I know I've only been back two minutes, so interfering in the forum with a new topic like this may promote a "cheeky b*******" response, but ..

I thought there was a gap in the threads of the 'what I've done/bought/seen type. So this one is for interesting work related stuff, i.e. things you don't own but are working on (hopefully) for reward. If it doesn't run then I guess it'll die on its own, and if it doesn't fit with the ethos then it'll get booted. We'd have to respect commercial and data sensitivities.

I'll kick it off with a couple of interesting things that have been through recently.

A pretty (but typically leaky) 3TA in for charging issues.

lets go Larry

lets go Larry

You've got popcorn ready for when it all kicks off over something that should or shouldn't have been done haven't you?

I know I've only been back two minutes, so interfering in the forum with a new topic like this may promote a "cheeky b*******" response, but ..

I thought there was a gap in the threads of the 'what I've done/bought/seen type. So this one is for interesting work related stuff, i.e. things you don't own but are working on (hopefully) for reward. If it doesn't run then I guess it'll die on its own, and if it doesn't fit with the ethos then it'll get booted. We'd have to respect commercial and data sensitivities.

I'll kick it off with a couple of interesting things that have been through recently.

A pretty (but typically leaky) 3TA in for charging issues.
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the original lucas rectifier or the alternator windings breaking down? I seem to recall if I turned the key backwards mine used the coils on the stator like a magneto and allowed batteryless running ( Energy Transfer Ignition it was called from memory).
Great wee bikes, I did tens of thousands of miles on mine, paid £200 for it when I was 16.

I had a bit of an altercation with a reps cavalier that pulled out onto a 60mph country road in front of me:

and rebuilt on another frame better:

the original lucas rectifier or the alternator windings breaking down? I seem to recall if I turned the key backwards mine used the coils on the stator like a magneto and allowed batteryless running ( Energy Transfer Ignition it was called from memory).
Great wee bikes, I did tens of thousands of miles on mine, paid £200 for it when I was 16.

I have something similar on my Bantam, a 3 position switch "I - Off - E" where I is normal ignition, but if the battery goes flat you can switch to the E (emergency) position and it uses the lighting coils to generate enough power to run the HT coil.

the original lucas rectifier or the alternator windings breaking down?

In this instance he had some issues and got an "auto electrician" out who proceeded to make an utter balls of the thing. Feel sorry for the bloke as he's a decent chap but unfortunately engaged the services of someone who knew nothing about old bikes and did rough, cheap work to boot.

I've only found half of the bodgery but it's frankly shockingly poor work. A £5 chinese reg/rec allowing nearly 17v to the battery, but it can't keep up when the headlamp's on. Turns out that the stator wire that should go to the headlamp switch is just taped up in the cowl. Cheap insulated terminals, blobbed solder, random connections being shared. It's going to take a while to work out and sort that's for sure.

The customer said "he joined some wires in there" pointing to the stator case so I can only imagine what horrors lurk in there.

In this instance he had some issues and got an "auto electrician" out who proceeded to make an utter balls of the thing. Feel sorry for the bloke as he's a decent chap but unfortunately engaged the services of someone who knew nothing about old bikes and did rough, cheap work to boot.

I've only found half of the bodgery but it's frankly shockingly poor work. A £5 chinese reg/rec allowing nearly 17v to the battery, but it can't keep up when the headlamp's on. Turns out that the stator wire that should go to the headlamp switch is just taped up in the cowl. Cheap insulated terminals, blobbed solder, random connections being shared. It's going to take a while to work out and sort that's for sure.

The customer said "he joined some wires in there" pointing to the stator case so I can only imagine what horrors lurk in there.

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I hate modern electrical tape wrapped cables. He may not want to go to the expense, though the nicest job would be to buy a new Lucas braided wiring harness and just rewire it, think they are about £70.

I hate modern electrical tape wrapped cables. He may not want to go to the expense, though the nicest job would be to buy a new Lucas braided wiring harness and just rewire it, think they are about £70.

It may yet get a new loom, but I want to work out exactly what's been done to it first. Then I can make the call between making good what looks like a fairly new base loom, or just binning it and start again as that may work out cheaper/quicker anyway.

That said, braiding and heat shrink costs pennies, I use them on most of the electrical work I do even when I'm fitting trackers and stuff. It's that sadly now old fashioned attitude of taking a bit of pride in what you do, and not wanting someone you'll never meet looking at your work and thinking it's a mess.

A lot of the work that comes in is from people who're doing there own project, but reach a sticking point where they don't have the equipment, knowledge, skills or a combination to do that bit.

This is one such job, for a bloke who's converting a Kawasaki ZXR to Kawasaki ZZR USD front end. The stems were pressed out, collars turned and pressed in to the ZZR yokes to take the smaller dia ZXR stem. The ZZR top yoke was then milled to take the ZXR ignition switch.

Now that's done I can fit the forks and look at the wheel fitment which will be spacers to centralise it, and sort out the disc size and alignment for the callipers. He also wants brackets making and fitting to take the top mountings for the headlamp and fairing frame.

A lot of the work that comes in is from people who're doing there own project, but reach a sticking point where they don't have the equipment, knowledge, skills or a combination to do that bit.

This is one such job, for a bloke who's converting a Kawasaki ZXR to Kawasaki ZZR USD front end. The stems were pressed out, collars turned and pressed in to the ZZR yokes to take the smaller dia ZXR stem. The ZZR top yoke was then milled to take the ZXR ignition switch.

Now that's done I can fit the forks and look at the wheel fitment which will be spacers to centralise it, and sort out the disc size and alignment for the callipers. He also wants brackets making and fitting to take the top mountings for the headlamp and fairing frame.

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Custom work can sometimes be nerve racking...you get a part from punter to adapt and more often than not its a 1 bullet shot, no second chances.

Custom work can sometimes be nerve racking...you get a part from punter to adapt and more often than not its a 1 bullet shot, no second chances.

To be honest quite a few things that come through can be a bit nerve wracking. For example "My Rickman CR isn't running right, can you take a look at it?" I wanted to set up an exclusion zone round it never mind start dismantling it.

To be honest quite a few things that come through can be a bit nerve wracking. For example "My Rickman CR isn't running right, can you take a look at it?" I wanted to set up an exclusion zone round it never mind start dismantling it.

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1st job would involve a wheely bin and them exhaust cans that seem to have come from an expansion pipe mother and a Kerker father.

Way back I owned a Rickman CR Kawasaki 1000.
Thank f*ck it didn't look anything like that.
It had a turbo fitted and the engine was in bits when it came my way and it was put back on to carbs.
Another one I wish I still had, along with most of the other bikes I've owned.

I would have thought that he would have taken it back to Metal Malarkey as they built it.

It'd been to a couple of places, no idea if they were one of them, as it wasn't running well. Flat, lacking power, wouldn't rev properly. The carbs had been stripped and cleaned tow or three times, ignition timing adjusted every which way etc. Sadly a great example of **** poor basic diagnostic skills, diving straight in with "sounds like the ...." instead of following a proper process.

Anyway, it didn't take long to sort as the inlet cam timing was out. He went away happy and left a good review.

@Cato found the "auto electrician" I was telling you about this morning

It'd been to a couple of places, no idea if they were one of them, as it wasn't running well. Flat, lacking power, wouldn't rev properly. The carbs had been stripped and cleaned tow or three times, ignition timing adjusted every which way etc. Sadly a great example of **** poor basic diagnostic skills, diving straight in with "sounds like the ...." instead of following a proper process.

Anyway, it didn't take long to sort as the inlet cam timing was out. He went away happy and left a good review.

People used to take the mickey at my stance on methodical fault finding . I use the sliding down the Christmas tree method . I even checked the timing and points on every vehicle that came in for repair , no matter what the problem was . That t alone bumped up our reliability status no end .

Much to the surprise of many who called themselves mechanics I usually got things running happily that hadn't run properly for years . A hair line crack in a bent copper vacuum brake pipe covered in many layers of green paint from the inlet manifold leading to the servo had left one 1938 Bedford office truck being towed around Germany for over 20 years . I sussed it in 10 min and had it repaired & running using a new bespoke made pipe in a couple of hours .

People used to take the mickey at my stance on methodical fault finding . I use the sliding down the Christmas tree method . I even checked the timing and points on every vehicle that came in for repair , no matter what the problem was . That t alone bumped up our reliability status no end .

Much to the surprise of many who called themselves mechanics I usually got things running happily that hadn't run properly for years . A hair line crack in a bent copper vacuum brake pipe covered in many layers of green paint from the inlet manifold leading to the servo had left one 1938 Bedford office truck being towed around Germany for over 20 years . I sussed it in 10 min and had it repaired & running using a new bespoke made pipe in a couple of hours .

I get a lot of jobs come in where they're sure that the carbs need cleaning because of the modern fuel bogey man. Diagnosing a fault has less to do with being good and more to do with being methodical.

The first thing that happens is a visual inspection, followed by a compression test, then a leak down if that's low or unbalanced. Next on the list is the 'quick and dirty' squirt of happy gas to confirm fuelling problems, then on to the ignition etc.

A lot of problems are down to past work either being mis-diagnosed, done poorly, or the customer being less than truthful about what happened. Oddly (or perhaps not) it's usually the shiny/minty/pretty bikes and machines that suffer most from "it's been to four other workshops and they couldn't find the problem" issues.

@Cato found the "auto electrician" I was telling you about this morning

I wonder if he was the one that worked on the 3TA electrics? Whoever did it looks like they got their lists mixed up and followed the "what not to do" one.