For those who like old Motorcycles.

[MrWolf]

You have my sympathies over the filler cap. Who hasn't wasted hours swearing at those stupid rain catchers. Whoever designed them ought to be made to fix every last one of them. Still, it makes a change from blocked breathers that allow the tank to fill up with rain instead. Seen that on a Honda and a Triumph recently.

[MrWolf]

 

19 minutes ago, Kickstart said:

The more ways to hold hair in place, the better!

 

All the best

 

Katy

 

You mean that Norton's promotional material was an idealised and unrealistic view of motorcycling?

 

 

Piaggios was plain silly (I'm not so much of a typical biker that I won't admit that I learned to ride on one of those - the Vespa Ciao that is.)

 

 

 

And Suzuki simply threw the truth out of the window and fed us bullsh** on toast? 

 

 

I think that the gearshift might be a bit harsh on her feet, never mind the exhaust!

[Kickstart]

44 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

You have my sympathies over the filler cap. Who hasn't wasted hours swearing at those stupid rain catchers. Whoever designed them ought to be made to fix every last one of them. Still, it makes a change from blocked breathers that allow the tank to fill up with rain instead. Seen that on a Honda and a Triumph recently.

On this is is a fairly flush fitting, but not that deep. But the lock is just for a small flap. Once unlocked you can lift the flap up and use it to rotate the centre of the cap through about 135 degrees. The the tabs line up so the whole cap lifts out.

 

Trouble was the lock was working, the flap would lift up , but the centre was seized so wouldn’t rotate!

 

35 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

You mean that Norton's promotional material was an idealised and unrealistic view of motorcycling?

Of course not. They are adverts! Can’t have honest adverts.

 

All the best

 

Katy

Edited June 3, 2021 by Kickstart

[rockershovel]

I mùst admit that I've never owned a bike which didn't have either the protruding bayonet type fuel cap, or the later type with a screw-in thread. I only once owned a bike with a lockable cap, and that was from Pride & Clarke (actually my Honda VT750 had a lockable cap, now I come to think about it). Doesn't sound as though I have missed much. 

[rockershovel]

The Japanese would add numerous working (moving) parts to mass production 2-strokes, disc valves weren't new (DKW had them in the 1930s, but not on mass production roadsters). Positive feed oil pumps were also not a new idea, they are found on very early strokers and of course, Scotts used the Pilgrim pump for many years. 

 

But the Japanese machines worked very well, because they were properly engineered. I know someone with a Scott, a notably temperamental beast which is fitted with a Japanese oil pump of some sort. Apparently this is a well known "fix" among Scott owners. 

Edited June 3, 2021 by rockershovel

[spikey]

13 hours ago, MrWolf said:

... something with a Villiers engine is quicker than a Bantam ...

 

And should any reader have the temerity to doubt the wise words of MrWolf, I can vouch for that.  I well recall the day that by wringing the neck of my Francis Barnett Falcon and getting flat on the tank, I managed to overtake one of the local speed-merchants on his Bantam, which must have been the only road-legal one in Lincolnshire with ace bars, rearsets and ... a fly screen.

[MrWolf]

Wow, a BSA D14/4 Sports Bantam  perhaps?

 

Whisper it..... sixty-five miles per hour....

[spikey]

3 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Wow, a BSA D14/4 Sports Bantam  perhaps?

 

Dunno.  All I know is that it was well known for its gear selector return "spring", hand-crafted from a slice of red inner tube and hooked round an engine-mounting bolt or maybe even the bottom of the dowtube.  Whatever, the thing was no match for my FB and its trusty (until the bottom end got FUBAR) Villiers 9E engine, as used, IIRC, to power the mighty Bond 3-wheel abomination.

[MrWolf]

Sun's out, surf's up!

 

[spikey]

Pah!  Either the drips have been Photoshopped out or there's no oil in those cases.

 

You can't fool us.

[bgman]

21 hours ago, MrWolf said:

Sun's out, surf's up!

 

 

Yep tiz 'ere my 'ansome !

 

 

Hexmuff sunny Devon !

[rockershovel]

On 03/06/2021 at 13:17, MrWolf said:

Wow, a BSA D14/4 Sports Bantam  perhaps?

 

Whisper it..... sixty-five miles per hour....

 

My Harley WLA could (just about) fend off Bantams, as it waddled along making a rather gorgeous fruity note. Brakes were about the same, too. 

[MrWolf]

14 hours ago, spikey said:

Pah!  Either the drips have been Photoshopped out or there's no oil in those cases.

 

You can't fool us.

 

They're probably the last ones that haven't had five generations of tight fisted "bikers" round them with slightly less tools than brain cells.

 

I went to see a friend at work on Friday and in his shop was a backyard customised Yamaha DragQueen that one of his customers had bought off eBay as a project.

First thing I noticed was the end of the gearbox output shaft had sheared off due to the nut being overtightened, allowing the drive shaft to flail about...

Mind you, someone had managed to saw the back end off and bodge on an el cheapo drag pipe.

 

I told him that if he wanted a hand fixing it, I would be in Mogadishu...

 

I was more interested in the 1981 GPz1100 he has scored for himself. Last on the road 28 years ago and has avoided the Streetfighter / AWOL matt black rattle can treatment in the early nineties.

Although someone appears to have tried to run down the paint on the tank with a brick.

It took about an hour to get it running nicely. There's no rust and the calipers move. The hunt is on for new brake rubbers and service items.

[MrWolf]

2 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

My Harley WLA could (just about) fend off Bantams, as it waddled along making a rather gorgeous fruity note. Brakes were about the same, too. 

 

The difference being that the big sidevalve Harley did it with appreciably more style.

Panhead brakes were better, even if they looked like they had come off a contemporary car.

 

 

[rockershovel]

9 hours ago, MrWolf said:

 

The difference being that the big sidevalve Harley did it with appreciably more style.

Panhead brakes were better, even if they looked like they had come off a contemporary car.

 

 

 The WLC had the same wheels and brakes as the Big Twin, and the post-1941 WLA (with 3 bolt gearbox) has the Big Twin rear wheel and brake. Not that they are much good, even on a WL .. the cast-backplate FL front brake is quite useless, but the hydraulic rear drum isn't bad.                                                      For better front end performance on a 40s or 50s Harley, with a little selective assembly the original Sportster fork can be fitted, it's also possible to assemble a fork from BSA and Ariel parts which fits straight in, including the 8" A10 front drum. 

Edited June 19, 2021 by rockershovel

[MrWolf]

IIRC this one has hydraulic brakes front and back. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by MrWolf
5G - Buy a new phone or else!

[PatB]

I vaguely remember an article, in one of the classic bike mags in the mid 80s, about an aftermarket electrically operated front brake from the 1930s or 40s. Someone had found a NOS kit and, in the interests of research, had fitted it to his Model U (I think it was). It was, predictably, utterly dire but, IIRC, not really any worse than the standard unit.

[MrWolf]

I have some vague recollection of that also. Perhaps someone who knows about American bikes can enlighten us? 

I owned a bike identical to the one below back in the late 80s / early 90s.

It's a 1955 James J15 Cadet, fitted with a Villiers Mk 30C 150cc engine. They were an upgrade on the 13D powered 125cc J5 Cadet and built for 1955 only. They are also the last James machine built before the Francis Barnett merger when a common pressed steel swinging arm frame was adopted.

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by MrWolf

[Northmoor]

1 hour ago, MrWolf said:

I have some vague recollection of that also. Perhaps someone who knows about American bikes can enlighten us? 

I owned a bike identical to the one below back in the late 80s / early 90s.

It's a 1955 James J15 Cadet, fitted with a Villiers Mk 30C 150cc engine. They were an upgrade on the 13D powered 125cc J5 Cadet and built for 1955 only. They are also the last James machine built before the Francis Barnett merger when a common pressed steel swinging arm frame was adopted.

 

 

 

I remember (and may still have the recording somewhere) a BBC radio programme about the love of motorcycling, where Andy Kershaw had bought fellow bike enthusiast John Peel one of these and was getting it restored for him.

[MrWolf]

I remember that the tiny 2-1/2" Smiths speedometer was calibrated up to an utterly absurd 80mph. I had a job finding one, as most only read up to 70 and several parts dealers were adamant that there was no such thing until shown the smashed and rusty original.

[spikey]

2 hours ago, MrWolf said:

... I owned a ... 1955 James J15 Cadet

 

That must surely have had just about the smallest front brake shoes ever fitted to a motorcycle.

[MrWolf]

Sadly, no it doesn't! 

That's a 5" front brake. The Excelsior Consort F4 & F6 had a 4-1/2" front brake, whilst some of the mopeds made do with 4".

The bikes only weigh around 140lb and the small brake policy was a sensible thing prewar when we had mostly dirt roads and latterly when exporting to the old empire. A big efficient front stopper would have been a dangerous liability.

 

[2mmMark]

Just a quick note for anyone planning to attend the Brooklands Motorcycle Show on 4th July.  It's now been moved to 15th August.

The effect of the delayed relaxation in covid precautions has resulted in a pretty compressed calendar for Brooklands and I guess many other places too!

https://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/about/latest-news/brooklands-museum-2021-events-calendar

 

[rockershovel]

On 20/06/2021 at 01:47, MrWolf said:

IIRC this one has hydraulic brakes front and back. 

 

 

 

 

 

That one has a hydraulic drum in back and a disc in front, probably a 1970s "banana caliper". It's a common conversion, none of the original front drums are worth a light. In the usual Harley Big Twin fashion, all the upgrades fit the older bikes - but the rear disc requires a later swinging arm and wheel to suit  so it isn't as common (strictly speaking front disc/rear drum is a one-year-only listing for 1972 so it might be original, but it's hard to know with old shovelheads. The external throttle, handlebars and S&S aren't original, nor are the tank badges)

Edited June 21, 2021 by rockershovel

[MrWolf]

It's an original, you're right. As usual it took several attempts for parts suppliers to send the right overhaul kits for it, we put a new cylinder in the rear. 

It's another trailer queen / man cave exhibit that was basically dangerous. It is back on the road now and a totally different animal to ride.