K1 engine

[Greybeard]

Who asked about oil to the crank?

[Swarfcut]

 GB   It was me. Now I know. Was Steve McF's design an inspired lightbulb moment, coincidence or beating them at their own game? Looks like the earlier version had the same plain bearings for big ends, maybe also with an end fed crank?

 Swarfy.

   

[Mick56]

A few more photos if you are interested. Mine has twin 28mm Mikunis and dual point distributor (std). Mileage is 24000 approx. Built 1971 for the 1972 model year, so a fair bit later than an A10, so the engineers had plenty of time to improve and tweak it from original.  I am no expert but it looks pretty substantial to me internally and has great oil return when at idle (1000rpm) .Replaced main bearings while it was apart and one of the originals was noisy and rough. New pistons are first oversize @ .25mm. (original pistons were still in it)
Just a note on the gearbox as well, they did change the shift pattern to the 1 down 3 up normal style at some stage after the test report posted earlier and also made other modifications to make it shift better.
All in all,certainly  not a BSA, but still a good bike IMHO.
Sorry posted the head shot twice, oh well

[Greybeard]

Thank you for the pictures; I've wondered what those engines were like.
Are the cases sand castings?

[Rex]

Over the years there's been a lot posted about these Kawasaki/Meguro's but much of it seems contradictory. Some say they were licenced by BSA and others say it was a reverse-engineered copy, while others still say it was a loose copy based on similar engine architecture styled to appeal to Western tastes.
Parts interchange according to some while others state that nothing whatsoever does.
Does any have a definitive answer?

[muskrat]

G'day Rex.
Many years ago while building my A7SS racer I picked up a head thinling it was a BSA twin port. A friend much more knowledgeable said it was a Kumandsuckme head and wouldn't fit. Don't know of any other bits that will.
Cheers

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
Reading through this topic and the description of how the oil is fed to the crank and sealed while doing so
I got a bit puzzled when I zoomed in the the timing side photo and saw what looks like a circlip fitted on the crank sprocket ? Then I thought is this a type of labyrinth seal ?
Or am I missing something?

John

[JulianS]

I think it is the "piston ring" refered to under the picture on the second page of the road test.

[RDfella]

Yes, cast iron piston-ring-like seal. Often used in hydraulic gearboxes.