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Messages - cardan

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1
British Bikes / Re: Information about a Norman Rambler?
« on: March 22, 2024, 09:21:17 AM »
It's the same photo! I've not figured out where it was taken - the photo is part of a collection attributed to British Tube Mills, and presumably it was in Adelaide, and now we knoe it was c1954 I will take another look.

Leon

2
British Bikes / Re: Information about a Norman Rambler?
« on: March 22, 2024, 05:57:19 AM »
Wow.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when management and designers were talking over new models and future directions. We think of 2-stroke lightweights as being pretty utilitarian, but there were obviously people in the companies who had aspirations to build a better mousetrap. I have to admit I don't know (or didn't know!) much about Normans, but I'll think better of their efforts from now on.

I recently researched Tilbrook in South Australia, and like some of the more interesting UK brands (DOT, DMW, Greeves...) it was a good reminder that there were some very interesting Villiers-engined bikes built in the 1950s.

Re the swing-arm Roamer in the photo above, I'd say 33d6 is spot on with 1954 (see attached). In 1951 and 1952 Super Elliott seem to have sold autocycles and Villiers engined "Super Elliotts", but I could find no photo or survivor... I assume they were just re-branded Norman/Roamer/Rambler. Yell if you've seen one!

Cheers

Leon


3
British Bikes / Re: Information about a Norman Rambler?
« on: March 18, 2024, 05:22:20 AM »
All with front suspension’s that can make a grown man weep. Ask me how I know.

I'm ready!

4
British Bikes / Re: Information about a Norman Rambler?
« on: March 15, 2024, 12:02:23 AM »
Do we know what the Roamer transfer looked like?

I bumped into this photo recently, showing a Roamer on a Super Elliott display in Adelaide the 1950s. Seems to be a 197cc Villiers (?) with swinging arm rear suspension, so maybe 1953 or so. In Adelaide you could buy this bike as a Roamer, Rambler, Norman, (all Norman brands) or it seems (during 1951-52) Super Elliott.

Anyway, the Roamer transfer is particularly ugly!

Leon

5
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: March 12, 2024, 02:52:42 AM »
Hi John,

That's interesting - I'd not thought much about the tapered needle in the MDY (1928-on), but it seems this was it's first appearance on an AMAC carb. The tapered needle (usually called "variable jet") arrangement was covered in a 1913 Brown & Barlow patent, and was first used on their 1914 model carbs. So through the 1920s, B&B had models with tapered needles, and AMAC didn't. Until 1928. I wonder if this was part of the AMAL deal, where AMAC, B&B and Binks were amalgamated to form AMAL?

B&B's tapered needle and AMAC's air control on the side on the throttle body were two features used on the AMAL carbs for years...

Anyway, good tips for Geoff.

Cheers

Leon

6
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: March 05, 2024, 11:49:51 PM »
Nice one Geoff! Hope you enjoy it.

Leon

7
Japanese Bikes / Re: A bit of wheel building.
« on: March 05, 2024, 11:37:37 PM »
Not sure what the original poster wants here... comments on his wheel building? I'm happy to chime in since I've built 100 or so wheels for old bikes. Personally I don't like highly-polished alloy on my bikes (which are mostly a bit ratty I'm afraid), and I don't think I'd build a 2-cross front wheel for a disc brake, and if I did I'd use rims dimpled and drilled to suit. Coupled with the 3mm of thread showing, which is pretty weird since the nipples are only threaded at the rim end so there's probably 5mm inside the nipple where thread is useless, I'd say the front wheel is pretty ordinary.

In all, however, the wheels look good and it's nice to see someone building wheels for themselves. It's a fun project.

It's the rudeness I dislike.

Cheers

Leon

8
British Bikes / Re: Albion EJ Final drive sprocket 17T
« on: February 15, 2024, 09:58:54 PM »
I wonder what is the world-wide annual demand for lightweight Albion gearbox sprockets? I have a sprocket box, so now I'll have to go out and look.

Leon

9
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 10, 2024, 12:43:38 PM »
Hi Geoff,

Just be wary of too much oil: if the crankcase gets over-full with oil everything gets terribly hot and bothered. The trick is finding the Goldilocks flow: not too little, not too much, but just right.

Good luck!

Leon

10
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 08, 2024, 10:39:43 PM »
One other niggle is oil system ,its total loss  and after running for a while dribbles oily mess into its dirt tray  .I would like to check the output of the pump but cant run the engine with it disconnected ?

Hi Geoff,

You pump has an inlet and an outlet (?), so presumably you can disconnect the outlet pipe and see what comes out when the engine is running. If the bottom of the oil tank is not filled with sludge (and it probably will be if you haven't taken the tank off the bike and cleaned it out) oil should be running out the outlet withing a few seconds of starting. The pump is said to be adjustable, so you should be able to adjust it between nothing and a slow trickle. Normal running might require something like 30 drips per minute, so it would be useful to find the setting that gives this.

The oil coming out of the oil pump should look pristine and golden!

Then you need to find the sump plug and drain everything out of the engine, if you haven't done this already. Do it after the engine had run and mixed things up a bit. If everything is ok, there should be a surprisingly small amount of oil to drain out, say an egg-cup-full.

When you restart the engine there will be no oil in it. Yuk - this is a job for the hand pump in the oiling system but you don't have one! If you can't find a place to squirt in a few squirts from the oil can, at least set the oil pump to its highest setting for the first minute or so of running, and don't rev the engine, before cutting it back to the 30 drip per minute setting.

No oil should be coming from anywhere at this point. If it does, you have an oil leak. In a total loss system most excess oil is burned with only the odd drop ending up on the road. If you have oil running out, your oil pump feed might be set to "max". Is the exhaust very smokey?

Leon

11
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 06, 2024, 11:46:17 AM »
That's a super nice bike Geoff - looks very original.

I'd be happy to drop by and lend a hand, but I suspect I'm 10,000+ miles away which makes it hard. Maybe there's someone nearby with experience with vintage bikes? It would be great to get it running nicely.

Good luck.

Leon


12
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 05, 2024, 01:19:38 PM »
I just had a look. Nice bike, but no dry sump until 1930, so do be careful it's feeding enough oil into the engine. Funny in this era when there's no hand pump to help out... Interesting that the spec says AMAL but the drawing shows AMAC MDY - 1929 was the change over period and lots of bike still used AMAC even though the AMAL was said to be available.

Once you've got compression and checked the ignition timing, it would be worth cheching for air leaks around the carb and inlet manifold as it won't idle if it leaks.

Good luck.

Leon

Edit: Or maybe a valve is sticking at low speed - make sure they're not rusty and give them a squirt of something

13
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 05, 2024, 12:59:05 PM »
Hi Geoff,

Yes T15MDY sounds good - 1 1/8" throttle valve, and presumably 1" choke. The T25 I mentioned would be too small...

The compression thing is weird.

Re the ignition timing: The bike might run with all manner of timings, but it will only run properly if the spark is set at something like 35-40 degrees (probably 3/8" or so) BTDC fully advanced. There's no need to experiment.

The valve timing sounds OK at 15/15.

But is the engine in good order? It should have good compression - hard to move over TDC with the ks lever when the throttle is open. Maybe it has a burned valve? Or worn-out valve guides? Or worn out cylinder/rings? Or no valve clearance? Or no oil?

The last one worries me. Not sure how the oiling system works on a 1929 Model 355 (still total loss? or is there a scavenge pump to put the oil back in the tank? By 1929 most bikes had gone dry sump) but hope you've got it sussed out. I'd say the most important part of recommissioning any bike is to make sure nothing bad has got inside (like a wasp nest), that the oil tank is drained, cleaned and filled with new oil, and that the oil pipes and pump are clean and functioning. No compression can be a symptom of a very dry motor; maybe try a squirt of oil down the plug hole and see if the compression comes back. If the motor is still total loss, there should be at least an eggcup of petrol in the crankcase anytime it is running. If it's dry sump, make sure the oil is returning to the oil tank is a steady stream within 10-20-30 sec of the engine starting.

Leon

14
British Bikes / Re: royal enfield 355 1929
« on: February 05, 2024, 02:31:57 AM »
Hi Geoff,

I've re-read the above, but still not sure where you're up to. Is everything OK at higher speeds - will it rev, ride down the road, accelerate etc? If so that rules out lots of things. If not, that's a better place to start than getting a good low idle.

The 1" AMAC carb is presumably a T25MDY (or X if its top feed). This is usually stamped on the body somewhere, maybe near the mounting flange. If so this is the standard touring carb, with the air adjustment with the little slide on the side of the mixing chamber. Royal Enfield went to AMAL carburettors in 1930, and the 350 ohv used 6/004 body, 15/16" bore, 130 jet, 6/5 slide, needle position 3, and 14/079 float chamber. So the 1" size is about right, if a bit on the large side. Re jet: 130 AMAL = 36 AMAC = 0.038"

Don't forget that the needle in your throttle slide may or may not be the correct needle or at the correct height. AT least check that the needle is well clear of the needle jet at full throttle.

Leon

15
British Bikes / Re: 1950s Francis Barnett
« on: February 02, 2024, 06:49:57 AM »
That's funny because once, c1982, I bought a Francis Barnett with altered numbers. When I noticed, I asked the guy I'd purchased it from for a refund, which he initially agreed to, but after "legal advice" refused. So I contacted the police. I had to take the bike to (wait for it) Russell Street Police Headquarters in Melbourne, to the inner courtyard via the entrance used by the cast of Homicide in their Studebaker police cars in the 1960s!!! Showing my age now. What a highlight! The bike was c1949, and the guy I bought it from said he rode it to uni in the 1960s, and it had been off the road since then. Other than that both numbers had been clumsily changed, the police could say no more, so it was off to have a new VP number stamped on it. My wife rode it for a couple of years in VMCC rallies...

Leon


Edit: Wow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_(Australian_TV_series)

Double wow: https://www.imcdb.org/v971596.html

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