classic motorcycle forum

]author=twolitre link=topic=2969.msg10058#msg10058 date=1270384021
The first thing I would do is ask myself "why am I rebuilding it at only 17,000 miles?".

Yes indeed. Used to be a common thing with American restorations, the old "only done 5000 miles but I went right through it to freshen it up. New mains, big end, rebore etc etc"
Why?

often no need for it in the slightest. Try it, you've nothing to lose.

You got a Model P too?
Any parts (clutch, fuel tank, mag etc) going spare?

 have had the cylinder head skimmed and cannot get a seal with the copper gasket. I fitted it and put a smear of grease on and it leaks oil.


That's unusual. You shouldn't be getting that much oil in there to show an external leak. If anything, it would be burnt. As the man says, you need to anneal and refit the gasket dry, paying particular attention that there's no raised bits around studs etc.


I also had a rebore so as the rings have yet to bed in and oil gets up the bore. I wonder if the Pushrod tubes are holding the cylinder head off slightly.
They're supposed to hold the head off 60 thou, and this ensures sufficient crush for the pushrod seals to be oil tight.

Has anyone had a similar problem? any ideas, also which is the best sealant to use eg Hematite

Shouldn't be using sealer on the head gasket, and the pushrod tubes only need a smear of oil to prevent seal inversion on fitting. For a general purpose sealer I use Blue Hylomar, and I'm surprised they even still make that Hermashite stuff....

 Hope that helps...

I'd have to go there and see it, then bring it home.
Personally I wouldn't send money or buy unseen from any Eastern European country; there's too many twisters seem to come from there, plus any bike would've been run into the ground twice over during the Communist era (if it did actually exist)

There seems to be a spate of Indians and H-Ds "allegedly" coming out of the woodwork from Poland recently, but prices seem too good to be true, and that sets alarm bells ringing long and loud....

Glad to be of help.
Maybe you now need to tighten the tach drive through-bolt though, as it's a notorious oil leak point when even slightly loose.

BTW around this time Triumph changed this through-bolt thread from RH to LH, and that's caught a few people out too...

The rule of thumb is 1HP = 100cc. Not exact, but pretty close.
So yours is a 700cc approx two-stroke single, and that sounds like it came from industrial plant rather than a bike.
Can't think of any stroker singles that big to use a carb from though...

I agree, and I did it for a while some years ago too.
Top thing to check is electrics and electrical connections, then use nylocs or Loctite to stop things vibrating off. Use a good battery and keep on top of maintenance.
Lastly, avoid Mr Goff like the plague. After sales and warranty returns policy is non-existent, so use Ebay for any stuff like that.

About five quid each for scrap, but I'll PM you and give you a score for the pair out of the goodness of my heart.
Deal?

Failing that a Google search may bring up past ads and auction prices. The NUT is probably the most sought-after, but without seeing condition or knowing the history (if any) it's hard to price accurately.