Recon Carbs

[Goldseeker]

Has anyone on here had experience of reconditioned carbs, Monoblocs in particular. My old mate down the road is getting close to needing a carb for his T110 rebuild. The original 376/40 is knackered and he wanted to replace it but they are £160 from Amal and he's, shall we say, a bit careful with money,  .

I have seen a guy in a fitted-out trailer selling parts and offering reconditioning at several autojumbles in the south of England but cant seem to find any reference to him on the web.

Any info, advice or recommendation etc would be much appreciated.

[MG]

Unless the slide has worn out the carb body, reconditioning a carb isn't a big thing. A proper clean, a Viton-tipped float needle, new gaskets and there you go.
OTOH, if the body is worn and a new slide will have excessive play, the carb body will have to be re-sleeved. I've never had that done, but I doubt it will be much cheaper than a new one alltogether. Others might know more/better.

Cheers, Markus

[iansoady]

Martyn Bratby has a good reputation (see here but I haven't used him myself. I believe he rebores and sleeves the body and slide.

[LJ.]

Yes that's the guy... Martyn Bratby and his partner/wife Tracy, they have a very good selection of stuff with them in the fitted out trailer. If your needing carb parts quickly then Hitchcocks are very good too, nice easy to use web page and probably the cheapest. http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/index.php I think I'd try the new slider first, I have head quite a while ago that a re-sleeve is about £80 it might be more now.

While on the subject of carbs... Has anyone got one of those special shaped rubber covers over the top of the 376 carb? I have one on the Red A10 but not on the Blue A10... I'm wondering if it is contributing towards keeping out air leaks? What are they actually intended for??

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Theres a chap who advertises Amals and parts on Ebay, his handle is B561
He makes oversize slides for type 6, 276 etc I'm not sure about monoblocs though??
He is a brilliant guy to deal with and has reconditioned a couple of early carbs for me, making new  oversize slides
needles and needle jets etc
Just a recommendation from a happy customer

HTH
JOhn O R

[Goldseeker]

Thanks for replies. Martyn Bratby's name is also mentioned in Google searches so will pass this on to my friend.

[dpaddock]

Fit a good air filter and minimize the slide/throttle body wear. Slides are cheaper than bodies.

David

[BSA_54A10]

You need to have a little chat with your friend.
his bike is 60 + years old.
His carb is 60 + years old
If the new one lasts only 1/2 that time then it equates to 160 / 30 = £ 5.33/ year
If he rides the bike once a month then he is looking at a cost of 45p a ride which is less than a cup of bad coffee.

[Sidcar]

Hi,
I had the carb off my BSA Sloper re-sleeved and it made the world of difference to the running (and starting). I had mine done by Chris Williams, Autocycle, Netherton, Nr Dudley. Nothing against Martin Bratby but at the time Martin was quoting a six week turn around and Chris did mine in six days, cost was about £40. The problem with just fitting an oversize slide is the carb will be worn far more at the bottom compared to the top. Having said all that I think a new carb is good value and the bike should run even better.
Hope this is of some help.

Sid

[trevinoz]

I have had 3 reconditioned by having the body bored and the slides sleeved with a high quality steel.
They all run well at a fraction of the cost of a new carby.
At the time that I had them done new monoblocs were not available anyway.

  Trev.

[Goldseeker]

You need to have a little chat with your friend.
his bike is 60 + years old.
His carb is 60 + years old
If the new one lasts only 1/2 that time then it equates to 160 / 30 = £ 5.33/ year
If he rides the bike once a month then he is looking at a cost of 45p a ride which is less than a cup of bad coffee.

Try telling that to a tight idiot! 

[BSA_54A10]

I do quite regularly. Mostly to club members complaining about the high price of new spares or the non availability of reconditioned parts.
Nine out of ten see the light the others sell their Beesa & buy a Harley for $ 40,000, ride it twice a month & end up paying $ 200 / ride in registration & insurance for a couple of years then sell it for $15,000 because it is costing too much.

[Goldseeker]

Nine out of ten see the light the others sell their Beesa & buy a Harley for $ 40,000, ride it twice a month & end up paying $ 200 / ride in registration & insurance for a couple of years then sell it for $15,000 because it is costing too much.

Thank goodness I'm not one of them  . I bought my Harley 10 years ago for £11k and reckon I would still get at least half my money back now.