If there was an award for coolest bike up the hill, it would go to trustme's 76 bonnieflat track inspired beastie. .....C'mon Trustme....story and pics for us ..... Update: the simple swap belt drive conversion does not seem to be as simple as they say. .......oh......and racing next weekend......
I thought the meeting was a joke, otherwise I might have gone - I didn't know there were any hills in that area...
Pretty good day, the clutch dragged like hell, Triboy & I adjusted it several times but it would not disengage fully so it made getting underway somewhat tricky. The organisers were most helpful in allowing me to cruise up to the start line then bugger off without having to stop for long or queue up so I got a few runs in. Prior to the last run it cut out & would not restart, I think it is electrical but at 3.00pm I could not be arsed checking it out. I get the feeling that the clutch plates supplied with the conversion are thicker than standard. The adjuster screw/nut thingy actually rubs on the little inspection hole cover & the lock nut now is situated right at the end of the threaded adjuster rather than being further down as before. Another call to British Spares is imminent A bloody good day by the way , all sorts of bikes, no reason not to run a BFTP type bike there so some of you should try it out , good low key day you would probably get 8 runs in. Don't worry Volty you won't get away that easy, there will still be a pesky Englander snapping at the heels of Herman. I hope
Don't worry Volty you won't get away that easy, there will still be a pesky Englander snapping at the heels of Herman. I hope Verdammt Englander....
Ohhhhh , You've had a face lift , very fetching. Pics since you asked http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartshumandad/6933151556/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/bartshumandad/6933151444/
It's the Pushrod that does it
cool pics, looks like fun, many classics there? Are you suspecting the clutch plates are swelling with the heat? Does a dry clutch/belt setup need additional venting?
Bugger all classics, another 500 Trump & me, last year there were a few more, pretty much run what you like, an old Kawi 500 twin, Honda 125 race bike, Steve Bridge on his 900ss Primary is still oil , running it dry was too complicated. Brit Spares said shorten the clutch push rod by a few mills, heat, quench & retry, should fix the problem. Always those bloody push rods , where's Ixion when you need him.
I was going to ask what you did about the breather into the primary case....drain it after every run?
The drive side main has no seal , to vent the crankcase if a seal is fitted has to be done from the front of the crankcase which is a bit tricky, using the timing plug behind the cylinders for a breather results in oil going everywhere so says Michael the guru at Brit Spares. Shortening the push rod is not going to be my solution either, stripped the clutch & reassembled, adjusted & then with the lever pulled in I can spin the inner part by hand. The new clutch plates are thicker than the old ones so the whole assembly packs out closer to the drive cover hence the clearance issues . I'll think on it.
You need hollow cams to use the old system of the timed breather at the end of the inlet cam. The later system just used the chaincase as a pulse chamber, a good bit of volume....and the oil that spewed out of the engine went where it could do some good. Then the hose went out behind the rear wheel....the early system dumped the oil in front of the rear wheel, lucky we didn't have 70hp back then. You need to use a catch can for competition, so make use of it.
I've been reading up on why Commandos leak oil and a lot of it comes down to having two pistons rising and falling together. Popular fix a an XS reed valve from Mikes. Theory is that the falling pistons displace the crankcase air via the breather, it closes and the air stays out...and the oil stays in. On Commando's with thick clutch stacks they sometimes leave out the rear steel plate...
The Norties first plate has those little locator pins by the looks of the manual. First plate on the Trump is a friction plate. Anywho, put it back together & adjusted,lifted the back on a jack, put her in second, marked the bits on the outer cover that were getting worn with black felt tip & pushed into position, pulled in the clutch & spun the rear wheel, spins nice, can't feel anything with my hand holding the cover, felt tip marks are all intact. Buggered if I know, Will bolt the cover on and pull the plugs & spin again to check before riding . If I rode a Beemer I'd still know nothing but I would be able to get up in the morning & I'd have to wear a funny hat http://click.infospace.com/ClickHand...D088474780C975
and the oil that spewed out of the engine went where it could do some good. Usually, over ones left boot. You can't tell with clutches without the motor running. Preferably under load, but at least running in gear Jack it up. Put a blob of plasticine on the highest bit of clutch. Bolt up the cover. (motor not running ) take off the cover. See how much the plasticine is squashed. Now rig up a bit of wire pointing to where the squashed plasticine was, and start the engine in gear , rear brake on (best to make sure it's well jacked up). See if the clutch, when operated , fouls the bit of wire. Funny things Briddish clutches. Nothing quite works as you would expect it to. But that's all just part of their charm and character, noone would rather have a soulless boring Jappa that just works all the time. To really appreciate Briddish engineering you have to get your mind into the same sort of frame of reference as a Morris dancer (or a Morris Series E, much the same thing) . Not everyone can do it, it's a natural gift.
BTW, where the eff is Quine Road ?
