classic motorcycle forum

Sacre bleu.....ees a special mod so ze intrepid Frenchman can carry many more bunches of onions on ze velo.

Yes,but does he know to turn the oil tap on?....Bit late now if he doesnt.

I see an interesting item on the NOC singles forum.............in a nutshell,a Frenchman has bought a Norton 500T,about which he knows nothing ,and is asking a long list of silly questions.......but his latest pics show a shutoff tap on the oil line to the motor,....in the shut position.............Now as he doesnt know what ignition advance is,I think it unlikely he has figured out the purpose of the tap...................Will all the British bikes be wrecked by tossers who pay the large sums demanded for these classics..........but think they are as straightforward to operate as a car?

Siemens make electrical stuff.....so it could be off anything............I blew up a Siemens star delta starter on an Atlas Copco compressor,cost $4,000 to replace.........not my money fortunately.

Did you know that back in early 1963,at the time of the big freeze,the British government were so concerned that if the channel froze over,southern England would be invaded by a massive horde of Frenchmen in stripey jackets riding terrots ,mobylettes ,peugeots and other tiny mopeds, that the army was placed on standby to form a mass cordon around the channel coast...Obviously they neednt have worried............now if they were riding bicycles festooned with onions,it could have been a different story.

about six years ago,an entrant with a 1929 BSA sloper tried ......he had nine spare motors,five spare gearboxes,enough spare frames,wheels ,etc to build two bikes.Unfortunately on the first day of the run he took a wrong turning and ended up in a river.........This year someone is running a 1928 "Black" Ariel...Without any spares,except tires and chains.....The bikes lose so much power on the 10,000ft+ passes ,that riders often have to push for miles uphill to augment motor power......The winners are always one of a large group of 1911 Harleys,as age is a factor in the results..........but I reckon my 1928 FD Harley would go the course,whether I would is a another matter.

Ian,Ive got worn splines on both,and  the clutch centre end plates are loose on the spider,and then the roller race is worn oversize.....Ive been tossing around solutions that dont cost and arm and leg......looking into the feasibility of making the joint a taper with six loose keys.....The mainshaft and spider are already knackered,so if I wreck them,its not a big deal.Then the rear sprocket is loose on the sleeve gear,again very worn splines........The whole gearbox /clutch needs a complete overhaul.....Ive only had it fifty years and its plumb wore out.