What have you done to your MT today ? contd

[lardmarc]

5 ft scaffold tube plus 4 ft bar snap on type sorted it.

Wins every time.

Is the clutch cover on a 500 gasketless?

No

The bugger of a cranky beast spent the last year in bits in the hedge,,yawn

Mine's spent a couple of seasons in the undergrowth due to frustration. Once you get it sorted she'll be fine.

[giff]

thanks mr lardmark..i could do with the big meet here for the tutorials on all things mt ,,,specialy on carburation deleroto set up,,im awaiting the force for gaskets ,,then re valve guide this head,,im nearly there so hopefully we can have a west country beard off past trago to the janner meet on the first sunday of the month,,thanks for the u tube stuff you have all posted,,the cambelt failing is a good one,,i imagine most mt owners have been there at some time,

[lardmarc]

I could do with the big meet here for the tutorials on all things mt, especially on carburation dellorto set up.

It all depends where you are in North Devon, it could be a 140 mile round trip.

Deli carbs are a doddle to set up.

[NeilM]

Just finished changing the oil and filter on my elec start converted MT500.

What a flippin messy business that job is, as my bike does not have the oil strainer at the bottom of the oil tank... in fact, I am not sure where it is, so draining the oil tank is just a matter of taking the drain plug out and generating an oil fountain

Anyway, next time I will know the procedure.

Also changed the plug... mostly because I had a couple of new ones here, so, while I was working on the bike... why not.

[Wirralman]

Just finished changing the oil and filter on my elec start converted MT500.

What a flippin messy business that job is, as my bike does not have the oil strainer at the bottom of the oil tank... in fact, I am not sure where it is, so draining the oil tank is just a matter of taking the drain plug out and generating an oil fountain

Anyway, next time I will know the procedure.

Also changed the plug... mostly because I had a couple of new ones here, so, while I was working on the bike... why not.

there's a mesh strainer above the sump plate, a primary filter on the left hand side, and the filter you probably renewed on the right hand side which has a valve at the bottom of the bowl which should stop or at least slow oil draining into the sump. There's a drain plug you can see on the side of the sump plate ( plus one you can't) and the main drain plug which is neatly placed to gush oil over the front wheel. There's a Tee Shirt No 4 for it
The usual problem is new owners overfilling with fresh oil, not realising that there was some oil still in the sump when the drained using the front drain plug

[MTBrown]

Just finished changing the oil and filter on my elec start converted MT500.

What a flippin messy business that job is, as my bike does not have the oil strainer at the bottom of the oil tank... in fact, I am not sure where it is, so draining the oil tank is just a matter of taking the drain plug out and generating an oil fountain

Anyway, next time I will know the procedure.

Also changed the plug... mostly because I had a couple of new ones here, so, while I was working on the bike... why not.

On the original electric start MT500's like mine, the primary filter had to be moved and lay on the top of the crankcase behind the cylinder just before the inlet pipe. I decided that it served no real purpose and have since left it off without any problems.

It's a bit of a rite of passage with an MT covering the floor with oil either while draining it out of the frame or after over filling it. An oil-in-the-frame bike is a good idea in principle but does have its challenges!

[giff]

today i found 20/50 mineral oil in the garage at illfracombe,i bought 2 x 5 ltr containers.i also ignored my headless rotax,fiddled with the knakered base gasket ,and wished for a camo bike cover to hide my enginless frame instead of the blue builders tarp +knakerd old shredded camo tarp +camo netting that kept the motorless bike thru last winter untill now.i am wrestling with the using my head and repairwork on the sticky exhaust valve ie new guide and valve or taking a punt on a good second hand head with its valves intact procrastination is the theif of time

[Wirralman]

i am wrestling with the using my head and repairwork on the sticky exhaust valve ie new guide and valve or taking a punt on a good second hand head with its valves intact procrastination is the theif of time

If you've done the repair, spend your time fitting your engine and putting your bike back together. If you wanted to get your work checked over by Rotax specialist Sportax before fitting, I'm sure that could be done. If you bought another head could just be buying even more problems.

[Steel pony]

So the joys of working an MT350. Rode it commuting for the last two weeks. First week fine but this week over the last couple of days it was starting to chug every now and then. I then had the problem of neutral gear would not engage not until it was totally cold. In about ten minutes. So I have ordered a clutch tool so I can adjust it. I have also brought a new battery exactly the same make and model of the last one. So I thought today I would give it a bit of a service. Checked and adjusted the valves, changed the spark plug screwed off the bottom end of the carb to figure out why unless I switch off the tap at the fuel tank every time I stop the fuel will just drain straight out. Put it all back together and off course will not now fire up. Starter motor sometimes turns sometimes will not. Engine just won't fire up. Tried the kick start (remembering days of my MT500) this sometimes clicked over the starter motor so I could try with the button again all to no effect. I have the sledge hammer and chain saw ready to deploy. Any ideas?

[Wirralman]

So the joys of working an MT350. Checked and adjusted the valves, changed the spark plug screwed off the bottom end of the carb to figure out why unless I switch off the tap at the fuel tank every time I stop the fuel will just drain straight out. Put it all back together and off course will not now fire up. Starter motor sometimes turns sometimes will not. Engine just won't fire up. Tried the kick start (remembering days of my MT500) this sometimes clicked over the starter motor so I could try with the button again all to no effect. I have the sledge hammer and chain saw ready to deploy. Any ideas?

Have you cleaned the earth point behind the horn and is it tight ?
Is your float free to move and does it actually float? Is the float valve ok? If not it won't seal and shut fuel off
Have you put the four cambelt cover bolts in the right holes? The two longer ones go towards the rear. If you remove the cambelt cover and use the starter will the engine spin over.
Finding neutral can be a problem if the fingers of the clutch basket are grooved. You can usually still select neutral ok whilst the bike is still rolling. If you decide to strip the clutch, check stack height etc also fit new springs, even if the old ones appear to be in spec

Chugging - is that resolved by loosening the fuel cap ? If so your breather is blocked. Has your cambelt slipped- check it is still correctly set. Air filter clean and dry ?

Not starting up- kill switch ? If you remove the spark plug, hold it to the engine then press the starter, do you see a spark ? How was your old plug ? Does your new plug have the correct gap? Are all electrical connectors ok ?


If you have a cdi failure there's no way of testing it BUT, buying new components unnecessarily gets expensive !