Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all , continued with the strip down of my beloved bullet and am feeling a bit disapointed that the deeper I strip her down the more botch ups I find ,It would apear that a previous owner has endevoured to keep the bike going by any means,with a decent piston and rings but a plain to see gouge in the cylinder wall that is of some vintage,also some strange goo all over the head gasket(looks like upvc window sealant).No further metal contamination found yet but I am getting ready to slpit the crankcase,so at the moment it is like opening a lucky bag and seeing whats inside.

Hello TAPER -------- is the head gasket copper or a composite one ? ( looks like grey paper or card. ). I would strongly urge the use of our hosts American-made composite gasket. It is fitted DRY and, after re-torquing, will give sterling service with NO LEAKS. If that "gouge" is outside of the area swept by the compression rings then I would not worry about it. My No1 Bullet has this from a previous owners TLC. Smooth the edges in general with some 200 grit and wash the barrel. However-----other factors also come into play here eg---piston slap. Overall, how well is the fit of the piston into the bore ?? Maybe a re-bore & piston might be appropriate at this juncture ?? Have you ordered a complete engine gasket set yet ?? And you might just as well go the whole hog by changing the main bearings to quality European made ones ( Can you hear the cash till ringing ?? ). Then there's the NEW FILTER & 20/50 oil. Not trying to put you off----just playing Devils Advocate. Keep the faith !!!

thanks alan for the info,the gouge in the cylinder runs the full bore and is i fear in need of a re bore or new cylinder which ever is most cost effective,the head gasket is a copper type but the composit idea seems like a good move,also the timing cover is worn where the various shafts locate(they are all eliptical) should there be bushes or do the shafts ride in the timing cover housing,if the need for more parts keeps growing i will have to consider sending the wife out to work to finance the re build.

Taper,
Are you sure the timing cover is worn. The only way this could wear eliptical as you say is if the cam spindles were moving up and down, indicating the spindles were loose in the crankcase. To be this loose I doubt it would run. If the timing case is that worn I would think a new case would be a lot cheaper than getting the existing case machined and bushes fitted.