Newcomer Megablade Westie

[Leigh1981]

Hi Alex, I'm a recent owner of a Megablade and so far I'm loving owning it.  Already started changing parts on it to improve it further!

[Alex Lucas]

cheers @Newton@Leigh1981 I'm still trying to get as much info on the car as i can the guy who sold it to me didn't really know anything about it. @Newton i love the look of your car that yellow is awesome! I actually do have a question for you or anyone else for that matter. Where have you positioned your rectifier? currently mine is situated in the dash void along with the windscreen heating unit and there is zero airflow there. as a consequence i'm pretty sure its fried! The car was sitting at 11.5V at idle and only just making 12.5V at 6000 rpm so when i disconnected the rectifier to check it there was black charring/melted plastic on the two of the contacts. However on testing the actual rectifier and the stator all the values were as they should be. I've ordered a new rectifier anyway and will have to try an recondition the plug on the harness so there is a good connection. My plan is to extend the harness so i can mount the rectifier somewhere up front in the nose so that it will get proper ventilation.

Also what battery are you running? currently theres a 60Ah car battery but my car doesnt have the electric reverse so i was thinking of ditching it for a smaller unit?

any advice on any of this would be most welcome. 

[CosKev]

Ideally you want to get yourself a mosfet regulator, newer technology so produces less heat and a more stable voltage.

You can buy kits that come complete with nice new plugs and wiring.

Use some electrical contact grease in the plugs when you do fit a new one.

That melted plug is past saving IMO to give a reliable connection 

[CosKev]

https://m.ebay.com/itm/SHINDENGEN-MOSFET-FH020AA-REGULATOR-RECTIFIER-KIT-NEW-GENUINE-SHINDENGEN-/380704480069

That's the type of kit you want,you run the new red and black cables direct to your battery as they are a better cable than you will have in the old bike loom

I bought mine off the site below,great seller and really good videos on his site to diagnose and test stator etc

http://www.roadstercycle.com/index.htm

[Alex Lucas]

Thanks @CosKev thats brilliant i will look to uprate my rectifier at once. Would you recommend moving it somewhere with decent airflow as well? the current location has zero.

cheers

Alex

[CosKev]

Yeah I would,I've mounted mine in the tunnel out of site below the dash hanging down on its own bracket

 

 

[Newton]

Evening,

Moved mine to the front floor pan just under the steering rack.  I've fried 1 rectifier and had 1 go suspect.  The one I fried went high on voltage over 14V and stank but didn't melt the plug like yours, the second one was showing what looked like a trend to higher outputs - I've got a digidash so can see whats happening as it logs peak voltage.

I discussed issue with Andy Bates ABPerformance and he suggested going for the later rectifier used on the 1000cc engines - think I went for a 2004 unit, plufs are different but I found a plug kit to suit on ebay.  So far everything is Rosey.

I've got an AGM battery in mine was fitted when I bought the car and is still spot on after 8 years, probably helped by having a battery isolator, will still start the car after seeral months storage.  Couldn't tell you what size off the top of my head will try and get some measurements - it is tiny.

 

Other things to check out.  The reverse gearbox can be problem-some or rather the  attachment of the drive flanges.  It is worth spending a frustrating evening under the car disconnecting the prop shafts from it to check the the main retaining flange - input / output shaft retaining nuts.  They should be staked but I went the loctite route and thats been fine for the last 3 or 4 years.  Propshaft nuts and bolts - go over to nyloc nuts and fit bolts through the gearbox drive flange if you have to take the drive flanges off.  Oh and get them greased up.

While you're down there check the gearbox oil level the boxes like to blow it out a very crude breather - I've drilled a hole through the tunnel to help with this process.

 

Will try and remember to dig out Andy Bates engine oil filling routine the need more oil than standard to cope with surge - use semi synth not fully synth.

Do you know what sump is fitted?

Have you got a retaining strap on the oil filter to stop it coming lose?  Jubilee clip and a bit of wire to a suitable fixing on the block - simples.

Have fun

 

[Terry Everall]

An extra 250 ml of oil after max on dip stick

[ziplob]

remote mount the sender , give me a shout and I will send you some pictures .

[ziplob]

also mount the regulator on a good heat sink and make sure all conections are tight . I have a digital volt meter on mine it cost about three pounds of e-bay . again if you need any help give me a shout

[CosKev]

Digital voltmeter is a good call

As you don't have a battery /charge light on a motorbike the first time you will notice your car has stopped charging is when it starts to misfire, you've then got about half a mile before it will stop with a totally dead battery,been there done that 

[Alex Lucas]

Cheers Guys @CosKev @Newton do you know if either of the rectifier units you are currently using are compatible with a Lithium Ion battery? (is there much fluctuation in the voltage readings your getting between idle and say 5/6K. 

@Newton i was possibly considering doing away with the reverse gear box and look to fit and electric reverse possibly over the winter once I've had some use out of the car. People seem to be very disapproving of the reverse box and it just worries me that its a matter of when not if it packs up. Have you ever been tempted to swap yours and go the electric route? 

Also excuse my ignorance but how do you check the oil level in the reverse gear box? is the a sight glass or dipstick?

The sump appears to just be the standard cbr900 one i'm assuming/ hoping the piece between the sump and the engine is the baffle plate.

Are the oil filters prone to working themselves loose? i must admit its never happened on any motorcycle I've owned or is this oil filter your referring to in the reverse box?

@ziplob if you could show me some pictures of where you've mounted your sender that would be great, Have you just used Aeroquip hose to make the extension from the block, do you remember the thread size for the block? 1/4 NPT??

Yes i was planning on fitting a temporary volt meter somewhere to get me through the rest of the Summer/Autumn, My plan is to rewire the car over the winter and make my own loom as the one in it at the moment is questionable cables have been spliced using the twist fit method no solder or even crimps! I also want to change the dash to something of my own design. Some great threads on here actually about that.

Whilst your all being so helpful does anybody know how or of a thread that explains how to check the function of your windscreen wipers. There is absolutely no response on either speed 1 or 2 however they were functioning when i viewed the car a couple of weeks ago. I've tested the switch itself and that fine plus I've checked the voltages at the male plug at the wiper motor and that all seems fine.

Believe it or not this care wasn't supposed to be a 'project' right away  was planning to enjoy the summer in it then do all the long term mods i had envisioned over the winter.... But when does anything go to plan eh 

Sorry for all the questions guys one day i hope to be able to return the favour to somebody else 

 Oh one last thing whilst i am at it what air box do you run? Standardbox? the one currently on mine is just a large open filter (shown in the pictures).  Anybody travelling behind me must be getting high off the fumes from the exhaust as there is so much unburned fuel, especially evident when throttling off loads of pops and bangs car must be running really rich my guess? Could this be due to the large air filter and no box? Really need to take it somewhere to get the carbs set up properly once I've resolved the charging issues. 

Does anybody know of a place in the northwest area that has the facility to set up a carb BEC?

 

[CosKev]

1 hour ago, Alex Lucas said:

do you know if either of the rectifier units you are currently using are compatible with a Lithium Ion battery? (is there much fluctuation in the voltage readings your getting between idle and say 5/6K. 

Mine shows 13.6 at idle and peaks at 14.1 once revving. Looks to be pretty steady tbh.

Not a clue on the battery question sorry!

Ref electric reverses they are a waste of time really,they will only move the car on the flat or a slight incline.It won't be a small job either fitting one,you will need to weld in mounting points onto the chassis, which will probably mean you will have to remove/refit brake lines and fuel lines.

If you don't mind travelling a bit further for a set up/rejet of the carbs Dale at Bailey Performance is a good old school tuner,he re-jetted my carbs and it was spot on.

He is really busy though,so don't expect to get a booking straight away unless he has a cancellation!  

[CosKev]

http://baileyperformance.co.uk

[Alex Lucas]

Thanks @CosKev