E: Engine Imperial or Metric - Pros and Cons

[oexing]

No , I don´t have BSF spanners, have never seen the logic to look up files about bolt threads to know the type of hexagon and spanner. In metric world nobody cares about threads, you get your vernier onto the hexagon and see in same second what size of spanner you take - when you happen to deal with non-standard metric screws and in doubt about size of hexagon. On the sixties Jag there were mainly UNF so I got UNF spanners, no interest in waisting any penny in obsolete British tools. Why should I keep BSF or the like when you got in deep trouble in case of some repair on the road. You won´t find something fitting in any garage or supermarket within 500 miles here. Well - for that reason I can see the urge to have a monkey wrench on you 24 hours a day in certain countries . . . . .

Vic

 

[Bill Thomas]

Yours won't DARE to brake down !,
You would completely re design it .

 

[oexing]

Well, I try to do my very best to get all places safe for operation - but then, you can never know - and you don´t stop learning all your life long - or you´d be an idiot . . . .

Vic

 

[vibrac]

All very strange thinking vice versa much as I love the original fixings I dont think I would use BSF on my Honda and a moment in the proper location and imperial spanners are 10 a penny I have a set in each British bike tool box thats what MO33 (and the equivalent in other british bike manuals) is all about... pass me my metric K1

 

[SteveO]

Would be a shame if you binned the Allen type adjusters. I got them from Neal Videan for having more space under the inspection caps with high lift cams. The threads seemed to be pretty hard to me so I put them on a electric plate for the blue colour to be annealed a bit more. The nut hexagons had a weird size, no UNF spanners fitted. So - you guess - now they are all 13 mm metric . . . .

Vic
View attachment 43575

13mm is the same as 1/4BSF, which is an ISO size. Some other metric spanners will fit Vincents also; I find I have to use a metric socket to remove the sump drain plug...

 

[ericg]

No , I don´t have BSF spanners, have never seen the logic to look up files about bolt threads to know the type of hexagon and spanner. In metric world nobody cares about threads, you get your vernier onto the hexagon and see in same second what size of spanner you take - when you happen to deal with non-standard metric screws and in doubt about size of hexagon. On the sixties Jag there were mainly UNF so I got UNF spanners, no interest in waisting any penny in obsolete British tools. Why should I keep BSF or the like when you got in deep trouble in case of some repair on the road. You won´t find something fitting in any garage or supermarket within 500 miles here. Well - for that reason I can see the urge to have a monkey wrench on you 24 hours a day in certain countries . . . . .

Vic

Obsolete British tools for obsolete British bikes then...
Never had a problem dealing with AF or imperial tools.
The Norton Commando for example has imperial fasteners on engine and gearbox, all the rest is AF.
No problem.
I once met a guy who says he's" improved" his Triumph twin after replacing all its fasteners with metrics!

 

[Peter Holmes]

I can just about imagine a Bonham's auction catalogue:-

For Sale by auction, a totally original HRD Series A Rapide, one of only 78 thought to have been manufactured pre war, completely as it left the factory, matching frame and engine numbers, including oil pump and gearbox, Every thread and nut on this bike has been converted to metric by the previous meticulous engineer owner, so maybe this bike is not for the purist!

It would be a travesty would it not?

 

[Vincent Brake]

No , I don´t have BSF spanners, have never seen the logic to look up files about bolt threads to know the type of hexagon and spanner. In metric world nobody cares about threads, you get your vernier onto the hexagon and see in same second what size of spanner you take - when you happen to deal with non-standard metric screws and in doubt about size of hexagon. On the sixties Jag there were mainly UNF so I got UNF spanners, no interest in waisting any penny in obsolete British tools. Why should I keep BSF or the like when you got in deep trouble in case of some repair on the road. You won´t find something fitting in any garage or supermarket within 500 miles here. Well - for that reason I can see the urge to have a monkey wrench on you 24 hours a day in certain countries . . . . .

Vic

Oh oh, no imperial spanners.
Oh oh.
No good Vic.
Shame shame.

 

[Flo]

Now what I can say to this dispute is that hereabouts in the middles of the continent Imperial spanner are not easy ro find indeed, nevertheless my personal- lets call it taste - is to have them and to use them and I have long since learne the 1/4 " BSF is quite interchangeable with 13 mm whereas the funny UN (C or F) AKA AF are more or less useless for me . . . what I can clearly remeber is the Change to SI unist early in my Student days now that is an sensible Sytem free from BTUs an RTs (refrigeration tons) yet so many of my compatriots tending to repöacing lose Bolzts and nuts with metrics at the same time stic with utterly ridiculous units like Kcal and PS which require one to learn 6 figuer conversion factors na heart or look them up frequently . . . verb sat sap

 

[Marcus Bowden]

Your adjustable wrench will fit every thing Vincent, no worries just carry on .