The Spares Company
Club Shop/Regalia
Parent Website
Contact Officials
Machine Registrar
Club Secretary
Membership Secretaries
MPH Editor and Forum Administrator.
Section Newsletters
Technical Databases
Photos
Home
What's new
Latest activity
Forums
New posts
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Information
Bike Modifications
Machine Data Services
Manufacturers Manuals
Spare Parts Listings
Technical Diagrams
Whitakerpedia (Vincent Wiki)
The Club
MPH Material Archive
Flogger's Corner
Obituaries
VOC Sections
Local Sections
Local Section Newsletters
Miscellaneous
Club Assets
Club History
Club Rules
Machine Data Services
Meeting Documents
Miscellaneous
Essential Reading
Magazine/Newspaper Articles/Letters
Adverts and Sales Brochures
The Mighty Garage Videos
Bikes For Sale (Spares Company)
Log in
Register
What's new
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Home
Forums
Forums: Public Access
General Chat (Vincent Related)
A salutary lesson for beginners.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Albervin" data-source="post: 110717" data-attributes="member: 586"><p>Three years ago I bought a Black Shadow in the UK. It had been owned by the vendor for nearly forty years and had a VOC certificate stating it was all matching numbers. The bike was a rider and came with all the correct, legal paperwork. I rode it and it was FAST. BUT it blew smoke. About what I expected for the price I paid; after all, one has to be awfully lucky to buy a concours machine for the price of a dog. This was no dog though, with 12v conversion, Alton, electric start, Primmer panniers and indicators it was a potential Euro tourer. BUT, the smoke. I determined not to ride it to Europe (as I had originally planned) but shipped it back to Australia for a closer look. That closer look showed a serious problem with lower valve guides so they were fixed. </p><p> Once you get to that point it is no big deal to delve deeper. That showed the main bearings on the timing side were loose and there were two loose spindles. Pistons and bore looked perfect but the big-end was a bit slack; not catastrophic but not good. The engine was shipped off to someone who knows a lot more than me and has the abilities to fix the problems. Next step was the wheels. I don't like alloy rims on Australian roads so steel rims were to be fitted. But wait, what is this?? The rear hub had a major crack plus mis-matched bearings. Up until now all repair costs had been covered by selling a set of perfect, original touring mudguards that were on the bike. However the bike was never fitted with them ex-factory so an easy decision. Now I was spending money and I was also making sure this bike was only going to be rebuilt once. Next step the front forks. After all, when you have come this far it is only an afternoon's work. All parts were removed easily (some too easily if you get my drift) until I came to the bottom link. No way was the eccentric spindle going to come loose!! Now there were many, seemingly, brand new parts on the forks. The pad bolts were shiny new. The eccentrics were shiny stainless and the spindles were unmarked. But the eccentric spindle was like the Rock of Gibraltar! Eventually I replaced the nylon/plastic hammer for a brass one and there was movement. A few hard hits and then I prised off the RHS eccentric. All was now clear. The lower link was obviously twisted/bent. On closer inspection the upper link may also have a twist and the front shock absorber is probably destined for the bin. How the hell had I ridden this for over 300 miles? Because a Vincent is so over engineered it can counter all of these issues and still perform is the answer.</p><p>So, am I disappointed? Not really. What I paid for the bike led me to the expectation I would need to do some work on it and experience with my Rapide told me to do a proper job and not a half job. Unless the price of 1949 HRD Black Shadows drops by 50% I am still quite happy with what I have. </p><p>The lesson?</p><p>Make your purchase with as much information as possible. NEVER think you can just buy and ride unless the machine has an impeccable history of a well ridden and maintained bike. Even then be cautious. The most astute rider can always ignore/miss some issues with a bike they have owned for decades.</p><p>When complete, I hope this bike gives me the same confidence to ride the thousands of miles my Rapide has done for the last twenty years.</p><p>Thank you for reading.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Albervin, post: 110717, member: 586"] Three years ago I bought a Black Shadow in the UK. It had been owned by the vendor for nearly forty years and had a VOC certificate stating it was all matching numbers. The bike was a rider and came with all the correct, legal paperwork. I rode it and it was FAST. BUT it blew smoke. About what I expected for the price I paid; after all, one has to be awfully lucky to buy a concours machine for the price of a dog. This was no dog though, with 12v conversion, Alton, electric start, Primmer panniers and indicators it was a potential Euro tourer. BUT, the smoke. I determined not to ride it to Europe (as I had originally planned) but shipped it back to Australia for a closer look. That closer look showed a serious problem with lower valve guides so they were fixed. Once you get to that point it is no big deal to delve deeper. That showed the main bearings on the timing side were loose and there were two loose spindles. Pistons and bore looked perfect but the big-end was a bit slack; not catastrophic but not good. The engine was shipped off to someone who knows a lot more than me and has the abilities to fix the problems. Next step was the wheels. I don't like alloy rims on Australian roads so steel rims were to be fitted. But wait, what is this?? The rear hub had a major crack plus mis-matched bearings. Up until now all repair costs had been covered by selling a set of perfect, original touring mudguards that were on the bike. However the bike was never fitted with them ex-factory so an easy decision. Now I was spending money and I was also making sure this bike was only going to be rebuilt once. Next step the front forks. After all, when you have come this far it is only an afternoon's work. All parts were removed easily (some too easily if you get my drift) until I came to the bottom link. No way was the eccentric spindle going to come loose!! Now there were many, seemingly, brand new parts on the forks. The pad bolts were shiny new. The eccentrics were shiny stainless and the spindles were unmarked. But the eccentric spindle was like the Rock of Gibraltar! Eventually I replaced the nylon/plastic hammer for a brass one and there was movement. A few hard hits and then I prised off the RHS eccentric. All was now clear. The lower link was obviously twisted/bent. On closer inspection the upper link may also have a twist and the front shock absorber is probably destined for the bin. How the hell had I ridden this for over 300 miles? Because a Vincent is so over engineered it can counter all of these issues and still perform is the answer. So, am I disappointed? Not really. What I paid for the bike led me to the expectation I would need to do some work on it and experience with my Rapide told me to do a proper job and not a half job. Unless the price of 1949 HRD Black Shadows drops by 50% I am still quite happy with what I have. The lesson? Make your purchase with as much information as possible. NEVER think you can just buy and ride unless the machine has an impeccable history of a well ridden and maintained bike. Even then be cautious. The most astute rider can always ignore/miss some issues with a bike they have owned for decades. When complete, I hope this bike gives me the same confidence to ride the thousands of miles my Rapide has done for the last twenty years. Thank you for reading. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
The Series 'A' Rapide was known as the '********' Nightmare?
Post reply
Home
Forums
Forums: Public Access
General Chat (Vincent Related)
A salutary lesson for beginners.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…
Top