RIP LUCAS

kiwi · Sep 6, 2013

Genuine Lucas

It is looking like genuine Lucas parts will soon be difficult to source
as the parent company TNN / Lucas has withdrawn the licence to manufacture vintage motorcycle parts , new production is no longer branded
so if any of you guys are currently restoring or thinking of restoring Commandos to concourse start looking for NOS Lucas branded indicators lenses ETC before they become
Hens teeth and overpriced

Good luck

Hobot · Sep 6, 2013

Ugh we may in the last golden age of British Iron. Soon enough will be outlawed for daily use unless fitted with 4 gal tank to accomadate the E15 fuel and carbon canisters to suck up fumes and extra tax if no catalyiic converter retro fitted.
India may pick up the pieces.

acotrel · Sep 6, 2013

Joseph Lucas - Prince of Darkness - should never have been in business. We'd have been better off with carbide lamps or candles. Magnet Marelli were much better (- sometimes I really crack up at my own jokes). I wonder if Lucas makes computers these days - they are probably used by NASA ?

Matchless · Sep 6, 2013

What utter tosh.
I have been riding Lucas equipped bikes for 35 years & the electrics have been very reliable. The same goes for all the Lucas equipped Austin, Morris, Humber , Rover etc etc cars. I don't recall my father or uncle constantly breaking down. Dirty, corroded wiring connectors are to blame for most problems. I think It has just become fashionable to knock Lucas. The parts were made to a price the vehicle manufacturers would pay. Just the same as SU & Amal carbs.
Any manufacturer, given an unlimited budget can make parts to military spec!

JimC · Sep 6, 2013

I seriously doubt any restrictions would be put on our Nortons. Although, there are some in the U.S. who would like to see motorcycles banned altogether. Mostly a reaction to irresponsible riders. One of their concerns is the rider who has no medical care insurance and insists on riding sans helmet or any protective gear. He goes down, ends up in the hospital racking up hundreds of thousands in bills and walks away, not paying a dime.

Hobot · Sep 6, 2013

Amen to the quality and neat design of Lucas kit that Norton could/would afford. Lasts as long or longer in bad conditions as about any mass produced loom in the world. I have seen an unmolested Cdo loom and was shocked at how neat and compact and arranged and beautiful the colors, once washed off. Its hard to beat the bullets for compactness though the metal does crumble over some decades. Lucas built a lot of aircraft electronics to match any in the world but of course that costs as much as any in the world. Cdo come from the day it was expected to replace coils and wires in cars too. The Police wires are the main down fall of Commando wiring to me and the extra thick cluster just
behind the stem, though the factory has a neat fanned out spread in that area apparently no home mechanic could-would match.

wakeup · Sep 6, 2013

Its sometimes not appreciated the pressure that suppliers like Lucas (and Amal, etc etc) were put under by manufacturers. I heard a story from a Lucas rep. (strangely enough his name was Norton!!) who maintained that they were constantly under pressure to reduce price, and maintain/improve performance and quality.
Another problem was that manufacturers wanted to be able to quote ever increasing power figures, but wanted to pay less and less for carbs. So consumption, good midrange etc was not an issue.
I believe that a lot of suppliers (Lucas and Amal specifically) get a bad press and its not entirely their fault.
cheers
wakeup

Time Warp · Sep 7, 2013

wakeup said:
Its sometimes not appreciated the pressure that suppliers like Lucas (and Amal, etc etc) were put under by manufacturers. I heard a story from a Lucas rep. (strangely enough his name was Norton!!) who maintained that they were constantly under pressure to reduce price, and maintain/improve performance and quality.
Another problem was that manufacturers wanted to be able to quote ever increasing power figures, but wanted to pay less and less for carbs. So consumption, good midrange etc was not an issue.
I believe that a lot of suppliers (Lucas and Amal specifically) get a bad press and its not entirely their fault.
cheers
wakeup

I very much doubt Lucas,CEV or Aprillia were supplying switch gear with a projected life of 40 years or more.
I also very much doubt Triumph or Norton wanted to pay the added cost for that either.
It has to be mentioned most bikes of that period did direct switching without relays to take the load.
The first Ducati 860 electric start buttons melted their internal contacts if they were held on to long. :lol:

If you drove your car for 20 minutes every other week (8.6 hours a year),how long would it last ? forever you would think but that is about all the average lawn mower does in a year yet some are worn out in five years these days.
Built to a budget and a projected life span that will be accepted by the consumer.

Matchless said:
Any manufacturer, given an unlimited budget can make parts to military spec!

Even now I doubt many switches have copper contacts much more than 0.25mm (0.010") thick which are normally what wears out,if it were 1mm thick it could have been used on the Ark and still be working fine.
I think Lucas switches were as good as CEV with Aprillia being the worst as far as motorcycles.
Even my DR650 gets the switch blocks stripped,checked,cleaned and lubed annually as does the harness connections,Lucas blocks would be no different,if maintained but they are normally out of site,out of mind until they play up due to that lack of maintenance.

mike996 · Sep 7, 2013

I think Lucas stuff was perfectly OK. I deal in the same issues with boats - we complain when a 35 year old water heater starts leaking and other stuff like that. As noted, no manufacturer makes parts to last forever; there would be no money in it for them if they did.

OTOH, Lucas stuff did, at times, act a bit, well...odd.

And one can't deny the appeal of the myriad wonderful Lucas jokes that have become an integral part of motorcycle lore.

acotrel · Sep 7, 2013

I was never happy when the charging circuit stopped working on my old Triumphs. Perhaps it was the design which placed the alternator in the chain case where a broken roller could stick onto the rotating magnet, and do its business ? Why was it that virtually overnight the Japanese began producing bikes without the stinking design faults - racial superiority ? Or was it that the Marshall Plan removed the necessity of being miserable bastards. That comment about British cars was a real hoot. I was in my early driving years when Japanese bikes and cars replaced the British items - the most notable thing was the difference in the length of time between rebuilds. Compare a Mini with a Datsun 1000. We had around Australia trials in which the VW beetle made all British cars look stupid. Every time I go anywhere in Victoria, it is usually at least a six hour round trip at 120 KPH on freeways virtually non-stop. If you did it on a commando or an old British car, you'd be a nervous wreck before you got home. I will say this though. - Back in the early sixties a friend of mine rode a Norton 99 from Brisbane to Melbourne in 20 hours in the rain because he had run out of money. When he got home he fell into bed and slept for about three days . I also once met a guy who rode a round Australia in 14 days on a BSA twin when it was mostly dirt roads . At one stage he hit a kangaroo and ended up dragging his bike into a homestead. That stuff is OK if you are into self-flagellation. I really love old British bikes, however I don't kid myself about them.
'Some things are so bad that they are good' ?

rvich · Sep 7, 2013

When I was a teen I loved British sports cars. But then I eventually bought a Datsun Fairlady roadster. I didn't miss my British cars after that. However, I never rode a Japanese motorcycle that made me stop loving my Commando.

Bernhard · Sep 9, 2013

acotrel said:
Joseph Lucas - Prince of Darkness - should never have been in business. We'd have been better off with carbide lamps or candles. Magnet Marelli were much better (- sometimes I really crack up at my own jokes). I wonder if Lucas makes computers these days - they are probably used by NASA ?

No, they made them for the British National Hospitals which was a complete failure. :!:

Bernhard · Sep 9, 2013

acotrel said:
I was never happy when the charging circuit stopped working on my old Triumphs. Perhaps it was the design which placed the alternator in the chain case where a broken roller could stick onto the rotating magnet, and do its business ? Why was it that virtually overnight the Japanese began producing bikes without the stinking design faults - racial superiority ? Or was it that the Marshall Plan removed the necessity of being miserable bastards. That comment about British cars was a real hoot. I was in my early driving years when Japanese bikes and cars replaced the British items - the most notable thing was the difference in the length of time between rebuilds. Compare a Mini with a Datsun 1000. We had around Australia trials in which the VW beetle made all British cars look stupid. Every time I go anywhere in Victoria, it is usually at least a six hour round trip at 120 KPH on freeways virtually non-stop. If you did it on a commando or an old British car, you'd be a nervous wreck before you got home. I will say this though. - Back in the early sixties a friend of mine rode a Norton 99 from Brisbane to Melbourne in 20 hours in the rain because he had run out of money. When he got home he fell into bed and slept for about three days . I also once met a guy who rode a round Australia in 14 days on a BSA twin when it was mostly dirt roads . At one stage he hit a kangaroo and ended up dragging his bike into a homestead. That stuff is OK if you are into self-flagellation. I really love old British bikes, however I don't kid myself about them.
'Some things are so bad that they are good' ?

re; “Why was it that virtually overnight the Japanese began producing bikes without the stinking design faults”

This doesn’t meant to say that the bikes and cars from the land of Nippon come with their own design faults :?:

Time Warp · Sep 10, 2013

kiwi said:
Genuine Lucas

It is looking like genuine Lucas parts will soon be difficult to source
as the parent company TNN / Lucas has withdrawn the licence to manufacture vintage motorcycle parts , new production is no longer branded
so if any of you guys are currently restoring or thinking of restoring Commandos to concourse start looking for NOS Lucas branded indicators lenses ETC before they become
Hens teeth and overpriced

Good luck

Which NOS Lucas,that made when the bikes were current or that being made currently as Lucas parts.
I had wondered and asked about the fairly large amounts of NOS Lucas tail light lens that seem to be a available and if they are actually old stock,that was answered today after picking up a new Lucas L564 lens.
Its genuine Lucas but made in resent times.
Its buyer beware perhaps considering the cost was less than a 1/3 of what some people want and may very well be selling modern as old stock of the day.
The abundance of as new NOS Lucas indicators did seem odd,not now.
Original Lucas parts do fetch a premium all the same.

RIP LUCAS

kiwi

Hobot

acotrel

Matchless

JimC

Hobot

wakeup

Time Warp

.......back to the 70's.

mike996

acotrel

rvich

Bernhard

Bernhard

Time Warp

.......back to the 70's.

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