Premiers, one more time.

After previously trying out the Amal Premiers, I had some success but was not completely satisfied.

It turns out, the new ignition system I was using didn't work out. I put the tried and true SureFire back on so I needed to try the Amals just one more time to see if they will work in conjunction with a bike with the rest of the systems in good nick.

I had the carbs sync'ed, idling good and running as well as the "not right" ignition would allow. When I fired them up on the SureFire , the tickover was totally desirable, being steady and balanced right at 1000rpm. That was yesterday.

Today I had time for a shake down. The nice thing about cold start on the Amal ticklers is I don't have to reach down and shut down the enrichener. What can i say. Good power from bottom to top, no hesitation at any point when going to WOT. No adjustments were needed and they are on to stay.

The only thing I can think of changing is that the main jets may need to go to 230 or 240 from the 220 that are standard for the Combat. They were a little light on the chop.

My Tm40-6 is proprietary to me and will be a solid backup.

With the Premiers, Amal has made it possible to be proper and to achive the desired performance that, until recently, has been elusive. With so many having great success and the overwelming positive comments, I just couldn't give up on them.

They look great to boot.

Those sure do look good. Glad to hear you got them to work for you.

you might want to rethink the bug and rock screen you call an air filter. here is some info to read on that. not just internet rumor.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm

you will see why I have no use for a K+N

bill said:

you might want to rethink the bug and rock screen you call an air filter. here is some info to read on that. not just internet rumor.
http://home.roadrunner.com/~jbplock/ISO5011/SPICER.htm

you will see why I have no use for a K+N

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thanks bill. What would you recommend? Website? Part Number? What do you use?

+1 on K&N being merely rockscreens. Pleated paper, or oiled foam such as Uni Pod will trap the fine particulate which wears engines out well before their time.

as much as people hate to deal with it I still have the stock unit. the pleated element is a far cry better than the bug screen.

pvisseriii said:

thanks bill. What would you recommend? Website? Part Number? What do you use?

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bill said:

as much as people hate to deal with it I still have the stock unit. the pleated element is a far cry better than the bug screen.

pvisseriii said:

thanks bill. What would you recommend? Website? Part Number? What do you use?

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Fair enough, bill. People talk well of the UNI units, which are also available for your stock box. How do you feel about them?

i've also been thinking about going to 230 jets (mine is a 73 750, so the 230 would've been stock but the premiers came with the 220)

I use the stock ham can. It's effective and doesn't seem to mess with the jetting, but I know, it's a pain. But I figure every other year I pull it apart unless something else comes along. It's a couple of hours, a Norton experience. I used some foam dealies a long time ago, but they were crap, it was all I could afford since there were no Norton dealers around. I kept them oiled. Choose your magic, but I wasn't impressed with the K&N.

Dave
69S

I have not looked at the uni so I don't know about its construction but IMHO IF it is oiled gauze or foam is not the way to go. I have seen oiled foam prefilters over pleated in some aplications and it is not a bad idea.

pvisseriii said:

Fair enough, bill. People talk well of the UNI units, which are also available for your stock box. How do you feel about them?

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pvisseriii said:

thanks bill. What would you recommend? Website? Part Number? What do you use?

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Can't help but express an opinion here - there is what is best in a test and what is adequate in real life.
My ES2 just has a bell mouth, 16H a spark arrestor (coarse metal mesh), Commando has had a K&N for 30 years. A friend has finally put a filter on his Commando after a couple of decades running unrestricted.
For the high mileage few it may well be important, for the rest of us unless a lot of time is spent on unsealed roads i wouldn't be losing any sleep over any of the available options.

I keep forgetting that most on here spend there time working on them, polishing them or banging on the key board and posting pictures instead or riding them. silly me :lol:

ludwig said:

+1
For the overwhelming majority here , their cylinders will suffer more from rust than dust ..

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ludwig said:

ntst8 said:

Can't help but express an opinion here - there is what is best in a test and what is adequate in real life.
My ES2 just has a bell mouth, 16H a spark arrestor (coarse metal mesh), Commando has had a K&N for 30 years. A friend has finally put a filter on his Commando after a couple of decades running unrestricted.
For the high mileage few it may well be important, for the rest of us unless a lot of time is spent on unsealed roads i wouldn't be losing any sleep over any of the available options.

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+1
For the overwhelming majority here , their cylinders will suffer more from rust than dust ..

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That logic applied then, would suggest Wal-Mart house brand 10-40 oil, seeings how the longevity is realized on the far end.

More accurately, K&N's megabuck ad campaigns have the Placebo performance image going strong.

ntst8 said:

pvisseriii said:

thanks bill. What would you recommend? Website? Part Number? What do you use?

Click to expand...

Can't help but express an opinion here - there is what is best in a test and what is adequate in real life.
My ES2 just has a bell mouth, 16H a spark arrestor (coarse metal mesh), Commando has had a K&N for 30 years. A friend has finally put a filter on his Commando after a couple of decades running unrestricted.
For the high mileage few it may well be important, for the rest of us unless a lot of time is spent on unsealed roads i wouldn't be losing any sleep over any of the available options.

Click to expand...

+1 here too. I put about 150-200 miles on my Commando in the past year. Partly because I spent most of my time working on it, paint etc. I ride occasionally on the weekends around town and split my riding time between 3 motorcycles. I think that my K&N will outlive me...

bill said:

I keep forgetting that most on here spend there time working on them, polishing them or banging on the key board and posting pictures instead or riding them. silly me :lol:

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sounds like this guy in my neighborhood. He has 3 motorcycles, and a few high dollar sports cars. I've never seen him do anything but clean them and ride them in our neighborhood at about 15MPH :roll:

Thanks guys. :x I had him (bill) all nice and subdued with mild ass kissing and condescension, on all of our's behalf, and you all come along and start poking at him with a stick.

Anyhow this is how it seems to me.
Excluding the original equipment and nothing at all which are not an option for me,

BAD! THIS is just a rock and stick strainer.


Not so bad! Historically OK


Preferred? Don't know. How often will I have to oil this thing? OverKill?
Go to the UNI web site and watch the videos on cleaning and oiling this fine product. I can see charging the K&N once a year or 2, but this is too much for most of us leisurely hobbyist. I am sure it's a great filter though. Probably mandatory for hobot. I rarely see dirt roads.

You'd be amazed at how much dust is whirling around the engine while riding paved roads