is there a trick to this?
got evrtything ready. laid the bits out and thought 'no problem'
2 hours later i have a headache and have a partially assembled centrestand.
it took 20 minutes to get to the point of lining up the second pair of holes and sliding the shaft through.
not a flippin' cats chance.
i wiggled and waggled, threatened it ith the BIG hammer,smiled sweatly and pleaded (i'm a miserable pleader) but no way jose was it going to go.
does it need someone on the other side to tap whilst i wiggle?
i am thinking of putting a good chamfer on the shaft to get it started. allowing the shaft to poke through the hole into the frame and in the stand a little. that would stop it moving, giving me a chance to go to the other side an give it a gentle tap home.
everything is right and will assemble once this little hold up is sorted.
it will have to be tomorrow now. my patience has been sorely tried
Coincidentally I've been struggling with a similar job on my Norton Electra. The stud in question has to go through two lugs, two thin steel sheet stampings and 2 spacers. I have previously made a set of "persuaders" which ar just lengths of steel in different diameters with a taper on one end. Eventually managed the job using a 3/8" one of these but I hate grovelling around underneath!
I also sometimes find it easier to use a smaller diameter rod to get everything more or less lined up before using my tool which will show the way to the proper spindle / stud / whatever.
absolutely exasperating
done it !!!!
put a 2mm chamfer on the end. that allowed the shaft lo locate into the hole in the centrestand enough to keep it in position. then a gentle tap from the othe side and abracadabra
NOBOBY TOLD ME ABOUT THE SPRING!!!!
how in gods name do you get that on? the darkened room is being kept vacant for me
Lay something soft (old cushions, tyres covered with a dustsheet etc) on the floor and lay the bike on it's side.
then what? you still gotta stretch the spring
Extend the spring by pushing flat washers between the coils. Work down one side first. It will end up banana shaped. Then work down the other side until it is straight. If you put in enough washers you will be able to just drop the spring loops over the hooks then pull out the washers with pliers. You may have some false starts, washers may fall out of the first side when you are working on the second side, but it does work.
Mind your fingers!!! Good luck
John
Quote from: cornishbob on 07 Jul, 2024, 18:49
then what? you still gotta stretch the spring
Point is, getting the stud/spacer etc aligned then stretching the spring is much easier when you're not lying on your back and reaching up in the semi-dark.
like the washer idea.
laying the bike over?? not so keen but wont dismiss it. its a nightmare down there
now i have the shaft in i might go for putting it on my lift. it was too big to use when putting the stand in place as it fouled the area i needed to work in. now thats on i can go for it and hopefully it'll balance ok
the trials and tribulations of a novice bsa owner...you could write a book
Put the bike on your lift . Secure it with strap or get someone to hold it. Use a hook of some sort and pull the spring with a ratchet strap attatched to the ramp or round the back wheel.t
Hi,
Wiggle room is what is needed.
Unless you have re-machined the lugs and have a perfect fit spindle then there will be wiggle room. Even when new I suspect that fit was 'relaxed' rather than precise.
If you have a very snug fit then start with smaller diameter rod to help with wiggle room and then tap the proper one through.
Hold the stand up to the frame and fit the spring on to its lugs. Tilt the stand towards the spring side and wiggle the actual or surrogate spindle in to the frame and stand. The stand will be all cocked over as the spring will hold it out of line.
Once you have the spindle partly in, the stand can be used as a lever to stretch the spring and with some gentle persuasion the spindle can be tapped through. Use some nice slippy grease to help things along.
Don't forget the spring is at its shortest with the stand up so try to keep it in position whist wiggling.
Dave.
i read a manual i downloaded.
the mothod suggested was to fit spring onto the frame end, that was easy i thougfht
then get a phillips type screwdriver and put it through the bottom, then use the end of the screwdriver on the end of the lug on the stand as a pry and the spring will just slip over it ...et voila. thats not so easy i thought.
i have seen some springs on fleabay that are a little longer...5 1/4" and 5 1/2" . are they a viable option?:
Give the washers a try. If they don't work you will only have wasted 20 minutes.
John
my old mate the completely mad 'false teeth' magraw managed to slip out of his bedroom in the 'happy valley' maximum security care home the other night,
in his bid for freedom he ran through the laundry rooms. unfortunately on his way through he ravaged a number of the assistants there.
next day he made the headlines in the local newspaper,,,,,,
'NUT SCREWS WASHERS AND BOLTS'
and yes that was my way of saying the old washers in the spring trick works...or will when i get some more washers , somebody stop me i'm smokin'
had a 'seen the light' moment last night. i was about 3/8" short to flip it over the hooky bit on the stand do i thought 'damn i need some more 2mm washers'.
then as if darth vader was talking to me i heard 'put it on the centre stand first' resounding in my head
i got up extra early this morning...well 10mins.
offered it up starting at the stand end and guess what? yes too long. had to remove some of the washers i so diligently put in. located it onto its boss on the frame and using the end of a pair of pliers to keep it located set about removing the washers.
tensions were high, will it wont it.
i could hear the duh-duh duh-duh in the back ground. beads of sweat were forming on my forehead
but i needn't have worried. as i took the last washer out and moved the stand up and down a small tear developed in the corner of my eye. yipppeeeee a working centre stand.
jaydee. you is de man
so i have a '65 cyclone centre stand (no sticky out bit) and a '62 spring (68-4708) and gubbins and a working centre stand. life is good
Glad to see it worked. I can't claim any credit. I was shown the trick some time ago when I was having the same problem as you.
John
its soooooo obvious when you do it. so easy too. didnt even pinch my fingers. a couple of near misses but still digitus intactus
good teamwork generally wins in the end. Nobody knows everything, but we all know something.
I have used the cross head screwdriver trick several times. Wear some eye protection though that spring can can build up some energy.
by using the crosshead screwdriver method you have to stretch the spring further than you need to to get it over the the stands hook.
by using the washer trick you only need it to go just bryond the hooks bend. in mt case that saved almoxt an inch of stretch. that is because you can put it over the stands hook first then put it on the frame end no effort. holding it on the frame it cant fall off the hook and once a few washers are removed theres enough tension in the spring to keep it in posiition to remove the remaining washers.
providing you have enough washers you could probably fit a spring in under 30mins without much effort
Hi,
There is an old film of the BSA factory production line and it shows an operative using the screwdriver method to great affect. I have tried this without success.
Dave.
I've always used the screwdriver method but the spring on the prop stand of my BSA/Zuki defeated me. I tried the washer method for the first time, having previously been somewhat dismissive and it worked well.