[2bikebill]

My G5 came back from its stay at Watsonian Squire last Friday evening. I was working away saturday but the weather held and I took it out for a fifty mile ride on sunday.
The engine has been re-built, so I'm having to break it in again, but once it's rolling it thumps along nicely at fifty with the engine just above idle speed. It feels tight and a bit sluggish like it did when new, and I look forward to it loosening up and getting perky again. I'll keep the stock pipe on until then, then I'll either re-fit the Goldie or give the Hitchcocks classic efi silencer a try.
The clattering has gone - the engine is a bit ticky but nothing out of the ordinary. I was also aware before of the beginnings of a rumble lower down when I wound the throttle open from slow, and this too is gone thanks to new main bearings.
Mike told me they couldn't find anything specific which would explain the clattering, nothing amiss in the valve train. If it's stopped they don't know why!
It has stopped and that's good enough for me.
They took out the auto decompressor previously apparently, so it wasn't that. But that explains why it was such a bugger to kickstart when the starter relay packed up last time! Starts on the button now, new relay & battery. It looks like they've done a real job on the bike, for which I am truly grateful and will be writing to thank Mike and his team.
It was a real pleasure to ride the old thumper again - what a shame it's the wrong end of the year! Winter weather is moving in apace and I shall be getting both bikes cleaned up and sealed inside these - http://www.vac-bags.co.uk/bike.htm
until the spring.
Or at least until the next dry not-too-freezing day comes along  .....

[singhg5]

My G5 came back from its stay at Watsonian Squire last Friday evening.

The engine has been re-built, ....The clattering has gone - the engine is a bit ticky but nothing out of the ordinary. I was also aware before of the beginnings of a rumble lower down when I wound the throttle open from slow, and this too is gone thanks to new main bearings.

Mike told me they couldn't find anything specific which would explain the clattering, nothing amiss in the valve train. If it's stopped they don't know why!
It has stopped and that's good enough for me.

They took out the auto decompressor previously apparently, so it wasn't that.

It was a real pleasure to ride the old thumper again -

Glad to hear that your thumper is back with new engine though the mystery of its clattering sound remains a mystery as a lot of RE issues are never fully understood but resolved by replacing something or the other ! It is sure a load of fun riding them when they run the way they should.

Which engine parts did they actually change - piston, bearings, valves, springs, pushrods, hydraulic lifters, crank shaft ? Would be nice to know what part caused this problem because it can't be all of them responsible for the sudden noise. May be it had constipation - its innards just needed a thorough cleansing  !!

Best wishes for a long and happy ownership of your G5.

[2bikebill]

Thanks Singh,
I guess the precise cause of the clattering will remain a RE mystery. I don't have the full story of what was done to the engine - Mike is kind of vague on the phone, I get the feeling he's got a lot on his plate, back & forth to Chennai quite a lot recently....
I was told by someone else on the phone that the engine had been rebuilt - he'd seen it in bits on the bench. Mike mentioned the bearings had been replaced and there are new rings. I'm not sure whether anything in the valve train was replaced. The engine certainly feels as though it needs breaking in and I was told to do so at least for a few hundred miles.
I feel sure that everything that can be inspected and tested has been, and that anything even slightly suspect has been replaced, particularly as this was it's second visit to Watsonian - and I wasn't going to just go away quietly....!
Watsonian Squire really do want happy customers and the reputation of these bikes is important to them - that's plain enough. They certainly went beyond the call of duty to get my bike running right.

[Ducati Scotty]

Gald your bike is back and you're enjoying the ride again!  Don't forget to check the cam gear lash at around 500 miles.  As they settle in on a new engine they need to be checked once and set, and then never again.  This is a common cause of clattering noise on the older bikes and our UCEs have the same type of setup.

We want you to keep rolling!

Scott

[2bikebill]

Thanks Scott. Good point about the cam gear lash adjustment - I've made a note not to forget. I think it'll be next spring before 500 miles is reached - rain & gales currently here, and more to come I daresay. The main roads were ok on sunday, but the small roads are lethal - mud & gravel washed down from the fields, slimy wet leaves, and randomly scattered agricultural miscellanea ....

[Maturin]

Very good to hear about the jade having returned to you as a thoroughbred! If it behaves properly, will it be permitted to stay? Or are you taken completely by the Bonniekawa? Btw, I don´t think these odd Indians bikes make much money beeing sold second-hand anyway.....

[2bikebill]

  I hope it'll be with me for a good long time. That Bullet ride is a special and unique pleasure. The W650 is so entirely different - but I honestly can't say that I prefer one over the other.
No matter how much I mull it over  -  I'm afraid I need em both......  

[barenekd]

Glad she's cured. We woulda missed ya.
Bare

[gashousegorilla]

   Good for you Will !  I'm happy for ya.  Now that's sticking with an issue and getting it squared away .  

[r80rt]

OUTSTANDING!!!!

[Arizoni]

WillW

Great to hear they got it sorted out and your enjoying the ride again.

It's too bad you can't talk directly to the guys who did the work.  I bet they could tell you what was amiss.

[2bikebill]

Thanks for all these messages chaps. I would like to know exactly what was done, and when I write to Mike & co this week I will ask for a run down. Mostly I'm just glad to have my black & chrome beauty back in the garage - they do make a fine pair those bikes.....  
I did a lot of work on the old garage this year - took a ton of leaves & moss off the roof, steam cleaned it and sealed it (it's ancient corrugated asbestos, so I didn't want to disturb it). I sealed the inside walls, plugged all gaps around the top with expanding foam, and put a thick layer of bitumen along the floor/wall edges to about a foot up and in. This has stopped the rain coming in, and there's no more water running along the floor or seeping through the walls. Condensation and static damp air is another matter, and I shall still need to put the bikes in bags with dessicant over the worst of winter to prevent corrosion. But the place is greatly improved - I just have to run some armoured cable in for the battery charger and some light.
Honestly  -  these bikes live better than me & the cat!    

[Lwt Big Cheese]

The main roads were ok on sunday, but the small roads are lethal - mud & gravel washed down from the fields, slimy wet leaves, and randomly scattered agricultural miscellanea ....

That's for the genuine Indian experience!

Get the wife and 6 kids on the back and RIDE!!


Good news mate.

[2bikebill]

Solo riding only here. The wife was sold off to white slavers to pay for the Enfield, and I got a good price from the medical experimentation place for all six kids, which paid for the W650.
Nice quiet house now - mind you, I've been eyeing the cat wondering how many litres of petrol a nice persian fur hat & gloves would buy......

[Rusty]

Good to see that you’ve got it sorted Will. It’d be nice to know exactly what was done but if the noises have gone then don’t worry about it too much.

A cheaper alternative to VAC Bags is ACF-50. My bike is stored in a council lock-up with the same inherent damp issues as yours and I’ve coated it with this stuff. It’s very impressive, much more robust than WD40 and I’ve no reason to doubt the good reports I’ve heard, time will tell of course.

http://www.acf-50.co.uk/motorcycle.htm

The big advantage is that if you do get a sunny riding day you can jump on and go without having to unpack and re-pack the bag.