Its getting a bit crowded in the Imp barn. I've got two Imps, the bike, a pushmower, and the riding lawnmower all in the basement garage. The close proximity did cause a bit of a problem during the rebuild of the S7. I tipped the frame off balance and it nearly hit the red car. After that I rigged up a rope to the ceiling and kept the bike frame securely tied. The trick with this arrangement is getting the thing that you want to drive out when its in the back.
We didn't get many miles on Eduardo this year. The farthest we went was to Gettysburg for the car show they hold at the outlet shops. It is an awesome show. The ladies are content to browse the shops while the guys can admire all the classic cars and bikes.
The S7 Deluxe has been ready, but I needed a license plate to take it out on the street. The moment I was waiting for arrived today, when the tag and registration came. I made some quickie retaining clips to hold the plate on over the original UK number plate. The clips are made of a strip of stainless sheetmetal curved to catch behind the original license plate bracket. There's a hole drilled in the strip and a bolt welded into that hole so that when the outside retaining nut is tightened the bolt doesn't turn. The matching brackets attach from the left and right sides and are backed with a strip of inner tube rubber. This protects the original bracket and gives some elastic tension to the clips. The clips are made tight enough that they spring out JUST enough to allow the license plate to stretch between the studs. It is very secure. Currently the bottom has no clips but simply a piece of weatherstripping behind the plate to protect the original KYL95 plate from abrasion, but I may add some bottom clips later.
You will notice in the film that I forgot to do something as I drove away. Yup... forgot to turn on the fuel. I'm so spoiled by the XS650 with automatic vacuum-operated petcocks, and the Guzzi with no petcock. I got 50 yards down the road and quickly realized what I had forgotten. I made a few trips UP the hill from my house. That way if it stops running I can always coast back home. Unfortunately, its a rather short drive up the hill, so I made a few iterative trips while tweaking the carb. Overall it runs nicely. It pulls well even in 3rd gear, and each shift is flawless (unlike the Guzzi).
The best way to see if you've forgotten to tighten any bolts is to see how many fall off on the maiden voyage. I did pretty good. I only lost the nut from the distributor breaker contact wire. It was an easy fix and I was back going again.
There appears to be some oil seepage from the head gasket. I'll try to torque the head again, but I don't want to snap a stud. I'm afraid my attempts to seal the oil passageway have failed. I may be taking the head off again to improve the seal. I'll have to see what happens when the engine gets good and warm. Things may seal up as they get hot, or it may get worse.
My instincts will have to develop for the brake on the left foot. It will take a while to get used to. If I can figure a clean an inconspicuous way to add a brake light switch to the front brake I think I will. Its a safety item and I think its worthwhile. Learning low speed turning will also be a challenge. It does get a little squirrely in the turns. The bike is so well balanced and so low, the counter-steer effect is prevalent even at slow speeds. I was amazed. At speeds I tricycle steer with my other bikes, the S7 tends to counter-steer. That will take some getting used to.
I need to make a little tool-roll of the essential spanners, screwdrivers, and a tommy bar. Then I will feel better about venturing further from the house.
The charging system just isn't working well enough. I tried fiddling with the electromechanical regulator with improvement, however if I do get it working its just going to require lots of maintanence, and if it fails then I'm beside the road. Can't have that.
Rooster Ignitions offers a solid state replacement. It fits neatly in the original Lucas MCR2 case with the right bolt holes pre-drilled. A little blue loctite and I bolted it back up.
The ignition system was also upgraded to a booster type solid state device. Also provided by Rooster Ignitions, the Rooster Booster fits nicely inside the box. It's strapped tightly to the coil, with multiple Ty Wraps, and doesn't interfere with the ammeter. I even put a plexiglass cover over the aluminum case just in case the Ty Wraps come loose. I don't want it to touch the screws on the back of the ammeter.
Now all I need is to install the spare bulbs in the electrical case. What a neat idea! I've never seen that before. This truly is a well engineered motorcycle.
Many thanks to all the members of Classic Glory who helped me along the way. I wouldn't have been able to do this without support.
There was some question whether I had the right Amal carburettor. I confirmed all the parts measured the right specs according to everyone's input. The only thing I hadn't done was to remove the jet block from the carb body. All the self-help information said NOT to do this. Well, I couldn't very well make it any worse could I? So I heated up the carb body and used some wooden blocks to dislodge and knock the jet block from the carb body. I found some considerable filth lurking in there. Certainly a few of the passageways were blocked. I scrubbed it clean with a toothbrush and some parts cleaner. Then followed up with carb cleaner and compressed air. Don't worry about the dremel... I wasn't using that on the carb. The former owner must have soldered the pieces of wire to the adjuster screws. That's a pain in the neck when all the surrounding parts are HOT and you can't use a screwdriver.
No one was around to capture my victory lap on video, so this photo at the neighbor's house will have to do.
I decided that the oil switch (however reliable on the bench) is not sufficient for determining what's going on with the oil pressure. Thanks to Tiger Tom, we made an adapter out of a 1/8" Tee and cut off drilled 7/16" bolt. The switch now hangs under the spark cover, and the spark cover has been moved outward by 1/2"... this accommodates the 3/16" copper line that runs to a pressure gauge out of a Sunbeam Alpine (So generously donated by Tiger Tom). I should just be able to glance down between my leg and the seat to see the gauge.
I'll allow the Permatex "Right Stuff" used to seal the adapter to the block to set up for a day or so. Then fire it up and see what the oil pressure is.
I simply checked the spark, squirted some extra oil on the camshaft, and put fuel in. It started on the 3rd kick.
KYL95 is looking good here shining in the fluorescent glow of my workshop.
Now the remaining issues... The oil light doesn't go out. So, I checked that with a gauge... a gauge that was too small. It produces over 10 psi and pegged the gauge, so I'm good there. Must be the switch, although it checked good last time I checked it a year ago. Maybe the contacts are stuck?
I'd like to put a T in the line and monitor the oil pressure with a permanent gauge. Anyone know what kind of thread that is? Or should I go back to Stewart Engineering and get the adapter and a modern oil switch?
Second issue. The charge indicator stays on, which indicates more trouble. I'll try checking the case ground and then tickling the field coil again and see if that does anything. I recall having an earthing issue on the dynamo casing when I first started working on the bike back in October. There is the chance that the voltage regulator isn't working right, but that will take some time to debug.
Overall I'm very happy. It starts amazing easily. I didn't let it warm up properly enough to turn off the strangler. That will be the real test, because before it popped and chugged and carried on like crazy before with the old loose & leaky throttle slide. This new throttle slide is a little on the tight side... The return spring BEARLY overcomes the friction to close the throttle.
I saw a familiar face in "ON THE BEAM" magazine last evening. Its a great publication. I didn't expect to see my own face and a picture of KYL95 take up a whole page.
The exhaust wrap is coming along to cover over my patches on the header pipe. I made some of my own wrap ties out of stainless strips, but I couldn't get them sufficiently tight for my liking. I had to resort to hose clamps as I used on my XS650. I think the #2 clamp needs moved up a little to make it look even. Tonight I will add the protective high temperature paint.
I had to make a little bracket to hold the front of the silencer. Originally it was bodged with a solid piece of pipe. That didn't work too well with a rubber mounted engine. I used a reducer that came with the silencers I got for the XS650. It fits inside the flexible joint and inside the new silencer. The hose clamp pinches down on both of them and holds the bracket as well. The new silencer is WAY TOO shiny for the rest of the bike. I couldn't see using the original as it was dented from when the bike was laid over some time in the past, and there's nothing left inside. It won't be tossed, but I'll run with the new silencer. Unfortunately, the rear bolt for the silencer is stripped. I can't tell if the thread in the frame is stripped too, but to make everything tight I used a smaller bolt and put a nut and lock washer on the back.
The replacement carb throttle slide finally came in from England !!! Many thanks to Nigel who sent it a month ago. I don't know if it got stuck in customs or what. I immediately unpacked it and test-fitted it in the carburettor last evening. Its nice and tight... maybe too tight. Better than too loose. All I need now is time to assemble everything. There are a collection of BSW nuts I ordered from British Tool and Fastener expected to arrive today from New York. That's all the parts I need.
Here's another quandry. How do I fasten a Pennsylvania licence plate to KYL95 without disturbing the original UK number plate? I hate to drill out the original rivets. I don't want to drill any additional holes, but I know the originals won't line up with a modern number plate. I don't want it to look too bodged, even though that's what it will be.
