Japan Meets Britain

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:58 am

Went for a short ride this morning before the threatening skies unloaded the rain.

The silver coachline on the chain guard is gone (much better I think!), and the bike runs much better since it had a bit of recent reworking. It seems that the right camshaft was loose -- the nut that tightened it was in fact tight, but obviously not tight enough. As well, the old tank is temporarily back on the bike -- the new tank has some issues, namely a nagging pinhole. Next winter project, I suspect!

Another bit of good news is that the transmission is in fact fixed -- wizkid John fixed the design flaw, and it is now oil-tight. Yippee!

Hotshoe · Post by **Hotshoe** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 9:20 am

Great bike/project/thread Vince, thanks for sharing.

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 7:01 am

Haven't posted in a while, mainly because there hasn't been much new to add.....

The 'new' tank has been worked on, and all it needs is to be re-polished and have the panels, badges and cap re-installed. The bike has been running great and has the power of a 450 (at least from my seat-of-the-pants perspective). As well, the chain guard has proven itself to be super-sturdy and fracture-free, so hopefully we've finally solved that problem.

Unfortunately, due to the many tweaks we've had to do this year, and the fact that the weather has been so lousy this year (between the unbearable heat and the weeks of rain, not to mention a hurricane!), I've only put about 1600 miles on the bike. No long trips, and no shows. Hopefully next year will be the year for the Barber Museum trip.....we'll see!

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 4:36 pm

Probably one of the last 60 degree days here this year, so after all the honey-do's were done, I jumped on the bike and gave it a proper thrashing....

Rode about 105 miles this afternoon, mostly north of Baltimore near the Gunpowder/Prettyboy Reservoir area. Very twisty roads, four one-lane bridges, and kinda felt like I was doing a bit of motocross going up some up these roads with their bumpy asphalt. A very 'technical' ride, but the SuperHawk was more than up to the task.

The bike is continuing to amaze me with its performance -- the 5 speed transmission shifts effortlessly, and despite some of the initial bugs, has proven itself to be a worthwhile investment. As well, the bike can hit 'the ton' without any struggle, though I haven't sustained there for very long to see what it does beyond that.

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 4:20 pm

Another beautiful day today (Sunday), and thought I'd take advantage of the weather while it's still hanging around. Like yesterday, rode just over 100 miles today, and the bike performed flawlessly. I did notice that there is what seems to be a small oil leak from the bottom of the alternator cover...hopefully it's nothing serious.

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 6:17 pm

So I'm wondering about this black 'oil' that's seeping out from the bottom portion of the alternator cover. I removed the cover, and there was just a bit of residue of this thin black oil.....almost looks like it's coming out from the bottom screw thread hole from the bottom cover screw. Everything else (stator, rotor, etc) is dry.

Any ideas???

Vince Lupo · Post by **Vince Lupo** » Mon Nov 28, 2011 3:56 pm

Talked to John (mechanic) today, and he concluded that it was chain lube. I cleaned the screws and Loctited them, so hopefully that should do it.