Katana Owners Club U.K.

As it was a decent day weather wise i went for a run out on the Kat today. The bike seemed to be running well and the gear selection problems i had last time out where a distant memory. I called round to see a mate and when I stopped on his nice clean driveway he noticed oil was pissing out of the chrome camshaft cover and all over said clean driveway it turned out the half moon seal had popped partially out letting the oil escape. I managed to push it back in place and then trapped a wedge of kitchen roll behind the chrome cover just in case it made a bid for freedom on the way home. This sort of worked but when I arrived home my new jeans where soaked in oil My mates son was cleaning the back of his works van out and gifted me a huge bag of clean rags. Now I'm not the sort of bloke to turn down free stuff even if sometimes I don't have an immediate use for it but a huge bag of clean rags was not going to get refused no matter what
My mate set too with a bungee cord and strapped it to the pillion. Being a lorry driver like me I never thought to check his handiwork as my mind was elsewhere imagining massive oil leaks and engine seizures. Halfway home I felt the bag of cloths move and the following car honking at the bag of rags in the middle of the road
So all in all an eventful day. Unfortunately the bike will now have to come off the road for the winter while I sort the top end out once and for all.

Lorry driver .....bungee cords ...tut tut . A dolly knot at the very least .

half moon seals... stick em in backwards so that the lip is INSIDE the motor. that way they cant make a break for it... half hour job, just lghtly threebond the camcover gasket to save replacing it. job jobbed

sparki wrote:half moon seals... stick em in backwards so that the lip is INSIDE the motor. that way they cant make a break for it... half hour job, just lghtly threebond the camcover gasket to save replacing it. job jobbed

Now that’s a cracking idea
Will they not rub on the end of the camshaft though?

there was a guy on ebay selling the half moons made from ally, theyre designed to last forever, you just smear welseal on the mating surface and pop them in place. what sort of rocker gasket are you using? i wouldnt xpect the half moons to move if the cam cover is tightly clamped down.

Not sure what gasket it is John it was on the bike when I got it. When I did the valves about 2000miles ago it looked brand new and was undamaged so I re-used it. From memory it was like a buff coloured cardboard

they fit fine backward...

sparki wrote:they fit fine backward...

Thanks, that's the way I'll fit em then

I thought Kat motors are supposed to leak oil? Improves the oil quality if you have to keep adding new

katmarch wrote:I thought Kat motors are supposed to leak oil? Improves the oil quality if you have to keep adding new

Naughty naughty