Re: Preparing to start her again... after 12 years in storage - suggestions needed
The metal fragments in the engine could be there from any time in the past...They might come from a currently failing component but equally, they might be left over from a previous engine failure where someone was lax in cleaning out the crank cases and the filter...
It might have had the valve seats recut in situ at some point...Recutting seats was a common procedure in those days and it can be done 'in place' with a side valve...Contamination in that case is hard to avoid to a degree....
It may be that the crank nut has come loose at some time and the fragments are from the main bearing spacer on the drive side, which will wear away in that event...
I think I'd be inclined to clean out the filter, run the engine for a few miles, perhaps with a flushing oil and then check everything again..If it looks OK, or there is less contamination, do it again and see how it looks after, say, 100 miles...
It would be a shame to rush into a rebuild if it's not really needed....
The leak from the kick start shaft/bush is probably just caused by wear of the shaft and the bush. The bush is hardened steel but both parts will wear over time.. Also, they don't wear evenly as the kick start never does a full rotation..I have fitted a small O ring into the tapered part at the rear of the bush...It is held in place by the quadrant when it is inserted...
I also ground a very small radiused groove into the quadrant shaft on one bike and fitted an O ring to that..I was worried initially the shaft might snap at that point (though it is at least 1" in diameter)..It never caused a problem though...
The gearbox will leak until you fit a sealed bearing at the drive end (with the inner seal removed). M20's predated modern oil seals and sealed bearings so the oil retention features are both crude and ineffective by modern standards... The bearing number is 6207 2RS and it's metric so readily available....However, the M20 gearbox can be a sod to get operating nicely after a rebuild so I'd save that for when you want to do something else to the box, or perhaps if you have the primary drive off the bike...
The leak won't do the gearbox any harm as long as you keep it topped up..I would recommend checking the oil level in the box at about 300-350 mile intervals......Ian
Re: Preparing to start her again... after 12 years in storage - suggestions needed
Hey guys thanks for the answers. Brad, thanks for the questions.
I just got my KM20 running after long inactivity. Also not sure how it was protected. I did the oil in the engine. Cleaned the carbon off the intake valve, rebuilt the carb including lapping the leaking float needle, now it runs very nice.
BUT my transmission is leaking. Looks like I to have the automatic chain Oiler. I suspected that seal. Thanks for confirming that and mentioning that it is not an easy job.
Brad, good luck on getting her going. I need choke, three kicks with compression released and throttle open. Choke off, ignition advanced, 1/2 throttle and a good kick with it just a little past TDC.
Starts usually on first kick. Sometimes I need some chock even though it has been very hot here. Once it it running for about a minute no chock required.
