A non-Kiwi joined! And I might need some advice (PaulV)

[_Shrek_]

so hows the Clog getting on? we beat the rain home last night... did you get to Milford & back with out getting a wet arse

[PaulV]

Stayed dry all the way! The Road was amazing, soms parts I actually did twice for fun.
Did had a nice race with the rain from Milford to the tunnel. But the road is pure awesome. Watched a DVD in Te Anau of how the road used to be, made me thankfull for not being squashed by an avalanche.

Also found the slimy part tazz mentioned, its dark as night in the tunnel and my smart ass drove by all the waiting busses and cars so I had no taillights to follow.

Paul, I haven't selected one yet. And I might go earlier than the 1st, the next 3 days I would've stayed in Queenstown but I'd prefer to get some extra k's down the road.

So far so good!

[Mo NZ]

Ha ha I thought you get your undies re rinsed on the way back, but it is a small microclimate in there.
That tunnel can be tricky, I forgot to take off the sunglasses. Then I rode over some sort of square manhole cover or drain as I was ripping them off. The cover was a little below the level of the road. Clunk clunk as the wheels went in and then out. I was all attention after that

Have fun and keep left!

[Tazz]

haha man so long as you found it but it didn't give you an up close and personal tour of the pavement is the main thing.

Flick me a message when you're rocking through Picton and I'll bowl through the Queen Charlotte drive with you if you like. The lawn's half dead now anyway so there's room for a tent and the like if you need it here (there is also free camping just down the road but it's right beside the main highway).

Enjoy your trip up the coast man!

[PaulV]

Sounds Awesome Tazz, Will sent You a message. Queenstown is a bit city like, I was naive enough to not book a hostel upfront now Camping at lake moke. The gravel road seems to have improved the bikes performance a bit.

Thinking of going to Wanaka after Glenorchy tomorrow, Queenstown is all fine but a bit lonely without hostel

Will be three days ahead of my schedule though.

[PaulV]

Today I've rode to Hokitika when I arrived there the bike seemed to throw out some steam could that be a heat problem?

Edit: Seems to be the left head gasket is dying a bit. The white smoke is originating from between the cilinder and the cilinder head. When paced on stand it hisses a little more.

EDIT: Tomorrow going for Repco in Greymouth they sell some kinda sealant spray which should fix it.

[Mo NZ]

"Hissing and steaming" is very bad.
Is that bike water cooled?
Have a look at the engine oil looking for any changes in colour of level.
I would drop around to the bike shop before I went to Repco.

[Tazz]

Aww sheeet! You been overloading it with some of those big Southern girls or something

Spray on sealant doesn't sound inspiring.
There must be someone on here in Greymouth with tools and space for you if you need to dive a bit deeper? There's a carport and some tools at a mates pad in Picton if required anyway.

[PaulV]

"Hissing and steaming" is very bad.
Is that bike water cooled?
Have a look at the engine oil looking for any changes in colour of level.
I would drop around to the bike shop before I went to Repco.

Yeah It's water cooled. Might be the heat, have been riding it like a madman today and it's hot as hell outside. Could increase the pressure on the cooling system. Or at least Im hoping that the engine had problems due to the gasket before. Will take it easy tomorrow not letting it run hot and keep low revs+high gear. Will miss the overtaking action though

It's 35 years old, the symptoms look like the once I found on the internet this afternoon. Gaskets only have a limited lifetime apparently. Not yet noticed a further decrease in performance now. So that's something.

Will keep you guys posted

[Mo NZ]

If the oil is milky you are really going to stuff it.
Be more than a new head gasket to fix it.

[haydes55]

Just rip off the head that's blown a gasket and run it as a single cylinder

[PaulV]

If the oil is milky you are really going to stuff it.
Be more than a new head gasket to fix it.

Will check oil first, probably gonna wrap up the southern island a bit faster. Thinking of going to Westport Nelson than on to Picton and ferry. Will miss out on Kaikoura and the highway one close to the coast though. Still no worries, weather is good and there's time for some grease monkey role playing.


Edit: Added sealant to the coolant, oil level and color both seemed good. The bike really came to life, but I didn't thought it through that going beyond the revs it did when I bought it probably will screw up some seals. So now there's still steam and hiss but not from the head gasket, seems to originated from a hose to pipe connection which is less worrisome to me. Just need to keep the level in check.

Video: https://vid.me/IGDY

[_Shrek_]

Added sealant to the coolant, oil level and color both seemed good. The bike really came to life, but I didn't thought it through that going beyond the revs it did when I bought it probably will screw up some seals. So now there's still steam and hiss but not from the head gasket, seems to originated from a hose to pipe connection which is less worrisome to me. Just need to keep the level in check.

can you loosen the pipe off the put some sealant around the end then refit & tighten?

[PaulV]

Hi Shrek!

I think I could fix it. But for now im just gonna watch the coolant level. Bike did good today
Now in Motueka, tomorrow Picton and the day after on the ferry to the North!

Coolant level is also a bit high from when I added the sealant to the tank.

Random question; why do all the Germans come down here? its impressive how many there are.

[leathel]

Just something different, when I first went to synthetic oil of got milky layer on top of the oil, I did a short change after just a few hundred K's and never seen it again, not sure what oil was in the bike hen I got it but it didn't like the synthetic oil I run.