MOT time - notching

How much notch is a 'notch'?

I have a very slight hesitance for the bars to turn from dead ahead
(can't feel anything whilst it's being ridden) . You can feel it as the
bars pass the center point.

Is there anything I can do to mediate this in the short term?

I really only need about 4 more months out of this bike, and I'll be sad
if either it has to stop being used NOW, or cost four billion pounds to
continue to ride.

 

If you loosen the head races, unwinding the preload adjuster 5-15
degrees, it might just mask it but not introduce enough play at the
forklegs to be noticed.

Otherwise it is a fail.

 

Will the tax run out during those 4 months? If not, don't worry about
it.

 

Aww, bye bye bike.

 

I can't ride a bike with no MOT, my brain would explode from guilt.
My insurance would be somewhat dead, too.

I wish I had space to break it, but I don't.. bugger.
Cheap er5 for bits anyone?

 

No it wouldn't.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, cat

Head bearings on an ER5 really isn't that big a job.

 

How cheap is cheap - that's all that's wrong - headraces?

 

I don't have tools or space :/ I could give it to a garage to mend, but
I'm not sure I want a few hundred quid vanishing into the thing when I
really want something new and I'm already saving for such. The tube
can't be THAT bad over winter.

 

ITYWF there are people in easy distance with tools and garages happy to
help for, at most, a crate of ale

 

You might be able to do it where you park the bike. Stick a plastic
milk crate under the sump, ratchet strap through the crate and over
the seat, then you should be able to take the front wheel and forks
out where the bike stands without it falling over.

A large adjustable spanner, cheap hammer, block of wood, freezer to
stick the new bearings in and shrink them, blowlamp to expand the head
tube,something to use as a drift to knock the old ones out, and job's
a good 'un.

A saturday afternoon and under £100 in kit I'd guess.

 

You're probably right, and I was VERY proud when I rebuilt my rear
brake, but the forecast for Saturday is 'pissing it down' There's a lot
of dials, bars and forks to get out of the way before I can even try
setting fire to the head tube.

Thinking on though, I might be able to blag a slot in a friend's garage,
depending how tight for space they are, Which would protect me from the
councils 'NO MOT' cleanup crews till I was prepared to try a fix.

 

Leave them all the clocks and stuff attached, and just remove the top
yoke. Then (other than perhaps the brake pipe and speedo cable) you
should be able to move the lot out of the way backwards onto the top
of the tank, and just tape it up out of the way.

Sure, it's probably not a haynes manual approach, but it'll save time.

 

Decent pattern bearings are about £30-35. That and a tub of grease and
some tools are all you need, though as Ginge says, some means of
cooling and heating things up does make it easier.

You don't really need to physically remove all the clocks and
switchgear and cables.They can all just sort of flop around on their
wires, as long as you've got a blanket or something to prevent them
damaging the tank's paintwork.

I hate doing head races, actually.

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Kevin Stone

<holds head in hands>

Oh Christ... Not again...

 

"you can check out but you can never leave"

 

I know... Don't worry, I'm not going to play.

 

Having just done GuzziTwo's the other weekend, I cannot help but
agree. Hateful things.

Getting the outer races out was easy, ditto the top inner race. the
bottom inner race was a pig. After trying to notch it and use a cold
chisel to crack it, I ended up just beating screwdrivers in
alternately from each side to lift it clear of the lock-stops, then
gripping it in a vice and wiggling and twisting it off.

By sheer fortune I found that I had a long-abandoned half-finished
model cylinder barrel that made a perfect tool for pressing the new
one in.

 

Why do people go through this. Dremel. 5 mins. done.

 

Couldn't find my sodding mini drill. Still don't know where it is. TBF
it's only a light-duty device and might not have been up to the job
anyway. I did try a small air grinder but that took bloody ages and
didn't really notch the race properly - just ground a hollow onto it.