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British Bikes / Re: Tool collectors
« on: June 29, 2024, 10:25:23 AM »
There might be some gems in here: https://www.facebook.com/commerce/listing/1160084381803071/?ref=share_attachment
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British Bikes / Re: Triumph Speed Twin
« on: June 27, 2024, 03:27:31 PM »Actually I thin k the change from the old style gearbox to the laydown box had more to do with the footrests .......the WW2 bikes had two footrests the same,laydown box has the RHS footrest with bends and loops to clear the gearbox.
The upright gearbox top mounting was a "fork" that engaged with a rearward lug from the seat tube. These were notorious for fracturing if the bolt wasn't kept tight. The laydown was much better in this (and other!) respect(s) as it had a solid top lug that sat between two engine plates.
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British Bikes / Re: Triumph Speed Twin
« on: June 27, 2024, 10:00:10 AM »
... and a good thing too. Always better to talk about Nortons.
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British Bikes / Re: Triumph Speed Twin
« on: June 26, 2024, 10:12:49 AM »
Mostly true. However years ago I put an ES2 engine in a 16H rolling chassis and had no issues with frame or footrests - but had to have someone chop out the underside of my freshly painted and lined tank!
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British Bikes / Re: Triumph Speed Twin
« on: June 25, 2024, 12:59:34 PM »Without anything to hand to test this out, I'd suggest almost certainly NOT.
This goes completely against manufacturers principles, that you must prevent upgrades,
at all costs !!
I'm not sure I agree - in fact most manufacturers (at least British ones) tried to have as much commonality as possible to save on tooling costs. My only experiences are with Norton and Velo singles and small unit Triumph twins but with these capacity changes were relatively easy.
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British Bikes / Re: Tool collectors
« on: June 21, 2024, 10:04:01 AM »
Funny that the people who built bikes at Bracebridge Street etc managed not to break things despite not having torque wrenches. I have one but very rarely use it as I think my "mechanic's feel" is good enough. And the only fixings I've ever broken have been ones irretrievably rusted in place.
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British Bikes / Re: Tool collectors
« on: June 12, 2024, 12:25:53 PM »
Yes, that's why I mentioned pre-UNF.....
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British Bikes / Re: Tool collectors
« on: June 11, 2024, 12:52:54 PM »
I'm not sure why combination spanners are denigrated. I find them useful in the workshop as the flat ring end gets where the usual cranked ring spanner won't. For example, the cylinder base nuts (pre-UNF) on small Triumph twins are tricky beasts. I just ground a small amount off the outside of the ring end of a combi and it worked perfectly.
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British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« on: May 09, 2024, 09:56:44 AM »
A previous owner of my Norton ES2 did something similar and it seemed to work for them. I replaced the kickstart with a new one and it doesn't flap about.
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Site Feedback / Re: unpopular forum, I wonder why.
« on: March 12, 2024, 05:00:59 PM »
It's a shame that the OP who seems to be a capable person seems so touchy. But I'm sure we'll limp along without him. The population here may be small but is exceedingly knowledgeable and helpful.
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Japanese Bikes / Re: A bit of wheel building.
« on: March 05, 2024, 12:28:16 PM »
I seem to remember you called me stupid a couple of posts back. You're clearly knowledgeable about stuff - it would (in my opinion) be better and more helpful if you confined your comments to stuff you know about rather than slagging off long-time posters who have provided huge amounts of useful information here.
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Japanese Bikes / Re: A bit of wheel building.
« on: March 05, 2024, 10:36:25 AM »
God you're rude.
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Japanese Bikes / Re: 74 TX650 cafe.racer build.
« on: March 04, 2024, 10:35:12 AM »
Not only that you can modify spoked wheels to take tubeless as I did on my Tiger 955i. As Rex says I do ride older bikes with spoked wheels / tubes but also like the security of tubeless.
And who are you calling stupid?
ps some pics of sealing....
And who are you calling stupid?
ps some pics of sealing....
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Japanese Bikes / Re: 74 TX650 cafe.racer build.
« on: March 01, 2024, 03:41:14 PM »
You weren't behind me when I had one in the back wheel of the Commando doing 60 on a dual carriageway. The bloke following me said he was convinced I'd lose it but managed to stop safely.
Spoked wheels don't cause punctures (of course) but when a tube is punctured it often lets go catastrophically as on my Norton and the spokes just let the air out in a bang. Tubeless tyres rarely if ever go down as fast. And of course if and when a tubeless is pierced it can often be fixed in situ without recourse to tyre levers etc which at my age is a workshop only job.
Spoked wheels don't cause punctures (of course) but when a tube is punctured it often lets go catastrophically as on my Norton and the spokes just let the air out in a bang. Tubeless tyres rarely if ever go down as fast. And of course if and when a tubeless is pierced it can often be fixed in situ without recourse to tyre levers etc which at my age is a workshop only job.
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Japanese Bikes / Re: 74 TX650 cafe.racer build.
« on: March 01, 2024, 10:50:37 AM »
Yes, he'll be able to spend many happy hours by the roadside fixing punctures.....
This is my tastefully(?) modded XBR500. Used a CX500 tank and a locally modified seat. The Goldie pattern silencer gives a nice deep tone but no twitter sadly. I decided against spoked wheels for the above reason - not to mention cost!
This is my tastefully(?) modded XBR500. Used a CX500 tank and a locally modified seat. The Goldie pattern silencer gives a nice deep tone but no twitter sadly. I decided against spoked wheels for the above reason - not to mention cost!