21
Identify these bikes! / Re: Precision Big4 frame ?
« Last post by cardan on August 20, 2026, 11:59:09 PM »This is what rusty ones look like - in the same place.
Leon
Leon
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22
British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« Last post by chaterlea25 on August 20, 2026, 11:52:36 PM »Hi,
Looking at the photos of the clutch centre hub it can be seen that the splines have been ground away, this is why the clutch is getting so close to the final drive chain!
It may have been a bodge to get the primary chain lined up to the engine ??
John
Looking at the photos of the clutch centre hub it can be seen that the splines have been ground away, this is why the clutch is getting so close to the final drive chain!
It may have been a bodge to get the primary chain lined up to the engine ??
John
23
Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by cardan on August 20, 2026, 11:45:14 PM »Right side of seat lug. Or somewhere else. Or none at all! Some of the numbers are quite lightly stamped. https://classicmotorcycleforum.com/index.php?topic=6473.msg33253#msg33253
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Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by R on August 20, 2026, 10:25:53 PM »I've shown this Waratah here before. It came from the original owner.
He said he bought it from P&R Williams with his army demob pay,
and rode it out home. At 30 mph-ish, it took nearly 2 days.
And a few petrol coupons.
Healing frame is out in the sunlight - where is this number
Might need some sandpaper.
He said he bought it from P&R Williams with his army demob pay,
and rode it out home. At 30 mph-ish, it took nearly 2 days.
And a few petrol coupons.
Healing frame is out in the sunlight - where is this number
Might need some sandpaper.
25
British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« Last post by Rockburner on August 20, 2026, 09:59:21 PM »I took it out for a spin this evening, and it's running fine, apart from the fact that the damned clutch is slipping at anything over 50mph.
I suspect it's just not setup correctly so will have a play this evening and fingers crossed it'll be good for the weekend.
In good news, it's nigh on oil tight now, apart from that one cover i haven't tried to seal, the timing chain cover.
Incidentally, if anyone is at a loose end and is near the South Coast on Saturday, there's a classic vehicles meet in Selsey, just a suggestion.
.... Later...
So, I think the clutch was indeed badly setup - there was zero play in the lever in the gearbox when I looked this evening. So I've pulled it apart again, because I was kinda pondering if the plates were badly worn...
however... according to the details I've found: the friction plates should be 0.138" thick, the plain plates 0.080" and the single-sider on the outside (which the pressure plate pushes against) should be 0.110".
I measured them all:
The plates I have are :
Plain plates: 0.080", 0.082", 0.080", 0.082", so they're fine.
The single-sider is 0.111", so it's fine
and the Friction plates are : 0.171", 0.158", 0.172", 0.170" So, err they're all too thick.
Which makes no sense. (to me at least). By all rights the thing should be dragging like crazy, not slipping! :wtf:
I also checked them for flatness on the flatest thing I've got
One or two had a "little" bit of rocking movement. I'll look into how much new plates are and think about it.
SO I did the only thing I can do for tonight....
I buttoned it all up again, and reset it again, trying to follow the manual's instructions as best I could
I think clutch setup is a bit of a black art to be honest....
Oh, and it looks like I was being a bit presumptious about the oil tightness....
[/url]
Hey ho, it's better than it was!
I suspect it's just not setup correctly so will have a play this evening and fingers crossed it'll be good for the weekend.
In good news, it's nigh on oil tight now, apart from that one cover i haven't tried to seal, the timing chain cover.
Incidentally, if anyone is at a loose end and is near the South Coast on Saturday, there's a classic vehicles meet in Selsey, just a suggestion.
.... Later...
So, I think the clutch was indeed badly setup - there was zero play in the lever in the gearbox when I looked this evening. So I've pulled it apart again, because I was kinda pondering if the plates were badly worn...
however... according to the details I've found: the friction plates should be 0.138" thick, the plain plates 0.080" and the single-sider on the outside (which the pressure plate pushes against) should be 0.110".
I measured them all:
The plates I have are :
Plain plates: 0.080", 0.082", 0.080", 0.082", so they're fine.
The single-sider is 0.111", so it's fine
and the Friction plates are : 0.171", 0.158", 0.172", 0.170" So, err they're all too thick.
Which makes no sense. (to me at least). By all rights the thing should be dragging like crazy, not slipping! :wtf:
I also checked them for flatness on the flatest thing I've got
One or two had a "little" bit of rocking movement. I'll look into how much new plates are and think about it.
SO I did the only thing I can do for tonight....
I buttoned it all up again, and reset it again, trying to follow the manual's instructions as best I could
I think clutch setup is a bit of a black art to be honest....
Oh, and it looks like I was being a bit presumptious about the oil tightness....
[/url]Hey ho, it's better than it was!
26
Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by cardan on August 18, 2026, 11:43:19 PM »I'm going with "cheap and cheerful". Actually these things only look really cheap 60 years later when the fork spindles have rusted solid in place, and the nose of the saddle and the handlebar levers have 1/4" free play.
So come on R, time to give your little Waratah a wipe over with an oily rag and a light reconditioning. If the original finish shows unambiguously that it was a Waratah from birth I think it's worth leaving it rather than repaint, so just the mechanicals? But not before you dig down to the Healing frame in the shed and get that frame number for me!
Leon
So come on R, time to give your little Waratah a wipe over with an oily rag and a light reconditioning. If the original finish shows unambiguously that it was a Waratah from birth I think it's worth leaving it rather than repaint, so just the mechanicals? But not before you dig down to the Healing frame in the shed and get that frame number for me!
Leon
27
British Bikes / Re: Troubleshooting a JAP Special
« Last post by Rockburner on August 18, 2026, 09:19:04 PM »Not much to report today.
Refitted the timing chain cover and the pumps, after cleaning out the oil feed tube with some very handy little brushes I have.
Currently waiting for this nut to turn up.
And refitted the primary chain cover
Obviously all that took me about 2 hours of faffing about and dithering, as per usual
I reckon that, in a pinch, I now probably could strip and rebuild the engine over night.... if I had to.... but it's not something I'm going to try.
Fingers crossed that nut will turn up tomorrow and I can get out for a spin and see how it's behaving after the clutch rebuild. I'm fully aware that it's down on power and compression, but I want to actually ride the thing a bit more before stripping it down again, hey - it'll keep me busy over winter again.
Refitted the timing chain cover and the pumps, after cleaning out the oil feed tube with some very handy little brushes I have.
Currently waiting for this nut to turn up.
And refitted the primary chain cover
Obviously all that took me about 2 hours of faffing about and dithering, as per usual
I reckon that, in a pinch, I now probably could strip and rebuild the engine over night.... if I had to.... but it's not something I'm going to try.
Fingers crossed that nut will turn up tomorrow and I can get out for a spin and see how it's behaving after the clutch rebuild. I'm fully aware that it's down on power and compression, but I want to actually ride the thing a bit more before stripping it down again, hey - it'll keep me busy over winter again.
28
Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by Rex on August 17, 2026, 12:59:41 PM »Their whole world seemed to revolve around their race to the bottom of cheap and nasty. Price seemed to be the sole criteria for the majority.
"Race to the bottom" is 2020's concept. Theirs was more likely to be "a penny saved is a penny earned" which given the financial hardship of the time, made perfect sense. Profit margins were low to non-existent on bikes made purely for commuting, so every little cheese-paring helped with the bottom line.
You want grease nipples? Buy a Brough, McAvoy, Coventry-Eagle etc etc.
29
Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by R on August 17, 2026, 12:14:58 AM »Well saved - thankyou.
This is the PowerHouse Museums postwar example, for comparison.
About identical to mine - except my (original) tank has a much finer gold pinstripe.
(as I suspect that 1939 should have ?)
Edit. Hmmm, how do I make the pic appear smaller - no auto resizing here ?
This is the PowerHouse Museums postwar example, for comparison.
About identical to mine - except my (original) tank has a much finer gold pinstripe.
(as I suspect that 1939 should have ?)
Edit. Hmmm, how do I make the pic appear smaller - no auto resizing here ?
30
Identify these bikes! / Re: L'il Villiers
« Last post by cardan on August 16, 2026, 11:51:27 PM »Fingers crossed that the buyer has the combination of expertise, parts and information to restore the bike. The comment about the frame number is a good one, as the old bike movement seems to have drifted into an era of "dating by blatant assertion". Even "identification by blatant assertion" is applicable for Waratahs given the Excelsior origins! At least this one comes with the provenance of an original (or at least very old) tank transfer, and enough remaining original parts with numbers to make an decent guess at the date.
Anyway, here's a "1939 Waratah" from Old Bike Australia a few years back. Or it might be a 1945 Waratah, or maybe a 1941 Excelsior, or....
Cheers
Leon
Anyway, here's a "1939 Waratah" from Old Bike Australia a few years back. Or it might be a 1945 Waratah, or maybe a 1941 Excelsior, or....
Cheers
Leon