classic motorcycle forum

The 003 was the thickness of a piece of note paper......you put a piece of paper in the contacts ,rotated the motor,and when the paper could just be pulled out ,that was considered to be good enough for the "break" point of the contacts where spark occurrred............as mentioned the correct full opening was .012" to .015".....................................as someone once said at a vintage bike run......"Do get yourself a set of feeler gauges ,they only cost sixpence"......."Sixpence....sixpence?...when I were't lad,there wer'nt sixpence in't whole of Yorkshire"

The ball race in the sprocket is a tin cage holding loose balls......I imagine if its rusty enough to jam the whole lot together ,the balls and races have had it anyway,so busting the tin shields apart wont cause any further damage.......Everything else is solid steel......Its possible that a Royal Enfield supplier may have the bearing unit,also possible its the same size as the Indian 350 of say 30 years ago,or even more recent.

Id suggest you leave the wheels till last ,as the cost of professional wheelbuilding can be staggering.......There are a couple of suppliers in England of wheel bits,and with a new set of spokes and rim ,doing the wheels isnt difficult......provided you havent pulled them to bits 10 years previously and forgotten all the details.....take many pictures of spoke arrangements ,etc.

ES2 s seem to have much problem with fin breakage both head and barrel.....the iron seems to be particularly brittle.

In Sept 1939 ,all motorcycle exports were banned as well as civillian production ,however in October 1939, exports to the Commonwealth and Empire were authorized,with a total ban on exports to Europe,even though demand was high.In March 1940 ,the Board of Trade released stocks of steel ,aluminium and rubber,for the manufacture of 30,000 motorcycles for export...so its likely any further production was 1940 models,until the new 1945 or 1946 models came out. .....Jones Panther Book

The moment I saw the glass...I said ..Marchal....the oval pattern the same as on my Citroen .....just like you see on Maigret.....except the Surete probably had the "Big Six",all of 1500cc. for chasing crooks on Mobylettes.

B&W wasnt cottage industry......they had a large cycle factory in Redfern?,and I d think it quite likely the bike was made there......Seems they also made a moped with a 50cc motor as well.......Australia wasnt always the crap hole it is now with everything made in China ,and half the population on some kind of disability pension.

I think youll find that whole piece was made up as a "block" by B&W,and supplied to the paper along with a couple of quid for the editor.....I was supposed to start an apprenticeship with a company that made up these advertizing/news items for papers and magazines ...all arc lights and strong acids....the blocks were photo engraved on zinc plate,and the block and a proof delivered to the customer.