Roadholder 364 - April 2018

21 repeat the experience! No prizes for guessing the answer. Closer to home, the motorcycle club nights I attend (NOT NOC ones ... no Branch close to me) are held in a community hall for which no charge is made to the club, the agreement being that refreshments are available at very modest prices (£5 will buy you a hot pot and a hot drink ... subsequent drinks are free) and the profit from the food pays for the hire of the room. Yet despite this being how the room is funded for the members, there are still those who seem proud to announce that they have eaten at home so only buy a tea/coffee despite being aware that if, on a regular basis insufficient funds are raised we may loose the club room. My thoughts are that if there are venues who are willing to support us by providing accommodation, then we owe it to them to repay their hospitality by making it worth their while. Yes, pubs are going through a very difficult time, they are in business to make a living, if we make use of their facilities then it is up to us to make sure that they are adequately compensated. If this doesn't happen and the venue is withdrawn then who is to blame? Portugese Good Taste I came across the Norton below on a recent trip to Lisbon. It belongs to the GNR (Portuguese National Guard) and is in wonderful condition. They also have a Norton Single and a Sunbeam 500cc Twin in the museum - both are immaculate. It seems that the GNR had a long tradition of buying British bikes. There’s also what appears to be a locally rebadged BSA Bantam, with a different name on the tank. Gary Platts Wet Clutches and Belt-Drives I have found over the years that most owners see the clutch enclosed within the chaincase, along with the oil required to lubricate and cool the chain who assume that the clutch was designed to be run with oil on the friction interfaces; clearly Barnett do because with every set of plates you get a bit of paper stating, and I quote: "all friction plates using Barnett's wet type friction material should be pre-soaked in oil for 5 - 10 minutes prior to installing them". Actually, they work well dry, and give a reasonable clutch engagement characteristic. I shall make no comment about AT10 belts being employed for power transmission, but I have spent a great many years consulting people employed in the belt business after reading that one supplier wrote in an article published in Roadholder many years ago stating that: "my belts can be run dry but I always advise my dry belt users to keep them well greased". I have a letter from the Synchroflex belt manufacturers' UK agents stating that no testing had ever been conducted with oil. Not a suprise, as AT10 belts were designed to be employed dry. James Leadbeater Centre Stand Troubles I can certainly sympathise with the Editor's comments on centre stands in Rh362 (Feb 2018). My 650SS had got to the stage where I was having to virtually lift the whole bike up vertically to get it on the stand (not easy at (just) 5' 6"! and getting it off was a nightmare of trying to catch it before it ran ahead of my