Hey - long time no see!!

Well, I changed the oil in the ol' Spada today, and took it out for a quick run. It was an unusual warm day, unexpected for late winter.

More about fuel leaks

A week after my last post, I noticed yet more fuel dripping from the under tank drain. So - time to get a genuine Honda o ring, I thought. Because there is no Honda dealer in Dunedin, I ordered it online; it had to come from Japan. The first one that was sent, got lost in the post. The replacement arrived on the 12th of February.
It didn't fix the leak......now the fuel tap was leaking! So - order a new one. They are still available - the part number is 16950-KY6-043.
This arrived on the 25th of February, and was fitted, along with new fuel and vacuum hoses.
Then today, I took the bike for its warrant of fitness test. It passed, and I had my first ride in over two months. Wonderful!

A little drip of petrol

On Monday, when I opened the garage door, I noticed a petrolly smell....and there was a suspicious pool underneath the bike. I found that my fuel tap was leaking.

The tank is easy to remove from a Spada, just release the seat, and undo the one bolt uncovered at the tail of the tank. Pull the fuel and vacuum lines off the carburettor, slide the tank back, and it's off.

The joint between the tap and the tank was leaking.

Two bolts hold the tap to the tank....luckily the tank was only a third full, so I could stand it on its nose to remove the tap. The seal for the joint is an o-ring which fits around the filter block. The ring was flattened and brittle.

A visit to an engineering supplier with the old ring secured a suitable replacement. It was soon installed, and the tank went back on the bike.

Result.....no more leak.

Did I mention summer?

So far it's been disappointing. And, to make things worse, yesterday the Waihola Tavern, a good place to stop for a coffee, was burned down. Oh well, such is life.

Summer will be here soon.

The rear tyre has been replaced, and already has a few ks on it.

Winter approaches

Mind you, even in the worst winter, there are still fine weekends for riding.

The bike is going well, but the rear tyre is worn. This I won't replace myself - I'll pay one of the local motorcycle shops.

Replacing fork seals

I'm not going to provide a blow by blow description.

The bike has no centre stand, so you need a jack to lift it.


Remove the brake caliper, and support it with cable ties

After the fork leg has been removed, stripped and cleaned, you need to drive the top bush back in. I used a piece of 40mm plastic drain pipe to do this.

The new fork seal needs to be protected from damage - this can be caused by pits or marks on the top of the fork leg. I wrapped the leg in food wrap, which I oiled with fork oil before sliding the seal into place.

The seal was driven into place using the drain pipe, with a joiner on the end.

For complete instructions for this job, see the service manual.