thanks for the replies, by the conversion rates, £375 would be 536 usd today. pretty comparable sounds like, not taking into account new valves or inflation?
but on the other hand, you're scarin' me 54! the fellow took the piece, did a full cleaning without blasting, took it all apart and measured it by the specs they have. he said only one valve might be usable, but that the seats had all been recessed so much they were beyond using again. I didn't know about possible oversize valves, but it sounds reasonable.
the head was working for me, but people kept telling me with concern that I was blowing a lot of smoke on the right side, and I knew that pipe was dripping oil from the silencer and joint. I also knew that that valve stem was rough, rusted at some point, but was hoping to avoid the work. someone finally scared me enough to make this decision.
I am not one to throw money at a problem or throw away good parts as a general rule. I may have gotten carried away, but at the same time I want to keep this bike reliable for years to come. I figured this would be a good step. I also don't want to insult these guys by balking at a fair price for what they suggest when I don't know my idiot from a hole in the ground...
here's the best shot I got of the underside, kinda hard to tell what's what, and since I personally have no reference...
I am not ready to take on the risk of screwing it up, so I didn't even think to take on this project myself. and I do respect these guys, tho they have no good reason not to milk me for anything they can get out of me...
I'll call them again tomorrow and see if they think that oversized valves would be a good idea, but I was strongly advised to do the hardened seats already. do the oversized valves change performance also? require carb tuning?
thanks again! I'll be away the next few days, but I'm still very interested to hear any thoughts!!!