ET: Engine (Twin) Questions regarding FT163 Magneto Cowl - Twin

Gary Gittleson

Gary Gittleson

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VOC Member
My D Rapide came with a C cowl, which I still have on the bike. It has some welding repairs on the left lower tab and a crack near the repair. I bought a new one from Coventry Spares, which probably came from the club. There was no way it would have fit. It was indeed much thicker material than the original but on top of that the upper mount was at least 1/2 inch from where it needed to be. I would have had to carve out lots of aluminum at the least to make it work. I gave up and decided to live with the old one.
 
Texas John

Texas John

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Non-VOC Member
Chankly/Charles, I did NOT know of the difference in Acorn nuts so that accounts for a good bit of difficulty in closing the cover over the magneto. E.g. I don't have the short one, but removing the tall one currently in place makes a good bit of difference. Now if I could only move the bolt hole about 1/8 or 3/16 I would be OK.
 
Texas John

Texas John

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Thanks to all of you (especially Simon) for taking measurements and the thoughtful comments. I think the hole is drilled a bit short on the cowl I received, but I may be just as well off to make a slightly longer tab than to spend the small fortune in postage to send it back. And of course they would have to decide what to do with it. I think my engine plates are original but with my bike, there is no way to prove it.
 
C

chankly bore

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Parts that are this far out are sometimes the product of an amateur using an aluminium (or even aluminum) original part directly as a sand casting pattern without considering the allowance for shrinkage. There have been parts made like this on Greedybay in the past, Comet primary cases are one such I can recall. One can make a slightly longer mounting tab, but clearance of the front mudguard and bottom stay must be ensured throughout the full range of movement of the front forks. John, you MAY be able to shorten a long acorn nut very carefully in a lathe. LUCAS were wonderful, the thread is 1/2" B.S.F. so you can hold it in an old nut, 507. Don't blame me if you break the acorn nut, as they get brittle with age, like me. You can find the right acorn nuts by searching under the LUCAS part numbers. Cheers mate. P.S. can you pass the "B" Parts List on to Magnetoman by some clever electronic means as I'm too much of a Luddite to manage it.
 
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Texas John

Texas John

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Non-VOC Member
Gary Gittleson said:
My D Rapide came with a C cowl, which I still have on the bike. It has some welding repairs on the left lower tab and a crack near the repair. I bought a new one from Coventry Spares, which probably came from the club. There was no way it would have fit. It was indeed much thicker material than the original but on top of that the upper mount was at least 1/2 inch from where it needed to be. I would have had to carve out lots of aluminum at the least to make it work. I gave up and decided to live with the old one.
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Thanks Gary. My first cowl was from Coventry Spares. Inside was cast "Taylor". When I spoke with them about it, they told me that's the person/company who made it. I.e. it was not a VOC Spares part.
They said I was welcome to return it.
I had written VOC Spares to check the hole spacing before ordering from them and was told 8.1/4 inches so I thought I would be OK. What I got is 3/16 short of that so I must write and tell them they have a problem with getting this part made accurately.
 
S

Shane998

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Non-VOC Member
Texas John said:
Chankly/Charles, I did NOT know of the difference in Acorn nuts so that accounts for a good bit of difficulty in closing the cover over the magneto. E.g. I don't have the short one, but removing the tall one currently in place makes a good bit of difference. Now if I could only move the bolt hole about 1/8 or 3/16 I would be OK.
Click to expand...
Fill wrong hole with weld then redrill in correct place just need to make sure you get them in correct alignment
Chankly/Charles, I did NOT know of the difference in Acorn nuts so that accounts for a good bit of difficulty in closing the cover over the magneto. E.g. I don't have the short one, but removing the tall one currently in place makes a good bit of difference. Now if I could only move the bolt hole about 1/8 or 3/16 I would be OK
 
S

Shane998

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Shane998 said:
Fill wrong hole with weld then redrill in correct place just need to make sure you get them in correct alignment
Chankly/Charles, I did NOT know of the difference in Acorn nuts so that accounts for a good bit of difficulty in closing the cover over the magneto. E.g. I don't have the short one, but removing the tall one currently in place makes a good bit of difference. Now if I could only move the bolt hole about 1/8 or 3/16 I would be OK
Click to expand...
Welding aluminium surface needs to be really clean as this is new part should be ok otherwise drill hole out a little to get into clean metal
 
Texas John

Texas John

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Non-VOC Member
As I can't weld aluminium, it will be cheaper and easier to make a slightly longer tab with appropriate holes. VOC has the short acorn nut, but postage from UK to USA would be more that the part's cost so I will have to wait until a future order to get one. Thanks to all for the help in this puzzle.
 
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