The Longest Day Teapot - Tock tick, tick tock. Time scrolls past as Dave fights more issues...

I sat down on the garage floor in a sulk. And my eyes came to rest in the corner. On the spare engine from my Bandit race bike. The 600 Bandit was based on the GSX600F engine... While the spare race engine is a bit leaky (the usual Suzuki oil drain tubes at the front of the engine), it was a decent runner when it was in the Bandit. Right, engine swap time!

- Words & photography by Dave Manning

Last month, I was worried that with six weeks to go I hadn't even started the bike yet... shortly after I wrote that, Rob Bean had paid a visit and sorted the electrics, and I did indeed get it started. And it ran terribly, initially with a nasty rattle from the bottom end and, as the revs started to rise, getting a little quieter. The revs rose more, and a quick squirt of brake cleaner around the intake rubbers saw the revs rise further again, indicating that the inlet rubbers were cracked and letting in air. But worse, I glanced into the back of the airbox to see a lot of smoke whirling around. A lot. I pulled the breather hose off the rocker cover breather tower, and the amount of smoke issuing showed that there was lots of crankcase pressure from piston ring blow-by and/or valve stem seal issues. This engine was toast.

Cover and starter clutch off, ready to be swapped. Or not, as the case may be.

Clearly, the mileage on the speedo wasn't reflective of the miles that the engine had covered.

Grumpily, I sat down on the garage floor in a sulk. And my eyes came to rest in the corner. On the spare engine from my Bandit race bike. The 600 Bandit was based on the GSX600F engine... While the spare race engine is a bit leaky (the usual Suzuki oil drain tubes at the front of the engine), it was a decent runner when it was in the Bandit. Right, engine swap time!