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Messages - Mark M

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16
Identify these bikes! / Re: bsa m20
« on: January 23, 2022, 11:52:51 AM »
If you haven't found it already, this site; http://www.wdbsa.nl/ is the ultimate source of information and knowledge on WD M20s.

17
British Bikes / Re: Warrior motorcycles made at Great Linford, Buckinghamshire circa 1920s
« on: January 12, 2022, 02:04:24 PM »
I recommend following the link to the local history group and then reading the biography of Louis Uthwatt further down the page. He was born in Ballarat Australia but came to England where he seems to have started the motorcycle business. The details of his life include some interesting asides about the Warrior including evidence of export activity. A rabbit hole beckons!
Incidentally, I live not far from Linford and know where the Rectory is.
REgards, Mark

18
The Classic Biker Bar / Re: Where to get a speedo hub drive from?
« on: July 31, 2021, 08:50:03 AM »
Yes, if the bike is over 40 years old you don't need an MOT for the V55 registration form. You will need to download and fill in the V112 "Declaration of exemption" form, find it on the DVLA website. It's just a tick-box form saying you declare the machine as over 40 years old.
REgards, Mark

19
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior Plunger frame ID
« on: July 14, 2021, 09:16:53 AM »
Del, R has it exactly. If it works, use the Albion and keep looking if total originality is important. Albion boxes were probably more numerous than Burman at the time, the internal components are common across many boxes so spares are out there. I'm not sure about availability for the Burman? The main differences between these boxes are usually the cases themselves. The number stamped on the top is unique to the box. The letter prefix identifies the box type and manufacturing batch and the digits are it's unique number. Unfortunately there appears to be no 'master' record of which manufacturers were supplied with what boxes so comparing different numbers in survivors is sometimes the only way. (There is a list on the web of post-War box codes as fitted to Indian badged RE models but it is not completely correct.)
REgards, Mark

20
British Bikes / Re: Excelsior Plunger frame ID
« on: July 13, 2021, 07:55:20 AM »
I think he means Albion R, but hey, you're talking to the guy who had to phone in a sighting of an albino Wallaby blocking the road on Halloween night. The emergency operator took some persuading...

21
British Bikes / Re: Vintage Albion clutch.
« on: May 13, 2021, 01:17:41 PM »
Albion actually returned to the bronze ring bearing for Royal Enfield in the sixties. About 1963 they revised the clutch centres for the 250/350 Crusader range and also the 750 Interceptors fitting the bronze (not sure exactly what material,) ring to a new and slightly larger clutch centre. Bullets of the semi- or pre-unit variety had ceased production by then so never got this modification.
REgards, Mark

22
The Classic Biker Bar / Re: Newbie
« on: May 01, 2021, 11:49:15 AM »
Hi! Tell us what it is, some of us have specific knowledge of a particular marque and some have that and also have historical and engineering skills.
REgards, Mark

23
British Bikes / Re: TRYING TO IDENTIFY MY GRANDFATHERS MOTORBIKE
« on: March 22, 2021, 07:18:08 PM »
A good photo of the whole machine from both sides would help. However, in one picture I can see what looks like plunger rear suspension. This seems unlikely (but not impossible) on a pre-War machine. Did OK ever actually do this?
REgards, Mark

24
Autojumble / Re: Barrels, Pistons, Liners
« on: March 03, 2021, 01:44:44 PM »
I can see what appear to be a pair of Royal Enfield 500 Twin barrels (these are separate rather than in one piece like the Triumph ones which are the majority)
REgards, Mark

25
British Bikes / Re: Junkyard Villiers find - Waratah history
« on: February 25, 2021, 05:04:31 PM »
The parking battery thing was a GB law requiring parked vehicles to exhibit a sidelight at night on the traffic side of the vehicle. When this came in and when it was lifted I can't say. Many drivers of cars had small weatherproof bulb holders connected to a battery pack which could be clipped over the wound up windows to satisfy this requirement. I just checked the RAC website and it says this is still in force but applies to roads with a greater than 30mph speed limit and only to vehicles actually on the road. GB Construction and Use regulations require that the pilot light works when stationary and the engine is off for the same reason.
REgards, Mark

26
British Bikes / Re: Junkyard Villiers find - Waratah history
« on: February 24, 2021, 10:35:40 AM »
I asked Graham Scarth Chairman of the Royal Enfield Owners Club in GB about these Cottmans as I have a passing interest in late 30s Enfields.
He said: I found the discussion started by "Murdo" on the classicmotorcyclesforum site
where he eventually gives a frame number of 10094. This is seven below the
start of our records in 1937 so would be a duplex front down tube frame (no
photos posted) if it was a Model A or possibly a Model T.
Also found photos of a Colt undergoing restoration and it is definitely a
rebadged Model A of the 1939 on type with vertical engine and all welded
frame shared with the Model D and S / SF with separate oil tank.
I could just see an A prefix number on front of crankcases but not clear
enough to read the digits. The frame has an extra triangulating tube added
just behind the steering head gusset plates, not present on other RE frames
for these models that I have photos of.
I hope this helps.
REgards, Mark

27
Identify these bikes! / Re: Verify/ID 197CC SUN
« on: February 04, 2021, 08:57:07 AM »
Sorry for this diversion, but Sun were well known for making cast iron frame fittings and other components, is the triangle mark often seen on castings, sometimes with a part number, their logo? I ask out of curiosity as it crops up on some Royal Enfield components. Other RE cast iron parts show a different logo entirely.
REgards, Mark

28
British Bikes / Re: Smiths Speedo Drive
« on: September 27, 2020, 09:31:28 AM »
Yes, Rex is right about the cables being different. Fortunately Hitchcocks Motorcycles sell a selection of lengths with the correct Smiths fitting at the drive end (rear wheel) and the appropriate Metric (12mm?) fitting at the instrument end. He is also correct about the cable entry point on the Indian speedometers but they are also deeper in section than either Smiths Magnetic or Chronometric units which might be an issue on some makes, especially if it's mounted in a headlight shell.
REgards, Mark

29
British Bikes / Re: Smiths Speedo Drive
« on: September 26, 2020, 04:44:21 PM »
Yep, they aren't. Variations include drive cable exit above or below the wheel spindle, spindle hole size (usually larger on heavier bikes,) and crucially, gear ratio. Most British bikes used a standard 2:1 ratio but there are numerous other variations. On later boxes this will be stamped onto the circular keeper plate that holds the ring gear in place but can only be seen when the box is off the wheel. Earlier models (up to about 1961?) were a different shape, rather square in section, and have the part number stamped on the brass plug that retains the small worm gear. These do not have the ratio on them.
REgards, Mark

30
Japanese Bikes / Re: Honda cb175k6, 1972 re-build
« on: September 26, 2020, 04:37:10 PM »
Some manufacturers produced 'generic' wiring looms to cover several different models or different market variations. I've come across redundant wiring on Honda, Suzuki and Moto Guzzi for instance. I can't explain the short wiring, is it an original Honda part or a copy?
REgards, Mark

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