I'm glad I didn't drive to Pembrey

Andy Bonwick :

Ho hum.

If you need any bits, I should have a spare engine by next week.

 

The Older Gentleman :

Sump. There isn't anywhere else for them to be.

 

Suppose so, yeah.

 

Easiest route out if the engine is anything like the layout of other
stuff I've seem, they could drop straight down where the camchain runs
and find a new home in the sludge..

 

<fx: sucks teeth>

Ordinarily I might agree. I still might agree. It just seems too much
like coincidence.

It's not like the engine had ever been starved of lube or anything,
which might have damaged the bearing - the cam lobes were like new. No
visible wear at all.

It's all ending happily, anyway. Simian's got a decent engine cheap, his
bottom end and/or crankcases will presumably go to Team Ukrm, but I
really, really want to know what it let go.

 

That is quick.

Yes since they would get better reliability.

If is finishing is the priority then maybe.

Last year was all about learning and despite what's happened you had to
go for it this year and I personally applaud you for that. You've had
some bad luck.

 

Speaking as someone who got re-ended at Pembrey last year I wouldn't
recommend it.

 

The Older Gentleman said:

How is oil fed to the bearing?

 

Splash lube from the general top end? Ball races don't need pressure
lube.

Oil strvation would nadger the cam lobes and plain bearings first IMHO.

 

The Older Gentleman muttered

Always a shame to see the Dukes blowing up. That was the great thing
with the 'prilly mille first time out - I counted them out,and I
countedthem home....huh? All the entered Italians V twins home? Huh?
;-)

R1, mate. '99 24hr at Oschersleben when the Endurance regulars like
Phase 1 were still building "Superbike" class machines, the R1 was
allowed in the Stock class with slicks for the first time. First
place, not in class, on the track.

Before that the bikes at the front were superbikes - the Phase One
Gixer 750 was not "stock" ( for example), no sirree.

 

The Older Gentleman said:

Prolly I suppose. I wondered if it was fed via a drilling in outer race
and the drilling wasn't matching up with the drilling in the head. Just
a thought, but as you say, ball races want plenty of oil flow, but don't
(obviously) build any pressure.

I agree - if that's the way the oil gets into the bearing. Just a
thought.

 

No but I had been sitting close to SimonB, perhaps some of his smell
rubbed off on me?

 

You should have given me a bell. I've got an old Kawasaki in the back
of the shed you could have borrowed.

--
Platypus
VN800 Drifter, R80RT
DIAABTCOD#2 GPOTHUF#19
BOTAFOS#6 BOTAFOT#89
BOB#1 SBS#35 ANORAK#18 TWA#15

 

Arse! Oh well, the gloves will last longer.

Commiserations to all especially Alex.

 

Cnut ;-)

Well, it was a joint effort, and if we did make a mistake, we did it by
following the Haynes BoL assiduously.

<fx: light dawns>

But basically, yes. If we did something wrong, I want to know what it
was because neither Simian, myself, Champ nor Wheelpower can figure it
out.

 

Halfords are hiring?

 

Heh. Nope. Only things that came loose were the dowels for the cam cap
and the clips to hold the bearings in place, and we replaced them.

I'm now tending more and more towards Muck's suggestion: the bearing was
on the way out and went at the most embarrassing time possible. In other
words, Law of Sod.

I'm certain it wasn't the tensioner - but I've asked Simian to check the
surface of the slipper blade. 50 miles of running with a severely
over-tightened camchain will have worn away the slipper surface, right
down to the metal.

 

You love danger doncha?

 

And yet with less and less resources to pursue it. You do realise you'll be
reduced to playing Irish Roulette [1] don't you?

[1] A variation of the classic Russian game of risk whereby you hit yourself
over the head with a stick six times, once very hard.

 

Champ said:

You don't subscribe to the well proven 'hare and tortoise' school of
endurance racing then?