Get out there and use your bike!

Power to Weight Data

I've been meaning to look at power to weight ratios for a while, mainly since the PO of my SQ4 delivered it to me saying 'I can't see myself using this, it's a big bike and way too heavy for me'. I thought I would look around at some modern bikes and see how heavy it really was, and whether I was going to be able to ride it into old age.

So the table shown here lists a few bikes of interest to me, with their fuelled-up weight in pounds, seat heights for some and power to weight ratios. Look at some of the older bikes & how they compare with some newer ones!

Here's the power to weight ratios charted. enjoy figuring that out, I will replace the chart with one that is easier to read!

Charlie's Shed - Rear Wheel Alignment

I noticed a few weeks ago that the SQ4 was trying to drive into the kerb, and required constant correction to keep it on track. There are some roads with steep camber around here which adds to the effect, but on some fast, flat A-roads it still happens, so I need to look at wheel alignment.

To do this, you need to set up a straight edge along the length of the bike to provide a datum for the wheels. Since I don't possess a laser and most of the timber I have is anything but straight, a piece of string is the best solution.

Tie a length of string to a spoke at the front of the front wheel and wrap is around the tire, running the string to the back.

Pull the string tight - you can wrap the string around the back of the rear wheel and tie it off on something convenient. It's very useful to have a bike with a rear stand here, because centre stands get in the way of your string.

You'll note the chopstick under the string at the front. This is there because I have a 3.50 - 19 tyre at the front and a 4.00 - 19 tyre at the rear - so the diameter difference is 0.5" and I have provided a 1/4" spacer (the chopstick) to compensate for this difference.

There is a 1/4" gap at the rear of the front tyre, due to the diameter difference to the rear tyre.

Unfortunately, I also have a gap between the string and the front half of the rear tyre. This is because the rear wheel is not aligned with the front wheel.

You can see this gap here:

Use the tool kit spanners to slacken the wheel spindle:

Use the chain adjusters to move the spindle forwards or backwards. Since my chain tension is correct, I don't want to move the nearside of the rear wheel - I will correct the alignment by pushing the offside forwards.

Now, the front and rear edges of the rear tyre touch the string. I'll check the front wheel has not moved and the string is straight:

Tighten up the wheel spindles and the lock nuts on the chain adjusters and you are done.

Transporting the W/NG

As you will have seen from my 'Old Warrior' post, the bike was located in Tuscany; I needed to learn about shipping bikes around the world. Speaking to various folk, including a colleague with a penchant for vintage OHC bikes (think Velocette KTT, Norton International, Ducati etc and you will the the idea) I lucked upon Chas Mortimer Ltd.

Chas began his racing career at Brands Hatch in July 1965, aged sixteen. His father Charles Mortimer Senior raced cars and motorbikes at Brooklands in the 1930’s and then after the war both his parents raced cars at circuits such as Goodwood and Silverstone. Chas’s maternal grandfather was the chief test pilot for Vickers Armstrong in Weybridge (a few 100 metres from my office window!) and flew the first test flight on the Spitfire. He was also the pilot who did all the tests with Barnes Wallace on the bouncing bomb, a weapon that succeeded in destroying the Ruhr dams with 617 Squadron in 1944.

Coming from such a family it seems inevitable that speed was in his genes and that Chas went on to become a professional motorcycle road racer for nearly twenty years. His first ever racing bike was a 250cc Greeves Silverstone but Chas eventually became an official Yamaha factory rider during the 1970’s and 80’s winning eight Isle of Man TT races during the same period.

Today Chas still rides for Yamaha in Classic events throughout Europe during the summer months as well as running the company.

Chas Mortimer on the Yamaha TD-1

There is a very interesting story which has never been told about that bike. In Chas's own words:

Yamaha was invited to attend the centenary celebrations in the Island and they were asked to bring one of the original 4 cylinders, which were ridden by Phil Read, Bill Ivy, Mike (Michelle) Duff and the Japanese Yamaha test rider Motohashi in period (1965/6 ?). At the end of the season after the big bust up between Read and Ivy Yamaha pulled the plug on the team and all the bikes were sent back to Japan where all except this bike and a 125 were crushed. These two were sent to Yamaha's museum where they resided until the invitation to the Centenary meeting which arrived in January. They decided only to bring the 250 and took the bike from the museum and put water in it to see if it would start but it poured out as quick as they could put it in. Therefore the stripped it down and manufactured new magnesium crankcases, cylinders and heads etc to get the bike up and running. There is still one of the original mechanics alive and he rebuilt it and it fired up with the new parts on first push.

I was invited to ride it in the big parade and Michelle Duff rode it in the Yamaha Parade. We went to Jurby to set it up and we got it running sweet as a nut but I remember Bill telling me that when they seized they gave absolutely no warning unlike the old TZ’s. The Japanese mechanic had all the settings from Bill (in 1965 I think) but I was fearful of having the thing seize on me at Glen Vine or Alpine Cottage so I told him to put a size bigger jet! He tried to dissuade me telling me that it would start to misfire in 6th.and 7th.gears on full song but I insisted. Needless to say he was absolutely right and by the time I got half way down Bray Hill in 6th.it started misfiring. Anyway it was an absolute missile even with a misfire and the Japs were over the moon because I caught and passed Phil around the Nook and crossed the line in front of him (he was on a Gilera 4). It was the best Island lap that I have done for years. Fantastic memories.

Chas's love for motorcycles led him to form the company and you can be sure that your vehicles will be treated with as much care as one of his own motorcycles. Chas and his team collected my 1942 Ariel from sunny Tuscany, where it had spent the last 74 years. Really helpful, great to deal with, and they handled the cash as well. The bike arrived this morning, well strapped down in the van in perfect condition.

It's a service run for enthusiast bikers by enthusiastic bikers; the driver was a man who clearly enjoyed himself, driving all over Europe chatting to bikers. Who wouldn't!

Here's the W/NG still in the van; I had hoped the driver would leave that lovely Mk1 Le Mans in my garage as well, but that will have to wait for another day. They will be getting my business next time.

Rusty metal

While it doesn't look too bad from this angle, the battery tray on this MZ TS125 is falling apart due to acid damage. There is a crack from one of the hooks for the battery retaining strap which means that that tab, with the M5 hole for the side panel is quite floppy.

Since it was only going to cost me a few minutes, I tried to braze it up but in practice it is all too thin to have any strength, so the easiest thing to do is cut it off and make a new one. The bracket used to mount the battery tray on the frame is sound, so we can cut the tray away from it retaining as much as possible of the old tray to provide a pattern for a new one.

I have some 18 SWG cold rolled sheet in the shop, which is a good deal thicker than the original which looks like 22 SWG. You can see the extent of the damage in these pictures.

The new one is very simply folded from sheet, cut out with the jigsaw & hacksaw and with 5 mm holes drilled into the corners for clearance and drainage. We'll tack the corners together with the MIG welder.

Here's the hooks folded down and around the old strap.

So now I have transferred the side panel tab to the new tray, and brazed it in place in case I have to move it again. Next, to weld up the corners and finally weld the tray back to the frame:

Welding the outsite of corners is tricky if you are not to blow the material away completely; my welding needs a lot of dressing! Corners done, we'll tack it in place using the old one as a guide:

We'll need to fit some other parts around it to confirm that the side panel mount is in the correct location, and then we will complete those welds underneath. Removing it with those fully welded would probably destroy my new tray.

Just a little U-Pol etch primer to avoid rusting...

A few days later I have the cast aluminium rear mudguard and the coil bracket to mount up and test my new battery bracket. I'll put the lot in the vice and mount the rear end with some 10 mm pins, that are a close fit in the holes and don't allow any wobble:

You can see the three M6 mounting holes for the side panel - one in my battery bracket, one on the coil bracket and one in the mudguard. Here's the side panel mounted up:

Perfect! now we can weld up and apply some paint.

And that's it, ready to be returned to its owner.

Happy Anniversary!

Well, its four years to the day since Amelia came to stay.

Here she is on the day she arrived:

And here's a recent picture:

More on the new tank

As reported a few weeks ago, the replacement tank for the Ariel is coming up for it's turn on the bench. Or is it...

It's back from the blasters now and not unexpectedly it is a bit of a state. The bottom has been removed to blast the inside, and the next few months will see a bit of tin bashing & welding, to put this lot right.

Here are the pictures:

Picture 1 - Offside Rear

Picture 2 - Saddle Nose, Offside

Picture 3 - Saddle Nose, Nearside

Picture 4 - Rear View

Picture 5 - Front Offside

Picture 6 - Front Nearside

Picture 7 - Underneath

Picture 8 - Offside

Picture 9 - tap area

Picture 10 - Brazed Mount

Sheringham Classic Car & Bike Show

Well, its that time of year again. Sunday brought us bright sunshine, hoards of people, dozens of cars and a few motorcycles into our little seaside town for the annual Sheringham Carnival Classic Car & Bike Show.

Of course, I took Amelia for the first time this year. We were the second bike to arrive, after this lovely G2CSR Matchless which was in the same spot last year. I have a soft spot for these, and my own G2CSR has its own blog page.

Despite living about 300 yards from this parking spot, it took ages to get here. All those little lanes and that sunshine were too tempting, but I can report that the front brake is much better now and while not powerful has a good feel.

I took my Bantam as well, which needed a good polish up after the winter and a some general neglect. Sorry Beattie... She always attracts a lot of attention, and we had an eight mile run to get here:

Smart modern scooter:

Very nice 1974 Suzuki AC50:

Every year, a group of local ladies dress up and go about the town collecting for carnival funds & the RNLI. There is a different theme each year:

Groovy Hippy Chick collecting for the Carnival & the RNLI

A nicely patinated C11 next to my Bantam:

One of the most modern cars at the show was this Tesla, which aroused much interest:

In case you were wondering what was under the bonnet of a Tesla

This Tesla Model S belongs to local artist Brian Lewis and is charged in his garage by solar panels. Brian's pictures are a delight enjoyed by many folks all over Norfolk and depict local scenes, towns, buildings, dogs & seals - all in Brian's inimitable style:

Beside the Waves - Sheringham's western slipway

Brian's website is at http://www.art-e-mail.com/, which operates an on-line shop where you can buy prints of his work.

Here's a smart BSA SS80, and  a Vincent Comet:

Apparently this Comet has an electric start. The only give-away is the big red button on the handlebars and the owner's sheepish face when he doesn't use the kick start:

This Commando special appeared near the end of the day, and I followed it up our street. I'm not sure who was making more noise...

Next event is the NNR Transport Festival. Details at http://www.nnrailway.co.uk/page.php?pid=35. Beattie and Amelia will be there!