at the offer. This man has not one Gold Star, but three!  plus numerous other bikes so he knows what he is talking about.  So a week later my friend, John, came around to help. I say help, but actually he gave me a lesson on setting the ignition timing. He set the points to 12thou’ then placed a cigarette paper between the points.  He then set the advance/retard lever to fully advanced  then turned the points on the cam until the cigarette paper was just being gripped by the points. He held it steadily in place while I went around the other side and put on the timing gear and tightened up the nut. When that was done we replaced everything e.g. timing cover, mag cap.  refitted the plugs and plug leads, turned on the fuel and tickled the carb and after a few kicks it fired up. A temporary adjustment to the tick-over screw the engine was running very smoothly.  Everything seems to be working OK.  So decided to give the brain a rest a take a short holiday in the sun for my 40th wedding anniversary.  When I get back in mid-March hopefully the sun will be shining and I will be able to take it out for a test run and I’ll then set up the carburettor properly.