bodgers

[Ethelred]

I like this forum, full of proper mechanics and wisecracking humour. I was worried that it might be populated by the woolly socks over the top of the boots brigade  , but it appears not.

What's the best/worst bodge you've come across during a rebuild (you can pretend it was someone else and not you who did it if you like)?

I bought an Indian Enfield recently which had araldited rocker studs to hold in the helicoils which were pulling out. I got rescued on that bike the first 3 times I took it out. The wife got to a point where she'd wait by the phone.

[metalflake11]

Woolly socks over the boots?......What, like this?

 
All sorts on here, but between 'em there is very little not known about A7/10's

[Beezageezauk]

The last bodge that I did was in Denmark last year.

I was heading to Esbjerg to catch the homebound ferry when the bracket tore away from the silencer.  Fortunately one of the guys I was travelling with had a can of beer with him.  Unfortunately for him we had to drink the beer in order to use the can to patch the hole.

Beer cans and tie-wraps are a must for the tool kit.

Beezageezauk.

[metalflake11]

Worst bodge I ever saw, (apart from my own, that was re-grind big end journals in the kitchen). was two ordinary nuts and bolts holding the end cap on a conrod. That was on my A10 when I bought it, one had a spring washer the other a flat. It lasted 50 miles or so before it started to knock and re-profile the left crankcase. It's like that to this day! They weren't even the same thickness bolts.

[metalflake11]

That's not a bodge Beezageeza, that's a damn fine bit of British bike engineering! Well done Sir!

[bsa-bill]

candidate for the most dangerous?
When I bought my last project the alloy tank was held on by one frayed bungy cord running front to back, nothing else

[Triton Thrasher]

candidate for the most dangerous?
When I bought my last project the alloy tank was held on by one frayed bungy cord running front to back, nothing else

What's wrong with that? There's not much more holding the tank onto a Manx Norton.

 If you crash, do you really want to keep the tank so near to you?

[wilko]

[bsa-bill]

What's wrong with that? There's not much more holding the tank onto a Manx Norton.

The tank on a Manx is made for a Manx and fits a Manx and the strap on them is not of the 50 pence variety

The tank that was on my project was a Lytra type not made for an A10, and did not fit an A10 it was "balanced"  on the frame held by the afore mentioned cord and the fuel pipe to the carb.

If you crash, do you really want to keep the tank so near to you?

 Now tell me what happens to every A10 with the tank held on properly

and I have watched a fair bit of motorcycle racing in my time, of the crashes I've seen the proportion of them were the tank politely parts company with the bike is rather small, certainly less than the number where the rider does so

[Ethelred]

re-grind big end journals in the kitchen

I'm intrigued, do tell more

[metalflake11]

Firstly, I was still a teenger...... OK!
Now, when those big end bolts came loose I stripped the motor and took the crank to Hogans Engineering (long gone) for a re-grind. Sadly, they couldn't get it running true, due to damage on one of the centering holes. Being young and naive (did I mention I was only a teenager? ) I thought I'd do it myself using oversize shells, grinding paste and a line or two of columbian marching powder! I smeared the journals with grinding paste, assembled the conrod and shells, tightened the bolts untill the conrod went stiff and then worked them round untill they went loose. Then I tightened the nuts untill the conrod went stiff again, and worked untill loose. I repeated ad nausium untill the bolts were fully tightened and the conrods still moved, take apart, clean it all up and re-assemble with fresh oil.
It took a long, long time which is where Columbia's finest came in!
I began this monumental cock up at about dinner time one day and was at the pub, on the bike next evening! A 36 hour marathon!
Did it last?.................No!
I have normally used clear pipe for the rocker feed because you can see the colour of the oil, and see it going round (with my tank you can anyway) which  I find comforting. Anyway, after about 300 miles the oil was like black metalflake paint which is not good! ......Hence the name
To this day I still maintain that if only I had cleaned the sludge trap out, it would have been good for 100,000 miles plus
How's that for a bodge eh?......Lastly I hope I didn't forget to mention I was only a teenager when I did this!

[metalflake11]

Blimey Wilko!.........WOOD you want to ride that?

[pato08]

These ones are self explanitary, it's on the tappet cover and base of the A10 I bought.  not one of mine though

[pato08]

Here is another one, does anyone have any idea why it's welded on to the brake pivot ??

[gavinoz]

Maybe a panic brake lever for the pillion?   gav