Best excuse ever?

I've just called in at the bike shop for some ear plugs and the owner
pointed me to a beautifully restored Norton Dommie and asked me what I
thought could've caused the damage on display.

No cylinder heads on this bike and no barrels either, but the pistons were
there for all to see, still attached to their con-rods. Not a pretty sight.

Both pistons and all rings scored to **** on the back side (f'narr), no
damage to the front or any other parts. About an inch wide, the score marks
cover 2/3rds of the total length of each piston. Apart from the scoring, the
pistons look almost good enough to wank over (shiny, brand spanking new, you
get my drift)

The barrels were sat alongside and both were fucked. Badly fucked.

This engine has only just been rebuilt at a cost of 1200 quid and had new
oil and none had leaked out (wow

The engine has covered 6 fucking miles since the restoration and there's no
indication that it's been ragged and overheated.

The engine builder is (apparently) refusing to accept any responsibility and
says the cause of the problem is "You got the timing wrong when you fitted
the electronic ignition" I believe the owner of the bike has chalked it up
to experience and left it with my pal to sort out, not bothering to force
the issue with the original builder.

So... a question.

How the **** can having the timing "off" cause absolutely zero damage to the
top of the pistons or the cylinder heads, but completely trash both piston
skirts and all within 6 miles?

Btw, the engine was sand blasted prior to building.

 

I've got a piston in front of me with that exact wear pattern. It came from
a Yam 450 4-strike 5valve MX motor. The piston has <1 lap use and it has no
sign of any damage at all except for 2 strips of ~10mm wide on the rear face
which are well grooved.
Apparently the cause of this one was lubrication failure.
It would be good to accurately measure the bores and pistons at various
points too. The rebore could be wrong.


JB

 

What are the chances of that happening to an engine that's done <6 miles
since a rebuild which included having the casings sandblasted, eh?

 

Perhaps they should have blown the sand out of the inlets after sand
blasting?

Tim

 

Itth a mythtery, as Toyah Wilcox oneth lithped.

Heh, less of a mythtery methinks, lack of cleanliness more likely.

 

When I was told about the sand blasting, I said "Lets have a look at the oil
then". Within a few minutes, the oil was in a drain can and it felt like
liquid sandpaper between my fingers.

Then I stuck a finger inside the case just below the piston and gave the
case a wipe. Same thing, gritty as ****. Obviously the original builder did
a great job of the rebuild, but failed epically in the cleaning before re
assembly department.

I've arranged for the engine (once it's been stripped again) to go to
another pal's place where he's got an industrial sized "dishwasher" designed
specifically for washing vehicle parts (engines, gearboxes, etc) so there's
absolutely no chance of the same thing happening again.

It's a shame too, coz this bike looks truly magnificent. The owner has
spared no expense.

I'll go back tomorrow and see if I can get a few pictures of it.

 

That's a possibility

 

So why wouldn't he have him in court

 

Ah!

 

Coz it'd probably take too long and he trusts Rob with the new rebuild, even
though it's going to cost him. The end result will be an engine that works
and a bike he can use. If he went down the court route, it'd probably cost
him anyway, if only in the short term, so he's just decided that getting the
bike fixed is more important than arseing about with lawyers and the like.

 

I know this will sound odd, but I'd have fucked that woman into oblivion
while she said that

Indeed.

 

I know this will sound odd, but I'd have fucked that woman into oblivion
while she said that

Indeed.

 

I know this will sound odd, but I'd have fucked that woman into oblivion
while she said that

Indeed.

 

I know this will sound odd, but I'd have fucked that woman into oblivion
while she said that

Indeed.

 

I know this will sound odd, but I'd have fucked that woman into oblivion
while she said that

Indeed.

 

Yeah, "Ahh".

The original builder must be pretty desperate to use the "Your timing was
set incorrectly" argument.

Mind ewe, new pistons, rings, and possibly barrels (I can't remember if
they're liners or just bored barrels) plus labour isn't going to help his
profits very much.

 

Heh, not odd at all ..

 

Twice eh? The stamina!

 

It's the tablets, I reckon.

That, and the use of the vegetarian's solution: celery. You don't eat
it, of course - you use it as splints.

 

celery, along with asparagus is one of the few foods that, eaten in
sufficient quantity can affect the taste of semen.