Resurrections & modifications

[olev]

Firstly,has anyone built a roller indexing plunger like the one on beezabills site.
http://www.geocities.com/beezabill/othermodspart1.htm
Is it worth the effort?
Secondly, the cam plate in my plunger gearbox is heavily scored where the index plunger has burrowed in.
Can I just grind the scoring out or should I fill the grooves with weld and grind it to the original contour.
The control groove in the camplate is also chewed out in a couple of spots. Do I need to fill and grind this too?
I would prefer to buy a new one but plunger cam plates are like rocking horse manure.
The second hand one I got was worse than my original.
The 'swinging arm' camplates are available and seem similar except the gear change selector thingy on the bottom of the camplate is different. Can I press out the centre of a 'swing arm' type plate and replace it with a plunger centre? or even fit the later gear change selector mechanism.
Thirdly, the cam followers which came with the replacement barrels have a slight ridge on the faces.
I am replacing the camshaft. Do I just grind the ridge off the followers or is there a trick here??
villiers don't suffer from this.
and fourthly, if anyone knows of any modifications or improvements that can be made to a plunger gearbox, please let me know.

[orabanda]

I have bought a couple of the roller detents from Beeza Bill when he was making them; they resulted in a slicker gearshift!

Modak Motorcycles in Melbourne have helped me in the past with camplates; email David Beanham at:
  modak@hotkey.net.au


Re Beeza Bill; turn the sound up and check out the music that pours out of his A65 as he charges down the Eyre Highway; beautiful!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-YyJcSnhM

Richard

[RichardL]

Richard,

Speaking of music, I take it from your posting photo that you have had a long and prosperous career playing country and Hawaiin music on the steel guitar.

Richard L.

[MikeN]

Olev, Regarding your 4th request asking for mods to gearbox. One of the mods Ive done on my Swinging arm gearbox (im sure you could do it to a plunger box) is to convert the lay-shaft to run on torrington needle roller bearings.
 Unfortunately I omitted to record what sizes I used . I cant say if it is an improvement, but I like to think it must help to reduce friction and aid efficiency (and I enjoyed doing it).
  I can tell you that I did not use the inner races of the bearings but the rollers run directly onto the journal of the (new) layshaft. I fitted p/bz thrust washers to set the end float to about 5 thou.
  Also,I recommend the old one of fitting a sealed bearing to replace the gearbox main(4th gear ) bearing .You need a bearing to the same dimensions but with the suffix RS (rubber seal) or a 2RS will do(2 rubber seals) but you then have to dig out the seal on the oil,side of the gearbox with a screwdriver.Fit as normal.Push in some grease all around and fit the oil seal (do plunger gearboxes have oil seals?)as normal.You now have a gearbox with double oil seals
  Incidently Ive also fitted needle rollers to my camshaft and idler wheel .I built this bike up 2 years ago but I have only covered 6000 miles so far.But its all going well so far .
  Mike

[trevinoz]

Hi Olev, I had my cam followers reground to the same radius and had them heat treated. You could possibly have them Stellite tipped and ground.
The cam plates in Plunger boxes being badly worn seems to be a common problem, I have a few here the same as yours.
Trev.

[BSA_54A10]

And if you want the ultimate in gear changing get the dogs undercut .
They cut them back ( like a dovetail ) so that the actual gears lock into position.
Worth its weight in gold.

[olev]

and fifthly, when BSA made my gearbox they forgot to but the bush in the outer cover for the clutch operating lever. Its worn a huge sloppy hole there. I guess they didn't realise that antipodeans don't know what a grease nipple is. I'm sure there's a fix for this sterling piece of pommy engineering.
Can I sleeve it with a bush or should I start looking for a new cover.
cheers

[Brian]

Olev, you can bush the case, I have done several. You need a lathe and reamers but its not too difficult if you have the stuff. Another problem that can arise is the shaft is worn. Its easiest if you have a reasonable shaft but once again they can be repaired. The shaft actually fits into the lever section on a very fine spline. You have to file the top of the dome off and then you can get the shaft out, machine it down and then re-braze the shaft back in and get it rechromed. You can only take a few thou off the shaft though because the splines are almost the same diameter as the shaft. A lot of stuffing around but it can all be done if necessary. Some of the outer casings have a grease nipple, I'm not sure just when they put a nipple in, should have been right from the start.

Anythings possible if you are keen enough or have no options.

[trevinoz]

It seems to have been 1953 when they put in a grease nipple. Probably doesn't help much as all my covers, with and without nipples, were sloppy. I bronze bushed them and reamed to size and are good enough.
  Trev.

[olev]

BSA_54A10,
Do you have a photo of the undercut dogs you mention.
I really feel uncomfortable about hoeing into the gearbox with my trusty angle grinder without a bit more information.
Beeza Bill sent me detailed instructions on how to make a roller detent plunger and I'm in the process of building one.
cheers

[BSA_54A10]

Not without pulling the gearbox out and apart.
It is a job for a precision grinder, not an angle grinder

[coater87]

 Hi,

 If you ever do get round to pulling it all apart, could you post a couple of pics? I have some machine tools, they are on the small side, but I think this is something they could handle!

 Would have loved to do my own engine, but my stuff is way too small. But I have been thinking about giving winding my own magneto a shot. It does not work now, is in many pieces and I don't believe anything I do can make matters worse. Worse that happens is I find I cannot do the job!

 Lee