This will be one of the last updates from me about this bike......after some unexpected delays with the replacement cylinder head, I have spent the last couple of weekends getting the Mori motor back together. Big thanks to Shiny for dropping in this morning to give me a hand slotting the cylinder block over the pistons......this is normally a 2-man job and PC was always my wingman for this type of stuff.......
anyway - the holdup was due to a dud exhaust valve and a missing bucket & shim from the original motor. Sorted out a replacement valve and finished slotting the motor together this arvo......but it is not a motor I would be using on a track.....
The problem is simple - using all the original Moriwaki pistons was part of the rebuild specs that Phil asked for. Even though the pistons - well, 3 out of 4 of them - are in reasonable nick, the rings were all corroded into the ringlands when I first pulled this motor down towards the end of 2011.......yes they have cleaned up as well as I could clean them up......but basically the rings are way past their best. Impossible to source new piston rings for these pistons either, they are really old-school 'dykes' style rings - single top ring only (which has an 'L' profile) and then oil control rings. So the old ones have been re-used.......against my better judgement.
Here is the main reason I would never give this motor a thrashing around a track......I reckon 10 minutes at redline and this old girl will go BANG big-time......
that is the #1 piston, after it was tidied up.........
it is just not a piston I would ever use in a motor that was intended to be used in anger on a track........that piston has seized up pretty badly at some point and is likely to do the same again. Together with the dropped valve in #3 exhaust which ruined the original head......I would have much preferred to build this motor with a completely new top-end....
Which sort of brings me to the next point. This bike in its current set-up, will be totally out of its depth in current P5 racing. The old slicks are just not good enough for serious track-work (despite those 7 laps last year chasing Croz
). 18" tyres are just not competitive in P5 unlimited.........
So basically, this bike will in all probability, never be used in anger. Which is a good thing. Would it be worth spending a couple of large just on new motor internals ?? Its a hard question to answer......but if the bike just spends the next chapter of its life as a display bike, then having dodgy internals is perhaps not such an issue after all.........and there was not a lot of money spent on internals, plenty of stuff donated
thanks to all those who helped with the project.
Next weekend, the 'Fax will be on display again at the BSFOS on Sunday only. After the show, it will be trailered to its new home with Phil Hall down in the 'Gong. Phil will then have the pleasure of looking after this unique piece of aussie bike racing history at his place.
I'll do one more update after next weekends show.....