Do I upgrade parts for more reliability?

[V500]

I'm going to join in the "why not fit a ...." discussion, but my suggestion is for an Amal Premier. The 276 you have currently are known to be problematic with shutting off the fuel supply, hence the usual advice of shutting off the petrol tap as soon as you stop.
The Premier gives a tickover like a metronome, and usefully the pilot jet is removable without a carb strip. Keep that 276 and pass it on to the next owner when you come to sell.
Fit a decent fuel line filter and don't rely on the filters in the fuel taps and carb inlet; the in-line filters are much finer.
You might consider a mag overhaul as they degrade whether in use or not. A simple Easi-Cap will probably suffice.

[the chippy]

why not use an Amal 376/2 Monobloc carb . I had one on my gold star for a while and it ran perfect . Started good and ticked over good . I wanted the gp carb on mine which is now running good with it but takes a lot of work . If i were going touring i would refit the monobloc 376 .

I shall make enquiries regarding a carb replacement and keep the original tucked away. Thanks

[the chippy]

I'm going to join in the "why not fit a ...." discussion, but my suggestion is for an Amal Premier. The 276 you have currently are known to be problematic with shutting off the fuel supply, hence the usual advice of shutting off the petrol tap as soon as you stop.
The Premier gives a tickover like a metronome, and usefully the pilot jet is removable without a carb strip. Keep that 276 and pass it on to the next owner when you come to sell.
Fit a decent fuel line filter and don't rely on the filters in the fuel taps and carb inlet; the in-line filters are much finer.
You might consider a mag overhaul as they degrade whether in use or not. A simple Easi-Cap will probably suffice.

I believe this is what I shall do, and keep the original pre mono tucked away. I have looked at the receipts and I see £395 was paid in 2004 for the mag to re refurbished. £120 labour the rest parts and VAT. but I get your point. There is a company near me, Sussex magnetos, I will call them to discuss it.   Thanks.

[the chippy]

By chance, you don't have a fibre washer UNDER the banjo union where it screws into the float chamber ?
Burlens are very helpful lot.
They bought all the Amal factory tooling and records etc.

Things to carry with you ---
As you use the bike and it settles and evolves , you will generate your own list of tools and bits to carry.
Personally , pliers , pertinent screwdrivers , a few relevant spanners , chain adjusting spanners taped together , spare chain link , magneto spanners.
Are you 12v or original 6v ? If you're 6v then a few light bulbs or consider changing to 12v and led bulbs and easier life for the dynamo .

Thanks for this. I believe all the washers on the carb are correct, but I may just upgrade the carb anyway. I would love to do a 12v conversion and something I am looking at. thanks Steve.

[the chippy]

if you are getting the tank re lined make sure the material used to line in is ethanol resistant .mine came off after years of working one the new fuels arrived . 

Will do thanks for the advice. Steve.

[the chippy]

If it is flooding when the tap is turned on, that means your float is not closing the valve correctly.
It should be an easy fix.  First make sure the float is floating and is not filled with petrol.

Then by using a length of new hose, check the action of the valve by raising the float, whilst blowing into the tube.  The float should have some travel remaining when the air stops going through the valve.

If you have the carb off the engine, the air should stop just with the weight of the float, when the carb is held upside down.

As it is a pre monobloc carb, with the separate float bowl.  Is the float bowl vertical when the leaks occur?  You might have it leaning on the side stand, or worse, it could have a wrongly installed 'tilted' float bowl....  They are available with 0 10 30 or more degrees of tilt, to suite different installations.

I am looking at replacing the carb now, but I shall tinker first with what you say about the hose and blowing. The float is fine as in floats well. And I do not think anything is installed incorrectly, and the bike is not leaning its on centre stand. I will have a play.  Thank you, Steve. 

[limeyrob]

Don't rush to do the 12v conversion. I have one bike on 12v and one on 6v and there's really no difference.  Converting to 12v used to be "a thing" mostly because you got a better headlamp.  But now the LED bulbs in 6v are so good this advantage has gone.  Once you go all LED the load on the dynamo comes down and you get good charging even with the lights on.  A 6v set up will start charging from lower revs which can be quite helpful and the 6v battery has large cells.  I have found going to a DVR2 solid state regulator has been worth it, it charges cleanly at lower revs and seems better at exciting the dynamo than the mechanical reg.  I changed to neg earth, because there was a better choice of LED bulbs, but now there are very good ones that are not polarity sensitive and are sensibly priced.

[V500]

DVR2 is an excellent unit, the similarly-named VReg2...avoid like the plague.

[limeyrob]

I'll second that, I got a Vreg2 and it went into the bin after a week.  DVR2 worked out the box and its still working.

[the chippy]

Don't rush to do the 12v conversion. I have one bike on 12v and one on 6v and there's really no difference.  Converting to 12v used to be "a thing" mostly because you got a better headlamp.  But now the LED bulbs in 6v are so good this advantage has gone.  Once you go all LED the load on the dynamo comes down and you get good charging even with the lights on.  A 6v set up will start charging from lower revs which can be quite helpful and the 6v battery has large cells.  I have found going to a DVR2 solid state regulator has been worth it, it charges cleanly at lower revs and seems better at exciting the dynamo than the mechanical reg.  I changed to neg earth, because there was a better choice of LED bulbs, but now there are very good ones that are not polarity sensitive and are sensibly priced.

Hi,
As I want to try some long tours this year I wanted to run some 12V tech, 12v usb socket, and some sort of discreet loop recording camera. I'm not liking riding without dash cam. Even if I revert to gopro type I'm limited on battery life whereas loop is just forget it. 
All original parts will be kept so anything I do will be reversible. 
I have already fitted 6v led headlight bulb and if I dont do 12v will look into led tail/stop light options.
And now I have to investigate what a DVR2 is, lol.  And I like the idea of converting to neg earth for the convenience of LEDs.
All the best and thanks. Steve
 

[limeyrob]

I recently fitted an LED stop/tail.  Its very good BUT, the pins on the bulb are a bit small. I had to put blobs of solder on them to get it to stay in the holder.
USB is 5v so you should be able to run a USB port off 6v, check the fine print.

[rhyatt]

If the bike is charging  happily on 6v and its original mechanical regulator and everything working happily electrically , then frankly I'd  leave well alone .
I run my bikes on 6v and have no issues.
Only if your charging starts to "wobble" then consider the electronic regulator.
The USB output is 5v for your phones and GPS etc , but they all have 12v input.
Explore 6v cars to discover using usb, there must be classic 6v vw beetles and porsche 356 driving about with usb and sat navs plugged in

failing that - find a handlebar usb socket  from ebay      https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/187216269667
and lash it up to a 6 volt battery to see what happens - nothing to lose really

[limeyrob]

I got a CPT USB power supply off e-bay for the Land Rover, 5 years and a lot of damp and vibration its still working fine. It says 12V input with 5v out but on the spec its listed as 8v to 22v input so at under £5 you could experiment.  These thing come with 2 USB sockets on tails so you can hide the box and poke the leads out, I bought 2 because I was sure it wouldn't last, the spare is sill in its box.  The sockets are plated steel and get corroded but at £5 you have cut them some slack.

[idie]

Going 12volt has the advantage of less voltage drop in the system. Also the easier availability of components.

[the chippy]

I recently fitted an LED stop/tail.  Its very good BUT, the pins on the bulb are a bit small. I had to put blobs of solder on them to get it to stay in the holder.
USB is 5v so you should be able to run a USB port off 6v, check the fine print.

You reminded me, I have to do a better job of my led headlight bulb, I thought it ok, as fine in the workshop after fitting but first time on the road the bulb connection was loose. And good point on usb. Thanks.