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Messages - PaulBurton

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1
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior UK 1929 (?) 350cc OHV
« on: December 03, 2018, 02:03:24 PM »
Thanks again for your most helpful input and comments. The machine was inspected over the weekend and so it rests with our friend the marque specialist at VMCC.

I will follow up your suggestion of referring to the VMCC Register - something to do on one of our wet winter days!

As you say, the Excelsior catalogues give useful indicators as to what was being offered by them each year. The 1929 and 1930 cats clearly show the 350cc OHV bikes. I do not have the 1934 catalogue so your observation on the absence of 350 OHV in that edition is useful additional ammo.

That's pretty shabby not getting a response from the specialist. How long ago was this? You could alway repeat andI could maybe get some UK stamps over to you?

Thanks again and I'll let you know what comes back to me on the Excelsior from VMCC.

2
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior UK 1929 (?) 350cc OHV
« on: December 02, 2018, 11:24:19 AM »
Many thanks for your reply and thoughts - all reassuring! My concern is that the 'D' prefix might lead the VMCC inspector to conclude this is a 1934 machine! This is (in my view) impossible since the original registration is from 1929, as is the JAP engine (I0Y/S 54073HJ) on top of which I have the 2nd hand sale receipt from 1931 (see attached copy). Well, let's see what he comes up with!
The attached picture indicates the position of the frame number, right in front of the petrol tank on the LHS, just about where you describe for the two you have. How did I miss it before!!
Thanks again!

3
British Bikes / Re: JAP engine number
« on: November 30, 2018, 08:35:56 PM »
Thanks John, reassuring. My concern was whether the Y refers to twin port (which it is) or year. The 'S' certainly fits with everything else about the machine and the date of original registration.

4
British Bikes / Excelsior UK 1929 (?) 350cc OHV
« on: November 30, 2018, 06:59:01 PM »
Hi I have finally tracked down the frame number on this machine. It is DG2638. Can anyone help decipher this and in particular does it confirm the year of manufacture?

5
British Bikes / JAP engine number
« on: November 30, 2018, 06:51:47 PM »
Can anyone help decode the following JAP engine serial number?

I O Y/S  54073 /J

I have interpreted this as

I = 350cc
O = OHV
Y = Twin port
S = 1929 build
54073 = Serial number
J = non standard

Am I right and in particular the year number?

Thanks

Paul

6
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior 350cc OHV twin port 1929/30
« on: October 22, 2018, 03:32:55 PM »
Thanks for all the feedback and comments (I've been away for the pst week so unable to respond before now). Thanks especially 33d6 for encouraging me to forget the advances of old age!

7
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior 350cc OHV twin port 1929/30
« on: October 16, 2018, 02:21:42 PM »
Thanks for the comments. The exposed electrical wiring is entirely my fault. I totally forgot (old age?) to put the battery box in place (with the terminals then hidden) before taking the pictures. The saddle does look odd but they are the original springs and the saddle itself is an exact replica of the original. Its position is very close to that shown in the 'before' picture. As I am not likely to be riding this machine, it's far too heavy for an oldie like me, I will leave it for next user to adjust to suit.
There are plenty of small 'tweaks' still to do on this and it is the first such job I have ever undertaken. So it is helpful to have comments from enthusiasts who can spot where things are wrong!

8
British Bikes / Excelsior 350cc OHV twin port 1929/30
« on: October 15, 2018, 04:36:42 PM »
Hi Excelsior enthusiasts out there. You may recall our correspondence from a couple of years ago when i set out restoring an Excelsior handed down throught the family. Here are a couple of update pictures now that the machine is out of the workshop and finally on the ground. One also 'as was'. Thanks all of you for your help and encouragement along the way. Never did find a frame number!

9
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: January 25, 2018, 12:28:38 PM »
Thanks Ian and Leon. Your help and advice during the process was essential and much appreciated. Paul

10
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: January 23, 2018, 05:38:57 PM »
Hello to any of my previous contacts on this subject. I have been getting on with the restoration and the final touch was getting the replacement exhausts (stainless steel) fitted. The bike is all ready to get lifted down to ground level and then I can see abot firing her up. Here are a couple of pics as she is.

11
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: July 18, 2017, 08:46:05 AM »
Thanks Leon & John, I'll follow those leads  :)

12
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: July 17, 2017, 02:18:08 PM »
Hi Excelsior friends out there! Pressing on with the restoration of the 1929/30 350cc and now turning my attention to the mudguards. I have the originals but they are pretty rough so any thought of recovering them seems a bit academic. Any ideas of who can best copy custom mudguards given the old ones as patterns? I have tried various local workshops here in Portugal, they are usually good at off-beat jobs but seem reluctant to take this on. Any good recommendations in the UK? Thanks.........

13
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: July 01, 2017, 06:57:11 PM »
Hi John & Ian. Thanks for your replies - John for the Rudge diagram and Ian for some encouragement to persevere with the 3 brush setup (likewise, I will never be out on the roads at night!).
Looking at the Rudge diagram I noticed that the resistor was bridging terms 2 and 4. Looking at the inside of my Miller I see there is a bridge (photo on my post a couple of days ago shows this) so I have suddenly (and belatedly) realised this could be a resistance - even though it just looks like a copper/brass connector, So I dismantled it and checked with the multimeter and low and behold it came up with 8 ohms!
The puzzle now is why is there a second resistor (also measured at 8 ohms) between 3&6?
I'm so sorry to have misled you chaps by saying there was no resistance - anyway, I guess this is good news.

14
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: June 29, 2017, 08:41:29 PM »
Hi John, thanks for your reply - sounds like it might be some fun sorting this one out! There is no resistance on the underside of the cut out and no sign of one in the headlamp (only the strap connections between terminals 2&4; 3&6 as shown in the photo). If you are able to find your Rudge version of a Miller 3 brush setup that may well shed some 'light' on matters! Thanks. Paul.

15
British Bikes / Re: 1929 Excelsior (UK)
« on: June 29, 2017, 02:32:17 PM »
Hello All, afraid I’m chasing for more help on the 1929/30 Excelsior electrics and in particular the wiring for the Miller headlamp (unfortunately the original wiring had gone by the time I got to work on the restoration so I have little to go on). To recap, the machine has a BTH mag/dyno feeding into a cutout coil. Standard 6v -ve earth; tail light, hooter, ammeter, headlight with 2 filament main beam and pilot light.
The accompanying photos show the headlight terminals numbered 1-8 (anticlockwise from the driver’s view). Numbers 2, 6 & 7 are wired terminals. The rotor has 4 positions (again, anticlockwise from drivers view) Off, C(harge), L(ow), H(igh).
I have worked out the bridging of the contacts as follows for each of these positions (the first column relates to the first bridging contact going anticlockwise from the control lever, the second to the second bridging contact)

Off      4+5      1
C      5+6      1+2
L      5+6+7      1+2+3
H      6+7      2+3+4

Any thoughts/ideas greatly appreciated!
Paul.

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