It’s been a few years since I have ridden this little gem of a bike, I recon probably 3 or so years. The last time I rode it was probably the 2017 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. During that ride it again ran out of electricity, just as it did the year before and was stuck in a corner of my fathers shed since then awaiting a bit of attention.
Ron moved into an apartment Easter 2019 and the bike has since been at my place languishing. At some stage over the last few years we have taken a look at it and thought that perhaps the regulator had failed. We had pulled the enclosure off the old Bosch regulator and, not finding the problem there, had not started it since. Over the weekend I thought it was time I pulled my finger out and do something about it and so I did.
First I pulled the regulator off and had a good look at it, I didn’t really have a means to test it so I just cleaned up the terminals where the various leads attach to it which were all badly corroded and I also cleaned up the crimps on the leads in the blind hope that the contacts were just not making a good connection.
Next on the list was to drain the old fuel which must have been about 3 years old – well past its use by date. I then pulled off both carbi’s, stripped them, cleaned them with a carbi cleaner spray and put them back on the engine after reassembly – just as well I did this as one of the jets was blocked.
Next on the list was to clean the commutator on the dynamo (this thing uses a dynamo to produce 6V DC which is used to charge the battery)which charges the battery and so without the battery the engine will not run. This need for a charged up battery is a real bummer and is the reason for my two episodes of failing to proceed on the 2016 and 2017 Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.
I found the commutator to be fairly badly burnished/dirty from the carbon brushes so I’m hopeful that the good clean-up of the copper commutators with an abrasive pad (no steel wool) will have restored conductivity and hence charging of the battery.
Next on the list is to give the thing an oil change and a freshly charged battery, some fresh fuel and a good kick – should start pretty easy but we will see how it goes charging.
