The sources of my woes (charging issues and more!)

Hi,

Without resurrecting all of my previous threads, I've had the bike examined by a doctor, sorry mechanic and the following things are up-

Starter motor needs overhauling- was drawing more amps to get the bike going, so this was draining the battery

Reg/Rec is faulty- so following the above, the charge is not going back into the bike after it's been drained in the first place.

Alternator and battery are both in good nick.

Clutch is dragging- it needs an overhaul- if the plates are warped, they can be flattened and the basket is probably grooved.

And this is before I get the carbs looked at and the bike on a dyno!!!


So- I'm getting the starter serviced as I type and the reg/rec is only 4 months old, so I'm going to ride to Henley tomorrow am to get that replaced.

The clutch is a job for the future, as I can't afford that being done yet- a month or so's time.

Then I'll look at the carbs for general running of the bike (I synced them the other day- they were over 8cm/hg out with the front creating the lower vacuum).

I need to get that front choke plunger looked at (try as I might, I can't get that screw off- oo-er!- it's well grimy)- my local mech does ultrasound cleaning for £25+vat- as the bike's done around 40k miles, I think I'll give this a shot. I reckon that that will be the main cause of the front carb underperforming.

So- a bit of cash to be spent, but I'll have the bike running like a beauty in no time! At least the bike will be starting properly and not draining so much battery charge. And I now know what needs doing, so I can formulate a plan. It's not as bad as I expected.

After this is all done, I can hopefully (and finally) focus on performance mods.

Well- the starter motor is now fixed, working well and looking all clean and shiny again.

I'll be dropping by Electrex to replace the reg/rec in the morning, so no more charging woes for me for a while!

It also appears that I have a small leak from the clutch cover- just a bit of fine spray- slight split under one of the bolts, as if it's been overtightened. Will need to get that replaced soon.

Is there any way I could plug it temporarily, until I can get the new bits? Cash is a slight issue at the moment...

Am I right in thinking that this can be changed on the sidestand, with a cold engine, without having to drain the oil?

If your quick at changing the bolt then it should be fine as the other bolts will still be providing tension . If your removing the whole thing then it looks more likely that a complete drain would be best , some may chip in about laying her on her side to avoid that .

Cheers badger. It's actually the cover that is split, so I'll have to replace it and the o ring.

PeteVTwin is breaking down his SV , wonder if he will have some parts you may be after . If it has a small split you may be able to affect a small repair with some Aluminium putty and then file/paper it to shape and refit new Gasket/O Rings . Personally I would find one spare at a breakers in good nick and replace it if you intend to keep the bike for a while .

Yeah- gonna have the bike for a while yet. Cheers for your help.

[yorkie_chris]

Er messr Badgerous... the curvy clutch cover is in 2 parts specifically to allow the clutch to be swapped without draining the oil. A bit of gasket sealant can be used, do not overtighten the bolts.

The notches in the clutch basket can be removed with a fine stone.

Ultrasound cleaning of the carbs won't do any harm, I'm convinced that small amounts of varnish build up without very regular use.

Front choke screw, use an impact driver after lots of penetrant oil. But first, try give the plunger retaining plate a little whack with a punch (in screw-loosening direction), this can usually get the screws moving.

I stand corrected there , font of all SV knowledge , I keep forgetting about thinking in Curvy terms .

Marvellous. Chris- you're a gent.

Sadly, my torque wrench does not go down to 10nm, so I'll just have to be gentle.

Yeah- my mechanic said he can machine the basket if it's not too worn and can sort warped plates. I gather a new basket would cost quite a bit. He quoted between £160 and £240 to sort it, depending on how much work is involved. How does this compare (ie repairing the parts) with getting new parts?

I have, frankly given up on the front choke screw- the screw, retaining plate and outer part of the cable are all quite corroded. It's had a good dose of Shock'n'Unlock, a good go with mole grips and a gentle tap with a heavy spanner. There's not much left for a driver to grip onto and I don't have an impact driver- buying one just for that would be more than just giving the new bits to the mechanic, who will take 5 mins doing it while he's doing something else on the bike, rather than spend more time cursing the damn thing!

In my experiance at work , 10nM is just about finger tight with a small nip from an Allen key and no more , we tend to use a small dab of a Purple Loctite type solution to stop any screws from backing off in those situations .