Motorcycle General Discussion

[Nigel McBurney 1Participant @nigelmcburney1]

The things we done at home,like upsetting half a tin of linklyfe (wax chain Lubricant) over mothers stove,blocking the yard drains when washing mud off a trials bike,going to work on monday morning on my Greeves after a trial at the weekend,still in the same Barbour suit,there was always a clear space either side of my clothes hook at work!!,Villers crankcases in the oven to warm prior to fitting new bearings,mother was used to such goings on,father used to run up his model aero diesel engines in the coal hole cum workshop next to the kitchen on sunday mornings . When married my wife was not used to such things,but soon found out how things were mended,should could not understand how I could totally strip my trials Bultaco in the garage and have the gearbox from the escort in pieces at the same time, rough machined a new cast iron piston then normalised it in the oven,I did not expect new iron to smell as much as it did.One club member found that grass does not like Gunk when he washed his bike on parents lawn, in later years I know of two people who started stationary engines indoors,a Petter two stroke left an awful smell in the house,and the other one had oil from the flywheel rim up the plastered wall.Happy days.

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by Nigel McBurney 1 on 24/11/2016 14:19:22:

…Stationary engine started inside… had oil from the flywheel rim up the plastered wall.Happy days.

LOL, be hard to beat that one I reckon.

[steveteeParticipant @stevetee]

I reckon I can match that. Not long after I was married I was spraying the motorcycle frame (T100s) inside the flat, well it wasmore like a bed sit really, but it did have a seperate kitchen. I managed to get over spray on to the wedding cake, first one way in red primer and then from a different angle in black , the little icing rosettes providing a mask where the paint had gone all over the top of the cake. Oh dear , well we wont be cutting that up now and sending a bit to all the rellies any more will we? I think my Mrs cut the icing off and ate all the cake instead. Oops.

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Lovely video of 'bike building 100 years ago. Can't get the link to work so google

'Early Motorcycle Manufacture – The Rover Imperial (*silent movie)'

Jim

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Thanks for that, Jim

JasonB might see fit to embed it … but here's a link to be going on with

**LINK**

MichaelG.

Edited By JasonB on 25/11/2016 19:57:01

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Great historic old footage there. Got to love them getting the old Rovers sideways on the dirt sans helmets at the the end!

Interesting to watch the engine build. I guess gaskets and sealant were still a thing of the future in them days.

[Ian AbbottParticipant @ianabbott31222]

Y'know, things hadn't changed that much when I was riding a fifties Velo in 1963. Most motorcycle workshops were dingy places with oil and dirt caked wooden floors and benches. I like to think that my current workshop carries on the old traditions, 100 year old lathe, cluttered benches, opaque windows, spilled oil. Had to give up the bikes a couple of years ago though. Now it's only things I can lift with one hand, like copies of old guns – marginally safer than bikes…….

Ian

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I liked the bit where a smartly dressed boy in an Eton Collar steps in to fit the giant rubber band!

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Evel Knievel eat your heart oput…

[Alan Waddington 2Participant @alanwaddington2]

Did the lad building the engine fit a circlip to the gudgeon pin ?

i watched that bit 3 times, and if he did it wasn't half slick, maybe he was a conjuror in his spare time

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

Alan, engines of that period wereusually fitted with a gudgeon pin that was free floating and had Phosphor Bronze wear pads inserted in each end of the hollow pin.

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Or brass when I dismantled one such engine. As were the spindle bushes in the forks.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Alan Waddington 2 on 26/11/2016 18:56:02:

Did the lad building the engine fit a circlip to the gudgeon pin ?

i watched that bit 3 times, and if he did it wasn't half slick, maybe he was a conjuror in his spare time

Not particularly worried about tightening up the nuts on the timing chain gears either

Neil

[Ian AbbottParticipant @ianabbott31222]

Pulled a Vespa engine down one time and someone had used a piece of copper pipe for the little end bushing….

Ian

[Cyril BonnettParticipant @cyrilbonnett24790]

My brother inlaw who lived next door, was rebuilding the engine of his BSA A7 in his parents attic. One Saturday afternoon he appeared at our front door in pure panic, " come quick I've had an accident"

Up the stairs into the attic and 'cor blimey' he was cleaning parts of the engine in a plastic basin which had been half full of black oily petrol, had been because he had knocked it off the small bench/table emptying the contents onto the floor where it had quickly drained away.

While he was trying to wipe the floor I went back down the stairs and into the bedroom below, a glance at the ceiling and the every increasing black brown stain told me that I didn't want to be around when his parents returned. "Er Bob I'll nip back home and see if there are any rags to help mop it up.

Just as I got to the my front door who comes walking up the road! Bob's parents.

He never told me what they said but he eventually rebuild the bike, but nowhere near his parents house..

[Bill PudneyParticipant @billpudney37759]

My brother was boiling his Velo rear chain, in Linklyfe on the kitchen stove, whilst his wife was out. Working away in his shed, which overlooked the kitchen door, he forgot all about the chain, until he looked up and saw (in his words) "thick black smoke coming out of the door and spiraling up like a destroyer making smoke ". He was in the Navy. He ran into the kitchen, fortunately he had closed the hall door, but the Linklyfe was well alight. Using BBQ tongs he carried the can outside and covered it with a fire blanket. The kitchen was oily, sooty black from about four feet above floor level. His wife wasn't really impressed. Guess who won the prize to redecorate the kitchen shortly after??

cheers

Bill

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Any advice on touching up a 'bike frame so the new paint blends in with the original 50+ year old black stove enamel finish.

Jim

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I walked past this 'ToyShop', today **LINK**

https://www.classiccarshop.co.uk/home/cars/motorcycles

The 1916 Henderson was in the window

… Any guesses what it's priced at ?

MichaelG.

[Jeff DaymanParticipant @jeffdayman43397]

I'll guess 120,000 UK pounds.

Seen a few of those 4 cyl Hendersons, they run like sewing machines and have respectable power, even today. The brakes though…

Merry Christmas to all, JD

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

… Then perhaps it's a bargain, Jeff

The 'sticker price' is £59,950

It does look rather nice.

MichaelG.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Posted by Bill Pudney on 27/11/2016 01:21:08:

My brother was boiling his Velo rear chain, in Linklyfe on the kitchen stove, whilst his wife was out. Working away in his shed, which overlooked the kitchen door, he forgot all about the chain, until he looked up and saw (in his words) "thick black smoke coming out of the door and spiraling up like a destroyer making smoke ". He was in the Navy. He ran into the kitchen, fortunately he had closed the hall door, but the Linklyfe was well alight. Using BBQ tongs he carried the can outside and covered it with a fire blanket. The kitchen was oily, sooty black from about four feet above floor level. His wife wasn't really impressed. Guess who won the prize to redecorate the kitchen shortly after??

cheers

Bill

I bought a tin of linklyfe and on the way home it fell off my bike, apart from a bit of a ding it looked OK. I put it on mums gas cooker to melt, when it had melted it became apparent that the damage had made the seam leak and I had a pool of linklyfe forming on mums white enamel cooker top, she was not impressed. I always used a camping stove outside after that one.

Mike

[JimmieSParticipant @jimmies]

Mudguard manufacturing process

http://www.vintagesteel.com.au/

[Bob RodgersonParticipant @bobrodgerson97362]

BSA Girder Fork Restoration

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Posted by JimmieS on 27/12/2016 14:02:29:

Mudguard manufacturing process

http://www.vintagesteel.com.au/

Thanks for posting that. I have toyed with the idea of making a pair of alloy guards for a Norton cafe racer I'm building and it's interesting to find that the edge beading is done before the main rolling of the mudguard. After seeing the machinery and time needed, methinks just buying a set of ally guards is probably well worth the money! I don't fancy making a set of those steel rollers on a 3-1/2" lathe.

[Ian AbbottParticipant @ianabbott31222]

For a one off muguard job in alloy, I'd imagine hardwood rollers would be adequate. Many, many years ago when I was at engineering college, we made sheet steel ashtrays for the cafeteria using hardwood blocks and a 20 ton press and they stood up pretty well.

Ian

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