Easy and cheap modifications I would do again

My bike is just a really dumb thing. When I built it, I knew where the motor had to be and about balancing the crank. So it does not vibrate other than a strong pulse at low revs. At high revs it is dead smooth. If a bike understeers or tends to run wide when you gas it in a corner, it cannot be ridden fast. For me, my Seeley 850 is a dead easy ride - no stress! I don't use lock washers anywhere. However I always check the caliper mounts on my forks, prior to racing. I make sure they are tight. I have not used it in the past ten years due to grief, however I really love it. It is sitting and waiting. I will ride it again. It is a really great ride. When I work with a motorcycle, a lot has to do with feel. When I ride it, I always know what it is doing - where the power band is and whether it needs a gearing change. With my old race bike, when I was a kid - I used to race in an Allpowers class against 70s superbikes and two strokes. Historic racing is not so desperate.
 
Well I have used spring washers all my life and they work as design when the bolt or nut is tighten the spring hold the nut or bolt in tension from the spring and the nut or bolt shouldn't come loose at all even when the spring is flat, I only use them once and replaced after every removal but I have nuts and bolts on my Norton with spring washers that haven't been touched for years including engine mount nuts and bolts so really I haven't had any problems with them at all.
I worked in an engineering maintenance workshop for a long time and every machine that vibrated the use of spring washers were used from small to large spring washers and not once did the bolts or nuts come loose, of course I use lockitight where needed as instructed on things that need it, I also use nylock nuts when needed as well as for the spring washer on the carb manifolds I had one come loose once while out riding but then the lock/spring washers were used many times over and lost their tension from over use haven't had a problem since replacing then with new ones.
We all have our own opinions on the use of things spring washer, lock washer whatever we call them they have work great for me and work well on my 850 Norton which has been hard mounted for over 45 years now and everything stay tight, but most bolts and nuts are also fine threads and being a member on this great site for a very long time, seems a lot of things come loose or even fall off on Isolastic mounted Commando's.

Ashley
 
Didn't mean to turn this into a lock/split washer thread, sorry. Turns out it's like an oil discussion. I learned some stuff though. The 'digging in' (as long as it's softer metal) makes sense. I just remembered reading something about them being ineffective (which I said may be myth).
 
My Norton has always been oil leak free but the cheapest thing I done was install a Yammy XS 650 reed valve breather cost at the time was $24 as well postage, I just installed it from the back of the timing cover just cut the hose and it sits between the engine mounts on the hose but I run my breather hose into a catch bottle with air holes, the catch bottle also sit behind the GB and in between the rear engine mounts stops the motor from sucking back air into the crank case, even my oil tank breather runs into the catch bottle, been running the catch bottle since 1982 and works great, stops pressure inside the oil tank, might look rough but works well, the dirty crank case was from a worn out bowl gasket, fixed that day when the pic was taken.
Can also see the spring washers doing their job.
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