Diff'rent Strokers

[arlurt]

Hi chaps!

I'm still here, and so's the 3XV...

The good news is that I've finished working on the house for a while, so I can finally get back into the garage. I've got to get some shelving made and a couple of benches, then I can stirp the engine I bought from Japan, and the one that's still in the bike, to see if I can get a good one built up from the bits and the parts I've already bought.

At the speed I work, I might be finshe for winter 09.

Look out for pictures of dead cranks...
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Light is right.

[bobbyboy]

Good to know progress is happening again
Can't believe the story so far.
Would still love a 3ma/3xv, although this thread could put off weaker willed prospective owners
Good luck, would love to see an end to this saga
if only for your sanity, and bank balance.
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www.taffmoto.co.uk for your replacement fairing panels

[arlurt]

Knowing what I know now... and all that.

If (when?) it blows up again I'll just buy another crank. Probably cheaper than my tortured route so far.

Go and get yourself one, we all need something to moan about (that we secretly love).
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Light is right.

[Mouse99]

Hi,

I've read the story so far, a very good read

Sorry that you had some bad luck sourcing replacement parts

On the subject, just happened to spot these on ebay germany, maybe something for you?

http://cgi.ebay.de/TZR-250-R-3XV-Zylinder_W0QQitemZ120394445284QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorrad_Kraftradteile?hash=item120394445284&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318


http://cgi.ebay.de/TZR-250-R-3XV-Vergaser_W0QQitemZ120394434693QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorrad_Kraftradteile?hash=item120394434693&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A10%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Greetings

Mouse99

[wullie mckie]

BLOODY 'ELL, Arlurt !!

I come on this site for the first time in several months to find you out STILL haven't got your 3XV up & runnin' yet !! What the hell 'ave you been doin' man !!
( I know, life gets in the way, etc, etc ).
My own 3XV9 RS has been in bits since the beginning of December '08 & already feels like an eternity !! I removed my engine, took the top-end apart, only to discover that some of the L/H big-end bearing needles & big-end pin had severe corrosion pitting on them, so was a bit, ehm, rough !
My cranks been at SERVICE EXCHANGE PARTS, in Kegworth, since the middle of January '09 while they tried to source a replacement inner web / big-end pin, ( & failed miserably ), so they've decided to repair the knackered big-end pin instead by grinding back the pin & fitting a steel sleeve, machining it to size & case hardening the sleeve.
When I 'phoned them this morning, it was nearly finished being rebuilt, so I should have it back next week. Time will tell.
So come on Karl, get your finger out & get your 3XV finished once & for all. You know you want to.

Best wishes, Wullie 3XV9.
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Just when I'm about to make ends meet, somebody moves the ends !

[charlieuk]

Just read this post from start to finish whilst watching the nw200 practice on the internet. It really makes me miss my days of 2 stroke ownership, and despite the difficulties you are having, I think it's time I sold the diesel and got another smoker. I really miss tinkering in the garage!

Good luck with the rest of rebuild.

[arlurt]

I finally got round to moving some loft insulation into the loft a couple of weeks ago and stubled across a (dead) 3XV crank, as you do. So I've actually done some work on it over the weekend...

I've bought a bearing puller for a few quid and started to strip one of my dead cranks... How hard can it be...!? The idea is to figure out how they go together and build a good one out of a dead pair, with new bearings.

It's nice to be playing in the garage again.
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Light is right.

[bobbyboy]

Well done alurt
Glad to see things are happening again at last
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www.taffmoto.co.uk for your replacement fairing panels

[arlurt]

OK, I know it's been a long time. Again. I've heard that two other 3XV owners have managed to buy a bike, strip and rebuild the engine while I've been mooching about and sulking in the garage. Well done fellas, I'll try harder.

I started stripping the dead crank that I'd bought "From Japan" but quickly found that the normal commercial pullers I've got are not suitable for the job. There isn't space to get the jaws of the two or three legged ones behind the bearings, and the two piece wedge type bolt-together jobs can't get between the bearing and the crank web.

So thwarted by what was easily available I've gone to a friend with an engineering business and had two special pullers made. These clamp round the bearing and use the steel circlip groove to grip the bearing so it can be pulled off.

There's more to it than this though... The plan is that I should also be able to use the pullers one-against-the-other to split the big ends and the centre bearing.

It's a great idea, but I've not a clue if it will actually work. Ian's done a stunning job of the pullers, all I've got to do now is have a go with them.




Hopefully updates will be a little more frequent ...
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Light is right.

[Wb]

Blimey, Karl, why not just send it to a crank rebuilders? the stripping and rebuilding it with the proper kit is a negligable cost - 30 or 40 quid or so. It's the parts that make a crank rebuild expensive. If you have two decent halves someoone like Grampians should be able to make you one good one out of the two, but you'll still need to replace all the bearings of course.

You can't really strip and rebuild a crank in your garage unless you have some pretty hardcore tooling - and the skills required to put it back together properly balanced etc. A crank is a precision bit of kit really, so is best left to the experts I'd say.

[arlurt]

Hi Warwick...

At the moment, I see a crank as a few lumps of metal, pressed together.

Maybe once it's in bits I'll see it as Swiss watch, beyond my comprehension, but at the moment I fancy having a go at it.

I've got enough knackered cranks to cobble dogs with, and it's not as though my bike is a rare collectable ex-works GP winner so I think I'll have a bash.

Wish me luck, I'm going in...
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Light is right.

[Kneedown]

Well done mate...that's the spirit!

You're braver than me, that's for sure! Looking forward to hearing all about it.

[Wb]

I admire your attitude, Karl, but without a heavy duty hydrolic press all I think you'll end up doing is damaging any decent webs that you have. Proceed if you must, but proceed with caution I'd say or you are likely to achieve nothing but adding to your very expensive scrap pile.

In all honesty your chances of being able to build your own serviceable crank in your garage are slim to none I'd say. Why waste even more money? As I said above if you have a pair of decent webs a crank builder should be able to make you up a perfectly serviceable crank out of the two and you could actually get the thing moving again. That's certainly what I'd be doing in any case. Another summer will soon be over...

[arlurt]

I've got the major components of three 3XV engines now, plus a few 3XV extras and some TZ bits, but I still don't have a servicable crank that would drop in to my 3XV. If one of the engines I'd bought had a crank I could use, I probably would have, but...

If it was about simply getting the bike running so I could ride it, I'd have had one of my cranks rebuilt, spent £600 on a new one from Yamaha, or sent the bike to a mechanic to fix it. And having got it running I'd probably have got rid of the bl**dy thing, because judging by the number of 3XV rebuilds going on they're plainly no good for actually using.

For me, it's not so much about riding the bike, it's about knowing how it works, how it goes together, and what to do when it breaks. I love being told I can't do stuff because that makes me want to have a go even more. I've either got the bits I need to do the job, or have plans in place to make or acquire them. If my local garage is charging £50/hour to change the oil and put a stamp in the service book for my car, how much work is the crank man doing for £30 to £40 in labour to rebuild my crank?

I'm sure there'll be some who have a pop on here if I fail, but I'll have enjoyed myself having a go, and it's cheaper and more productive than playing golf....
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Light is right.

[Gecko Racing]

Fair play to you. It's by trying out 'the new' we find the limits. Keep pushing for progress.
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