Not really, remachining the crankcase is a permanent and accurate engineered solution that makes any future oil seal change a straight forward job...
It's a different but better solution than various forms of 'glue' which IMO are only a temporary bodge to get you out of trouble until the correct solution is applied...I try to start from the point of 'best practice' wherever possible as there is a tendency to end up bodging everything if the easiest route is always followed...Ian
It rather depends how much time and money one wants to chuck at the problem. My mag has been off a couple of times since I bodged it seven or so years ago and I haven't had to do anything further.
Some of us simply.like. Proper engineering solutions and hate the idea that next time a routine task has to be undertaken, previous botches will mean a long term "Vehicle Off Road".
Surely the point of this hobby is to do it to the best of our ability ? If not, and we simply like gluing things then collages must be the way forward :grinning:
In terms of bodges this is a very minor and reversible one. If it fails to stop a leak one just tries something far more expensive and time consuming. The bodge itself leaves no mark on the cases and doesn't involve any moving parts. By all means spend time and money if you have both to spare. I just use my M21 as transport in the summer months. In the winter it gently decomposes under a sheet next to my workshop. It's never been 'restored' and to call it's rusty condition patina is rather stretching the term. Using the gearbox is rather like stirring porridge, it needs a gentle touch to avoid neutrals, having been abused for decades with a previous sidecar.
However it runs LEDs, a Triumph clutch, a top quality English made electronic regulator [none of that Far East garbage] & has had a complete engine rebuild of the internals. I expect it to happily make another 30 years, far more than I have left.
When I was at school and college the charm of the M21 was that it would run and keep running when pretty worn out; and worn out bikes were all I could afford. They didn't need constant attention and parts to keep them on the road. After a gap of some forty years I'm on my third one, so I suppose my attitude is atypical on this site. When I ride it I'm 20 again, just as long as I don't see my reflection....
