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Messages - john.k

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1
British Bikes / Re: “Star” motorcycles
« on: August 14, 2021, 08:01:03 AM »
First thing I notice is when a bike hit the sales floor here,it was twice the price it was in England...the Australian pound was the same value as Sterling...The difference was a very high tariff rate ,(unless some substantial portion was made here).,and very high dealer markups.

2
British Bikes / Re: JAP 600cc UCZ rigid frame specials .
« on: August 13, 2021, 11:29:47 PM »
It gets even crazier when you see the cooling cowl off a little 2hp JAP stationary motor on ebay for $500 as a Brough Superior part!

3
British Bikes / JAP 600cc UCZ rigid frame specials .
« on: August 13, 2021, 10:57:17 AM »
Anybody here noticed there is a craze for building home made bikes with rotary hoe motors.?.....Every Howard Gem being displayed as garden art is suddenly worth $2000 for the JAP motor....There are even races for these specials......The craze started in UK,but has spread out here too.......not that Im complaining as I have a couple of UCZ 600s in really nice condition .......I had always planned to put OHV top ends on them.......Unfortunately the days of buying anything OHV JAP on ebay for  less than weight in gold is gone.......I have another project thats more interesting ,and that is putting two of the little OHV 250 JAPs of the late 30s,on a 750cc Autotruck motor......But these 750 industrial JAPs have hit 3000 quid each in UK......So Ill give that a miss too......ive just build a nice new shed ,and now nothing to do in it.

4
British Bikes / Re: 6" headlamp shell but lights are 5 3/4?
« on: August 05, 2021, 10:50:10 AM »
The electric output from flywheel mags is a/c ......to charge a battery you need d/c.....consequently a rectifier and a voltage regulator .....so save expensive complication that owners of tiddlers would never maintain in working order,and run an oversize filament bulb direct from a coil inside the flywheel......A/c output also means an ammeter wont work.

5
British Bikes / Re: 6" headlamp shell but lights are 5 3/4?
« on: August 02, 2021, 02:13:15 PM »
I believe lights are measured over the open part of the shell...a 6" lamp is going to be a DU42,the 7" of the late 40s is the DU 142

6
The Classic Biker Bar / Re: Where to get a speedo hub drive from?
« on: August 01, 2021, 12:38:43 AM »
I imagine were talking the rear wheel drive speedo device that fits onto the hub.......however the expensive bit is the girder fork type right angle drive ,thats driven by a gear screwed (LH) onto the hub.........very similar to the tacho drive fitted to the timing case of Velos and other performance bikes ........if you have any old diesels in the back yard,before scrapping them,check for one of the brass right angle drives .....Gardner LWs for instance have one hiding between the flywheel plate and the back of the block.....Perks often have a the later alloy /potmetal rt angle drive in the timing cover ......I remember back in the 70s ,the rt angle drive as a new spare was quite expensive......now I see sellers asking $200 for ally ones and $500 for the prewar brass ones.

7
British Bikes / Re: Q: BSA A65 L - Cylinder Barrel Correct Part #
« on: July 28, 2021, 01:55:17 PM »
Guy sold  me  a Bonneville once,piston and bearing seizure...$30 .....he had levered the barrels up just enough to get a hacksaw into the gap and sawed off the rods .....certainly made  it lighter .

8
British Bikes / Re: Q: BSA A65 L - Cylinder Barrel Correct Part #
« on: July 27, 2021, 11:15:43 PM »
After soaking,get a small air hammer and give the pistons a good shake up.....stick to the center part,and dont rivet them into the bores......then  the barrels in the freezer,and after 24hrs ,press the pistons out with a hydraulic press from the top.....You will not bust barrels or rods doing this ............For a faster method that destroys the rods,simply fill the barrels and  pistons up full of caustic soda ,add a little water.....and jump out of the way ,sharpish ,before the volcano of caustic dissolves you .......by the way ,do this out in the back yard,not the kitchen ,unless you want to strip the paint off the ceiling.

9
British Bikes / Re: Villiers factory 1940s
« on: July 22, 2021, 11:51:38 AM »
A lot of the "I wuz there" stories are drivel too,made up by people who may have been there ,but didnt know what was going on.....exactly as the average worker has no clue of whats going on in the boardroom.......There has been a lot of drivel written about Leo Kuzmicki ,the Polish engineer who was working as a cleaner at Nortons......the true story is on the Rootes group website ,for those who dont know,after Norton he moved on to design the Hillman Imp,which was the first mass production car  engine to have cast in iron liners in an alloy block.

10
British Bikes / Villiers factory 1940s
« on: July 19, 2021, 04:03:25 AM »
Interesting U Tube photoessay of the Villiers factory ,Wolverhampton ,in the 1940s...assumed post WW2........Who woulda thunk they had so much precision manufacturing capability in a factory that turned out tinpot twostrokes and small stationary engine........they also made bicycle coaster hubs,---80,000 a week.....The whole factory seems spotlessly clean........big contrast to the Douglass factory in another of the series......If you have plenty of data,watch the Douglas story.....very interesting historic film ,interspersed with various boring old twits recalling this and that at great length.....

11
European and Other Bikes / Re: Jawa electrical gizmo ?
« on: June 27, 2021, 09:25:22 AM »
Tartan Manet scooter.

12
British Bikes / Re: Matchless 500cc single.
« on: June 27, 2021, 02:19:59 AM »
This is a project with a $50 budget.....any new parts will be ex Perkins diesel spares price list .....I do have some hairpin springs,but they are all badly grooved .

13
British Bikes / Re: Matchless 500cc single.
« on: June 26, 2021, 01:25:34 PM »
Mainly because I dont have any ......no springs ,top collars or lower holders.....and they seem the be more pricey than the head........I think I recall in one of the old magazines a tip to replace the hairpins with coil springs.

14
British Bikes / Matchless 500cc single.
« on: June 26, 2021, 01:47:23 AM »
Can I put coil valve springs in a  ally head 1950s Matchless single motor?......Is there enough space for the  hairpins be replaced with coils?.......Reason I ask is I want to put a Matchless top end on a JAP 600 sidevalve motor ,of the pseudo industrial variety.......weightsaving should be considerable.

15
British Bikes / Re: Notchy gearbox
« on: June 10, 2021, 02:28:01 AM »
If the clutch is actually dragging ,first thing to check is the pressure plate at full lift.....does it wobble as it turns.......may be that new springs in a matched set are needed,or just adjusting the spring nuts to level the plate at full lift...Another thing to check is primary chain tension.....check at the tightest spot in several rotations..........neutralizing or jumping out of top gear will quickly damage the whole box with steel chips ,not to mention the gears involved....Likely cause is excessive endfloat in the box somewhere,either selectors or even ball bearings.

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