nuts

[berger]

yes i know i am!!,  but one thing has always bothered me when fitting the rocker box and doing up the two sleeved nuts at the back, i have always done these with short movements of an open end 1/4 whit spanner and it's a pain as well as time consuming, how do you people do yours and how did bsa do them? given that the head fins are shaped for clearance for something . this only concerns alloy heads. i am thinking of a short bar welded to an old box spanner and the box spanner cut down to assist in this job. in the cylinder head picture you can see where i have bruised a fin over the years of using an open ender, even a ground down open ender still makes this job a pita.------ please don't anyone say socket........  *bash*and if you do send me yours i can't wait to use it

[muskrat]

G'day Bergs.
I ground down the "ring" of a ring spanner to about half thickness.
I have a few modified spanners for their own purpose.
Cheers

[berger]

musky yes that would help, i have many ground down just for one purpose spanners but what did bsa do, answers on a crate of Guinness sent to me please even a ground down ringer has limited travel.

[limeyrob]

I'll bet they had a very slim spanner and a small child*.  Any pics that may explain in the "tools" bit of the manual or parts list?
(Even I know this answer does not qualify for a case of Guinness, how about a can?)
*Birmingham has a long history of child labour......

[BSA_54A10]

If it is a rider then I do what Jpanese bikes do, cut the fins so a thin walled deep socket can get in .
Except in the Nulabour Plains the bikes are all over cooled in the first place

[Triton Thrasher]

it's a pain as well as time consuming

The man that made time, made plenty of it.

[limeyrob]

Perhaps he had in mind getting the push rods lined up or the timing gear on exactly where you intended it to be?

[coater87]

  I got roped into working on a early Honda motorcycle a while back and had a moment of clarity.

 There is good reason they are still around, and everyone else is gone or circling the toilet bowl.

 While Stewart might have drank too much and showed up to work late most times, Harley Davidson could not fire him. He was the only man alive that could get Panhead Pans to seal without stripping the bolts.

 Meanwhile,  anyone at Honda could replace anyone on the line, because parts fit perfectly and did not require a special feel to make them work. They also required less than 6 ft. Pounds of torque to seal.

 Dont get me wrong, my BSA is my pride and joy, one of the best looking bikes ever built. But no Metric bike builder would have ever run with a rocker box set up like this  mechanical abomination. 

Lee

[Rex]

On the other hand, BSA didn't make bikes where the camshafts wore out in 500 miles, or the cam rode  directly in the head and soon wore, or where the frame welds look like they were done by the newest apprentice, or it needed a whole morning to replace the front brake pads, etc etc.
Never been an all-round perfect bike made yet.

[a10rgs]

Not sure but  maybe a Stahlwille 240 FastRatch will do, but not cheap!

Uwe
 

[Swarfcut]

 Bergs... Parts list for Alloy Head variants shows an extended nut (similar to steering head pinch bolt), Part no 67-118. The cutaways in the fins look just right to clear the head of the hex and position it between the fins so you can get an open end spanner in. Worth a try.

 Swarfy.

[berger]

Swarfy these nuts are ok to undo or tighten if the carb isn't on or a mag with manual cable connected or how i have piped up the oil lines , so it's just me who's made it awkward for myself with everything else around these areas. but even with no clutter and an open ender they are still a pain

[bikerboy]

 Meanwhile,  anyone at Honda could replace anyone on the line, because parts fit perfectly and did not require a special feel to make them work. They also required less than 6 ft. Pounds of torque to seal.
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With the oil held in the sump they dont need it rushing around at 90 psi so they dont need to torque it up like crazy

In answer to the first question the ring spanner of my combination spanners fits in a treat for those rear rocker box bolts. I find the two front ones a far bigger P.I.T.A. even with a bit of grease its as awkward as can be to get the nuts started when the engine is in the frame. Its even worse on my plunger with an alloy head where the rocker steadies go under those nuts as well.

[muskrat]

Its even worse on my plunger with an alloy head where the rocker steadies go under those nuts as well.

I have the same on my 51 A7. I put the nut on a magnetic steel strip to offer up the nut to stud and use an open end spanner to start then my modified ring spanner. Put the head steady pipes over the studs then the bolt to frame and tighten to hold the pipes on the studs first.
The center front cylinder base nut is a PITA but another modified spanner helps there.
Come to think of it I have a box full of one purpose spanners/sockets.
Cheers

[bikerboy]

I put the nut on a magnetic steel strip to offer up the nut to stud and use an open end spanner to start
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Now thats an idea I usually slide a thin bit of cardboard under it but a magnetic strip seems like a great way