classic motorcycle forum

Hello Rich,
A lot of us have the same problem. The Pilgrim Pump was used on many makes. There is a Swiss gentleman who should be able to resolve your problem.
You will find his details on the Scott Owners website, http://scottownersclub.org Go to the Forum section, then Sources of Supply and you will find a section devoted entirely to Pilgrim Pumps. His details are in there.
Cheers,

Well, as an enthusiastic rider of ancient two-strokes I couldn't see how anyone could pass up such a sweetie even though a lot of work needs to be done before you throw a leg over and ride off into the sunset. As for value, that is a messy question. Do you mean it's value as it lies there at present or its restored value? No veteran is cheap and as they aren't making any more of them I doubt they'll go down in value. Basically you can say that whatever the initial price and cost of restoration you should expect to get your money back if and when you sell it. Just remember it is at the other end of the motoring scale from a Rolls-Royce so don't expect to be a millionaire on the proceeds.
Your other info on the bike is much more interesting than discussions on 'value'. The engine number confirms that right from the start Radco prefixed the engine number with the year of manufacture and the engine capacity of 211cc is absolutely in line with the thinking of the day. Levis had already made this engine capacity popular with their machines. Obviously as time went on Radnell & Co increased the bore to 67mm and made it a full 250 but in your case that was yet to come.
Information on the wee beastie is easy to come by. The Vintage Motor Cycle Club Library in England has info on early Radco and even has a 1913 Patent specification drawing for the front forks. They also have various early catalogues and leaflets plus a full collection of the magazines of the day. Unlike some Clubs the VMCC are happy to deal with non-members. Information is not a problem.
Cheers,
 
 

The Suzuki Stinger is a little sweetie but for someone of your size and with no riding experience you may find it frustrating. It demands skill to both ride it effectively and to maintain it in proper tune. Remember this is an obsolete bike with an obsolete ignition system and needs to be kept in spot on tune to deliver power effectively. Spares will be an issue. It is very much a collectors bike and needs a skilled owner.
The Vespa PX200 is more modern, has electronic ignition, holds it tune for longer periods and is very forgiving.  It is more relaxing to ride and spares are not so problematic.
Forget all the nonsense about smaller wheels and road holding and all that nonsense that motorbike riders come up with about scooters. It is rubbish. A Vespa can be ridden with as much vim and vigour as the Stinger.
Performance is much of a muchness with the Vespa being easier to ride in traffic. Around town the Vespa is much to be preferred, it is cleaner to ride, is much more relaxed pulling away at traffic lights  and girls will get on the back much more willingly than with a motorbike.
Both are a lot of fun but all things being equal I think the Vespa is the better bet for a man size beginner.
As for price, Vespas are usually dearer than for an equivalent size bike and they tend to hold their price much better.
Cheers
   

The bloke in Wangaratta is Barry Hartnell,
The business name is the Vintage Motorcycle Swap Shop, address, 74 Greta Rd, Wangaratta, 3677. Phon number, (03) 5722 1457. He isn't open on Mondays.
Personally, I find it easier to get new kickstart springs made, particularly if you have the old broken one as a sample.
Best of luck,

Substituting grease for oil in a gearbox was always the bodgers trick for solving oil leak and noise problems from wear. Triumph were quite firm on insisting heavy oil and grease should not be used in these boxes as it relies on splash lubrication to get oil everywhere around it, especially to the footchange and kickstart mechanisms.
I have various bikes fitted with Sturmey Archer boxes where grease is the recommended lubricant. Even so, they also recommended adding a teaspoonful or two of oil as well, then tilting the bike to the left with the engine running so the oil could get down along the mainshaft and in between the mainshaft and sleeve gear. They didn't trust grease entirely.
Albion boxes are the opposite, always lubricated with oil, no matter how old, but I regularly come across examples filled with grease. Invariably they leak like crazy when it is replaced with the correct oil. A proper overhaul with new bearings and bushes fitted sorts them out and is a much more appropriate action than hiding the problem with grease.
As I see it both gearboxes sound in need of some TLC. Keep riding your '59 5TA, overhaul the 5T box and then once it's right and on the road use the knowledge gained to sort out the 5TA box.
A nicely sorted box makes riding so much more pleasant. It mightn't be flash like new paint or chrome work but its much more satisfying.
Cheers,

If it was first registered in November 1946 that probably makes it a 1947 model. The motorcycle year was not a calendar year running from January to December but rather from about September/October when the factories announced their next years range. Traditionally this was in time for the Annual Motorcycle Show held in London in November/December where the next seasons bikes would be shown. World War II had interrupted play in 1939 and things didn't really get back to normal until the first postwar Show in 1949. It took a little while to clean up after the war finished and get things back to normal.
Your bike is definitely not a prototype, the ES2 had been around for donkeys years but if I remember rightly 1947 was the year Nortons fitted tele forks and rear suspension to their road bikes so you are in luck there. They are an improvement over what went before.
The alloy mudguards are absolutely period sporting fitments that many clubmen fitted. Your bike is very typical of the time and personally I'd leave it like that. There are very many old grandpa's who will smile broadly when they see it and bore you silly with their memories.
Basically this ES2 is a good sturdy roadster capable of taking you anywhere you want to go at a reasonable pace. Spares are easy, information is plentiful and there is a hardcore Norton world that will help you keep it on the road.
Cheers,   

Hi again,
The magneto is from the 50's and the carburettor looks like a Mikuni or Keihin from the 60's. The forks I suspect are  Triumph Junior, Triumph favoured the fore and aft rocking fork for many years. Also favoured by Schwinn in America. Personally I think you have a vintage bitsa made up in the 60's when such a machine would have been seen as an amusing exercise whereas today people would think you crazy to waste such good vintage components.
What is its history? For example, it looks like the sort of thing that could have been made up for some movie or TV series. It looks old but would have been simple to make and easy to ride and maintain.
An interesting history would make all the difference whether you restore it as is or part it and make some money selling the bits.
Cheers,

Any modern oil made for manual transmissions will be fine. If I remember rightly Castrol call theirs VX90. Probably even if in perfect condition you will find your box leaks to a certain extent as it predates modern oil seals. The odd felt ring around various shafts is the best they did back then. Also, modern oils will creep through where the old oils couldn't. This is a good thing as you know oil is getting everywhere although it can make things a bit messy at times. Penrite make a semi fluid oil/grease for this type of application. It is slow to flow when cold and becomes fluid when it warms up in use. Many owners find this solves the leakage problem nicely. The choice is yours, all are light years better than any 1926 recommendation from the factory.

As far as spark plugs go, remember your bike is not a modern high compression, highly tuned sports machine where the wrong grade of plug will have nasty consequences but a low compression woolly sidevalve built at a time when designers were only beginning to understand about heat ranges. It doesn't matter what grade you put in, it won't hurt the engine. At the extreme ends of the heat range you may find either the plug burns out sooner than you like or possibly oils up but thats about it but any middling plug will work fine. For that matter the 18mm range available nowadays isn't that great and is mainly made for older engines plus the heat range a modern plug spreads over is far greater than anything available when the bike was new. You'll find something like an NGK A6 or equivalent will be fine regardless of how you ride or what you do.

Vintage bikes are fun but they do require a different approach from modern bikes. But thats why you bought it isn't it.
Cheers,