hello from a state of disassembly.

[bmetcalf]

Thanks, I have 1/8" taps for both the BSP valve adjusters and the NPT experimental breather hole in a valve cap. I was just wanted to confirm that UK and OZ plumbing stores had proper BSP/Metric tapered plugs readily available.

Bruce, be careful buying National Pipe Thread (US) from your local plumbing store for use on your Vincent. NPT is 1 TPI different from BSP - you will wreck your original threads. I've seen and worked-on several US Vincents with this problem - including Series As!

Peter B
Bristol, UK

 

[lindie]

a new first for me today: i've ridden her into town to fit my regulator and sort the dynamo so she's here with me at work. along the way i was able to pull into a service station, fuel up, and then restart it and continue my journey. this might be the end of funnels and jerry cans! riding nicely and is no longer skittish around traffic lights.

dad is very pleased with his birthday present and we've got a ride planned together in the coming weeks.

 

[lindie]

we have charge.

after some light confusion with orientation of the dynamo wiring generated by the supplied instruction diagrams, and looking for somewhere to mount it the jg reg is on and functioning.

the shifted d and f positions caused some head scratching but all ended well.


one problem sorted out and another one found. went for a test run to see the girlfriend and a few flicks between low to high beam had the dipswitch ignoring it's responsibilities. flicked the light switch back a notch and carried on the journey on park lamp alone. removed the switch later and the bakelite (?) has cracked and shes not giving power to either of the circuits so that'll be a fun thing to play with in the morning. i can feel something foreign taking its place but not sure as to what just yet. same supplier as that hideous miller pattern taillamp that i'm never going to fit as the quality was just to far on the side of crap to believe.

so i carried on riding on park afterward sticking mainly to well lit streets and the trip meter now reads 173 miles. this includes 93 done between thursday morning and that night, and the other 80 done tonight. am getting better at selectng neutral on the roll to traffic lights and after adjusting the pedal lower am even using the rear brakes albeit tentatively. might swap out the plugs in the morning, sync the carbs and check the fuel bowls for crap. she's now riding well enough that it can be considered a proposition to go for a cruise on and for that i am pleased.

will need to rebush the front girders and make a crossover tube for the fuel taps at some point but she's rapidly becoming the bike i want it to be and theres not that much left to be done on it. now i've said that wait and watch it all turn to shit and start chasing my own tail fixing things. will contact one of the suppliers come the new year and get the bits i'm requiring but no rush for now.

 

[Alan J]

Glad to see you are making progress in making your bike a"useable machine!"-Not so easy to use mine-too much snow and worse still, ice!

 

[lindie]

i can see how the cold snow and ice is a detractor from riding. at least as a consolation you mustn't have a front lawn full of dragons like poor tom does on a frequent basis. feel free to drop by and we'll have some cold ham and chicken for christmas. just checked the weather stats and the temp over the last three days has dipped so low as 29 degrees (the ice age is approaching!) and then back up to 35 or so. to say i'm jealous of your weather at this time of year doesn't cover it.

merry christmas you lot.

 

[lindie]

nother weekend down. centre stand mk 2 is now on and holds her up steady as a rock. uses a camplate with two slots cut to hold it in the up and down positions. a piece of rubber to act as a distortable spring is pressed in a 1" 1/4 diameter piece of pipe and lives surrounding ft107. as it rolls around with the legs of the stand, the cam rises in profile slightly and then falls guiding the pipe/rubber out of round and then back into shape as she locates into the slot. still somewhat prototypish in appearance, i'm quite pleased with the action and positivity of it snicking into the raised position.

have tried it out in rain also the first time this weekend. rides fine and with a little round town running then a 95 mile romp on the highway to get some decent fish and chips and visit a mate and back, the mileage when filled up equated to 51 mpg. a good 200 miles were notched up over the two days with a separate jaunt the 90 kays there and back to where the rapide is kept on the mz and brief buzz on dads gsx1100 this afternoon it's been quite a nice weekend for riding though my forearms and thighs are showing sunburn and i'll be paying for that in the next few days.

have refitted the old dynamo clamp as the angle it seats the retaining nut and washer seems flatter on the et176/1 with the cast in hollow under the miller reg than the flush faced spare i'd fitted.

copped my first "peace" hand signal replicating the taillight on saturday night from two drunk nightclubber women. hadn't the presence of mind at the time to enquire about their stance on "free love" but at least it's eliciting a positive response from some elements of society.

overtaking is a ball and by the people in the two cars who've later pulled in where i did to fuel up, also an aural delight. any time you're out on it someone or another gives you the thumbs up though many then ask what it is which spoils the effect.

in a fit of prissyness, i washed the rear wheel and brake drums yesterday but negated to see if they were oil splattered again when i rolled her into the shed last night. pretty much the work of sysiphus until i sort something to stop oil flooding into the dynamo from the gaping wound where et164 should be. was good to see how nice the paint on the brake plates and swingarm remains under it all though. and in our climate, whats oil spattered is at least rust proofed somewhat from the salt air.

think she deserves a rest for a week and i'm away from town this coming weekend to attend a wedding so that settles it anyway.

 

[Alan J]

Happy New Year to you and your Dad!!--Indie-Never Never ride your Vincent nearly naked!! I worked with a guy in South Africa years ago who did that, and got more than sunburn when he "went down" the road!! {but he was on a Triumph-so that doesn't count!} Alan j.

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Lindie: it was only when I made a long run, to the French Section Rally, in Belgium... that I realised that I had more than one problem. Drink, being mobbed by 16 year old nymphos, OK, we all get that, but the oil leaks...
Oil in the chaincase is thrashed into aerosol form. This body-swerves the oil-flinger, and escapes over the back of the bike. And drips from the front, because i was told, and don't disbelieve, that air passes FORWARDS under Vincent motors.
The crank-chamber breathes into the chaincase. If the chaincase is sealed, then it is pressurised slightly when the pistons come down, but when the pistons ascend, the pressure is released. But only if the dynamo / chaincase gap is sealed.
So first, pop down to the DIY store, and buy the 1 cubic metre tube of silicone sealant, and seal the gap.
Then sort out the other problems.
Which may mean moving to a more effective breather, viz, a pipe, a PCV, and another pipe. Details on request.

 

[bmetcalf]

buy the 1 cubic metre tube of silicone sealant, and seal the gap.
.

Oh, come on, Tom, a 5 gallon pail should be enough.

 

[lindie]

don't you pair think these solutions are a bit drastic?

what about a 1/4 inch breather hole drilled into the three oil chambers from the underside and a jam tin underneath each to keep the leaks contained and directable. sure, it might make the bike an unuseable ornament but at least the bulk of the oildrops and seepages would be directable and easily recovered.

the best cure for a leaky sunroof is generally a hammer. that way after you smash the glass, you're more likely to park it in the garage.