Shaking down an old dog

I got the right side back together and fired her up. I think the right float is sticking again. Probably the correct thing to do is pull the tank and carb and go through the carb completely. I had hoped to make it over to the local Norton club barbecue and ride Sunday but I have to work tomorrow so that probably won't happen. Usually something goes wrong if you rush things so it's just as well if I run her locally to find what will go wrong.
 
As I get time I've been fiddling with the carbs. I've found several things I don't much like such as loose float hinges, casting flash, poorly aligned overflow tubes, and one slightly twisted float by 1mm. I looked up the Kehin website and they never made a PWK 30 which these are billed as. They did make a 28 and the float sets at 19mm. These were at around 22 mm. Kenhins are usually very float level sensitive. I'm going to try 19 mm, with the twist 19 and 20 on the right carb. I have them back on and I'll adjust them and try it tomorrow.
 
I'm taking my time setting these up. First I made a stand to get the correct float angle, then a gauge to set them
Shaking down an old dog
 
Cookie said:
Here is the gauge. I'm starting with 19 mm.
Click to expand...

Any more info I used to have an 88 Dominator that handled like a dream. Nice to see a good Commando/Featherbed setup. :D
 
I'm not sure who actually fitted the Commando engine and other bits. Due to a post by another member of the board I think it might be an English kit. I'd never seen one like this and the other gentleman's post showed a very similar set up which was billed as done with a kit from England. It's wonderfully stable in a corner but vibrates madly, and the brakes can get pretty hot in the hills here. One has to ride her with a bit of respect for her limitations, as well as my own these days. The gearing is very short but it comes out of corners well.
 
It's wonderfully stable in a corner but vibrates madly...
Click to expand...

I don't recall if you rebuilt the engine. If you did, did you have the balance factor changed? I still have to find a way from
Burlingame to San Mateo... :lol:
 
The engine was rebuilt when they dropped in the Commando engine. I'm trying to remember what Earl said about it, he didn't know a lot. I don't think they changed the balance but I have a ways to go yet. A couple of time when I had it really running smooth I thought they might have. This bike has a bunch of the normal east coast mods like the large welded case brace, it feels to me like standard compression and a stock cam. The Combats I remember being lumpy at idle but it's been a long time since I heard one.
This thing runs too well to rebuild, no smoke, very good power. If it seems to need rings or such I'd tear it down and check the balance but it does seem well done. I suspect it has 1500 miles since the rebuild and since it was done for Mildred Kennedy when she was in school I bet she didn't ride it much. I know Earl only had it out a few times a summer since shortly after that he got into airplanes. I think the guy that built it was Mildred's boyfriend when she was in college, but he may have had someone else build the engine.
I've been meaning to call Mildred for about a year to ask her but I haven't gotten around to it. It would be nice to pass on more info to the next owner.
It does seem that we could mange to get together for a half hour at some point.
 
We should in deed. I went down to Capitola for the bike show. Lots of vintage bikes Brits, American and Japanese.
Even an old Honda race bike, which was started every hour. Very LOUD! Rode down the coast on the FXR, A bit foggy in the morning but bright and sunny in the afternoon. Here is a link to some pictures..

http://picasaweb.google.com/nortn71/Cap ... cleShow09#
 
Wifeling and I went down too. We saw the Morgan driving up and got to listen to the old race bike. The guy got a big hand when he shut it down when I was there. I also got a chuckle out of someone who rode what I think may have been an old Harley (20s?) by when we were having lunch at an out door cafe in Santa Cruz. The engine was so lazy it was amusing.
 
I may have made a tiny breakthrough tonight. I found information on the Internet that verified that 19mm was the correct float level for the 28-30 Kehin and that I was measuring it correctly. I removed the needle valve for about the sixth time and looked carefully at the rubber with my glasses off. I can see a ring around the rubber.
The needle looks much like the ones in my spare Mikuni 26es so I compared my spare needle and it seems identical. I fitted the Mikuni needle and it stopped leaking gas.
I'm sure I can't get parts this weekend but I keep one Mikuni built up for my Chang. Tomorrow I'll borrow the needle from that one for the other carb.
What I now think was happening is that CA gas is melting the Chinese needle tips. This would explain why the bike ran fine and started leaking from first one carb then the other. When I've had that before it was dirt in the tank and the tank was dirty.
 
Things have been going along fairly well since I found the melting needles. Today I had a brake light short lose power. This led me to open the headlight after the ride and the wiring in there is dismal. I think the bike still has the wiring from its last couple of incarnations in there with much of it going nowhere. what I thought would be an easy fix is going to turn into running some new wires at least.
I have to prepare my red Chang for the Hiller Aviation Yak Attack show this weekend, and a friend may need some help to get his bike ready. This means the Norton gets back burner for a while.
 
Thanks,

It was corrosion, both on the tail light making a poor ground, and I think Earl would be responsible for the wire nut in the headlight that had the three wires corrode. I need to spend a rainy afternoon in that headlight next winter. That's the last wire nut on the bike gone now.
A wiring diagram is useless on this bike as nothing is stock and where it should be. Not much of a worry as it is such a simple bike.
 
After pulling the carbs off my LTD becuse of a leaking float valve I ordered parts and now I'm free to spend a few minutes on the Norton. The old warped battery box has not been closing well so I removed it and straightened it out a bit. I spaced it higher as it rubs the side plate and to be sure it won't hit the tank on a bump I'll have to raise the tank a sixteenth.
I tried a small ammmeter I had here but the Norton draw is too weak to register, the vibration bounces it everywhere. So much for car stuff.
 
It's always something....I put a completely new wiring harness (two of them, actually, the main one and the headlight one) within the last year or so. Then installed turn signals. The switch (original Lucas) is always a bit iffy but if cleaned and lubed regularly it works "okay."

Recently the left rear signal stopped working. Had to pull the tank and trace the power supply from the right bar switch all the way back to the turn signal. Had power the whole way; must be inside the signal lever assembly itself. Started to dissassemble it and it gave up and began working again. Never could figure out just what I 'jiggled' enough to make it work, but if it happens again I at least know where to look.

Went on to valves, petcocks, and other stuff I needed to do while tank is off (is it just me or is getting the tank on a complete PITA - of course, my front tank studs come out with the nuts, making life a bit tougher...)
 
They just test you. I just came back from a ride and it's not charging now. I knew I should have rewired the entire thing last winter but I only did half. At least it starts great but I can't ride it more than one battery's worth. I'm finally getting somewhere on the carbs and now the charging that worked fine is on strike.
Tomorrow evening we are going to Alemeda so no work on the bike then, the next night is an antique bike meeting so I guess I'll be taking the Chang not the Norton.
 
I checked it down and it seems to have been corrosion on the stator wire connectors. She is charging now and needs to be put back together. It has the simple little Tympanium regulator, which looks like a good unit.
 
At the recommendation of a friend, I put a Tympanium regulator on my Elefant and the BSA came with one. Small, simple to wire and they work flawlessly. And compared to an oem Ducati regulator, very inexpensive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top