Oil b4 start up ? Where and type..

Domiracernick

Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi I’m still a few weeks from starting my bike .. but after draining all oil out bike I’m wondering the type to refill in Uk ? And how too? Far as I can see there’s the top tank under petrol , gearbox oil with a dipstick, primary side with a nut you extract to see level , and the other side with the oil return pipes to. So where do I fill them all too and levels ? Can’t find any literature re this ..
07268759-9B61-4A9D-95E1-D4EEF9A8F8F6.jpeg
 

greg brillus

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Whilst you've got the bike stripped that far, I would remove the barrels and see if the small drilling for the piston skirt feed is not too high. This will be immediately obvious looking at the ring wear verses hone marks in the bores, and the position of these oil delivery holes........very common for the holes to be too high, thus oil is feeding within the rings, not good for oil consumption. Easy to make up a simple ring compressor using a 25 mm strip of alloy sheet, the ends bent at right angles, wrap this around the piston allowing a gap say 10 mm........the end ear's keep short so you can feed the strip from between the studs after you have lowered the barrel back over the ring area........definitely worth doing while you have the top end off it........Cheers......Greg.
 

Martyn Goodwin

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Whilst you've got the bike stripped that far, I would remove the barrels and see if the small drilling for the piston skirt feed is not too high. This will be immediately obvious looking at the ring wear verses hone marks in the bores, and the position of these oil delivery holes........very common for the holes to be too high, thus oil is feeding within the rings, not good for oil consumption. Easy to make up a simple ring compressor using a 25 mm strip of alloy sheet, the ends bent at right angles, wrap this around the piston allowing a gap say 10 mm........the end ear's keep short so you can feed the strip from between the studs after you have lowered the barrel back over the ring area........definitely worth doing while you have the top end off it........Cheers......Greg.
Hi Greg,

What do you recomend users do if they find that the oil delivery hole is too high?
 

greg brillus

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
To be honest, by the time I measure up everything, the barrels are usually junk........I don't muck around changing liners, especially if the height of the muff is under say 3.020" standard is 3.062 roughly.......You can blank off the holes with countersunk aircraft rivets bonded into the old holes, then drill new ones lower down..........If you use the piston minus the rings on the conrod, fit the barrel temporarily, with the piston at BDC put a texter mark around the piston crown/bore, then remove the piston and measure the marks verses the lower piston ring groove keeping the new hole a good 2 mm bellow this. Plenty prefer to not have the holes at all........personal preference....... I generally like to run them.
 

Domiracernick

Forum User
Non-VOC Member
To be honest, by the time I measure up everything, the barrels are usually junk........I don't muck around changing liners, especially if the height of the muff is under say 3.020" standard is 3.062 roughly.......You can blank off the holes with countersunk aircraft rivets bonded into the old holes, then drill new ones lower down..........If you use the piston minus the rings on the conrod, fit the barrel temporarily, with the piston at BDC put a texter mark around the piston crown/bore, then remove the piston and measure the marks verses the lower piston ring groove keeping the new hole a good 2 mm bellow this. Plenty prefer to not have the holes at all........personal preference....... I generally like to run them.
Thanks Greg .. you may have lost me a bit there .. I’ve probably not got the skill or measuring equipment to do that job .. but scared of delving to deep into the motor . Only took heads off more as a precaution as sat for a while and was worried about the seats pitting. However yes your right it would be best practice.. let me chew over it next few days . But
 

vibrac

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Read this its all in the search engine top right
 

Marcus Bowden

VOC Hon. Overseas Representative
VOC Member
Good advice from Greg there but to save yourself trouble just blank off your timing chest oil supply so you might get fractionally more to your cams. I'm more inclined to supply a quantity of oil to under the piston to keeping it cooler and have pressure to your cam rail so you have a positive feed under the followers provided you have the holes in the leading face of the cams, not all cams had these holes as I've just had to drill out a set, now I'm wondering weather to open up the cases and fit the suction pipe for the extra (Honda) oil pump, a mod I did over 30 years ago (on my working Rap)with another 150 k miles and still the same cams but now using a slightly larger capacity pump wondering weathering to supply under piston cooling. Have plans in doing a Comet engine "C"series and a plain floating bush that I have already fitted to an "A" Comet but not tried yet, may be on the wrong side of seventy but a Comet is more manageable than a twin.
The mod is in 40 years on by the Frenchman Herve' Hamond, I can supply photos if you want to try it and how to mod the c/cases.
bananaman.
 

greg brillus

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Marcus, these engines don't put out enough heat to worry about that........Modern's with big diameter pistons and big HP outputs yes. The extra pump feeding the cams is good, too much trouble for the average rider out there, I feel.
 

Marcus Bowden

VOC Hon. Overseas Representative
VOC Member
Trouble is Greg my bike has been my life line for virtually all my life and I do things to it to last even longer and try to extend it's working life, my son wants to carry on with it as he says it's got so much of me in it !!! Never really going much beyond standard as I can not produce any more aesthetic beauty than the two Phil's did, having known Mr Vincent and our many meetings and felt his enthusiasm about his creations wouldn't want to upset his soul.
bananaman.
 
Last edited:

brian gains

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
using a rivet to blank off the oil hole sounds like a recipe for disaster. Remind me if the rivet is held captive by anything other than its deformation, This is apart from presumably loosing some material off the rivet and hence also detrimental to the interference fit when the bore is honed. I'd consider a dressed spot weld would give more peace of mind but that would still keep me awake at night. Or have I missed something?.
 
Top