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Topics - RESTORER

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1
Twins / A10 rear chain lubrication
« on: 28 September, 2021, 19:54:45 »
Hi all, Are the modern spray-on lubricants better for the older A10s with a new chain, or is it best to stick to the tried and tested graphite grease? This must have been discussed before but I can't find it anywhere. If its spray-on, which is the best? Thanks.

2
Twins / Inside the outer timing cover of '54 A10 S/A
« on: 15 September, 2021, 21:01:43 »
Hi all, I have removed the outer timing cover to check on the dynamo driving chain tension (noisy), but this has led to three questions. Once in I noticed that the auto advance and retard unit securing bolt now has a very rusty head (see pics). Everywhere else has an oil coating and seems OK, although there are also some rust spots on the pinion behind the breather. Can anyone explain what causes this and what I should do about it.  Also there are some white milky deposits where oil has gathered on the ends of the plates which are thrown outwards to advance, looking very much like the "mystic" I used to use years ago. Could this be condensation due to insufficient use? About 100mls of oil drained out from the oil pump area when the timing cover was first split, is this about normal?  Although I try and run the motor at least once every few days, it has not yet reached its first mile, just testing on my drive. Thanks for reading.

3
Twins / Lucas horn problem. 1954 Flash.
« on: 17 July, 2021, 20:39:26 »
Hi all,  Firstly, please understand that I know very little about electrics but lets face it on this bike they are pretty basic. My machine has a 6 volt Lucas horn, similar to the one shown in SS 807 except that there is just one screw in the back, the notched adjustment screw. The horn was working fine with a good loud vibration. Now, on the machine, when I press the horn button I just get a soft beep and no vibration. I have fitted a new chrome front ring, domed nuts, and tone disc, which has been painted to match the rest of the bike. I am using 2 new style 6 volt 4.5 amp/hrs batteries, wired to give a capacity similar to the old black box type, but the horn has worked fine with these. I have not moved anything behind the tone disc (the screw and locking collar etc). When I remove the horn and bracket assembly, mount it in a vice and wire it direct to just one of the 6 volt batteries, as soon as I touch the terminals I get a very loud sound and vibration (maybe too loud). With everything back on the bike, the horn goes back to the soft beep and no vibration. Can anyone suggest what the problem maybe and how I could sort it? Thanks for reading. 

4
Twins / 1954 A10 Clutch
« on: 23 May, 2021, 15:21:37 »
Hi All, I could do with some help on the clutch for my 1954 S/Arm Flash. It has the 6 spring clutch. I have searched and read the topic from rogereld on 23 Feb 2019. I have the same chainwheel wobble, but also a dragging clutch. When I kick over with the clutch disengaged the clutch spins freely, but when the engine is running the disengaged clutch still drags when in gear and changing gear is difficult. I have added new springs and have since bought new friction plates, yet to be fitted. I decided to take the whole thing off and investigate properly. I have two clutches, one that was on the bike and one I bought on a well known auction site. I fitted the bought one. My pics show the old one on the left in each case. The centres are lined up with the shoulders level to show the length difference, but also the two are very different.  Was the old one made like this or is it unbelievably worn?  The backplates also differ, with the old one having recesses to accept the sleeve. On the chainwheels (both 43T), there are also obvious differences but what is not so obvious is that the new Draganfly corks I fitted to the bought chainwheel are virtually flush with the chainwheel faces, do they swell up in time? The corks in the old chainwheel still protrude quite a lot, and heaven knows how old they are! The centre bosses also differ.  There are not any ID marks on any of the items so does anyone recognise any of them to be right or wrong for my particular machine. I believe this to be my last problem and hope to make the road this summer, Boris permitting. Thanks for reading and hope you are all well.

5
Twins / A10 S/A forks
« on: 14 September, 2020, 09:36:55 »
Hi all, hope you are all well.  I have a 1954 Flash restoration now finished, or so I thought.  If I hold the front wheel, I can move the handlebars and by some distance. This is not a rattle, more like about 10 degrees. I have now stripped and rebuilt these forks three times and cannot sort it. The bushes, shims, fork shafts, seals and seal holders are new and I have tightened the parts in the order given, really tightened.  They have oil in and I have pumped them a few times to tighten the bottom clamp. Before I try oversized bushes, which is the only thing I can think of but can't believe I would have this much play, can anyone think of anything else I can try? Thanks for reading.

6
Twins / Petrol Pipe
« on: 18 August, 2020, 19:59:20 »
Hi, Does anyone know of a clear 1/4" petrol pipe that does not turn yellow shortly after it is fitted? I am running a 1954 Flash on unleaded with the Spitfire Fuel catyalyst in the tank. Thanks.

7
Twins / A10 S/Arm crankcase breather pipe
« on: 10 June, 2020, 20:17:12 »
Hi, Has anyone got a sketch, drawing or explanation of what causes this breather to release pressure. There is the breather pipe in the N/S rear top corner of the crankcase, adjacent to the primary chaincase, but which relief valve controls the pressure?  Where is this breather outflow from? I can't find any sections for this particular area. I think the answer must lie in Service Sheet 202 but having read it a few times I can't see it. There must be a relief valve somewhere because air cannot be blown into the breather, even with the barrel off.  Having got the barrel off and engine out while I sort out the gearbox grub screw, this is a good time to study this breather operation. There is a hole into the casing at the end of the cam shaft but this seems to be for the cam shaft, see pic.  Any info on this would be very welcome. Thanks for reading.

8
Twins / A10 STD Gearbox
« on: 04 June, 2020, 20:40:53 »
Hi, please see grub screw item 2 in this sketch from the Haynes book. Does the grub screw lock on to the casing or the selector rod? My grub screw has rusted so badly that the screwdriver slot is broken off and the screw may well be seized so it looks like I will have to drill it out or find some way of extracting it carefully (all the components are still inside the casing).  I have a new grub screw waiting but need to know more about the hole to assess how to do the job.  Can anybody supply me with a section through the hole, screw and selector rod to show the assembly, or describe what happens?  Fag packet sketches are fine.  I have looked through the forum history but not found this problem reported.  Has anyone overcome this problem in the past?  Thanks for reading.

9
Twins / Amal 276GG/1DB on 1954 S/Arm G Flash
« on: 10 April, 2020, 15:55:39 »
Hi, This is my first time with this carb, as all my others have had either one or two monoblocs. When I got the bike the carb was missing so I got this one off e-bay and have fitted a few new parts in accordance with the BSA and Amal specs but I have no idea on cable runs. New parts include jets, needle, air screw, throttle screw and other bits. A new air pipe and filter are in place. When I start the engine it has to be on full choke, no matter whether the engine is warm or not, and the moment I move the choke lever the engine cuts out even if I increase the throttle. I have stripped this carb three times now and cannot sort it. Disconnecting the kill button at the mag does not help. The first few inches of exhaust are now golden brown with the heat. To me everything seems to point to weak mixture but I have been adjusting the screws for weeks on and off and made very little progress in that I can now get a fast tick-over (still on full choke). Can anyone please suggest anything else I can try with this simple looking carb because I think I must be missing something? A bit long but thanks for reading.

10
Twins / A10 barrel
« on: 17 February, 2020, 17:20:00 »
I have an original 1954 A10 thin flange barrel 67-1074 which I took off my machine.  I am now having problems with the engine and looking at going back to my old barrel whilst the engine is down.  My old barrel obviously needs a rebore and a good clean outside, but is still at standard size and has all its flanges intact. There is however a problem:  There are two cracks at the bottom of the bore, starting from the two radiussed corners of one of the cut-outs, see pic.  One crack is about 27mm long and the other is about 20mm long, although these dims may be optimistic with a proper inspection.  Can these cracks be safely repaired?  Do these cracks prevent re-lining?  Thanks for reading.

11
Twins / A10 Oil pump failure: Does the team think?
« on: 06 August, 2019, 20:42:07 »
Hi All, Having almost finished restoring my 1954 A10, it runs well enough, but won't tick over as I have not been able to sort out the carb settings (Amal 276GG/1DB). Oil does not return to the tank and the rocker box is quite dry so I have ceased work.  Before I start the strip down, can anyone identify any common faults to look for, or is there a method of priming? I can't find anything that covers this in the service sheets or on this site. I have fitted a new driving spindle and I thought that the pump felt free when I returned it to the engine.  The oil tank is full, and has been that way for a while now, and I cannot find any signs of leaks.  Any suggestions would be gratefully received.  Incidentally, since I fitted a length of shrink tube on my speedo cable, there still has not been any leaks there either, so thanks to all who contributed to that.  Thanks for reading, Restorer.

12
Twins / A10 Speedo cable
« on: 27 May, 2019, 21:21:32 »
Hi. My machine is a 1954 G Flash, S/A, STD gearbox with speedo cable exiting the lower front of the outer casing. Oil is seeping out from the end of the swaging, between the swaging and the outer cover. The oil then travels along the bottom of the outer cable and drips off at the lowest point before the cable rises to the speedo. Gearbox oil must be travelling between the driven gear bush and the the driven gear into the cable and I don't see a way to prevent it, maybe it is designed that way to lubricate the mechanism. There is not much oil but all drips are a nuisance. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it just a sign of poor swaging, which a new cable could rectify? Thanks for reading. Restorer. 

13
Twins / 1954 S/A A10 Front Stand
« on: 06 February, 2019, 20:00:35 »
Hi All,
Is the Front Stand a good design which normally functions properly?  If I try and use the front stand when removing the front wheel, the stand passes completely under the wheel and drops the wheel back on the floor again.  What should cause the stand to reach a "stop" and support the front end?  There is an illustration on page 166 of Bacon's Twin Restoration and this shows the stand vertical, but not what holds it in that position.  The 1954 S/A has the forks with the LH threaded spindle and single clamp below the nearside leg base.  Because my front stand does not have a stop, it simply pivots until it reaches the fork, then spreads out a little, mainly on the offside where the fork tube end is rounded, making it look like the stand might operate better if it was bolted to the inside of the forks lugs.  All the illustrations I can find appear to show the stand bolted to the outside of the leg, similar to the front mudguard front bracket, so I must be wrong.  Can anyone please offer any advice on the correct usage of these stands or explain where I am going wrong?  Thanks for reading.

14
Twins / A10 Paint - Red Lining
« on: 29 September, 2018, 20:10:50 »
On a 1954 polychromatic silver beige pearl pre-unit S/A Golden Flash, does anyone know which shade(s) of red should be used on the petrol tank red lining and tank badges? Also which years should the piled arms on the timing cover be red (presumably the same red) as this does not seem to apply to all years. Thanks for reading.

15
Twins / E3L Dynamo
« on: 19 August, 2018, 21:00:47 »
Hi All.  Service sheet 809 covers the Lucas E3M and E3HM unit stripdown.  Can the same sheet be used for the E3L which is fitted to my A10 and has a bent armature and a broken end where the split pin fits.  If not, does anyone have details of how to go about this on a E3L and is the task a fitting task or an electricians task in need of expert attention?  On the pics I have there does not appear to be anything connected to the armature, making it look like a fitting task.  Thanks for any info.

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