W/NG - fixing oil leaks

 Blatting about at the weekend used a bit of oil, some of it coming from the top end.

I suspect some is coming down the exhaust guide, but some is coming from the rocker shaft end covers. 

I've only recently learnt how to tighten these properly, and I'd damaged one of the fibre washers.

It's all done properly now, with a special screwdriver I made. I've added a small dose of Threebond to the fibre washers as well. 

VMCC Letheringsett Run

With not much railway stuff going on and the events calendar rapidly diminishing, son Thomas and I took the opportunity to attend the Norwich & District section VMCC run to Letheringsett. We'd wanted to do another trip out together this year, and I'd wanted to do a VMCC run, so it was the perfect opportunity as it's the last run (but one) for the 2022 season.

The start was at Spooner Row, so I needed to get to Tom's and then to Spooner Row in time for a 10:30 start. 

This would have been fine, had I not done 60 miles on a partially full tank the day before, getting my hair cut.

I ran out of fuel.

We stopped just outside Wymondham, and despite pulling the reserve tap on I couldn't get the W/NG restarted. I checked the carburetter drain plug and there appeared to be fuel, so out came the tools. The points were opening, and judging by Tom's yelp there was a spark at the plug, so what could it be?

Well, turns out, having removed the float bowl top to find no fuel, the reserve tap doesn't pass liquids. Sloshing some over from the timing side had us going again, back to the nearest petrol station and onto the run.

I'd not used Tulip sheets much, and the route roller was on the SQ4, but we made it to the end with only two or three mistakes - not all of them while I was in the lead. One time, I was convinced I was lost on a lonely road; I stopped to confess to Tom that I was lost, only to find 4-5 old bikes behind him...

Still, we made it in the end, stopping at the water mill which was grinding flour and selling tea and cake.

When we were all there, there was probably 25 bikes including this 1952 SQ4 Mk1 we had followed, and been followed by, on the run:

We stopped for more food in Holt, on the way home.

More pictures from the VMCC Norwich & District Section website here.