Coming to the line at East Kirkby in September

 

Little knowing my piston would seize that day.

Had great day on Sunday 11 Sept at East Kirkby which is near Skegness . Great machines from the golden days of sprinting were there including ones borrowed from museums.

 

Rather well restored and prepared 175cc MV Agusta at Kirkbride last month.

 

Please my bike got a mention in the National Sprint Association magazine. The last outing- last month at Kirkbride- with points and battery !! Now using BTH electronic magneto and won't look back to my days of misfires.

Invested in a new BTH electronic magneto in place of Lucas points unit.

Discovered that the original sprocket from the points unit is too close to the mag face and doesn't align with the drive sprocket.

 

 

 

This is the solution. You need a magneto sprocket from a 1948-1958 model ( Norton ES2 or Model 50) before they changed to alternators and points. Seems obvious now but took a while to find that out- thanks to Mike Pemberton !

 

My own made oil tank seems to be standing up after some years but still look out for a good alloy one.

 

Planning to move before end of season to Methanol ....have bought a batch and have a carb kit to allow the free flow. Have been experimenting with Methyl Benzene 10% in petrol but results remain to be seen.

 

The standard Norton pushrod has a very small cut- away at the top : lower photo: and most owners have to grind down a spanner to fit it . Even then it is likely to foul another spanner on the  actual screwed-in tappet which actuates the rocker. The best solution is to grind down about half as much again : top photo.

 

These cheap Chinese made hydraulic 12 Ton presses are ideal for lots of fitting jobs. Especially flywheel main shafts where it is unlikely to be bigger than about one inch diameter. They are made cheaper than I could possibly build one for myself.

 

Plasticine is ideal for making a model of the combustion chamber. It is often different in positive form than you imagine from the negative concave shape.

 

Filing a keyway in hard steel is not easy- I found a carbide file was the only way.

 

 

 

 

 

Big lump on the piston tends to mask the spark plug...in fact I am having to use on the flat surface discharge types because things are so tight the piston suffers from spark erosion

 

Flywheel flank is relieved at the main bearings

 

just bought a 50ml graduated cylinder to accurately measure the combustion chamber