Too much oil in sump

Hi John,

at least if you are stripping you're bike down you will have the opportunity to scrutinise each part to determine if it's standard or not.

I should have guessed that my machine had been got at by the TLS front brake and Borrani rims. I bought it from a dealer who had just changed the oil and cleaned the contact breakers to get it running for sale after it also had stood for some 40 years. I'd hoped to just do a rolling restoration on it to maintain its patina. When I took off the rocker covers to check the valve clearances the first inkling I got was rocker arms which looked as though they'd been chrome plated (very highly polished).

at least if you can determine your machine has standard internals you'll be able to set it up as per the manual.

without a doubt most of my issues have come about because my bike has been tweeked and there are seals etc which I should have replaced because it had been sitting dormant for so long.

Good luck

Terry

It's a 1 5/32 and the number on the flange is 389/228 with indicates that it came from a BSA A65 Lighting or Hornet which is why it was fitted with 270 main jet (standard for the BSA). 

Thanks John,

if my machine was standard I'd have no hesitation in fitting a brand new bog standard carb, however it's not and with the changes made to the motor it's bound to need some changes to the carburation.

I guess I'm hoping that someone with a 99 with similar upgrades to mine will read this and tell me what they have fitted carburettor wise.

regards

Terry

Hi again Robert,

Believe it or not the clutch and the gearbox are excellent on my bike.

Initially I had some issues with the clutch grabbing as I pulled away but this was down to rusty blurred plates and ridges on the splines and latterly a worn centre spider where the shoulder at the end of the splines had all but worn through. Rectifying these issues and fitting new Venhill cables, which I made up myself has given me a lovely smooth light clutch, pity the motor won't follow suit.

Terry

Thanks John,

yes I've been working with the Amal set up procedure but am still at the Main jet point really although feel I'm really close. Need to do a proper plug cut after a high throttle opening run just to check out that I'm not too weak at the top end.  I assume that I can do this it high revs in a low gear rather than 100mph in top gear?

I can get the idling set OK but it tends to go off after a run but I put this down to partially fouled plugs. If I clean them it idles OK. (Fitted with B7ES's). However it is looking like I need to go back to a 376 and start again.

Terry

I seem to be making some progress although it's not perfect.

I've now replaced the needle and the needle jet and carried out a test ride of about 10 miles. The bike seemed to run fairly well but still seemed a bit "knocky" when laboured. When the plugs were removed they were very clean which was very encouraging.

Stripped down the motor yet again and fitted the timing disc and reset the ignition to 28 degrees BTDC. Approx 27 on one side and 29 on the other.

Went on a long ride(1hour +) taking in all types of roads at high speeds and country lane low speeds. The knocking is much improved but not gone. It appears that after slow running for a few miles the idling goes off a bit. If I pull over and let it idle it runs very slowly and sometimes dies but if it doesn't then after a minute or so it begins to run fast. 

Initially when I set up the pilot mixture it seems to idle most evenly with the screw almost fully screwed in. I've read that in this condition the pilot jet size needs increasing but I'm a little reluctant to do this as the next size up is a 30 which seems large when you look at those fitted to much larger cc machines. There is also a very, very slight hesitation when opening the throttle from the closed position.

after the run the plugs were slightly sooty but it wiped off easily. I'm not sure if this is because the bike is still running rich or if it's burnt oil.

I've read a few comments on the forum regarding Esso premium causing older machines to run richer, unfortunately this is the fuel I'm using so that's added another dimension to my problem.

The bike stood for about 3 months just before and during the lockdown and I'm wondering if fuel evaporation has gummed up the small pilot drillings (the jet is clear) so the next plan is to strip down the carb completely and check it through. I regularly have this issue with my Ariel VH but know exactly the symptoms and the cure. If I don't find anything I'll have to obtain a larger pilot jet and try that.

any comments appreciated

Terry Guy

Thanks Robert & David for your inputs.

as per my last post I removed the carburettor and carefully dismantled it on my bench on a clean sheet of paper in order to spot any dirt or gum etc which could be causing my issues. I took everything apart including pushing out the jet block

it was spotlessly clean and all the tiny pilot drillings were clear. All I could find was what looked like a small bubble (Fish eye) in/on the pilot jet which may have been water I don't know but it cleared when I blew on it. Only other thing I did was to remove a small burr on the slide where the throttle stop sits.

I checked the stay up float for snagging but that seemed fine.

I refitted the carb back to the bike took out the spark plugs (NGK B7ES) and gave them a light wire brush.I also marked up the the throttle to show the slide position.

Then I took the bike out to perform the stage setting sequence. After a few miles to warm it up I took it along a local dual carriageway and carried out the full throttle check for the main jet. Gradually closing the choke made no perceiveable improvement to the acceleration so I think the 250 main jet I fitted is correct. I did this check 3 or 4 times.

then I pulled over to set the pilot mixture. On this occasion adjusting the screw gave a better response than what I had previously and I ended up with a reasonably even idle speed with it screwed out about 2 turns.

Back on the road again I went on to ride another 30 miles on back roads, A roads and dual carriageways and it ran superbly falling back to a nice idle at junctions and smoothly pulling away without any hesitations. As for acceleration it goes like a rocket and that knocking has all but gone. When I got back home I let it idle for a while and then removed the plugs. Guess what they're the correct brown colour with little sooting?

what was the cure:- You tell me. The only thing I can put it down to is that it's taken a while for the new rings and the honed bores to bed in and that plug fouling was causing the poor idling/hesitant pull away condition after a few miles. As for the acceleration knock: I'm not sure if fouled plugs would cause that but I am going to give the auto advance unit another look to make sure it's returning properly.

Fingers crossed that I'll now be able to put on some enjoyable miles at long last.

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions

Regards,

A Happy Terry Guy