Rickman Commando
- Thread starter Chris
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Thought you would be putting through its pace's, i suspose you are off to the garden centre :lol:
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gp,he already does
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grandpaul said:
Number plate, no license plate. :mrgreen:
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Tell us more than that Chris, gee you'r a man of too few words.
AC.
AC.
Chris
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Hi all
The bike is being ridden by a friend Steve who has managed to trace the frame he commissioned from Rickman in 1975. However he is building a serious bike.
Maney cases, short stroke 750 crank, Jims special lightweight short Carrilo rods & slipper pistons. My concern was that he might be told old to ride it by the time its finished!! So last season I raced my Seeley & Steve paraded it so that I could get him back out on track. My Rickman I lent out to my friend Alan & he used the engine & exhaust to rebuild his Rickman Commando (& he now beats me with my own engine) The remains came back to me & I decided that as Steve wants to race that I would build the Rickman up for him.
The engine is a Dunstal big valve head job, The cases are welded (cracked) original race engine. All new bits left in a loft for 23 years. (this is the engine that came with my MK4) 10.25 plus 20 Omega pistons, standard rods, lightened crank, PW3 cam, lightened valve gear, 4 speed Quaife, 40mm belt drive, Interspan ignition. Front end is Norvil, Dommie length legs, longer rear shocks (as this is what Steve is going to run) NRP 2 into 1, not much in the pipe but its supposed to be 105 db, we shall see. I made up a couple of straps to put over the end can just in case. Runs well, sounds sharp. Hopefully later today Steve will phone me & let me know that it passed Scrutineering & at least finished practise.
Problem is I have "aqquired" another project.
all the best Chris
The bike is being ridden by a friend Steve who has managed to trace the frame he commissioned from Rickman in 1975. However he is building a serious bike.
Maney cases, short stroke 750 crank, Jims special lightweight short Carrilo rods & slipper pistons. My concern was that he might be told old to ride it by the time its finished!! So last season I raced my Seeley & Steve paraded it so that I could get him back out on track. My Rickman I lent out to my friend Alan & he used the engine & exhaust to rebuild his Rickman Commando (& he now beats me with my own engine) The remains came back to me & I decided that as Steve wants to race that I would build the Rickman up for him.
The engine is a Dunstal big valve head job, The cases are welded (cracked) original race engine. All new bits left in a loft for 23 years. (this is the engine that came with my MK4) 10.25 plus 20 Omega pistons, standard rods, lightened crank, PW3 cam, lightened valve gear, 4 speed Quaife, 40mm belt drive, Interspan ignition. Front end is Norvil, Dommie length legs, longer rear shocks (as this is what Steve is going to run) NRP 2 into 1, not much in the pipe but its supposed to be 105 db, we shall see. I made up a couple of straps to put over the end can just in case. Runs well, sounds sharp. Hopefully later today Steve will phone me & let me know that it passed Scrutineering & at least finished practise.
Problem is I have "aqquired" another project.
all the best Chris
Chris
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Hi Jim
I have sent you a message ie Steve building his bike with your pistons & rods.
Boyer sponsor the unlimited class I race in, so I try & use the product. However I had loads of trouble with the Boyer Micro digital I fitted new for my previous project. I never had problems with the old analogue Boyer.
The yellow faced box behind the barrels is an Interspan ignition system. I have a small tray that sits between the engine plates. I dont know if you know Freds systems but the yellow faced box contains the blackbox coils & battery & will run a 2 hour race. I charge it of f the van battery for 1 hour, rest for 1 hour then charge for another hour. Job done. The system only uses juice when the pick up turns. I tend to top up between races but the system is pretty good very little wiring & self contained.
all the best Chris
I have sent you a message ie Steve building his bike with your pistons & rods.
Boyer sponsor the unlimited class I race in, so I try & use the product. However I had loads of trouble with the Boyer Micro digital I fitted new for my previous project. I never had problems with the old analogue Boyer.
The yellow faced box behind the barrels is an Interspan ignition system. I have a small tray that sits between the engine plates. I dont know if you know Freds systems but the yellow faced box contains the blackbox coils & battery & will run a 2 hour race. I charge it of f the van battery for 1 hour, rest for 1 hour then charge for another hour. Job done. The system only uses juice when the pick up turns. I tend to top up between races but the system is pretty good very little wiring & self contained.
all the best Chris
Chris
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Hi
Weekend disaster!!!!
Fuel ate the fibreglass tank & the carbs stuck open with the goo. God bless ethenol. Seems my tank is an original where as my mates bike is a replica & does not suffer this problem. Swapped to an alloy tank but the bike missed in the next session & then stopped dead. Retired the bike. Stupid to believe it would be ok.
Head off inlet tracks coated with goo. Carbs cleaned up well. Inlet manifold leaking air. Head full of C***P. have to strip the valves out. Pistons are ok left side is very oily (inlet manifold?) Loads of oil in the cases, cant decide if its wetsumping (it was smoking but never got to be run in hard) Stood from Saturday so might have drained past the pump. Will replace this once I have cleaned up the engine & had the bores & rings checked. I can see the honing marks & the rings are not gunked up.
3 weeks till the next meet.
Chris
Weekend disaster!!!!
Fuel ate the fibreglass tank & the carbs stuck open with the goo. God bless ethenol. Seems my tank is an original where as my mates bike is a replica & does not suffer this problem. Swapped to an alloy tank but the bike missed in the next session & then stopped dead. Retired the bike. Stupid to believe it would be ok.
Head off inlet tracks coated with goo. Carbs cleaned up well. Inlet manifold leaking air. Head full of C***P. have to strip the valves out. Pistons are ok left side is very oily (inlet manifold?) Loads of oil in the cases, cant decide if its wetsumping (it was smoking but never got to be run in hard) Stood from Saturday so might have drained past the pump. Will replace this once I have cleaned up the engine & had the bores & rings checked. I can see the honing marks & the rings are not gunked up.
3 weeks till the next meet.
Chris
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hi Chris,
Proberly the last thing you expected, But surly you would have discovered this long before the day? Did you not get the bike out up the hills for a tune up, I ran my mates manx for several laps of "Our" track...untill i nealy ran over the farmers Peacock!...it was great. No tax,Mot or crash hat...just the wind in my face and a lovly smell of "R". plus that short megga blat! Heaven.
Regards
John. and better luck next time.
Proberly the last thing you expected, But surly you would have discovered this long before the day? Did you not get the bike out up the hills for a tune up, I ran my mates manx for several laps of "Our" track...untill i nealy ran over the farmers Peacock!...it was great. No tax,Mot or crash hat...just the wind in my face and a lovly smell of "R". plus that short megga blat! Heaven.
Regards
John. and better luck next time.
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Argh . Race Fuel , 100 Octane , Av Gas .Methanol Even. additives and suchlike.
In Australia Meths is Ethanol these days .Model Aircraft fuel; Nito & white spirit , acertone& mathanol in small Qtys get the tripe buring contolabvly.
At That. C.R. ' E 10 ' is better for lawnmowers , IF youve got a spare mower .
Cant abide unit triumps in the big Rickmans. Pre Units rule .
In Australia Meths is Ethanol these days .Model Aircraft fuel; Nito & white spirit , acertone& mathanol in small Qtys get the tripe buring contolabvly.
At That. C.R. ' E 10 ' is better for lawnmowers , IF youve got a spare mower .
Cant abide unit triumps in the big Rickmans. Pre Units rule .
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What a heart dropper not your fault. 10% ethanol has higher octane than w/o it and some hot rods are built special for this fuel. Burns leaner/cleaner so must retune beyond my experience to advise. Can not store it or water layers in bottom or worse. I am keeping an eye out for cool booze ruined tanks to have asshes put in the end. Fate is ever our hunter.
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Say's he with a wry grinFoxy said:
is the 12" for guys who dont there dangly bits cremating?
lcrken
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Nice to see another Rickman Norton, particularly such a beautiful one. A friend of mine, Scott Fabro, races one here in the US. It's the ex-Mick Ofield bike. After it sat for several years, I offered to rebuild the engine for him so he could get it back on the track. The pictures below show it at my shop just before he picked it up in January 2010. It's a lot scruffier than yours, but I thought you might enjoy seeing another one that's still actively raced. The swing arm is a custom unit built by Jim Schmidt after the original broke. It is also fitted with a modified JPN fairing, and now has a new stainless exhaust system, but I don't have pics of that.
Ken
Ken
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