Thanks Per, no, the F2 tank doesn't leak a drop. It's a pity that the carbs do though, so eventually, before I sell it, I'll have to take them back off and give them a good clean, I installed rebuild kits in those carbs last year, so leaking fuel pisses me off.
Today was the best of days, and the worst of days. I'd planned to reassemble the carbs on the K2 before my Heathcote pie run, so got up early for me on a Sunday, at 8am. I cooked a breakfast of egg and bacon on home made bread toasted with butter and Maasdam cheese, with fried button mushrooms on the side.
Sunday K2 Bitsa ride 28 Mar 2021 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Then I topped the lot with baked beans and tomatoes.
Sunday K2 Bitsa ride 28 Mar 2021 1 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
It was a truly delightful, and possibly healthy, repast. I wandered out and reassembled another set of carbs for the K2. I replaced the return spring with a hardware store spring and it felt a little lighter than the OEM spring, although that might just be wishful thinking. I was about to pull the tank and everything off the K2 so I could install them, when my wife asked me to come around the front of the house.
Laying on our path at the front of our house was the big black cat that had followed my son home a few months ago, dead. He was still warm, I assume he'd been hit by a car when crossing the street to come to our place for breakfast, and he'd made it to the path before he expired. That pretty much ruined my day.
Midnight 2 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Midnight 1 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
He was a lovely boy, he'd often wander down the driveway when I was working on one of the bikes and just flop down beside me, just to keep me company. My bikes didn't frighten him, the only things he didn't like was my air compressor and ultrasonic cleaner, but I could fire up any of my bikes and he wouldn't run off, like our other cats do. I'm gonna miss him. I dug a hole under a tree and buried him in the hoodie that my son gave him to sleep on, and a toy he'd bought him. I haven't told my son yet, he's moved back to Sydney and is living on his own, so I don't want to make things any harder for him, like me, he's a big softie.
Anyway, life goes on. I installed the carbs, and while I had the left sidecover off decided to replace the starter solenoid. When I built this bike I didn't have a spare OEM one so I bought an Ebay cheapie, and while it worked fine, the threaded lugs that the starter cables go on were made from the softest of copper or brass, and the threads were stripped, and the lugs were loose. I ratted thru my tubs of parts and found a good looking solenoid, and bolted it in place, hit the button, and....... nothing. Damn. OK, I did some more ratting, found another one in another tub that looked pretty tatty, so I connected it up without bolting it in place, and it worked fine. I cleaned it up and bolted it in place.
I replaced the airbox and tank, turned on the petcock and was rewarded with not one drop of fuel on the concrete underneath, thank God. I hit the button and it fired up immediately, and quickly settled into a fairly smooth idle. By this stage it was after 2 PM, and didn't feel like doing a pie run, but still wanted to go for a ride, so I did a quick 60 miler to see how it went. It went really well. No missing, no farting, no fuel pissing out under the bike, just a nice crisp throttle response, plenty of power, the riding position was fine, and the new tyres stuck pretty well in the occasional rainy patches. All in all, it was a great ride.
Sunday K2 Bitsa ride 28 Mar 2021 7 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
But......... and there's always a "but", the oil pressure worries me. It starts cold and the gauge sits on 70 psi, and as I'm moving thru traffic for the first 10 minutes or so, will sit on 60 psi @ 4000 RPM. After that, it'll drop down to 40-50 psi. It rarely falls below 40 psi, but I can't for the life of me understand why? I've replaced the oil pump with one that I personally disassembled and measured the rotor clearances etc and I know it's fine, it has new main and big end bearings, no oil leaks, and regardless of what the oil pressure gauge (either gauge) tells me, it runs great. The only thing I can think of is the damage to one of the oil pump screw mounts caused by the previous "builder". The screw barely holds in the remains of the thread, but the other two screws hold the pump in place fine.
K2 oil pump mount by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Could there be an oilway between the screw hole and the pump mount? I'll have to check another set of cases and see. If there is I suppose I could fix it in place, I could use some JB Weld "Steel Stick" stuff which is oil resistant and semi-solid, so won't run like regular JB Weld. As long as I can make sure it's entirely oil free (I'll drop the pan and let it drip out overnight, then thoroughly clean with acetone prior to applying the JB Weld) and bolt the oil pump back in place as the JB weld is setting to ensure a good seal, but if it's not the problem, what is? I'm stumped.
Anyway, I came home, parked the bike, opened a Ginger Joe and toasted the memory of "Midnight", the cat. We'll leave his little kennel out the front in case any other strays wander into our life, and need somewhere safe to stay for awhile.
K2 F2 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
