Dang! One of my valves is leaking.

[vifferman]

Find out tomorrow if it needs replacing, can be fixed, or some kinda "magic juice" will fix it.
Hopefully it won't be too expensive, or can be put off until after I go to Yurp next month... :confused:
I think the uncertainty is almost as bad as fearing the worst....

[Mom]

Fingers crossed for magic juice :yes:

Failing that you could always kiss it better :eek:


Leaking anythings dont sound very nice.

[howdamnhard]

I presume you have checked your valve clearances are all good ?

[vifferman]

On my bike? Never.
It seems to be going fine.

[vifferman]

Yup (or is that "Nup"? :confused: ).
The experts tell me the valve's definitely fooked, and so will I be, if I don't do something about it. :shit:
Yay...

[Lurch]

Yikes! That's a shitter! I take it you're talking about your oil pump?

What's the turn around on this kind of work these days?

[vifferman]

Yup, erl pump is slightly fubar. Just sorting out at the moment whether I go public or private. Erl pump specialist reckons public's the way to go, as they have all the mechanics and other helpers on hand (rather than them being down at the club drinking cognac and smoking cigars). About a six-month wait for a berth in the garage at the moment.
Vifferbabe wants me to go private, coz she's worried my pump will stop working, then I'll crash, die, burst into flames and die all over again.

[nudemetalz]

My missus tells me I have a leaking valve sometimes....generally after a Vindaloo.....

[Lurch]

Erl pump specialist reckons public's the way to go, as they have all the mechanics and other helpers on hand (rather than them being down at the club drinking cognac and smoking cigars). About a six-month wait for a berth in the garage at the moment

The reality is you'll get the same mechanics either way it's just the wait and the quality of the workshop coffee that's the big difference. I guess the private option is good if you have insurance and they'll agree to foot the bill.

[vifferman]

The reality is you'll get the same mechanics either way it's just the wait and the quality of the workshop coffee that's the big difference. I guess the private option is good if you have insurance and they'll agree to foot the bill.
That's what the mechanic said, plus he said that the private workshops generally don't have all the specialist mechanics and technicians hanging around - they go home or off to the pub at 5, so it's fine unless something goes wrong.
I do have insurance (but not top of the line), and at the moment I'm thinking I'll price it up, and if it's not too huge, I'll opt for the public garage, and mebbe switch if the queue's too long and my valve starts to get worserer.

[Lurch]

That's what the mechanic said, plus he said that the private workshops generally don't have all the specialist mechanics and technicians hanging around - they go home or off to the pub at 5, so it's fine unless something goes wrong.
I do have insurance (but not top of the line), and at the moment I'm thinking I'll price it up, and if it's not too huge, I'll opt for the public garage, and mebbe switch if the queue's too long and my valve starts to get worserer.

Good stuff, it's still crappy news no two ways about it though. Take it easy in the meantime and I wish you all the best for the replacement part fitting process.

[vifferman]

Good stuff, it's still crappy news no two ways about it though. Take it easy in the meantime and I wish you all the best for the replacement part fitting process.
Hey, thanks a lot, Lurch.
You know the really weird/lucky thing? The symptoms that made me get a check up ended up having NOTHING to do with it, and it hasn't made any difference to me. However, if I hadn't had things checked out, in a year's time it would've been much more serious.
Oh - and it's a manufacturing fault.
Wonder if the warranty's still valid? :confused: The servicing and maintenance has been regularly carried out. LOL...

[Silage]

Oh - and it's a manufacturing fault.
Wonder if the warranty's still valid? :confused: The servicing and maintenance has been regularly carried out. LOL...

You probably should take it to one of the manufacturers workshops. Their mechanics have differenter training but seems to work some times. Trust you can get it sorted soon.

[Ixion]

'S another matter with modern engines, but with antiquted old low performance engines like yours, what we used to do back in the day to fix this was, you just fetch the head of the valve an almighty great whack with the ball bit of the BLOODY HEAVY HAMMER. That seats the valve properly, and like as not it's good for a few years more, with no cost.

Course, you've got to rip y' head off first to get at things, but that's not usually much of a problem, and gives you an opportunity to scrape all the muck out of it. Usually a good idea that last bit.

If you can arrange to remove your head, I'd be happy to do the hitting with the hammer thing for you. That's what the biker cameraderie is all about, smacking y' mate with a bloody big hammer when he needs it.

[vifferman]

If you can arrange to remove your head, I'd be happy to do the hitting with the hammer thing for you. That's what the biker cameraderie is all about, smacking y' mate with a bloody big hammer when he needs it.
LOLee...
Thank the BikerGodz for the commaraderie, eh? I need that, as it's all got a bit scary now. Got my pump scanned with an ultrasonic tester thingo, and then had a stress test done on the engine, to make sure it was worth fixing the valve. I mean, it's decades old technology now...
Anyway, next thing is sticking another electronic doodad down the filler pipe to see what things look like from the inside, and then make a booking for some hard-core mechanicking. Already checked it out with my bosses (the one at work and the real one), and I can have time off for it, and I've got the support there. I'm gonna need a lot! The recovery time is MONTHS... :shit:
But I'm still a bit freaked - never really had any mechanical problems before, just the odd ding or dent.
Anyway, thanks guys. Hope the "no good deed goes unpunished" thing is bullshit, as it'd be a shame if I ended up sitting in the workshop on my own. :confused:

[Swoop]

One has to presume that the manufacturer has been consulted over this issue? Shoddy production or quality control needs to be investigated.

[vifferman]

One has to presume that the manufacturer has been consulted over this issue? Shoddy production or quality control needs to be investigated.
Yeah, I'm a bit pissed off about this. The defect's been there since new, apparently, and sonly hows up after we've booked a trip to Yurp.
Crapola.

[chester]

must have been built on a friday then, you should have checked before putting high milage on.

[Renegade]

get the surgery mate, im sure a heart replacement will be way to painful as opposed to a minor relatively minor valve job

[vifferman]

get the surgery mate, im sure a heart replacement will be way to painful as opposed to a minor relatively minor valve job
That's easy for you to say - you're not the one being opened up and having your heart cut open....:blink:
In fact, there's not really any choice - if I don't get it done, then in a year or so's time, I'll be ferkt.
It's just the thought of the operation, 3 - 4 months recovery time, and having my licence confiscated for that time that freaks me out too. It's kinda turned my world upside down.

But I'm actually really lucky - if it wasn't for what turned out to be bogus symptoms that spurred me to get my GP to check my heart out, I wouldn't have known there was anything wrong until it may have been too late to fix. I'm fine at the moment, but with time, my heart will get more enlarged and weaker, and also pretty much unrepairable.

[Ocean1]

Jeez that's a bit sucky dude.

Still, almost worth it to laze around for a couple of months being spoon fed and ogling the local mechanics.

Chin up eh?

[vifferman]

Thanks, Mark.
I think I've gone through all the appropriate phases of reaction to this, and got stuck on "really pissed off". It's actually rather energising, as I'm usually fairly inert. :laugh:

Now I just want to get it out of the way. It's kinda made me quite uninterested in our planned trip to Yurp next month, so we may yet end up canning that, and using the money for private treatment and the leave for my recuperation. In any case, if Iceland doesn't stop blowing up soon, the trip may not be able to take place. Unless we swim or summat....

[Crisis management]

Right, now I have finally been able to decipher this...and we complain about the txt generation!
Look after yourself! Most medical stuff is fixable today so once you have got your head around it you will find the process is not as frightening as it feels right now, if you choose to take Ix up on his offer I'm pretty handy with a chain saw so could do the opening up bit.

More seriously, if there's anything any of us can do to help, sing out.

[vifferman]

More seriously, if there's anything any of us can do to help, sing out.
Thanks very much!
Please don't be offended if I pass on the chainsaw bit. I know chicks dig scars, but I suspect most of them draw the line somewhere. (I'd also like to limit the recovery time if I can - 8 weeks sounds like WAY too much as it is... Only so many bike magazines and videos one can look at....
Speaking of which, I don't yet have any, so I'd better start organising summat....