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British Bikes / Re: AJS 16M 1951
« on: July 18, 2025, 01:39:56 AM »
Loose enough to wear away the case ............I d replace the chain.......you could pack up the mag ,its base mounted
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British Bikes / Re: Hot Start Problem
« on: July 09, 2025, 09:04:42 AM »
A pre 36 maggdyno will have a ring cam ,and quite often these rings are very worn,altering the timing adversely..........you cant regrind the ring ,as its case hardened ,and once the hardening is worn thru ,very soft steel.
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British Bikes / Re: Hot Start Problem
« on: July 06, 2025, 01:59:15 PM »
Probably best to be sure the magneto advance diection is still the same direction the maker intended ......I can tell by the change in exhaust note if ignition advance is right.............the army bike instructors used to do a trick of flooding the M20 carby and kicking the bike on full advance .......the carby would catch fire and they would pretend not to notice ........then when the fire was getting a bit big,retard the mag ,kick the bike and suck all the flame into the carb.......they reckoned that the motor would always start with the carby on fire.
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British Bikes / Re: Finding neutral
« on: July 06, 2025, 01:45:20 PM »
A late A10 should be alternator with the 4 spring Triumph cluctch....not the six spring pressed tin BSA clutch...........anyhhoo,people replace the clutch with a Suzuki one ,cant recall which ,but the swap is well documented.........Incidentally the dragging clutch will smash your gearbox gears apart.,and sharp gear chips will score the shafts.............To cure this problem ,I fitted an army beezer clutch ,this freed easily,but tended to slip under power.,just had to ride the bike sedately .............Anyhoo,when I sold the bike ,it lasted only one day , and was on the news that night..........he tried to pass a bus on the inside as it turned left .
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British Bikes / Re: Villiers XIIC 148cc doesn’t run anymore
« on: June 29, 2025, 07:20:39 AM »
I see one of these engine on FB for a coupla bucks .......flywheel missing ,so its just parts.
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British Bikes / Re: Hot Start Problem
« on: June 29, 2025, 07:15:49 AM »
Fail to start can also be flooding of a hot motor ...........I diagnose start problems with a can of starting spray ......this stuff will fire with flooding or with fuel starvation .......but it wont fire with no spark.
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British Bikes / Re: Villiers XIIC 148cc doesn’t run anymore
« on: June 22, 2025, 06:38:51 AM »
I recall when we were kids ,a friend in the next street had one of these .........he couldnt get it going ,ever .......we used to go to his place get the bike going ,race around the streets on his fathers mower petrol until it ran out ..........there was a school and a church across from his house ,and these people didnt appreciate speedway riding in their grounds. ...........I had a terrific crash on it and tore the inside out of my knee.
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British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« on: June 22, 2025, 06:25:33 AM »
The exhaust seat has been well recut (several times) and pocketed ......not that it matters for road use ..........however it means that a new seating ring cant be fitted without major expense..........If your timing is extreme ,you need to be sure the valves wont collide ............Must say it seems strange to me that Burlen and others sell replica Amal carbs for astronomical sums ,when you can buy new carbs for 15 quid on ebay or temu.
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American Bikes / Re: 1949 Indian vertical twin parts
« on: April 10, 2025, 08:17:08 AM »
They were supposed to have a weak bottom end ...or thats what Sucher claims ...........Ive never seen an engineering drawing of one,such as are easy to find for British bikes .........Ive also seen claims the original Edison magneto fitted was no good ,and most owners fitted a Lucas from a Triumph.
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British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« on: April 10, 2025, 08:09:55 AM »
One engine Ive worked on ,the roller tappets had only half an axle ,the other 1/2 of the space in the roller was taken up by a spring looked like a paperclip .....the lifter body had half a hole broached into it,so there was no chance the axle could turn in the lifter ........very reliable system for an engine that would do a million miles.
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British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« on: April 10, 2025, 05:30:42 AM »
The roller axles are rivetted in ,and probably a press fit as well ..........Ive never replaced one......but a while ago ,someone was selling off a well known stash of new Harley parts ,and the set of 4 tappet rollers from a shovel were around $10 ,so I got some ......the Harley ones have needle rollers Ive got a V twin JAP with really bad rollers ,probably 1/8" of losseness .......it was running like that ...but needs to be fixed.
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British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« on: April 08, 2025, 11:45:21 PM »
Thats corrosion pitting..........I wouldnt worry about it .............I can say one thing for sure .....do not replace the rollers with ball bearings ...... disaster when the bearings break up and wreck the cams...........My motor has new rollers and cam ,as the 500 motors use the same parts as the rotary cultivator engines ,and I was lucky enough to find a stash of NOS engine parts
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British Bikes / Re: SturmeyArcher box
« on: September 10, 2024, 06:38:43 AM »
There is an ad on marketplace for some rusty 1920s Harley bits for $1 million ,reduced to $20,000 ..........thats a bargain!
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British Bikes / Re: SturmeyArcher box
« on: September 09, 2024, 03:17:44 AM »
The little Sturmey Archer box is still for sale on marketplace ...down to $400 now.
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British Bikes / Re: Amal 276 carb
« on: August 21, 2024, 04:32:57 AM »
Ariel is a 1950 VG which came fitted with a 1&1/16 Amal 276.........I have lots of bits of smaller 276s ,and boring a worn 15/16 carb seems to be the best way .........the carb is also needing the body sleeved ,and the slide and guide also sleeved or built up, all due to wear ..........might as well do the lot in one go.