Hi All,
Can I please pick your brains.
I am experiencing two issues on my 1929 16H. The first relates to the clutch. Although my clutch worm adjuster seems to be set correctly I don't seem to be getting full lift when I depress the lever, (which incidentally in this position is at least 3/4" away from the bars) and it drags. So when I engage first gear I can feel the motorcycle trying to move off. What can be wrong?
Also, although the 16H is an easy starter I am not getting the full use of the kickstart swing, as the first 1/3 of it doesn't seem to engage anything. Is it just a case of repositioning the quadrant is that possible?
Many thanks,
Albert
I have looked at several old…
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Clutch.
Is it a sturmey 6 spring clutch? If so the setting of the spring adjusters is critical. Too tight and you'll reduce lift. Also if your gearbox mains shaft has any end float it will take a fair bit out of the available lift just to take up that movement. Fortunately it is easy to remove so take off the clutch to look at it all.
Measure your spring length and let me know how long they are? I'll compare to the new ones I have.
You can pull the main shaft back and forward with the clutch in place too. There should be some but not more than say 16 thou of total movement in the main shaft.
Check also for movement in the sleeve gear.
If the horrible bearing that supports this is worn, the whole thing can pull out of line.
Email me some pics if you like through contact in this group.
Whatever clutch you have, issues with the gearbox will make it very tricky to get a good clutch.
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Clutch
This is a '29 16H and I don't remember off hand what clutch configuration I have in there. Will be taking the chaincase off tomorrow and will get back to you, thanks. It certainly is a heavy clutch and could well be that the previous owner has overtightened the springs as you say.
Will know more with certainty tomorrow.
Thank you again,
Albert
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Clutch.
No need to replace unless it's beyond repair.
Just take a look and assess.
I have 6 spring Sturmey Archer clutches on my flat tankers, they are out there with the same taper bores and splines seen on most Norton clutches of the era but no need to go there until you've looked and found the problem.
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It seems as though the…
It seems as though the spring cannot compress any further (coil bound) if that is possible. If the spring is not an original, it would explain why it's such a heavy clutch to lift.
Is there a dimension available for the standard Norton clutch spring? Free length I mean.
A
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The spring is the one in the…
The spring is the one in the attached photos. It free length is as shown, 35.24mm but I find it very heavy to depress. I wonder if it is an original?
A
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On the earlier machines the…
On the earlier machines the central nut has a tendency to unwind until it meets the cover. If it did work once but now does not, might this be the problem? That happened to me on a borrowed 1929 Model 18 on Banbury Run some years ago - I just got back to the start before I couldn't disengage the clutch at all. I think my friend (who then owned it) added a locking device of some sort.
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It never really worked…
It never really worked properly but I imagine that now the cable may have stretched and lift is not enough.
A
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Adjuster at the g/box end…
Adjuster at the g/box end too long? come across this before and same problem, not enough lift.
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I have looked at several old Norton clutches recently and was surprised that they worked at all. a mixture of wrong parts missmatched springs ,plates not in correct order ,too many plates wrong pressure plates , too thin plates ,,buckled plates etc . strip and inspect all. and compare with parts lists and exploded drawing .