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A.H Motorcycles, Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne (2026)

30/03/2026

DID xring chain on a 700cc bike found during service a few months back.. Wheel was out of line - not hugely, wheel bearings fine and whatnot.

Unusual to see in this brand of chains, had only done 1,500 miles since being installed.

This was found after cleaning the chain down with paraffin, and washed after.

- Keep them chains cleaned and maintained folks!

27/01/2026

Rebuild of the Komatsu Zenoah Clone saw...

50.89 > 51.35cc

When the saw was last used it required several attempt to start, indicative the engine compression has dropped and a top-end rebuild may be needed. The exhaust was removed, revealing the previous light scoring to the bore had now broken through the chrome. Since the saw was already low on compression for the last year, it's time for a rebuild.

Stripped the saw down by removing top plastics, brake, starter cover, carburettor, fuel tank/rear handle, and finally the exhaust. Next the clutch removal tool required attention, cutting off end of the damaged clutch removal tool I made previously, I remade the tool and removed the clutch, clutch bell/sprocket, idler bearing, and oil pump worm before removing the pump cover and flushing out the oil/wood fibre contamination, before finally removing the oil pump in order to clean and inspect.

I then plugged the oil line, intake, and exhaust before deep cleaning everything, and drying.

Cylinder and piston replaced with a 52.4mm cylinder and Teflon piston. The saw was then rebuilt with a new fuel tank vent, fuel filter of different design, and new NGK plug gapped to 0.6mm.

The saw was rebuilt without the cylinder base gasket due to the enormous squish, when the opportunity arises I shall reduce the cylinder base in order to correct this and port the saw, and fit a Walbro HD 12 carb.

Carb cleaned and inspected, throttle wire bent to remove a little slack, and the remaining parts of the saw were rebuilt. The RTV sealant allowed to cure and finally the saw was refuelled and started with great results. Allowing the saw to idle for a couple minutes now ready to bed the rings in and test again for vacuum and pressure leaks.

All that's required is to replace the damaged plastic starter cover with an aluminium cover due to the original cover being cracked whilst starting the saw, a few months ago.

Oregon VersaCut bar supplied, chain sharpened, and a very lovely Bison forged hookaroon complement a competent homeowner saw.

27/08/2025

Fuel tap petcock issues

High engine rpm fuel starvation symptoms, loss of power, but tank vent fine?

Anyone suffering from engine cutting out on one cylinder and then the next, or a total loss of power under sustained high rpm runs you may want to place your hand under the tank and feel for the petcock drain, that whiff of petrol is likely coming from here and once located you'll feel the fuel on your fingers. It's also possible to see this component without removing parts and to see the drain and where the petrol is landing in the rear cylinder cam cover.

I wouldn't recommend either AllBalls or Tourmax kits as the NBR in these kits will fail, but from whom I import direct from Japan quote £25.05 for the genuine OEM housing and seals 16953ML0014 superseded by 16953ML0024 and superseded finally by 16953ML0034 - the very same price you'd pay for the Tourmax seals, spring and screws.

This part fits also...
Honda GL1500 Gold Wing 99/00
Honda CBR1100XX Blackbird 97/98
Honda VTR1000F 98/99/00/01/02/03/04/05

19/06/2025

Husqvarna 120 Mk.II
2019

Sprocket replaced with a aftermarket piece to keep the price reasonable, and the final part to repairing. The sprocket came with a very nice needle bearing, so that's greased and installed along with the relevant washers.

Chain tension set and ready for owner to collect.

11/06/2025

Stihl MS181C
2014 298594625

Saw would start but not run...
Showing signs of fuel starvation.

Spark plug checked, 0.6mm gap...
Air filter very lightly brushed to remove sawdust from the flocking.

Fuel had gone off, had some debris particles, and was cloudy when removed from the saw. Knowing the issue to be caused by the carb this was investigated and during this I noticed a small amount of fuel would sq**rt from the main jet whilst pumping the purge bulb. Old fuel out and replaced with my own premixed supply.

Fuel purge bulb would not fill indicating an air leak cause by a damaged check valve, or something else 🤔. The purge bulb check valves were checked for their function and passed with zero issues. The bulb itself showing no signs of deterioration.

Air bubbles could be heard pumping into fuel tank, saw would start but would die on idle or when revved unless the throttle was 'tickled'. But still, the saw would die unless lay on it's side so the exit side of the purge bulb would not become covered and fuel still reach the carb from the tank.

Removing the carb I looked internally for any obvious issues. Reinstalled to carb and fit covers, tried to start and noticed the saw would run better. I made attempts to tune the carb but still the idling and running issues were there. then began looking for prices for parts and availability, it was then I noticed in the microfiche for this carb features a fuel enrichment pump, or a accelerator pump as they're better known. Removing the carb I confirmed the throttle shaft was hiding a accelerator pump inside the body of the carb. This was removed and measured, giving an outside diameter of 5mm. Looking at relative information online this showed that three size of oring are utilised across all brands of chainsaws sharing these function, of which I noticed I may have in my possession a 3x1mm FKM oring. I was correct, my very last oring of this size was located from a what I would normally use on Mikuni BST33/36/38SS motorcycle carbs. Utilising a disposable pen lid this was fitted to the accelerator pump piston, the carb throttle shaft refitted, and the carb fitted back to the saw. No more fuel sq**rting from the main jet when the purge bulb as before, and the purge bulb filling exactly as it should with premix fuel.

All parts now fitted back to the saw it was just a matter of readjusting the carb by getting the saw hot and dialing in the low and high. The saw now sounds rather fruity and throttle input is met with a very satisfactory roar from the engine.

The saw was stripped down to scrub and clean, and I'm very happy with the results. All that's left to do now is order and replace the worn 3/8" picco 6-tooth sprocket, grease the idle bearing, and fit a new fuel metering gasket to the carb.
.. Fresh genuine Stihl sprocket fitted after greasing the idler needle bearing. Saw ready to be collected by owner.

07/06/2025

Husqvarna 120 Mk.II
2019 chainsaw

So given the brake was engaged during use, cooking everything on the RHS of the saw it would seem the bar oil pump cover protected the crank seal from further heat damage. I decided to strip everything down on the clutch side to check the saw whilst running and see what condition things are in. The saw seems to run great on idle, rev instantly to throttle input, drop straight back to idle again and sounds a bit more fruity after opening the exhaust up a little. Owner is impressed saying the saw runs and sounds better than ever.

Oil pump cleaned down and inspected.

Clutch spring installed to resolve the clutch failing to disengage. Believe me, the new spring was an ordeal to fit 🤔

Clutch biting surfaces ground back

Just need to order a new clutch bell now and check the intake for air leaks just to be sure.

06/06/2025

NBR, or Nitrile Butylene Rubber although commonly used in many, many petrol engines does not go well. Ask anyone who supplies materials to industry and they'll tell you once exposed the NBR breaks down in several ways including what you can see below; leading to fuel weeping and eventual failure of the related articles.

FKM, or Fluroestomer, Flurocarbon Elastomer, Viton (made by Du Pont 1958 for NASA), etc is highly resistant to not just hydrocarbons, chemicals, acids, alkaline, but every solvent besides acetone (ketones) which causes it to be absorbed and expand. Sometimes this is reversible but it is best to avoid contact altogether. It's temperature range is suitable between -15 & -30°C to 200 - 220°C depending upon specification, and for applications beyond these ranges FFKM or similar can be used.

However, had NASA looked into the temperature properties of FKM they'd not have been using it for 1986's Challenger where NBR was a more suitable material. This lead to a o-ring seal failure on the right hand solid rocket burner due to cold weather and ice forming the night previously along the surfaces and wind shear. 73 seconds into the launch extremely hot gases erupted from the solid booster rocket which pierced the liquid fuel tank and resulted in what was a deeply unnerving bookmark in history.

https://www.aps.org/archives/publications/apsnews/200101/history.cfm

The more you know...

28/05/2025

Husqvarna 120 Mk.II
2019

So the saw runs, but carb tuning is proving to be problematic, and so I suspect crank seals could do with replacement, or simply the clutch drag is causing issues.

Next, the chain not stop spinning... Removal of the clutch to check the spring has shown the spring to be sprung, losing it's spring tension and so will not disengage from the clutch bell under idle. I suspect this is due to the excessive heat caused when the hand guard was knocked, engaging the brake and thus cooking the brake cover, the subsequent heat soak causing further damage. A very expensive lesson indeed.

Sprocket of the clutch bell is worn, so a quality aftermarket replacement was found at 1/3 it's original cost, including a very nicely made idler needle bearing.

Overall the cost of parts for this saw should have put the parts list well into the red, however after locating a Chinese brake cover and hand guard (shudders), Chinese clutch spring (OEM do not allocate parts number just for the spring so really should be replacing the clutch) and a number of genuine OEM parts later... The saw will see use again having been put in the shed and left to one day repair.

At this point any other shop would be selling the customer a new saw at the cost of several hundred £££, and using the old saw as spares.

A well maintained saw is a reliable saw 🤠👌
If you like the equipment, look after it. In turn it'll do the same for you.

16/05/2025

Parts arrived for Husqvarna 120 mk2, fitted, exhaust opened up a little... Now showing symptoms the crank seals may need replacement as the carb adjustment aren't nearly as sensitive as I'd like and the saw is stalling, and it would seem the clutch spring is needing replacement as the chain doesn't stop spinning.

Electric wired chainsaw... Oregon bar fitted.
Bar was absolutely full of burnt gunk, both chains dull as a fart, and no oil at all in the reserve which turns out to be a massive leak inside. Cleared the bar channels out of crap, filled the bar oil up and eventually got it to oil - but the oiler may not be working as it should. Needs time spent looking at it to figure out whether it's gone too far. Could sharpen the chains and see how it goes, but probably at the end of it's life.

In the meanwhile, Vauxhall Astra Mk2 1.3 are very simple cars to work on and so that's had a fuel leak repaired, ignition advance vacuum tubes repair, spark plugs replaced, air filter replaced, carb rebuild being considered, and front LH wheel vibration likely caused by a missing weight or due to CV boot failure.

Old cars are so simple to work on.

08/05/2025

Husqvarna 522HDR75X

One perfect, one in this condition.

Crank seals replaced, sounds fantastic now 👌

05/05/2025

Couple of Oregon bars in for maintenance...

1, Guides knocked back to square so the chain will cut straight (bar dressing).

2, Drive fallow being cleared of debris and metal shaving from dressing, and oiler ports cleared out debris.

3, Sprocket bearing oiled.

A.H Motorcycles

30/03/2026

27/01/2026

27/08/2025

19/06/2025

11/06/2025

07/06/2025

06/06/2025

28/05/2025

16/05/2025

08/05/2025

05/05/2025

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