One of our section members brought this to my attention, so I thought it might be worth posting about it. He was completing the rebuild of his late fifties Matchless G3LS when he discovered that although there was plenty of oil circulating and returning to the oil tank, he had none feeding up the long […]
Tyre Pressures for your Classic Motorcyc...
Classic motorcycles with appropriate tubed tyres, do not usually run the same tyre pressures as modern motorcycles. If you read the manufacturer’s information, they will usually suggest a range of tyre pressures to suit your bike and tyres. Note: tyre pressures are critical to your safety. What I’m presenting here works for me and may […]
AMC Gearbox Leaking Oil
If you have a late 1950s, 1960s or 1970s AJS, Matchless or Norton motorcycle, there’s a good chance it’s fitted with an AMC gearbox. As you will see from my website, I have several such motorcycles. My 1964/65 Matchless G80CS, which identifies as a 1967 bike, had a habit of leaking oil from the gearbox […]
Can I use car oil in my motorcycle?
The short answer is PROBABLY NOT! I looked into this because a mate gave me some brand new 10W40 ‘motor oil’ which I hoped would work in my bike…it turns out it won’t. The reason is quite straightforward, and it’s all about the clutch. Car oil normally has more additives than motorcycle oil…many of which […]
Annealing a Copper Cylinder Head Gasket
My mid 60s Matchless G80CS turned out to have a leaky cylinder head to cylinder joint; I could see small oil bubbles at the joint and exhaust coming out from the right hand side of the joint. These engines have a compression ratio of 8.7:1 and no cylinder head gasket; the head and cylinder joint […]
Preparing Your Motorcycle for Winter
Before I start, this is the process I use…it has worked safely for some years now. If you use another method and it also works, see how it compares. I hope this post is helpful. Incidentally, I like the word ‘motorcycle’ but you can think ‘bike’ or ‘motorbike’ if you prefer 😉 The Problem If […]
The last ever Avon tyre produced in the ...
Historic moment as last ever tyre is built at Avon ending production after more than a century This post is based on an article from the Melksham News from December the 12th, 2023. Avon Tyres have been a mainstay of British motorcycling from the very start. I, and most of my motorcycling friends, have Avon […]
BSA B25 Oil Pressure Switch 60-3719 Repl...
Whilst this post refers to the 1972 OIF BSA B25SS Gold Star, it also applies to earlier bikes, although the thread on the oil pressure switch may be different. Check yours with a thread gauge and make sure you don’t fit a tapered thread, when your old switch had a parallel one, and vice versa; […]
Andy Bamford Trials Frame Cotter Pin
I’m in the process of rebuilding a 1963 short stroke Model 16 AJS into an Andy Bamford trials frame. The frame needed touching up in a few places, and I needed to source a few parts such as foot rests and aluminium mudguards. One of the more important parts is the cotter pin which secures […]
Motorcycle Ignition Coils from Lucas Ind...
If you own a classic motorcycle, you may eventually have an ignition coil fail. There are several options available such as: Lucas (UK), Lucas (India), NGK, Remax, Bosch and of course manufacturers’ own offerings. Most of those will be good replacements, but the one from Lucas (India) is not. They simply suffer from reliability issues. […]