Hutch’s workshop tips A dragonfly refuses to come apart and the manual doesn’t help

Off the naughty step and onto the bench

Words and photography by Hutch and Chelley of HTE

Big job, small steps

Major or big jobs, especially

on your own bike, can be a bit daunting. Personally, I like to mentally split the long jobs down into a series of smaller steps, but still, you have to make a start. Finding the time to do major jobs on my own bike is also always a factor. I try to allow myself quite a bit of time over Christmas to do bike jobs I just haven’t yet got round to; this has the bonus of keeping me away from the mind-numbing drivel on the telebox over the festive season.

My Douglas rolling project has been sitting on the naughty step/in the naughty shed for a while, having spoilt its first test run by revealing a gearbox that is one up, two down, and a crunchy noise. Sod. I found another gearbox online and a mate in Wiltshire picked it up for me, the seller not keen to post. The ‘new’ ‘box turns and selects okay, though will it be any better in use? Only one way to find out – and at least I’ll have some spares if it’s not.

With the Douglas back up on the bench and a read of the manual, the engine and gearbox must come out as a unit before being split. I will mention again that if you complain about modern or Haynes-type manuals, try using some of the older ones.

To give myself a chance over Christmas, I thought it ideal to do some pre-job prep, i.e., take the first few steps of the job on a damp November Sunday. This is a voyage of discovery, as the bike is – up to now – fairly unknown to me, and some of the bits I’ve discovered haven’t been lovely.

After a second read of the manual, I drained the engine oil and started prep work to remove the tank by removing the fuel lines. Once the oil was drained, the sump plug was refitted. Returning to the tank removal, the rear tank mounting also supports the CVC (Compensated Voltage Control regulator), so disconnect the battery first; it’s probably dead but you never know – that in itself shows loose and poor connections. Battery removed, the rear tank mount bolts were undone, and the CVC dropped down to temporarily sit on the top of the gearbox, the fasteners all bagged and identified.

Almost helpful words of wisdom Draining the oil Fuel pipes off

Battery off, only to reveal some dodgy wiring Bagging up to make the rebuild easier

Even this far in, there seem to be a lot of metric fasteners – not that I’m against them, but it tells me quite a bit about the previous work done on the bike. With the front cross bar removed from under the tank and the front seat mount removed, two of us managed to lift the tank off. It’s a fiddle, and easy to see why there

Right: Petrol tank off, finally

Below: Making notes about the wiring – it’s pony, but it doesn’t work

Throttle assembly and carb replaced as one – its just easier this way Even the exhausts put up a fight... Battery box off, too

is damage at the front of the tank. The wiring around the CVC and dynamo is pretty pony and will need addressing, but it was working so a drawing was made of where the wires go. I removed both carbs and the throttle with cables as one assembly. The clutch and advance/retard cables were disconnected at the bars and rolled up together on the engine. The speedo cable was also removed as it was just going to get in the way. There was a little confusion around removing the exhausts from the cylinder head until I realised they were screw-on. I couldn’t find it in the manual, so care was taken in loosening them as I’ve had problems with this sort of fitting before. An old previously modified C-spanner helped.

The bike was looking bare. Unbolting the battery box from the gearbox side, I discovered that it also acts as the mainstand spring anchor, which made it a bit more interesting! Assembly will not be the reversal of disassembly, as you never read in the manual... With the sprocket cover removed, the manual said to split the chain and remove it. However, I decided to loosen the large shock absorber assembly on the output shaft first, as the chain would hold it still, and then remove the chain. And so, all that is left is two long through bolts that mount the engine and gearbox to the frame, which I have left in place as a Christmas present to myself. A good start, and not a bad way to spend a damp afternoon.

Two bolts left to lift out the engine gearbox assembly