Petrol head thread!!!

[billy rubin]

stupid delays.

ive been trying to get the time together to install the australian ignition on my land speed motorcycle. i have all the components-- coils, transitor box, 5000 ohm resistor plug caps, and custom made rotors.

heres the rotors again:



one of these buggers spins on the end of the camshaft at half-crank speed. its a hall effect device, and the half-round curtain you see runs inside a gap in th efixed ignition stator:





the rotor fits underneath



when the mild steel curtain intersects the magnetic sensors on the little stator plate, it induces a small change in voltage that the transistor box interprets as a signal to fire. the little rotor turns another 180 degrees (360 at the crank) and then the end of the curtain passes by the magnet and triggers the second coil to fire the other side.

super easy, and the parts fit inside the oild points cavity.
on the back side

[billy rubin]

so all thats easy. but where do i put the stupid coils? theres no space under the tank. no space in front on the down tube that wont cook them on the pipes. no space under the seat as theres no space under the seat, which really isnt a seat but is actuall y just a flat piece of aluminum. the poil tank and oil filter take up all the space under that.

so finally i said, maybe on top of the spine tube behind th e tanks. theres room there. so i scrounged a pice of aluminum channel and tried it out. it fit okay

i used the channel to make a simple bracket





it works aesthetically but i cant find a good way to attach the damn thing. theres just no room for nuts and bolts on this packed-tight minimalist machine.

so i gave up and ordered a piece of 5083 aluminum plate, which cost a whole shitton of money since metal is through the roof. but a 12 x 12 x 0.25 piece was here shortly




i copuld have done with 3/16, but the quarter inch will be useful enough on other stuff. my industrious sons have made off with all my scap aluminum and this piece was as much as 30 gallons of petrol in the pickup.

ive always used 6061 aliminum because of the strength, but its a bear to cut as my tools seem to make it work harden in front of th eblade, and after a half inch or so the saws slow down. this 5083 stuff is a softer alloy , and should work better for me.

anyway, tomorrow ill cut a little tablet about 5 by 6 inches, drill it for the coil mounts, drill it for two U-bolts to hold it to the bike, and then all i have to do is devise a strap of metal to hold the transistor box.

then just wiring.

[billy rubin]

well, more than that. ill have to hand-file th eignition rotors i think to make them fire at exactly 360 degrees. the machinist is good, but these are 1.75-inches across, and cutting them on a mill with accuracy to 360 degrees is pretty much more than i can expect. ill have to hand file them if the curtain is too big, and if its  too small they just wont work.

but i cant tell any of that until i get them on the bike and attach a degree wheel to the crank so i can see whats going on.

[Dark Lightning]

First picture, left and right pieces. Are these cut so that they are balanced? I'd hate to see that kind of mass whirling at 7k rpm if the issue of balance wasn't addressed.

That plate cost you $100+?! Next time you need a piece of metal like that, let me know. I may be able to ship one from California for less...unless you mean you had to drive that far to get it? Either way, let me know. I might even have what you need on hand.

[Icarus]

That is techno high adventure Billy. 

I'd be a little bit cautios about mounting those coils anywhere near my scrotum.

In my forthcoming adventures with the TR5 I will surely have to deal with the ignition system. Fifty year old Lucas or BTH systems do not have my confidence. I'm gonna try to learn about your new system some more.

The old jokes about Lucas lighting being rated in candle power is old hat now. The warm beer one too.  Some of the most critical of tech guys now rate Lucas fuel injectors as the the best in the business. I do remember when I got a new Tiger Cub, it had some new fangled electronic ignition that was ....to be generous.... not very reliable. Quick fix to battery ignition made it just fine. 

Of course the clutch on the Tiger Cub was a piece of shit. The Armstrong clutch fixed the clutch problem very well..........Yeah that Armstrong, the one who makes linoleum for the kitchen floor.  Aside from those fixes, the TC was one of my favorite fun bikes. I won dozens of English Trials with the TC. I am awed at the stuff that modern trial bikes and trial riders can do that would have been unthinkable in the old days.

[billy rubin]

First picture, left and right pieces. Are these cut so that they are balanced? I'd hate to see that kind of mass whirling at 7k rpm if the issue of balance wasn't addressed.

i worried anout that too. but its on the cam, not the crank, so its only 3500. i think it will work. i hope anyway.

That plate cost you $100+?! Next time you need a piece of metal like that, let me know. I may be able to ship one from California for less...unless you mean you had to drive that far to get it? Either way, let me know. I might even have what you need on hand.

yes. metal is high. price out current cost for channel to build a trsiler. horrifyibg.

i judt needed a piece of plate the size of half a sheet of paper. right now that was 60 somethin fot the metal and 17 postage.

junk metal should be cheap, but o have no junkyards

[Dark Lightning]

OK, I guess fuel is cheaper where you are. It's hovering just under $5 a gallon, here. I bought some brass and aluminum recently to make a fence for my router. I don't recall it costing so much.

[billy rubin]

yesterday it was US $2.86 per US gallon. ohio is way under where you are

thats around 75 cents per litre for you frogophiles. national average is around $3.25.

30 gallons of 87 octane gasoline right now costs $85, and this piece of 5083 was $61 plus tax plus $17 shipping, about $84.

maybe tbe link works

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/aluminum/0-25-aluminum-plate-5000-series/pid/27824?variant=27824_12_12

[billy rubin]

That is techno high adventure Billy. 

I'd be a little bit cautios about mounting those coils anywhere near my scrotum.

In my forthcoming adventures with the TR5 I will surely have to deal with the ignition system. Fifty year old Lucas or BTH systems do not have my confidence. I'm gonna try to learn about your new system some more.

The old jokes about Lucas lighting being rated in candle power is old hat now. The warm beer one too.  Some of the most critical of tech guys now rate Lucas fuel injectors as the the best in the business. I do remember when I got a new Tiger Cub, it had some new fangled electronic ignition that was ....to be generous.... not very reliable. Quick fix to battery ignition made it just fine. 

Of course the clutch on the Tiger Cub was a piece of shit. The Armstrong clutch fixed the clutch problem very well..........Yeah that Armstrong, the one who makes linoleum for the kitchen floor.  Aside from those fixes, the TC was one of my favorite fun bikes. I won dozens of English Trials with the TC. I am awed at the stuff that modern trial bikes and trial riders can do that would have been unthinkable in the old days.

there just isnt anywhere else to easily put them. theres no sidecovers or big fuel tank so all the usual space is missing. i could mout them on top of the tank but then id have to rest my chest on em and disconnect the harness every time i took the tanks off for any reason. no room under the seat. i had the pazon coils in the same place but they were much smaller.

electronic ignitions for the TR 5 are available from boyer, pazon, and several others. they replace the points and condensors and should really be run with 6 volt coils, but 12 volts work fine in my BSA.

http://boyerbransden.com/

i have a boyer ignition in a bonneville that has been trouble-free for over 30 years. once you set the ignition timing, you have a rock steady spark that never changes, ever. ive also got boyers in a norton commando and a BSA thunderbolt, and a pazon in another BSA. all are set-and-forget.

https://www.classicbritishspares.com/products/boyer-electronic-ignition-12v-twins?_pos=5&_sid=3ddcc79e1&_ss=r

you can also ditch the old rectifier and zener diode. zeners are hard to come by these days

https://www.thebonnevilleshop.com/product/triumph-norton-bsa-etc-podtronics-16a-200w-regulator-rectifier-pn-tbs-4035/

[Icarus]

^ Thanks much for the references to suppliers for the antique bikes. That information will surely save me a lot of time and grief.

[billy rubin]

^ Thanks much for the references to suppliers for the antique bikes. That information will surely save me a lot of time and grief.

lots more than those

[The Magic Pudding..]

yesterday it was US $2.86 per US gallon. ohio is way under where you are

thats around 75 cents per litre for you frogophiles. national average is around $3.25.

30 gallons of 87 octane gasoline right now costs $85, and this piece of 5083 was $61 plus tax plus $17 shipping, about $84.

Oh right, wait a minute...
Drums used to be forty fours, forty four gallons, before they became 200 litre-ish.
286/75=3.813
200/44=4.545

"How many Litres are in a gallon Australia?  4.54609 litres"
A US gallon =3.78541

Apparently the oft' quoted barrel of oil is 159 litres, not nearly a proper drum.

Petrol is pushing AUD $2 here, /100x62  $1.24 USD.

Fuel is taxed more here, we accept this because we are more virtuous than your lot.

[billy rubin]

american oil barrels are 40 US gallons.

youre right about virtue. not much of that up here

[Icarus]

Here is a prospective LSR machine that was intended for GP racing.............but alas it did not happen

Notice the departure from common thinking at about 5 minutes in.

[Icarus]

Billy I finally subscribed to Motorcycle classics magazine. The first issue arrived and I am pleased to learn that there are a whole bunch of parts suppliers for old bikes. There is even a place to buy German manufactured replicas of the old tires that were once the norm. In this case the promise is that the tread pattern is the same but the rubber compounds and structural elements are modern.

I can anticipate spending a whole bunch of money on parts for the TR5. Tires, grease seals, bearings, pistons,rings, valves, chains, clutch parts, and only the FSM knows what else. Then there is the forks and the rear coil overs.... Sheesh! Yep, I think that this project is going to exceed any resemblance to my practical budget.