BB May 3

What a weekend. We were away in the caravan with friends, but I was determined that this year I would drive into
Stonleigh in my car which I had built. And I did.

Sunday dawned misty but crucially dry, so I drove from the caravan site back to home, where I swapped my tin-top
for the Brooklands. Tools in the back (still don't fully trust it although it hasn't let me down) along with spare clothes
etc. and off we go. I filled up with fuel, which was interesting. It took 18 litres of fuel on which it has done 105
miles (about 6 miles per litre, or 27 mpg). That is truly appalling, however it includes lots of on-choke running and
idling whilst I was setting it up so this run would give a better idea.

The run across was uneventful cruising at 65-70 (around 4000rpm), spending time waving back to all of the children
and conscious of rubberneckers in every other car – this isn't a car for those who are shy!

As usual, there was a 2-mile queue outside Stonleigh (when will they ever get this bit right??) and I was getting very
worried about engine cooling. Remember that I am air-cooled so sitting in queues isn't fun. The engine was idling at
2000rpm and there was smoke coming from the bonnet vents (bear in mind that there isn't a engine under there). In
truth, I think that I was being oversensitive, but I should think about an oil cooler

Upon getting into the show I drove around a little to get some air moving over the cylinders (OK, the truth is I got very
lost) but eventually found the Pembleton area lurking behind the halls (near to where Caterham were boosting
Michelin's profits!). It was great to meet all those owners who I've corresponded with but have never met and see the
various ideas owners have had (some of which I will shamelessly pinch). Ian, thanks for organising it!

I wandered around the halls and the trade stalls picking up a new centre
mirror and tax disk holder, but to be honest my heart wasn't in it – this time
it was just idle curiosity, I wasn't "shopping".

The trip home was equally uneventful, although the speeds had crept up to 75
– I must remember that familiarity breeds contempt and pride come before a
fall. In truth, it keeps up with modern traffic with no problem, and come sof
the line smartly. The only problem when I got back was that the rear
nearside wing stay had moved and was rubbing the tyre (once again). I am
going to have to deal with that properly.

I've had time to think about the other problems. The smoke in the queue was from
the engine vent – I need to route it into the air filters so that it gets recycled.
The high tickover is just idle settings which I adjusted when I got home – reading
items on the Motobins forum they do say that you have to run the engine for more
than 15 miles before you attempt to set-up the idle speed

The list of jobs is going up.

Sort out rear nearside wing stay

Fix starter motor – doesn't engage when the engine is hot. Means removing
exhausts.

Re-balance after reducing idle speed – really needs professional tuning

Route engine breather to air filters

Fit new centre mirror and tax disc holder

Rear seats (when ready)

Fix fuel gauge, which currently reads backwards

Investigate oil cooler fitment.

The total journey was 130 miles, which used up 15 litres of fuel (8 miles/litre or
36mpg) which is far better.

Having spent all of Saturday on "kit car redemption" tasks my soul was considered
purged enough to be allowed in the garage. Time to tackle those tasks. The main ones I
wanted to cover were the starter motor, rear wing stay and the mirror/tax disc holder in
that order.

I was dreading the starter motor as getting to it is a pain, but the exhausts came off
surprisingly easily when encouraged with a rubber mallet. The finned nuts need care.
The threads are fine and relatively shallow, and stripping them means a heads off and
machining fix. The special spanner cost me a fiver and was well worth it.

Upon removing the top cover I had a close look at the voltage regulator which bolts to the
underside of it. I think that this is being affected by the heat from the balance pipe, so
I decided to move it whilst I had access.

Removing the starter motor and its associated solenoid requires the removal of two bolts,
but it isn't that simple, as the heads aren't accessible (although they are retained) and the
nuts sit in small recesses. On the bike these recesses have an open end, but in this
application the adaptor plate effectively closes that access. I could get a socket on the nut,
but not the ratchet head or a spanner. The solution was to make up the tool you see circled
in red but cutting off exces length from an old 3/8" hex wrench and filing two opposing
angles so it fitted the square drive of an old 13mm socket. I was tempted to weld it in, but
this is not a good idea.

Once I had the tool it was relatively easy and the starter motor came out. I stripped it
down but the pinion teeth look very worn and there is lots of play on the shaft. Before re-
assembly I took the opportunity to check the breather system. Under the cover circled in
blue is a reed valve from the block, this vents into the cover which has another opening
back into a gallery that runs to the front of the engine where the vent pipe is attached,
cicled in red. This was all OK and I changed the gaskets whilst I was there. The bottom
of the "starter chest" as it is called was full of oily gunk, I didn't look in here when I
worked on the engine and so the small oil trace I think was due to the heat making this
more fluid, and some coming out of the starter chest drain hole.

The rear wing stay is fixed as well, all that was needed was a reshaping of the clamp
bracket to take account of the curve of the suspension arm. And the new driving
mirror took two minutes to fix in place and looks far better than the plastic SVA item.

Taking it out for a drive, it ran well, but once the engine was hot the starter wouldn't
engage - it was better (and worse) in that instead of spinning without engaging, it now
graunches as it just reaches the ring gear. I'll have to get a new starter (and chat
about the oil cooler at the same time).

Away again this week, but on Monday I rang up MotoBins and ordered a new starter
motor. I had the option of a new Valeo or an exchange Bosch unit (which was the
model fitted). BMW changed to Valeo on later models and they are reckoned to be a
better starter, so I ordered one of those. In the photo on the right you can see that
the Valeo unit is much smaller, which makes a lot more room under the engine cover.
The units are a direct exchange for one another with one exception, the mounting
holes on the Bosch are straight through so that you need a nut and bolt, whereas the

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been out enjoying the fruits of my labour! The sunny weather has been ideal
and I've used it at every opportunity. So far we have about 500 miles on the clock which is a good shakedown and I
have a list of things to do.

Firstly the engine doesn't want to rev above 4500, the speed tops out at 75. I'm not sure if this is the engine that
needs tuning, the clutch that's slipping or the speedo that is lying. I say these options as I ned to try and rev the
engine with no load, it could be as simple as not enough throttle travel. I know that the clutch needs final adjusting
as nailing the throttle causes a rise in revs with no change in speed. To be honest I'm not too worried at 75 is
plenty fast enough, even on the A1M.

Another issue revolves around the seat. As I only have a central upper backrest, the backrest flexes to the drivers
side when I'm the only one in it and the weld between the nut and plate has failed. As the bodywork above the set
seat is also getting bent where people lean on it to get in and out (despite being asked not to), I need to strengthen
that area and incorporate some extra support for the backrest.

Lastly, the nuts holding the front drivers side wheelarch onto its stay have come off. They has spring wshers but as
the metal is curved I guess they weren't enough. I'll have to fit some nylocs.

I went to the MBF meet at Peterborough on Sunday, which is only five miles up the road. I dropped into the
Motorworks area, but they didn't have a cooler there. I'll have to ring up. I did meet a couple of the MotoBins
forum listers which was great. I just need to get some time to do the jobs!