A lead for a crank pinion puller? A chap answered my advert - Im selling a set of Trident carbs- and said he may have such a thing....Ill go down to his place with the carbs, AND the engine, and see.
Day 2 or cleaning nuts and bolts. The incredibly tarnished case covers are responding splendidly to Mothers alloy polish, 0000 steel wool, and a king hell lot of elbow grease. Meanwhile the head is still at the welders- some broken fins getting replaced off a junk donor head. When I get it back, Ill be bringin it by a machine shop to see if they can ream and sleeve the guides. Less violence done to the head....expect more stuff back from the painters in a few days. Havin fun.....
"tutorial" as in pass on knowlewdge/experience...I was contemplating the 10 cans containing the Triumphs fasteners, and thought Id explain why theres 10 and not one.
As I dismantle each section- say, take off the forks/steering head/front fender, thats sub assembly gets its own marked tin can for the fasteners and small bits. The oiltank/battery holder/ chain guard has a can, the rear fender/rails, the rockerox/head, and so forth. As I remove nuts/bolts/washers, I put the washers/spacers on the bolt & thread the nut on a few turns, .....makes reassembly simpler.
To clean them, I use paint thinner, mostly- diesels a good cleaner but leaves oil on it, and Ill be wantin to paint a lot of the bolt heads and so forth, so they dont rust. I drain the can into another can with a bunch of holes in the bottom, into a sacrificial meat loaf pan that holds the smaller brackets and such, then dump that cans worth of nutsnbolts onto a rag, then put them back in the original marked can. This makes reassembly SO much quicker/easier.
One big pile of nuts and bolts is really a PITA , when you think about it.
Today I saw a small shop down on the water that was STUFFED with antique and not so antique machines, a indoor bike junkyard of many neat treasures, most in various states of apartness- Ariels, Norton singles, a Knuck HD, a R90s-rough, that one- early Jap iron, and heaps and drifts of loose bits....nice fella. Bought my old Triumph Trident AMALs Ive been using as a book stop for years....but any Trumpet pinion puller was somewhere in the vast heaps of bits.....
the once rusty jugs, with the nice bores, now look smashing under a few coats of gloss black engine enamel......if I was still single, it would be two hours in the oven at 300F to cure the paint, but I have a Higher Authority to answer to these past years.....so it'll have to wait to fireup to cure.
Roller Derby- wildwimmins from around the world!- will take up this weekend.......the bike will have to wait.
Paras! But the grammar and spelling we are both stuck with.....
I mentioned relays, above, for handling loads like headlights, and for minimizing voltage drop for electronic ignition control boxes, which are very sensitive to the voltage they recieve.
"Voltage drop" means what you are getting at the ignition, or the headlight, isnt the same as whats at the battery.....frinstance, dirty switch contacts mean resistance, and overcoming that resistance costs voltage. Your volt meter may well read 13 volts at the battery, but add dirty/burnt switch contacts, slightly oxidized connectors, several feet of wire and, you might have only 10or 11 volts at the accessory....the other volts have been turned into heat.
Not so much of a deal for a tail light, but a big deal for a lot of electronic ignition boxes, like Boyers, that wink out around 10.3 volts....the new MkIIII model evidently winks out a bit lower.....which becomes a bigger issue if you have one of those new fangeled "electric starter" gadgets.
The starter is drawing a lot of current, and the supply to the ignition has to overcome resistance at those mentioned points...
The other way a relay works is by ma,ing the switch have to just carry a very few amps....the relay is simply a small electromagnet, when you activate it, it slams shut a set of large, sealed contact points, that then delivers the current to the accessory- here, Im talking about a headlight, and ancient Lucas switchgear, which really isnt up to supplying the power to a 60-80 watt highbeam.
The relays I use for this are a pretty common car parts store item, a cube about an inch on a side. (in the states, 6-8 bucks, but Im learning EVERYTHING is $$$er in Canada.) Used usually for fog lights, they are good for 30 amps, some higher.
There are two main types, one thats off/on, good for kill switches & brake lights, horns, and such, and one thats "on" one leg, and when you activate it, goes "on" the other leg. Just the thing for high/low beams.
No more trouble with your switch gear..... a straght line from your fuse, to your relay, directly to the accessory. Minimal chance for resistance....
I gather many folks here are into more modern machines....this is all directed at folks who like older rides. Next to a good ground, gettin full voltage to your sparky bits saves a lot of roadside mysteries.....
The 30 amp relays you are talking about are generally called Bosch automotive relays, which is the original manufacturer. Even the no name ones are still generally called Bosch relays or 'Bosch style' by the manufacturer. If you E-Bay 'bosch relay' you'll find them and they are pretty cheap with harnesses/sockets.
A crank pinion puller was gotten use of, and I split the cases yesterday. Very nice crank. A low miles engine, it just sat for 30 years. The thing is.....these actually have centrifugal oil cleaning, and the main passage in the crank over time builds up a layer of crap......and sometimes, aftewr years of sitting, this stuff may break up, and block a rod journal oil hole. So the crank is getting boiled out at an engine shop, after which Ill clean it, too, and its ready to go back in. The cases with thier roller and ball bng mains- in place- need to be carefully cleaned, and I mean carefully, making sure the bearings are completely free of any grit, then oiled with assembly lube and put in clean plastic bags to keep future floating junk out. I ALWAYS, after cleaning something, make sure nothing will fall in holes/passages/bearings by taping them off. Paranoia is the mechanics friend. Never leave engine internals exposed......SOMETHING will find a way in.
Now we know the rod bngs were "std" the first parts order goes in. This is SO much more fun since Im not paying the bills.....
I'm really enjoying this, a good read. If this bike is going to be a rider and not a concours show bike you might consider using modern plugs and connectors when rewiring rather than those dreadful bullet connectors. I did this twenty years ago on my bike and haven't had an electrical problem since. I'd also suggest soldering any wires feeding the Boyer rather than crimping as voltage drop will give strange symptoms and a sore ankle if it kicks back. I've just started working on a 1963 Matchless which has been sitting in boxes in my basement for years.
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