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Topics - exvalvesetdabbler
16
« on: August 25, 2025, 12:41:30 PM »
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This part (147) has the hook for the rubber strap that tidies up the wiring harness, but I don't know what the bit that sticks out is for. Looks similar to the bit that the indicator relay rubber mount attaches to.
Regards
Dave
17
« on: July 31, 2025, 05:14:52 PM »
I have been thinking about adding a volt meter for a while now and have sorted out the wiring and done a temporary lash up just to see how useful it will be. There is lots of stuff out there, either too big or don't match the styling of the other instruments or just plain tacky. The off the shelf volt meter I tried had an orange display and is not easy to see in bright sunlight. Based on previous experience blue should be better. Here was the temporary setup. https://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,32075.msg311762.html#msg311762I have had a play around with a 0.28 inch led volt meter which was the smallest I could find, and been trying out different contrast filters and housing. Currently prototyping with black plastic before moving on to aluminium. The objective here is to find the smallest aperture that doesn't obscure the display. This one is 23mm. Bare module [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] Prototype housing [ Guests cannot view attachments ] The contrast filter is a disc cut from some 3mm grey tinted perspex. I do have some blue tint to try as well. This will be a slow burning project as and when time permits. Regards Dave
18
« on: July 29, 2025, 12:11:54 PM »
Does anyone know what the original paint finish was on the bracket that the idiot light console and the Speedo/ tacho bowls attach to. Same as the frame or satin?
Thanks
Dave
19
« on: July 22, 2025, 05:03:47 PM »
It was 1999 and the event was held at the rugby club at Kettering.
It was only about 40 minutes away so as a member, I decided to go along and see how these events unfolded and hopefully get to rummage through the autojumble and drool over some nice bikes.
After arriving I found the parking area and proceeded to fumble around getting a steel plate out of the tool tray and under the side stand and at the same time having a quick scan around to work out where my next fix of coffee was going to come from. During this performance, Mr. Clipboard came up to me and told me it's a nice bike and I should park it over there, in a slightly confused state I nervously pointed to the concours area and he nodded. Having never been to one of these bunfights before and Mr. Clipboard looking official, I did as instructed.
After repositioning to said area and ended up next to a very shiny Honda twin from the 60s, I started to go through the soft ground parking procedure again and was chatting to a very elderly gent who has just ridden up from the other side of London. In no time at all, Mr Clipboard came over and thrust a piece of paper in my hand and said fill this in and leave it on the bike.
No sooner had I filled in the form, Mr. Helpful came along and advised me to clean all of the squashed flies off the headlight and the backs of the mirrors and did I want to borrow a cloth and something to soften them up a bit. I had just had 40 minutes of fun on the back roads going from Oundle-Corby-Kettering so there were a few. By this time I had another bike parked on my other side, we'll call this guy Mr. Rescue. Having heard most of this while removing his riding gear, he swung around and said no mate you want to leave them leave them on, the judges like to see bikes that actually get ridden. This stopped Mr. Helpful dead in his tracks and sensing an opportunity for a wind up Mr. Rescue gave me the wink and explained to Mr. Helpful that these probably aren't real flies and you could buy them as wet slide transfers, just soak them in water and flick a few here and there to make the bike look like it has been ridden here because that catches the judges attention. I still don't know to this day if Mr. Helpful managed to find some squashed fly transfers in his local model shop.
What have I stumbled into, coffee and personal time desperately needed!
By comparison I had a pleasant afternoon chatting with like minded people and a good rummage through the autojumble. Thoughts turned to food and the boss had told me what time dinner would be on the table. I had a 3 hour drive down to Eastbourne that evening for an 04:00 sailing the following day on the survey ship I was working on. I need to be leaving soon, do I steel my bike back from the arena?
Too late, it was time for the awards ceremony and most folk sat or sprawled out on the grass around the officials tent and things proceeded. Then when it came to the award for the best 70's in show my name was called 3 or four times, I wasn't paying attention, thoughts were on tea, time for a nap and a long drive and how much fuel is in the rental car delivered previous day.
At the end of all of that people started to disperse and I tried. This time I was collared by the guy that does articles and photography for Classic and Motorcycle Mechanics, this involved finding a space with an uncluttered background and he snapped away. He said it was for their restorers reference page, and I have no idea if the pics ever got used or not.
I still have the sticker among my hoard of expired discs and the mini mag lite which was the prize.
Regards
Dave
20
« on: July 18, 2025, 03:07:18 PM »
Been putting the needed bits together to set this up in between other jobs and finally got around to opening up the spaghetti bowl behind the headlight and add the additional wiring. No mods or butchering to the existing wiring loom so can easily be undone/unplugged later if desired. I salvaged the connectors and wires from some old switchgear to make the adapters together with some adhesive lined heat shrink over any soldered connections. If this meter works and proves useful, I will make a more stylish housing and bracket for it. It is currently fed from a 3A inline fuse connected to switched live which also feeds the lamp. Next stage is to see how stable the readings are going down the road. A temporary bracket to hold the volt meter. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] Here is the result - led bulb installed in the position light socket. The bulb installed at the moment has 2 led chips, if this needs to be brighter it can easily be swapped for a BA9S having a cob or 4 led chips. Ignition switch on park - front and back both on Ignition switch on run - front only on Headlight switch operates as normal. https://youtube.com/shorts/MkRIs8QDZWw?feature=shareRegards Dave
21
« on: July 14, 2025, 06:06:49 PM »
Thinking forward to next spring and a new battery.
Can I run an AGM battery alongside the OEM regulator ?
My gut feeling is no because of the slightly higher voltage needed for full charge.
What are other folk using, good or bad?
My current Yuasa battery has only lasted 3 years despite being hooked up to an optimate charger.
I bought the charger soon after the battery because I thought it might extend the battery life. Prior to this the battery was always removed over winter and charged on the bench regularly with a power supply, at constant voltage of 14 v and 1 amp current limit until it gassed out. Got 5 years out of a no name battery with Chinese writing on it.
Also - the yellow brick batteries, do they hook up ok to existing cables that have the rubber boot on the +ve.
Regards
Dave.
22
« on: July 01, 2025, 03:36:54 PM »
I have been trying to figure out how to have the front position light on without lighting up the tail light and gages after fitting a LED bulb. Kind of stumped at the moment thought I would test things before diving in. For some reason the front position light only comes on when the ignition is on and the headlight switch is in the first position. If I turn the key to the park position, only the tail light comes on. Aside from TL1(Bn) and TL2(Bn/W) wires crossed over in the headlight shell I have no ideas. Need to check when its dark if the instruments light up in park. I remember the front parking light working in the past but probably a long time ago and distant memory. The only wiring that has been poked recently is the horn terminals and the wires that run out to the tail light under the mudguard.
I have studied the wiring schematic and traced the brown wire, there are four terminations, front position light, tail light and two wires on the main switch PA and TL2. So power on either brown wire at the switch should light up both lamps. I can't figure out why one lamp can get power and not the other one since there is a continuous connection between them.
I unwrapped an old wiring harness to verify the connection and the 4 brown wires are soldered together in the loom as they should be.
I'm not in any hurry to unravel the spaghetti in the headlamp shell and would welcome any insights before I dive further in. The next move at the moment is to remove the battery and replace it with a bench power supply with current limiting before poking around. Probably early next week if time permits.
Having the position light permanently on isn't or shouldn't be that difficult, just need a diode in the existing brown wire feed to the bulb and then introduce a fused & switched power feed down stream of the diode.
Regards
Dave
23
« on: June 28, 2025, 06:14:53 PM »
Scanned from slides taken in 1982. Still has the battery breather pipe decal and the 410 rear tyre and the 2_4 seat, [ Guests cannot view attachments ] so pre dates repainting of the frame.
24
« on: June 23, 2025, 07:30:25 PM »
I have had enough of hitting the horn to make it work so I sourced a replacement from a well known Chinese auction site.
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The only difference is 13 mm bracket hole with the old one and 12 mm with the new one. I just need to machine up a washer/collar to adapt it to the old bracket. OD is the same size so hopefully the plastic cover will pop on ok.
Regards
Dave
25
« on: June 23, 2025, 11:48:46 AM »
A bit windy yesterday but managed about 50 miles before my bottom went numb. Pictured at one of my usual spots for restoring circulation.
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Regards
Dave
26
« on: June 20, 2025, 01:47:29 PM »
27
« on: June 01, 2025, 05:58:13 PM »
Took the bike out for a quick tour round the block this morning and decided to check the charge voltage before venturing out since I had had the regulator off the bike. 11.68V  Been struggling with a dying battery and still not sure if the battery is at fault, it shouldn't be given its age but the evidence is stacking up against it. Thought I would check voltages anyway before setting off. I fitted a spare regulator and everything seemed to be as it should be. Having a look inside the duff voltage regulator, there was a bit of paper towel between the N/C contacts. I decided to clean the contacts when I had the regulator off the bike when doing a batch of zinc plating and included the resistor cover because it was looking a bit scabby. While off the bike I thought it was a good idea to have a look at the contacts and give them a wipe with some 2500 grit paper. After that I soaked some paper towel in WD40 and pulled that through just to make sure there was no grit remaining. Looks like a bit of towel got left in there. After removing the towel debris , 0.2Ohm across the contacts instead of 120. Lessons learned:- - If it aint broke dont't b****r about with it - get some better glasses - test refurbed electrical items before refitting Regards Dave
28
« on: May 22, 2025, 11:23:35 AM »
My curiosity has got the better of me again.
Is there a difference in the torque arm between the F1 and F2 , noticed this when cleaning one up where it has F2 stamped on one end.
I put some zinc on this as the last job before discarding the zinc plate bath and as I suspected a lot of muck came out of the insides of it.
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What are people doing to refinish these? seems too heavily pitted to polish and lacquer. The one currently on the bike got red oxide and engine enamel (just whatever was sitting on the shelf at the time) and it seems to have held up so far?
Regards
Dave
29
« on: May 08, 2025, 07:04:02 PM »
Trying to find out what the original finish on the horn bracket and nut that holds the horn to the bracket was, zinc plate or black enamel ? The big slotted screw with the fine thread has zinc plate on it but I'm not seeing traces elsewhere.
I currently have a zinc plate bath on the go and getting the urge to plate anything that's a bit crusty.
Best Regards
Dave.
30
« on: April 16, 2025, 12:26:34 PM »
I am in the process of restoring a couple of clocks and been documenting the process as I go in the hope that someone else finds it useful. Kind of open source bike restoration. I will keep this thread updated as things progress.
The first task was to peel off the crimped rings without marking them or ending up with a screwdriver embedded in the palm of my hand. After seeing what other folk had done a large hose clip was going to be included somewhere. After a few test fits, I wasn't happy with the mechanism of the worm drive digging in to the band and marking it, and plastic sleeve inside just left some areas gripped less than others and it could easily slip off when applying pressure.
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To solve this, I machine up a collar out of some 10mm sheet plastic and made cutouts to accommodate the hose clamp mechanism and split the collar to allow it to tighten evenly over the band. It is also stepped to stop the clock being pushed through.
Also needed some way to keep the clock centered in the jig to avoid scuffing the new paintwork during re-assembly. That's the 3 screws and bushes.
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Next was the pry tool. I had to sacrifice my 'paint stirrer' screwdriver by re grinding the tip so the flat blade was angled and rounded on the back side to roll against the clock base.
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Regards
Dave
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