She died

[redjay]

A large windshield can blow the bike around whereas a frame mounted batwing is better in that regard, more stable.

[MAS Tequila]

[QUOTE=ldhthept;728976]I park it in a front wheel chock and rode today for about 15 miles and left it parked for 45 mins. Would not crank only a weak sputter.

[ldhthept]

Not much progress towards diagnosis. Started taking stuff off of bike to make it easier and cheaper to take engine out. Drained oil and found just a little milky for first time ever, as well as metal shavings in bottom of pan and on screen. Hope to take to shop for a leak down test later in the week and go from there.

[mick56]

Are the shavings magnetic ? Because aluminium, is not, and that might be a guide, as to what the problem is.

[ldhthept]

Yes they are magnetic

[ldhthept]

Well the shop I took it to was no help. Dropped it off for a compression and leak down test. Got as far as a compression test and was told the mechanic would not perform a leak down test fearful that putting high air pressure through the engine would be harmful. The other mechanic with the most experience is quitting the business, Friday is his last day.
Wants to work on cars, not bikes. Did say that the compression on rear cylinder was way low. At a loss as what to do once I get it home. Still contacting shops out of town and even out of state to try to get a diagnosis/price. Hard finding someone to work on it.

[mick56]

What a bunch of wankers. It could have been worse, though, if they Had pulled your engIne apart, and then realised how fuckIng stupid they are. I guess it comes back to, who can you trust, apart from yourself:cheers

[redjay]

A lot of dealerships here in Canada don't want to work on older bikes and cars.
You have to find a backstreet guy that knows his stuff and works on all brands.

[andyvh1959]

This is a crock, the shop simply does not want to do the work. A leak down test is applied at a regulated 100 psi, and the amount of pressure loss shown on the gauge shows the percentage of possible leakage. For instance, lets say you have a burned exhaust valve, and during the leak down test the gauge shows 35 psi and you have air coming out of the exhaust, that means you have 65% leakage at the exhaust valve.

For the shop to say they won't do the test for fear of putting "high pressure" through the engine is simply bullshit. An engine is vented to atmosphere either through the intake, exhaust or crankcase vent system. A normal engine cannot "build" anything more than the applied air pressure of the test. Keep in mind too, that a good healthy engine will produce combustion pressure of about 150psi. So HOW can a 100 psi leak down test be considered high pressure into the engine. That shop is just blowing smoke at you, and figures the general public would not know enough to challenge that BS response. Which is fine, because you don't want to deal with that shop anyway. Or, that shop doesn't really know how to do a leak down test and won't admit that to you. Again, that kind of shop doesn't deserve your business.

Curious though, what did the results of the compression test show? Both cylinders at 125 to 150 psi? Did the shop do both a dry and wet compression test? A "dry" test is done with the engine as you brought it in. A "wet" test is done by pouring a few ounces of oil into the cylinder and then applying the compression test. If say the dry test results show both cylinders at 100 psi, and the wet test result shows 140 psi, it indicates worn rings, possibly a scratched cylinder wall, worn out valve guides/seals. If the shop only did the compression test and the results show good/normal, then I'd have paid for the test. If the results showed low and the shop DIDN'T also do the wet test, I ask "why no wet test? How do I know what the results prove?" and I'd want a reduced price for only 1/2 of a complete compression test.

Now, I'm "only" a home taught mechanic. I've learned by doing 40+ years of my own work on my motorcycles. I'm not a trained mechanic, but for a "qualified" repair shop to feed you that line of BS, to me fully disqualifies them as a real repair shop. At most they are only a parts replacer shop, not likely capable of really finding solutions for your motorcycle engine repair needs.

Originally Posted by ldhthept

Well the shop I took it to was no help. Dropped it off for a compression and leak down test. Got as far as a compression test and was told the mechanic would not perform a leak down test fearful that putting high air pressure through the engine would be harmful. The other mechanic with the most experience is quitting the business, Friday is his last day.
Wants to work on cars, not bikes. Did say that the compression on rear cylinder was way low. At a loss as what to do once I get it home. Still contacting shops out of town and even out of state to try to get a diagnosis/price. Hard finding someone to work on it.

[ldhthept]

180 on front 120 on rear. No clue if wet or dry. Front cyl is where I found oil in L spark plug tube. No hole in tube visible. Loud clunk still present.

[ldhthept]

Anyone sell rebuilt engines for 1600?

[ldhthept]

Found another shop that will work on it, mainly a Harley shop but very competent father and son mechanics. Got it running on one cylinder but something is broken in lower end. MAY have access to an 07 Mean Streak engine with <1000 miles on it. Has been stored for past 15 years. What should I offer for the engine/bike? It has been dropped and has softball size dent in tank, turn singles all broken, chrome pitted. I don’t think any maintenance has been done on the bike before storing. No clue if it will turn over or rust in tank/lines. What kind of internal work will need to be done assuming it does turn over after soaking with mystery oil stuff? May be a No Meanie or a No Streak in my future. Thoughts?

[redjay]

Buy the Meanie for $1000 and put the engine in your bike, then sell what's left of the Meanie.

[ldhthept]

Bought the Meanie for engine, does the forks or front calipers fit the Nomad?

[mick56]

Originally Posted by ldhthept

Bought the Meanie for engine, does the forks or front calipers fit the Nomad?

The Nomad has twin caliper brakes, none of the other models do. So the mudguard wont fit either. Whether you can just swap the entire front end, i dont know, but cant see why not. The headstock might have a slightly different angle to it though ?