More Gold Star fettling

Getting there with the ongoing (taking forever...) CB32 Gold Star project. I was having problems with compression but stripping down the top end and re-assembling seems to have cured it, though the cause remains a mystery.

I had been struggling to get my head around how to time the ignition and the breather together but a chat with Gary, the former owner, cleared it up for me. Obvious really but just time up the breather on the magneto pinion at top dead centre without tightening it on to the mag and then clock back the engine to 39 degrees btdc and set the ignition timing and then tighten up the pinion. Simple when you know but none of my manuals gave any enlightenment.

The petrol taps were rather leaky and I'm fed with drippy and stinky bikes so I followed a now tried and tested formula to leak proof the fuel system. I've found the key is BAP type taps as these seem to be the most leak free and resistant to ethanol (plus they have the bonus of being quite reasonably priced). The downside is that the BAP type taps are not quite period correct, better though than a fire risk in the shed. So: 1. BAP taps 2. Dowty sealing washers in correct BSP size 3. A liberal application of Loctite 565 on threads 4. Quality fuel line 4. Crimped on ferrules. Job done.

I bought the parts needed from local shop Feked. Highly recommended. They also had in stock a hard plastic fuel line snap connector in 1/4 bore size. As it seems likely that the Goldie tank will be on and off rather a lot I decided to try them out. Results are good.

Fuel line happiness in the workshop. BAP taps, Dowty washers,
Loctite 565 and a bottle of IPA.

Snap connector from Feked. Very handy.

The final set up. Cranked joint was in a drawer in the workshop
and makes it a neat job.

 Next up was quieting down the beast. Last it was run complaints from neighbours were elicited. Times change and excessively noisy vehicles are no longer so widely tolerated. Shame to lose the twitter on a Goldie but a baffle in the silencer makes for happier neighbours and more opportunity for trial runs and fettling. Again Feked came up trumps with the part, easy to fit and it does take the bite off the exhaust quite nicely. A Goldie track silencer is more of an amplifier. I did notice as well that the baffle has largely cured the megaphonitis the bike was suffering from and limited the blow back through the carb.

Feked baffle!

And the baffle bolted in place. Fairly inconspicuous but
quite effective.

 Final small job was to try and introduce some comfort to the whole plot. I picked up a set of riser clip ons at an autojumble a while back so decided to give them a go. Overall a small improvement but not as great as hoped for. The big win is that they have increased the steering lock considerably. It is easier to balance and start the bike. Downside though is that they are not much more comfortable....

Stainless riser clip ons. Better but not quite there yet...