classic motorcycle forum

Next is my Ariel VG ........Im sure its in a alot better condition mechanically than the Norton,as it was burned up in a carb fire many years ago .....anyhoo,its going again but has had very little use ..........at the moment its got a brass allparts carby (wont melt next time there is a fire),which is only 1" bore ..........question is ,do I bore out a 276 to 1 & 1/16 (correct size) or find a 289.........I ve had a look around for a 289 ,but seems they are rare and valuable ...even when knackered .........in fact every Amal ive seen is knackered ,but that has no effect on the asking price............something to do with a new one costing $1000 by the time it arrives in the antipodes...........Makes the Indian Mikuni off a RE at $90 delivered very attractive.............but that would be heresy ,of course.

I need to replace the mainshaft in the G 101 laydown box in my 1950 ES2 .......Ive sort of put this off for more than 20 years ,and at that point in time ,I couldnt identify the correct shaft without dismantling the box .........Anyone help with this ......I was in the NOC at that time ...........What I need is a length ...RGM offer a "pre AMC" shaft ......but there were a lot of pre AMC gearboxes ,not just the laydown..............I sort of know the answer .....pull the box to pieces ......but I dont want to be another silly old geezer with a dozen bikes in pieces......John-Whiting.

Can a Triumph 3T or 3TA be changed into a 500 ....the unit one already has 500 barrels and head ,so maybe a crank and rods ?.........or does it need a 500 crankcase as well?........He s looking at two ,one a preunit ,one a unit (early)

I have a Panther M100 1948 ,went under in the Sydney floods maybe two years ago,maybe longer and I need to get it apart .......the crankshaft roller bearings are frozen with corrosion ,and wont move .....ive done some soaking in petrol /oil mix ,the mix has penetrated the timing side roller ....(all the timing gear/camshaft etc removed ).........some say soak it in diesel......but from experience I  know that doesnt work.........the idea of a powerful ultrasonic wash  machine has occurred to me......but will that free it up?........Any ideas?.........The cases must be saved ,if I have to I may blow out the shafts with the oxy,but thats kinda drastic.

Anybody here noticed there is a craze for building home made bikes with rotary hoe motors.?.....Every Howard Gem being displayed as garden art is suddenly worth $2000 for the JAP motor....There are even races for these specials......The craze started in UK,but has spread out here too.......not that Im complaining as I have a couple of UCZ 600s in really nice condition .......I had always planned to put OHV top ends on them.......Unfortunately the days of buying anything OHV JAP on ebay for  less than weight in gold is gone.......I have another project thats more interesting ,and that is putting two of the little OHV 250 JAPs of the late 30s,on a 750cc Autotruck motor......But these 750 industrial JAPs have hit 3000 quid each in UK......So Ill give that a miss too......ive just build a nice new shed ,and now nothing to do in it.

Can I put coil valve springs in a  ally head 1950s Matchless single motor?......Is there enough space for the  hairpins be replaced with coils?.......Reason I ask is I want to put a Matchless top end on a JAP 600 sidevalve motor ,of the pseudo industrial variety.......weightsaving should be considerable.

The time has come to do some repairs to my ES2.Possibly should have been done years ago.....anyhoo,I need a new mainshaft ,clutch spider ,and maybe a 4th gear,if not too pricey......When I last fitted bushes and bearings to the box ,there was a supply of ex WW2 gearbox parts ,which I used in some areas.......the mainshaft and 4th gear are different lengths between the boxes ,so no go there...............Ive looked for new bits,no one seems to have them anymore.....new mainshafts were available ,no more it seems..............Any ideas?