Thursday 24 October 2013

Update.

The garage can't fix my bike. They say they will have to buy parts from Japan and have the shipped over which will cost £££££££££££!? and the parts won't be here until the middle of November at the earliest. I've looked into buying a new bike but because of the registration difficulties and the papers that I need to travel to different countries with it its starting to look like this isn't an option I can do. I've looked into getting a new engine for the bike but I can't find one that will exactly fit. This whole thing has turned into a living nightmare. I tried to do it on a bicycle and my knee gave in 2 weeks before I set off. Now I try to do it on a motorcycle and its broken beyond repair before I leave Europe. Maybe I'm not mean to do this. I'm 6 weeks in and I've been in the same place for 2 of them trying to get things sorted and now I can't seem to find a way out. I'm at a loss with what I can do. Any suggestions would be welcome as I'm starting to think I should just throw in the towel and and fuck this idea off completely.
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9 comments :

  1. Anonymous24 October 2013 at 22:00

    I would try one of the larger UK bike breakers such as http://www.abbeymotorcycles.com/index.html

    They claim to have broken a number of C90's recently and look like the sort of large firm that would arrange shipping out to Spain. I can see you getting an engine for around £100 plus £50 to ship it out to you.

    Altenatively I have seen this on ebay:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Lifan-110cc-4-Speed-Manual-Pit-Bike-Engine-E-O-Monkey-C90-/290947455601?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item43bdd1da71

    Which is a brand new engine for £170 - although its not genuine Honda and not sure if they would ship abroad - but might be worth a look.

    Hope you get sorted out Liam, I have been following your journey with interest and its far too early to throw in the towel.

    All the best
    Graham

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  2. Liam Parkin24 October 2013 at 22:21

    Thanks Graham, I have been toying with the idea of a Lifan but I've only managed to be able to find manual ones... I only have an automatic licence unfortunately. I did find a 110c auto but the companies in America and I wouldn't be able to get it here until mid November.

    I'll have a look at abbeymotorcycles, thanks. I'm not sure on the extent of the damage, I need to talk to the garage tomorrow and see what options are available. I think buying a Honda c90 engine for spares would be the best option, and then hopefully I can work something out with the garage and get on the road again.

    I know I can't give in now, I'm just having to deal with a lot of despair at the moment.

    Cheers Graham and thanks for getting in touch, its appreciated.

    All the best,

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  3. Anonymous26 October 2013 at 18:17

    Liam, wadda think you were gonna climb the mountain without slipping on the ice !!!. This is how you learn about your bike my friend. Ask the garage what parts are needed . Im guessing a new piston but if possible the cheapest solution would be a slightly oversized piston and a cylinder rebore to take all the scratches out of the cylinder walls from the seizure. Fingers crossed con rod etc (that's what connects the piston to the engine) wont be bent so rest should be ok. The key is finding somewhere to measure the cylinder to the micron, then reboring to that exact measurement. You will also need a gasket set and maybe circlips (to hold the gudgeon pin in) !!! The gudgeon pin is what holds the piston on to the con rod. Let me know and I will see what I can source and send this end.
    Jordie Kev.

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  4. Anonymous26 October 2013 at 18:24

    PS (from Kev) don't you dare throw in the towel you big girls blouse. Nothing is beyond repair and anything can be achieved, and on top of that my hands got bloody soaked out on my bike last week cos you've got my best gloves Lol. Its better the bike breaks down in Europe before you hit Africa but you are gonna have to give her some serious testing.
    Kev.

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  5. Liam Parkin26 October 2013 at 18:33

    Hi Kev. No I'm not going to give in, don't worry. Its just getting a bit desperate here sometimes. I need a new engine basically, and its proving very very difficult to find one. I can't get one in Spain so it will have to be from home. Its looking like the only option is to buy the only one I can find, one going on Ebay for £20 in Scotland. I have absolutely no idea what condition its going to be in. But at least the garage here will be able to put it back together and get the bike running again. Its very hard to convey what we all need with the engine with the language barrier.

    I have been advised on getting a Lifan 110cc engine, which would fit my bike perfectly. But the only place I can find one is from America. There's lots of manual one's in England, but they won't fit my bike!

    The family I'm staying with are very nice for letting me stay this long. At this rate I'm going to be here for longer than a month. It is very frustrating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous27 October 2013 at 03:52

      Daft question but why a new engine, what's the damage ???. If e bay engine where is it. I might be in Scotland back end of week if I survive the storm that might be coming tomorrow !!!.
      Kev.

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  6. Liam Parkin27 October 2013 at 11:16

    Hi Kev. From whatI can gather the engine is completely ruined and it would be best to just buy a new one and put it together the best we can. Its hard to decipher what is the damage exactly as its difficult to communicate with the language barrier. I had a look at there were gouges out of the metal ect. It didn't look good.
    This engine from Scotland has a new crankshaft and it seems to be in good order. Its going for £53 at the moment and I can get it couriered from Scotland to here for £50 too. The garage have said I don't owe them any money for the work they've done so far as they said they want to help with what I'm trying to do. They're really good people.
    Thanks for the offer to collect it from Scotland and for your advice, its looking quite hopeful that it should turn out okay now. I'm not going to get my hopes too much just yet though.

    Cheers Kev and all the best. Enjoy the storms!

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  7. Anonymous28 October 2013 at 17:43

    Get on this forum immediately !! http://www.c90club.co.uk/ and maybe ask dave wilkins! he's a london based mechanic and meant be one of the best for cubs, GLOBALLY! good luck!

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  8. Anonymous3 November 2013 at 22:58

    stick in there liam, your doing what the rest of us are scared to do, if it wa EASY then it would be worthless

    ReplyDelete

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