A Day of Diddling

More Headaches.

Tuesday I drove over to Rick's house to help with the Kawasaki.

We took off the gas tank and the carburetors to check the intake connections to the cylinders.

Now this is one of those arrangements designed by a sadist.

If you could remove the air filter canister it would be easy; I think it must be the first part installed in the frame at the factory. The only way I can see to get it out is to take the gas ax to the frame.

You have to remove all of the hoses and cables, then you can tug, pull, and push the four-carburetor assembly out from in between the rubber boots it sits between.

Here you can see the carbs.

One of the problems with them being so close is that the clamp screws on the rubber boots get worn over time due to the screwdriver slipping or the wrong screwdriver being used.
We decided to install socket head screws, of course each side of the boot uses a different screw.
Off we went to Ace hardware to grab new screws. We started re-assembly only to find that one of the new screws was wrong. Not enough so that you would notice, it was probably a stock SAE screw dropped into the metric bin.
GRRRRR! back to the store for a new screw. (As the actress said to the bishop)
Now you have the reverse problem, pushing the carbs back through the gap between the boots and hooking up the cables and hoses.

Once it was all connected we tried running the bike, it starts up real nice and idles OK but when you run up the revs it takes a long time to come back down to idle.

After disconnecting the CARB (California Air Resources Board) required bits, multiple valves, hoses etc we found that by inserting a small orifice in the vacuum line from the manifold the engine speed came down much better. Hmm, maybe we are onto something.

We reconnected all the CARB stuff and it worked well for a short while then started acting up again.
It's my opinion that the problem lies in one or more of the emission control components.
More research and diddling required.

One of the benefits of living in So-Cal is of course the weather, here we are working under the shade of a palm tree with Hibiscus flowers in bloom.

As we now have clear skies most of the time I guess that I shouldn't bad mouth the CARB restrictions too much.
I still think that they should not apply to motorcycles.
Just my opinion...

Ciao 
Norm

Sheddington Transport Division Comes Through Again

Another Rescue

My brother Jimmie called to ask if I was available last Saturday. That is the real Saturday, not my Saturday which is any day now that I'm retired.

At first he told me that we were going to Venice Beach (the one in California) now that's a strange neighborhood.

However, when we checked further it was actually Marina Del Rey where we were going.

We were going to pick up , if the deal was OK, a 2001 Kawasaki Concours 1000.

We arrived to find that the address was a dealership.

PCH Power Sports

The guy selling the bike was keeping it there.

I have to say these were some of the nicest guys I've ever met at a dealership of any kind.

The owner showed up and tried to start the bike, but it was not co-operating.

Rick decided to buy it anyway.

As both the buyer and the seller are from Texas, there was a lot of BS going around.

Then of course there was Arthur who is a big football fan of a Texas team who shall remain nameless adding to the BS.

I needed rubber boots!

Now the problem comes, how to push a big ass heavy old motorcycle up the ramps on to the truck.

Whilst we were discussing this and bearing in mind the narrow escape from disaster on our last mission; the two service guys led by Oscar told us to get out of the way.

They pulled the bike into the workshop and then took a good run at it, the bike was on the truck in a heartbeat.

Well done guys, and thank you.
On a different note, Oscar allowed me into the workshop, something most places frown upon, to look at the jacks that they use on their lifts, I now have the same jack on my lift.
As I said really friendly and professional guys who know their stuff.

We tied it down and off we went, headed for Long Beach.

Once back at Rick's house the prize was unloaded and placed in the yard.

Of course here we have to push it uphill to get it on the ramps.

Here it is in all its glory.

After about four hours Rick had it running, kinda sorta.

Now it runs but has some carburetor problems.

Tomorrow (Two Wheel Tuesday) we will start on that issue.

More soon.

Keep the shiny side up and your knees in the breeze.

Ciao

Norm

March Second Sunday Vintage Bike Meet

March 13th Second Sunday Vintage Bike Meet

Sunday the 13^th arrived, and we still weren’t quite ready, but with an early start we were confident we could make it this time. Another test ride or two and we were ready to go.

It is only about 8 miles to the venue for the meet, but we decided to take a longer route down to the coast and along Pacific Coast Highway; a beautiful ride and no problems. I would not recommend riding bikes such as the Panther in our more developed urban areas such as Los Angeles, or on one of our many freeways, but down by the beach it is always a pleasure.

On to the meet. It takes place in the parking lot of a small hamburger joint, and was well attended with somewhere in the order of 125 bikes there. Check the link below.

OC Vintage

 Lots of bikes for a bit of a cool day.

The Panther created a lot of interest as very few people had even heard of it let alone seen one.

 An appreciative crowd with my friend Rick explaining the intricacies of the machine.

The organizer of the event, Joe Kagerer, asked if I was staying until the end as usually I take off before then.

 Rick thought that it was a good sign.

When the votes were tallied, the winner was, the Panther by a significant margin.

I felt sorry for the guy who came second,

He had this absolutely pristine BMW, and I won with a ratty old Panther.

The voting is done by the crowd and as they say in Yorkshire:

"There's nowt as queer as folk"

The winner rides off into the sunset with his prize.

Moto Music

Motorcycle Friday

Today with the threat of rain bordering on "Epic Proportions" we decided to work on the Moto Guzzi.

So, I ran over to Jimmie's house around 10:00 and we got to work.

After a small issue with the ignition timing triggers involving crossed wiring the bike was running.

Albeit not well.

We checked the compression and found a significant disparity between the left and right cylinders.

The left was acceptable at around 150 PSI but the right was over 230 PSI.

With the throttle wide open the gap closed somewhat but was still something like 210 to 240.

That problem still needs further investigation.

The right cylinder was running extremely rich at low RPM and the bike would shut down at about 4000 RPM.

The right carb was removed and all parts inspected.

The Delorto carburetor is very similar in function to the Amal, we looked at and tested every orifice, we were so intrusive that we could have worked for the TSA.

Then we had one of those Ah Ha! moments.

The main and idle jets had been reversed by a previous carburetor diddler.

These are shown as part numbers 16 and 17 in the diagram.

Now it's my opinion that the designer allowed this problem to happen.

If the idle jet and main jet had different threads there would be no chance for this confusion.

Murphy needs to be kept in check by careful engineering not careful inspection afterwards.

Just my opinion...

We put them back in their rightful homes and Voila!

Check the link below for the result.

 Moto-Music

Now the bike runs and idles well, you can crank it up past 4K RPM without problem.

With that problem solved, we moved on to the brakes.

The front left disc and the rear disc are operated from the rear brake pedal in what is known as linked braking.

It seems that the circuit has a lot of air so the brake bleeding process began, then another Ah Ha! moment arose, the brake fluid was DOT 3 and it should be DOT 4.

A trip to the auto parts store was needed.

At this time the rain really arrived with strong winds and a torrential downpour.

Back to the brakes, after a short time of being seriously drenched, we decided to give up for the day happy with the success achieved.

The brakes will more than likely be a project for next Tuesday.

Now we can really say,

Ciao Bella

Norm

Panther Petrol Problems

I Know, I Had To Use The English Word!

Other wise the Alliteration wouldn't work.

When we were running the Panther there were two problems with the gas supply, as you may recall from earlier posts.

1) The float level was too high.

2) The idle mixture was way too rich.

The Amal carburetor of the monobloc type has no means provided to adjust the float level.

I guess that they thought that their machining prowess was such that it would be just right every time.

My brother Jimmie has a theory that over time they suffered from tolerance drift when making the needles and seats.

The only way to adjust the level with any precision is to machine the face on the threaded connection which acts as gas hose connector and valve seat.

This is the part from my Panther, as you can see it too shows the marks of the Philistines.

However, the machined brass face is the one used to adjust the float level.

At first I thought that a really good finish was necessary to achieve a seal which would be gas tight.

But, upon reflection decided that gas should never get that high so it is a moot point.

I machined 0.020" from the face and refitted the part in the carb. With everything connected there were no leaks, that is a good thing.

On to the rich mixture at idle.

I purchased a new jet from Triumph Classic Motorcycles in Costa Mesa.

Now, I can remember part numbers and serial numbers and all kinds of stuff, but John is even more AMAL that I am. When I asked him about the jet I needed, he rattled off the part number immediately, I guess a life time of dealing with the stuff will do that do you.

This is the idle jet looking like it just came from the factory, which is hardly surprising as it just did.

This is the old jet, as you can see it has a really big hole.

Maybe the previous owner drilled it out to make it start better, who knows.

The new jet has been installed and is awaiting testing.

Now I am just waiting for the clutch parts from the UK  and we should be ready for another test ride.

The design for winch mount for the truck is proceeding apace and most of the material has been sourced from a local steel stockholder previously used for other bits.

Industrial Metal Supply

Pencil and paper, but it still works, the good thing about pencils, is that you can see what you have.
There are no batteries to die on you and unlike pens, no ink to run out on you at the critical time.

I'll keep you up to date as things progress.

But here's a pop quiz:
What is the origin of the AMAL name.

Answer next time.

Or credit to the first correct answer.

Ciao Bella,

Buona Sera

A Short Trip To Italy!

Well more like a short trip to pick up an Italian motorcycle.

My brother Jimmie called to say that he had a line on a 1984 Moto Guzzi 650 SP.

Off we went to Sherman Oaks to take a look (we took the ramps just in case)

It turned out to be a straight bike with no big problems, plus the guy who owned it was a neat person who could have been another of our brothers by another mother.

We set up the ramps and started up the hill with the bike. Just as the front wheel hit the bed of the truck, Jimmie lost his footing and went off the ramp! Fortunately, the seller who was helping push was a big SOB and held the bike up straight with one hand. Jimmie landed on his feet so all was well.

However, this incident has made us think of a policy for the future. If the bike under consideration will not start,we will take the winch to ensure that it may be pulled up the ramps with no danger of going over the side.

That could be a project for Sheddington Engineering to design a winch attachment for the truck.

Some pictures of the Italian bike are below.

Safely Down The Ramp

The Proud New Owner

The Moto Motor

More soon on how it works out.

The "exciting" news is of course that I'm working on a website.

In future you can use the website links or just use the BLOG link as you choose.

The website is

WWW.SHEDDINGTON.COM

Click on the link below or copy the line above into your browser.

 Sheddington Enterprises

Ciao Bella

Norm

Credits
This publication has been vetted by the in house editor of Sheddington Enterprises and given her seal of approval.

Velocette Generator Speed Up

Machining At Sheddington

The generator (dynamo) on the Velocette was reconfigured to 12V before I bought it.

When I last rode the bike I noticed that it did not charge well at low RPM.

A bit of research at the University of Google suggested that the 12V generator needed high RPM before it would charge correctly.

The sheaves (pulleys) were measured and the following ratio was found.

Driver 3.125 Driven 3.000

Giving a step up ratio of 1.13:1.

I decided to aim for a step up ratio of 1.25:1

So the following sheaves were required.

Driver 3.125 Driven 2.500.

The tough part seemed to be finding a drive belt that would accommodate the difference in diameters.

A search of the usual places, Amazon, McMaster Carr etc, did no turn up any suitable candidates.

By chance, I was in the ACE hardware store nearby (Madam does not think that it was chance, as I go there every day)

They had drive belts of the correct cross section and suitable length. I bought the one that seemed to fit the dimensions calculated.

The next step was to make a new driven sheave.

However after some careful calculations, I thought that I could make the new sheave out of the old sheave.

This is what was determined to be the best option to reuse the existing sheave.

A mandrel was made out of a bolt to mount the workpiece and set it up in the lathe chuck.

It is shown here set up in the lathe with the outside diameter already machined to size.
Check the link below.

Machining The Sheave

Here you can see the finished article.

Do you think that Velocette used Mitsuboshi belts?


The installation of the new belt and modified sheave was completed and the results are to be found using the link below.

Up and running.

In this video, the speeds are a bit of a problem due to the reflectivity of the driven sheave.
It throws the measuring device out of whack.
I'll try that again after dulling the surface somehow.
Overall the goal has been accomplished.
More soon an an exciting (well not really) new development in the world of bikes and travel blogs.
As I told a finance guy that I know when he was expounding the excitement factor of tax protocols,
"Pretty girls and fast motorcycles are exciting, tax is just BLAH"

Ciao Bella
Norm