Quote from: Hoppe30 on 07 November, 2019, 15:58:08
I am however looking for that positive stop mechanism that you have.

If you are still looking Leon .....

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bsa-blue-star-foot-change-complete-prewar-1932-1933-1934-1935-350-500/203289178297?hash=item2f54fab0b9:g:PwkAAOSwHtxgN6jJ

Quote from: MITCHELL on 15 February, 2021, 19:48:20
Dehumidifier?

Would be a good plan .....

With such (relatively) meager heat input to an un-insulated, with a significant volume above head level (ie the roof void) cutting down drafts from gaps round the doors and providing any insulation you can will be essential Phil, ultimately it's an energy balance of heat input v heat lost.   If you want to minimise the heat input (for cost and effort purposes) and still remain cozy then YOU HAVE TO reduce heat loss, it's simple physics.    I suspect your expectations might have been unrealistically high.

Clearly as the property is not yours you are not going to spend hours and hundreds of pounds on it so it seems to me you've got three choices:

1) Spend a little time and money doing what you can to insulate it eg draught excluders round the door gaps and in my case I've lined the up-and-over steel door with a couple of layers of thermal bubble wrap (it's not a great insulator but did make a significant difference). Also, if you've got a concrete floor then line it with old carpet - that makes a huge difference including to the well-being of your feet.   I bought some 2" wide rubber strip off Amazon to seal the gaps on the door on the sides and top and I have some wool insulating bags that came in some food boxes that I use to blank off the gap at the bottom.   Also the suggestion of an additional fan positioned to suck all that nice warm air down from the roof void and to re-circulate it back to ground level is good.

2) Put more energy in to make up for the high loss rate  ie bigger heaters and/or more of them.

3) By a thick coat, a hat and gloves ......

If it really is a short term problem then 2) must be the way to go, just put more heaters and therefore more energy in - the cost will probably be the same as 1) without the effort and you can take the additional heaters with you.

If it's longer term then I would have thought 1) would be the way to go as the running costs will be lower and will, in time, overtake 2).   

Option 3) (or staying indoors and watching the telly) probably isn't a solution at all.

Alan

That was quick Phil!   

Are Argos doing a special "Buy a heater get a free Covid jab" deal then?    Still waiting for my first one 

Alan

Full reply pm sent Phil, for others benefit it's 1.5m long.

I bought one of these a couple of years ago for exactly the same purpose.

Seems to work OK - it certainly takes the chill off!

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/4153836?clickSR=slp:term:electric%20heater:17:66:1

Alan

Quote from: Editor on 14 January, 2021, 12:29:47
Peter James do all that as well!
The 'Riding other bikes' is particularly useful as you can 'legally' swop over with your mates during a ride out, (if we ever get chance in the near future).

That is true with the exception that one of the insured bikes has to be greater than 350cc.   I tried to get that feature included when I renewed last time but as my largest motorcycle is 349cc that didn't work ......

Nevertheless, they seem very good to me and I've used them for a couple of years now although, as is often stated, you never know how good your insurance company really is until you come to claim and then renew.

Alan

Mike this might help ....

http://blog.wiseco.com/pistons-arent-round-profile-and-ovality-explained

My little B21 had been fitted with a high compression (Triumph) piston by a PO.   You can see the results in my "Piston Broke" thread .....

https://www.bsaownersclub.co.uk/bsaoc_forum/index.php?topic=9467.0

As you will see, I managed to source a slightly lower compression, replacement piston and added an annular compression gasket made from copper and annealed before use.  The resulting compression ratio was much more respectable but still higher than the original 6.2:1.    I determined the actual CR by temporarily fixing the piston (no rings) at TDC having wrapped the piston with a layer of electrical tape to seal the piston in the bore with the top edge of the tape just covering the top ring slot.   The head and copper gasket were then clamped in place on the barrel and the whole assembly was mounted in/on a Workmate with the spark plug hole uppermost.   The volume of oil necessary to fill the combustion chamber to the point where the fluid got to where the end of spark plug thread would normally be was recorded in order to then calculate the CR knowing the swept volume of the cylinder.

Following a little nip-up and remedial action during running in I'm hopeful that it's settled down now having done something like 250 miles on it.   Itching to get out on it again but of  course that's off of the menu at the moment!

Alan

I used to do that feeling incensed that they'd "polluted" my telephone but I now try to follow a former colleagues lead and regard it as a sport to see just how long I can keep them talking.       It's their phone bill and while they are annoying me they are not annoying some other poor soul.  The calls I typically get are the ones regarding my accident, you know, the one that wasn't my fault.   I usually start by asking them which one of my accidents, that weren't my fault, they are referring to.  Usually confuses them as I don't think there is line on their flow chart to cover that option 

Unfortunately I still have someway to go to equal my former colleagues record of something like 12 minutes but hey, it's a challenge.   
Wish they'd learn to phone when I've just sat down with a coffee and biscuits though.

Alan

Well the barrel was returned bored and nicely honed, the crankcase was flushed and blown clear numerous times and the top end rebuilt with the new Triumph piston and my copper compression reducing head gasket.     Measured compression ratio came out ~ 7.5 1 which was a lot closer to what it was when it left the factory!

I'd been taking the Beeza for short Running-In trips around the village, i.e. never very far from home. Nice and flat, low road speed, medium revs being careful, I thought, not to over-rev or load the engine. Having done numerous circuits on different days I thought I'd venture to the next village which did involve going up a gentle hill (but it's Bedfordshire not Devon!) and unfortunately only got halfway up when all power was lost and the engine stopped as soon as I snatched the clutch in. Being but 3/4 mile from home and the first bit was downhill, I returned home with the assistance of gravity and Shanks's pony.

Once the engine was cool I gingerly turned it over but it didn't feel right. A look down the plughole with my little endoscope appeared to show a mark on the rear face of the cylinder wall so there was nothing for it but to whip off the head and barrel and take a look. At least I can do that pretty quickly now!

It was clear that the piston had nipped up on the inlet side with piston material smeared over the rings in their grooves.   The piston was a very nice fit in the bore (maybe just a bit it too nice?) when I assembled it first time so if I dressed the piston back in the effected area, if anything, it would have a smidge more clearance where it nipped up.

Having cleaned the piston up and paid particular attention to the ring grooves I had a look at the rings. You could see that the compression rings had bedded down about 50 % the way across the surface but they had extremely sharp, almost burred, corners. I checked the ring gaps once again and they were inline with current thinking I believe (0.005"/inch of diameter and a minimum of .015" for the oil ring irrespective of diameter). I gave the ring corners the very lightest of stoning, not to put a chamfer on but just to make sure they wouldn't catch and then I made doubly sure that the rings were free in their, well-oiled, piston slots with no tendency to catch or snag when compressed down to their operating diameter.   Fortunately the barrel was undamaged with just a slight polish mark in the affected area so this was lightly manually re-honed.

The oil filters were checked for any debris, all of the oil was discarded and the crankcase and tank thoroughly cleaned once again (not that anything was found). Then it was time to put everything back together so that I could try again!

I've since been doing some slightly larger circuits of about 10 miles, essentially still on the flat, and reasonably close to home at all times.   As the sun was out I did another 3 laps today (the photos are actually from a run a couple of weeks ago) which has put the total mileage up to around 180-200 since the second re-assembly.    Touch wood, it seems to be going alright.   It's fun but slightly challenging to ride as the gearbox has to be nursed quite a lot so no doubt that will require some attention in the near future but I do think its a pretty little thing even if it is bit of a bitsa in some respects   

Alan

Hi Garry,

I did just put the Vernier on the "bent arm" yesterday;  it's 12.5mm wide by 4mm thick if that helps?

Cheers

Alan

 And finally ..

Hi Garry,

Here are some photographs of my B21 brake stop.   

Sorry, didn't have time to do a fully dimensioned engineering drawing so I hope you can get what you need from a steel rule held in place with magnets!   
David Bailey didn't take the photographs either ..... 

Alan

I'd go for the 2 brush conversion and the addition of a modern DVR2 electronic regulator.   All modern electronic regulators are not equal ....

By the way, the DVR2 is a very compact device and could be hidden somewhere about the bike.  In my case on a '39 B21 I think it would have had a Lucas regulator so mine is lurking inside the Lucas reg case.

Alan  (no connection with the manufacturers of DVR2s just a happy customer)