ClassicMotorcycleMechanicsJune2020

(Jacob Rumans) #1
ABOVE:Looking
through the
carburettor at the
piston ring on my
Kawasaki H2C.

TOP RIGHT:The image
on the screen of the
probe mounted
magnet rescuing the
plate that fell into the
most inaccessible
place onaZ1000
engine.

RIGHT:The plate
hanging on the probe
mounted magnet
–priceless!

BELOW:My original
lo-fi Snap-on
borescope being used
to set up the throttle
slide onaHonda
CB125T.

Iwas laying hands onarecalcitrant 1978
Z1000A1 atalow ebb oneevening.Iwas refitting
the top cam-chain idlerspanning the cam-chain
tunnel. They haverubber dampers thatshould have
steelplates bondedto them, but the bondhad long
sincefailed onthis on eand anew replacement was
too costly for theYorkshireman whoowned thebike.
As Iwas locating the bolts on theleft-ha nd side ,I
heardanoise that would freeze the blood ofanybike
fettler: thesound of the right-hand plate falling
downthecam-chain tunnel. Believe me,theair was
blue,particularly as the sumpwasfull of lovely new
10w40 oil.The besthopewas that it had fallen
outside thechainand into the sump. Theoil was
drained andthe sumpremoved, bu tnoplate was to
be found.Ibroke outthe borescopeand spent some
time guiding the probe into all the darkrecesses of
the engine, hopingto sp ythe errant part. The worst
placepossi ble for the plateto have endedupwas
inside the centrecrankshaftbearing cap. Ifit were
there thenthe en gine would haveto co me out of the
bike andinto theengine framewher eIwould need
to split thecrankcases to undo thebearing cap.
Imanaged to guidethe probe into thebearing cap
and there it was. Inalast ditchattemptIwithdrew
the probe andfitted itwith its tiny magnet
attachment.Iwasn’t particularlyhopeful, givenhow
tight it was gettingthe probethere in thefirst place,
bumping it past allmanner of obstructions.Using
the screen,Iguided theprobe likeasurgeo nback
into thebearing cap and wasvery relieved toseethe
magnet grabthe errant partand hugely gratifiedthat
it stayed attachedas Igently pull ed it back up
through the cam-chaintunnel.
The joy ofseeing theprobereappearwith my
nakedeyes with the plate attached wasafeeling I
won’t forget inawhile.Itook acoupleofpics with
my phone toshare with my friends, whichIhave
included here.That one jobmorethan paid for the
tool.Since thenLaserTools havemade an even
better one withabigger 5-inch screen, which is
quiteabit more costly, butthe above story wasstill
freshand Ihad to haveit! Both models can take
photographs andvideo of whatthe camerasees,
whichare saved ontoaMicro SD card. Bothcan
connectto aPCvia USB. Thesmaller oneuses four
AA batteries, whereas its bigger brother uses a
rechargeablelithium-ion battery.
Younever think you needaborescopeuntil you,
well,really DO need one!cmm

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