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| Thread ID: 105625 | 2009-12-08 22:53:00 | The world's worst thing about PressF1 Chat persona... | Greg (193) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 837925 | 2009-12-09 20:47:00 | Ah, if only, but the two bikes I had are long gone, they would be worth 4 or 5 figures the pair these days. The Shadow was extensively modded, and had Black Lightning MkII cams. The only Vincent I have now is a "Matchbox" plastic kit model, www.imagef1.net.nz The other memorabilia are books, factory manual, Phil Vincents manual, and a very few bits. Nice looking model. Looks like it was a rocket in its day. |
convair (13650) | ||
| 837926 | 2009-12-09 23:27:00 | R2x1: Can't get a bloody straight answer out of him :rolleyes: R2x1 is not the worst thing, he's the best thing. :thumbs: Though he owes me a few boxes of monitor wipes now. :lol: :lol: |
FoxyMX (5) | ||
| 837927 | 2009-12-09 23:37:00 | R2x1 is not the worst thing, he's the best thing. :thumbs: Though he owes me a few boxes of monitor wipes now. :lol: :lol: R2x1: Always takes me double the time to understand his statements compared to others :p |
Renmoo (66) | ||
| 837928 | 2009-12-09 23:59:00 | Nice looking model. Looks like it was a rocket in its day. It was advertised as the world's fastest standard motorcycle, as it certainly was in its day. The 1948 'Motor Cycle' magazine road test gave 122 mph (196kmh), that was on 72 octane wartime type "Pool" petrol and lowish compression ratio of 7.3:1. One model in France was clocked at 128mph. Later on with modifications, higher compresion and higher octanes, genuine 125 - 135 mph could be achieved with 'ordinary' road bikes. The design was ahead of its time, and had some good and novel features, but there were some flaws, notably bearing material combinations, and silly things like putting oil feed holes on the loaded side of a bearing instead of the unloaded side. The valve gear design allowed very high revs without valve bounce, but there was a general flimsiness about the camshaft and cam follower spindles, and it was noisy. The oil pump was inadequate, but a 'double throw' unit off the Vincent Picador target drone motor could be fitted. The crankcase design was less than satisfactory, with too many things shrink fitted, so that if the case was heated say to remove a bearing, the spindles were likely to drop out too. They got away with some of this in the early days after the war because the Vincent works was still using up their wartime stock of high quality aircraft grade steels and alloys. Later on wear rates were unacceptable without replacing materials and modifying designs. They went through a bad patch (after production ceased, but still producing spares) with cams not properly hardend, and the valve gear wearing very rapidly. Leaded bronze bearing materials and hard chrome was the answer to many wear problems. My Shadow was some 30lbs lighter than a standard model, lots of mods, Velocette caged roller big ends ,(thank you Lucas for access to all the machine tools, aircraft quality stainless and Dural, plating and shot peening etc etc....:) ) It could do some 130mph + sitting up behind an Avon fairing. |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 837929 | 2009-12-09 23:59:00 | I had a Norton Commando, 850 for a year or so when the guy who owned it got whacked in VietNam . He was a helicopter door-gunner and took a 7 . 62mm round up his personal tailpipe destroying all his lower spine and his both kidneys on a flying sortie out of Long Binh . He died almost three days later in a morphine coma on the US Hospital Ship, Repose off the shore of Da Nang . I watched him die . His dad later on when I got back from my own Seavay tour (COM/CRU/DES/FLOT) gave it to me and also all the cars he had in his garage . That's where I got the 1958 Corvette and a 1965 Packard Patrician and a 1936 Cord . It was quite a haul - but his dad wanted shed of the cars that reminded him of his son - so I just drove them a block to my home in Costa Mesa where my first wife and I lived . Enyway - the Norton - although fast, was not reliable . It wasn't just the electrics either . It spit shims when you got into the power band and then the engine would shut off or try to run on one cylinder . I got rid of the pot-metal junk-o carbs from the UK (Amal? Solex? I don't remember - but I literally tossed them over the back fence and never saw them again) and I put twin Mikunis on it and the mileage went 'way up and so did the performance . I got rid of the Norton - it was a sucker trade as I got two Honda 350 Big Bear Scramblers out of the deal - and although they lacked Brit Class, they at least ran all the time and never skipped a beat . Other Brit bikes I owned: 1) BSA Victor 440 single - a gawd-nasty thumper that moved dirt by the buckets full with the rear tire . 2) Triumph Trident Triple - Hated it! 3) BSA Gold Star 500cc . OK but NO POWER . Didn't like the close 3-to-4 ratio . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 837930 | 2009-12-10 00:14:00 | Yes . . zinc die cast Amals, not the best, but that was all we had . Amal GPs were ok . Synchronising the carbs was an art perfected by Vincent owners The hydraulic dampers made by Vincent were useless, but then hydraulic shocks and suspension was in its infancy, most bikes were still rigid frame . Many people fitted Woodhead Monroe units on the front and Konis at the rear . |
Terry Porritt (14) | ||
| 837931 | 2009-12-10 00:26:00 | Thanks for the information Terry. Sounds like it was a fun bike to ride. | convair (13650) | ||
| 837932 | 2009-12-10 00:27:00 | The only shims a Norton Commando had were the shims for the isolatic suspension of the engine and gearbox the only way for them to spit would be for the bike to be broken apart. The valve operation was NATO for the time lower cam shaft push rods and rocker shaft rocker shaft cover thats the 4 bug things on the head that still used BSF/BSW spanners. I had a Z900 kwacker which spat out a shim but it was my fault for not having a fat enough one it. Yes all Lucas electrics including the ****** contact breakers which broke off. Continuing home on 1 cylinder of 325cc was a pain. ****** Amals always leaked |
prefect (6291) | ||
| 837933 | 2009-12-10 00:41:00 | The valve operation was NATO for the time lower cam shaft push rods and rocker shaft rocker shaft cover thats the 2 bug things on the head that still used BSF/BSW spanners . Yeah thanks . When I posted and re-read that it didn't feel right . I could toss the exhaust pushrod on the 440 Victor all the time - I think it had to do with the compression release - but I remember the Norton coming home on one jug a few times and I guess I forgot it too was a pushrod that jumped out of the rocker in the head . . That Wentworth wrench rode in my back pocket for just that very reason too! I could rock the bike in gear and move the pushrod to it's lowest position and brute force the pushrod back into place and I (and it) was/were good to go for a short while again . I also remember the Zener Diode in the BSA . Gack! What were they thinking? |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 837934 | 2009-12-10 00:43:00 | Commando had LUCAS zener diode on the aluminuim bracket which held the foot rest I suppose as a heat sink. | prefect (6291) | ||
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