Let the games begin
Well, I got the lump I was after.
It set me back £215, but it is pretty much all there. The lump is nice and tight, and the heads look like new.
It was advertised as having only done 500 miles, after a rebuild, and it certainly looks like that.
The missing bits are minor. I should be able to make use of the bits off of the existing lump.
Next step is to take the sump off and give the whole thing a good clean.
Then, get the front of the trike off and strip off the engine parts I need for the new lump, like starter motor, alternator, fly-wheel and pulleys. I’ll also need the inlet manifold.
Think I will now order a complete set of gaskets off of evilbay.
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
Fingers crossed….
I think I have found an engine, and it is looking like a good one.
If the description is was it says it is it has only 500 miles on it, after a rebuild, and is a performance lump bored out to 3.9l.
The guy had it in a Cobra, then decided to swap it out for an Overfinch lump.
It is all sounding positive, and hopefully it will be in the garage this Saturday.
The heads are off it at the moment, so the first job will be to put it all back together and then paint it.
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
Looking for a replacement V8 engine
I took the trike out for a run to try and get to the bottom of the issues.
The engine always seems lazy, though ticks over fine.
It seems high reving, and changes to 3rd gear really quickly. (Tis a 3 speed auto box).
At speed it heats up quickly. Speed being a relative term as it would appear that top speed is 66mph.
There seems to be a lot of smoke coming up through the engine breathers.
So, I decided to use my nice new compression tester.
The highest was 75psi and the lowest was 45psi. Most were 65psi.
A quick search of the internet shows that it should be around 150psi. :O
It is a bit hard to believe that I have such a consistent low across all pots.
You would expect it on one or two, or even on one side, but across all 8 cylinders?
Something odd is going on.
The next plan is to test the compressions again, but this time:
a. with another tester, to make sure mine is not duff
b. squirt a bit of oil into the cylinder to try and see if it is the piston rings or the valves/head gasket that are leaking.
Meanwhile I am also keeping an eye out for a replacement Rover 3.5l V8 CD1 engine.
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
I think I have cracked it
Last weekend I put a fair amount of time in to trying to get the trike running properly on gas and petrol.
By the end of the weekend it was running sweet on gas.
It was a first learning how to tune a LPG vapouriser to deliver just the right amount of gas to the engine.
Whilst the gas does enter the engine via the carbs, the carbs play no real roll the tuning of the engine, with the exception of the tickover speed.
When running on petrol it was chucking out thick black sooty smoke.
Originally the mixture screw had been turned out 10 turns. This explained why it would not run on fuel.
I read that it should be at around 3 turns. This was clearly too rich.
In fact, at one stage I could not get the trike started on anything as the plugs were so sooted.
Yesterday I did a bit more reading and attacked the carbs again last night.
To cut a long story short, after about an hour the engine ran sweet and I stank of petrol as I was tuning it in the garage to try and cut down on the noise to the neighbours.
I just need to take it for a test ride now to see if it really is right.
I have a feeling the next job will be to experiment with the viscosity of the oil used in the dashpots, but that will be a whole new post.
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
Am I a good rider?
I think that everyone thinks they are a good rider, I know I do, but how do you measure it?
I commute 55 miles everyday, in all weathers. Anyone who reads this knows I ride in the snow too 
Does that make me a good rider?
The logical option is to do some advanced lessons and then take a test. There are various options, and i decided to go for the Institute of Advanced Motorists “Skills for Life” package.
The idea is to join up with your local group and then get assigned an “Observer”. He/she is highly qualified and will take you out on a number of rides, commenting on your riding style and how you can improve.
When you are ready, you are tested by a Class 1 Police motorcyclist, using the same observer method.
The following YouTube video will give you a flavour of what it is about.
As part of you package, you will get a book on good riding practices.
You could also buy “Motorcycle Roadcraft: The Police Rider’s Handbook to Better Motorcycling” which goes into a lot more detail, and can be a bit heavy to read.
My local group is SAM.
I have been assigned an observer, I just need to get my act together and get started being observed.
How fast does it go?
The trike has one of those bicycle trip computer things, which amongst other things is supposed to tell you how fast you are going.
Only problem is that it was only good at reading zero.
They work on the basis of sticking a magnet to the wheel, and then a sensor monitors when it goes past.
I found a bit of magnet lying around, and then spaced out the sensor so the two parts passed very close.
Spinning the wheel, by hand, has proven that I can average 4 mph.
I did manage to peak at 7 mph, but nearly lost my hand into the monster brake calliper whilst avoiding it getting jammed in the mud guard.
As mentioned in my previous post it was raining, so no test ride.
Though, the plan is to strap the GPS on the trike somewhere so that I can check the accuracy of the permanent one.
The bicycle computer is set for the right wheel size, but tis better to safe than sorry.
A Morning of Tuning
To day was the day to sort the trike not running on fuel.
Having done a ton of reading, the carbs were set to their basic settings.
Part of that meant that the richness screw was now only 3 turns out instead of 10!!
Hoozah!! The trike immediately started and ran, all be it a bit rough.
Time for my new carb balancing thingy and a twiddle with the screw driver.
After 10 mins, and no complaints from the neighbours all was running sweet.
I did try doing it with the garage door closed, but soon had to vacate the blue fog.
It was running great on all 8 cylinders, but only 4 on gas. Again, the left carb was the issue.
I took the “gas ring” out of the inlet to the carb and it was fouled with watery oil.
Once all cleaned up an put back in it was sounding better.
Now it was the turn of tuning the Vapouriser, increasing the flow of the gas.
Success, all 8 on gas too.
By this time it had been raining for a while, so a test ride was out of the question.
V8 Carburation
Right, sorting the carbs on the trike is beginning to get on my nerves.
Every time I think that I have cracked it, the left carb starts to play up, leaving the trike running on 4 cylinders.
I have learnt a hell of a lot about V8 HIF6 SU carbs.
The carb will supply the two outside cylinders on its side, plus the two middle pots on the opposing side.
The HIF44 SU carb is the same as the HIF6, except the measurement between the mounting studs is imperial.
I have watched umpteen vids on Youtube on tuning twin SU’s, and read I don’t know how many manuals and forums on the subject.
I can get the trike running on LPG, but it will not play the game on petrol.
It will start and run on petrol, but only with full choke.
Needless to say I now have a plan.
So, I have now ordered a carb balancer, so that I can test if the left carb is lazy.
I have also ordered a compression tester on the off chance I have set of cylinders that have low compression, and hence the draw on the left carb is low.
I guess the neighbours are gonna have a noisy Saturday. Unless I go off to one of the industrial estates again
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
Project “Twist & Go”
I have always had a hankering for a trike, or more importantly a “Stealth” trike.
They are based on a 3.5 litre Rover V8, with an auto gearbox. There were 25 made, though the first 5 “went missing”.
It is taxed until the end of August, so the plan is to ride it during the summer, and iron out some of the bugs. More importantly I want to get a feel for what needs doing.
I will SORN it when the tax runs out and spend the winter putting in place all the changes and giving it a paint job.
The reason for the project name?
Well, it is a bit like a scooter. It has a throttle and a brake. “Simples”.
In: Bikes, Project Twist n Go
The end of Project XT
Project XT pretty much ground to a halt.
The main reason is that I am having fun riding it on the green lanes around here. I also use it as a weekend runabout.
This got me thinking that there is little point in making it all pristine, as I will end up trying to be careful not too scratch it.
So, Project XT is pretty much dead in the water. I will continue to give updates if I do undertake any work on it though.
Oh yeah, there is a new project!! Details will be published in a day or so.