Motorcycle General Discussion

I was suppoosed to start at BSA as a graduate apprentice in sept '71. About August I got made redundant! Shame really, but I went into gas turbines, gas centrifuges and nuclear power so a pretty interesting life all round. Now I play with silly little steam engines as SWMBO won't let me have a bike!

I forgot there was a dedicated forum topic for motorcycles. Here are a couple of pictures of a couple of my bikes.

1927 Humber 350 Side By Side Valve Sports Model (my description would be somewhat different because sports is definitely not the word for it.

The next picture is of my Velocette that I have recently just fitted a Thruxton head and Mikuni Carburettor.

I make bits and pieces for bikes and also am in process of restoring a 1929 350 OHC Humber as well as a 1928 OHV 350 Humber and a couple of 3509 Side valve Humbers.

Here is a link to me test running a 1933 Sunbeam engine after a total rebuild.

https://youtu.be/TbxVWwcHvMU

Here are some links to video footage of me making a few bits and pieces for bikes.

https://youtu.be/flxh0OkzurQ

https://youtu.be/CLVmNsZ56v8

I will post occasionally with progress. Current project is to make 3 sets of fork spindle for girder forks.

Hiya Bob, what was it originally Venom? and where did you get the head from?

Nice bike

Shaun

Edited By Involute Curve on 05/03/2016 08:59:49

Shaun, yes it was originally a Venom. I got it from the previous owner who had bought it because it looked so good but rapidly became disgruntled by the amount of oil leaks that the bike had. He had previously owned a Thruxton and wanted to bring back memories. Shortly after he had it the Alton Electric start failed and that coupled with the oil leaks made him decide to get rid of it.

The day after I bought it the magneto failed and I fitted a BTH self generating magneto to it. I stripped the engine down as far as the top of the crankshaft and rebuilt it paying careful attention to getting the engine oil tight, I was successful with this and the engine is oil tight. The clutch was an absolute pain so I decided to fit one of Thurstons belt drive conversions to it, this solved the clutch problems (I think it had been made up of all sorts of odd bits from various Velocette clutches and no matter what you did it was impossible to adjust properly).

About the time I bought the belt drive conversion I thought that it didn't look right with the small carburettor on it and decided to splash out on a Thruxton head from a batch that Kevin Thurston was getting made.

Because the bike was running so well when I got the new head I decided to keep it running for a season then fit the new head along with the Mikuni 34mm (I think it is 34MM) carburettor.

The bike starts easily on the kick start with the new head but sometimes, just to show off I start it on the button.

I have a Venom, its in original condition so I'm undecided if I should restore it, one of the things I have done is fit a Mikuni carb, If I decide to restore it I will probably fit a belt drive, but Ill make my own basket etc, I think Thursdon use R1 clutch plates, acording to its history mine had the complete clutch replaced just before I bought it, but its still a pain to adjust, Did you repair the Alton lecky foot or replace it?

Shaun

Hi Shaun,

I repaired the Electric starter myself. All that had happened was that the pinion on the starter motor itself had shredded its soft resin core that was supposed to act as a kind of shock absorber. It was a common fault with the Alton Starters when they first came out.and replacements use a different resin Te previous owner had ordered one from Alton but it took forever to arrive but was an easy fix.

I do like the alternator that comes with this kit, it has lots of spare electricity, however ,I hear lots of folk complaining about the Alton starter kits self destructing. I think this may well be down to poor material choices or even incorrect fitting. I know with my starter the chain was rubbing against one of the spacer plates that houses the outrigger bearings for the sprocket and pinion. I ended up removing material from the plate and it seems OK now. The glass fibre cover that replaces the original is an absolute joke, it just doesn't fit properly at all but fortunately with the full fairing fitted this is not obvious.

One Velo owner near me has had his destruct twice and the last time it resulted in a bent crankshaft, needless to say he doesn't think much of them.

The owner prior to the one I bought this bike from wired the system up and didn't include an ignition switch so I disconnect the battery every time I put the bike away otherwise it drains the battery slowly. I did have, in very wet weather, the starter suddenly came on while I was riding the bike, the noise awoke me from my reverie somewhat sharply. (Typically I was on my way to get it MOT'd), no matter what I did I couldn't get it to switch off so I had to disconnect the battery and continue to the MOT centre without a charging system. Once the bike dried out and I re-connected the battery it was fine.

hi folks i have been looking at fitting a electric starter to one of my big overbored panthers ,i have a selection of 725cc engines that i have built and sorted out any problems in solo and sidecar forms , the starter will be for when i am getting over a major rebuild of my left leg due soon ,then it will be back to the kickstart,as i reckon that the day i cannot start a big panther without help some one up there is telling me its time to retire from riding , seems a long way off as at only 72 i will continue building and racing vintage bikes and if the acu keep giving a competition licence, for as long as i can at least till 2022 with luck cheers will

Regarding A.C.U. competition licence a local lad http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/motorsport/32961758 gives hope for us young at heart brigade.

Myself I will require an A.C.U. licence if my latest long term project is a success but even passing the D.V.L.A eye test is no guarantee for me as their rules are stricter according to my optician.

At least I have permission to test ride at a couple of venues providing I'm legal to drive on the road.

a bit tatty but brings back pleasant memories at an unknown venue and Zandvoort

Edited By Windy on 07/03/2016 15:17:50

Edited By Windy on 07/03/2016 15:20:23

Me on the Gilera, Geoff Duke brought them back to the TT, I think it was Derek Minter and John Hartel that raced them that year.

The sound of those bikes up on the Cam was music to my young ears.

Mike.

Forgot to mention those old photo's were about 1968 and my Sister sent them to me after I was discharged from a stay in hospital over a week ago.

.

That should spur you on

Good luck with the project.

MichaelG.

Excellent photos's Windy!, The rear tyre is starting to deflect under acceleration in both pics, also two bystanders are shoving their fingers in their ears - most impressive!!

+/-40thou

Oh well, nostalgia not being what it used to etc, had to dig these out.

Prescott hill climb, somewhere around 1970.

Bike is a 1,000cc Vincent twin, Norton gearbox and car wheels before they became popular, [ car tyres were cheaper ]

Driver was John Flood of Lincoln, unfortunately now deceased.

The patch on my left shoulder was the wall on the previous corner, all drivers should made to be passengers at some point.

Great pictures John

In 1972 with a another homemade frame and capacity increased to 750cc from 650cc did a terminal speed of 180mph plus at the end of the standing start kilometre those were the days before you had to have silencers at Elvington.

Elvington 15 March will be watching the fast lads and lasses (Becci Ellis 264mph) on bikes etc. practicing for the UK speed week record attempts later in the year.

All well saying British bikes don't leak but when you buy a new Norton Commando Mk111 Interstate, delivered straight from the factory, you'd expect it to be the dream that you thought you were buying. Not so, on delivery it was looked over by the two guys that delivered it, asked to take in for a spin through cobbled Edinburgh streets you'd be over the moon. I was until the first left turn and hey ho away we went, straightening up it was okay, next left turn away again, a quick check and I discovered that the throttle cable was too tight! So a sedate ride back to Ernie's. The cables were too short so they swapped them from Ernie's showroom Mk2A..

That was just the beginning of a seven-month experience that proved the British motorcycle industry had somewhere along the line lost he plot completely. Chromed front disk, that was an experience in the wet, front forks that were porous, send them back and we'll check them!! Ernie’s MK2A to the rescue again, these engines had a reputation for spraying oil from the rev cable where it entered the casing, supposedly fixed, made my right boot really waterproof. Next the exhaust clamps, specially washer fitted to stop them unscrewing, right exhaust came loose 110 miles down the road. The American Prestolite starter needed a kick on the kick-starter on cold mornings, it started misfiring at less than 250 miles, quite common in Commando’s so they told me, change the plugs, that sorted that. Next the chrome stripped off the front disc going into Hrathill service station, left that as it really improved the braking in the wet. Finally, and 7 months later on the way back to Edinburgh the engine developed a death rattle. A valve spring gave up the ghost, the valve went through the piston. Norton Villiers warranty was six months and they didn't want know. Ernie rebuilt it at cost, I part exchanged it at Edgar Brothers for a Honda 750F1 and rode that throughout Europe for the next 120.000 miles, oil, tyres spark plugs and a set of head bearing and it started first time every day, and ticked over quietly, the only trouble was the neutral light switch gave up the ghost in Holland, ten quid and it was fitted while I waited.

The dream to own a big Norton turned into a nightmare and British bikes did leak oil from new, that and rotten workmanship, bad management and greed cos us bike industry.

I rode another 5 bikes all from Japan all shaft driven, one turbo charged, for hundreds of thousands of miles, no oil leaks, no major disasters, just service items tyres, timing chains oil and bearings plus bulbs and spark plugs, I no longer ride bikes, something to do with age

No, no, don't restore it. Fix it up mechanically, add discreet upgrades like belt drive and a mikuni if you like, but if you have an original paint, factory finish bike, even with wear and tear on it, it would be a sacrilege to "restore" it. Once you cover it in new 21st century paint and chrome, the real bike is hidden for ever inside its cocoon of modernity.

So many of these old bikes have been restored, and over-restored, that the original "survivors" with factory paint etc are now worth more than a fully restored example in many cases.

Beside that, I have found that once you go over the top on paint and chrome etc, I am too scared to ride the darn things as much as before, in case it gets a scratch or dirt on it. So for years now, I have given up on the restos and gone for "tidy 'em up and ride 'em". Much more fun -- and cheaper too!

A bit more nostalgia:

The 1930s Cammy AJS V-twin built for the land speed record attempt, with the blower removed and raced at Bakers Beach, Tasmania, in the 19 40s/50s. I believe the bike has since been returned to the UK and is in a museum.

They could not get it to run properly without the blower (cams all wrong I suppose) and my old man's Harley WLA went faster at 104mph in the time trials. I bet the AJ boys were peeved! Pretty good going for a 750cc sidevalve .

I love to see the old speed trial machines most of what is seen today is so electronically controlled.

But I don't bury my head in the sand and enjoy learning about the latest speed developments even if a bit above my head at times.

Taking of speed I "run" a little bike powered by a Villiers 2 speed 98 cc engine. Two speed, slow and a bit faster, now in the 1950 's when go- carts were all the rage, owner were improving the engine. I live in a very hilly area and would like to know what people actually did to their engines to improve performance, as riding it in the summer is really un realistic, I'm a menace to other road users, to slow on narrow roads. Any ideas would be welcome. John