31
British Bikes / Re: Royal Enfield 505
« on: May 09, 2018, 11:09:01 PM »The chain case looks a bit like Brough!
https://www.prewarcar.com/235239-royal-enfield-505-sport-double-port
Leon
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The chain case looks a bit like Brough!
https://www.prewarcar.com/235239-royal-enfield-505-sport-double-port
Leon
32
British Bikes / Re: Cush drive , necessary or not
« on: May 04, 2018, 01:30:50 AM »I would think a big single bike with no cush-druve arrangements would be so horrible as to be unrideable.
A lesson well learned from the earliest days! Here's the cush arrangement in my 1903 Columbia. It lives on a counter shaft in the normal clutch position. The previous year, the "cush" was achieved by mounting the engine drive sprocket clamped between two large washers, but otherwise unconnected to the mainshaft of the motor. It things got snatchy, the sprocket just slipped. Crude, and not very effective, but Indian used a similar arrangement on their back sprocket for a number of years.
"Something's gotta give!"
Leon
33
British Bikes / Re: AJS model D needs a sidecar ?
« on: May 02, 2018, 12:34:55 AM »Hi Karsten,
That's quite a sidecar - just perfect.
I wonder if the paint is from the AJS factory, or if it has been repainted at some time. If it's the original paint, I'd just clean and polish it, and have fun with the conversation that starts when people ask why the sidecar doesn't match the bike.
If it's not the original paint, I'd still leave it as it is, but I wouldn't be disappointed if you decided to repaint it.
These days there are many, many shiny things that are fake. If you have something that is genuine, enjoy it and tell people that yours (at least) is real.
I don't like fake patination - I'm sick of "barn find" board track racers and "racing" cyclecars.
Cheers
Leon
34
European and Other Bikes / Re: Terrot MT 1, 100cc 2 stroke: non-starter!
« on: April 26, 2018, 11:50:38 AM »I'm a bit amazed that the timing side bush is unchanged, and that you're intending to leave the bore as is. But I guess you know when "the man" described it as "stepped and scored" that this is not good. Many restorations are like this: very pretty but rubbish mechanicals. Pity, as there is real joy to be had riding a machine that runs as it should. Measurement and fit are words just-about lost to motorcycle restoration these days.
Make sure you put the piston in the right way around. Was it correct before? The motor won't start if it's back-to-front.
Good luck.
Leon
35
Identify these bikes! / Re: Barr and Stroud mystery bike
« on: April 13, 2018, 12:12:41 AM »What a pity that thought didn't stand up to scrutiny - it would have been a classic story.
On the sleeve-valve-motors-in-Melbourne theme: If a Barr and Stroud and Minerva - with full length sleeves controlling the ports - was called a sleeve valve, what was the Peugeot effort - with very short sleeve - called?
"Cuff valve"! The late Jack Nelson owned one, as a young man in Melbourne just after the war. Nice car.
Cheers
Leon
36
Identify these bikes! / Re: Barr and Stroud mystery bike
« on: April 12, 2018, 01:32:36 AM »Davies lived at 7 Zetland Road, Mont Albert. Maybe you can see if he's home? If not, check the crumbling shed at the bottom of the garden...
37
Identify these bikes! / Re: Barr and Stroud mystery bike
« on: April 12, 2018, 01:15:52 AM »Hi 33d6,
Oh it's a cute thing! I do like a good cycle car.
JFerg and I recently discovered that quite a number of "Coventry B&S" motorcycles came in to Western Australia, complete with B&S engines, so in Australia we had both B&S bikes and loose engines.
I have method in my file names: yyyy-mm-dd-papername, so in this case 1928-08-20-herald-melbourne.jpg translates to the Herald, 20 August 1928. I don't usually use page numbers - I've found in the past that the Adelaide newspapers had several editions per day, and sometimes articles were moved.
Getting better photos is tough. In this case the Trove scan is pretty good, and a scan from the original newspaper wouldn't be too much better. At the State Library of South Australia, processing for Trove involved separating pages, and the papers were then properly packaged and put into "deep storage". I think I paid $60 to get a paper out last time I wanted a photo, but in that case the Trove scan was total rubbish. The staff at the library were amazed that I had been able to convince the powers that be to get the relevant paper out at all, and it was only because I convinced them that I was doing serious research, and the Trove scan was not fit for purpose.
Since the Herald is still around, I wonder if they still have an archive of photos that goes back to 1928? Now that would be interesting.
Cheers
Leon
38
Identify these bikes! / Re: Does anyone know what bike this is?
« on: April 11, 2018, 01:03:57 AM »Levis introduced their "new low-built diamond frame" in late 1927 (for the 1928 season) on the K2 model.
According to the VMCC Register of Machines, frame number 19xxx would fit in with Levis from 1928.
A bit of googling and you'll see Levis machines with their frame numbers in the same position as on the mystery bike.
Looks pretty Levis-like to me.
Cheers
Leon
39
Identify these bikes! / Re: Barr and Stroud mystery bike
« on: April 11, 2018, 12:43:21 AM »
It might have two-times the number of regulation wheels, but have you got this one on your list JFerg? I suppose we could call it the Davies Cycle Car, and the article comes from the Melbourne Herald, in August 1928. I suppose the Barr and Stroud motor would have been one of the "loose" motors, rather than from a dismantled bike?
[Edit: Just realised there's only wheel at the back, so change "two-times" to "one-and-a-half-times"! Edit the edit: ah, there are 4 wheels if you look at the whole photo!!]
Cheers
Leon
[Edit: Just realised there's only wheel at the back, so change "two-times" to "one-and-a-half-times"! Edit the edit: ah, there are 4 wheels if you look at the whole photo!!]
Cheers
Leon
40
European and Other Bikes / Re: Terrot MT 1, 100cc 2 stroke: non-starter!
« on: April 09, 2018, 04:51:34 AM »There is something seriously wrong with those ports! Manufacturing problem? The whole idea of the two-stroke engine is that the piston rings control the port opening and closing with some precision. That ain't going to happen here. A small engine re-conditioner - if there are still such places - will advise.
Re the magneto-side shaft and bush. A bush is fine to act as both bearing and seal, but it wouldn't usually have an oil spiral; at least make sure it doesn't run all the way through the bush. The shaft needs to be round, unworn (not smaller diameter than the outer end!) and straight, and the fit in the bush pretty neat - maybe only a thou or so.
Cheers
Leon
41
European and Other Bikes / Re: Terrot MT 1, 100cc 2 stroke: non-starter!
« on: April 06, 2018, 12:01:45 AM »The engine is all original, the bore is really good, piston is standard size and a nice fit, rings are new. When I stripped the engine the rings were solid in the piston due to carbon. There was a lot of carbon build up in the lower crank case which must be evidence of blow by.
Very hard to contribute on issues like this from a distance, but since it's getting desperate...
1. Re the bore, how do you define "really good"? Wear in a two-stroke bore is often not just at the top (as it is on a 4-stroke), but also just above and just below the ports. This is hard to measure, but on a little bike like this one even 0.005" wear in the wrong spot might correspond to "worn out". A worn out 2-stroke is hard to start - possibly why the bike was put into retirement? Certainly carbon in the crankcase sounds pretty grim. New rings won't help with wear near the ports because the bore here is no longer circular. The bore can be good at the top, and good at the bottom, but if it's worn out around the ports, the cylinder will need a rebore.
2. Replace the condenser.
Good luck.
Leon
42
British Bikes / Re: Massey & Massey Arran motorcycles
« on: March 04, 2018, 09:43:50 PM »Fascinating! The front fork on the Triple H bikes in the advert is the "Maplestone". These were designed and built in Melbourne, Australia before WW1 by A. N. (Norm) Maplestone. After the war he took the design to the UK where it was at first built by Precision Gauges Ltd in Birmingham as the "Maplestone Cantilever Fork". The design was sold to Webb c1922 and was the basis of their very successful fork.
Does your bike have the Maplestone fork Keith? A little bit of history.
Cheers
Leon
43
Identify these bikes! / Re: Please help with the make of this bike
« on: February 19, 2018, 10:19:30 PM »It's Triumph, but an unusual model. The LS was a unit-construction (crankcase and gearbox in the same casting) 350cc side-valve built in the mid 1920s. It was the only Triumph model with the magneto/magdyno behind the cylinder, so there was room for the funny muffler in front of the crankcase.
http://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/triumph-1925/Triumph-1925-LS350-Ireland-2.htm
Leon
44
British Bikes / Re: Norton 16H. Wrong gear lever?
« on: February 15, 2018, 10:23:58 PM »I think you'll get used to it - just remember on old bikes there's no hurry to change gear. In 1929 and 1930, the SA box had a lever that could be configured for either hand or foot use, but was most often used as a foot change. No positive stop! I rode a 1929 CJ (350cc "cricket bat" OHC) with this setup and it was fine - just had to "feel" the lever into the next gear.
Here's your box in a 1933 ES2. As I noted up the top, it was only used on the sporty Nortons.
Enjoy.
Leon
45
British Bikes / Re: Unknown British motorcycle found in ruins .
« on: February 14, 2018, 08:57:16 AM »Still a bit rough, but a better place to start? https://online.handh.co.uk/m/lot-details/index/catalog/83/lot/39896/
Leon