The Long Ride, 2400 miles on a '52 A10

[gold33]

I have return with a huge smile,
2400 miles in 8 days on my '52 A10. Cruised happily between 55 and 70MPH but was a little uncomfortable at 45-50MPH, in fact it vibrated so much I couldn't find a comfortable spot on the seat for couple of days after doing 45 for 3 hours while sitting behind a '51 Panther outfit
The A10 made a fantastic mount for what was a very long way even for a few modern machines. 2 Harleys and a Suzuki M109 were seen on trailers during the trip and 5 others didn't make the distance.
The A10 dynamo failed on the first day... right hand fork seal lasted to the 2nd day then nothing until the last full day. After a fabulous run through the Grampians and then the Great Ocean Rd I noticed a new sound, just an occasional light tinny arching sound but no other symptoms other than the need for 2-5 kicks to start instead of one.
The run to the first stop on the last full day was uneventful until, 20km short of the start of the final leg through the Snowy Mountains I came to a halt
After a painful 20km at 30-35MPH I made it to the nearest town with an additional problem, the clutch wouldn't disengage.
I discovered the 2 screws holding the end of the magneto in place had vibrated out but were still in the casing, tightened with lock tight and problem one was solved. The clutch issue turned out to be the actuating rod... or lack there of, seems the rod wasn't hardened and is now too short to do anything.

The final run was brilliant, the bike was flying, 60-65MPH through most of the ranges to Canberra and then 70-75MPH to Sydney... Then it happened again! coasted to a halt, After checking the spark (none) I pulled the end off the magneto and gave the kick start a push (plugs out) and found the points unmoved for my efforts, I pulled the timing cover off and found the fibre gear had no teeth. A huge thank you to Musky, I fitted his spare and got her running again but in the end decided to have the bike carried home, riding through Sydney with no clutch seemed like a suicide mission.

In conclusion, the only failure of a component that I had rebuilt was the magneto. The rest were failures of things I hadn't got to yet.
So, will an old bike do a big trip? yep, would I do it again... I am! in 2013 I will head off on the ride to Cooktown, this time we will arrive with both of us on our own wheels

A huge thank you to eveyone on here that helped with their advice and an even bigger one to Musky, without whom we wouldn't have had such a fantastic trip.

A link to my photos of the trip for those that are interested
http://www.freewebs.com/longride2010/apps/photos/album?albumid=12598358

[LJ.]

Thats absolutely fantastic! thanks for sharing that with us, interesting to hear of the problems that crop up, the fun and satisfying part is doing roadside fixes... you let us down with your clutch though as a small hack saw and ball bearing or something would have given a good temporary fix to get you home. Just sawing the push rod in half and inserting ball would have worked fine. 

[Beezageezauk]

I agree with LJ....fantastic.

It's great to see an old bike used like this.  You must be really proud of both yourself and the bike.

Beezageezauk.

[t20racerman]

Wow - sounds great. Shame about the odd 'mishap' but that isn't too bad for a 50+ year old bike is it?

I'd love to do something like that on my A10 but not sure if I'm brave enough! 

[gold33]

LJ, it was more fun helping with the Panther! Once it was my turn I was on my own...
Unfortunately nobody suggested carrying ball bearings or a hacksaw and the good folk in the beer garden at the Cann River Hotel didn't have any either.

The ride proved to me that all of these machines are still capable of being riden regularly with no greater fear of failure than a new machine.
Apart from crashes (2 caused by severe weather in Tas' , 3 amongst the offroad fanatics and 1 Kangaroo hit at 140kph according to the reports) there were 2 Harleys and a Suzuki that broke down more often than the two machines that were both nearly 60yrs old and they couldn't be fixed on the side of the road (trucked to camp and repaired overnight).
The offers of assistance and encouragement from locals along the route for the 2 older machines was fantastic, we had people from many different generations and backgrounds coming up to us along the way.

[mike667]

sounds fantastic!

[duTch]

Cooktown hey?? that's only 2.2ishk up the road + same back ?? Hmmm.? me's tinkin'...........when??

[Triton Thrasher]

Great, these old bikes, aren't they!


Now you know how to prep it for more reliability, with regard to clutch rod and all that.  Fix each problem so it doesn't happen again.

Sad to say, Tufnol pinions are not dependable.

[*nick*]

well done Darren, gorgeous bike too!

[saltbox Alf]

Well done for an inspiring trek, just goes to show what can be done. much better to see the bike on the road, than hiding in a comfy shed!!

[gold33]

Dutch,
The next ride is from the 4th to the 12th of May 2013. I will be joining the run on the Flash, have to finish on my own wheels.

I would love to find an alternative to the fibre (Tufnol) gear, any suggestions? 3500 miles sound a little on the light side for the life expectancy of this gear!
Do they deteriorate with age as well as wear?

Unfortunately the Flash is in the shed until I can get my auto advance rivited to my new fibre gear... missing her at the moment!

[trevinoz]

Darren,
            you should be able to source an alloy gear, I have seen them in steel but were probably home made or a "foreign order".
Where do you get the 3500 miles figure? I have never stripped one [yet]. Surely a new Tufnol gear will outlast the owner, going on the age of some of mine.
                                   Trev.

[gold33]

Where do you get the 3500 miles figure?
That's the approximate distance covered since Peter Scott rebuilt the magneto including (I thought) a new fibre gear.

Are there any arcing or current loss issues with using alloy?

[trevinoz]

Should be no problems with arcing etc. as the bearings should be insulated.
If the Tufnol gear was a new one, I would be giving Mr. Scott a bit of a serve for using rubbish.
Have a look at the remaining teeth. You should get a bit of an idea whether it was a new gear by the amount of wear.
Remember our early Holdens used Tufnol timing gears on the camshaft and they lasted forever. [Or until you valve bounced the engine severely!]
  Trev.

[muskrat]

 Ah, that's why both my HQ's let go.
 That one I loaned you is the original off the '51. I went lectric in '99.
Cheers