Monday: A Much better day today. After some advice from Marty and Alan on the main VRCC board an reading all the other posts about refitting the air box I finally got it on. I made a special tool to ensure the rear of the tube was properly seated and with a little WD40 and a ratchet strap I got it seated properly. Fitted the new air cleaner and buttoned it all down. I then fitted the petrol tank and found that the auxiliary power socket that I fitted to the front left of the frame was partially obscured by the tank and so I had to take it off again. I will have to re-drill the mounting plate and put it back on before the tank can be mounted. I refilled the cooling system with new anti freeze mix and called it a day. I am still waiting for the delivery of the exhaust gaskets, hopefully they will be here tomorrow.
Tuesday: The exhaust gaskets arrived with the lunch time post delivery. Not a lot of point though as it is pouring with rain. Raining all day Wednesday too.
Thursday: Another good day. I refitted the side neck cover and then the petrol tank. I had to shorten the main petrol pipe some more due to the fitting of the electric shut off valve but got it back on and all back together without needing any help. I fitted the rear brake calliper, the left side exhaust and the prop stand. I then bled the front and back brakes and the clutch. The left side engine crash bar seems to be a little out of shape and I will need some help to get that bolted up. I can’t re-fit the right side exhaust until I get the bike down off the lift as it is in the way. I fitted the new alternator chrome cover and so now the left side is completely finished.
Friday: A good day and a bad day. With the help of a friend I got the Valk off the lift. I then installed the right side exhaust and the two engine crash bars. Checked that the brakes were still OK with plenty of pressure and they were. I bounced the front suspension and then torqued the front axle. I then checked everything over for loose bolts etc and didn’t find any. So I took a chance and connected the battery and turned on the petrol. Engaged the choke and started turning the engine over. It coughed twice and then started right up, not bad considering that it last ran in October last year. I topped the radiator up with the engine running as directed in the workshop manual. I then noticed a small puddle developing underneath the bike. Turned if off and smelt the liquid in the puddle and found that it was petrol. Looking underneath the airbox I found that the petrol was leaking from the pipe attached to the electric shut off valve. There was no choice but to remove the tank and the airbox again. The airbox came out much easier than it went in. I found that the worm drive on one of the hose clips on the valve had failed and it wasn’t tight. Tidied up and took a trip to the local car accessory shop for four new clips for the fuel line. Oh how I wish I had bought them before, hindsight is a wonderful thing. So just got to refit the valve and the airbox and the tank and it will be there.
Saturday: Great day today. I reinstalled the shut off valve with new clips. I then refitted the airbox. It only took about an hour this time to get it in better than before. Definitely not a job that I want to tackle too often. I got the tank back on and checked everything over again. Connected the battery engaged the choke and it started as soon as I touched the button. Let it warm up ad then went for a slow ride in 1st and 2nd gear around the corner to an empty car park. I had a play there for about 5 minutes and then rode home. I got a couple of clunks from the air shocks as they haven’t got any air in at the moment. Just change the oils, some final wiring to do hazard lights and spot lights, the brake light is on all the time so the switch must need adjusting and then do the measuring for the air shocks and it will be ready for testing and re-registering for use here in Spain.
A really great week in the end and hopefully there won’t be many more entries on the blog about the rebuild the rest will be about using it.