ET: Engine (Twin) Shadow Engine strip

[Bill Thomas]

Morning Mike, Been watching your super videos, I could NOT do work in front of the camera.
Just worried about No 26, You put petrol in the oil tank to flush it, I did not see much come out, When you took the bung out of the main oil feed !, Just to say there is a one way valve inside there, Nothing will come out until you fit the special main feed nut with a small tube sticking out the top, As you screw it in it pushes the valve open, I am worried when you come to fit the oil pipe, it will release the petrol which will go into your engine.
Hope this does not upset you, There are lots of tricky things on Vincent's.
Years ago a chap did not fit the special nut, So the oil never came through and he stuffed a big end.
All The Best, Bill.

 

[vibrac]

Picking up on the earlier push rod theme in this thread as I mentioned in my 2020 thread I had a push rod adjuster and pushrod pull out of the rocker in one piece! (after just 2 miles) I took the impromptu assembly to Vincent spares although I knew there were no recent VOCSC parts implicated we all said we had never seen such a situation Ian spotted a small crack in the cup and that the pushrod had gone through the cup hardening we separated the parts I have now rehardend the push road and fitted a new adjuster. I will back to the 2020 thread to say if things have improved but other tasks intervene

 

[Mike T]

Morning Mike, Been watching your super videos, I could NOT do work in front of the camera.
Just worried about No 26, You put petrol in the oil tank to flush it, I did not see much come out, When you took the bung out of the main oil feed !, Just to say there is a one way valve inside there, Nothing will come out until you fit the special main feed nut with a small tube sticking out the top, As you screw it in it pushes the valve open, I am worried when you come to fit the oil pipe, it will release the petrol which will go into your engine.
Hope this does not upset you, There are lots of tricky things on Vincent's.
Years ago a chap did not fit the special nut, So the oil never came through and he stuffed a big end.
All The Best, Bill.

Thanks a lot Bill for your advice. I really appreciate it. Yes, as soon as I removed the bung and saw just a few drops coming out, I remembered about the valve! I struggled a bit to get all the petrol out and even used compressed air to blow out the last few drops (which wasn’t pretty!) but finally got it all out. Is there a special or an easier technique that some of the guys use when flushing their tanks? For example, fitting another feed nut with a separate pipe into a catch bottle or something like that?

 

[Robert Watson]

The last UFM I did got boiled in a Radiator shop tank for 3 days! I looked inside with flashlights and mirrors and it was CLEAN!

 

[Bill Thomas]

Thanks a lot Bill for your advice. I really appreciate it. Yes, as soon as I removed the bung and saw just a few drops coming out, I remembered about the valve! I struggled a bit to get all the petrol out and even used compressed air to blow out the last few drops (which wasn’t pretty!) but finally got it all out. Is there a special or an easier technique that some of the guys use when flushing their tanks? For example, fitting another feed nut with a separate pipe into a catch bottle or something like that?

Thanks Mike, I would take both the fittings out, We had a bit about blocking the chain oiler the other day, A sump drain plug fits that.
I did an oil tank some time ago that was real bad, And cut a rectangle out of the top, Gave it a good clean out and welded it back !, A few times !!.
If it's not to bad I would leave well alone, Just take the main feed fitting out and make sure the filter on the end of it was clean.
Really like your videos, For anybody that has not seen inside, Must be a lot of help.
Super workshop, Wish I had that space, After seeing your Red Engine lift, I had to have one, Super job.
Already used it a few times.
Cheers Bill.

 

[Mike T]

r seeing your Red Engine lift, I had to have one, Super job.
Already used it a few times.

Brilliant! Thank you Bill. I will do that. Thanks for your kind comments about the vids, etc. I love making them and it's a ton of fun. They keep me honest and I do my very best to respect the tradition of the bike and observe the correct maintenance procedures. I spend a lot of time researching each process. I'm also keenly aware that there is a community of some incredibly talented and knowledgeable Vincent owners who can probably do what it takes me hours to do in no time! I'm also really lucky in having some very talented Vincent friends here who have been so helpful with the refurbishment. I can't wait until I will be able to take videos from onboard the bike, riding it around the Oregon countryside. It's a lot like England in some ways. Yes, the red lift is just a cheapo lift from a hardware store called 'Harbor Freight' here in the US. The quality of some of their tools is a little questionable (i.e. some are a one-time use only, ha ha), but the basic stuff is very cheap & just fine. The lift was definitely one of the best things I've bought. It really helps your back and honestly I'm more motivated to get after jobs because it's so much easier than doing the yoga moves on the floor! Best wishes, Mike

 

[Bill Thomas]

I thought £ 79, Was cheap enough, But it just needed a tickle! for it to work well, I Gaffer Taped a bit of 1/4" Plywood to the top, Plus more Gaffer Tape to the bottom, To stop it being slippy.
Super for lifting the front for spring changes etc.
I have always used car side jacks, But this is much better.
Good Luck, Bill.

 

[Nigel Spaxman]

If you look at the pushrods in the video,at about 11:13, they are the same as a set i was asked to modify..In standard followers they jam in the follower before full lift because there is no relief behind the rounded end..Has anyone else seen them with this problem?

I have those push rods, I modified the cam followers and the adjustment bolts instead of modifying the push rods. That is the way John McDougal did it and he built this engine in the video. Another way is to modify the push rods. That seems an easier way to me, but I prefered to do everything the way John advised.

 

[bmetcalf]

I thought £ 79, Was cheap enough, But it just needed a tickle! for it to work well, I Gaffer Taped a bit of 1/4" Plywood to the top, Plus more Gaffer Tape to the bottom, To stop it being slippy.
Super for lifting the front for spring changes etc.
I have always used car side jacks, But this is much better.
Good Luck, Bill.

Mike is probably talking about this

https://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-steel-motorcycle-lift-69904.html

They are almost always on sale for $300.

 

[Mike T]

Thanks Mike, I would take both the fittings out, We had a bit about blocking the chain oiler the other day, A sump drain plug fits that.
I did an oil tank some time ago that was real bad, And cut a rectangle out of the top, Gave it a good clean out and welded it back !, A few times !!.
If it's not to bad I would leave well alone, Just take the main feed fitting out and make sure the filter on the end of it was clean.
Really like your videos, For anybody that has not seen inside, Must be a lot of help.
Super workshop, Wish I had that space, After seeing your Red Engine lift, I had to have one, Super job.
Already used it a few times.
Cheers Bill.

Thanks again Bill. I took both fittings out tonight. Both were much cleaner than I expected so very happy. I split the valve assembly and zapped the parts in the ultrasonic cleaner and then refitted. I also had a spare drain plug so did that little mod too! It will feature in an upcoming vid Cheers! Mike