Old Son

Thanks for your advice

I have to strip them because I have an oil seal leak. I thought I would replace bushes whilst I was at it. I'm aware the oil will probably stink and be very contaminated. I am thinking to put the damper assemblies in some new mineral oil and pump until I end up with nice clean oil coming out, leave them to drain, reassemble and fill with fork oil

I'll put my hands up, this is almost non boat related. I will soon be stripping the front forks on my motorbike. I was wondering how to clean through the internals and thought maybe I could flush everything through with the mineral oil I use for my boat engine. It's cheap and I've got quite a lot in the shed. My query is, do we think the residue oil left after leaving the forks to drain would mix OK with the new synthetic 7.5W fork oil I'll be using? I really don't need it clogging after it has been reassembled. I know the oil takes a bashing but I'm thinking there will be so little left in the forks it shouldn't make a difference. What is the consensus?

CRT have been quite clear on this, currently no cruising. Only move your boat if you are a resident and need to empty waste or take on water.

By way of an update, fitted a new battery and it started 2nd kick. I think the carburettor needs some adjustment because it doesn't like ticking over on its own but it sounds sweet enough. Thank you all for your help.

Well after 22 hours with no charge the battery has dropped to 4.2 Volts so I think it's fair to say the battery is U/S. I definitely need a battery to start, when I got the bike it had been newly refurbished. It would not start. I checked and there was no battery. I fitted a battery and it started first kick. I think I'll buy a new battery and try again. With regards the petrol, I generally turn off the tank tap and let the carburettor empty to stop the engine. That way there should be no stale petrol left in the pipes or the carburettor. Maybe that's not the right thing to do. I also added some petrol additive that extends the life of petrol when added to the tank. Thanks for all your input, it's a pretty little bike so I'll stay with it and try to get it running once again.

Thanks everyone. I have taken the battery off charge and will check the voltage tomorrow. Once I know the battery is good I'll drain the tank and put in new petrol. I have two other modernish motor bikes that have sat on charge a similar amount of time. Both Japanese. Both started first time and ran no problem. Petrol same age as that in the Lodola. Who'd own a Moto Guzzi?

I hope you don't mind me asking a non boating question on here but I doubt there is more knowledge about batteries anywhere else!! I have a 1964 Lodola motorcycle which spends the vast majority of its time under cover in my garage. I have a 2 year old 6V, 10AH lead acid battery on maintenance charge alongside. I tried to start the bike this weekend. The bike ran for about 20 seconds and then stopped and would not start again. The bike is kick started. I checked the battery and it showed 4.8 volts on a multimeter. I've put the battery back on charge and it is being charged at around 6.4 volts. My question, how can I check my battery is still OK? Can I disconnect for 24 hours and recheck the voltage or do I need to load the battery somehow? Although the battery has only been on the bike once it seems to me like the battery might be dead. Is this what should be expected after 2 years on a maintenance charger? Thanks

What does it smell of?

I had a lot of rust develop on the underside of my roof rails. I chipped off the worst and applied Vactan. It is still rust free after 3 years. It is out in the open and suffers the abuse of the weather. I'm quite happy with Vactan.

I hate Fertan, such a faff to rinse it off afterwards. Vactan every time for me.

So in future don't mention it on this forum!!

It’s not surprising why the world is like it is!!

And what do you do for folks you've never met for free? Physically impaired, or elderly people have family and friends (although not you by the sound of it). If they don't and they cant deliver their cover then they are no worse off are they!!