After taking the bike for quick test ride it was apparent the engine was low on power, especially in first gear. There were a couple of items I decided I needed to check. The first was to clean out the exhausts, which I was certain were carrying some 80 years of baked in oil residue. The exhausts came out easily enough and quick tap confirmed my suspicions.
The lumps that simply fell out of the exhaust pipes were like little lumps of coal!
After a good tapping I had more than a handfull of coal.
A view of the baffles at the fishtail end. Pretty black.
Next step was soaking the exhaust parts in kerosene to loosen the oil residue.
A look down the silencer shows the state of the baffles. After soaking in kerosene I was able to scrub out a lot of the residue. It wasn't perfect but it was enough to clear the baffles.
Someone suggested to me that you could burn out the remaining residue, so I gave that a go. Unsurprisingly the exhaust 'fired up' and burned for about half an hour, relighting itself periodically with a big 'whoop!' After another round of cleaning up and scrubbing off dirt, mud, oil and rust, I reassembled the pipes and refitted them.
I took the bike on a test ride to the Arthur Grady Day on Saturday 17 May 2025. The exhausts smoked a bit and needed some tightening up afterwards. Power is still low, especially in first gear. Next thing to do will be to re-look at the gearbox and clutch lubricant as I think it may not be right.
https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2025/05/arthur-grady-day-may-2025.html
Previous step: https://dkwautounionproject.blogspot.com/2025/05/1938-dkw-sb350-restoration-may-update.html
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