The bargain Himalayan

[KungFooBob]

I just had to check the Himi is OHC. My EFI bullet 500 has a pushrod engine, you can take the head of very easily without worrying about timing, etc... you have to take the right hand engine cover off to change the cams

[Ditchfinder]

I think the timing should be easy enough, it needed checking anyway.

I've done a head gasket on a twin before and didn't screw it up

[Ditchfinder]

Hmmm, not an auspicious start to proceedings.

All rocker cover bolts came out ok but despite several persuasive whacks the sealant isn't releasing, is like someone has used chemical metal instead of silicone.

Oh and another snapped bolt to add to the collection

[ChrisW]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205267712588

[Pirahna]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/205267712588

Throw the old one back in the river and use that.

[Ditchfinder]

That isn't such a bad idea, so I have to notify dvla RE engine numbers.....?

[Ditchfinder]

Got the cam cover off, guess who forgot the 2 bolts you can only get to when the inspection covers are off

A new head is looking more sensible but will I have to worry about bore size as mine has done 25k.?

[Skub]

That isn't such a bad idea, so I have to notify dvla RE engine numbers.....?

Just fill in the V5 changes box and post it off,or do it online for a faster turnaround.

[Ditchfinder]

Well the head is off, one small wrinkle is that the timing sprocket retainer decided to free jump down the timing tunnel. Hoping that it's not too difficult to access, oil draining now.

[Taipan]

Got to be worth trying a stud extractor on that first. Blow torch on the head first then have go?

[Ditchfinder]

Timing sprocket clip retrieved, broken bolt not budging despite heat and rust blaster. It's going to the mechanic tomorrow to see if it's worth him having a go.

[Bigjawa]

This thread is making me so glad I sold mine. Interestingly enough, it's changed hands twice and never been on the road since.

[Ditchfinder]

Galvanic corrosion of bolts seems to be a problem on these, being stored outside in Cumbria had been particularly hard on this one.

I think the factory threadlock is fairly stubborn or applied too liberally at assembly too.

[Ditchfinder]

All back together again, one of the bolts wasn't for coming out so helicoiled the AIS port and whacked a bolt in it.

I may have forgotten to put any oil in it before starting it up luckily realised very quickly so hopefully no harm done.


Might get a quick test ride in tomorrow if it doesn't get too wet.

[Ditchfinder]

Test ride completed without incident, leaks or rattles

[Ditchfinder]

So yesterday was a successful solving of the front end clunk. Previous owner had wrapped the bottom race in inner tube to keep water out but it had got trapped between bearing and race. Front end feels so much better now but making the rear shock feel past it's best.

Still no leaks from the head too.

Did a couple of easy lanes this pm, a local flat one then from London Preston to Settle which went ok, bit tricky on a loose uphill section but survived without dabbing

[Ditchfinder]

Ah the gift that keeps on giving. I suspected a minor leak from the exhaust manifold so at the weekend I removed the exhaust and reseated the copper gasket so it was straight and bolted everything back up again. Went to fire the bike up and thought that smells a bit fuelly. Turns out as I stood up I'd managed to knock the fuel pump outlet and broken it leading to me spraying petrol all over the floor.

Off I go to check the price of a new fuel pump housing, but oh no, you have to buy the entire fuel pump - £300+

I'm going to try and repair the housing by inserting a sprung roll pin into the two halves of the broken outlet and then applying a soldering iron to join them. I'll layer up some epoxy on the outside afterwards.

I mean if it fails what's the worst that can happen

[Ditchfinder]

I ended up ordering a fuel pump off eBay from India which is likely to take a few weeks, but it's only £60. In the meantime I thought I'd attempt the repair.

A 3mm roll pin and some high heat JBweld (fuel resistant) left to cure for 3 days and the bike fired up and we have no leaks.

The repair needs to withstand ©40 psi so no idea how long it will last but we'll find out when the sun reappears up in these parts

[Ditchfinder]

So the fuel pump survived whilst the replacement was en route from India. Unfortunately I didn't tighten the battery terminals up after I refitted it. This caused some shenanigans with the charging circuit which led to the reg/rec failing and taking the battery with it. The battery was old and always struggled especially if stood idle for a week or so despite no parasitic drain being evident.

Anyway, all sorted and it's been it out a successful test ride. Whilst it's been off the road I've made a few changes to carrying tools etc.

Tool roll is now strapped to the passenger seat base. The spare inner tube is now stored under the passenger seat. Tyres levers are strapped to the sub frame rail wrapped in an old bicycle inner tube. Everything stayed solid and survived a couple of miles of green lane

Center stand has come off now as it the first thing to catch off road and it was a bit of an anchor so I need to get one if those trail stand thingys.

I have stand in the shed for maintenance tasks.

Long story short I've thrown another £100 at it with the battery, reg/rec and fuel pump I bought for when my repair inevitably fails

Fuel pumps from India are very cheap if you can wait thankfully

[Ditchfinder]

Didn't realise I hadn't updated the changes for so long and this is good as an aide memoir.

So the tool roll went missing mid ride as I hadn't strapped in on tightly enough so that's been replaced and a smaller one lives under the seat now i've tidied things up under there a bit. Tyre levers are now in one of the side panniers with the trail stand and inflator as they were rattling about a bit under the sub-frame rail. Cheapy trail stand is in the kit now and has been tested in getting wheel in and out.

New LED indicators went on as I was getting fed up of epoxyying the old knackered one back together. Needed a relay with a resistor in to sort the hyperflashing.

A shorter screen has gone on which has reduced buffeting massively. This had the added benefit of allowing me to get the handguards a bit higher as they don't catch the edges of the shorter screen.

Despite all of the issues I had with the head it has run faultlessly since then, commuting a bit of laning and some spirited b-roads when it's been a nice evening to take the long way home. It's currently saving me buying diesel for my 45mpg diesel car whilst delivering 75 mpg too.

Next job is a fork rebuild as I've managed to bottom them out a couple of times now. Will likely reduce the air gap and use some heavier oil.

So with the fork oil service I'm going to be up to around £1400 with all of the mods,servicing/repairs, purchase price and a set of tyres. I think I've managed to knock around 10-12kg off the weight. There's not much out there similar or which could do the same job which wouldn't require money and spanners throwing at it so I'm OK with what it's cost me vs the pleasure I've had/am getting out of it.

The bike is pretty much where I want it now with just fuel, tyres, servicing and repairs as needed in it's future. It's pretty much convinced me that it's unlikely the Triumph is ever going to be back on the road until I have a lot more riding time available.