Are Amal Premiers any good?

trident sam said:
One thing I've had on my bike since I converted to a single new Premier is it don't like to start without choke, now matter how many times I tickle the carb it's very reluctant and yes they are 19 pilot jets. It's no problem , just an observation .
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What's the problem with that?
 
Fast Eddie said:
I thought the main benefit to aluminium bodies was reduced wear ?
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That was sorted with the anodised slides, before that the slide material exactly matched the body material and that is the worst combination for bushes as you get galling. The galling is due to the molecules on the 2 surfaces being an exact match so they can fuse easily which results in material being ripped from the surfaces. The aluminium alloy body may be one step closer to being a good bush material combination but a much less significant improvement.
 
kommando said:
That was sorted with the anodised slides, before that the slide material exactly matched the body material and that is the worst combination for bushes as you get galling. The galling is due to the molecules on the 2 surfaces being an exact match so they can fuse easily which results in material being ripped from the surfaces. The aluminium alloy body may be one step closer to being a good bush material combination but a much less significant improvement.
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What’s the primary motivation behind the switch to aluminium then dya reckon ?
 
Fast Eddie said:
What’s the primary motivation behind the switch to aluminium then dya reckon ?
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The first Amal that went to an Aluminium casting was the 600 series not the 900 series, the Tiger Cub pre 65 mob went mad for them due to the weight reduction so that does look like the main mover for Amal. The first Aluminium body I came across was just about to be fitted to a Pre 65 Cub.

From the Amal site on the 600 there is a special page for the aluminium bodied version

Aluminium Premier Carbs | AMAL Carburetters

Shop the AMAL Carburetters range of Aluminium Premier Carbs online.
amalcarb.co.uk amalcarb.co.uk

The aluminium carburettor offers a weight reduction of around ¾ lb over the traditional zinc alloy type.

When you look at the 900 series page there is no mention of aluminium body.

MK I Concentric Series 900 Series Throttle Valves Hard Anodised | AMAL Carburetters

Shop the AMAL Carburetters range of 900 Series online.
amalcarb.co.uk amalcarb.co.uk
 
Fast Eddie said:
I thought the main benefit to aluminium bodies was reduced wear ?
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Absolutely, the main benefit once you have a set is reduced wear but there's more to it.

I have no direct proof of any of this, just unofficial info gained talking with the Amal staff as a dealer...

As I understand it, the initial reason for the change is Amal's inability to find a foundry able to make the components reliably from the old alloy - the reject rate was VERY high. For several years they could not keep up with orders for that reason. They had already started making some 600-series carbs in aluminum and were having no trouble getting quality components. Their costs were going up and they kept having price increases all while thinking no one would buy. Also, along the way they had developed things like anodized slides and "StayUp" floats and they well knew of the "bush" pilot jet problem, and it was obviously a simple change to fix the pilot circuit.

So, Burlen could either continue making Amal carbs or stop and unless they did something, stop was the only answer. I had unfilled orders for over a year and getting 932 carbs was just not happening. 930s were somewhat available because there was a much bigger market. Today, I can order most Premier sets and get them quickly.

The three really good side benefits are that aluminum bodies and anodized slides wear much less, the machining in better, and the carbs weigh quite a bit less.

Although Amal still lists non-Premier carbs ("ACK" sets), they won't be available again IMHO. I'm hoping that much better foundry reject rates and focusing on Premier ("PACK" sets) will allow them to quit raising prices.
 
I have a pair of Premiers, bought three or four years ago. At the time (not sure what is happening now) the Premiers sold for a Commando did not have the correct main jet. Once the main jets were corrected, the Premiers work well, the bike idles, no surging or leaning out.
 
YING said:
Those guys are a rip-off,PERIOD!!
I have dealt with them in the past but never again.
Just my two cents.
Mike
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Careful! Such an allegation without substantiation could be construed to be libel. While not a first tier vendor I would go to, I have purchased from them on several occasions and been happy with product and price. But I must agree that $990 for a pair of Premiers seems rather over-the-top.
 
"'Careful! Such an allegation without substantiation could be construed to be libel."


I'd opine that $900 for a pair of Amal Premiers IS substantiation! ;)
 
lazyeye6 said:
Careful! Such an allegation without substantiation could be construed to be libel. While not a first tier vendor I would go to, I have purchased from them on several occasions and been happy with product and price. But I must agree that $990 for a pair of Premiers seems rather over-the-top.
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Lazy,
I was just letting off steam and think we are fortunate to have the vendors that are available to us. I was just reflecting on my past experience with them on a technicality that cost me over $300 for 2 days over their return policy. I was always polite and made many phone calls trying to get this resolved with no luck.
I will stay away from any more posts on this.Not trying to be rude.
Mike
 
lazyeye6 said:
Careful! Such an allegation without substantiation could be construed to be libel. While not a first tier vendor I would go to, I have purchased from them on several occasions and been happy with product and price. But I must agree that $990 for a pair of Premiers seems rather over-the-top.
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YING said:
Those guys are a rip-off,PERIOD!!
I have dealt with them in the past but never again.
Just my two cents.
Mike
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Do some simple comparison shopping. Some hardware is cheaper, some is more. Note they offer a free shipping option for all orders and no state sales tax so, as I said, let your fingers do the walking. I order from everyone.
 
nortonmargie said:
I have a pair of Premiers, bought three or four years ago. At the time (not sure what is happening now) the Premiers sold for a Commando did not have the correct main jet. Once the main jets were corrected, the Premiers work well, the bike idles, no surging or leaning out.
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There is no "correct" set for a "Commando" and most sellers sell generic 930/932 (300/301) sets. I stock all sets ever used on Commandos and do not stock generic sets. This means that I sell them with the correct components and the correct sub-numbers on the side as built by Amal. The bottom of this page lists the carbs and sets used for Commandos: https://gregmarsh.com/MC/Norton/Info/CommandoID.aspx

I sell them for WAY less than the numbers in this thread!
 
Yes, they are very good, and I have seen the response they give when warming up on dyno. There are numerous things to look out for -
Swarf.
Pair boxed but either two left or two right hand carbs.
One carb not finished to the Norton fitment, or just not finished at all.
Mix of internals.
Different float needles - found in a recent set, they claimed the fuel levels were correct and no way could have been, I replaced the needle, set the floats to the correct height and now customer is happy.
Loose jets.
 
Madnorton said:
Yes, they are very good, and I have seen the response they give when warming up on dyno. There are numerous things to look out for -
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So, from what you are telling us, it seems QA is still an issue with Burlen. Does AN perform quality checks of all carbs prior to shipping out?
For me not living in the UK, receiving faulty goods from foreign retailers is troublesome, time-consuming, and costly.

- Knut
 
I bought a single 930 Concentric Premier a few years ago which had quite noticible swarf in the mixing chamber. I’ve read that Burlington has
ramped up their quality control. A Premier pair I bought a year ago were clean and work perfectly. I took them apart totally to insure no swarf.
I would doubt that A/N does any deep inspection of any new/packaged Amal carb. One can buy direct from Burlington. The question then becomes
who has the best warranty response.
 
lazyeye6 said:
I bought a single 930 Concentric Premier a few years ago which had quite noticible swarf in the mixing chamber. I’ve read that Burlington has
ramped up their quality control. A Premier pair I bought a year ago were clean and work perfectly. I took them apart totally to insure no swarf.
I would doubt that A/N does any deep inspection of any new/packaged Amal carb. One can buy direct from Burlington. The question then becomes
who has the best warranty response.
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Since Amal started testing, I've had no reports of anything wrong and I've found nothing wrong. Due to comments here, people sometimes ask me to check them before shipping and again, I've found nothing wrong since Amal started testing.

This was not the case before they started testing - floats were rarely adjusted right and swarf was sometimes found - especially in the Zinc carbs.

I do not, and AN should not un-package and mess with new carbs unless asked - doing so means they are not new from Amal.

If you buy a carb set with the test cable installed, and you find something wrong, and you bought from me, I need to know. If you bought from a different dealer then you should let them know and if you don't get a proper response, call me and I will talk directly with Amal about the issue - they absolutely listen and correct.

The owner of Amal is Burlen, not Burlington.
 
The real issue is that any solid mounted carbs vibrate hard on a Norton . Then wear ( vibration ) . The answer is rubber mounting . I'm running the Wassell pair equivalent and happy . Next carbs / carb ... will be rubber mounted .
 
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