The Africa Twin thread

[locorider]

I knew you were up to something!!! Havent seen you connected lately!!!

Originally Posted by sambor1965

[A-Wind]

And I had a great adventure of a tough day at work today. I'm watching with jealousy.

[sambor1965]

[Jim Davis]

Hi guys, me again about tires on the RD03. I think I got the ideal pressure now on both, but I'd still like to know about balancing.

How many of you have some kind of weights on your rims?

What do you do about a tire with no markings - do you turn it 180 degrees and try it again if it's way off balance?

What kind of weights do you use? I used four 10 gram stick on weights but they look pretty ugly. I think on the Norton I used a type of weight that went over a spoke head, is that what I should be using?

[Mhassic]

Originally Posted by abat

Hi all.
I just installed a front fork on my DR04 from a KTM 620.
What springs should i put in these forks?i believe the springs too soft for the bike.what suggestion can you give me?
Thanks.

How did you do it?
I have the same project to come.

[axel32]

hello all !

i am axel from hamburg germany and new on ADVrider .... nice page!

i am on a roundtheworldtour .... stucked in BC canada

my honda african twin rd07 1995 160.000 km needs a new countershaft! can somebody help with knowledge, tricks etc... maybe an old RDO7 with spareparts?!

thanks in advance

axel

[A-Wind]

Originally Posted by axel32

...my honda african twin rd07 1995 160.000 km needs a new countershaft...

Axel, you could have a new sprocket welded on. The shaft is gone anyways, so why not? It would enable you to continue your trip. If you decide to do so, make sure you disconnect your CDI just in case (I blew a CDI once right after a welding job of the sidestand).

[Andy G]

Hi Axel,

welcome to the asylum!
there was a guy some pages back, also on RTW, who destroyed the upper half of his engine, maybe you can get the remains of his engine. The AT was never sold in America, so parts are rare. And changing the countershaft is .... you have to remove the engine, dissassemble it completely and put it back together. Is there no chance of welding the sprocket to the countershaft? That would do for the next 15 to 20k kms.

Grüße aus der fernen Heimat,

andy

[GSPD750]

Originally Posted by axel32

hello all !

i am axel from hamburg germany and new on ADVrider .... nice page!

i am on a roundtheworldtour .... stucked in BC canada

my honda african twin rd07 1995 160.000 km needs a new countershaft! can somebody help with knowledge, tricks etc... maybe an old RDO7 with spareparts?!

thanks in advance

axel

What exactly is the problem with the countershaft? I'm assuming the splines are worn on the shaft where the front sprocket rides. If you want to know a trick and get back on the road again soon then I would suggest have someone weld a new spocket to the countershaft...right where the splines are worn (item #19 to #4) . It's been done before.

Replacing the countershaft is labour intensive as you have to split the cases. The shaft alone is 140 euro, amongst all the gaskets you will require. Many of those parts will have to come from europe. Item #30 is the output shaft bearing, and if that has excessive radial play then you will also have problems...including an oil leak. Hopefully that bearing is ok.

Qwik fix...weld new sprocket onto countershaft. Sprocket can be sourced locally from any honda motorcycle dealer for about $40 cdn.
You will also need a seal..item #18 in the second pic. This seal will have to be kept cool with wet rags while the welding is carried out. That will also be a challange.





Pic of the shaft with the oil seal removed. You can see the outputshaft bearing...which is pressed in from the inside of the case.



Keep us posted.

[A-Wind]

Originally Posted by Andy G

...there was a guy some pages back, also on RTW, who destroyed the upper half of his engine, maybe you can get the remains of his engine...

I'm in contact with him, but as far as I know he has to send the remainder of his engine back to his country of origin to fullfill his carnet requirement. He is on the road again for over a week. I belive his engine is already on the way back home.

[axel32]

hello again,

thanks for all the replys! welding could be an option... but what i will do when that welded sproked is worn out....?! weld a new one on....

i ve got a working visa for canada and i will work untill next mai in BC and then ride over to new york and ship from there to capetown SA. the african twin got sold there and parts are avalible...but it would be nice to do it by myself or with assitance!in canada. ( and i don t want to mess around with that in the middel of africa)

a friend comes over from europe next month, he could bring the parts!

would be a good thing to do, while i am here working anyway.

the guy with the broken engine i think he was from singapore.... i rode in his block that he had to ship his engine back to singapore ?! but i wrote him an email anyway.

so, anybody done that before?

thanks in advance

axel from hamburg

[GSPD750]

Originally Posted by axel32

hello all !

i am axel from hamburg germany ... in BC canada


axel

What part of BC are you in? I'm heading there next week in the Nelson area of the Kootenays.

Engine on german ebay. I know the engine # is RDO4 (for your AT), however the auction does say RD04...or is that the bike model # ???

http://cgi.ebay.de/Honda-Africa-Twin...d=p3286.c0.m14

[atgreg]

Originally Posted by axel32

hello again,

thanks for all the replys! welding could be an option... but what i will do when that welded sproked is worn out....?! weld a new one on....

Yep, I welded on a sprocket, did 25,000km, ground it off & welded on another one. Eventually I replaced the countershaft. It's a really big job !!!. The shaft itself isnt big $$ but all the gaskets etc add up. & also if your engine has high km and you are inside anyway then do the rings, valve recut & stem seals, cam chains & check all bearings etc really adds up

[GSPD750]

Originally Posted by axel32

hello again,

thanks for all the replys! welding could be an option... but what i will do when that welded sproked is worn out....?! weld a new one on....

i ve got a working visa for canada and i will work untill next mai in BC and then ride over to new york and ship from there to capetown SA. the african twin got sold there and parts are avalible...but it would be nice to do it by myself or with assitance!in canada. ( and i don t want to mess around with that in the middel of africa)

a friend comes over from europe next month, he could bring the parts!

would be a good thing to do, while i am here working anyway.

the guy with the broken engine i think he was from singapore.... i rode in his block that he had to ship his engine back to singapore ?! but i wrote him an email anyway.

so, anybody done that before?

thanks in advance

axel from hamburg

Welding is the option if your stuck in Timbuctu...but if your staying in Canada for the winter then fixing it properly would be the way to go. Have your friend bring all the parts/gaskets from Germany and fix it. I've split my cases in the past on my AT for the output shaft bearing so if you have any questions.....

[GSPD750]

Originally Posted by atgreg

Yep, I welded on a sprocket, did 25,000km, ground it off & welded on another one. Eventually I replaced the countershaft. It's a really big job !!!. The shaft itself isnt big $$ but all the gaskets etc add up. & also if your engine has high km and you are inside anyway then do the rings, valve recut & stem seals, cam chains & check all bearings etc really adds up

Good point Greg. It can add up indeed. 160,000 kms is alot of kms...it's ready for o'haul IMO too. It's all doable if you have the time and $... and your here till May.