Here's my 1949 rigid B31. I love riding it, my first British bike. My Dad bought it in 2003, half dismantled it to clean it up, then lost interest (he has too many other projects on the go). So last summer he handed me a pile of bits with the challenge that if I could reassemble it and get it running, it was mine. I couldn't argue with that. I have now done over 800 miles on it, and it's great. The only fly in the ointment is that I am getting splashes of oil up the side of the back tyre, and I am still trying to figure out whether it's coming from the gearbox (oil level doesn't appear to be dropping), getting blown out of the engine, or maybe it's from the primary chaincase, which seems unable to contain its oil for long despite my attempts to seal it. The floor of the shed where it stands wil never go rotten, as it's covered in oil.
I have spent the last hour investigating the oil leak that has been lubricating the chain and then getting chucked onto the back tyre. As the lower left side of the engine seemed to have a fine coating of oil, I reckon it might have been getting blown from the oil pipe union into the crankcase, behind the primary chaincase, from the pipe that drains down from the head. I unscrewed the union, cleaned away all the oil and tightened it as much as I dare. A blast home after work tomorrow will reveal whether any more oil appears.
here's a better photo of it
Lovely looking bike. Is that a Vintelle stand? How do you get on with it?
Could the oil be coming from the engine breather?
That is indeed a Vintele. I bought it off a bloke on ebay who had fitted it, never used the stand, and then subsequently found an original Esway stand. I fitted it because I find it a bugger to put onto its main stand. I strongly recommend these stands, the bloke who makes them has just made a load more. It is dead easy to fit and to use, and I can confidently park it up and know that it won't be lying on its side when I come back to it.
I went for a blast after work this afternoon, and no more oil has appeared. Keeping an eye on it.........
lovely your bike i have a plunger model im restoring and was going to do in the same colours as yours i was wondering the silver finish is on your tank
thanks paul
Hello, mate. I will have to ask my Dad what paint he used on the tank, as it was he who painted it. He did all of the cosmetic work on it, and I just reassembled it after he realised he would never get round to finishing it.
By the way, I found why the tyre was getting splashed with oil. The nut holding the final drive sprocket on had loosened off slightly, meaning that the sprocket wasn't running in the oil seal. I fitted a new seal and put Loctite on the threads to keep the nut tight.
hi did it have the Sprocket retaining nut lockwasher on it
No, I have to confess that I had forgotten to fit the tab washer. A rookie error. There is one in there now, and a smear of Loctite on the threads should also help to keep it in place.
I just got a message back from my Dad. He can't remember what paint he used on the tank. It's been 17 years since he did it.