Reviving a battered 1200

All I can say is most of us will never get value out of a perfect solution because we are too old. I wince at the prices of pistons etc, the money would be better spent on petrol if an acceptable resolution could be found with used parts etc.
 
The problem with a pressure gauge that reads in % is that you can't test its calibration. Ok, you can hook it up to a manifold with another (trusted) gauge fitted, pump it up so the pressure on the master gauge says lets say 7 bar for example, and the leak down gauge says 85%. WTF does that mean? I'll tell you what it means - nothing. I want to know what I'm dealing with. If I want the reading of the second gauge as a percentage of the first, I can do the arithmetic myself.

breganzane said:
Hi Cam,

Most of us buy unbranded leakdown testers from "that country"
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Yes, I have to confess that I did buy a leak down teaser of dubious pedigree. It was utterly useless. There was no way it was ever going to work.
I thought about "fixing" it as you did with yours, but even if I could get it to work, I wasn't convinced of its value as a diagnostic tool anyway.

A simple compression gauge tells you pretty much all you need to know, and is way simpler to use. I suppose a leak down tester might be useful to diagnose the leakage path, but simply pumping compressed air down the spark plug hole and listening at the inlet/exhaust ports or the crank breather will do that.

I don't remember what I did with my useless leak down tester. I think I recycled the pressure gauge (the one that actually reads pressure) to resurrect a tyre inflator that had a busted gauge. I haven't seen it for ages so may have chucked the rest of it out in a fit of disgust.
 
..... or Fahrenheit.... doing battle with a Holden/Chevy Cruze, the normal coolant working temperature is 105C at 20psi ( one and a bit bar...grin ) there are technical clever blokes in the USA and in SA here, whom improve the motor operation, the constant conversion F to C used to be easy, old mind here hits the overtemp often... mental gymnastics... you do not walk alone Quentin... ( just bought a Cadillac thermo housing to retrieve the inner thermostat from the USA ) opens at F and will open in C when it arrives and Chinese metal housing when it arrives. j
 
pf1 said:
All I can say is most of us will never get value out of a perfect solution because we are too old. I wince at the prices of pistons etc, the money would be better spent on petrol if an acceptable resolution could be found with used parts etc.
Click to expand...
But then, there would be less fun, and what the heck. let's rebuild this one
 
Dellortoman said:
The problem with a pressure gauge that reads in % is that you can't test its calibration. Ok, you can hook it up to a manifold with another (trusted) gauge fitted, pump it up so the pressure on the master gauge says lets say 7 bar for example, and the leak down gauge says 85%. WTF does that mean? I'll tell you what it means - nothing. I want to know what I'm dealing with. If I want the reading of the second gauge as a percentage of the first, I can do the arithmetic myself.


Yes, I have to confess that I did buy a leak down teaser of dubious pedigree. It was utterly useless. There was no way it was ever going to work.
I thought about "fixing" it as you did with yours, but even if I could get it to work, I wasn't convinced of its value as a diagnostic tool anyway.

A simple compression gauge tells you pretty much all you need to know, and is way simpler to use. I suppose a leak down tester might be useful to diagnose the leakage path, but simply pumping compressed air down the spark plug hole and listening at the inlet/exhaust ports or the crank breather will do that.

I don't remember what I did with my useless leak down tester. I think I recycled the pressure gauge (the one that actually reads pressure) to resurrect a tyre inflator that had a busted gauge. I haven't seen it for ages so may have chucked the rest of it out in a fit of disgust.
Click to expand...
I really agree and discussed this during my training many many years ago. Everything you point out is true. I can only vouch for the tester if it is used to convince a seller that the engine needs work, in my case it helped a lot :) .I use it to increase/regulate pressure to the top of the piston, just connecting the tester and blasting 8 Bar of air into the cylinder will greatly increase chances you evoke a reaction from the crankshaft, don't ask me how I know. Yes, that was with a bike in 5th gear and the rear brake full on:oops:.
 
So back somewhat towards topic (odd, I know...) @Ernestee0 where are you actually at with the bike and how is it going?

Some years back I accidentally rescued a very rough and corroded UK import 1200 that came to my place for fitting a new ignition and left a year later completely rebuilt. :)
 
breganzane said:
So back somewhat towards topic (odd, I know...) @Ernestee0 where are you actually at with the bike and how is it going?

Some years back I accidentally rescued a very rough and corroded UK import 1200 that came to my place for fitting a new ignition and left a year later completely rebuilt. :)
Click to expand...
I am experiencing the same process , I think, I am receiving all kinds of parts, stil making an inventory until all is measured and protocolled. Still have the head to go, which seems ok, with bronze guides and well sealing valves. I am still working on the valve buckets, which look a bit mangled, I think I have found some automotive ones. pretty cheap and if the head is ok, would fit.
 
1724747384258.png32 mm outer length26 , just a 2 mm shorter, height depending on the valve clearance, but according to my calculations, would be fitting as there are many "heights available".
 
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