What have you done with your bike/s today?

[Greybeard]

Hey Greybeard,

Looking at that picture of the handsome devil on his Trailblazer in the photo's section I bet you are right.

I was married to my current wife when that picture was taken. We've been together now for 52 years.

[Worty]

Hey Wortluck,

If you fix the speedo cable leak how are you gonna know if you have any oil in the gearbox?.

Aye, part of my pre-ride prep is to equate the amount of oil on the floor with the respective oil capacities.   I actually check the levels before every ride (not usually the forks unless they start to leak badly).  Oil tank is obvious, gearbox cover off with torch, and a long screwdriver down the primary cover to act as a dipstick.  If all are good, I know I can cover at least a few hundred miles without rechecking - I think.

[RDfella]

Pushrod breaking 1/4" from the end?  Heat treat malfunction alert.

Thought the same. Usual replacement is to use a bit of silver steel and harden the ends when replacing these rods, but that material is only carbon steel and can get very brittle when hardened - especially when done with rough 'n ready flame. Might try some mild steel with stellite.

[muskrat]

G'day Fellas.
Last night I threw the barrels on. Having the long through studs makes the job easier. I just use two diagonally and with a bit of nylon cutting board under the pistons, the barrels slide down the studs nice and square. Lessons the risk of breaking a ring.
Cheers 

[Worty]

Bike cleaned and prepped for next ride.    Does anyone know what I can do with the breather which, I believe, is a bit overactive?  Is there a thread inside the breather hole?  Is it possible to shove a small pipe up there and direct the oil away from the chain and, eventually, rear wheel?  I'm sure that the puddles under the primary side are due to the breather, and the puddle on the timing side is probably the oil tank feed and return unions.

[muskrat]

G'day worty.
On my plunger I have a piece of hose jammed up there (no thread) and exits under the l/s behind the c/stand.
Cheers

[Worty]

Cheers Musky, going out to the garage to do the same right now!

[berger]

i tapped mine out and put a brass piece in for a tube to fit

[berger]

i think it is well worth cleaning out the breather holes  [ i bet these get forgotten on rebuilds ] with those long round brushes, the amount of crud i got out of mine across the crankcases was quite surprising and it must have been restricting the breathers working capabilities . just a thought for those whose bikes are peeing oil out.   talking of peeing i think it's getting near to slurp slurp time

[groily]

May you not slurp in moderation, Bergs, when with just a little bit of effort (and enough vouchers) you can do it to excess! And may tomorrow exist for you, blurry or otherwise.

[CheeserBeezer]

Just come in from the garage and have been working out the wiring on the RGS. Anybody got a wiring diagram for the RGS with plug and socket under the headlight? I can work my own out but would like to know what the original spec was....?

[Worty]

Went to the garage to put a pipe on the breather to direct it away from the chain and back wheel.   Finished job and decided to kick her up.  Spat back at me a few times then started.   Switched it off and made some adjustments, then tried restarting - no joy .  Checked fuel, ok, checked plugs - no sparks .  Checked points and, as I turned the rear wheel in gear, realised that the maggie wasn't turning (YES, I too thought, 'oh shit').  Timing cover off and, yes .............................. ATD had disintegrated, taken ally shavings off the casing, and had jammed absolutely solid.   Took hammer out with flat ended punch to free the jammed parts of the ATD, eventually getting it off.  Turns out that one of the pins on the counterweight (the one where the little lever pivots on) had come out completely and it all flew apart.  SO, I'm not on the road for a while after all.

Questions???

1.  Will any of the debris that I can't find make its way to the sump gauze?
2.  The maggie still turns ok, but is it likely any damage would have been done to it?  Hope not as it came from Andrew at Priory Maggies very recently and has been working perfectly.
3.  If Andrew is reading this, could you advise whether you have any rebuilt ATDs for sale, mine is irreparable.
4.  Any other advice would be gratefully received.
5.  If anyone has any beer, strong drink and/or tablets, please PM me asap.

See piccies and weep for me!

[RDfella]

This sort of thing is depressing, but we have to reflect on the age of the part involved and how many hours it has provided service ....
The mag should be fine (Talking of Andrew, been trying to contact him for a week or more - see he posts here regularly but doesn't answer pm's or emails ). ATD's are available at times on ebay for not too much money, but check the range of advance when you buy. Apparently the Triumph units have greater range, which I'd recommend (provided the fibre gear suits BSA).

[Worty]

Thanks guys.  Irritatingly, this was a unit I'd rebuilt but the bit that failed was something I didn't expect.  All the rivets are solid, and it had a new gear.  Pinion does look ok, stunned it didn't cause more damage than it did.  It was odd that, after spitting at me a couple of times, the bike started and ticked over fine, but when I tried again absolutely nothing.  This was the second replacement, the last one failed because the guy (engineer) who rebuilt it didn't do the rivets properly and it rattled about as they came loose.  Ended up wrecking pretty much everything, but did keep going until I found it by chance.

I think Andrew does completely reconditioned units at £120, so I'm debating whether to buy one and be on the safe side.

RD, I like the sound of the Triumph unit, do you know the part number?

Last thing for now, I want to address the knocking I get occasionally.  Should I stick to 11/32?

[muskrat]

G'day worty.
BUGGA BUGGA BUGGA.