classic motorcycle forum

I remember Pride and Clarke in Stockwell Road I think. The founder was an Alfred Clarke so maybe George was a relative.

I lived in Fulham so didn't need to go further than Claude Rye on Fulham Road. They also had a small army surplus shop elsewhere in Fulham. He had a brother, Percy, who ran a motorcycle breaker's yard near Stamford Bridge.

I have WW2 radio that I am told came from Pride and Clarke so they must have had an army surplus side to the business as well.

I didn't have a bike in those days, buying my first, a Sunbeam S7, in 1990. Stewart Engineering were in Putney in the 60's and there was a Vincent dealer not too far away plus the Harley Davidson dealer again at Stamford Bridge. Pilgrimages on our pushbikes was as close as I got to the bikes in those days!
Cheers
Don

I have no doubt you are in the right place, there's probably more than one right place anyway.
If forums or clubs relied on "vintage" being pre 1930, as is the original classification, they would be very small clubs.
I was a member of the VMCC for a while in the 90's and there were a number of 20's bikes turning up at events regularly. Over the years the became fewer. and the 50's and 60's bikes became prevalent. Now I understand it's Japanese.
I get the impression that the veterans and vintage are falling into the hands of rich collectors and don't see the light of day very often.
Don

I have a 1938 Lion. Post vintage I suppose. Made when Sunbeam was owned by AMC.
Wanted a Model 9 but couldn't afford one at the time, or now even.
Had the original cycle parts and tinware but no tools. It is on the road as is my post war S7 and Sunbeam Talbot 90 saloon.
None of which are related apart from by name.
Don
I too declined the opportunity to join that group to get onto the forum, The subs tend to add up if you have varied interests.

It was still too fast when fully retarded in this case. It was reluctant to stop when the valve lifter was used.
It has worked fine the way I had it. As I said I have the carb off now so I'll have a good look at the slide and make sure it is going fully down as I can see things better with it off the bike.

Don

Thanks for all the comments.
The slide does have some wear as would be expected. Looks like it's plated brass.
I guess the idle speed should be set at full advance but so that it doesn't stall when fully retarded.
I shall clean out the jets etc  and put it back and see what happens. Looks like getting the carb re-sleeved isn't a cheap job looking at other forums. I see I can buy a new 276 for £300.00 or if I want to change the type, a concentric for about £100. But that's a last resort.
Don

I am told that one possibility is a worn slide in the carb. In the past I've seen ads in OBM of companies that do this, but a scan of a recent OBM doesn't show any. Anyone know who does this sort of thing these days. No problem with speedo or magneto repairers.
Don

A few days since the first post so I wonder if it's going yet.
6V systems take quite a lot of current so a poor connection somewhere can cause quite a large voltage drop.
If you suspect the alternator connections perhaps you could temporarily  disconnect it once you've recharged the battery.
Don
I see that the c15 is positive earth. Silly question, but you do have the battery the right way round?