Perhaps an old topic but just looking for some quick tips.
I'm having a problem soldering a brass nipple to the end of a brake cable; which is presumably made of stainless. I just can't get the solder to fuse with the cable, even on the freshly cut ends of the cable strands. With other cables its simply been a matter of remelting the solder but with my current cable, the cable has been shortened so I need to 'wet' fresh cable. It's been thoroughly degreased and polished with emery, but the question is what flux to use without spending an arm or a leg? My searches indicate that it needs to be phosphoric acid based.
Any tips?

Does anyone know the part number or length and thread of the top crankcase tie bolt (which clamps the bottom of the barrel) on a '63 B40? It's much longer than the ones beneath. Red arrow in attached photo.
Cheers

Hi all
A quick question:- What are the two screws for in a B33 cylinder head near side? I'm guessing something to do with the oil supply to the rockers.

Has anyone come across a 20T gearbox sprocket for a B40 (1962)? The standard one is 19T pt no 40-3123 but BSAUNITSINGLES shows a 20T one as being 'British made'. I'm wondering whether anyone has experience of fitting one of these and a possible supplier.

I'm looking to replace the bezel on a Smiths chronometric speedo, S.433/3/L. I've been looking at various ads and there seems to be different sorts of bezel and kits with a bezel, glass and rubber seal, but how is the glass fixed into the bezel? On mine looking from above it looks as though there's black sealant oozing between the glass and bezel, and from below it looks as though the edge of the metal it turned over to retain the glass. Does anyone know if it's possible to separate the glass and bezel or was it pressed together in the factory?

Some months ago I started a post about preignition problems with my B33. Just recently I fitted a decompression plate to see what the effect would be. I'm interested to see what the compression ratio is now, but can't get the Hawk compression tester to work as its impossible to kick over the engine without using the valve lifter as in starting. Am I attempting the impossible?
It works fine on my A50 and B40.

I was out on a test run of around 5 miles on the B33 last week checking for leaks after rebushing the outer gearbox case. Less than 1/4 mile from home the engine died and wouldn't start. Luckily I could coast home downhill. There is no spark at the plug or HT lead. I have checked and cleaned the magneto brushes, but still no spark. Before I get the magneto onto the bench, am I missing something obvious? A previous owner spent a bit of money on a full service including an exchange armature in 2014 and the bike's done little mileage since. Strangely, the armature was replaced again after a month as the replaced one failed!
Any thoughts chaps?

I'm in the process of overhauling the head on my 1950 B33 (iron head) and notice that the rockers are cast with the numbers 65-1101 and 65-1103. Draganflys list them as 65-1100 and 65-1102. Does anyone know if there's any difference in these rockers?
Cheers

I thought I'd have a go at replacing the cylinder base and pushrod tunnel gaskets on my B33 to reduce oil leaks. One of the cylinder through bolts 66-0115 was a bit knackered so I decided to fit new ones to one side. Big mistake. As soon as I started to tighten one of the new bolts, It continued to screw into the head until the shaft hex came to the bottom of the fins. When I'd got it disassembled, I could see that the stop at the bottom of the shaft had come adrift, and fortunately it was sitting on top of the flywheel. I sent it back to Drags for replacement. Before I fitted the new bolts I decided to drill a small hole in the end and fill with weld to prevent the stops coming off again.
As soon as I started to tighten again, one of the stops again came off.
The original BSA bolts had the stop integral to the central shaft. The replacement ones have the stops screwed onto the end and unsurprisingly unscrew themselves as the bolt is screwed into the head.
Has anyone got any suggestions how to fix the stop securely to the end of the bolt so that it works as it should do?

So this is my 1950 B33 plunger which I bought just over a year ago, and is more or less back up and running. It was in quite a state when I got it, and I've not restored it to mint but hopefully one that I can use as a tidy runabout. I'll see how things go over the summer and address issues as they arise.

The amal 289 doesn't have a pilot jet but mixture is controlled by the airscrew alone. If the airscrew needs to be almost fully screwed in for decent idling, can there be a partial blockage in the pilot circuit, and if so how can it be cleaned? Squirting carb cleaner through the screw hole has not had any impact.

I'm just getting my 1950 B33 plunger back on the road after probably several years out of service. I bought it just over a year ago in poor condition, although it would start and engage 1st gear. It now goes through the box and having overhauled the speedo, its now up and ready to go. It now starts near enough first kick (full choke, no throttle and ignition about 1/2 advanced), and once warmed up runs fine on the stand. However, on the road when the ignition is advanced beyond full retard, there's an unpleasant rattle from the engine which disappears as the ignition is retarded. My initial thoughts are preignition. Its got an amal 289 with standard jets but I've raised the needle to 4 to richen the mixture. If it is preignition, my next thoughts are that a build up of carbon in the head could be the issue. To rule this out I'll need to remove the head. Is this possible with the engine in situ?
Any thoughts would be welcome.

Looking at the instruction manual for my B33 plunger it says that the B31 and B33 swinging arm models, plus B32 and B34 all have 225cc of oil in the primary chain case. However the B31 and B33 plunger models should only have 55cc. This tiny amount would lie in the bottom of the case and I doubt whether it would reach the primary chain to provide any lubrication. However, if oil is added up to the level plug, considerably more than 55cc, the chain etc would receive lubrication without the clutch plates sitting in oil. Can anyone advise the best amount of oil to use?

My usual philosophy is if its working, leave well alone. However, the recent poor weather drove me into the garage and before I knew it the clutch of my B33 plunger was in pieces on the bench. It was working well, but I knew from previous work that the clutch was not as it should be and I suspected that I had a B31 clutch; very similar but with fewer plates. I have steel plates of two different designs. If I'm correct, the plates should all be slotted. I'm not proposing to replace the non slotted plates but I'm guessing that the slots are there to prevent build up of oil on the friction surfaces. Any thoughts?
I have ordered an extra steel plate and friction plate, a B33 basket which I expect to be deeper to accommodate the extra plates plus a new push rod. I'm looking forward to comparing the parts when they arrive.

I've just returned from spending Christmas in Cyprus and thought I'd share the attached picture from the front cover of the Cyprus Mail which I saw at the airport.
If I'd have known about the museum it might have been worth a look.
Best wishes for 2022.

I'm trying to find a grabrail or rear carrier to fit a B31/B33 plunger with a pillion bum pad. My thoughts are that it could attach to the bolts at the top of the mudguard stays and then somewhere forward of the mudguard hinge. Does anyone have experience of fitting one or have any suggestions of what could be adapted? - And of course I don't want to spend a fortune. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Cheers

I have a headlight with underslung pilot with no fittings for the pilot bulb. The lens is fixed with silicone and I can't work out what the pilot bulb holder looked like. I suspect that they're obsolete, but if anyone has a photo of one, I'm sure that I can cobble something together.
Cheers

According to the handbook I should lubricate the wick behind the magneto contacts every 3000 miles. But what if the wick is looking pretty sad and mangled, and clearly not up to the job? Are there replacements available or can anyone advise on what can be used to repair it?
The magneto, an M01 I believe is on a B33 plunger.

Hi
I'm only getting around 0.5v from the dynamo on the B33. I've checked the field windings and it seems good at 3 ohm. I've checked the winding resistance which seems good at around 0.7 ohm. The dynamo is on the bench. Any thoughts on where to go next?

Just got the old B33 started and wanted to check that oil was getting to the rockers, having replaced the banjo bolts. After it had warmed up, I removed the spindle dome nuts and was expecting oil to dribble out. I know that the rocker oil supply is pretty minimal, but there was nothing. Any thoughts would be welcome.