Next instalment.......
Fuelling – Even after my quick tidy up, the slow running, ease of use from cold and tickover seemed much better on the MT cv carb than it ever had on the MZ’s 34mm Dell Orto pumper. However, the throttle slide in the cv carb was completely knackered. Replacement was an expensive business, but for me, a reliable tickover and less likelihood of that horrible cough and stall on pull-away is worth it on a winter commute in heavy traffic even if the top-end performance is not so good as with the slide carb.
Exhaust mount / clamps – the bike already had stainless front pipes. The mid-pipe and silencer were the originals, the latter already displaying a patch at it’s lowest point as seems to be the norm. The clamps and mounting flanges were all replaced with stainless. The front silencer mount underneath the rear mudguard had to be repaired – some animal had forced the bolt in there at an angle. The silencer was scrubbed up and given a blow over with heat resistant paint. Hopefully it will see out at least the first winter.
Electricals
The electrics were given a general once-over and all the connections got a good dose of contact cleaner and a brush up. Some other stuff was either modified or augmented as follows:
Rear indicators. I didn’t like the floppy originals that were on there so I used a pair from the donor bike which were sprayed black. These units are fitted with smaller size 10W bulbs so I changed the bulbs in the front indicators to match and also fitted a 10W compatible flasher unit.
The rear light as fitted when I got the bike appears to be the same as that fitted to 80s Kawasaki GPz machines with a black looking lens when the lights are off. I like this – it seems to suit the bike very well and twin bulbs are a bonus.
Voltmeter – This was an auto-jumble find about fifteen years ago and is an original BMW item designed for fairing mounting in one of the old air-head boxers. I think I paid about a fiver for it but have never had a bike where it looked like it would mount nicely til the MT with that big blank space under the warning lights. Seems to work very well and typically indicates dead on 14v with the engine running. This drops to 13v when both lights and heated grips are switched on.
Tacho – from the donor bike; takes its trigger feed from the green wire on the CDI. A mate made me a bracket that uses the original mounting pattern and is bolted to the inside of the headlight unit.
Oil pressure indicator – as fitted to the donor bike. I used the switched 12v feed also going to the neutral indicator to feed the warning light. This then earths out via the oil pressure switch in the filter cover.
Left-hand switchgear – original was very battered so replaced with the item from the donor bike which was identical save for the addition of an on/off switch for the lights. I had to re-arrange some of the wires in the connector block and bypass the on/off switch.
Heated grips – These are some Oxford over-grips that were in my stash. They are the type that velco over the existing grips. I replaced the rather cheap and nasty standard switch and warning LED arrangement with dash-mounted examples. The feed is via a relay mounted behind the headlamp.
Other stuff
All the cables were replaced and the originals kept as emergency spares. The decompressor unit from the donor was taken across to the MT and I used the clutch lever fittings from the donor bike also as this assembly already included a decompressor lever.
The fuel system was cleaned out and I also had to repair the filler cap retainer. Surprisingly, there was very little dirt in the system and the inside of the tank looked clean and rust free. I re-connected the chain to the fuel cap after retrieving the plastic retainer. An in-line filter replaces tilt switch.
The rear mudguard had been broken in the past and badly repaired. It was also showing signs of having been melted against the silencer. The rubber spacer where it is near the silencer was missing. The mudguard and heat buffer were replaced with new items.
The very rusty looking chain was replaced and so were the sprockets. I went up to a 17T on the front as I already had a new one in my stash. Its raised the gearing up a bit to help take account of the bigger engine, but the bike remains much lower geared than the MZ donor which runs a 17T front with a 38T rear – quite a bit smaller than the 47T on the MT. Incidentally, the chain I took off the MZ when removing the engine – a fully enclosed fitment – was still the original after 70k km.
Chain oiler – I bought a twenty quid Lubeman oiler. Not sure I like it yet, I keep forgetting to press the button to allow some oil out and then when I do remember, I always seem to end up with a load on the tyre. Had Scottoilers for years, but didn’t want to go to the expense of buying another one for the MT.
Top box. This is an old Nonfango box I’ve had for years. It last saw action in the mid-nineties fitted to a Suzuki 650 Katana. The mounting plate is also the Nonfango item fitted to the MT rack with some bits and bobs that were lying around. The box locks onto the mounting plate and is quickly detached.
Tomorrow, finishing touches and getting out on the road....
womble