Any recs for London motorcycle repairs?

[ffutures]

My motorbike's out of action again, and it looks like fixing it will involve going fairly deep into the engine - not sure what happened, but it lost a lot of power very suddenly, oil is leaking into one of the cylinders, the spark plug seemed to be smashed, smoke is coming out (I think the gasket is leaking) and I think the piston and rings may possibly be damaged. The AA couldn't get it to run, even just to get me home, and it's definitely not going to be something I can fix myself.

A few years ago someone gave me a couple of recommendations for servicing in London, but I can't now find the entry, and I think it may be beyond the people I usually use for minor stuff like tyres etc.

It's a BMW R80 monoshock model, no fairing, so hopefully relatively easy to get inside the engine if you have the right tools. Any suggestions on someone who can service this?

Exactly what I didn't need on top of my other financial woes!

Comments

[landsmand.livejournal.com]

Marcus, try Dave Wilkins. If you're still on Cix, he frequents /bikers.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

is that dwilkins at cix?

[timill]

DaveBike1@googlemail.com

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Many thanks - it's going to have to wait a bit anyway, given my other problems - and bearing in mind that I retire next year and may no longer want to run a motorbike, I have to weigh the pros and cons of spending a lot on it.

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

Have asked on Ixion (bike list) reasonably anonymised and the general feeling is that it has dropped a valve. The follow up to that is that it's probably best to replace the engine rather than strip it apart and rebuild (the more BMW orientated posters have suggested it will _probably_ be OK to just do head and piston because the lower engine is pretty bullet proof but even they have to agree that the cost of a second hand engine from eBay probably means it'd be cheaper to replace the engine.) The thing to look out for is if it has holed the piston. If it has then bits of metal could be anywhere and it's much more likely that it'd be more economical to replace the whole thing than fix.

Suggestions for mechanics have been -

"I use Bob Thomas in Finchley, the mechanic (Joe) is a nice guy. But they don't do engine work, so he'd only be useful for a swap."

and

"
If they are able to get the bike to Twickenham, I'd recommend:
http://www.ljmotorcyclerepairs.co.uk/
It's run by Les who used to run the workshop at Blays of Twickenham."

Which were from people I trust although I can't directly vouch for either company. I did ask for personal recommendations not google searches though.

I would offer to help move the bike around, but thanks to the LEZ my truck can't be driven within the M25 anymore...

Best of luck with it.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks - if we're talking that sort of money it's going to have to wait, I REALLY can't afford it right now. Maybe in a few weeks...

[w00hoo.livejournal.com]

It's unlikely to be cheap, it sounds like valve is the only option for your symptoms as Ixion likes nothing more than to bicker among itself so if another problem were likely I think someone would have mentioned it (I'll update if someone does.)

As you know the sparkplug was trashed it sounds like it's been removed. I don't know how the angles work but it might be possible to have a look with a torch (or even just a gentle poke around with a screwdriver) to work out what state the piston is in as that would give you a better idea of what has happened.

There was a suggestion that engines are going on eBay for around £250 and I guess it's half a days work to swap one out (that is a seriously finger in the air guess mind) a phone call to any of the mechanics you've had suggested and a quick chat should get you some more concrete information to work from.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks - as I said, it's going to have to wait until I've cleared off my other debts, but this is very helpful.