Thursday, March 3, 2016

Time For A Slice Of Humble Pie

Well, the "Boy Genius"™ blew it. When I did the new fuel system, with the mechanical pump, I thought I had done everything right. The bike has been running for quite some time and I've been very pleased with it. In the past month, or so, I've noticed it was running a bit rough. I attributed it to the carburetor. I have a core in the shop and all of the parts, except a small spring kit, to do a performance rebuild. It may, or may not be up to the standards of a Quadrajet guru, but it should be far better than what I have now. However, the carb may not be to blame. The bike quit on me. A quick roadside diagnosis revealed there was no fuel getting to the engine. Again, I trailered it home. I yanked off the pump and a bench test showed that it was fine. This left one last cause. The one that I had least hoped for. I knew that a billet camshaft requires a brass tipped fuel pump pushrod. I bought one and dutifully installed it, when I did the mechanical pump conversion. What I, stupidly, did was to install it backwards, with the brass tip on the pump end. The hardened steel pushrod wiped out the cam. So, today was spent tearing down the bike to access and remove the camshaft. Not a horrible job, but not one that I relished. I about 2 hours, the cam was laying on the floor. I have a replacement on the way. This will also allow me to fix a seeping front crank seal that has been misting the sides of the bike with oil for a year or so and to touch up and address some other cosmetic issues.