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Ian Soady¹ said :-
Nowt to do with being a 2 stroke Glyn.... The photo on ebay doesn't show that damage so it must have been badly packed?
25/04/2025 10:01:32 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
If it were a 4 stroke you'd never have had to remove the clutch basket in the first place...
The defence rests M'lud.
Ally welding... anyone?
25/04/2025 10:55:35 UTC
Glyn said :-
It wasn’t that badly packed but doesn’t take much to break if hit from the side. The broken part was in the packing. Seller is reluctantly offering to take it back but that doesn’t help me that much. Anyone for alloy sand casting?
25/04/2025 17:33:18 UTC
Glyn said :-
I’ve got the crankshaft sorted at last. The replacement bearing was a ball type and not a roller as before with fixed inner race. It was supplied by the Fantic guys at AG Bikes. This does not allow end play which the roller type did. Therefore I had to wet and dry the crankshaft very carefully until I had a sliding fit. I also struggled to fit a Speedi Shaft repair to put a thin ring over the crankshaft where the seal sits. The new bearing and seal fit nicely. In the picture you can see the bearing and the Speedi shaft just to the left of it.
29/04/2025 19:54:09 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
In my ignorance - why do you need end play? The only thing that comes to mind is expansion due to heat.
30/04/2025 07:37:58 UTC
Glyn said :-
The original bearing naturally allowed end play because the crank could move sideways across between the rollers and crank sleeve. I thought it was for expansion. The new bearing was very tight on the crank and would never move sideways. With the bearing driven into the casing it was impossible to mate the two halves of the engine because you can’t really hammer the bearing onto the crank.
I managed to get the clutch basket welded but it took me hours to clean it up enough to get the first plate able to rotate within the basket.
30/04/2025 08:03:20 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice work Glyn. Can I book in for next Tuesday around 11 am for a Lambda service.
You can provide the choccy biscuits.
You're welcome.
Upt.
30/04/2025 09:22:31 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It's quite normal to have a ball bearing one end and roller the other - the latter is usually the drive side as the roller can take more load. End float is as suggested to allow for expansion. Velocette singles, which unusually have taper roller main bearings both sides, need to be assembled with a few thou end float which disappears when the engine warms up. This arrangement allows a very narrow and stiff crankcase.
The only potential problem with what Glyn has done is that if the sliding fit is too slack there's a possibility of the inner sliding on the shaft in use thus acting as a very inferior plain bearing.
30/04/2025 09:58:36 UTC
nab301 said :-
Glyn , current troubles aside, back tracking to the main bearing saga would something like this have been any use, I bought one years ago but misplaced it until recently , two tapered halves which are clamped together
Nigel
30/04/2025 16:15:29 UTC
Glyn said :-
Nigel, That looks very possibly an answer to removing the press fit shaft centre of the roller bearing that was on the crankshaft. It was actually a very tight fit though and I had to deploy several methods to get it off. Grinding 80%+ of the way through plus the home made puller that I welded on to the remnants of the inner bearing. Ian, I’m not sure that the centre of the bearing, touching the shaft, would ever turn easier than the bearing itself unless the bearing was shot. This is the official bearing supplied by the Fantic parts dealer although the original is still available on-line. I think it would be very easy to return to the original set up unless the shaft was particularly badly damaged. The BSA engines I used to work on were all assembled in one half of the crankcases and then the other half was slipped on in the same way as this with the crank sliding through the bearing in the second half of the cases. Hopefully it’ll be ok as I’ve got the enter thing assembled ready to be returned to the frame.
30/04/2025 20:12:35 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'm torn here. I've been following this tale of mechanical trepidation and metallurgical mayhem for longer than most TV series go on for. There's been highs and lows, blood sweat and tears, successes and failures, as Vinny Jones would say - "it's been emotional".
On the one hand we need a satisfactory ending. Just like a murder mystery when the killer is finally apprehended we need to witness Glyn riding off into the sunset on his Fantic, his wife waving him off as the little engine joyfully whisks him away. On the other hand if the blasted thing works that'll mean there's another nasty 'orrible 2-smoker back on the roads making awful noises and annoying good people.
01/05/2025 07:51:54 UTC
Flyn said :-
Upt’ I’m not permitted chocky biscuits until my NHS BMI reading takes me out of the “Obese” category. I’m simply too short, not too heavy, but no one accepts this. So, I am available to take a look at your LAMDA issue on Tuesday as you suggest but we’ll have to snack on carrots and Celery!
Ren , I only have the engine as the frame etc is many miles away and so riding off into the sunset is unlikely. I doubt it’ll be too much of a problem for others as it’s not road registered and will be used in vintage trials events only. Strangely, it’s a mono shock which is unusual for its age but restricts the events that can be entered. The twin shock is much more desirable.
01/05/2025 19:37:47 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Hey Flyn! I am guessing you're Glyn but with a typo.
You're telling me we never get to find out who the murderer is? You're telling me we don't get to see the resolution of this saga? It's kinda like the TV show has been cancelled halfway through that is. We shall never know if the motor ring-a-ding-dinged happily ever after or if the conrod made an appearance like the Alien exploding from that guy's stomach...
02/05/2025 07:57:29 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I don't like this Flyn character, I want the choccy munchin Glyn back.
Thank you.
Don't worry Ren, I hear the frame is in Rawtenstall! Now wouldn't that be funny!
You're welcome.
Upt.
02/05/2025 08:02:43 UTC
Glyn said :-
Yes Flyn was a typo, further proof that my fingers might be a little wider than they should be. You should not trouble yourself Ren, I will certainly be receiving a video of the little perisher running ( if it does) and will make it available to our interested readers. However, there’s a lot to be said for suspense. I’ve no idea when the engine will be collected or returned to the frame, I’ve had it at least 8 months. It normally resides overseas.
02/05/2025 11:48:17 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
C11 progress...
I bought a set of forks from ebay as the existing ones are from an entirely different bike and they arrived today. They're pretty good - the stanchions are very rusty at the top but reasonable further down, and the oil seal holders came off fairly readily with a strap wrench. And of course I now have the correct fork for the bike with the brake abutment etc, all in fairly good order.
I have a couple of spacers which the previous owner used to make the spindle "fit" the original forks which I now believe to be C15 or relative.
As I delve deeper it's clear that this bike has had at least 2 attempts to return it to health. One lot of work is quite good with properly fitted parts, Cycle thread nuts and bolts etc; the other is a bodge job including two of my pet hates - metric nuts and bolts (and even worse allthread studding) instead of the proper fasteners, and pre-insulated crimped electrical connectors.
Having said all that, most of the basics are there and in decent condition. My current plan is to assemble it all as is, take the cylinder head and barrel off to check them, clean everything and see if it runs and how well. Depending on this I will either strip it again and look at the cosmetics as well as fixing mechanical and electrical parts as required, or maybe run around on it for the summer before doing the cpsmetics in the winter.
I have to say it's a well designed little machine and I'm getting very fond of it!
03/05/2025 12:35:41 UTC
Glyn said :-
Great to see some progress Ian. After my little diversion with the Fantic it will be time to restart the TZR resto. I understand your dislike of metric bolts etc on a British bike but I have always been happy with preinsulated electrical connectors. Maybe this is because I used them extensively in my marine electronics days. However, I do have a pretty expensive crimping took and not the usual pair of weak scissors thingy that most home DIYers use. You need to post us some pictures of progress when you have a moment.
03/05/2025 17:05:44 UTC
nab301 said :-
Glyn , can you not just strap the fantic engine to a pallet and run it there, assuming you have the carb , we can't wait for months !!
Nigel
04/05/2025 16:12:08 UTC
Glyn said :-
Sadly not Nigel, I didn’t get the carb with the engine. I do have several pallets and straps. Perhaps I could do as you say with the pallet and straps and spray brake cleaner directly into the intake port, I do have a kill switch. The engines a bit odd as the kick start goes forwards not backwards. I’ve been able to get a spark just spinning it over on the bench so there’s a good chance it will run. The owner is pretty keen to get it back so it’ll be weeks rather than months. The only oil I have is fully synthetic and I’m not sure it’s compatible.
04/05/2025 18:33:13 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Spoke a bit too soon - on checking the forks over one side slides very nicely, the other hangs up after a few inches of movement. I can see some rust inside the fork leg which I think is the problem.
I've devised a tool to clean it up with a length of dowel rod with a longitudinal slit holding a strip of emery, the whole lot turned by a cordless drill. Hopefully this will do the trick!
05/05/2025 12:09:35 UTC
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