classic motorcycle forum

I have a hand pump and sight feed reputedly ex-BSA on my bike.

It is a total loss system, with a Best and Lloyd pump feeding to the sight glass.

Problem is that the bike is over-oiling quite badly, spraying liquid oil all over the back wheel, and dripping from the pipe.  The oil pump is set at "OFF" already, so can't be cracked back any further, and it's a known phenomenon that B&L pumps pump way too much.

There is a needle valve in the line to the sight glass, as part of the hand pump casting, but it seems not to do anything at all, no matter how tightly it is wound in.  The tapered needle itself is truncated, and does not come to any sort of point.

Question is, what should that needle look like?  Should it taper to a point?

thanks,
JFerg

Yes, coil ignition, with points on the end of the E3L.

And despite knowing what "WL" stands for, stripping, checking everything from first principles and swapping every suspect for another from "stock", the damn thing will still motor happily. but not generate.  I don't have access to a known good one, either.

Suspect I am doing something fundamentally wrong, but can't see it.

JFerg

I have a miscreant E3L dynamo that won't charge.  Motors beautifully, and all obvious things are fine.

It's an early version, 3rd brush type with cutout, and has 3 terminals, marked "+", being +6V supply from the battery, "FD", being the field winding, and "WL", and I don't know what that stands for.  Can anyone enlighten me on that?

I've been through all of my reference stuff; from Radco's book through my (indexed) copies of Classic Bike, Classic Motorcycle, Classic Mechanics, to my original Lucas books, which include "Running Instructions for the Lucas 1930 Dynamo Lighting Sets", and can find nothing which actually shows three terminals on a dynamo.  I cannot find the wiring diagram I wired the bike to, however, and that's a pain.

The internal wiring resistances are so low (although they are not to frame) that I can't deduce anything with confidence.  What I have doesn't work anyway, so is of questionable value.

So can someone in the group tell me what the "WL" terminal does?

thanks,

JFerg

Wetdog,

What is the engine number?  This should be stamped on the drive side, behind the flywheel.  It appears to be a WA6, Mk II, which would make it 1923 or later

My 500 Barr and Stroud is said to be a 1923 build.  The full history of it is known since it was delivered (here in Oz) in 1924, so there is a small measure of credibility to that.

My engine number is 231324.  It may be a happy coincidence that it begins with "23", but is it number 1324 of 1923 or number 2313 of 1924?  More engine numbers will help.

cheers,
JFerg

Lucas made a coil ignition system using a set of points on the extended shaft of an E3L generator.  These were used on a lot of thirties lightweights, Enfield, New Imp, Panther and others.

The condenser/capacitor is housed inside the bakelite end cover.  It's a paper-wound electolytic.

Does anyone know what value this capacitor is or should be?

Alternatively, what can I use as a replacement?

Thanks,

JFerg

This looks like a Smiths PA, or at least one of that family.  It's probably from an Austin 7.  These centrifugal speedometers were made in two styles, a rear drive which has a cranked bottle-shaped back to it making it 5" or so deep, and a parallel drive, where the drive enters the side of the casing parallel with the glass 1" below the glass.  The parallel drive ones went into petrol tanks where the drive cable ran through a tube in the tank down to a take-off on the gearbox.

If you locate a source for a an 80MPH dial face and a means to re-calibrate them, please let me know!

JFerg

What you have may not be worth much, but it is worth something and someone will be happy to pay you something for it.  It all depends a lot on exactly what it is, and what sort of condition it is in.  I would not be planning a retirement on the proceeds.

What is best to do with it depends a little on where you are geographically.  Try approaching your local Ducati owners club, or Classic Motorcycle Club if there is one.  Failing that, the easiest solution is eBay.  Advertise it with engine and frame numbers, plus decent photos and likely prospects will work out the rest for themselves.

cheers,

JFerg

Do you have a crankshaft speed ignition, ie; with the pick-up on the crankshaft, or a half-time ignition with the pick-up driven off one camshaft?

One gives a spark at every rise of the piston, the other only gives a spark at the top of teh compression stroke.

JFerg