cracks in new Amal carb
- Thread starter Paul
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Thanks for the fast reply, 79 x 100. Btw, I was attracted by your avatar and now I found out why: I took that picture myself last year on the BBA café racer meeting in Waregem (Belgium)...
And btw2: the BBA meeting this year takes place today :shock:
Where do you live 79x100 ?
And btw2: the BBA meeting this year takes place today :shock:
Where do you live 79x100 ?
Give them a good clean to verify that it is cracks (the front one certainly looks like a crack). I would not like to use carbs with several cracks (might be more cracks where you don't see them), if you are unlucky you could get a loose piece sucked in the engine.
Have any forum member ever seen a crack on an old Amal carb? Maybe there is a reason to choose to keep and re-sleeve the old carbs instead of buying new ones?
/Per
Have any forum member ever seen a crack on an old Amal carb? Maybe there is a reason to choose to keep and re-sleeve the old carbs instead of buying new ones?
/Per
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Rich_j said:
I'd say casting marks too. I've also never seen a cracked Amal. The metal is too soft to crack like that (that's why they deform so easily by over-tightening the mounting nuts). That's not to say the new Amals aren't different.
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Paul said:
They are not cracks!
Apparently they are marks from the casting die, as Rich_j pointed out, that cracked some years ago, but they continued to use the same die until fairly recently as all new Mk1s are now produced from new dies!
Both my Commando's carbs have the same markings, and so do my T140 Bonneville's probably original 930 carbs, in fact most if not all replacement Amal Mk1s except the very latest ones will carry those marks, I believe.
Here's my Commando's R/H carb
And my Bonneville's R/H carb:
As can be seen both have identical 'crack' markings in the castings
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Hi,
I just returned from a café racer meeting and - of course - I asked the opinion of some experienced British bike riders. One of the reactions was exactly the same as what has been posted here: cracked casting dies.
Watching the photos of L.A.B. there's obviously no doubt possible.
So nothing to worry about. Thanks a lot for your reactions ! I really appreciate your help. Great forum indeed !
I just returned from a café racer meeting and - of course - I asked the opinion of some experienced British bike riders. One of the reactions was exactly the same as what has been posted here: cracked casting dies.
Watching the photos of L.A.B. there's obviously no doubt possible.
So nothing to worry about. Thanks a lot for your reactions ! I really appreciate your help. Great forum indeed !
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Paul said:
Just goes to show that we're at least as smart as cafe racers. :lol:
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Actually, calling a Norton Commando Production Racer a "café racer" is an insult. Most people even don't know the difference, but who cares ? There are only few opportunities overhere to meet owners of classic bikes (most of those do not even correspond to the definition of a "café racer"). The meeting is small-scaled, the atmosphere is very friendly, and that's what matters.
I personally know of one cracked Amal. Owner, off an Australian forum, and new to Commandos , had a bad rough-running/backfiring problem. The carb was indeed cracked, it was through tthe body at the mounting flange. It wasn't a new carb.
An acquaintance had a new set of Amals recently, bad running was traced to swarf in the float bowl and jets. He contacted the distributor, and they promptly replaced them, asking for the return of the first pair. Good service indeed.He said the replacement pair appeared to be made of a different quality die-cast material.
An acquaintance had a new set of Amals recently, bad running was traced to swarf in the float bowl and jets. He contacted the distributor, and they promptly replaced them, asking for the return of the first pair. Good service indeed.He said the replacement pair appeared to be made of a different quality die-cast material.
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