Amal carbs and spark plugs issues and concerns

Yes the photos not the best.

The slots which are closed by the pinch bolts can leak on these short connector pipes

Mine are exactly that. They were cranked down pretty good, but I cranked one or two of them a tiny bit more. The others wouldn't budge so they are as far as they will go. We'll see if any of these things are the issue.
 
If it came with an on off toggle in the oil feed line and if it is not wired into the ignition feed then you better have the best memory in the world to always turn it on. Or else take it out.

It is to stop wet sumping if you leave the bike several days. I cannot give you a firm time period because different bikes take longer to wet sump. I'm lucky. My bike takes 3 months to wetsump so I don't really have an issue and have never fitted an anti wet sump devise of any kind.

If your is a bad one then this sump plug is a good option. The smaller bolt can be removed many times without disturbing the threads in the crank case.

That replaces the oil drain plug? Do you use this?
 
If it came with an on off toggle in the oil feed line and if it is not wired into the ignition feed then you better have the best memory in the world to always turn it on. Or else take it out.

It is to stop wet sumping if you leave the bike several days. I cannot give you a firm time period because different bikes take longer to wet sump. I'm lucky. My bike takes 3 months to wetsump so I don't really have an issue and have never fitted an anti wet sump devise of any kind.

If your is a bad one then this sump plug is a good option. The smaller bolt can be removed many times without disturbing the threads in the crank case.

What my issue is, there is no on off switch valve lever that I can see or find. Not sure if it's supposed to be automatic or what. Which is confusing to me. The PO showed me nothing about it. I just read that the guy who did the resto on the bike installed it in his notes that were passed on to me.
 
What my issue is, there is no on off switch valve lever that I can see or find. Not sure if it's supposed to be automatic or what. Which is confusing to me. The PO showed me nothing about it. I just read that the guy who did the resto on the bike installed it in his notes that were passed on to me.
It's automatic
It's a copy of a velocette oil tank valve
The mk 3 commando already has a valve built into the timing cover
 
What my issue is, there is no on off switch valve lever that I can see or find. Not sure if it's supposed to be automatic or what. Which is confusing to me. The PO showed me nothing about it. I just read that the guy who did the resto on the bike installed it in his notes that were passed on to me.
There is a commonly fitted in-line ball valve with spring, relies on suction from pump to pull ball off sealing seat, letting oil feed resume. These are problematic as gear pump makes very little suction. As you have a mk3, there should already be anti wet sump features built into timing chest cover, a ball check valve on pressure side of pump. Though not always fully successful, should prevent sumping better than my mk2. I made a feed shut off tap with ignition defeat switch to solve a 7 day fully empty tank situation.

To see your situation, remove or bypass the feed valve and keep an eye on oil level in tank over coming weeks. Then decide if you need to do anything further.
 
It's automatic
It's a copy of a velocette oil tank valve
The mk 3 commando already has a valve built into the timing cover
In the notes given to me the guy said he installed it and provided a hose in case the new owner wanted to remove it. I'm the new owner because the guy who bought it from him had a tragedy that caused him to sell it shortly after acquiring it. But basically what you are saying is, if there is no switch, I don't have to do anything except drain the oil when putting in long periods of hibernation.
 
That replaces the oil drain plug? Do you use this?
I think you have the automatic ball bearing valve. The suction from the oil pump sucks the ball back against the spring and allows flow. Edit: was writing as you were already being told this :)

There are multiple threads on this forum. Take a look and make your decision.

Mine is an 850mk3. It came with one of these valves. I saw a video posted some years ago, which showed the effect these valves have on oil flow. I removed mine quickly. Consequently, mine allows about 0.9L of oil into the sump, if I leave the bike for 4 weeks. That includes what would be in there normally after a run, c.0.25L.

I added the sump device posted above. It replaced the sump filter screen and provided a neat little drain plug that avoids testing the engine case threads each time it's unscrewed. If I haven't ridden for a fortnight, I empty it. I don't know if it is necessary. I feel happier doing it and it takes less than 5 minutes to drain.
 
There is a commonly fitted in-line ball valve with spring, relies on suction from pump to pull ball off sealing seat, letting oil feed resume. These are problematic as gear pump makes very little suction. As you have a mk3, there should already be anti wet sump features built into timing chest cover, a ball check valve on pressure side of pump. Though not always fully successful, should prevent sumping better than my mk2. I made a feed shut off tap with ignition defeat switch to solve a 7 day fully empty tank situation.

To see your situation, remove or bypass the feed valve and keep an eye on oil level in tank over coming weeks. Then decide if you need to do anything further.
That sounds like a solid plan. Now all I need to figure out is what/where is this feed valve you speak of removing or bypassing? And if I'm bypassing where am I bypassing to?

Again, thanks in advance.
 
I think you have the automatic ball bearing valve. The suction from the oil pump sucks the ball back against the spring and allows flow. Edit: was writing as you were already being told this :)

There are multiple threads on this forum. Take a look and make your decision.

Mine is an 850mk3. It came with one of these valves. I saw a video posted some years ago, which showed the effect these valves have on oil flow. I removed mine quickly. Consequently, mine allows about 0.9L of oil into the sump, if I leave the bike for 4 weeks. That includes what would be in there normally after a run, c.0.25L.

I added the sump device posted above. It replaced the sump filter screen and provided a neat little drain plug that avoids testing the engine case threads each time it's unscrewed. If I haven't ridden for a fortnight, I empty it. I don't know if it is necessary. I feel happier doing it and it takes less than 5 minutes to drain.
I presume when you empty it you pour it right back into your oil tank?
 
Mine was in-line in the hose that takes oil from the tank down to the engine case (oil pump).
 
I presume when you empty it you pour it right back into your oil tank?
I do. I have a slight niggle about whether im introducing unfiltered oil into the tank. I change my oil every 2,000 miles and so far what I take from the sump has always been clean.
 
In the notes given to me the guy said he installed it and provided a hose in case the new owner wanted to remove it. I'm the new owner because the guy who bought it from him had a tragedy that caused him to sell it shortly after acquiring it. But basically what you are saying is, if there is no switch, I don't have to do anything except drain the oil when putting in long periods of hibernation.
Yes
 
That sounds like a solid plan. Now all I need to figure out is what/where is this feed valve you speak of removing or bypassing? And if I'm bypassing where am I bypassing to?

Again, thanks in advance.
No you are over thinking it
It's just an inline valve
Just remove it and fit a new piece of hose and start the bike more regularly
 
Mine are exactly that. They were cranked down pretty good, but I cranked one or two of them a tiny bit more. The others wouldn't budge so they are as far as they will go. We'll see if any of these things are the issue.
That may work.

What I found was that the overlap was pretty minimal and therefore I needed to seal the connection with RTV and carefully slide the tube so that the overlap was equal before tightening
 
That may work.

What I found was that the overlap was pretty minimal and therefore I needed to seal the connection with RTV and carefully slide the tube so that the overlap was equal before tightening
Thanks. I'm going to try the RTV if still having issues.
 
That sounds like a solid plan. Now all I need to figure out is what/where is this feed valve you speak of removing or bypassing? And if I'm bypassing where am I bypassing to?

Again, thanks in advance.
You said yhere appears to be a anti wetsump valve. So that would normally be on the feed line coming off the tank to the engine timing chest oil pump input hard line. Feed line connects right rear side of tank, off a hard line spigot banjo at the large hex section plug. Anything along that hose pipe would likely be an antiwet sump device.
 
You said yhere appears to be a anti wetsump valve. So that would normally be on the feed line coming off the tank to the engine timing chest oil pump input hard line. Feed line connects right rear side of tank, off a hard line spigot banjo at the large hex section plug. Anything along that hose pipe would likely be an antiwet sump device.
Thanks, think I understand it now. There's an aluminum caterpillar looking section that spans an inch and a half or two on the feed line. That must be it. I assumed that might be it but have long learned it's best not to assume anything. And for some reason I was expecting something more complicated.
 
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