Finally Got In

[Ray]

Thank you to the Webmaster, who got me into this forum. I think I must have registered, or tried to register, when I joined the HOC and I kept getting rejected because my' email address was 'already in use'. Sometimes I got diverted to a Government Planning Forum that I made use of several years ago and, after a couple of weeks of this, I nearly got a bit frustrated.

I'm expecting to ask for information and advice as there doesn't seem to be too much floating around out here.

Ray P, in Sunny South Norfolk

[Rob B]

Hello Ray, Welcome! You will find plenty of advice on here, not always useful but always meant well 

Most if not all subjects have been debated over the years and so a hunt through past posts will provide a lot of useful information. There is also the HESKETH OWNERS Group on FB. I don't think it has anything to with the HOC, but just about everyone in the group is also a member of the HOC, for obvious reasons...

Cheers,

Robert

[Ray]

Thanks, Robert, - I've been an avid consumer of past topics in this Forum for some time, as a guest because I kept getting rejected as an unsuitable person or whatever.

I found the information very helpful, as would any new Hesketh owner, but mostly the long-term members wouldn't know of this. After reading a post on valve clearances, I re-shimmed mine down to between .001" and .002" and it hasn't complained. They'd been set at what's in the book back in the '80s and, after taking ownership of the bike several years ago, I knew no better.

Ray

[Rob B]

Good news Ray, is your bike a factory original or fully "EN10'd"? I'm surprised the valve clearances were still at factory settings, certainly they would have been reduced to Zero with just the bucket free to turn if Mick had worked on it. This leads me to ask, have you modified the cush drive rubber behind the rear sprocket yet? That modification costs nothings and transforms the riding experience, especially in town riding. Its a good idea to renew wheel bearings, dowel the sprocket carrier and add threadlock to the bolts at the same time though...

Cheers,

Robert

[Ray]

According to its records, Robert, and what I was told by the previous owner, it had the full EN10 update carried out. It was bought new, I was given photos of it being collected from the factory, and then taken back for the updates. The previous owner used it for a year or two, about 13K miles or so, then had it serviced, new rear tyre fitted and then displayed with his other bikes in his factory reception area. When he sold it to me, it had another new rear tyre fitted and the unused Dunlop Red Arrow was included with all the spares. When I re-commissioned it, oil change, hydraulic fluids, new battery, etc, I checked the valve clearances and they were .004" and .006 as per the instruction book.

It's been stood up since 2015 because of an engine rattle that I had no time to investigate so I have recently poked about inside, as far as I could without removing cylinder heads, and tightened up the clearances as close to nil as I could after ploughing through old HOC forum posts. Unfortunately, the rear inlet cam sprocket fell off because I was groping around with little information, and I had to re-time it with timing disc and dial gauge. The benefit of this is that I now know far more than I did. It was interesting to discover the secret of the almost infinite adjustment - the locating pegs in the sprockets move to alternate holes to advance or retard in order, then turn the sprocket over for in-between adjustment. It was a Eureka moment! I had no cam timing thingy, to locate the cams, so I made one to bolt onto the top of the cam box so I can reset the valve timing quickly in the future. We're never too old to learn! Just in case you're worried, I think the intermittent engine rattle was the rear cam chain slapping against the top of the alloy cover.

I know nothing of transmission cush drive problems so I shall have to look into that because costing nothing is one of my favourite terms. I'll also check out the other mods and renew the wheel bearings as I'm used to doing that. Laverda's cast alloy rear wheels eat up bearings and I used to carry a spare set under the seat. The spoked wheels never seemed o suffer this problem, I suppose because they're more flexible.

Thank you for your advice and interest.

Ray, in Sunny South Norfolk

[Rob B]

Hello Ray,

That sounds like a nice bike. I would post a photo of the modified Cush drive rubber if I had any idea how to. Instructions received on how to post photos, but they are meaningless to me. I suspect the mod has been done if the bike is EN10'd although there were several iterations of this. Next time you have the rear wheel out, you will see if the top of each of the rubber Cush drive segments has a V notch cut in it. It is recommended to strip out the rear wheel anyway occasionally to stop the wheel spindle and woodruff keys welding themselves inside the aluminium eccentrics.

There are a a pair of special tools for clamping over the standard camshafts to get the correct valve timing. Let me know if you need them or I think the club Technical Secretary has loads of them.

Robert, in wet and windy Ancona

[Ray]

It will need a new rear tyre before too long, Robert, so I'll likely check everything out that I can when I do that.

It's a wonderful old bike and I was very lucky to drop onto it at a time when I had the spare cash. I tried to buy a new V1000 back in 1982 but had words with the Norfolk appointed Hesketh dealer when he treated me with a bit of disrespect. I presume he thought I hadn't the funds - I was in my works van, and dirty overalls, when I called in to discuss the new bike, on my way back from dealing with a truck breakdown. I bought a new Laverda RGS from Richard Slater instead - one of the first pair to arrive into the country. It was about the same price as a Hesketh and, as things turned out, the Hesketh dealer did me a huge favour by sending me away with a flea in my ear.

I'll inquire about the price and availability of the cam locating tools, maybe someone reading this will have details that may be helpful for others too. My home-brewed tool seems to do the job ok, though. It's just a flat alloy plate that bolts to the head with four of the cam cover bolts. It then has a pair of 6 mm Allen bolts through the plate that adjust downwards to touch the two cam lobes in their correct positiions at TDC on the compression stroke. These two bolts are just held tight in the plate with two lock nuts so they can be adjusted up and down when setting them up. I've rounded the bolt bottoms off so I can set them into position with a .015" gap between lobe and bolt before dismantling things. It's easy then to refit the plate after re-shimming and check the cams are in position with the same .015" gap.

My V1000 is almost mint, black with nickel frame, no corrosion and all original. There was a crate of spares with it, original tool kit and proper box of valve shims, new head lamp, rear and indicator lamps, full set of seal kits for all hydraulics and forks, stack of fuses, bulbs, clips, fasteners, throttle and grips, new spare switches, new locks with keys, original books, pair of silemcers, photos, original hand book etc. I'm sure most long-term owners have all these if they went to the dispersal sale but I'm fortunate that all these bits and bobs have been kept with my bike.

Ray, still in the sunshine.

[Rob B]

Sounds like yo did very well Ray. I already have my long-time HESKETH V1000 with the necessary modifications but recently had the opportunity, thank you DH, to acquire an original Black bike, nickel frame, red pinstripes with 3,800 miles, not ridden since 1995. It is a lovely thing, but I will use my other V1000 for any serious distances.

Your first paragraph reminds me of a story I never forget. When I was very young and possibly even more stupid, I bought a wreck of a Jensen Interceptor, as indeed they all are generally. I struggled to find anyone who could or would want to help with the restoration work until a friend told me to go and see a chap called Peter Childs at ARNETS in Bournemouth, the Rolls Royce dealer! Of course you can imagine my reply. Anyway, he insisted and so I dutifully took my clapped out Interceptor to the Rolls Royce dealer for an appointment with Peter. He arranged its superb restoration with a local body shop in Poole at a very good price.

Anyway; to the story:

Peter had been a Rolls Royce dealer for many, many years. He told me of a painter & decorator who used to come and look at the cars in the showroom nearly every Friday afternoon after finishing work and Peter would have a mug of tea waiting for him. As he neared retirement, the painter & decorator, in his overalls as ever, arrived at the showroom, but this time with four large and overstuffed carrier bags. They were full of cash that he had been saving and with which he purchased his Rolls Royce from Peter. A lifetime dream for him. So, never judge a book by its cover.

Mind you, the local Porsche dealers are and always have been a bunch of stuck-up pricks! 

RB