Newbie , with a matchless G2

[garagejunkie]

Janet you were correct I did go out for a "proper" look and it had one . The sheet of red reflectors were only £1 so no harm done .

Anyway the MOT ...... I managed to blag a shot of a friends motorcycle trailer and got it down for the mot at 3pm . Half way through the mot inspector asked me to start it , I was wondering why ..he said to see the lights working ..... I was wondering why he couldn't just check the, with the engine off. I got to the bike and instantly I knew there was no power going to anything , no lights , no horn ( a good indicator ) . I got to fiddle about with it and couldn't find anything wrong at all . Voltage in the battery was ok .

Mot was abandoned as I couldn't get it operational , other than that the bike was fine ! Apart from small amount of play in the swing arm .

Got it home feeling frustrated .... Took the battery off to test it further and it was all good , refitted the battery and everything was working on the bike ...... I was/ am so annoyed . It must have been a battery terminal not getting contact or something , even bough it was all tight etc .

Grrrrrrr !

Re test Asap

[Ozmadman]

If you need to fix the play in the swing arm it can sometimes be done without having to replace anything as often the play is end play and not worn bushes. Look underneath the pivot end of the LH swingarm and you should see a nut, this in the retaining nut for a cotter pin. Undo the nut and keeping it on to protect the thread, give the end a few whacks with a hammer to loosen the cotter pin in the arm. Go round the other (RH)side of the bike to the pivot end of the arm and put a lump of wood against the end and rest the other end against an immovable object such as a wall. The RH arm is an arm and pivot rod all in one, the LH arm is just an arm which fits on the pivot rod. Give the end of the RH arm a few strong hits (protect it with some wood or something) which hopefully will have the effect of moving it fractionally on the pivot rod tap in the cotter and tighten the nut and see if that has cured it. If so then a result, if not then it's new bushes and a bit of work!!

[garagejunkie]

Thanks for that oz , I'll have a look , I won't be stripping it down that's for sure , I'm not going to be riding it much and really just want the mot for the registration polava to be over with ! It's so frustrating .

The dvla have no records of the frame number being attached to any registration ( that automatically becomes my problem and expense at £50+ for a new registration) the bike has obviously been used in this country before . Not to mention the price of joining the club and data cert . The dvla know how to make money anyway .

[Janet]

If you need to fix the play in the swing arm it can sometimes be done without having to replace anything as often the play is end play and not worn bushes. Look underneath the pivot end of the LH swingarm and you should see a nut, this in the retaining nut for a cotter pin. Undo the nut and keeping it on to protect the thread, give the end a few whacks with a hammer to loosen the cotter pin in the arm.

Yeah, right! That's the theory. I had to dismantle most of the back end of my bike so that I could drill the pin out. I jest not. Of course, there's always something in the way so I couldn't get a straight go at it. However, I have amazing patience so very, very carefully drilled down. You know the plan, drill the middle until the side walls get so weak a little tap will loosen it. Well, it didn't quite work like that but I did eventually succeed. Knowing that I'd be likely to damage the cotter pin anyway, I'd already purchased a new one.

After about for days of drilling, I was able to move on to:-

Go round the other (RH)side of the bike to the pivot end of the arm and put a lump of wood against the end and rest the other end against an immovable object such as a wall. The RH arm is an arm and pivot rod all in one, the LH arm is just an arm which fits on the pivot rod. Give the end of the RH arm a few strong hits (protect it with some wood or something) which hopefully will have the effect of moving it fractionally on the pivot rod tap in the cotter and tighten the nut and see if that has cured it. If so then a result, if not then it's new bushes and a bit of work!!

Unusually for me, this had the desired effect and all is well.

[G15 Roy]

Thanks for that oz , I'll have a look , I won't be stripping it down that's for sure , I'm not going to be riding it much and really just want the mot for the registration polava to be over with ! It's so frustrating .

The dvla have no records of the frame number being attached to any registration ( that automatically becomes my problem and expense at £50+ for a new registration) the bike has obviously been used in this country before . Not to mention the price of joining the club and data cert . The dvla know how to make money anyway .

The price for an age related number has been £55.00 for years surly this is cheap ( if you get one ) as you will no longer have to pay for road tax. As for the clubs dating fees and membership they are one of the cheapest.

[garagejunkie]

I'm not complaining in anyway about the club or the dating cert service.

I'm complaining as regards to the dvla not having a record of the frame / engine number to be able to trace it's original Id. Therfore I have to pay for a new registration. I can't prove it was on the road, even though it has. I find it hard to believe they only worked with reg numbers and not frame numbers combined.

[garagejunkie]

I seem to have an electricity shortage ... Battery is showing 4v and its not able to power anything , I'm going to put it on a full charge and then start the bike and see if it's charging .

Can't see where it can loose the electricity when I disconnect the battery each time after use ....

[Janet]

It's possible the new battery was faulty. Alternatively, charge it up, check the voltage, go for a run and then check the voltage immediately you return. It should be fully charged but if it's down, that means there may be a problem elsewhere. Your alternator may be putting a charge in but not as fast as things on your bike are drawing it out. Are you Italian and like blowing your horn at all the beautiful ladies as you go past? If not, it's likely to be from an earth leak or lights ( or anything else that uses electrickery).

[garagejunkie]

Ill get this bike on the road yet 😂

[garagejunkie]

Well I'm waiting for my mot re test ( I'm going to ask the guy to check the lights first while the electricity is working - hopefully )

In the mean time I'm taking on a little project , the headlight on my bike is a 5"3/4 Indian made glass and backing . While looking though some car parts I found a couple of Lucas headlights from a triumph vitesse also 5"3/4 . So tomorrow I'm removing my glass from the backing and bonding the Lucas better looking old glass to make a more authentic headlight . Old headlights seem to make quite a bit on eBay so I'm making my own . I probably could use the Lucas backing as well but I'd have to change my wiring to accept the halogen bulb fitting . I'm not cutting into my wiring anymore so I'm using the original type bulb . I'll stick some pictures up when done .