Running in Questions Series D

[macvette]

Exhaust colour and timing

Hi,
I'm up to nearly 400 miles now, the bike starts easily and settles down quickly to idle. I'm still worried about the pipes discolouring near the heads and am thinking maybe the timing is out somewhat. I'm not sure what it's timed at.
I set the timing on my Corvette by running the engine at 1500 rpm ( to get the bob weights working) and set the distributor just slightly back from the point at which the engine runs the fastest. This is a recommended method because the timing marks which are on the crankshaft damper become unreliable with age as the rubber in the damper distorts somewhat.
Has anyone tried this and if so at what revs would the weights be extended ?

Mac

 

[Tom Gaynor]

My baby dun left me: my pipes have got the blues

It sounds as though you've pretty well got it right.
Blue pipes are not a guide to setting timing or mixture strength. If they were then dealers would sell timing discs and jets instead of "anti-blue" - or if you are buying from Dany Vincent, Restom, "antibleu pour chromes" - to get rid of the damn stuff. If you want a Vincent without blue pipes then 1) be very lucky - or, possibly, have mixture and timing wildly out. 2) use pipes of thicker steel 3) commission a set of double-skinned pipes like wot Honda and Harley do, then the inner skin will blue and the outer won't, or 4) buy stainless pipes - they go a light brown colour instead!
My (club, chrome) pipes have been blue from day one, over a timing range of 38 to 34 BTDC (static), and jets from 210 to 180. Current settings (with 289 carbs and a mag) are 34 BTDC and 190 jets. I bought a new ATD from Roy Price. When the originals wear I believe they convert themselves into centrifugal switches, going from full retard to full advance, at around 1500 rpm.
Francois Grosset (of electric leg fame) sells a timing disc that can be fitted into the big-end quill (OP9/2) allowing the motor to be started and strobed without risk of seizure. I have one, but have never used it. He also sells a much better distributor than the Lucas pattern, the timing of which can be altered while the engine is running.
I jet on a combination of plug colour and engine behaviour. Plugs should be light brown to white on the central ceramic, and the motor ought to spit coming off the pilot until warm. (The classic method of tuning Manxes with Gardner carbs is "lean it out until it pops on the over-run, then richen it one".)
Caveat: if you find yourself more than 3 jet sizes away from "standard settings", stop and think. I know someone (not me!) who leaned a Manx down and down and down to get the rich fuelling right, until it seized. The magneto was failing, and the spark was too weak to burn all the fuel...

 

[deejay499]

My Prince/ Wessex outfit has 8.1 pistons and pulls a 48t rear sprocket. I started running in up to 55 mph and then 60 mph after about 400 - 500 miles. These are my normal driving speeds for the outfit, but I was careful not to rev to much in the lower gears. Now with 800 miles on the clock, I am happy for it to run higher when going down hill.
Oil tank draining. It is not recommended to run the engine for too long with the rear cowl up as the oil level can drop below the outlet pipe, so for any work on the outlet side, it is better to have the back end raised. Easier on the enclosed models as we have a support rod, but the open models would need propping. Cheers, DJ

 

[macvette]

Up to 550 miles now, running ok, time for another oil change and check the head bolts. Slight oil leak from the engine end of the supply and feed banjo washers so I'll replace those with dowty washers. Oil consumptionabout 1/4 pint. I haven't checked fuel consumption yet. I have a couple of questions.
1. I made a perspex cover to check the fuel level in the Amal Monoblocs and found that it was between 1/8 " and 1/4 " to high. Is this critical ? I couldn't see a way of adjusting the level and have emailed Amal but as yet no answer. Can anyone help?
2. The footbrake linkage is fouling the clutch cover when loaded, doesn,t affect the braking but is marking the cover, is there a longer footrest spacer ?

Thanks Mac

 

[BigEd]

2. The footbrake linkage is fouling the clutch cover when loaded, doesn,t affect the braking but is marking the cover, is there a longer footrest spacer ?

Thanks Mac

Depending on how much extra clearance you need you might get away with putting another FT201 washer between the battery carrier and the footrest spacer.

 

[Prince Duster]

Welcome to Series D's. They all do that, Sir. And leak a bit from the oil return pipe on the rear tank.
DL