slaveandthen ran thelinemoreorless
the same route previouslytaken bythe
bowden cable.Itaped itinpositionwith
PVC insulating tapetosaveon the cable
tiesIwould be ultimately using. When the
line reached the master cylinder,Imarked
the position of thebanjo boltandremoved
the lineagain.Icut itat themarked
position withapair of special wire cutters
designedtocut stainless steel wire.Ihave
seen people using side cutters,but these
will squash theline and damagetheside
cutters, which areonly reallydesignedfor
use on electricalcable, whichis copper.
Usingastraight pick tool insertedinthe
innerPTFEpipe, Icleaneduptheshape
of the end of the line with finger and
pliers. The plasticcover over the braid had
tobe stripped back for around an inchto
allowthe fitting nut to slideover it. Using
the pick tool againIslightly splayed out
the braid sothat thebrass olive would
slideover the innerPTFEtube,but inside
the braid. Oncethe olive is rammedin as
tight as it will go thespigot of thebanjo is
pushed inside thePTFE tubeuntil the
oliveis tightagainst theback face.With
the banjobeing pushedtightlyagainst the
line thenut wasengaged withthethreads
of the banjofitting andtightened up.This
not onlydeforms the olive aroundthe
PTFE innertubetomakeavery strongseal,butalso mechanicallysecuresthe
braid tothefitting,makingarobust union.
Ihadproblems gettingtheair out of the
system, whichsurprised measclutch
hydraulic systems areusuallyeasy. Iended
up holding the piston inplace with a
two-inch G-clamp with thelinehanging
down loose,and appliedalever clamp to
hold theclutch leverin andleft it overnight
to allowallthepocketsof airtofind their
way upto the reservoir.
With the ball in the rod extending adapter,
the clutch was slipping slightly with the
lever at rest, soIremoved the adapter and
tookalittle off the end with the lathe.Abit
of experimenting was required, but finally it
workedatreat and afterIhad taken it for a
test ride, SWMBO donned her lid and jacket
and took it foratest ride. So pleased was
she thatIhad an extra pass out to the
Rising Sun to abuse my liver with iffyWest
Country ale. Result!19/Theplastic outercoverwaspared back toallowthe fitting nuttoslideover the braid.
20/ Next the nutwas fitted.21/The olivewas slipped overthe inner pipeinside the
stainless steel braid as far as it would go,shown abouthalfwayhere.22/Thespigot of the
banjofitting slides inside theinner PTFE tubingandthe nutforces theoliveagainst the taper
of the fitting, which crushes the olive aroundtheinner tube makingagood sealand
mechanically securingthe braid.23/Whenbleeding the systemIheld thepositionofthe
piston usingasmall Gclamp.The electrical fitting bag was just preventing scratchingofthe
polishedoutside by theclamp.24/It wasabit reticentabout giving up its air soIleft itfora
few hours withaleverclampand the slave hangingdown.192021 22(^2324)
cmm
114 / classic motorcyclemechanics
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