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REALCLASSIC 187: PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2019
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RC REGULARS
TRIUMPH X-75 HURRICANE ..........................6
After half a century, has the storm finally subsided? Morgan Rue wonders if the Hurricane is still a force to be reckoned with… HOREX REGINA ...........................................24
The cooking 350 single ruled the UK markets in the early 1950s, and were common in Europe. Alan Cathcart samples one of the best sellers… AJS 500 SINGLE...........................................34
Traditional British big singles. Straightforward and simple to fettle; rewarding to ride. At least, they should be. But Simon Lock’s summer rides were afflicted by mysterious mechanical mishaps… ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL 535 ...........42
BMW R75/5
Runn ISSUE 185
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ARIEL RED HUNTER ....................................50
Ariel’s VH500 can’t claim to be ‘the modern motorcycle’ any more, but it’s certainly still a sophisticated single. Dave Barkshire does his best to find fault with one (and fails!)
FAMILY ALBUM............................................20 Motorcycling must be an inherited trait. It certainly seems to run in the family trees of these RC regulars… EVENTS ........................................................66 As the nights draw in and the days grow shorter, it’s the time of the season for socialising. Also buying unnecessary bits’n’bats, and getting outside hot toddies and dreaming of Christmas…
MOTO GUZZI ELDORADO ...........................58
Famously, the California Highway Patrol were mighty impressed by Moto Guzzi’s big-block 850. Dave Simmons finds out if the Italian V-twin rides as well on Scottish byways as it does on American freeways…
READERS’FREE ADS ....................................70 No chocs at all for TP! This will produce a certain decline and possibly threats. Interesting bikes for sale as always. FW’s fave is a dismantled Matchless. He’s very strange sometimes…
Three old friends, two neglected old bikes. Steven Troupe brings a couple of singlecam Honda 750s back to life – and then gets to ride them…
OLLIE’S ODDJOBS........................................90 If you want a motorcycle with too much power, next to no suspension, no lights and lousy brakes, you’d buy a 1920s flat-tanker, right? Our man Ollie uncovers a more modern option… PUB TALK .....................................................94 Kop hillclimb goes from strength to strength, and in the workshop the PWP begins to look like a proper ‘project’. PUB is making progress. Probably…
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Enfield enthusiast Stephen Herbert has been building a trials special from a partcompleted pre-unit 250 project. Time to tackle the forks and final fettling and take it for a troubleshooting ride or two…
TALES FROM THE SHED .............................100 Happy days are here again… well, winter is. This may or may not be the same thing. Frank is singing a happy song. Possibly…
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WE’VE GOT MAIL! ........................................16 Although we threatened to make more space for letters, we failed, but we always want to read what you have to say, so keep ’em coming and we will make more space. Really. Really…
ROYAL ENFIELD CLIPPER PROJECT ............84
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radical riding position can be a pain in the back. Stuart Urquhart tries a modified GT with a more relaxed style…
TWO HONDA CB750 FOURS........................74
Café racers frequently feel fine on a frisky test ride but living long-term with that E MAC VELOCETT
THE CONTENTS PAGE ....................................3 As you know, we are great fans of considerable variety here at RCHQ. So welcome to a magazine with a Triumph Hurricane and an Horex Regina. This may be a unique event. We also boast a pre-war Ariel and a chopped Honda CB750. Variety indeed. Hurrah!
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WHO’S DONE WHAT REALCLASSIC is excitingly assembled by Frank Westworth and Rowena Hoseason of the Cosmic Bike Co Ltd. Chris Abrams of AT Graphics turns words and pics into eye-catching design, while Mortons Media Group Ltd at Horncastle handle trade advertising, subscriptions, back issues and similarly complicated things We’re online at www.Real-Classic.co.uk TRADE ADVERTISERS for the magazine or website should call Helen Martin on 01507 529574, email hrmartin@mortons.co.uk EDITORIAL ENQUIRIES should be sent to Frank@ RealClassic.net or to PO Box 66, Bude EX23 9ZX. Please include an SAE if you want something returned or a personal reply SUBSCRIPTION INFO is on pg106. Call 01507 529529 to subscribe or renew or buy back issues SUBS QUERIES, late deliveries, or changes of address should be directed to 01507 529529, or email subscriptions@realclassic.net ALL MATERIAL in RealClassic is copyright its authors, so please contact us before reproducing anything. RealClassic is printed by William Gibbons & Sons of Wolverhampton. Our ISSN is 1742-2345. THIS MONTH we’ve been reading SEVEN EXPERIMENTS by Stephen Kanicki (a rippingly brilliant ‘what if?’ thriller); FRANKLIN’S INDIANS by Tim Pickering and chums (initially for research purposes but then just because it was a great read); THE BETHLEHEM MURDERS by Matt Rees (a solid piece of crime fiction but boy was it tough going), WIDOW’S WALK, by Robert B Parker (number 29 of the Spenser novels, always a good read), and DEAD CAT BOUNCE by Robert White (profoundly dark American thriller – not at all fit for the squeamish!). MEANWHILE AT THE MOVIES… you simply have to go see Joker, because it’s outstanding. You simply don’t have to go see Gemini, because it’s rubbish. Definitely do watch Preacher and prepare to be oddly emotional at the end of S4, and give legal thriller Goliath S2 a chance – it’s better than most reviews suggest. Right! Onto Carnival Row and Maleificent…
FROM THE FRONT There’s a terrible temptation when putting an old bike back on the road – especially an old bike which has been standing for quite a while. Right at the back of this very issue you’ll find some maniac – that would be me – waffling maniacally away about the joys of riding an old RE Bullet through the winter. It’s all true, too. Except… Except when I tottered out on it the other day to justify the fitting of the world’s tattiest top box by collecting something everso vital for a purpose I’ve now forgotten. Bike running fine. It even ticks over, which is always a little daunting to someone more familiar with ill-tempered old twins, especially twins with twin carbs. Off I pottered, and took a short cut down a lane. It’s not exactly a green lane, in that it’s not exactly a classified road, but it has enough of a flattish surface to make riding along it on road tyres perfectly sensible. Possibly not on modern superbike slicks, but the Avons on the Bullet work well. It got more muddy. That’s fine, gentle pottering is easy on a single with a decently massive set of flywheels, and it’s usually fun, too. After a very little while, the surface, already best described as ‘loose’ became a set of waterfilled potholes linked by stretches of sodden muddy pebbles. No problem for Bullet Man, as you’d hope. But I did stand up on the rests in a vague and rarely successful attempt to improve my balance. As soon as I stood up, the front tyre ceased its rotation. This was such a surprise that I sat down again, more rapidly than a chap would plan to do, but without unfortunate collisions with the fuel tank. The wheel was now rotating perfectly happily. Everything was fine. First gear in a 5-speed Bullet box was plainly intended for very slow riding, possibly even off-road riding – who can tell? Tarmac was approaching. I stood up again, wanting to carefully navigate the last few yards of the track – and because it’s fun. Mostly because it’s fun. The tyre ceased its rotation again – and I sat down suddenly again. This is tedious. However, the rest of the ride home was perfectly fine, and the Bullet looks good with a little mud on its boots. Did I mention that I dislike cleaning bikes? Do you have any idea what could have caused those two momentary lock-ups? I got the front wheel in the air with the bike on its stand and a handy plank, and it spins fine. The tyre rubs a little on the guard, but nowhere near enough to stop it rotating. It’s a puzzle. However… a closer inspection of the Bullet’s
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front end revealed that not only is the entire braking system entirely original – in that it was fitted to the bike when it was built in Chennai some decade and a half ago – but it is also quite seriously corroded. The rubber pipes look OK, but all their connections do not. The caliper plainly works – it passed its MoT with no problem and feels fine on Tarmac – but a chap could learn to worry about riding a bike where the front wheel occasionally decides to cease its rotation. I try never to mess with hydraulic brakes. I have no idea why, they’re simple enough to work on, but I just don’t trust myself enough. Perfectly happy with cable brakes – so there’s no logic to this. In any case, it was a perfect opportunity to go and brave the coffee at my local workshop and order a complete set of brake bits to rebuild the whole system. RE parts are remarkably cheap, too. False economy and misplaced selfconfidence can seriously damage your health, as we all know… Ride safely
Frank Westworth Frank@realclassic.net
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BLOWN AWAY
After half a century, has the storm finally subsided? Morgan Rue wonders if the Hurricane is still a force to be reckoned with… Photos by Morgan Rue
A
rguably the most beautiful motorcycle ever built, it’s no surprise there’s a Hurricane in the Smithsonian Institute. While the history of how the Ogle-designed BSA Rocket 3 ugly duckling morphed
into the Triumph X-75 Hurricane surely doesn’t need re-telling, you might wonder what is it about this bike which made it such an obscure object of desire. And what’s it actually like to ride? Like many RCers, I was once svelte, impecunious, and propelled around the mean streets of my adolescence on a variety of the Birmingham Small Arms company’s products, mainly slowly and usually incontinently. The bikes, not me. From the lofty heights of a C15, the Triumph Hurricane was as attainable as Susan George. The triples’ rarity meant I only ever read about them, never seeing one in the flesh… but the yearning was there, fuelled by articles in the press. As a young rider I bemoaned the fact that all the nice bikes were affordable only to people older, fatter and balder than me. So
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The graceful 3-into-3 3 into 3 pipes were replaced with excellent quality replacements from NZ. Fit was better than the originals
when time played its trick of fast-forwarding, I finally found myself in a positon to own the motorcycle of my younger dreams. Following what felt at the time like very rash bidding online when another bidder fancied it, I was driven well past my self-imposed limit. But I got my Hurricane. In fact, I was absent for the bidding and it was Mrs Rue who simply ignored my limit and ran with it to a successful outcome. (Note: choose your life partner carefully!) So what’s the skinny on actually owning and riding one of these 750 triples? (Also note that those two verbs are by no means synonymous, of which more later.) Once you’ve got your grubby paws on a Hurricane, as a rule you don’t customise it, a fact which Craig Vetter lamented at Beezumph 12, the annual triples UK meeting. ‘It’s a factory custom, yet they all look identical,’ he observed. ‘I’d like to see a modified one!’ Maybe the perceived value
Pilot’s view is conventional turn-of-the-decade Brit, with the minimum of switchgear. The mandatory kill switch for US compliance seems to be derived from Uncle Joe’s unit twins’ stoplight switch. No need for over-investment, then?
Power plant is the A75, arguably the best BSA that Triumph ever stole. All Hurricanes came with the 5-speed gearbox. And three carbs. And three coils. And three exhausts…
precludes messing with the spec? Not in my case – my Hurricane came in dark blue with a fetching eagle mural on the tank. I wasted no time in acquiring the original dayglow stickers and some Camaro Hugger Orange two-pack. Thus restored to former glory, the only subsequent deviation from standard was the installation of a TriSpark ignition. On the basis that ‘they’re only original once’ and ‘it wasn’t me, guv’ who overpainted the original tank finish, no further improvements were made other than new rear dampers. Frame paint is original, as is all the chrome except the pipes. On balance, the PO’s prep for the custom tank improved the look, because the nasty seam running up the tank was smoothed out, as you can see in the
pictures. How the factory thought a bad mould-parting line could be successfully concealed with a strip of electrician’s tape is beyond me. The X-75 had been on display at Collins Cycle in America before being imported to the UK and thence to me in Luxembourg, and the three downpipes had suffered a little over the decades. Paul Bryant of Viking Exhausts in New Zealand is well-known to triplers for his superb exhausts, so a set of three were ordered. They arrived very wellpacked and incredibly well chromed. They also fitted slightly better than the factory originals, and I was lucky that the three factory silencers had fared well enough to be re-used. The iconic three-into-three on one side is considered an essential feature of the Hurricane vibe, and it’s ironic that designer Craig Vetter was never really a big fan
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of the exhaust arrangements. The exhaust renders the Hurricane the only honest-togoodness triple of the bunch, given that the T150 tries to look like a twin, and the T160 tries to look like a four‌ Once fitted with shiny downpipes, I took the bike to the Luxembourg equivalent of the MoT, where it passed without comment. My first riding impression was that I was seriously under-geared! It revved out easily in fifth, and howled at fairly modest road speeds. It didn’t help that I rode it immediately after using my Harley big twin, a device not fabled for high revs. After a quick chat with triples guru Richard Darby, the rear sprocket was replaced with the smallest available.
It could still stand to go up a tooth on the gearbox sprocket, but that involves significantly more work. Although good enough for the technical check, the front conical hub performed like an advert for all the jokes related to conical hubs. Heavy lever pressure brought about a vague sensation of retardation, but nothing close to actual stopping power. The forks and wheel were therefore dispatched
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to SRM for dismantling, skimming, and rebuilding using the original spokes, laced into a trued and repainted hub. Once reassembled, the brake was significantly improved, though I think a set of extended actuating levers might also be a good idea. There is another problem with beefing up the front stopper on a Hurricane. The beautiful (looking) alloy yokes were in fact made from recycled aluminium wrappers from the nearby chocolate factory, mixed with old pans left over from wartime Spitfire drives. No-one seems
NOVEMBER 2019 I 9
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Visit www.tr3oc.com to know exactly what they’re made from, or the torque settings for the pinch bolts. What is known is that they are very prone to cracking, and once cracked (assuming you’re not dead) you’ll see that the inside of the yoke looks like a Crunchie bar. Wags say that only the feebleness of the conical hub brake prevented many further yoke failures. So while my front end was in Wales I carefully examined my yokes. The top yoke failed said examination, riddled with very visible fissures. Burton Bike Bits had made a run of replacement top yokes with rather better metallurgy, so I sold a kidney and bought one. Works fine, fits well, doesn’t crack – at least as far as I can see. The only issue is with the handlebar bush holes. It takes the unit twins’ type of bushes and as a precaution I ordered a new pair… Which promptly fell clean through the mounting holes. They seemed to be drilled slightly oversize but, oddly, the old bushes fitted better and were OK with Loctite. Maybe the new bushes were undersize? Having ironed out the perceived bugs, I took to riding the beast – mainly on short runs close to filling stations, as the 70 mile range is inadequate for anything much else. The Hurricane is, in words borrowed from triple supremo John Young, ‘a hooligan’s barhopper’, a description which best describes its element. It is for riding short distances before parking outside trendy cafés for the obligatory skinny latte, allowing the crowds
Provenance being ‘a thing’, the dealer decals were preserved, and in the case of the under-seat one, lacquered in for posterity. The TriSpark box lives where the toolkit should, and fitting it involved drilling four holes in the glassfibre. Yes, I know I’m going to hell…
time to gather. Uninitiated folk often ask me about the age of the Hurricane, and are astonished to discover the bike to be quite the old lady. The styling cues are bang up to date and have over the decades been mercilessly ripped off by almost every manufacturer at some point. Bikes looking this good absolutely need to start easily, and with the TriSpark it’s usually a one gentle kick affair, and off it runs. Even more easily if you have a finger like ET (no, not Edward) and can tickle the centre Amal before kicking. If you’re no purist, and can live without float bowl drain plugs, you can even squeeze in an electric start using T150/T160 parts and a well-fed wallet. The riding position is 100% Britbike standard, but with less of a tank to grip with
your knees. It really does handle like it’s on rails and it carries its weight low enough to seem like a small bike, certainly after riding my Dyna FLD. The petrol tank seems tiny from the pilot’s seat, because it simply is. Beautiful it may be, but practical it’s not. With both taps on (essential if making steady progress) it’ll drain down to ‘having to push’ in a scant 70 miles. There are plenty of bikes out there, some of them triples, with big tanks if that’s what you need, but that misses the point. The Hurricane is there to look cool, go fast in short bursts, and make you irresistible to the opposite sex. (I may seek a refund on this.) Once aboard, the five-speed gearbox is accessed from the right side with a gentle snick. The transmission is smooth, with little lever movement and no superfluous neutrals.
The Hurricane seat-tank unit pretty much defines the term ‘sweeping lines’, and has influenced all manner of other motorcycle designs. Buried inside the ’glass is a metal tank holding a risible 10 litres, or 2.2 gallons in old money. Thrashed, 30mpg is quite possible. As our US cousins say, ‘You do the math…’
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can ical TLS brake can, bl conical ft ffeeble d often i and Th massive The and in this case does, work well. On the ride to the photoshoot, an overenthusiastic grab of the lever produced squeaks, from the tyre, and Morgan!
On my current gearing, it’s ready to change up well before I am and thence through all gears to fifth. I have finally broken the habit of trying for top when already in top, but it’s symptomatic of such a low-geared bike. Given the wide US style bars, and risible economy, I don’t understand why the Americans insisted on even more blistering acceleration. It’s plenty quick enough to outdrag all but the most exotic competition. The factory felt that the triples warranted an external oil-cooler, presumably after testing in Arizona or such. Personally it’s the only jarring note in
The ‘crowning glory’ exhaust set-up could never be described as restrained. The passenger peg sits between the silencers, unlike on the pre-production Vetter design, where all three silencers were below the footpeg. Google ‘brash’ and it redirects: ‘See Hurricane exhaust!’
the style department, although I guess it acts as engine insurance for spirited use. In rainy Manchester perhaps it’s not such an essential. But it is a neat place to hang those US-compliant reflectors, which on my example are cable-tied in position. No exemption from vibration, apparently. On the reflective note, the Hurricane comes without indicators but with the tail light equipped with the mounting holes. The factory added two red reflectorss which I have to remove every year as they conflict with Luxembourg’s MoT rules. (I don’t know why). What’s it like as a daily hack? I have no idea, as I ride it only occasionally, with a storing / polishing / riding ratio of approximately 100/2/1, and I only park it where I can see it. It has a steering lock in the top yoke, but I have neither the key nor any faith in my fellow man, so the only time I left it out of sight overnight was at the
The BSA/Triumph penny-p pinching was evident in the choke arrangement. ‘Shall we have a direct lever system on the gantry like those new-fangled Japanese bikes?’ ‘No, we’ll settle for recycling the old chrome handlebar lever from way back, bolted to the carbs, using three short cables…’ The Amal carbs were an unusual 27mm bore
Running on the pseudo-chopper theme, the stanchions are nude, and the Lucas 7” headlight is held up by a graceful single-mount bracket, fixed into the bottom yoke with a single rubber mount. Observe the original top yoke. Very rare, very cracked…
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Designer Craig Vetter felt the motor should be visible from the hot seat, so the fins on the Hurricane heads were cast bigger than the standard R3 item, a style trick often seen in Rising Sun products
Stafford Show on the TR3OC stand for the 50th birthday year. Conclusions? It’s the best-looking of the triples bunch by a country mile, and the least appropriate residence for the race-proved Rocket 3 powerplant. The seat is perfect for a snake-hipped rider, adequate for a more upholstered pilot, and hard work for two people unless they are both slim and on good terms. With the electronic upgrades it starts well, has impeccable road holding and, when opened up a tad, howls in a most satisfying manner. But given the originality of the engine cases, and that I’m running it in as-bought condition, the fear of mechanical mishap limits my enthusiasm for earnest thrashing. And anyway, who’d see it if it’s going fast? My most impractical bike in the fleet. I love it.
Fears of reflective panels becoming designers compulsory in the US gave the UK the curve, the chance for once to be ahead of t. It pain than er rath ls deca ctive using refle never became law…
And as always, the proof of the pudding is in the riding…
12 I NOVEMBER 2019
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RC readers write, rant and rattle on...
Summat to say? Send your comments, hints, tips, tales of woe and derring-don’t to: RCHQ@RealClassic.net
I’d like to award five service stars to Avondale Welding, who corrected my stupidity and dented pride. Being an impatient chump, I tried pushing my Enfield Continental 250 up the ramp backwards onto the bench on my own. It fell off, breaking the steering lock and allowing the clutch lever bracket to bash the tank. Mike Pegler of Avondale bent a special tool from steel bar which could be wiggled in through the filler cap to support the dent while he played a few rhythms with his small hammers on the outside. The plating is still intact and the blemish is quite acceptable and infinitely preferable to the very costly alternative of cutting open, straightening, welding,
replating and repainting. Mike is a real craftsman and has worked wonders for me over the years on frames, tanks, cylinder heads and engine cases. Oily Boot Bob, member
PERFORMANCE ‘ENHANCERS’
Thumbing through some my old motorcycling magazines from the 1950s I came across a few gadgets and products ‘guaranteed’ to improve your motorcycle and its performance. I wondered if any of RC’s mature members had actually tried
14 I NOVEMBER 2019
MUZZY THINKING
these so-called improvements. Was there any noticeable change in the performance of their bikes? The first was the CHATWIN ROTARY ATOMISER priced at 43/6d. I assume it went betwixt carb and cylinder head and… err… did something (other than get in the way of the incoming gases). The next that caught my eye was the CLEVECOL SPECIAL FUEL that contained alcohol – maybe ahead of their time! Just wondering whether I should add the remnants of the vodka left over from Christmas to my tank to improve the performance of my old Triumph and Velocette bikes. Stu Thomson, member 2256
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I read with interest the MZ 250 article in RC185 and thought your readers might be interested in my restoration of a 1999 MZ 251. The bike was Turkish-made, the patent being sold in 1993 to Kanuni, which continued producing models 251 and 301; the MuZ company was then formed from the remnant. I bought the bike in standard form as a commuter and daily hack, but quickly became enamoured with its reliability and quirkiness. It even still got me home once after being completely submerged when I was knocked off it riding through 18” of flood-water! Below the appalling quality of the frame welds and general finish was a well-designed modern bike, with auto-lube, electronic ignition, front disc brake and five gears. All that spoiled it, to my eyes, was its pig-ugliness! I decided to give it a 1960s scrambler-type look. The exhaust is custom-made for the bike, using the internals from the original. I rode it for another several thousand miles in this trim. After I sold the bike, the new owner, a goth, put spoked wheels on and a metal strong box on the rear parcel rack. Such is the appeal of these brilliant little bikes! Kenneth Bruce Cox, Member
LETTERS
SLIGHTLY SPECIAL
I sat down and studied the images of Frank’s new A65 in RC186. The mechanical trials and tribulations and the resolutions have been many and varied, but let’s stop and look at the end-game. This is now probably a more radical bike than many of the one-off ‘design exercises’ that seem to be intended to offend the senses. It will be interesting to see how the semi-gloss (wow!) powder coating works on a bike that looks well hung together for just riding. The heat shield looks just like the factory should have done. I admire the handlebars and think of the genuine BSA braced bars the factory gave me for my 1970s Flash. They were passed on to a friend for a B50, earlier this century. Indeed, I have even tested my B25T bars on my own A65T and have
Damn you! Spoiling a perfectly good A65. If I had my way I’d put you in a Black Prince rubber suit and leave you in the middle of the Sahara. Charlatan. Actually ermm... it’s rather fab. Normally a tricky concept for many, the BSA is a frightfully good job. Not overdone at all. I’m envious. Very… …special. The very word shivers my timbers. Who hasn’t seen some shocking examples? Inadequate twisted bits from the shed made to fit and chopped about like the remains of a Sunday joint. No relation to the original motorcycle whatsoever and many look downright dangerous. A multitude of two-wheel sins, more often than not. I know they’re not all bad, just some of them. My heart sank when I saw that word on the front cover of RC. But wait. Stands back in amazement. Take another look. Absolutely fabulous. I reached for my glasses,. a bit early for a drink but still, something to celebrate. Thoughtfully put together with intelligent use of spares by the obviously talented Richard Negus. Richard and Frank have made a silk purse from a definite sow’s ear. Well done to both. Simon Piant, member 1842
been looking for a good pair, but despair at the inability of suppliers to get neat and accurate welding done – I may even have to make my own! Sad to note the reservations about the front brake on Frank’s bike. I’m forever cautious about hoping the linings will bed-in. In reality this usually means the rider just gets used to the inadequacies. The inherently inadequate sls brake on my A65P was particularly poor and was fixed, without skimmery, by a full strip, clean, check and correction of the backplate and components. The shoes were then checked by gluing wet-and-dry on the drum braking surfaces. A general rough-up of the reprofiled linings’ surface was followed by a gentle cooking of the linings – gentle braking to get the brake up to a good temperature sustained on an hour or so ride. The result, after a further clean out, was a brake that would easily lock the front wheel, at least until I changed the awful front tyre. I suggest that Frank has produced a thoroughly modern, not just a modernised, RealClassic – something worthy of widespread celebration. Bill Nelson, member 010
I’m definitely not a purist so the BSA styling really impressed me. Turned out a really nice custom. Mr Negus is a craftsman indeed and if, as I suspect, he was working to your design brief, Frank, you deserve some credit too. Just the sort of usable classic I’d be happy to make room for in my shed. Well done both. Victor Garman, member I’m slightly surprised but completely chuffed by the general response to the Firebolt. It’s been a real team effort – Frank did all the donkey work preparing the mechanicals, then we rummaged through the stylesheet of the Firebird Scrambler and various desert sleds, making some very definite choices here and there. Next we took total advantage of Richard Negus’ experience and expertise, knowing that we’d get his interpretation of our theme. Richard and Frank appeared to be in near constant contact during the build, pinging photos back and forth. The squeals of delight freaked the cat out on more than one occasion! Oh, and that brake is bedding in, thankfully. What we need is some dry weather (yeah, right) so we can ride it up and down the lane with the brake half on... Rowena
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Q&A
Excellent article in RC185 about replacing the condenser on magnetos. Do we not have to isolate the old condenser? When these magnetos were new they had a guarantee of 20 years. With the technology and materials available today, condensers and such should last a bit longer. If you get a magneto reconditioned then they give a two year warranty, normally. I have a magneto that was rebuilt about 10 years ago. It has never been used. I checked it the other day and it produces an excellent spark. Should I send it in again for overhaul before installing it on the bike or do the condenser ‘operation’? When painting engine cylinders what is best: spray or paint with a brush? If I decide to paint my frame and decide to paint it by hand with a brush, is a special paint required? Should I mix with thinners, say 75% paint and 25% thinners? Is Hammerite paint a reasonable choice to paint a motorcycle frame, either by brush or rattle can? Thank you for a very good magazine. Tony Melo Well, if you have a working magneto then use that without further ado. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Hammerite (or similar, single-coat rust-curing paints) can produce excellent results and are ideal for frames. But it’s all in the prep: you need to get the surface clear of corrosion and clean before applying the Hammerite. The very wet weather conditions we can get here at RCHQ can ruin a paint finish – so make sure it’s warm and dry enough for your coating to cure completely. Rowena
NOVEMBER 2019 I 15
COIL CONUNDRUM
My 87 year-old Dad came to visit for a week recently, so I pulled the little Gilera out of the garage for him to ride. We managed three rides of about 100 miles each. I took the Enfield as it’s not much quicker than the Gilera… But the Gilera became progressively more difficult to start as the week went on. At first I thought it was just dad flooding it as he’s not used to it, but gradually it got harder for me to fire it up too. The tickover had also
WIRING
Stuart Francis’s article in RC October rang a bell with me. Such wiring in poor condition I have seen many times and rewired. I have often given talks on the subject and I start by showing a reel of PVC tape. ‘Who has one of these in their pocket?’ Good wiring does not use sticky tape. So we are expecting the wiring to fail, and the tape is a get you home bodge that you forget to correct properly. Get the wiring done right in the first place! Wiring is to be as we were as kids – blend in and ‘do as you’re told’. Everything Stuart talks about I can concur with, but he doesn’t make the point enough about wiring colours – from 1963 the British vehicle industry standardised its wiring colours. All Commandos, Triumphs, BSAs, etc from the late 60s and 70s and into the 80s all had the same coloured wires doing the same job. For example: BRN / GRN is the rear light; BLU / WHT is the main beam (as on all our British cars), so when you add a piece of PINK wire then you have created your own confusion. There are only 15 or so wire colours to remember. So many people think they are clever rewiring a bike with trailer cable. Yes it works, but six months later you won’t know what is going on, which brings about frustration, and if you are lucky serious expensive smoke.
16 I NOVEMBER 2019
become a bit erratic. Checking it over, I suspected the coil might be the problem. Luckily my 2CV runs with a pair of 6V VW coils, so I pinched one to try. The Gilera fired up second kick and sat ticking over happily. So far, so simple, eh? I put the coil back on the 2CV, order a new (possibly original) one from Italy for the Gilera. It said ‘Made in Taiwan’ on the box when it arrived, and when I fitted the new coil the bike wouldn’t start at all. I refitted the original coil but… nothing doing, now the Gilera wouldn’t even offer to start. The bike’s quite new to me and I’d only covered a couple of hundred miles on her before that week. I’d checked it over of course, but thought I’d better make sure I’d not missed anything. Check points, timing, valve timing, compression even, all OK. Cleaned the carb (just in case). Plug’s wet when I try to start it, and shows a spark when held against the barrel. So I went back to square one. I fitted
While on about loom colours I see on p72 a nice picture of a Lucas ‘named’ wiring loom (really from Wassell). This offering looks adequate, but an earlier example from this company for an M20 I have seen was colour coded by the colour blind chimp Stuart Francis knows personally! Why a company with the alleged standing as Wassell should totally ignore the British standard we started in 1963 is really strange. Learn the standard wiring colours (15) then you can wire any classic British bike with ease. Stuart recommends getting a multimeter – be careful. The analogue ones might appear to be old hat but they can still sort a problem, go for them. Modern cheap digital meters have a major snag – they pick up ignition interference and the numbers give a corresponding dance when the engine is running so you cannot measure battery charging
the 2CV coil and the bike fired up first kick and ticked over sweetly. This morning: same result. So I just ordered a 6V Bosch VW coil. It’s bigger than the original, but I think with luck I can fit it under the tank where the original one lived. If only everything in life were as reliable as a Volkswagen! Andy Havill, member
voltage. You can with analogue ones. Proper automotive digital meters should do this job OK – but meters can lead you astray if you are not used to electricity, and you are just searching for a Go or No Go situation. Get a test lamp – a 5 or 2W instrument lamp on a pair of wires, one with a clip (used at earth), the other with a pointer (sharpened welding rod). You then go looking for ’lamp’ or ’no lamp’. You don’t need to know 12.8V or 11.9V. Al Osborn, AO Services
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