Clubmans and Rocker Boxes

After I refitted the exhaust, there was a rather loud tick coming from the top front of the engine. I was hoping it was just the exhaust headers that weren't snug, but only got around to checking it yesterday. In the meantime, my paranoia got me to research "ticks" on the SOHC-4 forums. Got myself rather worried.

Luckily, it turns out header 3 wasn't snug enough, so no more ticking! Or rather, no more loud ticking... there are still a bit of clicking going on, but these engines aren't super quiet, so probably nothing serious. There aren't any loud knocking sounds or rumblings like I've heard in some YouTube clips.

Still, I pulled the side valve cover off to check that the rocker shafts were centered in the valve cover. The intake rocker shaft on the RHS was not. This is bad news, as it means that the rocker shaft has been rotating (instead of the lifters rotating around the stationary shaft) and it has worn away a bit of the aluminium housing. In turn, this could lead to some nasty wear on the cams, so it goes on the to-do list. Only problem is, it's not easily fixed. In fact, the only fix is to replace it with a later model year (from about '77 onward, I think) - Honda acknowledged and fixed the problem by changing the fastening mechanism on the rocker shafts.

Haven't got great pics, but you get the idea. That's the end of the shaft peeking out from the valve cover. It's noticeably higher and to the left of center.

Bit depressing, that. But, being a public holiday, I was determined not to get glum, so I tackled something cosmetic and rewarding and finally got the clubman bars fitted the right way round. Makes a huge difference to the stance and overall feel of the bike.

I'm going to order some Halcyon bar-end mirrors from the UK, since the best mother-in-law in the world is visiting family there in September, and they happen to be on sale. Hopefully I can convince her to leave a bit of space in her luggage!

I'm leaning towards round ones, but the angular ones also have a nice seventies feel:

OK, so short-term goal is to get it all road-worthy so I can transfer ownership to my name. Once that's done I will pull the valve cover and have a proper look. Gives me time to order the seal... will have to be super-nice to MiL since I see the list might just keep growing until the end of September!