Tim21
Member
Hi to all,
I joined the forum a couple of months ago when I became the new owner of a 1959 Twenty One. It happened by accident rather than design as I was asked if I would be interested in a "project" to help out my son in laws family as I retired last year and have time. (I already got back into bikes earlier this year when I negotiated a 1973 BMW R60/5 (6176 miles!) from a friend who didn't need it that I had been storing for him for the last 3 years, but that's another story).
This Twenty One is in overall good condition, it seems to have been renovated/rebuilt 15-20 years ago and according to the last MOT in 2004 done 20 miles since then. It looks like a previous owner has had engine work done, new exhausts, wheels, chain and rear shocks as well as painting the frame and metallic blue parts.
So over the last few weeks I have been cleaning rust away, replacing all rubber pipes:
Cleaning out the oil tank which had heavy sludge and changing all fluids:
Cleaning and sealing the tank:
I replaced the brake shoes as a previous owner had been a little "heavy" with the grease.
New tyres Avon Speedmaster and Safety Mileage (Strange name, but I remember using them in the 70's as I commuted up and down the M1 each week and needed high mileage tyres)
Replaced the very 1950's main Lucas switch PRS8 and installed a battery and tidied up the wiring.
So now the status is that I have a bike that runs! And despite the gears and brake being opposite from what I was always used to I seem to have managed!!
All the gears select and work OK, as does the clutch.
Now this is the point where I might ask for some feedback:
I was a little concerned at first as the engine does get very hot. Initially there was some smoke but that I attribute to my cleaning with WD 40. Anyway it stopped. I did clean out the small steel pipe that lubes the rocker box from the return feed. I was surprised to see that the oil is intended to flow down the outside of the threaded stud from the banjo and 8mm ID washer without any holes drilled into the stud. I assume this is normal as only a small amount of oil is needed?
The other possible issue is that when the engine warms there seems to be quite a lot of vibration and noise from the chaincase.
As I really don't have any experience with this kind of engine I am thinking firstly to remove the primary chaincase and check the chain tension. The manual mentions a rubber "shock absorber" within the clutch. As the bike has been sitting unused for the best part of 15 years I wonder if this is something that can deteriorate over time? Would this cause vibration and noise but still allow the clutch to operate? Or are there other things I should check first?
any comments would be appreciated.
Tim
I joined the forum a couple of months ago when I became the new owner of a 1959 Twenty One. It happened by accident rather than design as I was asked if I would be interested in a "project" to help out my son in laws family as I retired last year and have time. (I already got back into bikes earlier this year when I negotiated a 1973 BMW R60/5 (6176 miles!) from a friend who didn't need it that I had been storing for him for the last 3 years, but that's another story).
This Twenty One is in overall good condition, it seems to have been renovated/rebuilt 15-20 years ago and according to the last MOT in 2004 done 20 miles since then. It looks like a previous owner has had engine work done, new exhausts, wheels, chain and rear shocks as well as painting the frame and metallic blue parts.
So over the last few weeks I have been cleaning rust away, replacing all rubber pipes:
Cleaning out the oil tank which had heavy sludge and changing all fluids:
Cleaning and sealing the tank:
I replaced the brake shoes as a previous owner had been a little "heavy" with the grease.
New tyres Avon Speedmaster and Safety Mileage (Strange name, but I remember using them in the 70's as I commuted up and down the M1 each week and needed high mileage tyres)
Replaced the very 1950's main Lucas switch PRS8 and installed a battery and tidied up the wiring.
So now the status is that I have a bike that runs! And despite the gears and brake being opposite from what I was always used to I seem to have managed!!
All the gears select and work OK, as does the clutch.
Now this is the point where I might ask for some feedback:
I was a little concerned at first as the engine does get very hot. Initially there was some smoke but that I attribute to my cleaning with WD 40. Anyway it stopped. I did clean out the small steel pipe that lubes the rocker box from the return feed. I was surprised to see that the oil is intended to flow down the outside of the threaded stud from the banjo and 8mm ID washer without any holes drilled into the stud. I assume this is normal as only a small amount of oil is needed?
The other possible issue is that when the engine warms there seems to be quite a lot of vibration and noise from the chaincase.
As I really don't have any experience with this kind of engine I am thinking firstly to remove the primary chaincase and check the chain tension. The manual mentions a rubber "shock absorber" within the clutch. As the bike has been sitting unused for the best part of 15 years I wonder if this is something that can deteriorate over time? Would this cause vibration and noise but still allow the clutch to operate? Or are there other things I should check first?
any comments would be appreciated.
Tim