Vincent bodging

Mark Fraser

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
I am wondering what's the worst vinney bodge you have seen or you have done?

When I bought my Comet five years ago I went to check the valve clearances to discover a three inch nail had been skelped into the rocker tunnel :eek:. When I stripped down the rear brakes the previous owner had glued rubber to one of the brake shoes as a replacement for a brake lining Imagine if that had been on the front brake shoes and subsequently parted :eek:. Then their was the home made push rods :rolleyes:

As for bodging - None.
 

Howard

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I am wondering what's the worst vinney bodge you have seen or you have done?

When I bought my Comet five years ago I went to check the valve clearances to discover a three inch nail had been skelped into the rocker tunnel :eek:. When I stripped down the rear brakes the previous owner had glued rubber to one of the brake shoes as a replacement for a brake lining Imagine if that had been on the front brake shoes and subsequently parted :eek:. Then their was the home made push rods :rolleyes:

As for bodging - None.

I'm not condoning bodging, but don't forget todays expensive immaculate Vins have all been through an era when they were worth nothing. The push rods may have been made when they would have cost more to buy than the bike was worth, and no one made them anyway. It might even have been used by kids as a field bike.

I bet a lot of Vins have stories like Black Beauty (coincidental name) where they start well, go through a really bad patch, and then find good owners in their old age.......... I wonder if that goes for Vin Owners, I could do with being rescued and pampered.

H
 

Albervin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I am wondering what's the worst vinney bodge you have seen or you have done?

When I bought my Comet five years ago I went to check the valve clearances to discover a three inch nail had been skelped into the rocker tunnel :eek:. When I stripped down the rear brakes the previous owner had glued rubber to one of the brake shoes as a replacement for a brake lining Imagine if that had been on the front brake shoes and subsequently parted :eek:. Then their was the home made push rods :rolleyes:

As for bodging - None.
My Comet had lock washers in the timing chest made from Fosters beer cans. The forks had "half" bushes. The wiring loom burst into flames! Another rebuild from the shed of a (late) famous Vincent employee! Still got it after 25 years.....:rolleyes:
 

Mark Fraser

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
My Comet had lock washers in the timing chest made from Fosters beer cans. The forks had "half" bushes. The wiring loom burst into flames! Another rebuild from the shed of a (late) famous Vincent employee! Still got it after 25 years.....:rolleyes:

I forgot to mention that the exhaust port thread was just not there! Looked like the previous owner had used Exhaust repair paste to hold the nut in! :rolleyes:
 

lindie

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
suzuki 250 twin twostroke carbs on their original manifolds with boltholes elongated by die grinder. i don't feel too horrible as they replaced a pair of wal phillips injectors. besides, makes the yamaha scooter horn feel less out of place.

front lower mudguard stay made of two cut and shut chrysler centura fuel tank vent tubes to replace rusted out original. intend to produce a new pair in stainless one of these days when motivation carries me off.

one D.I.D. front alloy rim and a takasago rear in steel. may lace in a alloy rear one day but couldn't be stuffed while it does its job.

the usual interspersing of foreign threadforms and bibs and bobs. some were a unf nut and bolt of a smaller diameter in place of some lost or not readily available bsf job, others like the rear fuel tank to ufm bolts and the front stand hold up bolt have copped a thread tap and other bolts. replacing them as i go along except where i'd need to remove even more metal.

for resurrected bikes like mine with parts of at least 11 separate bikes in its make up, some slack can surely be cut for the odd part or two if it meant the sum of its parts wasn't just parted out to never see light of day again.
 
A

alan wright

Guest
This thread brings back fond? memories. I bought an Argentinian B Rapide in 1990 and amongst the joys to be discovered ;- Engine shock absorber welded to mainshaft...Bramptons cracked all round on both legs and held together by 2 pieces of 3/8 key steel welded on....EVERY thread on engine/gearbox knackered with a capital F !! Tony Maughan, bless him, counted 72 helicoils needed to put it right!!...Kickstart quadrant shaft ground to a square and kickstart crank filled with weld and filed square to suit ( although come to think of it, not such a bad mod , if you get it right first time !!!) and various other delights that have got lost in the mists of time.. No wonder my mates called it Perons revenge!! But all things are fixable and we just clicked up 22222 miles on the trip last week leaving the Creek Inn at Peel , full of crab sandwiches and Okells Best. Ride safely, shiny side up, Alan Wright
 

Howard

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I don't know whether these count as bodges, and they aren't as extreme as the others mentioned, but my Egli was probably the last one built in Bromyard (names witheld to protect anyone who may have been innocent). I suspected all was not well when it broke down on the way home from hinted at establishment, but that turned out to be a broken pilot air screw adjuster in the Mk 1 concentric - it looked as though the carb had reached final inspection and someone had noticed there was no pilot air hole, so they'd drilled one without removing the screw. The screw was in 2 pieces and it had obviously been cut by a drill.

On closer inspection I discovered the front carb was 32 mm and the back was 30 mm. A month later the valve lifter mechanism went walkabout in the timing chest, while it was apart, I discovered the front cams were Mk 2 and the rear Mk1 (obviously to suit the carbs). Not really a bodge, just using old stock.

At the TT in 1975 I had an official VOC bodge performed on my gearbox by several well known and respected VOC members. I can't remember what the problem was, and I won't publish names in case I've remembered them wrong, but someone eventually traced the cause as too little clearance. Several of the said gents wandered round the pub car park, and came back with ring pulls which they used as shims under the gearbox cover, and all worked well until I could get home and fix it properly. I suppose that would only count as a bodge if I was still using them - are vintage ring pulls a collectors item yet?

H
 

Mark Fraser

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
I am wondering what's the worst vinney bodge you have seen or you have done?

When I bought my Comet five years ago I went to check the valve clearances to discover a three inch nail had been skelped into the rocker tunnel :eek:. When I stripped down the rear brakes the previous owner had glued rubber to one of the brake shoes as a replacement for a brake lining Imagine if that had been on the front brake shoes and subsequently parted :eek:. Then their was the home made push rods :rolleyes:

As for bodging - None.

Once I laid out almost £800 to have the rocker tunnel reclaimed, lead free seats installed, new liner / piston / push rods / Mk2 cam and followers I didn't notice any difference in performance. Just goes to show that they can still run pretty well when the engines are well clapped.
 

vince998

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Once I laid out almost £800 to have the rocker tunnel reclaimed, lead free seats installed, new liner / piston / push rods / Mk2 cam and followers I didn't notice any difference in performance. Just goes to show that they can still run pretty well when the engines are well clapped.

The old saying "if it aint broke don´t fix it" has never been so relevant. This goes for the origanal clutch as well. i really don´t understand why people have so many problems with them?

On a trip up to Andreas in the north of germany, i managed to pull the nipple off the clutch cable (gearbox cover end) Andreas rode off to find a replacement and found a kit at Polo which contained nipples with grub screws as a fixing method. I fitted it at the roadside and was so impressed that it lasted (even though it´s not matched in form to the cutout in the clutch arm), five years later it´s still there and working. Does this count as a bodge?
 

Howard

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
The old saying "if it aint broke don´t fix it" has never been so relevant. This goes for the origanal clutch as well. i really don´t understand why people have so many problems with them?

On a trip up to Andreas in the north of germany, i managed to pull the nipple off the clutch cable (gearbox cover end) Andreas rode off to find a replacement and found a kit at Polo which contained nipples with grub screws as a fixing method. I fitted it at the roadside and was so impressed that it lasted (even though it´s not matched in form to the cutout in the clutch arm), five years later it´s still there and working. Does this count as a bodge?


No.
You just reminded me I did the same, and forgot to replace it when I had time. Like you said "if it ain't.........
There's a recent thread about soldered nipples coming adrift, perhaps we should all use this type.

H
 
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