So I have said before that I am fixing an NC30 in not so great condition. I anticipate problems/questions in the future besides the ones I already have so am starting this thread.

I am waiting for my Haynes to arrive which is 6 days late and probably wont be here any time soon. I wanted to have it to do the carb jetting guide, valve clearance and clean clutch plates as well as a full service. I've decided it would be nice to feel the difference in the work I am doing and have never ridden the bike so once the crash damage is fixed I will give it a go.

1) Problem is the coolant reserve tank is a makeshift (since I have aftermarket fairings) and is empty. I don't want to replace the coolant as I have to take the top radiator off to do the work (I think) so I was gonna top up with straight distilled water. Assuming it wont be for too long, this is fine right?

2) I was gonna buy a gear lever but literally can't find one in the country and it only snapped off so I may have one welded on but will need dimensions of stock gear lever if anyone has the time. EDIT: maybe this is a shitty idea but I dont want to wait for on from the UK or wait for someone to break a bike for spares in SA.

That's it, for now....

Cammo's carb jetting guide, which is a sticky thread is all you need for the carbs, more pictures and detail than in the haynes book.

Gear levers can be a bit tricky to find second hand as they are a snappable prone part

Thanks, the guides on here are awesome and are probably the reason I will be doing as much work as I am but seeing as I have payed for the book I would like to have it when the bike is open so if there is anything else I can do I will know. These gear levers do seem to be a problem and I'm not too worried about having non-stock items on the bike but I would like to have the correct length.

3) The washers mentioned in Cammo's guide are 0.5mm but about how big should they be in terms of diameter, inside and outside?

I think the washers I used were probably M3

From the carb jetting thread:

porndoguk wrote:0.5MM THICK
3MM INTERNAL DIAMETER
7MM EXTERNAL DIAMETER

Once you open the carbs up you'll see the washers are a common size.

Seems to be a common question, I'll stick the info in the guide.

Much appreciated!

Bump for questions 1 and 2

no probs with either. I use water from my water butt and filter it before it goes in the bike. All supposing it's not going to freeze down there! I know you can have some cool mornings.
Gearlever, just look at any bike really, I'm sure a workshop would weld you something on to get you by until you can get a decent one

philfingers wrote:no probs with either. I use water from my water butt and filter it before it goes in the bike. All supposing it's not going to freeze down there! I know you can have some cool mornings.
Gearlever, just look at any bike really, I'm sure a workshop would weld you something on to get you by until you can get a decent one

The NC24 ones are something worthy of the overused ebay word RARE when you compare them to an NC30 lever.

I have a stash now but while I was waiting for one the original problem was the end had snapped off in a crash.. I drilled a hole in the remains of the lever.. put the biggest bolt I could find through and put a load of nuts on it with a nylon nut on the end.

Was a little shorter than the original lever but worked perfectly until I could get a replacement (which was about 12 months)

philfingers wrote:no probs with either. I use water from my water butt and filter it before it goes in the bike. All supposing it's not going to freeze down there! I know you can have some cool mornings.
Gearlever, just look at any bike really, I'm sure a workshop would weld you something on to get you by until you can get a decent one

Cold mornings... not in Cape Town, where I used to live on the other side of the country called Mooi River we used to have some extreme frost but South Africa is warm for the most part and Cape Town in particular has mild winters bar the wind. Thanks for the advice Il go ahead with the battery water.

Neosophist wrote:The NC24 ones are something worthy of the overused ebay word RARE when you compare them to an NC30 lever.

I have a stash now but while I was waiting for one the original problem was the end had snapped off in a crash.. I drilled a hole in the remains of the lever.. put the biggest bolt I could find through and put a load of nuts on it with a nylon nut on the end.

Was a little shorter than the original lever but worked perfectly until I could get a replacement (which was about 12 months)

12 months, impressive... I may just do something like that but it might be easier to weld. Still dont know what the length should be though because it was broken when I bought the bike and I dont have the piece but I guess I will just check on another bike.

Some more things I'm wondering about....

1. Assuming I can get to all the problem areas, is it safe to weld the exhaust pipes while still on the bike?

2. What grade stainless are they made from? I need to know what to buy to weld the holes up.

3. What are the chances cleaning the clutch plates will make a difference, I'm selling the bike so not too keen to invest in new plates?

4. I have aftermarket fairings that don't allow for the original coolant overflow container, the previous owner has cable tied a 500ml bottle to the top rad and hooked it up. Not only do I not know how much to fill it but I'm also unsure if the position of the bottle is going to affect the cooling system.

Hope its not too many questions...