April 2025

 

April 2025

 

Just back from another visit to India and documented in March 2025 postings. The highlight for ma was the 1000km bike to Arunachal Pradesh. I would not say riding for three days in the rain and mud enjoyable. It was an experience and an achievement at being the oldest man on a motorcycle to do that journey and can be seen by looking at jungle_jatri on the internet. Back to more mundane things and the Wey Valley Observed Sunday and barbeque not becoming an annual celebratory event for the club. It was a cold wind but the sun was shining making it reasonably pleasant to sit outside. I went on the Kawasaki testing out the saddlebags and discovered how wide the bike had become. Something to work on.

I did a little fettling over the next few days with the mounting brackets and gave the El Cid a once over for the trip to Bristol over Easter. Staying with my brother Adrian with the plan of going to the 2CV National Rally held at Martha’s Down near Salisbury in convoy. It is a good flat camp site albeit on the top of a hill which means it is open to the weather and can be cold and windy. On the way to Bristol I could smell oil and when the oil light came on it was panic time. I stopped on junction 17 slip road of the M4 and threw what oil I had in the engine. Continuing on to Leigh Delamare services a mile away I bought more oil and topped up the sump. Only fourteen miles to go I coaxed the car along just getting to Adrian’s when the oil light came on again. I breathed a sigh of relief arriving with the engine intact. But what was the problem? Oil appeared to be coming from the rocker box seal. An easy job if that was all it was.

Good Friday was a trip into Bristol by bus to visit the Old Duke for jazz. That was pre Covid now instead of every day it is twice a week  and not today so we headed to Weatherspoons for cheap beer and food It was raining most of the day and retired to Adrian’s for a takeaway. Barry, my eldest brother, came over for a bit of a reunion.

Saturday was another dismal day. We managed to find a car accessory shop open in Chipping Sodbury and bought oil and gasket sealant. When the weather cleared in the afternoon it was time to tackle the job. The El Cid parked on Adrian’s drive blocking his garage. Nice to work on but he would not be able to use his Dolly until the job was done. Front off to gain access to the heat cowlings and reveal the oil pipes to the cylinder heads. This showed the main cause of the oil leak. The oil pipe had broken next to the union on the left cylinder head. We did try to silver solder it but we could not get the silver solder to stick. Abandoning that , Adrian retired to a safe distance while I dismantled and removed the fan and the housing  to get to the oil pipe running between the heads. Oil pipe removed it was time to stop and get cleaned up for the evening.

Sunday  was our day to visit Martha’s Down and the 2CV National Rally. With our convoy left on the drive and in the garage we went in the Picasso. At the rally there was the meeting of old friends and ECAS to buy the spares I needed. There was a really nice selection of cars and vans to look around and talk to their owners. It was cold again and we left early along with many people decamping to go home. One time I will stay long enough to enjoy the evening’s entertainment, but not this year.

Monday was another rainy morning and I had to wait for the sun to come out to start the repair.  Fitting the oil pipe the copper washers were annealed by Adrian  to make the sealing easier and for the banjo bolts to bite. Filled with oil the engine started to test for leaks. A successful job. While things were apart the oil cooler needed a clean and so did most of the engine bay to remove the oil that had been distributed. Much engine cleaner and a spray bottle to get the cleaner into where it was needed. Even requiring a brush to get the muck off the oil cooler. That had not been done for years. When we were happy it was clean enough the fan cowling was fitted then the fan, fan belt and finally the front of the car. A successful test drive and we were ready for my journey home.

Tuesday return home with a stop at Membury on the M4 to check oil. There was something below the left cylinder on the chassis. I wiped it off and continued. There was some when I got home but no discernable change in oil level. A few days later I checked the oil level and engine bay and it was all clean. Job OK and no more work to do.