1929 Excelsior (UK)

[chaterlea25]

Hi Paul,
Before you dismantle the clutch, it might be worth trying a dodge? Pull in the clutch lever and use a cable tie to hold it against the handlebar
put the bike in gear and rock the bike back and forth, this may jar the plates free
You could also try with the above done put a flat bladed  screwdriver between the tongues protruding through the clutch basket and gently try and pry the plates apart, working around the basket ?

John

[PaulBurton]

Thanks Chris. The Miller has the 4 postion control so hopefully this can work. I have the original BTH cutout control (mounted under the fuel tank) but suspect I will need to substitute this. 4 Amps! That's a healthy 6v!!

[PaulBurton]

Thanks John, that looks like a good tip. I have found that the 'specialist' who refurbished the Burman gearbox and clutch a couple of years ago returned it with the four clutch spring adjusters screwed fully in - I had overlooked this and of course this explains why there is no clutch movement. I have no idea why he did this but unfortunately I now have a situation where I have tried everyway possible to unscrew these. Trying to release pressure on the screws by clamping/compressing the plate has not worked. They are screwed in so far that the central threaded screw protrudes making it impossible to use a normal screwdriver to undo them. I'm in Portugal, he's in the UK so it's a bit difficult to land the problem back on him!!

[Rex]

Triumph have a tool for that job, or just grind an old screwdriver and use that.

[cardan]

I'm in Portugal

I hope nowhere near the terrible fires.

Rex has good advice: sacrifice a big old screwdriver by grinding a gap in the middle to clear the stud.

Cheers

Leon

[PaulBurton]

Thanks Leon and Rex - I'll find the sacrificial screwdriver and get busy! Thanks too, we are well away from the dreadful fires. Frightening stuff.

[PaulBurton]

Clutch and gearbox sorted! Turning my attention back to the electrics. As previously mentioned the bike has a BTH mag/dyno and a Miller headlight with 4 settings O, C, L, H. The cut-out (photo) looks like it might function but I have some doubts! The wiring was (looking at the terminals in the picture) Left, generator; Middle, Battery (+)/lights; Right, Earth/battery (-). If this cannot be made to work, is it possible to substitiute with a Lucas type dyno/control box (as in pic) by just using the cut-out coil (terminals A/D/E)? I would obviosly prefer to use the original but might need a fall back.

[john.k]

You have a third brush dynamo,around 30W from memory,not much,with charging resistances in the light switch.In the interest of originality,you ll need to stick with this.You can restore the outer casing of the cutout,and with a reco d dynamo,use a 6V solid state cutout made for Harleys and Indians,obtainable from the Harley suppliers in the US quite cheaply.

[PaulBurton]

Thanks John. The mag/dyno has been fully refurbished so should be no problems on that side. Hiding a solid state cutout in the original box looks like a far better option for that side of things. I'm still hoping the original cutout unit might be coaxed back into life! Thanks again!

[chaterlea25]

Hi Paul,
The solid state "cutout" is a simple diode,
I have fitted diodes similar to this ebay one instead of cut outs
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Vishay-VS-12FR20-Thread-Mount-Switching-Diode-Stud-Anode-200V-12A-2-Pin-DO-4-/222277383310?epid=1692823240&hash=item33c0c3b48e:g:nscAAOSwLF1X-9CO

If the bike was mine I would convert to 2 brush and hide a solid state regulator somewhere
3 brush setups regulate the current not the voltage so are not kind to batteries

John

[PaulBurton]

Thanks John, that's a good lead and looks like a simple way to solve the problem

[extremelsior]

No frame number? Why am I not surprised? Yours is the fourth Excelsior of the period I've come across without a frame number. I don't know what Excelsior were up to but something went weird in the late 1920's after which they started a new frame numbering sequence in 1931. The frame numbers started A for 1931, B for 1932 and so on. After the year letter came the model number and then the actual frame number. At one glance you can identify what year and what model...

Cheers,

Hello
[I'm new here, and specifically joined cml as I can't seem to find excelsior info anywhere else on the net]
I've go my a eye on 1938 (supposedly) excelsior 350 warrior - or possibly 250 norseman, but it does not have any paperwork - it's an ex-race bike. I had a look for a frame number on the headstock but couldn't see anything - I've since been told it may be on the seatpost? the engine is obviously not original so that doesn't help with dating either.
I would love to take it on as a project but not if I can't get an age related numberplate and so ride it on the road.
Do you know of a marque owners club?
sincerely Ben

[PaulBurton]

Hello Ben. Afraid I am a relative newcomer to all of this, my project being a 'one off' restoration of a 1929/30 that belonged to a distant relative. I'm not aware of any Excelsior owners club but have found the advice and encouragement received via this forum to have been really helpful. Let's see if one of the longer established forum members will give you some ideas!
Good luck,
Paul.

[33d6]

Hi Ben,
The frame number is on the headstock but awkward to see. It's across the headstock directly behind the forks and headlight. It's extremely awkward to find and read if the front forks are still on. The complete number will identify both the year and model. It doesn't matter what the seller says it is. The number tells all.
Cheers,

[PaulBurton]

Hello All, afraid I’m chasing for more help on the 1929/30 Excelsior electrics and in particular the wiring for the Miller headlamp (unfortunately the original wiring had gone by the time I got to work on the restoration so I have little to go on). To recap, the machine has a BTH mag/dyno feeding into a cutout coil. Standard 6v -ve earth; tail light, hooter, ammeter, headlight with 2 filament main beam and pilot light.
The accompanying photos show the headlight terminals numbered 1-8 (anticlockwise from the driver’s view). Numbers 2, 6 & 7 are wired terminals. The rotor has 4 positions (again, anticlockwise from drivers view) Off, C(harge), L(ow), H(igh).
I have worked out the bridging of the contacts as follows for each of these positions (the first column relates to the first bridging contact going anticlockwise from the control lever, the second to the second bridging contact)

Off      4+5      1
C      5+6      1+2
L      5+6+7      1+2+3
H      6+7      2+3+4

Any thoughts/ideas greatly appreciated!
Paul.