3XV1 - It had to start some time!

[thump566]

Great update, also loving the heads   

[SouthCoastRich]

Great progress mate! Glad you're on the wagon too (no ethanol in your fuel!!!)

That leak down tester is doing the rounds eh? 

[AndyYam]

I feel like I'm on the home straight now but I'd felt like that for a while so I'll remain stoic but determined and just keep going.

The reason I have time to update this is because I've strained my back and can't do much else right now but maybe that's all part of the plan.

The TL;DR version is that the engine is now running and bar a few niggly bits it's ready for it's MOT. I have obtained a dating certificate via thr VJMC and so will be ready to send off a V55/5 for registration.




Picking up from where I left on the last post I had these as my next jobs:

Fit the brake pad plates and bleed the full brake system.
Check the Variable air jets are clear (Not sure if I need to do this? thoughts?)
Fit the carb tops with new gaskets and route the throttle cable.
Fit the cooling system (I've deciced to go with Evans waterless coolant).
...lots more I can't think of right now....

The brake pad retaining clips went in fine after a small bit of grinding on the corners. I've bled the whole system and all is good. The front maybe feels a little softer than I expected but until I can test it on the road I won't know if it's just be me. The MOT will no doubt show up anything there.

I didn't open or check the VAJs, deciding to wait til I see how it runs and go from there. More on running later.

Carb tops went on with the brand new gaskets that that came with the Cruzin Image rebuild kits. Now...remember this for later on as Gotcha No.1...

I fit the cooling system including the Thermostat to Rad joint...remember this bit as Gotcha No.2....All topped up with waterless coolant.

I mentioned indicators prior, in that I bought some aftermarket units after struggling to find some reasonably priced 2nd hand units. I had to extend the tiny little wires they had on them but other than that they are fine in terms of quality and even came with bulbs. They fit fine and all work, albeit flashing a bit fast but who cares about that eh? Gotcha No.3....

After fitting these and testing them I noticed the headlight and taillight wasn't coming on. I'd seem them work before so I was confused and assumed a bad connection in the loom somewhere but couldn't find it anywhere.

A long story short after checking Earths etc etc I decided to take the switchgear apart. I had totally forgotten that I had sprayed a load of white lithium grease inside thinking it was safe for electrics and would be good at keeping it all protected. Turns out this is not a good idea and so after cleaning all that off with contact cleaner, the lights work again. Lesson learnt...



At this point I was working towards an initial engine start with Airboxes and Exhausts be required. As previously mentioned I nabbed a set of Jackals from Fastline Superbikes via ebay and after an initial look over of the fresh paint they wen't back in their box and were stashed since then (Jan 2024 I think).

So when I took them out it was a little sickening to see big junks of rust fall out from the inside when I inadvertently knocked one on a toolbox in the garage. Giving them box some heavy shaking and lots more came out. Realising this is not the sort of stuff I want sucked back into my cylinders I knew I needed to clean them out. I opted for an initial rinse with hot water an detergent and the results were pretty shocking.

Water sprayed out of pin holes on both pipes. Holes which were full of paint so obviously were present prior to the painting. I then gave them a full overnight internal soaking in white vinegar, wrapping the holes with electrical tape. Again, plenty of flakes of rust and probably burnt 2stroke, came out.

I eventually got through to Fastline and have to say they were very good about it. After me showing some photos to prove the holes were there prior to the paint and therefore at time of sale, we agreed on a partial refund. For now I've used some JB weld to fill the holes but the stuff isn't high enough temp so will need a proper fix at a later date.

Whilst this was going on I saw MellorP still had his damaged Jackals up for sale and so I bought those, in case I needed to send these ones bag to Fastline if we couldn't come to an agreement so I now have those as spares which I'll also be repairing.

With the Fastline pipes all plugged up they were ready to fit. Original metal crush gaskets for the flanges and some grease on the o-rings where they slip on. Maybe there should be silicone sealant on the o-rings or is the spring pressure enough to create a seal? Thoughts welcome.













Whilst fitting the pipes I was a bit confused about the attachment on the left hand side (rear/upper cylinder pipe) at the back of the fairing. Upon review of the manuals I see that again I'm missing a bracket. Part no 16 in the manual as it is now infamously named between me and Thump who, once again saved the day and sent me his spare. I've vowed to return it to him one day!

This connects to the fairing bracket which is riveted to the fairing. I had a repro of this which BullDogBoy sent me in the early days of this thread but also found an original in some spare brackets I ordered in my various late night yahoo auctions stints.




On the other side of the engine, the air boxes had a general clean up and new filters fitted and they had had a prior test fit at the point the carbs went on so I knew everything lined up. This related to Gotcha No.2 so stay with me on that!






Ok so now we're ready to go. Tank was primed with some 40:1 premix ()I'm using RSUR and Castrol Power1 R.

Fuel tap on and no leaks.

Oil pump lines are primed.

Basic carb syncing done with lolly sticks (popsicle sticks for US readers) in the Venturi, under the slides and throttle twisting to see they open at the same time.

Idles set to nothing so all on the hand for now.

Free play in twist grip adjusted to 3-5mm IIRC?

Choke operation checked.

So it started! Woohoo!

That was short lived by the ever increasing revs despite very little throttle as you see. It was the lower cylinder pushing the revs higher and higher whilst the upper (rear) dragged along so at least I knew which side to look.

Next was to investigate this which had to be an air leak with the most likely culprit being the inlet manifolds. I forget what I've shared so far but I had a b1**h of a time getting a seal on these during my leak down testing. I did end up ordering a 2nd set from Japan but managed to get a seal before they arrived with 6 psi holding so decided to leave it all well alone. Now I was wishing I didn't though.

But after starting her again and quickly spraying carb cleaner around the likely leak areas I got no change. I checked everywhere and Thump556 was kindly offering to send down his leak down test kit again to help but my gut was telling me it wasn't going to help.

I decided if it wasn't an air leak from inlets on then it must be something wrong in the carb. Both had been fully rebuild with new gaskets, jets etc all round. They'd been vapour blasted, ultra sonically cleaned  and kissed and stroked so I was pretty p1***d at them/it. As many will know, once the rad is on and the TPS wiring, VAJ hose, drain pipes, choke cable and fuel hose are all connected it's a bit fiddly getting it out again but it had to happen. Whilst doing this I suddenly noticed some light in place where light should not be....between the top of the carb and the body. Or more precisely between the top gasket and the carb. Whaaaaaa?

I checked the screws and they were tight so this baffled me. Upon taking it all off I eventually realised that the carb top gaskets are different between carbs due to the TPS carb top having 2 little tangs (I dunno what the word is?). Welcome to Gotcha No.1. My brand new gasket from the Cruzin Image kit was wrong. The kits are identical which is basically wrong. I may try to feed this back when I have time but I wouldn't let this put me off. The quality of the parts are great and pricing too and the mistake was really mine for not noticing.

For now the original has gone back in and thankfully the air leak was gone and revs no longer tried to get as high as SnoopDogg.



At this point for various reasons the only time I had available was late in the evening. In terraced housing with neighbours with young children, revving a 2 stroke late a night in a garage 20ft from their windows is not an option so I was onto jobs like fairings. I rough fitted all that I have. They are tatty, wrong colours and the seat unit is missing some mounting tabs under the pillion. There are cracks in various places and the headlight cowl is painted all Red and someone has filled and re drilled mirror mount holes in the wrong place. But hey, this is what I have for now and mechanical completeness is far more important to me than looks (I try to tell my partner this too XD ).

I ended up buying a fairing bolt kit from Speedy Fastners in the UK via eBay and it's a nice kit. All Allen head but they do also do a kit for £15-20 more with the DSUZ?? Screws and brackets. Quick release I think?

Everything lined up fairing well and my rear pipe bracket got riveted on and persuaded into the position it needed to meet the infamous No.16 bracket.

I had bought a few spare bits off eBay a while back including a V piece, left hand fairing and front mudguard so they went on too.





I noticed how close the pipes get to the fairing and so ordered some fibreglass reinforced heat shielding and have fit this to the key areas on the left fairing so far. Nice stuff to work without actually as long as you have a sharp blade.




Ok so now we have a running engine and fairings that will fit, it's time to actually sync the carbs. I know there is a lot of debate about the use of Dyno's for this but my view is that 2 strokes have been tuned for many a year before the Dyno became a viable option. I'm not trying to squeeze every HP from my engine. The only people I'll be racing are Thump, SouthCoastRich, Jamie, BullDogBoy and Chippy and if I wanna win, I'll just shout "look a Vegan" and most of them will go charging off for a fight. J/K! But no, I'm happy with a a smooth reliable machine that will last and I genuinely believe I can get that with basic garage tools. None more basic than a U bend of clear pipe filled with 2 stroke oil. Yes a "manometer"!

I had a go at this on my own, connecting the 2 ends of the pipes to the YEIS chamber stubs in the inlet and then, once warm, adjusting the idles to equal out the vacuum from each cylinder. As the levels of fluid change in either side of the U you can see which cylinder is sucking more and adjust to counter this. I got it pretty good on the levels but it still didn't sound as good as I expected but left it like this at this point and moved on.



I was now ready to fit all the airboxes and start thinking about fairings but as I tried to fit the lower airbag boot to the carb it just wouldn't line up right. Confused as I had already checked this remember...but it simply wasn't right. Either the top of the bottom of the airbox to boot would be wrong, depending on the rotation of the boot on the carb. Thinking logically and realising the airbox has one position It had to be the carb and it was. It was rotated clockwise a bit too much in the inlet manifold. I loosened the clamp and tried rotating it back but it was not moving. The cable ...errr....tube... from the top of the TPS was pressed right against the solid thermostat pipe that links to the Rad. Here we are at gotcha No.2.

I had my throttle cable routed to the wrong side of that pipe. It should come our of the junction box, loop round and then hug the inner of the frame, inside the guide on the thermo bracket and then down the right hand side (if looking from a rider perspective) of the thermo to rad pipe. With all my cables in place, coolant in etc the only place to disconnect was at the junction box. I hate that thing...but I did it and didn't lose the spring or break anything only to find now the same throttle tube bit on the top of the carb was pressed against the other side of the thermo pipe and preventing the carb sitting in it's locating groove on the inlet, just now it's the other side. FML...

After probably an hour of analysing with support from Dad we decided we'd drain down the coolant and take the thermo and bracket off and see if it was bent. If it was then it would be pointing that pipe in the slightest wrong direction, exactly where the cable top needed to be. After draining the coolant and releasing the clamp where that solid pipe joins the rubber hose, the whole thing had enough play to move back a few mm and the carb fit fine. So the issue was basically that I'd tightened the rubber hose too far on to the solid pipe and those 4-5mm made all the difference.

Working out the issue is great, thinking about the time wasted on it is not...

Ok so anyone thinking about this will realise what impact me having to disconnect that throttle cable will have....my carb sync work is now undone. I had to release all cable play to remove the cable from the junction box....and the junction box also seems to have some teeth on the little white pulley where the 2 carb cables go into, meaning once tightening the free play in the carb tops needs to be adjusted again.

I did that and did my basic physical carb slide sync with my lollipop sticks and then called Dad again. He's had great success in helping friends in the local VJMC sync their carbs with this rudemntary bit of kit and he has more patience than me with waiting for things to level out after each adjustment.

He also highlighted that there are 2 blanked off stubs on the inlet side of both carbs that can be used for the vacuum, meaning I didn't need to remove the YEIS. This is obviously a big benefit as it means the YEIS can do its thing and I'll be getting more accurate readings on the levels.

 We set it up, warmed the bike up and within minutes she was sounding great. However... blips on the throttle were causing bogging whilst Idle was smooth as butter, hmmm.

Back to basics.

I know the jets are fine and right. I was very careful at checking those. I know the jackals may want a big more main but I also know of 2 bikes running jackals on stock and they both sound and ride lovely.
I know the needle position is correct.
I know the float height is correct.
I know I checked the air screw setting and that it should be 1 and 1/2 turns out but that's an easy one to double check.
I load up the manual to be sure and it's a face palm moment as I read that the rear carb should be 2 turns out and not 1 and 1/2.

Checking it I find it is 1 and 1/2.. Doh!

With both now set correctly we fire her up again and the levels in the manometer are off. This is good news. We tweak the idles some more and decide on the idle sounding nice at around 1900-2k on the clocks (Zeel reporting 1800-1900 interestingly).

The manual states 1300 but from videos of others and just by sound and feel, that didn't seem right.

I'm happy with this for now considering it's only had 2-3 heat and cool cycles and never been run under load yet. Once the engine is actually run in I'll return to this and do another sync.

Now it's case of getting it MOT ready and Dad threw a spanner in the works when he pointed out that the indicator flash rate was too high. I had no idea there was a limit but turns out in the UK they must be between 60 and 120 flashes per minute.

So why are mine way faster?

All of the suggestions online pointed towards either a bad Relay or a bad earth. I hate electrics so I was hoping it was the relay. I had one from an FZS600 which I tried but got the same result.

I started checking Earth with my cheapo multimeter and the readings were suggesting the earth wasn't great.

On 200 ohm setting, touching the earth wire in the relay connector block (black) to the earth point on the reg/Rec I saw 3.6, dropping down to 0.8 at best.

A bit more googling and another suggestions was that the bulbs were too low Wattage. The relay requires more resistance to control the flash rate. Gotcha No.3...

The bulbs in there were 10W and this seems to be stock so it seemed odd but after putting 21w bulbs (too big to put the lens covers on but ok for a test) in the flash rate was correct.

So I ended up ordering a pack of BA15S short globe 23W bulbs, which took some finding. In the mean time I totally forgot that I had ordered a replacement relay and when that turned up I looked back on eBay and found that it is one designed to work with LEDs and as such has a controlled flash rate of 90 per minute. It's plug and play other than the mounting point so I'll go with that. It also does not have the clicking sound of course as it's not thermal controlled like the stock one.

...and that is where I'm at now. I've probably forgotten a load of bits I'd done in between too.

I now need to go round and check torque settings and get the fairings all back on but I'm essentially ready for an MOT. I'm technically booked in tomorrow at 1030 but I've stuff my back and so don't think I'm going to make it which means another week.

[ybk]

Nice progress The to-do list never really reaches zero I found 

I had the same issue with pinholes in my DFR pipes, in exactly the same spot. Crazy how they rust considering they spend their live covered in oil.. I had mine welded, couldn't get it to seal with other solutions.

Keep at it

[AndyYam]

Nice progress The to-do list never really reaches zero I found 

I had the same issue with pinholes in my DFR pipes, in exactly the same spot. Crazy how they rust considering they spend their live covered in oil.. I had mine welded, couldn't get it to seal with other solutions.

Keep at it

Yeah good point! To be fair though I'd not really want it to. I think a big part of the charm of these sort of bikes is that you can become initmately connected with them through all the regular maintenance and each job signposts you to the next!

I'd be bored if I never had to do anything I think, although i'll take a happy medium right now.

Based on where the rust is it must be where they've sat for time and condensation has built up and pooled at the bottom.

Mine will be living in a vehicle dome bubble once compelete with a dehumidifer inside with in and I also have exhaust bungs (Can be seen in the photos of the pipe cleaning), so I'm hoping to not have this issue again.

I do live only a few miles from the Sea so I have that to contend with too.

Do you mean patches of e poxy kept coming off? So far they all look fine but she's not really been up to temp properly yet.

[ybk]

Yeah good point! To be fair though I'd not really want it to. I think a big part of the charm of these sort of bikes is that you can become initmately connected with them through all the regular maintenance and each job signposts you to the next!

I'd be bored if I never had to do anything I think, although i'll take a happy medium right now.

Mine will be living in a vehicle dome bubble once compelete with a dehumidifer inside with in and I also have exhaust bungs (Can be seen in the photos of the pipe cleaning), so I'm hoping to not have this issue again.

I'm with you on that! If the project runs out our I'd be bored to death!

I'm also at sea level and the fight against corrosion is tiring!

Do you mean patches of e poxy kept coming off? So far they all look fine but she's not really been up to temp properly yet.

Tried a different brand that didn't 'stick' properly. Also tried different solder types and different techniques that looked like it sealed properly. After a spirited ride oil was seeping out..there must be more pressure inside the pipe than I thought. Gave it to someone to weld so I can forget about it and move on to the next item 

I'm also at sea level and the fight against corrosion is tiring!

[AndyYam]

So I didn't go the MOT I had booked. My back said no chance so I re booked for the following Saturday (just gone) and...

..MOT passed! Woohoo!

All the paperwork has now gone off to the DVLA/DVSA for registration here in the UK...

...and now we wait...

I ended up trailering the bike up there because prior I had taken it for a few goes round the block and it was hard to pull away. It felt like it was going to stall but after that it pulled fine.

I thought that meant rich but after a bit of a chat with ChatGPT the best suggestion was that it was lean and to turn in the mixture screws 1/4 turn to see if it improved.

1/4 turn on both improved it a bit so went another 1/4 on each and it was completely gone and smooth to come off pilots.

I'll probably leave it like for now but get some larger pilots on order.

I'm running completely stock jetting, Zeel and Jackals which I know Thump is too so I know it's a safe base point.

I'll do some plug chops (not WOT ofc) once I have the bike on the road, just to check jetting on pilots and needle and keep an eye during the run in which hopfully I'll get through fairly quick if we have good weather in the evenings after work once I have a numberplate.

[Artful]

Hi Andy, Chris (Artful) who spoke with you at the recent Boxhill meet.

Have just spent the evening reading through your project mate from the start, Wow! what a journey! From talking with you I didn't realize just how much work you'd done over that period of time. You must have been soo happy to join the lads at Rykas on Sunday. That brief "first start" video is great, I was nervous for you lol.

I've been taking notes as I read through these threads - so much useful information - am really grateful to you (and the others that I'm yet to read) for taking the time to record these projects in such detail, it's inspiring.

Recon I'll be taking a peek under my (very dusty) dust sheets at the back of my garage at the weekend, I can definitely feel a future project brewing!

Cheers, C

[thump566]

Hi Andy, Chris (Artful) who spoke with you at the recent Boxhill meet.

Have just spent the evening reading through your project mate from the start, Wow! what a journey! From talking with you I didn't realize just how much work you'd done over that period of time. You must have been soo happy to join the lads at Rykas on Sunday. That brief "first start" video is great, I was nervous for you lol.

I've been taking notes as I read through these threads - so much useful information - am really grateful to you (and the others that I'm yet to read) for taking the time to record these projects in such detail, it's inspiring.

Recon I'll be taking a peek under my (very dusty) dust sheets at the back of my garage at the weekend, I can definitely feel a future project brewing!

Cheers, C

I have a feeling that a quick spin on another 3XV last year also added a little fuel to his fire   

[Russ_3XV]

wow, what a journey. Just picked up a 3XV and this is one of the first posts I've read all the way through. Great to see the detail of all the work, esp the engine. Congrats on getting it back up and running.

Cheers, Russ

[leigh_boy]

just had a scout through this as just picked up a 3xv from worthing  ( i live in eastsussex) its a real dog, having read ur project and seeing how long its taken im inspired and scared , if your heading to brighton burn up next month on it id love to take a look and chat.

[AndyYam]

just had a scout through this as just picked up a 3xv from worthing  ( i live in eastsussex) its a real dog, having read ur project and seeing how long its taken im inspired and scared , if your heading to brighton burn up next month on it id love to take a look and chat.

Hi @leigh_boy,

Yup I saw that one and tried to make contact with the owner, just to chat, but got no reply, so I'm glad to see it's going on to be restored by someone who'll appreciate it! It was me who commented on your FB post about making the Youtube link shareable in the comments. I've yet to watch any, sort of saving it for a treat    and very much looking forward to it.

Feel free to pm me with a number as I'm always happy to chat on whatsapp. I'm pretty sure I've covered most of what I encountered in the thread... and that covers a fraction of a % of the knowledge that exists on here and 99% of what I learnt also came from here!

I have quite a lot of links and notes about the parts I ordered and pricing of things. As mentioned throughout I did not use all OEM parts for things like bearings and seals where there really is no need, but spent lots of time sourcing the best options in those instances.

I doubt I'll be at the burn up but there will be another pure2strokespirit meet up at boxhill on the 21st which I'm planning on attending. I'll probably go to the Chalet, cowfold and ride up from there.

I've not posted an update on here since but I've now covered 500km so able to open her up a bit more with a bit more confidence and loving every second of that.

I've also fitted the marlboro fairing kit that came with it and am very happy with that; far more than exppected.

[AndyYam]

wow, what a journey. Just picked up a 3XV and this is one of the first posts I've read all the way through. Great to see the detail of all the work, esp the engine. Congrats on getting it back up and running.

Cheers, Russ

Thanks Russ,

Much appreciated it. It's very nice to be in this position now. It's been a journey. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about yours. Is it in need of work or all ready to go? Clue...the latter option is never really an option     

[leigh_boy]

just had a scout through this as just picked up a 3xv from worthing  ( i live in eastsussex) its a real dog, having read ur project and seeing how long its taken im inspired and scared , if your heading to brighton burn up next month on it id love to take a look and chat.

Hi @leigh_boy,

Yup I saw that one and tried to make contact with the owner, just to chat, but got no reply, so I'm glad to see it's going on to be restored by someone who'll appreciate it! It was me who commented on your FB post about making the Youtube link shareable in the comments. I've yet to watch any, sort of saving it for a treat    and very much looking forward to it.

Feel free to pm me with a number as I'm always happy to chat on whatsapp. I'm pretty sure I've covered most of what I encountered in the thread... and that covers a fraction of a % of the knowledge that exists on here and 99% of what I learnt also came from here!

I have quite a lot of links and notes about the parts I ordered and pricing of things. As mentioned throughout I did not use all OEM parts for things like bearings and seals where there really is no need, but spent lots of time sourcing the best options in those instances.

I doubt I'll be at the burn up but there will be another pure2strokespirit meet up at boxhill on the 21st which I'm planning on attending. I'll probably go to the Chalet, cowfold and ride up from there.

I've not posted an update on here since but I've now covered 500km so able to open her up a bit more with a bit more confidence and loving every second of that.

I've also fitted the marlboro fairing kit that came with it and am very happy with that; far more than exppected.

ah !!! cheers Andy, i might make boxhill on the RGV il drop you a pm with my number

[SouthCoastRich]

Looks awesome mate, can't wait to see it in person