Dave Taylor Headsteady

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daveh said:
Would someone who has fitted a spring to their Taylor head steady be kind enough to post a picture, please? I've seen the Taylor head steady in kit form but I can't find any photos with the spring fitted in situ.
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Here you go Dave, just nicked down to shed, I already have the Mk3 spring so it was just a case of bolting it on. In the pics the spring is not tensioned yet as the bike is on it's wheels. If pics not clear enough will take others.
Robert

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp19 ... spring.jpg

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/pp19 ... MG0467.jpg
 
Robert — excellent, thank you for going to that trouble. Now I see how the spring fits. So, a few more hours spent in the workshop. Currently, we've got some good weather for riding, so that's an added incentive to get this done.

By the way, I like your Lightning Clubman that you posted on another thread.

Thanks again,

Dave
 
daveh said:
Robert — excellent, thank you for going to that trouble. Now I see how the spring fits. So, a few more hours spent in the workshop. Currently, we've got some good weather for riding, so that's an added incentive to get this done.

By the way, I like your Lightning Clubman that you posted on another thread.

Thanks again,

Dave
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No trouble at all, gave me an excuse to go down to shed ,I've spent the best part of 2 nights down there looking for a warning light from my bike! The Mk3 has these daft wee lights with tiny bulbs and mine wasn't working when I got the bike so I had a look at it on Mon there was no bulb in it and it was cracked, checked the price of a bulb nearly £6+vat I managed to get the same one in Maplins for £1, so I repaired it by soldering the new bulb in and used shrinkwrap to secure it all, I left it on the bench... now I can't find it for the life of me... luckily I've still got the chrome bezel so I'm making on out of red plastic .... Do you know if there is a special place in all sheds where important bits go and hide?
As I said Dave no problem, if you need any measurements of the holes etc. just let me know!
 
I left it on the bench... now I can't find it for the life of me...

Do you know if there is a special place in all sheds where important bits go and hide?
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Never heard of such a thing. Is this peculiar to Scotland ?

Obviously I'm BSing you, Robert. As I get older, I'm sixty-four, I can't find a wrench thirty seconds after I lay it down.

If you find that special place in all sheds where important bits go and hide, let me know.
 
JimC said:
I left it on the bench... now I can't find it for the life of me...

Do you know if there is a special place in all sheds where important bits go and hide?
Click to expand...

Never heard of such a thing. Is this peculiar to Scotland ?

Obviously I'm BSing you, Robert. As I get older, I'm sixty-four, I can't find a wrench thirty seconds after I lay it down.

If you find that special place in all sheds where important bits go and hide, let me know.
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Hi Jim , I get the idea :lol: There ARE a lot of things that are peculiar to Scotland, but I believe sheds all over the world must be hiding wee bits and pieces that have magically evaporated! We could start a new thread of bits guys have misplaced in sheds and see if we could build a bike!
 
Hi guys , you made me happy , I believed I was the only one owning a MAGIC shed, with some trolls inside hiding spares when I felt into my bed, to be honest I have never admit that nowhere else, too much affraid either of the trolls or my children/blokes telling me I am getting too old !!
 
Robert, there are secret graveyards for things like small circlips, tiny plastic parts, roll pins, you name them, which stop you from finishing off a job and drive you nuts. (There are similar secret graveyards for biros and single socks.) I use this as an opportunity to do that clear-out and reorganisation of the workshop, which is followed by the joy of unearthing something mislaid months or years ago! :D

On the subject of steadies, I think I may have to crowbar the wallet open and order a Mark 3 spring holder and spring, and then make up an anchor point for the other ends of the spring on the steel plate that is fitted to the cylinder head. Your pic is very handy for this. Without the spring, it seems like the vibration is a bit excessive below 2500 rpm.
 
Hi Dave, just had a look in the RGM clearance catalogue, they have part No. G26 it says, "Headsteady Spring Kits, all the bits needed to convert a box section headsteady to the later Mk3, New Old Stock" it's £15. I don't know exactly what it is but it looks as if it may contain all the bits you need.
May be of some use to use, maybe not, could be worth a call.
Robert
 
Robert, thanks for that and well spotted! I'll give Roger a call next week.

Cheers

Dave
 
Need a bit of help from all you gurus with a Taylor head steady, Just got down to the shed after a couple of weeks working on the house and went to do the spring on the Taylor steady, put the bike on it's wheels , sat on it to try the rose joints and the were really stiff, they were free when I put it on. I then reset it , until I had a good bit of reedom in the rose joints , easily moving between thumb and finger, if I lent the bike to either side whilst sitting on it
the joints get stiffer and then return to easy moving when upright, I take it this is correct? Also it says the rose joints should be stiff when on the stand, how stiff?, rock solid or with a bit of movement when pressure applied?
 
I can only say what I've learned from my single experience of my one headsteady but I found that there seemed to be one clear "sweet spot" where it was considerably looser than anywhere else. That said, it wasn't especially dificult to rotate elsewhere.

Mine has now been fitted for a year or two and is currently on the mainstand with the tank off (My annual paranoid wiring check :) )and it is now easy to turn between thumb and forefinger whilst on the stand. I assume that this is because the machined surface of the joints has now polished smooth. I seem to remember reading somewhere that this occurs.

Did you manage to get the tie rod completely at right angles to the frame line ? I had to space my horizontal fixing 1/2" from the frame tube clamp to arrive at the correct alignment and the instructions did not mention this. However, my frame is a 1990s Andover replacement and maybe there are small differences in tube positioning ?

I would say that if you're confident that everything is in line and that you've found the most free position, the best thing to do is to put a few miles on it and let it loosen up. I hope that you'll notice a big improvement. I'm dead chuffed with mine.
 
79x100 said:
I can only say what I've learned from my single experience of my one headsteady but I found that there seemed to be one clear "sweet spot" where it was considerably looser than anywhere else. That said, it wasn't especially dificult to rotate elsewhere.

Mine has now been fitted for a year or two and is currently on the mainstand with the tank off (My annual paranoid wiring check :) )and it is now easy to turn between thumb and forefinger whilst on the stand. I assume that this is because the machined surface of the joints has now polished smooth. I seem to remember reading somewhere that this occurs.

Did you manage to get the tie rod completely at right angles to the frame line ? I had to space my horizontal fixing 1/2" from the frame tube clamp to arrive at the correct alignment and the instructions did not mention this.

I would say that if you're confident that everything is in line and that you've found the most free position,

Thanks for help
There is a sweet spot but it is dificult to maintain whilst tightening, but with perserverance I got there, maybe not the loosest bit but certainly easy to move, and it tightens up slightly when the machine is lent over on either side. I am getting a bit of movement when on mainstand. I did get the rod at right angles and I also spaced the frame tube clamp as I felt it was too close to the tower that attaches to the rose joint on the cylinder head fitting.
Thanks
Robert
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When fitting the kit just nip the head plate down then for the final adjustment you can tap the plate either way, once happy fully tighten.

Cash
 
cash said:
When fitting the kit just nip the head plate down then for the final adjustment you can tap the plate either way, once happy fully tighten.

Cash
Click to expand...

Thanks,
Got it adjusted to which I think is a satisfactory degree of movement this morning, quite free off the stand , bike supprted on the vertical, with a degree of resistance when lent to r-l, and with a bit more resistance when on the stand. I did the spring too, to about 1"-1 1/4", they instructions say 30-39mm at the spring and 5-12mm from holder to bottom of tension bar, but you can't get one and have the other, so it's a compromise, I did it off stand . We'll see how it goes!
Cheers
Robert
 
rbt11548 said:
I did the spring too, to about 1"-1 1/4", they instructions say 30-39mm at the spring and 5-12mm from holder to bottom of tension bar, but you can't get one and have the other, so it's a compromise,
Click to expand...

Robert —I'll be fitting my spring when it arrives sometime next week. What exactly are you measuring when you say 1" to 1 1/4" at the spring? The length of the coils?

I'd be interested to know how it affects the ride quality, and if adjusting the spring tension makes a difference. Please keep us posted!

Dave
 
daveh said:
rbt11548 said:
I did the spring too, to about 1"-1 1/4", they instructions say 30-39mm at the spring and 5-12mm from holder to bottom of tension bar, but you can't get one and have the other, so it's a compromise,
Click to expand...

Robert —I'll be fitting my spring when it arrives sometime next week. What exactly are you measuring when you say 1" to 1 1/4" at the spring? The length of the coils?

I'd be interested to know how it affects the ride quality, and if adjusting the spring tension makes a difference. Please keep us posted!

Dave
Click to expand...

Hi Dave , yes I am measuring the spring coils as it says in the instructions, the workshop manual says about the same. Wil not be trying it for a while as I'm going away tomorrow for about 2 weeks. I can let you have a copy of the instructions if you need them, just pm me.
Robert
 
[To Dave h, Dave I've sent you the instructions twice as for some reason one is stuck in outbox. I am going away from tomorrow 'til 10th May and will have little internet access, if youdon't get them let me know and I'll try when I get back.
Cheers
Robert
 
Robert — got your instructions, thank you. They came through fine. I really appreciate you going to the trouble of sending these. I have sent you a private message. It is still indicating that the message is in my outbox and not as sent mail, even though I'm certain I sent it. This is just in case you don't get it for some reason.

I shall post a progress report when I fit the spring to the head steady.

Thanks again,

Dave
 
Does anyone know why Dave Taylor chose to use a clamp on the frame instead of the original isolastic mount holes? It seems like a clamp would be possible failure point.
 
Tried to fit mine last night but the clamp is giving me grief. It seems as the clamp is too small to clamp over my lower top tube. Mind you, there is powdercoat on there but it doesn't seem like there would be so much the clamp will not even partially go around the tube. Thought I'd ask before I break out the dremel tool and start shaving off powder coat.
 
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