classic motorcycle forum

Wernt the Bantams used by telegram boys?......mailmen walked or had bicycles...........anyhoo,out here  post is broke from free delivery of Chinese online tat,and now going to three wheel mobile tents with yellow flags everywhere.....

You used to be able to buy a complete new Indian Enfield box and clutch for about 250 quid.....but I think all the cheap Enfield stuff has been cleared........The last project i built with a JAP engine was using a AJS ,mid 30s ,complete ish,but with no motor..............anything project with girder forks wheels and guards wont be cheap tho......Tanks are generally cheap for AMC bikes and BSA s,if you arent too fussy...........Any kind of panel tank will be dear tho,especially Ariel or Triumph......................expanding on the JAP mainshaft length........most bikes went over to 4 speed boxes around 1932/33,and at the same time fitted an extra ball bearing on the mainshaft to support the extra length needed to line up with the wider box...........another thing with industrial JAP sv s ,is a long straight intake wont clear a magdyno,and even with a plain BTH mag,you need either a long intake ,or mount the carby on its side......as was done with some bikes.......but Amal 76 on its side is problematic,as anyone with a Triumph single will tell you............incidentally your JAP would have had a Amal 225/3 carby,which is where the long arm floatbowls come from ,often puzzled over at swapmeets.

Incidentallly,the inlet pipe has a fine (26tpi)...LEFT hand thread.into the cylinder.

Colin,have a look at the Autotruck forum,and I also found a proper manual for the motor online..........search for  600cc Mk 3 type 5,and you will find a repair manual,easily............if its been a starting  engine,it will have badly brinnelled mains.......incidentaly ,the starting engines are impressive,you get in the back of say a RB54,big as a house,start up the JAP,and give it a bit of throttle,apply the clutch lever ,and the big Rustons just turns over and starts,no need to lift valves ,the JAP just plonks away,the white smoke turns to black,and the 6VPH starts firing evenly.......incidentally,the JAP is started by a belt.....a workmans belt ,that held up his dungarees........never lost,always available.

You will find that wheels were shared with the common smaller sidevalves,and seem to be pretty common....Guards for anything are hard to find,and you will end up with Indian imports.

Thanks for the ad ,Leon......I think that settles it..........Hre in Qld ,there were various locally made pistons,probably made from scrap,so a diecut one might have been an improvement..........I have a Norton ES2,with a local piston.....its obviously sandcast,and while it works ,Im not game to take the bike for more than a run around the block.

You d be a lot more likely to get an answer at the Norton Owners Club.........if you email the sec ,they may let you put a message on the forum  without payin 20 quid for a membership.

There was plenty of frame building expertise in the bicycle industry.......and high tariffs to protect industry........tariffs could rise as high as 100%,if an industry was threatened by imports........then there was the empire preference of 1933,killed off US imports until after WW2...........this is why car bodies were all made here for cheaper cars.