Horror stories

[twolitre]

  Stripping my 1957 Triumph 5T, which has resided all its life in the middle/far east I have found some wierd and frightening repairs as well as some ingenious solutions to (presumably) get round spares problems.
  This started me wondering what scare stories others could tell.
  To list just a few of the things I have found:-

All spokes in the rear wheel have been cut in the middle and WELDED up!

A lot of front wheel spokes which terminate invisibly in the brake drum of the hub have no nipples, but are BENT at right angles to retain them!

The correct rear chain had a short length of wider chain of different pitch and larger rollers crudely riveted in, with washers between the links to make up the width where they join.  Needless to say, the sprockets have teeth like porcupine quills.

The rear brake pedal lever seems to be made up from two unrelated parts welded where the leverage is greatest.

ANYONE FANCY A RIDE??

[Grizzly]

Not really a horror story but ever so slightly amusing.

In 1996 I bought my first British bike a 1957 BSA B31in slightly scruffy condition. It was taxed and tested but the guy I bought it off did say he thought it might need re-ringing.

Anyway next day a friend on his late fathers Norton Atlas and I set off for a ride with me leading. We stopped about 25 miles away at a pub we frequent.

When we got off the bikes my mate and the front of his Atlas were covered in tiny droplets of oil. Well pleased he was.  I explained to him that the seller did say it might need re-ringing. I also said he should be gratefull for the free watrproofing of his leather jacket.

The B31 was on a +60 rebore which seemed to be ok however there was a crack in the gudgen pin center. A new barel and +30 piston were fitted and no more oil proplems.

Cheers

Grizzly

[henry_norton]

B'jezus!!! nothing that bad but when the chain tensioner wore out on my old XS650 (my first big bike), the previous owner had 'rebuilt' it using bent washers and Araldite. The cam chain was so loose that the first time I changed the oil it looked like brown metalflake.  

[royal oilfield]

I once had a T110 that had the crankshaft sprocket welded on