Endlessly Frustrating Dirt Bike, Olympic Stadium, and a Good Article.

So i have a dirt bike. I've actually had it for a while, but for various reasons have not been able to use it. First i couldn't get it registered and plated, then the shock started leaking so i had to get that rebuilt, which is a good story, and now its been making unfortunate noises.

Here is a picture of me with it, though.



I'll try and describe the dilemma about the noises. This is going to be technical, so those who aren't into this stuff should probably move on haha. Tony has been telling me all kinds of theories, none of which have worked so far, which is monumentally frustrating. The first was that something was wrong in the sub-rockers, which go between the rocker arms and the valves. This was sort of true, because one of them looked like it had been attacked with an ice-pick. Miraculously Tony found some new sub-rockers, and we threw those in. In the process though, a couple of the valve cover bolt holes had their threads partially stripped, which was nerve racking. The valve cover hasn't been leaking, which is fortunate.

We started the bike back up after replacing the sub rockers, and the noise continued. Then it was surmised that because the cam lobes are worn, the intake valves slap shut after the opening 'event'. So we closed up the intake valve clearances, and it did nothing. Tony mentioned one other idea, which is that my oil pump is worn enough that at low revs, the oil pressure is insufficient.

I think the final idea is correct, which is pretty terrible news. If the top-end is starved of oil, the engine will basically crunch itself up. I'll see what its like to get a new oil pump here, but i imagine its difficult. There is another option, which is that I could order one in the US for about $100, and then get it shipped here.

Also, many moons ago i promised a picture of the Olympic Stadium where i run. This is it, when (obviously) empty. I'll try and get a picture of people jazzercising and add that to this post.



So that's some of what's been going on. School is currently on hold until the 21st, because of a Khmer Holiday, so I'll try and make good use of the time.

Hope everyone's well.

Ned.

P.S. The gist of the shock story is that a shock repair shop took out my old shock shaft, hack-sawed a car shock apart to get the shaft from it, and then machined the car shock shaft in a lathe to pretty closely approximate my original one. I was mildly panicking when i realized what was going on, as i had made sure to ask if they were using new parts before the shock was rebuilt. It hasn't leaked though. So i guess that was a wake-up call. This is how Cambodia works.

P.P.S This is the article i mentioned in the title of the post. People may find it interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/magazine/13contagion-t.html?pagewanted=1&th&emc=th