Hooli's 14 Mk2...

[Hooli]

Well I did a bit more on Mk2 today, the back brake is finished & bled up.



Then it got worse, spot the missing bolt on the clutch cover I hadn't noticed before. How can people be so useless when they assemble things? That awful oil filter cap is going too, I've got a standard one sat in the box of parts to fit.



Unfortunately when taking the cover off I found one of the bolts (not the missing one) had been snapped in the past & the end glued in with sealant. Leaving me with this.



Despite trying heat & knocking it around with a punch I can't get it to move & being stainless it's an absolute sod to drill so I'm stuck for now. It started to rain too & as the garage is so overcrowded I was knelt in the open door & getting wet, I stopped.

I did replace the pointlessly fitted EBC heavy duty clutch springs though, the one at the top of this pic is the proper ones so you can see the difference.



On the brightside, the bike is pretty clean inside.



I'll have a think about that snapped bolt & then ask my neighbour with the custom bike shop if he can welt a nut over it or something.

[KiwiCol]

Those EBC springs look impressively solid, how did the clutch feel to operate with them in it?   

@Snapey may know of a method to get that broken bolt out.  Wonder how tight they were doing it up to snap it?  either that or the bolt is / was too long & bottomed out before clamping & they just kept turning it, they're aftermarket bolts, so could have been too long.

[Hooli]

The clutch felt horribly heavy & very on/off from the feel of the lever, which makes sense as they're thicker & shorter. That's only from pulling it a few times in the garage, I never rode the thing but it instantly felt too heavy so I knew they were coming out.

[KiwiCol]

Maybe of use to someone who wants a drag gsx.

[Mr Gee]

What a total wa$%^r, the guy you bought it off must, have been. 

How can you treat your bike, like that. I don't understand it. 

Thank God, it's found better home now.     

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Thanks for the update, its coming along nicely. That snapped bolt will come out, weld a nut to it like you said should do it.

I've got an EBC clutch pack with the heavier springs in mine, I like the feel, its nice and positive. The ones that were in mine (no idea if they were oem or not) made the clutch feel really vague.  I've still got them.

[Hooli]

If only I could weld Eric, hence needing to speak to my neighbour. I think it'll be a bit of a pain as it's about 1/4" inside the hole so will need doing carefully to not weld it to the crankcase. Doing stupid hours as work has offered very rare overtime too, so not getting the chance to go much currently.

[grog]

Galvanic corrosion Hooli, stainless steel bolts of unknown quality fitted without copper coat/ zinc etc. LH drill might help.

[Eric GSX1400K3]

Yeah, was going to add the lh drill to my post, but for some reason it posted and only got back to this now.  Trick would be to weld the nut through the hole onto the stud. The case is alloy, which would require mig or tig (much higher temps), when a std carbon rod should weld onto the stainless bolt relatively easily for extraction purposes.  I'm sure your welder neighbor will be able to sort it

[Hooli]

Galvanic corrosion Hooli, stainless steel bolts of unknown quality fitted without copper coat/ zinc etc. LH drill might help.

Aye they were in dry Grog, so that's what I thought. I really do need to get some LH drills, they're something I never get around to buying.

I'm tempted to get all the proper bolts for it now as it's got these horrible cap head things everywhere. But that's more work I don't feel like doing so it won't happen soon.

[Hooli]

I find them nice & progressive when working right.

You're right the lift isn't a huge amount, I can't remember how much though but it surprised me how little when I checked. I'd suggest on yours to strip the slave cylinder down. They often get crud from chainlube & rubbish behind the metal screen which stops the piston in the slave cylinder moving freely. My 1st 14 had clutch slip when cold for a few months before I figured that one out.

[Nasty]

Hello Hooli

I can explain how to safely remove the broken screw. As with anything that needs to be done properly, it takes a bit of preparation first.

Make a precisely fitting bushing out of stainless steel that can be press-fitted into the hole of the cover. Then drill a 3 mm hole through the bushing.

Ideally, use a 3 mm end mill with a flat tip. With a cordless drill, carefully machine the broken surface flat and drill about 7–8 mm deep. The bushing keeps you perfectly centered so you won't damage the threads.

After that, apply some penetrating oil, heat the area with a hot air gun, and then use a left-hand screw extractor to remove the bolt. 👍

[Hooli]

I was drilling it. But no matter how slow I did it, it seems to case harden in no time & the drill stops. 30mins in & I'd got about 3mm deep so I gave up.

[KiwiCol]

You want a cobalt drill bit to drill stainless, either M35 or M42, use low speed with cutting oil & she'll be a good 'un.

[Hooli]

I may need to invest then, if the neighbour can't help as I've only got HSS.