Thanks to the excellent instructions on the site the change of CCT's looked to be going very well, I started on the rear cylinder to make sure I did it according to the recommendations listed here. What I can recommend to EVERYONE here is that these instructions have just saved my engine
I timed the engine up on the RT mark and when I checked the camshafts the inlet was one tooth out
Just to make sure, I checked it 3 more times, turning the engine over each time to make 100% sure. The inlet was definitely one tooth out so out came the auto CCT, off came the inlet cam and then reassemble correctly. I fitted the manual CCT and checked and rechecked everything one more time. Whilst I had the top off I also checked the valve clearances at the same time, which were all within spec, which was nice.This left me in a dilemma, do I risk leaving the front, knowing how difficult it is to get too, or do I risk it and leave it? I always have bad luck if I risk it, so I decided to strip the front down and check that before fitting the front manual CCT. After much effort and swearing I finally got the front cover off and checked everything, thankfully all was well and the valve clearances were in spec as well.
So what's happened to my bike? According to the history the CCT's were changed at 13K (bike now has 25k on it), with more honda automatic jelly ones. So, did the rear inlet get timed wrong then? Could mine have jumped at some stage? The old CCT's seemed good and the chain tension was as expected, before I removed the CCT, so what went wrong? I guess someone must have messed up when they changed the originals and it's been like that ever since.
When I first got the bike I noticed that it frequently spat back when running around 3k rpm and was very bad when cold, I had put tis down to a lack of use and the bike being in need of a good service. It also wasn't easy to start, hot or cold, and the battery gave up last week when the bike was just backfiring through the exhaust, I thought I'd flooded it when it didn't start. Since setting the timing correctly, changing the plugs (old ones were still good though) and giving it a thorough checkover, it now starts very easily, ticks over smoothly and goes very well. Before this work I'd only put one tank of fuel through it and ridden it gently (no more than 5k rpm), as I didn't want to risk the CCT's letting go, thank god I did that otherwise this could have resulted in a blown engine.
So the moral of this story is to change the CCT's (as we all should know) and check everything, as you just don't know what's hidden deep in the engine that could catch you out. I've seen other bikes still run when one tooth out on the cam timing but it still makes me shudder thinking of what happens when it all goes Pete Tong
The good thing now is I have a bike that I know my way around very well, I know that everything is right and when buzzed up to the red line it shouldn't blow up. Took it out for a spin today and came back with a grin like a cheshire cat that's just been laid
The bike is ready for the season and roll on the good weather.