Fuel taps

[Paul Rochdale]

Today I spent the entire afternoon dismantling, cleaning and struggling to reassemble the petrol taps. I'm glad I did as they were bunged up with rust and sediment but why are they so difficult to put back together? What with the strong coil spring and the finest of threads on the aluminium end caps, I might have been better off just buying new taps. I managed to reassemble one but the second one is a bugger. I think I'm going to have to construct some sort of jig to allow me to hold the cap down as it turn it.

(Later) I've just seen the price of new taps on the Motorworks website and for a mere £26 inc VAT it's not worth spending much more time on the reluctant one.

 

[Beemerboff]

I just came to the same conclusion.

I made a block to hold it in the vice, and a prong to push the front on, but when I was finished it didnt feel anything like a new one , the indents at each position were barely detectable and it was still a scruffy old tap.

And I had wasted about two hours.

 

[gog]

Hi Paul - which taps is it you were trying to service? I ordered a couple of rebuild kits for my Karcoma type taps but if they are as difficult to re-assemble as it sounds, I might return the kits and just buy new taps instead.

How is Maidstone? I lived there 20 years ago on a houseboat down on the river, moored down by the tennis club at the bottom of Buckland hill. I think our mooring is now housing flats. Parents ran a pub in the city down by Maidstone West Station called the Railway Club, next to another pub The Railway Bell. I think its now an Italian restaurant.

 

[Shep]

I made a similar decision today, two new taps are winging there way towards me as I type (I hope), my old ones were OK but lacked any form of indent and the filter gauze was damaged on one of them.

So at least the taps will be OK just the rest to sort now

 

[Paul Rochdale]

Gordon

The health/tennis club is still going strong and worked there for eighteen months as a handyman a few years ago. Both the pubs you mentioned are no longer, one is a Gurka restaurant. Maidstone is difficult to judge. There are now more restaurants in the town centre than anywhere else I know and the 'clubbing scene' (and I don't mean working men's clubs) is the biggest in Kent so a no go area on Friday and Saturday nights for over 50s. Much of the High Street is being pedestrianised and does look attractive when the sun shines. They still hold an annual river festival when the almost deserted 'Mudway' get's the boats it should have all of the time.

PS In addition to my R100GS-PD I also have an R100/7, not too dissimilar to yours.

 

[Paul Rochdale]

Today I fixed up a G-clamp in the end of the vice, and a long divided lever. I got the knurled end cap on, and square, and within minutes using needle nose pliers, got the cap on. It feels and sounds OK but as I'm after a really reliable bike, phoned Motorworks and ordered two NEW ones. I really don't want it to begin to dribble - the fuel taps, that is - in the middle of nowhere.

 

[gog]

Sounds like new taps is the best option, though my valve operation seems 100% so I think ill just pop them off, replace the gauzes and tank gaskets and carry on.

Maidstone sounds a bit livelier than I remember now, although I do have fond memories of the river festival from when we lived on the river.