Vincent Technical Sections: -Serial Numbers/Production- Photo Gallery of Models

- Brakes - Engine Overhaul - Vincent Engines - Wheels/Fenders - Instruments - Tr

ansmission - Clutch - Magneto - Tank/Seat - Suspension - Tools - Norvin - Electr
ics- Carburetors - Misc - Links -Vincent Parts/Services Suppliers - Polishing/Cl
eaning - Shipping Vincents-Electric Starter - Paint/Transfers
Vincent Motorcycle Engines - Technical Information
click for larger imageclick for larger image of
timing side of Vincent engineclick for larger image of
Vincent Motorcycle Headclick
for larger image of Vincent engineClick for larger image of
Vincent HRD Series A engine(each can be enlarged)
Andy Hopkin's Die Cast Rapide Engine

Comet Timing Gear Group. Revised 10/7/07 incorporating your comments. (Gwilym D
avies) Higher resolution (revised) copy for your parts manual.
I hesitate to Constantly remind you... but many of the following "practices" are
highly controversial... Proceed at Your Own Risk.
Engine Condition : by Max Lambky 12/5/2011
At one time or another most Vinc
ent owners find it necessary to assess the condition of their motorcycles, the e
ngine being the primary part of the inspection. The reasons for engine inspectio
n are many. If the inspection is made prior to the purchase, it could be a major
issue as to the final agreed upon purchase price. Another reason would be to as
certain the degree of overhaul required to bring the engine back to standard, an
d in the case of a restoration, to ascertain the engine's condition, as it would
be a variable in the cost of a total restoration.
A pretty good assessment as to engine condition can be obtained without a comple
te tear down and the use of a micrometer. Using your five senses can result in a
fairly accurate condition appraisal. If the engine is a running unit, a lot can
be deduced by simply listening to the sounds omitted when running. Static sound
tests and riding sound tests are easy enough to initiate. Crankshaft big ends a
nd piston slap can usually be detected by a discerning ear during hard accelerat
ion and deceleration of engine parts. Bluish smoke from the exhaust pipe during
hard acceleration is most likely caused by worn rings or excessively worn valve
guides, or it may be something as simple as missing overhead oiling wire restric
tors. Transmission parts and their wear can also sometimes be determined by hard
acceleration and deceleration in each gear. A whining noise, jumping out of gea
r, or poor shifting characteristics, are all symptoms of wear in the condition o
f the transmission. The engine running in a static mode, can easily be checked b
y using a common shop tool, the screwdriver. Place the working end of the screwd
river on various locations of the motor, by holding the screwdriver to your ear
you can easily detect metallic noise. Engine parts that have worn and excessive
clearance will become apparent. Head, cylinder muff, timing cover, primary cover
, and engine cases should be checked. Better yet than the screwdriver, a physici
an's stethoscope would be a good choice.
A thorough visual inspection of engine and parts should be conducted as well. Ma
rried parts, such as crankcase to crankcase, primary cover to crankcase, timing
cover to crankcase, should be checked for oil leakage. Excessive leakage can som
etimes be caused by warped or poor mating surfaces. A visual inspection of the o
il filter and the drained oil, of both engine and transmission, are very importa
nt. Metallic particles can tell you a lot as to engine condition. The oil filter
after a period of use, will always have some metallic particles, this is usuall
y of little concern. Cam timing gears and other moving parts, are continually gi
ving up minute metallic particles in their wear. With the exhaust pipes removed,

the exhaust ports and their carbon deposits can also give you an indication as
to engine condition, also while the exhaust pipes are removed, check the conditi
on of the female threads of the cylinder heads. An oil saturated carbon deposit
on the port is an indication of leaking valve guides or worn piston rings. Don't
limit your visual inspection to mechanical only. A thorough cosmetic inspection
is useful as well, in determining restoration expense. Engine finish on Shadows
and covers on D's, as well as broken fins, can add to the restoration cost more
than what one would think. Rounded hex head nuts and bolts can also be expensiv
e.
Feel and touch is also used to determine the condition of some engine parts. One
common check is performed by removing the rocker arm caps, turning the engine o
ver to where the cam of the rocker to be checked is on it's heel. Grip the rocke
r in the area of the push rod adjusting screw with a pair of pliers. Try moving
the rocker athortship of the bike. If movement is detected it's more than likely
that the rocker bushing bore in the head, and the bushing itself, has given up
it's interference fit, and is loose in it's bore. This isn't good, but is pretty
common in engines that have several miles on them. Another feel check is one th
at determines the amount of wear of the cam timing gears, idler gears, breather
gear, and magneto drive gear. This is done by checking for excessive back lash.
Remove rocker covers and back off all rocker adjusting screws. Remove cam cover
inspection plate. Rotate the fiber or nylon magneto drive gear clockwise then co
unter clockwise. Too much rotation indicates one, or more, or all, gear meshing
teeth being excessively worn. Repair can be as simple as replacing crankshaft ha
lf time pinion to oversize. Often early aluminum or brass gears will require rep
lacement. The same goes for the fiber mag drive gear. All of these gears are pro
ne to wear.
The magneto automatic advance is checked as to it's condition in the following m
anner:
With the magneto point cover removed, turn the magneto, expanding the advance fl
y weights to their maximum. The springs to the fly weights should be adequate in
strength to return the magneto to it's original position without a sluggish mov
ement. If you get a quick return, this will give you a pretty good indication as
to the condition of the weight's pivot points and it's mechanism, plus magneto
bearing condition and crush fit. Magneto spark should be checked as well. Remove
spark plugs. Take an old set of sparkplugs that are functional and of the same
heat range and kind, open up the ground electrode to approximately 3/16" near th
e same as possible. Tape over gapped sparkplugs hex nut to ground with duct tape
. With the engine out of gear, kick it over. Both sparkplugs on the twin should
show a blue to a blue-white spark at the gap. A yellowish, or no spark, indicate
s that a rework of the magneto will be necessary.
A routine and most common practice in determining engine condition is to perform
a compression test, or leak down of the cylinders to determine the ring seal an
d the valve and valve seat conditions. To do either of these tests with confiden
ce you must first understand that compression ratio differs from compression pre
ssure. For example on a twin, if you increased the compression ratio from a 7 to
1 piston to an 8 to 1 piston, there would be no difference caused by the change
when performing a leak down. The leak down method is the best of the two as it
gives you the condition of the sealing capability of the valve and the sealing c
apability of the ring. The problem with determining engine condition with the us
e of a compression gauge is that there is an 'unknown'. The unknown being the ca
m timing, only in the case of the twin, from cylinder to cylinder. Compression o
f the cylinder during tests starts at the timing of the closure of the intake va
lve. Cam timing, such as it is on most Vincent twins, leads to false readings. A
reading of say, 155 lbs. pressure on one of the cylinders, and 160 lbs. on anot
her cylinder doesn't necessarily mean the latter is the better of the two cylind
ers in their sealing ability. The Vincent owner who is dealing with an unfamilia

r engine is pretty much left with the leak down method as his only recourse to a
chieve a true condition check of the cylinders. Compression checks are made vali
d only when valve timing, cam to cam, is proven to be 'spot on' by proper degree
ing of the cams.
It's a good idea for the new owner of a Vincent who isn't familiar with the Beas
t, to employ a person of proven capability who's been around Vincents for awhile
to test ride and give his input on the condition of the bike's engine as well.
Discussion of Engine Balancing: When I was, I think, 14 years old, I bought a JD
Harley Davidson motor from my motorcycle mentor Burt McNew. Spent 10 dollars fo
r the froze up JD, but it did come with a manual. Strangely enough I still remem
ber the pages that had to do with balancing the JD's crankshaft. It explained tw
o parallel bars made level with a machinists level. It went on to say with the c
rankshaft assembled without the rod assemblies make a bob weight that can be aff
ixed to the big end crank pin. The weight of the bob weight should be equal to t
he weight of all the rods, roller bearings, wrist pins, sir clips, rings, and on
e piston. Placed the trued crankshaft on the parallel bars, drill holes as neces
sary in the fly-wheels to achieve near static stability in any position of the r
otated crankshaft.I would guess as the pistons were quite heavy that you would b
e working with a possible 60% balance factor.
Balancing of engines is pretty much a black art. Percent factors of balance are
only used in V-twin engines and parallel twins where the crankshaft is not a hun
dred degree crankshaft. These are the only engines that require a bob weight to
balance the crankshafts. Opposed cylinder engines, multi-cylinder V engines, and
inline engines with 2 or more cylinders all do not require a bob weight to be m
anufactured and used. The crankshafts are so designed that counterweights are eq
ual.
There are 2 forces in balancing an engine that are corrected. The first being th
e kinetic energy when spun, which is a direct up and down, side to side straight
force. The next is the dynamic balance of the crankshaft, which is the movement
forces at the ends of the crankshaft. For practical purposes, a Harley Davidson
V-twin with the split-rod has its rod and piston mass on a straight plane, whic
h drastically reduces the tendency of dynamic imbalance. In other words, it's a
waste of time to pay a lot of attention to blueprinting pistons or rods. e.g. ma
king the weigh the same. Do to the fact of the mass on a single plane. Now, the
Vincent can benefit slightly by blueprinting the rods and pistons, e.g. making t
hem weigh the same as the rods are side by side and the weights are not on a sin
gle plane in relation to the linear length of the crankshaft. Equal balance of t
he pistons and rods on separate planes alleviates some of the dynamic balance fa
ctor.
You wouldn't think that a flywheel, being balanced, would have any dynamic balan
ce input. It's pretty unbelievable, but they do. A flywheel on an automobile, on
e half inch thick requires dynamic balance often by drilling on both sides of th
e flywheel. Both sides can correct the dynamic balance, but cannot correct the k
inetic balance. The kinetic balance can be corrected by drilling on one side, bu
t it's best to drill on both sides an equal amount.
A dynamic balancing machine has adjustable spring pensioners to counteract large
masses to be balanced. Both knife rollers and flat ball bearing rollers are use
d depending on the length of the part to be balanced. For instance, a straight e
ight Buick crankshaft, remember, requiring no bob weights, would utilize ball be
aring rollers on it's end main bearings. This would give the most sensitivity to
the machine as to it's dynamic balance. Both kinetic and dynamic balance factor
s are corrected usually simultaneously. V6 engines are the most cantankerous of
all to balance. Don't ask me why, it's too confusing for this wrench. Now that I
probably have everyone confused, I know I am. I'm going to retire.
Max Lamb
ky 10/24/2011

Blueprinting a Vincent Connecting Rod:

Properly blueprinting a pair of Vincent connecting rods is easier said than done
, and takes more time than the average engine builder would care to invest.
If you're privy to a rod stash, meaning more than two, the first step is to sele
ct near likeness in their shape. Before you start to blueprint the rods, save yo
urself a lot of time and grief by magnafluxing to determine whether they're wort
hy of a blueprint. Forgings varied, not due to forging procedures using the same
forming die. Variations were caused by various forming dies. I believe as many
as four die manufactures were utilized in the manufacture of dies used by the Vi
ncent Works. If you don't have a stash of rods you have to make do with what you
have. The initial steps in blueprinting the rod is it's disassembly. Of course
I'm referring to used rods, not new rods. Push the big end bearing races from th
e big end rod bore, and push the wrist pin bushings from their bore. Clean the t
wo rods thoroughly, especially the big end and the little end bores. Discard the
bushings and the big end outer races. In a proper blueprint these items are mad
e new. With a bore gauge, check the roundness of the big end bearing bore of the
rod as well as the bushing end, or little end. Check the diameters of the two b
ores as well. These dimensions are important for proper crush of the new big end
bearing race. The little end bushing bore is not so important as oversize bushi
ngs, can readily be made, and aren't that expensive. If the big ends are found o
ut of round, it's best to discard the rod and find yourself one that's round. So
me fellows hone the rod round, hard chrome the race, and regrind to achieve prop
er interference fit. I'd only recommend this for engines that are to be utilized
in street use, not for racing. The desired interference fit between the outer b
ig end race and the big end of the rod is .0015 any more crush than this will ca
use egg shaping of the bearing. The cylindrical bore of the rod isn't equal in s
trength. The portion where the rod I beam attaches to the big end bearing boss w
ill not distort. Approximately 210o of the big end bore is subject to distortion
due to lesser strength. Bushing interference fit of the little end should be .0
01. This is enough interference fit to prevent any turning of the bushing in it'
s bore, even if it were to be subjected to racing rpms. Any less than .001 inter
ference fit can cause the bushing to turn in it's bore, causing oil starvation t
o the wrist pin due to misaligned oil holes bushing to rod.
Before installing the big end race and the small end bushing, the rod must be ch
ecked for straightness, both X and Y axis. For this to be done accurately it's b
est to take the rods to an automotive engine building facility that would have a
rod aligning tool. If the rods are the same length, i.e., the exact center of t
he big end bore and the small end bore, another method is sometimes used. Two pi
ns approximately six inches long, one being turned on the lathe to achieve a sli
de fit in the big end bore, the other being a slide fit in the little end bore,
can do the job quite nicely. Simply achieve a slide fit through both rods with t
he two sized pins, where there is no hint of interference or binding. If you can
do this, the rod is straight, and the X and Y are accurate.
Next, the rods should be checked for equal length. If the two small end bores ha
ve the same diameter, and the big end bores are the same diameter, you can measu
re the rod's length with the use of a caliper. If the rod's measure the same len
gth, go to the next step. Rods will vary in length only a max of, say, .005. If
you take the longer of the rods and use the six inch steel pin used for checking
alignment, placing it in a press, holding the pin with V blocks, and use an old
piston, with wrist pin holes bored to align pin diameters, you can press the ro
d, using about seven tons pressure, to reduce it's length to match the other rod
. No heat required. Work up on steps, one ton, two ton, three ton, checking leng
th of rod between each press.
With all of this satisfied, the two rods now can be made equal in weight. If the
two rods are within 20 grams of each other, remove 10 grams from the heaviest o
f the two in the area of the outboard sides of the I beam. Next, place the big e
nd on a gram scale as near center to the scale plate as possible. Using a hangma
n's tree, suspend the little end with a string. Weigh the big end, do the same w
ith rod number two. Remove weight as necessary from the heaviest of the two in t
he area of either side of the strong back web. Retain as much of the strong back

web as possible. This is the main strength feature of the Vincent connecting ro
d, which contributes to nearly 90% of the rigidity, retaining roundness at high
rpm.
Reverse the process and weigh the little end of the connecting rods. Determine t
he heaviest, and remove material over a reasonable area from the convex portion
of the I beam, 1" below the wrist pin boss of the rod. Remove equal amounts from
both sides to obtain equal weight. What you've accomplished by approaching weig
ht removal in this manner is equalization of the reciprocating weights and the r
otating weights of the two con rods. A light polish to remove any sanding scores
over all areas of both rods is the next step.
For racing engines drill an additional oil hole in the center of the convex and
at the radius of the little end boss 1/16" in diameter. With a quarter inch coun
ter sink, champher the outer end of the drilled hole.
Mask off the inner bores of both the big end bore and the little end bore of bot
h rods. Find a source that has the ability to shot peen. Shot peen both rods to
a matt finish over all surfaces. Now you're ready to insert the new outer race o
f the big end bearing into the now blueprinted rod. Ensure that the rod in the b
earing has a .0015 interference fit, as mentioned before. Bearing, sleeve, lube
of your choice, should be used to aid in a slight smooth friction push with a pr
ess, negating any chance of gaulding. Use same procedure on little end bushings.
If the little end bushings have not been predrilled, drill bushings slightly un
dersized of rod oil holes. This requires the use of numbered bits. Reduce the ho
le to be drilled by three numbers. After drilling, deburr the inner portion of t
he drilled holes. When drilling, adjust drill stop so as not to damage the adjac
ent wall of the bushing.
Now you can fit the wrist pin to it's bushing bore and the big end cage roller c
learance. The little end requires reaming to obtain a slide fit. This fit is the
same whether used for racing or high speed touring. Fitting the big end roller
clearance is best done by a professional with the proper honing equipment. Clear
ance for street use is between .001 and .0015. For racing .002 to .0025. Some wo
uld say this is too much clearance, however, I've found that the greater clearan
ce reduces roller skating when a blower is used, or with high loads of nitro met
hane.
A blue printed rod helps a tad to reduce vibration, increases the strength of a
standard rod by maybe 15%. The blueprinting procedure, when done properly, prett
y much parallels the Vibrac rod. Neither of which is up to a Corrello rod's spec
ification, or their ability to withstand the abuse of racing as well as the Corr
ello. For racing, one would use a standard rod or a Vibrac rod only to retain or
iginality. The choice is yours. Max Lambky 10/9/2011
Replacing the Upper Pushrod Seal: You'll have a 75% chance of sealing the leak
without pulling the head by replacing the seal between the pushrod tube flange a
nd the cylinder head machined flat. Here are a few pointers to make the job go s
moothly. 1. Before loosening the gland nut, ensure there is at least one thread
visible. You are checking the crushed two fiber washer thicknesses. As you are o
nly replacing one gasket instead of two, you must determine that there are enoug
h threads on the gland nut to provide adequate crush on the new seal before the
gland nut runs out of threads for tightening. 2. Next remove the rocker cover. T
urn the engine over to where the cam follower is on the cam heel. Remove the roc
ker adjuster, then the push rod. Loosen the gland nut totally out of it's thread
s. You can now slide the push tube cover in it's crankcase bore to the point to
where it stops against the cam lifter. This will give you the most distance betw
een the push tube and the cylinder head for the upper gasket removal. 3. You can
now with a 90o scribe, remove the upper seal. The one's I have have a handle on
them for grip. If you don't have one of these types of scribes, you can take a
normal type scribe, bend the end (usually takes heat) to where you have a 90o, 1
" long sharp end. Then clamp a small pair of vise grips onto the opposite end of
the scribe. This will give you a tool with which you can remove a sometimes can
tankerous upper seal in it's totality. 4. When you reassemble the parts, separat
e the the gland nut from the seal. Lightly coat the seal without disturbing it w
ith permatex #2, the non hardening stuff. The reason for not disturbing the seal

is that often they have hardened and become quite brittle. Coat the threads of
the gland as well. 5. I've heard that some have renewed both seals by soaking th
e seal between the packing gland nut and the lower portion of the tube flange in
hot water. Then they make a herring bone cut, splitting the seal so it can be i
nstalled. I've never tried this, but it could possibly work. Max Lambly 5/1/20
11
Big End Flush: It's not uncommon to hear of a big end failure when a machine is
started up and run after having been sitting for years or even decades. Sometim
es - maybe most of the time - it doesn't happen right away; the mechanism perhap
s being that the tiny oil path "down there" through the flywheels and rollers ge
ts heated up thanks to gummed up oil and goo that has semi-solidified over time.
Even with modern detergent oil, the stuff is not pushed out, so only minimal o
il feed occurs, if at all. Even if the damage at first is minute, once things st
art going bad it snowballs until the roller and races get all angry and eventual
ly grind to a halt. So, a happy startup suddenly ends after a few hundred miles
or
maybe even a thousand. We might hear of more of this happening these days if all
new Vincent owners of barn finds went riding. But, as we often see, a new owner
gets the bike running, feels great about it, then mostly lets it sit, only
occasionally going for a short ride, never really knowing they are sitting on a
time bomb.
With the oil drained, the quill removed and the sump drain plug out and the bike
on the rear stand, shoot some solvent into the quill. With the bike in 4th gear
, rotate the engine (spark plugs out). Squirt, squirt, squirt, at different
positions of flywheel movement. After lots of squirting give it a few (light) bu
rsts of air for encouragement. Squirt some more and let it sit overnight, allow
ing the solvent sequestered there do its thing. At this stage you might
want to use WD40 or something similar as it will not dry up as easily as the mea
ner stuff. Next day squirt some more solvent and do a final air burst with the b
ike on its left side stand. When you are confident there is flow, get all
the solvent out of the sump and then with some very lightweight oil get some oil
flow through there. When you are confident that is done, introduce engine oil.
Bev Bowen 4/18/2011
Starting an old Vincent engine: There is no substitute for using bike often...
starting and warming through for a longish run, change oil and filter at regular
mileage, thin in winter thicker in summer, but they do run okay on a 30 wt oil,
the big ends get clogged up with crap in that oil groove and nothing will move
it only to take apart and clean it... gets so hard no amount of WD40 or gunpowd
er will shift the stuff. In my mind an older motor should not be started witho
ut dismantling and given a good thorough cleaning. Mike White 4/18/2011
When you switch from a non detergent oil (ND) to a detergent oil, built up sludg
e becomes loosened and goes back into suspension in the oil due to detergent act
ion on it. In a high enough concentration in the oil it is very detrimental to w
ear especially in high pressure plain bearings. All engine oils will build up s
ludge in suspension over time both from combustion product contamination as well
as breakdown of the oil itself (especially in the case of plain bearings). Olde
r engines using non detergent oil relied on a settling period, either in the sum
p (autos) or the oil tank (motorcycles) to allow the suspended matter in the oil
to settle out as a sludge. These engines use primitive oil filtration, usually
a only fine metal gauze to trap out large foreign particles. In later engines w
here detergent oil is used the contamination products are deliberately maintaine
d in suspension by the detergent but are continuously removed by a much more sop
histicated and finer high surface area filter in the form of a paper cartridge o
r element. This is one reason why its necessary to regularly change oil filters
in modern engines. The post war Vincent is an interesting hybrid in a way. It d
oes have a relatively sophisticated filter system for it's time compared to say
a fifties Triumph or BSA in that it has a fine wool element incorporated in addi
tion to gauze which, whilst not as efficient as a modern filter, does trap some
suspended matter. It also has a long residence oil tank for sludge deposit. How

ever if you replace the original element with the newer much finer paper cartrid
ge element that's available it becomes in essence no different to a modern engin
e. You have the best of both worlds, a highly efficient filter and a large sludg
e settling tank. You can happily operate it with either type of oil. Even if you
you inadvertently add detergent oil to what has been an ND engine to date any s
ludge loosened up should be effectively caught by the paper cartridge. In an ol
der looser engine my thought would be to replace the element fairly regularly ei
ther way as it's not particularly large compared to that of say a late Norton or
Triumph (using essentially an auto filter) and I would assume it to have a fair
ly modest capacity. Tim Holcroft 4/18/2011
Oiling Your Vin: by Max Lambky 3/30/11
There are four separate and distinct methods to which moving parts are subjected
in regard to their lubrication. They are drip, pressure, splash, and mist. Th
e drip happens when the oil return pump sporadically returns oil to the oil tank
through the oil return line. The line is open to the oil tank, thereby negatin
g any pressure development from a metering orifice, or closed end. There is no
pressure in the return line, only sporadic volume head pressure, which is quite
minimal, as the only volume head pressure is created by the amount of oil that i
s in the return line, which is the mere amount of oil contained in a quarter inc
h inside diameter line, sixteen inches in length. The amount of oil that's allo
wed to drip through the overhead oiling system at 140o F. temperature, is only a
pproximately 12 to 16 drips per minute with the restricting wire removed. The r
estricting wire reduces the drip flow to 8 to 12 drips per minute. There's no d
ifference in the amount of drips from 50 wt. oil to 20/50 wt. oil, when the oils
reach 140o F.. This is the only portion of the lubricating system on a Vincent
that's not increased in proportion to engine rpm. The engine at idle receives
the same amount of oil through the overhead rocker oiling orifices, as it does a
t 6500 rpm top revs.
Other parts of the engine oiling system controlled by drip orifices are the cam
timing idler gear spindle, and the oil pump worm gear. Here again, these are ze
ro pressure lubricated. Don't confuse the parts that are oiled by splash and mis
t, with the parts being oiled by drip. Drip can only be created when the mist a
nd splash finds it's way to the inner surfaces of the crankcase's primary case,
transmission case, and push rods. When the wetted surfaces are such that the am
ount of oil is saturated to the extent that gravity takes over and causes the oi
l to run, much like when shooting paint to excess, drip is created. Some surfac
es extend without interruption to the sump, and no drip occurs.
Splash lubrication is accomplished when a moving part passes through a reservoir
of oil, or a solid stream of oil is pressure fed to a moving part. The transmi
ssion and primary case, both containing an oil reservoir and moving parts, are e
xamples of splash lubrication. No pressure involved. Machined canal passages a
re utilized to facilitate the lubrication of the bushings and shafting in the Vi
ncent's use of the splash system. Bushing canals are sometimes enhanced in thei
r lubrication ability by spiral machining much better than with a straight broac
hed oil canal.
Three other engine parts are being lubricated by splash, the cam timing gears te
eth, the non thrust side of the cylinder walls, and the little end of the con ro
d.
Moving parts that are oiled by pressure are the thrust sides of the pistons, the
crankshaft's big end, and the two camshaft spindles. (or should I say the cam b
ushings and cam lobes?) The oil pressure to lubricate these parts is created by
the pressure side of the oil pump. The pump being a plunger, and the cylinder
feed ports' opening and closing by the piston's passing over them, causes an inc
onsistant sporadic pressure variance. As the pressure oiling system feeds a man
ifold which contains five outlets, the amount of oil to each outlet isn't equal

in volume. The oil to the cam bushings is less than the oil to the thrust side
of the pistons. The oil to the thrust side of the pistons, in volume, is less t
han the big end of the crankshaft, due to the fact that the crankshaft acts as a
centrifuge, increasing pressure and volume at the big end oil holes. The oil v
olume is actually increased by a suction action on the oil manifold, caused by t
he centrifuge of the crankshaft. As crankshaft rpm increases, the volume of oil
to the crankshaft increases as well. The supply to the manifold is increased w
ith engine rpm. The volume of oil to the five manifold outlets isn't proportion
al and constant through the rpm range.
All main bearings except one are oiled by drip or mist. All transmission gears
and bushings are oiled by splash. All clutch bushings, primary chain, sprockets
, and outer ball bearing main, are oiled by splash.
The windage of the moving parts, mainly the crankshaft and the cam gears, cause
oil mist. Little, if any, mist is caused by rocker arm movement, or cam lifter
movement. The mist permeates throughout the entire inside of the crankcases, cy
linder head, and oil cavities. This mist covers all parts, and some are actuall
y lubricated from the mist. The timed breather is mist lubricated. This is why
the timed breather requires more clearance than would normally be necessary, if
it were pressure lubricated. The cam lobes receive very little additional lubr
ication from the inner sidewalls of the push rod tube. This oil is no more than
a drip caused by gravity, it leaving the end of the tube, and falling on the ca
m lobe, which is spinning, actually repels the drip. Try to oil a fan blade in
motion, and you'll see the problem with trying to lubricate by drip. The additi
onal oiling to the cam lobes and lifters, the first being the pressure lube of t
he parts, and the second being due to the phenomena of wicking. The oil mist ad
heres to the push rod, and when saturated to a point of a gravity induced run, t
he oil wicks itself to the end of the cam lifter. The oil wicks through the hol
e in the end of the lifter, and is then guided by a groove on the lifter work si
de, and wicks it's way to the cam, where it lubricates the two moving parts. Th
e pivots on the cam followers are lubricated by mist. All rocker pressure point
s are lubricated primarily by mist. The rocker arm push rod end is lubricated b
y mist, the lower push rod end is lubricated by gravity wicking.
The grooves in the crankshaft's feed quill assist in keeping the oil going the r
ight direction. This action is employed as well with the groove spacer between
the ball and roller main bearings on the drive side. Oil mist increases as engi
ne parts wear. Older engines with more hours on them will mist more than a fres
h engine. Usually oil pressure reduces as an engine wears. Splash increases wh
en viscosity decreases. Low viscosity oil produces more mist. The oil pump and
it's cam drive pin are lubricated by pressure.
Oil Sumping:
Oil by gravity is fed to the oil pump first through a filter scr
een, then through a check valve, from there through a line partially rubber and
partially tubing. A banjo bolt connects the oil supply line to the engine. Oil
then flows through a short port in the engine to the oil pump intake port. The
oil pump consists of a small engine supply pump on one end, and a larger engine
return pump on the other end.
How does oil get to the sump from the supply pump port? Think of the supply pum
p in it's brass bore to the likeness of a leaking petcock valve, i.e., leaking b
etween the clearance between the pump and it's housing. From there, there are t
wo paths to the sump. One being between the pump and housing clearance to the o
pening relief of the oil pump housing, required for worm gear engagement to pump
gear teeth. Next is the oil passage from the pump to the oil filter cavity, th
en to the timing cover oil passages through the timing cover banjo bolt. Oil is
then transferred by gravity through the built in cast passageways in the timing
cover, to the two cam spindles, which then can find it's way through the cleara
nce between cam bushings and cam spindles. Some oil is returned to the sump thr
ough drilled oil passages in the cam lobes, and some oil enters the sump through

both ends of the cam. Other oil returns to the sump from the oil passage in th
e timing cover to the crankshaft quill ports to the crankshaft main shaft center
drilled oil port. Oil then, depending on crankshaft position, either returns o
il to the sump past the labyrinth of the oil quill to the end of the crankshaft,
where it enters the timing chest and then to the sump. If the crankshaft's big
end is at it's bottom, nearest the bottom of the crankcase, oil flows through t
he main shaft oil passage, then to the crankshaft's drilled oil passage, then to
the two big end's oil passages, then through the bearing cages, and into the su
mp, which is the path of least resistance over the quill's resistance.
Actually, the most common return passage is from the oil intake port on the pump
past the outer circumference of the brass housing clearance to engine bore clea
rance. This is why quite often an oil pump replacement with tighter clearances
doesn't solve sumping. Max Lambky 11-4-10
Cam Timing Restoration: by Max Lambky
More often than not, when a total restoration is undertaken, there will be a mis
match of parts. Usually the timing chest requires much attention. With old iro
n it's not uncommon to find that cams have been replaced. This is sometimes due
to rounding off the lobes to an unusable state, but is more commonly due to aft
er market performance cams, and due to the fact that factory racing cams were in
stalled to enhance the bike's performance. When racing cams were installed prope
rly, the performance was enhanced, but often the cams were improperly installed,
causing an actual decrease in performance. The reason usually was due to impro
per positioning of the cam gear to the camshaft. During installation of the cam
shafts, where the camshaft and the gear weren't properly aligned, and the builde
r relied on punch and scribe timing marks on the two cam gears (the idler gear,
and the half time pinion gear) the proper cam timing suffered, causing poor perf
ormance. To eliminate the possibility of improper cam timing after restoration,
the following procedures are recommended.
First you have to attach a degree wheel to the crankshaft. On an assembled engi
ne, remove derby, clutch, and primary cover. Clean exposed nut and crankshaft w
ith brake cleaner to remove oil. Wipe clean. Apply adhesive backed Velcro to c
rankshaft end. Apply adhesive backed Velcro to degree wheel. Affix degree whee
l to crankshaft, achieving a reasonable degree of centering. Attach hand made p
ointer to any primary cover bolt hole that's reasonably close to degree wheel.
Sharpen pointer to enhance readable accuracy, i.e., pointer to degree wheel.
Remove the following items timing side. Four rocker caps, two intake valve spri
ng cover caps, four push rods and adjusters, timing cover, cam spindle steady pl
ate, half time pinion nut, cams, (both front and rear on twins) idler gear, time
d breather gear on B's and C's, half time pinion gear. Don't remove half time p
inion gear key from crankshaft.
Remove sparkplugs. Install handmade stop in rear sparkplug hole. Stop is made
by removing all porcelain from a sparkplug, inserting 3/8" rounded rod, so as to
provide a protrusion of approximately 1 3/4" extending from the bottom of the t
hreaded steel portion of the sparkplug. Weld or braise rounded rod to hold secu
re.
Turn the crankshaft in the direction of rotation until piston hits special tool
stop. Procede carefully, damage to piston is possible. At the pointer, with a
felt tip, mark the degree wheel. Now turn the crankshaft in the opposite cranks
haft rotation. Do the same. Mark the degree wheel at the pointer. Remove pist
on stop. Mark the degree wheel half way between the two pointer marks with a fe
lt tip. Identify the mark as TDC. Turn crankshaft and align TDC to pointer poi
nt.
Next determine the manufacturer's recommendation for intake valve opening. All

cam grinders producing after market cam grinds will provide this information. M
KII Lightning cams work best for a wide band power range, using the opening figu
res of 50o before TDC at .010 off the seat. We'll be using the procedure for pr
oper cam timing, with the MKII cam intake opening figures. Of course this would
only apply if you're timing MKII cams. Obviously you'd be using figures suppli
ed by cam manufacturers if their cams were being used.
Next position the rear cylinder's piston 50o before TDC. This is done by rotati
ng the crankshaft 360o in direction of rotation, stopping the crankshaft at TDC,
pointer at TDC, then turn crankshaft counter to crankshaft rotation by 50o. Wi
th a felt tip, mark degree wheel R 50o BTDC. R indicating rear cylinder.
Place a dial indicator on the intake valve stem's exposed end. Remove the exhau
st cam lifter on the rear. With a screwdriver lift the intake lifter, and inser
t rear cam on cam spindle. Install rear intake pushrod in rear intake cam lifte
r. Insert valve adjuster. Adjust lifter, taking valve lash from adjuster and v
alve lifter, i.e., lifter is on heel of cam. Install cam idler gear. Turn idle
r gear counter clockwise until dial indicator reads .010 lift. The intake valve
will be .010 off of it's seat. Hold idler gear in this position. Now take hal
f time pinion gear and find the keyway of the pinion gear, which lines up simult
aneously with the mesh of the half time pinion tooth with the idler teeth. Slid
e the half time pinion home. Relax pressure on the idler gear. Check that the
.010 opening is retained on the intake valve. If not, redo. If so, go on to th
e next step.
Remove the rear cylinder intake push rod. Mark the idler gear mesh, cam to idle
r gear, and idler gear to half time pinion gear with a felt tip. Rotate cranksh
aft in direction of rotation 360o+50o. Move front cylinder exhaust valve lifter
, holding in place with a dab of grease. Install front cam on cam spindle. Ins
tall intake pushrod. Lift front intake cam lifter with screwdriver. Insert cam
in any position on idler gear, as long as the heel of the cam is adjacent to th
e cam lifter. Install pushrod adjuster. Adjust and eliminate valve lash to zer
o clearance. Move dial indicator to end of front cylinder intake valve head. A
djust dial indicator to zero. Lift intake valve lifter until indicator reads .0
10 lift. Remove front cam by sliding on spindle until idler gear and cam gear r
elease mesh. Turn cam gear in direction of rotation until mesh is achieved betw
een idler and cam gear, and a slide fit is achieved, lifting ramp cam lobe to in
take cam lifter. Relax pressure on intake lifter. If the dial indicator still
indicates .010, the cams are precision timed to each other and to each piston po
sition, both front and rear cylinder. For this step to come about the first tim
e is wishful thinking. More than likely you'll have to push the cam out of it's
gear bore with a hydraulic press. Refit cam to gear relation by rotating gear
to cam slightly. Note which way you should rotate the two parts when going thro
ugh the steps to achieve a slide fit that's lobe to lifter, and cam gear to idle
r gear. In most cases it takes more than one stab to achieve the .010 off the s
eat, and a perfectly coinciding mesh with the idler gear and the cam gear. This
last step can't be over emphasized. As this is the step that precisely times t
he cam gears to each other and the piston position to intake valve opening.
On the B's and C's, where a timed breather is employed, proceed as follows. Tur
n the crankshaft counter clockwise 50o. This will put the front cylinder at TDC
. Then rotate the crankshaft in crankshaft rotation 15o. Locate the port in th
e breather spindle. Locate the port in the geared breather. Turn the breather
counter clockwise and time the opening of the breather. The knife edge of the b
reather gear will coincide with the leading edge of the breather spindle when th
e breather gear to front cam gear is in mesh.
Now you've timed the cams and the breather without the use of timing marks. If
you've followed the above procedures, your timing will be far more precise than
90% of the Vincents on the road. Remove all existing timing marks with a Dremal

sander. You can now remark all of the meshed gears that constitute the cam tim
ing gear train, plus the timed breather. Remember to mark the half time pinion
keyway as well. You can now reassemble the motorcycle using the new timing mark
s with confidence that the cams are properly timed.
If you're tuning for speed, the keyway in the half time pinion is so designed as
to allow a veneer timing of the pinion gear. The rule of thumb is if you were
to advance the cam timing a tad, not more than 10o, you would increase bottom en
d torque. If you were to retard the cam, again not more than 10o, you would mov
e the torque curve higher, closer to top revs. Max Lambky 10-29-10
RIP TRAGLE'S TIMING CASE REVIEW by W.I. Tragle
Object:
To remove all excessive clearances in the timing chest to include pinion to gear
clearance, side slop in cams, idler gear and followers. To insure positive foll
ower to cam relationship (in other words the followers must run dead center on t
he cam lobes and stay that way. ) Remember, if there's room for something to ba
ng around in, it will bang around.
Materials :
1, Good Cams--with bushes that fit the spindles .0005-.0015". New bushes can be
found at a bearing supply house and center honed to size by any good machine sh
op.
2 . Good Spindles--No ridges at all--no wear. I recommend G. Emmerich's spindles
for reasons that will become obvious later.
3. A round Idler Gear (Chicago Steel) or check yours. Aluminum is good too--but
it must be no more than .002"out of round-- and .002" is a bit much.
4. Good cam followers--I'm convinced there is no such animal. But the followers
must be re-ground true to the pivot hole. Also many followers have oversized or
out of round spindle holes--throw them away !
5 , One Piece Idler Boss-- thousands--1 thousands clearance, clearance between idl
er pinion and idler boss.
6. A Good 1/2 Time pinion Gear--The 1/2 Time Pinion comes in several over-under
sizes ...you won't know which size you need until you set up your cams & Idler
Gear.
7, Three packages of PSW Brand Arbor Shims in 3/8", 1/2'' and 5/8" i.d.--Precis
ion Steel Warehouse, Inc., 3500 N. Wolf Rd., Franklin Park, IL 60131. These are
usually available at a good machine shop supply house. Make sure you buy the shi
ms without the keyway notch. They come in packages of assorted thicknesses for a
bout $3.00 per package.
Procedures:
1, Start with the cams. Place cams on shafts with a washer under the spindle nut
to take the place of the steady plate. The thickness of this washer is meaning
less what you want to discover is the side to side play of the camshaft with the
E95 in place, You want to reproduce its actual running condition. (Here comes t
he scary part which I'm going to get flack about.) There are t w o ways to get m
inimal side clearance. Shim the cam at the rear with the 1/2'' arbor shims or mo
ve the spindle. If the side clearance is tight you have to draw the spindle out
slightly which is done by putting large washers on the cam then using the spind
le nut as a puller works great. It's also a test for loose spindles which can be
fixed well with Loctite. The reason I recommend George's camshaft spindles is b
ecause of the fact that they are very tough. I don't like to shim the camshaft i
f there is excessive side clearance I assemble the cam as above with the E95 thr
ust washer and a washer tightened down on the shoulder of the spindle and I hit
the spindle with a hammer! (A Harley- Davidson type.) George Emrnerichts spindle
s are so damn strong that we have done this without protecting the end of the sp
indle with no damage but, with stock spindles, build up a pile of washers (3/8")
until an old nut threads on without exposing the end of the spindle--then hit t
he nut. The object here is to take the brunt of the blow from the threads to the

shoulder of the spindle itself.

Now I'm going to hear how this method ruins the case-to-spindle press fit and al
l that. If you're really worried heat the case around the base of the spindle--b
ut I don't recommend it because you can overheat the spindle. Moving the spindle
a few thousands in one direction or the other will not hurt anything. Now that
correct cam clearance his been obtained it's time to assemble the followers.
With the cams loose on their shafts (you have to be able to take them on/off the
shafts) put one pair of followers on their spindles as described in the Vincent
books--do the above thing to the follower spindles. put a temporary washer in p
lace to act as the steady plate and tighten the follower spindle nuts down. (Rem
ember that to remove and insert your rear intake follower your compression relea
se rod must be removed). Slip cam on its spindle and, if your heads are off, loo
k down through the push rod tube holes and see if ox not your followers are runn
ing dead-center on your cam lobes. If the heads are on, you have to use a flashl
ight and lots a neck bending to see around the camshaft gear. If I can't look do
wn through the push-rod holes I judge the cam/-follower relationship by lining u
p the edge of the follower with the edge of the cam lobe. It's helpful here to h
ave a pointed rod to poke in there and actually feel for any over-lap one way or
the other. The object here is to either add to the thickness of your ET98s or s
ubtract from them to get your correct case-to-follower distance with perfect cam
/follower alignment. This is where you use your assortment of 3/8" arbor shims.
After you've established correct follower placement you must reassemble all the
spacers ET99, ET99/1, ET99/2, etc. with the washer that acts as the steady plate
--tighten the spindle nut and check side play. Remember now that the follower is
spaced to the case and you mustn't change that
spacing. All spacing for side thrust must be done on the outside (offside) of th
e followers. If after tightening the spindle nuts the follower is jammed you mus
t take material off your long spacer (ET99,/1,/2) until the long spacer will tur
n with the nut tightened but having no side play. You don't want the longer spac
er to drag, but you don't want side play either. If you do have side slop, you u
se your 3/8" arbor shims wherever they will fit on the spindle without fouling t
he camshaft gear wheel.
Your front exhaust follower is a special case due to its cute location, You do s
ame as above--the trick here is to "glue" your arbor shims to each side of the d
epression in the case with "assembly lube" or light grease, This holds the shims
in place while you carefully insert the follower between them and insert the ET
30/3 spindle snug it down and check side slop--KEEP WORKING UNTIL YOU GET IT RIG
HT--NO SIDE PLAY WITH THE FOLLOWER DEAD CENTER ON THE CAM LOBE.
Fitting Idler Gear:
With cams and followers in place check fit/side play of large idler you want to
shim this (if necessary) to run true with the cam gears.
Fit idler boss in place--run the 3ea " nuts and washers down snug--just so you ca
n barely move the idler boss up, down and around. (That's why the holes in the i
dler boss are oversize.) Slip the idler gear into place without +, time pinion i
n place. Move the idler pinion up until there is 0 (ZERO) backlash between it an
d the cam gears. Tighten the three idler boss hold-down nuts. Check for zero bac
klash by holding the idler tight and trying to rotate the cam gears back/forth.
If there is any back/forth play you must loosen the idler boss and correct it. W
hen this is done rotate the idler gear. THERE SHOULD BE NO TIGHT SPOTS DURING 36
0 ROTATION. If there is the idler is a bit out of round and you must re-adjust t
he idler boss to allow for the high spot; Dig?
When the large idler is fitted to your satisfaction, slip it off the shaft, Inst
all the half time pinion on the main shaft, Re-install the large idler. If you c
an't get it on, the 1/2 time pinion is too big and you need a smaller size. If i
t goes on and there is play between it and the half time pinion, it may be too
small, you need a bigger 1/2 time pinion. You want ZERO to .002" clearance betwe

en the idler and the 1/2 time pinion. .002 backlash is almost unnoticeable. It w
ould be nice to have an assortment of over and under size 1/2 time pinions at th
is point. Good Luck.
A good trick is to remove one large idler boss hold down nut at a time (so you w
on't loose adjustment) and apply Loctite and re-fit it. I don't believe in punch
locking; it ruins parts and makes taking things apart hard, Loctite works! Beli
eve in it.
Now, with everything in its place, fit the steady plate after you've lined up yo
ur timing marks of course. Use blue Loctite on plain nuts here instead of punche
s and folding washers. Don't Loctite the four oil-feed shaft nuts--they are self
locking nylock and won't 'unscrew anyway. Another problem you run into with pun
ch locked studs is the fact that many times the stud comes out of the case inste
ad of the nut corning off the stud. If this occurs, take the stud out of the cas
e, hold it in a vise or Vise grips on the unthreaded portion and take the nut of
f. Dress the punch damage with a file, make sure the nut will start on easily. N
ow put it back into the case with Loctite "Stud & Bearing Mount" (part #2226). .
.it's red. Use Loctite spray primer to clean the threads. This is much stronger
than the Loctite (blue) that you use on nuts. This way the nut will always relea
se leaving the stud in the case where it oughta be, DON'T PUNCH LOCK, DAMN IT, I
have never written directions before so I may have over-looked something--my ha
nd is tired- [what about me, mate? (the typist and so It s my head. [ just like
Gumby of Monty Python, "My brain hurts!] But the general idea is there. And not
hing can replace care/patience, I suggest everyone read Zen and the A r t of Mot
orcycle Maintenance, it's more important than any Vincent manual--read it!
I always put transmission in high gear, not low, when bumping with the rear whee
l to set valves, ignition timing etc.. Far less piston travel when you bump the
wheel, easier to bump, finer adjustments. The engine turns over appx three tim
es slower in high than low when turned by the rear wheel, making tasks such as r
eading the timing spoke, turning the engine against valve spring pressure, etc.
much easier. Paul Zell 8/9/10
Camshafts: I have been told that Megacycle bought the Emmericj/Andrews cam desig
ns. I have those in my bike and I was told to split the overlap at TDC at .050"
lift, which is what Max, Tom, and others have basically been saying. This mean
s if intake opening is at 0 deg and exhaust closing is at X deg, make the intake
opening at 0 + X/2 deg. Then you can retard that for more peak power or advanc
e it for more low down torque. That is over-simplified, but you bike will run f
ine at 0 + x/2 deg. Bruce Metcalf 7/28/10
Shifted Flywheels: If your feed quill shows rubbing / wear on both ends - but
on opposite sides is indication that flywheels have shifted. For more dramat
ic evidence of shifting obtain a length of quality 1/4 inch dia. steel drill
rod a foot long or better and dead straight. Slide this up into the right sid
e quill passage untill it bottoms out. Give it a light tap to seat it. With s
omeone rotating the motor via the kicker you kneel and observe the end of that r
od end on. If it spins with a decided oval pattern to the movement that's a pr
etty good indication that the flywheels have shifted. The nearer to no wobble th
e better. Sid Biberman 7/28/10
Valve Timing: All you need is one dial indicator to time the cams. Remove the h
alf time pinion gear from the crankshaft. With a degree wheel, place the rear c
ylinder 37o before TDC. Remove all of the pushrods except the rear intake. Pla
ce your dial indicator on the intake valve head at the top. With your fingers,
grab the idler gear and turn until the intake is .050 open. Lock the idler and
cam teeth with a screwdriver in that position. Now you can find the keyway slot
s that best time the cam in that position, by sliding the halftime pinion gear o
n the crank. When this position is found, the key should tap in or slide in rat
her freely. Now rotate the crankshaft, using the attached degree wheel for refe
rence, 410o. This will put the front cylinder 37o before TDC. Place the dial i
ndicator on the front cylinder intake valve stem head. Mark the degree wheel an

d the pointer so as not to loose the 37o position. Back up the engine 50o. Rem
ove pushrod from rear intake valve, and install intake valve pushrod on front cy
linder. Adjust properly. Rotate engine in direction of rotation to the previou
sly marked timing position. You should have a reading with the front cylinder a
t 37o before TDC of .050 on the dial indicator. If you don't have the .050, the
front gear will have to be pushed off of the front cam, and relocated, until yo
u achieve the .050. Max Lambky 7/9/11
Porting a standard head to it's maximum requires 90o plate flange bolted to the
head. The plate flange should be 3/8" thick, and it's manifold mounting flange
studs should be 2 1/4" from center to center.
To accomplish the mod, remove the two studs in the cylinder head. The threads a
re one quarter twenty. Take two quarter twenty Allen head screws, one inch long
, and take the outside diameter of the Allen portion down .010. Manufacture a f
lange from aluminum, using the dimensions above. Manufacture the flange with co
unter sunk mounting holes, so that the flange can be bolted to the cylinder head
with a thin paper gasket. You can now take the port to it's maximum size, and
achieve much better flow characteristics by raising the port to it's maximum. Y
ou now have a wider horizontal bolt pattern flange, compared to the perpendicula
r narrower bolt pattern flange. Make yourself an aluminum manifold, keeping the
bend as high as possible. The manifold should be a spigot mount, opened up, an
d blended to a 36mm size. A 36mm Mikuni is my choice for carburetion. Max Lam
bky 3/12/10
Valve Timing: Timing marks may not be correct as the wheels may have been press
ed off the cams at some time, checking timing by lift is better. Equal lift on
both inlet and exhaust at around four degrees before top dead centre seems to be
the ideal to aim for. There is no need to remove the timing cover, just put a
degree disc on as normal. I checked mine for the overlap position and with Mk1
cams the the rear came out with equal lift at 7 and the front 5. It might be poss
ible in this instance to play around with the timing pinion keyway to get one cy
linder or the other closer to 4 but as it runs fine and there is no spray from th
e carbs it is OK for me. You may be able to remove the valve caps and do a rough
check by eye without dial gauges to find the "rocking" position of the tappets.
Eddie 5/11/10
Valve Timing: A foursome of dial gauges will compare lift on the front & rear r
espective cam followers by reading off the top of the pushrods while still in th
e engine..50 degrees apart of course..The amount of lift should be close at any
given amount prior to ( intake ) or after ( exhaust ) TDC..gas tank off - mounte
d by magnet to the oil tank.. Bob Collings 5/11/10
Valve timing: The valves should have equal lift at between 6 and 4 degrees BTDC
. This works for every cam (Vincent or otherwise) I've ever timed. If inlet and
exhaust valve closing and
opening overlap, they have to overlap somewhere, and on every motor for which I'
ve plotted a valve lift diagram, "somewhere" turns out to be about four degrees
BTDC.
Tom 2/22/10
Cam Slots: In the Richardson book, there is a drawing of the timing chest. With
the rear cylinder at TDC, the slot on the rear cam is parallel with the rear cy
linder bore and the slot on the front cam points straight down. Bruce Metcalf
5/11/10
Timing Chest: Unless the spindles are way out from being equal in height, I wou
ld suggest the last thing you should be doing is moving them. The interference i
n the crankcase is critical and once in place should not be messed with unnecess
arilly. The positioning of the various types of washers and shims is necessary,
but the number used to gain the correct result is not. Spindles can easily be bu
ilt to the same length with the odd correctly placed washer. Then it is essentia
l to get the endfloat right. It is hardly likely that the same size washers and
shims will achieve the desired result after over 50 years of use and replacement
. Shims can be obtained in various thicknesses and provided you replace them in

the positions originally used the number doesn't matter. It is only a matter of
common sense to end up with a plate
that is not distorted and the correct endfloat on the various components. It wil
l take some time and a few trial fits, but the end result is well worth the trou
ble. Derek Peters 1/28/10
Timing Chest: What was not immediately obvious to me was that there are two outb
oard washers on each spindle, the outermost is clamped between the plate and the
spindle, and takes the thrust. The other is the shim and runs loose. I reckon t
hat 5 to 10 thou end float is OK (partly instinct, partly because Trevor told me
so), but what is important is that the stick-out of the spindles above the cran
kcase is the same otherwise the plate distorts. They should be 0.419 to 0.424 pr
oud. I made a slide hammer to adjust it, but it took a while. It was actually a
very satisfying job, assembling the timing gear piece by piece insuring that it
hadn't tightened up after every stage. So, taking your point, I'd studdy the lit
erature (ideally KTB, the Instruction Sheets, and Richardson, then I'd check ver
y carefully that all the shims are in place when you lift the plate (checking th
e back of the plate to make sure none are clinging there), then that all the spi
ndles are the same height, then proceed. Tom Gaynor 1/28/10
I set up big ends with .001" clearance plus or minus a couple tenths. Dan's math
is correct as usual regarding rock. (1/64" is good for a standard crowded roll
er ass. An Alfa 1/32" is correct. Each gives you .001 clearance. ) Rather than
rely on a rocking figure I prefer to hone the big end eye to zero clearance hand
fit then measuring with a bore gauge hone the required clearance.
The INA be
arings are a wonderful innovation. Amazing the load and rpm they can handle. St
eve Hamel 1/7/10
Primary case oil level: A simple, but time-saving mod is to remove the primary
chaincase level screw and replace it with one that projects 1/2" into the case.
Then, if as on my bike, an erratic primary chain level merits regular checking,
it is easy to see if the oil level is over or under the projecting screw by loo
king through the inspection cap directly above. Tom 12/14/09
Oiling procedure prior to initial starting : If the oil isn't already poured i
nto the top member oil tank. Proceed thusly. About 2 & 1/2 qts will be enoug
h if you follow these other directions. Then after running it a while, {eve
n a brief ride twice around the block} do then. Fill to the normal level, ie
about 3/4 inch below the filler tube. Check for leaks afterwards at Every banj
o bolt, etc. Some loss by oozing is common, snug up as needed, but very caref
ully. Any faulty seal needs being replaced.
There are 4 things to do, important if rapid wear is to be avoided .
#1 Back off about 2 turns the lower banjo bolt at the bottom end of the large
feed pipe, a pan beneath it. Wait till oil issues forth freely - not the ear
ly bubbles but a clear oil flow. When you see clear oil tighten the banjo bol
t carefully { this to let the air column escape ensuring that oil is present at
the pump entry port}. Tighten carefully so as not to fracture. Clean off the fi
ttings.
#2 At the forwards end of the timing cover facing you is another banjo bolt
- a longer one. Both hex heads are the size of a spark plug hex - 13 /16ths.
When unscrewed slide this one out. Using a hand held oil pump can - enter
its spout into the hole about 3 or 4 inches, this will project into the oil fil
ter chamber - right into the center of the filter element. Pump this empty cha
mber full or nearly so to lessen the time needed to circulate the oil when star
ted. Pull out the pump and replace the banjo bolt. Carefully tighten. Wipe aw
ay any spilled oil.
#3 In the center of the lower side of the big end feed quill is a small scre
w, remove and pump in several strokes of oil to flood the rod big ends. Replac
e the screw.
# 4 Remove the center 2 rocker caps. If they feel to jam Stop. Turn back inw
ard - rotate the motor a bit to lower the rocker arm and try again. Now, refi
ll the squirt can and pump its contents down both pushrod upper openings - 6 ful
l shots in each one. Replace the caps. This will flood the cams and followers
so they won't rotate dry, then the oil will run down into the sump where it wil

l be picked up by the pump to be returned to the tank, oiling the rockers as it

goes through the return pipe. If all this is done correctly you should see oi
l returning in the filler neck very soon after restarting. I'd guess within a
minute.
#5 Check the gearbox oil level - should show on the bottom of the stick. If n
ot add a bit more til it does. This holds a full quart from drained.
#6 Check the primary case level. Oil should be up to the level plug opening an
d just ooze out a little bit. Not drip heavily. If so let it drip till it ne
ar stops. Replace the short bolt and just snug up, careful not to damage the
threads.
This is a steel bolt in soft alloy and can strip. Sid 12/14/09
Checking the Valve Timing: I don't bother with opening and closing points, it's
far too inaccurate. I set my engines up with both valves equally open at betwe
en 4 to 6 degrees before TDC on the exhaust stroke, coming up to the inlet downs
troke, and it works like a dream. You know if you are on the compression stroke
by mistake, because at 4 degrees before TDC both valves will be closed. This
method of valve timing is also much more accurate if the cams have any wear. Ro
y Cross 11/6/09
Excessive Oil Consumption: Fairly common this condition causes high oil consumpt
ion and lowered performance, oil fouled plugs. Sited on the bottom of the
cases - on the right side beneath the pump chamber is a small threaded plug with
a straight slot. This short grub screw simply seals off a drilled passage ead
ing to the pump. If loose or poorly sealed air will seep in past the thread
s- weakening the vacuum {suction }that lifts the oil out of the sump and delive
rs it to the scavange side of the pump where it can be returned to the oil tan
k. And so the level rides higher than normal, wetting the flywheels where i
t is flung too heavily up the bores. If in doubt, remove this plug and cl
ean all threads involved, and then reseal effectively using Permatex or other g
ood sealant. Allow to harden .
Sid 10-24-09
Yes, the plug should be sealed so as to make Air Tight - and Oil tight ! It is
a cross drilling used in machining to connect drillings for oil pump, then seal
ed with the plug.. common practice. Mike
Has anybody fitted a magnetic plug to thier oil system? How about a magnetic sc
rew in the end of the oil quill? How about a magnetic plug in the underside of
banjo bolt, or even drilling and taping a thread into the top of the banjo bolt
and threading in a magnetic drain plug. That would catch metalic particles jus
t before
they enter the oil pump. How about inserting a union on the return line to the
tank and getting a plug into the wall of the flow stream? Richard Friedman 10
/21/09
I put a magnetic sump-plug in my Manx. When it came back from my Manx engine-bui
lding guru, the plug had gone. I asked him if he'd lost it. "No, I took it out.
Magnetic plugs collect metallic particles, and Manx motors Always shed magnetic
particles. So why stress out by collecting them, and agonising over them? They'l
l be there anyway." So I left it out. The bike still runs, lambs still gambol in
the meadows, the sun still shines, and there's one inevitable thing less to wor
ry about.
Think of it like worrying about death. What's the point? You Are going to die. V
incent (and Manx Norton) motors Are going to shed magnetic particles. Why dwell
on it? To paraphrase, someone recently quoted PEI as saying "if it isn't making
distressing noises, forget mileage, ride it". With earplugs, my constant recours
e, Vincent riding is a virtually stress-free occupation. And when I pull the non
-magnetic drain-plug for an oil-change, it remains stress free. Tom 10/22/09
Bend
and
oil
/09.
Easy

a bit of SS lock wire into a kinda cage containing a small strong magnet
form a loop that locates it beneath the returning oil squirt, so that the
flows over it. Hang the loop over the chain oiler adj. screw. Sid 10/17
to check breather timing without disassembly. Blow into the breather pipe

while turning the engine over, breather should close just after (30 deg) BDC of
rear pot.
Paul Zell 9/2009
A Manx pump is reckoned to deliver 42 gph at 7200, which is 0.77 pints per 1000
rpm. The Vincent oil pump delivers about 0.15 pints/1000 rpm, a modern Ducati de
livers about 6 pints/1000 rpm. Sunbeam 8/19/09
The original Picador two-start oil pump mod consisted of just a "magic ring", a
higher pitch drive worm, which turns the stock pump faster. Later and current tw
o start pumps come as matched sets that require a matching worm and pump, and ar
e not interchangeable with the early one. Steve Lindbloom 8/19/09
2 start oil pump: I don't violently disagree with david, but my oiled plugs pro
blems were cured by fitting new pistons in new, cylindrical muffs, and replacing
my (worn) valves and guides with new valves and sealed guides. Granted, at 48,00
0 miles, this was due, if not overdue. Make sure you buy a two-start worm. Perh
aps it was the way I read the literature, but it wasn't initially clear to me t
hat that is essential. I'm not sure about the "excess oil" argument. A two-star
t pump
scavenges at double speed too. On balance, I'd say one has nothing to lose by g
oing two-start. It'll give you about 1/2 litre per 1000 revs.
My Ducati Monster delivers 35 per 1000 revs. Personally I reckon much "oiled pl
ug" trouble is caused by running plugs that are far too cold. Before the overha
ul I reduced my oily plug problem by 50% by changing my NGK 6's to 5's. 6's didn
't get hot enough to burn the oil off.
Tom 8/14/09
Cylinder Liners: L.A. Sleeves offer well proven -well made liners in oversize d
imensions used with full success for many years. Coventry Spares generally
carry liners in + 40 and + 60 at reaonable prices of fine quality. After remo
val and deep cleaning, a pair of finned cylinders are closely examined and meas
ured / compared , the purose being to Blue-print them to identical thickness top
to bottom as well as being bored perfectly central and perpendicular to paralle
l top and
bottom surfaces. Their inner bores are taken out enough to fully clean-up and pr
ovide a smooth dead straight and round surface. Unwise to bore any larger than
necessary as it loses cylinder strength /rigidty. The new liner is mounted on
exanding mandrels and it's outside diameter is reduced dead true to its center
and fully larger by .004" than the i.d.of that muff selected to mate with it.
At the exact distance from it's top where this liner shall emerge from the botto
m of that muff -this sleeve is taken down to suit one or the other main case reg
ister mouth bores - to a fine finish and a snug slide-in fit into the bolted tog
ether cases, and marked to identify this mating for correct assembly. The remai
ning liner and muff are likewise prepared and mated. The cool liners are fully
entered into the heated alloy muffs and held hard-in until cooled off. The top
recess and head spigot already having been reformed to original dimensions. Lat
er, after final double grit lapping, we like to see an air gap of .003" between
the two broad faces, the differance in grain size. This will close up and come
solid upon application of the correct torque loading figure, i.e. 30 to 32 ft
.lbs. maximum. No more is needed and actually harmful. Before final bore and h
one procedure, the thrust face oil delivery holes are sited
carefully, these
to break through below the oil-ring grooves - at BDC - not into them. Finally w
e prefer to fit a lower liner mouth girdle clamp to prevent any bell -mouthing
while boring and honing. Sid 7/15/09
Broken nuts on locking rocker feed bolts is not an unheard of problem. People se
em to not take into account that the load exerted by 188, the banjo bolt, is tra
nsferred down through ET100 mod. to the rocker feed bolt nut. If one of the banj
os is leaking and 188 seems loose, suspect that the RFB nut may be broken and pu
lling up. Phelps 6/30/09
Always run a small drill bit with your Fingers into the 1/4 x 20 threaded primar
y and timing case holes in the crankcase before inserting new cover screws. The
bottom fills up with RTV and all sorts of grit and debris ( from previous owners

..) and the screws can strip the case threads by hydraulic lock. Jim 6/22/09
Locking Rocker Feed Bolts :
Open up the rocker bush top hole from 5/16 " to 3 / 8 " for top hat nut to fit i
nside.
De- burr and dress to fit properly. Ensure oil feed holes are not blocked .
Top of rocker will need grinding to clear the top hat nut as it will bind on fu
ll movement.
Use a slightly undersize 1/2 " rod or old bolt as mandrel for checking instead
of keep inserting and removing rocker pin.
Check to see rocker pin is not too long as will bind on tunnel when fitting.
Remove any metal chips or dirt etc. from all parts. Grease and install .
M
ike White 6/20/09
Head Nut Torque: PEI gave me this figure. 30 to 32 ft lbs. This leaves a n
atural " give " or elasticity necessary in the long studs to allow column gr
owth when fully hot.
Apply in stages criss cross, leave sitting overnite,
re check the following day. Sid 6/17/09
Welding rod 4043 will work perfectly for the Vincent crankcases. The main consid
eration is cleanliness. Cases should be pre-heated and a stainless steel brush u
sed for cleaning. If a grinding wheel is used ( to Vee a section for example) ma
ke sure you do not use a wheel that will ultimately contaminate the aluminum. Th
us, if you can use only a file to "vee" your part, do so. After heating the part
once to clean it, and clean is the most important word here (if you are welding
a part that was subjected to oil, the devilsh stuff will work its way to the su
rface easily) the part should be pre-heated to 200-300 degrees. You can check it
with a heat stick available at any welding supply house. Of course I am referr
ing to welding the piece with a heliarc (TIG welder). Carl Hungness 5/23/09
A D breather cap will take a double ended BSP fitting as used in a fuel petcock.
It screws right in. Such a fitting, with BSP at both ends, will take a one inc
h length of 1/2 inch ID rubber fuel line, the distal end of which will take
a pcv valve with a 90 degree bend, easily purchased at any aftermarket auto par
ts store. I used a hose clamp ("jubilee") to secure the hose segment to the dist
al end of the double ended fitting.The above setup, when placed on the rear cyli
nder inlet rocker area, seems to me to allow maximal flow as the rear cylinder s
et up is a straight shot to the timing chest with a big orifice as compared to
the 2nd cylinder exhaust. Plus the pcv valve can be postioned perfectly horizon
tal in thisposition with minimal distance between the cap and pcv.valve. You th
en run a short length of fuel line from the vertical end of the pcv and it goes
between the back of the crankcase and the RFM, or you could run it to your chai
n if you preferred. All of this was done after blocking of the original breather
orifice with the brass plug. Most of this I stole from others, but the series D
cap the 1st cylinder inlet valve cap position, the BSP double ended fitting, t
he short run between the valve, the ability to position the valve horizontally w
ith a subsequent vertical run seems a happy combination. I've got a lot of othe
r pcv valves and hoses and other positions I tried! Charles Cannon 5/15/09
The answer to getting an oil-tight bike lies in the accumulated knowledge of hun
dreds of Vincent owners. The problem is getting all of that knowledge into one b
ike!
Rocker oil feed banjos:
1. If they have been chromed-many plating companies hang such parts in the plati
ng tank on a twist of wire. This leaves a tiny groove in the plate across the ma
ting surface, through which oil will seep. I always rub my banjos on a flat piec
e of emery paper to get a totally flat surface.
2. Most banjos have become slightly dished over the years, from the 1/4" BSF bol
t head, so I invert the rubbing process to return the upper face to a flat surfa
ce.
3. It is a good idea to change the normal 1/4" BSF bolt to an AMAL carb petrol
feed bolt, which has a 1/4" thread, but has the head of a 5/16", thus spreading
the pressure over a wider area of the copper washer and avoiding the dishing in
the future. These bolts are available in stainless.
4. I always drill and wirelock the rocker oil feed bolts, as they tend to slacke

n slightly. (See 6)
5. Ensure that the bends in your oil feed pipes align the joints properly into t
he union, so that the conical ends fit square into the union. (I have cheated on
two of my engines by using flexible Aeroquip hose, thus the union can align its
elf).
6.The ET189 fibre washers tend to flatten in use, thus spreading, getting thinne
r, spreading some more, and eventually splitting. Either use a suitable Dowty wa
sher, or Neal Videans new washers, or as I have done, turn some aluminum rings t
o fit exactly round the ET189s, which stops them spreading and so they don't get
thinner, which loosens the bolt.
If you do all the above, your rocker oil feeds will be oiltight. Dick Sherwin
4/24/09
The traditional way to measure gears is the over-the-pins method.
If you just want to grade them from small to large, find two rollers (bearing r
ollers) that fit approximately 1/2 way into the tooth space. Place them between
opposite sets of teeth (for even teeth) or staggered by one tooth opposite (for
odd numbers of teeth) and measure acccross the pins. You will probably find th
is will vary if you work your way around the gear taking successive measurement
s. This could be due to wear or pitch diameter run out. Another useful way to
gage your gear is to rubber band a set of rollers around the entire gear and spi
n the gear on centers with a the rollers passing a test indicator. This will gi
ve you a sense of the pitch diameter run out with respect to the axis of rotatio
n.
Sophisticated gear manufactures make a test gear to exact dimensions and run the
manufactured gear spring loaded against the test gear. Then then measure the d
isplacement of the manufactured gears axis as it rotates. This provides a quick
cumulative measure of the inaccuracies that result from gear manufacture.
No gear is perfect. You need to set up your gears so that there is zero interfe
rance in the worst case condition and live with the noise as your imperfect gear
rotates into positions where the mesh is less than ideal.
Incidentally, when a gear tooth is transmitting power it deflects a tiny bit, so
that the set of gear teeth about to come into contact are no longer synchronize
d and they collide a tiny bit when they first touch. You can see this on some g
ears as evidenced by a contact line across the gear at about 2/3 of the gear too
th height. Fancy gears have the profile slightly backed off at this location fo
r improved durability. Another solution is to use an aluminum gear whose sacrif
icial soft surface will abrade away to provide optimum performance.
Richard F
riedman 4/15/09
Routing Oil Lines: When I did the Prince, the feed tube was a little battered an
d the Spares co. was out of stock. I cut off the battered length and increased t
he length of the herringbone flex hose. I have since obtained a new feed pipe bu
t haven't yet fitted it. One reason is when I fitted the the longer hose I borro
wed a ferrule clamp which nips the hose/pipe very tightly and I am loathe to rem
ove it. Two advantages of leaving alone, first it is hidden behind the side pane
l and two, by slackening the oil feed union I can swivel the pipe out of the way
when removing the kickstart cover, with only a slight drip of oil. Paul Craven
4/17/09
Routing Oil Feed and Return Lines: I concluded that what you want is impossible
. I grew tired of dismantling the entire bicycle to get the kick-start cover off
. Since I don't care much about originality (although I do care about aesthetics
, see recent posts about Italian bikes), I inserted a piece of herringbone (i.e.
authentic...) tubing, in the feed line and took the oil feed BEHIND the rear en
gine plate, tie-wrapped on to the plate to stop it drifting into the rear chain.
Now I can wiggle the kickstart cover off past the return line (the one to the r
ockers) without disturbing either feed or return. (Feed's the one that creates a
6 foot pool of oil under the bike when disconnected at either end.) Although p

rejudiced in my own favour, naturally, it doesn't immediately strike the eye as

Wrong. Tom 4/14/09
Oil Lines: Dick Sherwin cuts his pipes off near the banjo's and fits braided air
craft type flexible armoured tube in the gaps. All very neat. Roy Cross 4/14/0
9
Bending Oil Lines:Fill em with cerrobend and bend em by hand then melt out with
boiling water. Tom Kingman
Bending Oil Lines: My still-making friends use salt - you have to crimp the end
s to hold it in, but it's cheap, and easy to dissolve afterwards (I've known ple
nty of people who have tried sand, and never could get it out again).
Bending Oil Lines: You can use this to bend your tubing. Heat tubing in hot wate
r 200F with the bottom end plugged. Heat Bismuth to 200F in a container sitting
in the water.
Pore the metal into the hot tubing, still sitting in the hot water. using a smal
l funnel made from what ever is handy.
Now bend the tubing as you wish. Tubing will not collapse as it is now a solid.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#metal-alloy-casting-compounds/=1ghxoz
Ken Smith
4/15/09
Head Joint: With correct machining to the top and bottom surfaces and good lap
ping technique there will be an air gap between the broad faces with the head
placed firmly home on the spigot, the liner top edge sitting properly within i
ts recess. All surfaces clean of compound and debree of course. A feeler
gauge of 3 or 4 thou. should enter that gap without forcing the head to rise.
If not it will not seal, the actual sealing occuring Not at the broad face -- but at the narrow inner surface, iron against alloy. The described gap w
ill vanish when the assembly is torqued down, and if correct in every way
32 max ft lbs should be sufficient, 30 being usually sufficient for a st
reet motor . More won't solve the problem --- but if severly overloaded
shall certainly introduce more troubles with the motor at full heat . The
re will be no easy answer until this important detail is dealt with - throu
gh correct preparation in the machine shop of the spigot / liner dimensions.
And be sure the liner is fully home in the muff or it will drop further spoil
ing the work . Sid 12/6/08
Head Joint: If the head has been on for years creep will have taken place and t
he gap will have disappeared. It is essential to check for the gap when replaci
ng the head. I found it easier to stick some coarse wet and dry to a board and
rub the head on it to remove 2 thou. Then just grind the liner joint with fine
paste. Ernie Lowinger 12/5/08
Timing Gear Backlash: The problem is Not in the idler gear but in both camshaf
t gears, common with high mileage cams. There is a cyclic wear pattern caused
by the nature of their work loading, alternately forcing the springs to compre
ss {thus the wear occuring on one side of the teeth flanks} followed by those sa
me springs driving the idler gear - with a thrust reversal - { they rack back an
d forth as a result } the wear now on the opposite teeth flanks. But seen on o
nly those teeth doing the heavy work - not all. The condition is permanent,
only corrected by replacing the two pinions { the shafts can be reused if unwo
rn. Generally the only downside is a noise generated during running , and if
you set set the idler position to that compromise location where you can just sl
ide out the big gear with your fingertips - then that is the best you can do,
this with the Least or nil lash discernable. There will still be those peri
ods where looseness can be felt And heard {as the cam gears rack back and for
th doing their work against the spring pressure} but its not a danger, only
unpleasant and noisy... Or replace the gears. Be sure these are correctly lo
cated on the shafts - critical - and a spot of weld will keep thm there. Sid
12/5/08
Mufflers - Cams: Straight through Toga muffler Toga works well with Mk 2 cams an
d the original spiral baffled muffler will work okay with Robinson 105 cams due
to reduced overlap. Carleton 8/18/08
Vincent liners are very often far from round for many reasons besides being pe

rhaps poorly machined. Fit in the muff which might itself be far from true,
also often loose and thus offering uneven support to the liner within as well a
s causing liner overheating due to poor thermal path to the fins. Also a comm
on fault is overtorqued head nuts causing severe stress to the cylinder struc
ture when hot, and the muff might not have parallel top and bottom faces thus c
ausing a twist. All will cause the rings to work harder trying to follow the
liners uneven surface. With a similar history it's likely that similar problem
s will be found to exist in both cylinders of a twin. A careless/read cheap
rebuild will often have the barrels rebored without knowing that the critical li
ner to muff fit is suitable in all the above details, and can lead to many h
eadaches with a Vincent motor not limited to the complaint mentioned but also to
severe ring blowby, heavy oil consumption, fouled plugs and poor performance
. None of this necessary or the fault of the design. Dont curse your Vincen
t ---- but blame the machinest. Or a tightwad owner choosing the cheapes
t way to go.
Sid 12/23/07
Timing Chest: If you were to fit all the listed washers in their correct locati
on and then adjust all the spindles to give the correct end float then you will
more than likely end up with the steady plate being warped all over the place.
The correct procedure is to set all the spindle shoulders to the specified dist
ance above the timing chest face. Then shim the various components to give minim
al end float. Whilst doing this align the followers so they fall centrally on th
e cam lobes. If you end up have to use a couple of extra shims then so be it. An
alternative is to use thinner shims or spacer washers. The front cam spindle
coming out at temperature can be resolved by refitting with loctite whilst still
hot, be quick though. Phelps. 10/26/07
The explanation for there being no (or no need) for thrust washers behind compon
ents is in KTB. What thrust loads there are are towards the outside. MO13 is wro
ng (and it is). KTB shows corrections. anon
Timing Chest: The shoulders of the spindles should be 0.419" to 0.423" proud of
the cover joint face. (KTB Page 154) and they all need to be tight and in order
to move them the crankcase should be heated locally. The spindles should ideall
y be fitted with the oil holes on the underside since that's where the clearance
is.
The idler gear should be meshed with the camwheels with no backlash. The half ti
me pinion should have no more than .002" backlash. (Works instruction sheet No.6
). Whilst you've got the opportunity I think that it's worth fitting the later
type valve lifter as both valves can be lifted together. (Details in KTB Page 16
3)
A small mod. that I find is worth doing is to counterbore the pushrod tube nuts
about 1/32" oversize to allow for the mis-alignment which occurs with varying he
ight of the cylinder muffs.. Roy Cross 10/25/07
ESA Springs: In my experiance the main cause of breakage is found in the
varing depths of the drilled holes - and or these are packed up at their
bottoms with debree from previously broken remnants .
This leads to coil
binding with early breakage as a result . Check and clean out all holes w
ith a drill bit making sure that all are of equal depth , and if needed d
eepen to acheve this .
Before assembly grease all the springs with disc
brake type bearing grease { HMP } , and coil direction will not prove
a factor .
Of course if the outer nut wanders loose many bad things w
ill happen so be sure this goes fully home and is secure using Loc Nut
{ threads to be really clean first } or other means / or both . D
O NOT brutally force this nut with excessive torque beyond the assembly
going fully home as one can shift the mainshaft Mills pin . Select th
e best lobe nesting position for least movement before the outer componen
t begins to lift . This makes for more supple functioning of the ESA
and longer component life . Sid .
MK 2 Cams: PEI autobiography, page 374. "I decided to retain the exhaust opening
and the inlet closing timings of the Mark 1 cams but alter the exhaust opening
and inlet closing angles to widen the overlap to 105 degrees and subsequently in
crease the valve opening during the inlet and exhaust strokes. The full lifts we

re also increased from .312ins to .343ins". Roy Cross 9/4/07

There seems to be an assumption by some that the cam lift is the same as valve l
ift, which I believe is not the case. Although the standard rockers are not rati
oed (is there such a word?), that is they are 1:1, the physical positioning of t
he various parts of the train of components gives a ratio which increases the va
lve lift above that of the cam lobe by about 1.12 .. Thus Roy's quote from Phil
Irving of 0.343 (if taken as cam lift), when multiplied by 1.12 gives 0.384, whi
ch falls into the ballpark of the valve lifts quoted in practice. Try measurin
g your cam lobe against your valve lift as I have just done. Not certain if this
has any practical application, though.
Dick Sherwin 9/4/07
Cam Lift and Valve Lift: The latter will be greater because of the amplificati
on via the cam-follower arm. The question now becomes: What is that amplificat
ion factor? It would need an original factory timing-case drawing to discover t
he relative centre-lines between cam-follower pivot, cam and pushrod-cup. I'm n
ot aware that such a drawing exists. Peter Barker 9/4/07
Cam and Valve Lift: There are two amplifications. One is straight arm length: a
2" radius at the valve and 1" at the cam follower gives 2:1. But each radius var
ies as the contact line between cam-follower (or rocker) and cam moves, and the
contact point at the valve changes too. I think that PEI discusses this in Tunin
g for Speed. Tom Gaynor 9/4/07
One "top tuning tip" is to increase the radius of the cam follower or rocker, wh
ich increases valve acceleration. The ratio Is variable, lifting at the tip of t
he rocker / cam follower initially, and in the centre at full lift, a difference
of about 1/4". There's a much smaller variation where rocker touches valve. Vin
s have flat cam followers (or more accurately cam followers of infinite radius..
..) but the both radii vary through each cycle. Tom Gaynor 9/4/07
Ernesto's trick to reducing oil leaks: He removes the chain oiler fitting, T29,
and the Chain Oiler screw in the oil tank is left Open. The stock breather banj
o/pipe is plugged, so it will remain stock in appearance, (doesn't want to offen
d judges, ya' know:). After first screwing down hard the intake valve inspectio
n cap for the #1 (rear) cylinder, a punch marks the spot on the shoulder of the
cap that is up (12 o'clock). He then drills/taps and screws in what looks like a
hose fitting nozzle. Next, a spare A71S breather pipe is bent (shortened, too,
maybe?) in a convoluted way so that it can be fitted with an oil banjo to the h
ole where T29 is normally placed. Lastly, he connects the end of the pipe to the
little nozzle with a short length of hose. Whether or not he drills open the oi
l cap like Big Sid recommends, I don't know. So far, I know of none of his tanks
exploding, oil pumps failing, exhaust smoking, etc., and I have seen at least o
ne of his machines red-lined. Oil leaks on his machines? "Nada."
Ernesto is also an aircraft mechanic and restorer, and commented that he made ch
anges to aircraft to reduce oil on the tarmac (and the aircraft!) and this was a
pproved by their aviation inspectors. He figured he could improve on the Vincent
's breathing arrangement, also.
So far, looking at several of his machines, none leak from the breather, that I
can tell. In fact, I see no leaks, anywhere, so either their owners have a handy
rag at all times or he's doing effective stuff toward no leaks. The pipe bendi
ng is definitely the only item that a bloke like me would struggle with, in doin
g this fix. I can see that other adaptations might work, regarding that. Anyway,
this set-up appears to be a breather leak stoppage, as opposed to minimization.
Bev Bowen 9/4/07
Oil loss out the dynamo drive opening if more than mist is most likely due t
o the fit of ET 164 in the back case wall allowing oil flung off the chain onto
the back wall to slip down behind this component and the wall - after which i
t escapes to the outside in large quantities. Everyone blames the apparent simp

licity of the system found to prevent leakage around the dyno shaft but this is
seldom the cause.
Remove ET 164 and straighten any dings in it, clean the s
urface and that of the wall all aroundwhere it goes Seal nicely with RTV compou
nd and tap back into plac . Also build up a mound around its rim with RTV to
help it shed the oil flowing across it. Leave sitting 24 hours with the Dyn
o cover off to harden. Pressurized cases are due entirely to massive ring bl
owby, usually caused by out of round / buckled liners done in by poorly fitti
ng muffs. Often the cause for this is overtorqued maln headnuts which doom t
he top half to all manner of ills, unable then to expand as designed, causing
crushing / distortion of the cylinder assemblies, which overwhelm the rings a
blities to seal against combustion pressures against the now out of round / no
longer straight walls. A brief ride goes OK , but sustained speed drives up t
he heat and distortion rears its destructive head. None of this a fault of de
sign, but directly due to improper assembly. With proper preparation of the h
ead and cylinder joint urfaces no more than 30 to 32 ft. lbs. torque is req
uired to maintain a leak free joint.
This leaves a natural elasticity in th
e big studs that allows the alloy column to expand as necessary under peak en
gine heat and contract upon cooling. Sid 9/4/07
Timing chest thrust washers: While there exists very powerful endwise thrust upo
n followers from the pushrods being tilted off the vertical - the camshafts get
little or none, they simply spin round happy with no more than 3 to 5 thou. end
float. Thus there will be no marking of the rear wall surface. And no noise
arises from this source Sid . 1/30/07
Generally, when restoring a vincent, the engine has been sitting for some time.
During assembly I spray the cams and followers with molybond. Here is what I do
when starting up a "new" engine. Inject/pour oil down each pushrod tube, this f
loods the cam and follower area. Remove the ATD cover and fill the crankcase up
to the the ATD opening. replace the cover. Remove the spark plugs and with the b
ike in gear, push it around or run it on rollers until oil issues from the spou
t in the oil tank. This liberally! coats all the moving parts within the engine.
Drain the sump and pour the oil into the oil tank. Put the correct amount of oi
l into the chaincase and
gear box. Start the engine and run it at a fast idle to warm it up. Phelps. 1
2/20/06
Chronological order of Idler Gears - first bronze, then the forged alloy one.
The idler boss was the two piece shown in the parts list, alloy with steel
pin.. The steel based one did not appear until the D`s arrived, the works having
found out that the alloy ones were lacking, when the spindles worked
loose. So all those machines betweemn the bronze idler and the steel idler boss,
had the ET173 fitted. Trevor 11/29/06
Gary Robinson "105" cams: These cams have Mk II profiles but modified overlap, a
round 95 degrees instead of 105. They are 'timed' by setting the inlet valve at
maximum lift 105 dgrees after TDC. This gives a balanced overlap with the inl
et opening 47 degrees BTDC and the exhaust closing 47 degrees ATDC. Brian Hill.
8/10/06
Carillio Rods:
Mk 1,s Had plain 1" gudgeon pin hole . No modification needed to fit to wheel
s.
Mk 2`s Also had plain 1" pin hole, but needed to be modified , by either machin
ing the rod or the head of the mainshaft.
Mk 3`s Has the bronzed in eye, and also need to have modifications to fit.
Trevor 3/17/06
Flywheel Alignment: It's worth taking pains to get the crank assembly nicely ali
gned. In my experience the smoothnes of the engine depends on this rather than b
alance factor. If you're mounting the assembly on centres in order to check the
alignment you may find that you have to carefully scrape out the centres to brin
g them true with the bearing journals in order to check the alignment.. If you c
an mount the assembly on the journals that doesn't apply. The works instruction
sheets says - "There should be no difficulty in getting the shafts to run true

within 0.002 inches total indicator reading". Unfortunately, fifty years later,
this condition is not always easy to achieve. If you measure the thickness of th
e side plates E16 you will find that they are very rarely exactly parallel but w
ill give you a micrometer reading which varies by a few tenths of a thou' as you
go around the surface.By turning a side plate to a different position you can s
ignificantly improve the alignment. It's somewhat tedious but makes a world of d
ifference to the result. One point worthy of caution which I've never seen in pr
int. When you've got the engine built up and you've just finished timing the val
ves and you're about to finally tighten up the E80 nut holding the half time pin
ion on the end of the timing side mainshaft. In order to do this satisfactorily
you need to stop the crank from rotating. On no account should you attempt to do
this by locking the primary drive as it's possible then to displace the flywhee
l on the crankpin. The method I use is to hold a spare half time pinion in mesh
with the half time pinion and the idler gear whilst I tighten up the nut. Dave H
ills brings a piston up on the compression stroke and feeds a length of clothes
line through the plug hole and locks the piston against it. Both ways work.
Roy Cross 2/27/06
Valve lift: The rockers are 1:1 that is the distance one end goes up is the dist
ance the other end goes down. I would remove the gas tank and use a magnetic mou
nt on the UFM to position the dial gauge over the adjusting bolt on the valve be
ing timed and measure the ups 'n downs. You don't need to actually be on the val
ve itself. No fittings needed. Mike Hebb 2/4/06
Oil Pumps: The very fastest of classic racers (92 and 95 bore OHC singles revvin
g to 9 or 10), use plain bearing big-ends. Revs are presumably valve limited (tw
o huge valves.....) because the limit on a needle roller big-end like mine is 8.
I have no wish to find out. Both use standard Norton oil-pumps (with a Coswort
h made restrictor to the cambox for a plain bearing). A Norton oil pump delivers
about 6 pints a minute compared with 1 for a Vin. Oil drag seems not to be a co
ncern for Manx's although the top spec engines cost 27,000 plus VAT and there is
a lot of money ploughed into development. (Gearbox and everything else is extra.
You're probably looking at 35,000 + VAT for a complete bike.) For comparison, t
he 900 Ducati Monster delivers about 5 pints per minute per 1000 rpm, so it is c
irculating 35 pints per minute at 7. An interesting question is whether or not S
uzuki would consider the Ducati pump high or low flow. They'd probably dismiss t
he Vin pump as non-functional but leaking. Tom Gaynor 12/21/05
Vincent camshafts: I am reminded of the need to ensure maximum flow through the
drilled lobe passages and the need to run a drill bit through them rather than
simply relying on a blow through with compressed air. One finds nearly always
a build up of debree or even material left there during the shaping and final
grinding process. Only the careful introduction of a correctly sized drill bit
will remove this crud and these can often be found at your local Model Shop
. There we were pleased to find loose bits stocked in a wide range of sizes
- indexed in thousandths of an inch. We were very lucky to find a set of Andr
ews Mk.2 cams at Coventry Spares, examination revealed that these absolutel
y unused cams were drilled with a 54 thou. diameter hole and even these were
fouled somewhat in 3 of the holes and indeed one lobe had not been drilled thr
ough the inner bronze bushing at all. Other cams on hand in my shop showed va
riaions in hole size and all needing a run through to fully clear the drilling
s. As the lobe to follower interface is under intense pressure and friction, he
re is one location where rapid wear often occurs, and thus the need for attent
ion to such tiny details is of paramont importance.
Another is the two tiny
drill ways in each rocker bushing meant to feed oil to the rocker pin and al
l moving surfaces nearby which encludes the followers and cams down below in
the timing chest. All depend on this same flow for their reliability and satisf
actory service life.
S.M. Biberman (5-26-05)
Valve Lifter Assy: With your timing cover off, it is just a matter of peeping in
with a flashlight to see what is unshipped or deranged. The cable and
rod must pull the levers in the timing chest together and the small ends of the
levers must push up the camfollowers to open the exhaust valves, yet when the ro
d is not pulled, the small ends of the said levers must clear the bottoms of the

camfollowers. The mechanism is straightforward, but if not familiar with it y

ou may need to refer to the Richardson book to get it 100% right. Sometimes the
return spring could break. And the two levers have to be synchronized by the a
djustment of the connecting link. And there must be the right clearance twixt s
mall ends and camfollower bottoms when the latter are on the base circles of the
cams. As someone else mentioned here the small end I'm talking about has a 3 x
5 mm roller in it to do the actual lifting, which is peened in place, and it is
not unknown for this to get
knocked out if the valve lifter is operated at anything over idling rpm.
I might mention also that the valve lifter kit probably best suits the Mark 1 an
d 3 standard cams. The Mark 2 BL cam has a smaller base circle to get a higher
lift. The Black Lightning with the Mark 2 cams did not usually have a valve lif
ter fitted, but sometimes it did. If the valve lifter is used with Mark 2 cams
it needs extra care in fitting and adjusting because of the differences mentione
d. But it always needs care in fitting any time any of the pieces and parts inv
olved are replaced anyway. Heck, let's face it, Everything on a Vincent needs c
are in fitting! Bill H. (5-15-05)
Valve Guide Seals: Ron Kemp supplies a seal kit that works. You remove the guide
lock rings, ET122 and ET122/1 and machine the guide down flush with the
collar on the valve guide. This can be done with a piloted counterbore cutter i
n a pillar drill or with a slot drill; in a milling machine.You then fit the re
placement lock rings which Ron supplies. These have a counterbore in the bottom
so that when they are screwed down on the guide you have an annular groove to
take the square section seals provided. However, the guide rings are machined
undersize so that they can be reamed in line with the guide to provide a bit mo
re support for the valve. the seals can then be eased into place and the valves
and springs re-assembled. A word of caution. Take the sharp edge off the corne
r of the valve stem where the larger diameter meets the smaller one to avoid cu
tting the seal when the valve is inserted. I fitted these seals to my three twi
ns about five or six years ago and haven't fouled up a plug since. Roy Cross
5/14/05
The use of silicone sealant should not cause anyone cause for concern. As with
many things, misuse of the product it blamed on the product itself. To use sili
cone correctly as a gasket replacement takes a bit of care. First one should cle
an the mating surfaces with careful use of a solvent like lacquer thiner or mine
ral spirits ...clean , as can be on both mating surfaces. Then spread a THIN sme
ar of silicone sealant about the joint. Then use one's finger to remove any surp
lus sealant from the inside of the joint by just running the finger around the i
nside of the (let's say) cover to remove any surplus sealant from the inside edg
e. If you do this correctly, you will create a little space (on the inside) for
the silicone to fill without making an inside surplus "bead". This is difficult
in some of the thinner joints as those found it the timing case cover. Just make
sure that all is coated with a thin smear..... meaning, about matchbook cover
thickness. The important part is to assemble the cover, with sealant, just snug
enough to allow a little sealant to squeeze to the outside. Again, the cover sho
uld not be fully tight because one does not want to force OUT the sealant. With
the cover just "snugged" up allow the silicone to cure and thus the thickness of
this now solid material (sealant) becomes a real gasket ..... rather than stuff
forced out of place due to fully tightening while "wet". I allow 24 hours to pa
ss before fully tightening the cover. I believe one can see the general logic he
re, you want to have a fully cured rubber gasket to tighten upon. Yes, good resu
lts take time........ so, what's new? P.S. : Isn't it nice that they make gre
y silicone for Rapides and Black for that other thing.
Rip Tragle ( born aga
in Luddite) 7/24/04
Historical note: one-start, two-start oil pumps. P.C. Vincent told us himself a
bout 40 years ago that the two-start worm was a desperation measure on Picador d
evelopment. He had no two-start plungers so got some two-start worms made and u
sed them with the standard one-start plunger to double the oil delivery for the
Picador to keep the big-end bearings working for the prolonged (24 hour?) full-p

ower official acceptance test. PCV said they knew it wasn't correct, but it wor
ked okay and the wear from the mis-matched parts was not excessive. George Brow
n and others used two-start worms with one-start plungers in their racing twins
in the old days. Only in recent times did someone make two-start plungers to ma
tch the two-start worms.
I won't re-hash the question of whether double-speed pumps are necessary or desi
rable, but as P.E. Irving pointed out in his autobiography, all the great nation
al and world records set by Vincents back in the golden age used one-start worms
and plungers. Bill Hoddinott 7/24/04
Tightening the ESA nut:
Place the motor in fourth gear. Lock up both rear bra
kes hard by tightening the wingnuts. Run a wooden broom handle through the re
ar wheel - through between the spokes at rim level, with the rearstand down. T
he handle lying behind the stand legs. The object is to have the motor rotated
to bring up the up against the stand legs , now the resistance is shared by bot
h brakes and wooden handle and that spoke nipple. No damage will be done if th
is method is
employed correctly. I use 90 psi air pressure driving my half inch impact driv
er and the proper socket, this ground flat on
its face to secure full grip on the nut. Loc-nut grade Loc-tite on the outer ha
lf of the threads, these both cleaned of oil. Make sure the assembly is guiding
the washer home on the splines, not butting end on. Using less than full on th
e power adjustor and
leaning heavily against the wrench proceed to spin it up in several short applic
ations while watching the components embrace and close-up against the springs p
ressure. The nut will come home and slow its turning as the travel is closed up
. As it comes to rest and is seen stopping its smooth motion, fighting further
movement -- stop . If you persist and beat against those obvious signs to qui
t you can turn the mainshaft in the flywheel , sheering the Mills pin in the pro
cess. The same process - with the handle in front of the stand legs will serve
to loosen the nut. S.M. Biberman 2/24/04
PD 7 ESA: The bar between the sprockets can be further improved on. A piece of 1
" or 1 1/4" by 1/4", 4 1/2" long. The length is not super critical. Across each
end weld, braze, bronze or silver solder, neatly, a piece of 1/4" rod. Make one
higher and one lower from the centre line. These bits of rod are there to fit ne
atly into the root of the tooth form therefore keeping the load low down on the
tooth. Phelps 2/24/04
Diecast case external features: a different font for the Vincent name on the dri
ve side, much slimmer, clearer to read and more precise than the same on the san
dcast case; no excess metal around various bolt bosses; a smoother finish to the
casting without the characteristic sand-grain of a sandcasting. Maybe some lin
es on the casting from the parting joints of the die, can't remember this one fo
r sure. Bill 8/13/03
Diecast case external features: Under the dynamo, there is a cast in depression.
Bruce Metcalf 8/13/03
Die Cast Cases: Phil Irving told me himself that he drew up the improvements tha
t were used in the diecast case before he left the firm and went back to Austral
ia in '49, but for some reason they weren't implemented in production until year
s later.
For those who have never seen a diecast case, let me mention the improvements mo
re specifically:
Better dimensional control, less weight by avoidance of surplus material.
Camplate spindle boss greatly strengthened, made a full-width boss in the gearbo
x ceiling.
Camplate actuating bevel boss also made more massive and continuous, although un
like the spindle boss, I never heard of any breakage on this.
More metal around the main bearings to hold onto them more reliably (the drive s

ide roller race almost always comes loose in the early case, either from flywhee
ls shifting out of line a little, or racing abuse).
More metal in the front end of the primary chaincase so that if the chain breaks
it won't take the casting out. Bill Hoddinot 8/13/03
First set of Die Cast Cases is reported to be #9972, although some sand cast cas
es carry a later serial number.
Engine Lubrication mods: When Herve Hamon visited with me he described how he us
ed a small Honda pump located within the timing chest and driven off the big idl
er, sited just below the breather pinion I think ? This to furnish immediate o
il to the cam lobes on start up. It drew its oil supply through a small pipe tak
en back into the scavange gully where oil is always left pooled upon stopping th
e motor. No more dry lobes or followers. Keeping the valve springs nicely oil w
etted will reduce a big source of rubbing friction and heat, and a move to singl
e spring technology an even smarter move. Flowing more oil through the upper he
ad inner surfaces should allow a higher compression ratio tolerated w/o bringin
g on detonation. The old scheme of knife edging the lower edges of the piston to
skim off oil more effectively - this thrown then up beneath the crown and on th
e pin and bosses is still a good trick . The big end eyes can be drilled through
to project oil upwards for cooling the piston underside too. Sid 3/2/03
Oil Pump: It takes 195 revs to pass one cubic inch, therefore 54015 revs to pass
one gallon. These figures now equate with Glyns in as much as one pint flows in
1.69 minutes at 4000 rpm. So my calculations and Glyn`s are the same, 13.5 mi
nutes at 4000 rpm or 27 minutes at 2000 to pass one gallon. So now you know why
you should be taking at least 50 miles to warm up the engine. Trevor 3/2/03
I have fitted several sets of Megacycle cams both MKI and MKII. I never have com
pared them in a given engine with any other cams but they seem to be comparable
in performance to their Vincent counterparts (MKI and MKII). In my opinion they
are superior in two ways: 1) They are definitely quieter (because of modern quie
ting ramps) and therefore will probably last longer and 2) they come with timing
specs specified at .050" lift which is easier to obtain an accurate adjustment
if necessary. I have a set of MKI's in my Touring Rapide with over 60,000 miles
on them without any sign of wear. The lobe centers are slightly different than s
tock at 97 degrees intake and exhaust. MKI's are 30/44 and 44/30 timing specs wi
th the MKII's at 37/51 and 51/37. Lifts are about .340 and .385" for MKI's and M
KII's respectively. Just happen to be close to the source if you need more info.
or would like to get a set. Dave Molloy 1/23/03
Timing Card information provided by Megacycle for Mark II Vincent Cams:
Timing at .050" lift at valve. Timing checked with Zero Clearance. Cam Number
554x2 (Mark II)
Intake
Exhaust
Open:
Close:
Valve Lift:
Duration:
Lobe Center:
Lash (cold):

37 BTC
51 ABC
.365"
268 Deg.
97 Deg.
.001"-.003"

51 BBC
37 ATC
.365"
268 Deg.
97 Deg.
.001"-.003"

Megacycle Phone: 415- 472-3195 or FAX: 415- 472-1497. Address: 90 Mitchell Boul
evard, San Rafael, California 94903. They have no email address. Ask for Barba
ra in the sales department or for Jim Dour to answer any technical questions. Ge
orge Missbach Jr. 1/23/03
Cylinder Liners/Muffs: Only rarely have we trusted the reuse of cylinder assemb
lies without fully servicing them. On the vast majority the liners were seperate
d from their alloy muffs. Most finned muffs are found to be somewhat distorted
and giving evidence of the crushing forces they must live with, often tilted an
d of unequal heights. Large precision expanding mandrels - one each end - allow

them to be held and spun on their true centers while tops and bottoms are true
d to the bore center and recut to equal heights. Then the bores, always showing
high and low areas plus deposits of burnt oil - this evidence of gaps existing w
hen running - are carefully taken out just enough to restore straight surfaces w
ithout this island effect.
The upper liner recess is recut as new. Then new liners - usually 40 thou OS pie
ces - are gripped in the mandrels and the OD is turned down with a fine cut to
the desired size - 6 thou greater than the new muff bore, this just over the di
stance covered by its muff. Beneath that the projecting lower portion is taken
down to a firm hand press fit in its upper cylinder register mouth, and marked f
or that position, front or rear. After being cleaned carefully this liner is wed
to its muff under the press while
nicely heated - the sleeve being cold. Allowed to cool fully under the press it
is removed and examined at the upper end to ascertain that the flange is indeed
fully home after cooling. If not then the heating and press is repeated to achev
e that aim. The process is repeated for its mate. The drilling site and cupping
/ milling away of the rear thrust face for catchment is done Only after being su
re that the hole will break through Beneath the oil ring land on the piston, it
must not be high enough to force oil in to fill that groove on the assembled pis
ton fitted to its rod . If not done correctly that cylinder will always run very
oily - the scraper ring unable to clear away the excess.
Only a Very thin hard base gasket paper as was first used will not squeeze down
loseing your torque settings. We now eliminate that gasket fitting a thin O ring
lying in a shallow recess turned into the lower inner edge of the muff where it
meets the liner surface. Just a quarter inch wide smear of sealant beyond tha
t is employed, the rest of the wide alloy faces allowed into full and intimate c
ontact for increased thermal flow into the cases .
As to the matter of the gap between the upper faces with the head firmly sitting
atop the head - after lapping as prescribed
in the Works sheets, we usually find a gap width of around 3 thou. resulting fr
om the grain size differance, the courser used on those broader faces having rem
oved more metal. This will close up hard upon torqueing the head nuts as Irving
designed it to do . With the bottoms of those big nuts and the washer faces smo
oth and flat - use a fine oil stone - and lightly oiled the procedure is to tigu
ten criss-cross in several small stages up to a figure of No More than 30 to 32
ft. lbs. Leave sit overnite to settle out and repeat to that same figure . For
the reasons dig out my piece called " Demon Tweak", its in Forty Years On " and
was fully to Irvings acceptance. Simply stated - beyond that figure removes t
he natural stretch needed within the
cylinder long studs, this allowing growth of the alloy column during the full he
at of operation, with out distorting the muff or pulling down the cylinder head
internal structure causing loss of allignment between top to bottom guides leadi
ng to valve leakage and burning, and rapid stem/guide wear. The shop proceidure
described is very time consuming and thus costly, but there is no other method
of ensuring correct top half function when hot, all necessary for a fast Vincent
. S.M. Biberman 1/13/03
Cylinder Liners: I had the same feeling as Tony Maughan. I always thought (and s
till do) that Vincents got it wrong. The fact is that the two bores (in cases) a
re not split in the center and thus you cannot put even pressure around the line
r! When tightening up in the manner the works favoured you simply put a depressi
on on the liner (front right/back left) Temperature differencies are there as we
ll between muff and cases. My muffs went on the lathe and were cleaned out to ma
ke them round again. Faces were cleaned up as well. I turned two oversize liners
out of a spuncast tube (about 50 years old). Got this tip from "Mavro" - a onc
e famous Indian tuner who broke many records and made all parts needed for the e
ngine himself. The spuncast tube was very strong to turn and till now does not s
how any wear - and cheap as well - on the local scrapyard I paid 5 USD for half

a meter! The lower part of liners was turned slightly smaller for easy fitment
- just falls into the bolted up cases. After more than three years of riding and
racing everything is perfect and I see no need to grip the lower part of liners
. If muffs are machined correctly and everything is square and even - why should
a liner turn in the muff then? There is no rotating movement - only up and down
.You may add a grubscrew for your personal worries but I think this is only a po
int where the liner could start to crack. Hartmut 1/9/03
The interference fit of liners can be affected by the material used, 6 thou is t
he norm for your average Vincent liner made from honeycomb, 4 thou for the muffs
made from real material. As for the fit in the case, you have to consider that
when material expands, it expands from the centreline of its mass, therefore a
hole will get smaller initially until the temperature gets
high enough for the hole to grow larger. So any liner gripped by the case will h
ave the tendency to close down on the piston clearance. Also the studs have a s
tory to tell , and if you look at any piston that has seized, you might find tha
t the seizure marks correspond with the studs. This would be due to the studs ta
king away the heat from around the hole, and not
allowing the aluminium to expand so fast at that point. All this has been found
on test at the Anglo/French consortium works.
So clearance is a definite requirement between liner and case. You will notice t
hat this will explain Toms experiences.
And if the muff /head joint is correctly ground in , how can the liner possibly
turn? Trevor 1/9/03
Cylinder Liners: From my readings when I first built my Shadow in during '79 thr
ough '81, the intention by Vincent was for the crankcase to actually grip the lo
wer section of the liner. The first set of liners I installed were sized to fit
in this manner. In 1989, during a top-end rebuild, I went with the new (then) l
ow-clearance pistons and a new set of Tony Maughan's liners which turned out to
be an easy, almost sloppy, slide fit into the assembled (and bolted-up) crankca
se. I was completely aghast and called Tony who stated this loose fit was inten
tional. Tony explained that the grip of the crankcase actually distorted the li
ner, so he purposely turned the lower outer section of his liners undersize.
At that point, my concern was the amount of interference fit between the liner a
nd my muffs which I feared was less than desirable. With the intention of locki
ng the liner against rotation, I got the idea to drill and tap a single hole in
the rear base of each muff in which I installed a 1/4" socket (allen) screw whic
h fit into a mating 1/4" diameter impression ground into the liner. I just bare
ly snugged the screw in place using blue Loctite. So far, I don't believe the l
iners have turned. Russ Williams 1/9/03
To avoid cross threading your exhaust nuts, the following should certainly assis
t you in re-assembly.
1. With the exhaust nuts completely backed off, start the nut and note which
fin is at say, 12:00 o'clock. Mark the fin with a felt tip. Do it again, re-sta
rt the nut and notice the same fin should be in the same place.
2. Figure out a permanent mark on a particular fin that you will recognize n
ext time you re-assemble the system. Even if you are by the side of the road, in
the dark with a flashlight, you will Know that the fin with your little file ma
rk in it goes at 12:00 to start the nut. Carl Hungness 12/10/02
Tapered exhaust nuts: I stretch mine over a well greased tapered thick wall tube
a bit at a time until the nut is a snug fit in the
head. A heavy duty vice is all that is required. Peter Bell 12/10/02
Primary Chain Breakage: A twenty five thou movement of the engine sprocket, woul
d mean about 2 (two) thou of movement of the chain at the dynamo sprocket. The w
idth of the link inside the plates is on a good quality chain .228" on
an inferior chain .234" . That difference is explained by the thinner sideplates
used and the poor quality of the assembly. The width of the dynamo sprocket is
5/32" (.156" -.010) , so as you can see a lot of side clearance there. So as you
can see plenty to overcome a sideways movement of two thou. BUT there is also f

loat on the clutch sprocket, which is why there must be enough side play between
the dynamo sprocket, which is in a fixed position, and the chain that can move
sideways. This clearance should be checked with the chain sprocket being moved t
o its extreme positions, to ensure that the sprocket is central to the movement.
I think that it is failure to do just that , that is the cause of many chain br
eakage's. Side wear on dynamo sprocket teeth have shown that to be so. But , Sid
does have a problem point with the wear on the engine sprocket and the ball bea
ring that it abuts to. I put this down to the fact that the radius on the shaft
entry is now greater than it used to be, and some bearing manufacturers use a un
iversal inner ring that allows for the fitting of a seal, consequently the diame
ter of the face is smaller. Japanese manufacturers seem more guilty of this. Wha
t it means to your sprocket is that only half the available surface is used to s
upport, and that's just not enough to stop wear occurring. My modification is t
o make a new PD2 in the
form of a top hat, with the brim against the bearing, and machining off the inte
rnal boss on the sprocket. Tests have shown that this works, but the sprocket wi
ll have to be re- case hardened , to replace the case where machining has taken
place.
Trevor Southwell 11/16/02
Valves: For better results the exhaust wants to be 2mm smaller in diameter, and
the inlet 2-3mm larger. Around 3-4 BHP gained by doing only that. Trevor Southwe
ll 9/12/02
Valves: I have done extensive flow testing of Terry's big port head. As supplie
d: intake flows 108cfm at 10" test pressure. 1.800" valve at .550" lift. 35mm p
ort. After reworking: 156cfm, 1.845" valve .550" lift. 38mm port. Exhaust star
ted at about 85cfm with 1.670" valve at 480" lift. After reworking: 144cfm, 1.
630" valve, .480" lift. How much power do you want? More flow, more potential H
P. Small valves/high lift or big valves/low lift. I think that Vincents theory
was large valve with low lift. This allows the end pivot follower to live a lit
tle longer. I will settle for .510" intake from .320" lobe and 1.375:1 rocker.
For larger lobe I need to make stronger followers. Race engine will have titani
um valves with larger margins. Better flow. Maybe the same idea as RimFlow? I've
moved the valves much closer together and have special cams made with 112 degre
e lobe centers. I am worried about cam and follower wear with the spring pressu
re necessary to control the valve train at 7500-8000rpm. Anyone know a magic coa
ting? Steve 9/12/02
Valves: The titanium valve will not work unless you have a mechanical means of k
eeping the collar in place. For a coating try chromium nitriding, a vapour depos
ition process . But what's 8000 rpm going to do to your big end ? Trevor 9/12/0
2
Pushrod Tube Seals: Ahhh, a Series "D", good choice! You can simply take off you
r petrol tank, no silly distance piece to fumble about with as on lesser Vins (B
's & C's), undo your rocker caps and remove the pushrods. Now loosen the pushrod
tubes and while wriggling them about, pull the old seals out of the crankcase.
Go to your nearest/favorite auto supply house and get four each of O Rings that
look like they will fit, determine which ones fit the best in the case and aroun
d the pushrod tube. After you have rolled one over the top of the tube and down
to the crankcase, slop some silicone grease on it, replace the top nut on the pu
shrod tube loosely and with a blunt edge force the O ring into the crankcase, it
should be a fairly tight fit and below the top of the case if it's properly ins
talled. Do it three more times, and put everything back together. Fit another "D
" breather cap if you feel so inclined or even be more radical and stick a PVC v
alve in the breath! er hose(s). John 7/16/02
Pistons: It is so long since Vins were made that people tend to forget that the
original C.R. was so low. The Rapide was 6.45: 1 and the Shadow was 7.3 : 1.
The Comet was 6.8: 1 - I'm not quite sure why the Comet differed from both the R
apide and Shadow, but pistons were made in 6.8, 7.3, 8, 9, 11, and 13 to 1.
However, a standard Twin has enough power for most road use. I was very frie
ndly with Ted Hampshire both before and after the close of the Vin manufacturing
. He always advocated the use of 7.3: 1 for road use, saying there was no sm

oother or more enjoyable to drive bike than one set up in this way. I know fue
ls are different today, but here in England we have to use unleaded, which run
s hotter than leaded.
I have always built my bikes with 7.3: 1 and to this da
y agree with the expert opinion of Ted. For all round road use, i.e. torque a
nd performance, you can't beat it. Derek J. Peters 7/16/02
Pistons: If your bike was not vibrating badly and you dont need to open the crank
cases, check your piston weight and compare to the new pistons. If they are ligh
ter there will be no problem (if your crank has the std factory balancing). If t
hey are heavier you should machine the pistons to get back to the original weigh
t of the old ones. You can remove metal everywhere but most effective is a reduc
tion in length of the pin. The circlip grooves have to be remachined according t
o the pins length. The inner diameter of the pin can be opened out to 14,5 mm by
grinding and the outer portion of the bore can be ground in a taper. It is all
very time consuming but well worth the effort because otherwise you will not ri
de the bike very much.
I got only close to the weight of my 7:3 to 1 pistons with the new 9/1! The sand
cast 9/1 were heavier and as everything possible was done I was left with an ove
rweight of 28 gr each. After installing the 28 gr heavier pistons the vibration
was bad and I had to open the complete engine for rebalancing ! Once the engine
was balanced to the much better factor of 47 % the bike became smooth again and
its a pleasure to rev it ! Standard Weight of 7:3 /1 diecast piston is 436 gr c
omplete with rings and circlips.This works fine with a works balanced crank beca
use the diecast piston is already lighter than the std Specialloid at 492 gr! F
itting the diecasts lifts the balance factor considerably and gives you a smooth
engine. Hartmut 7/16/02
Timing case spindles: Get a good straight edge (a machinists' GOOD straightedge)
and measure the depth of the faces of the area around each spindle from the tim
ing cover mating face. Then add the prescribed amount (0.419 to 0.424, KTB). T
urns some sleeves from whatever material you have available, and sink the spindl
es using these as spacers with a washer and nut on the spindle end. I suppose o
ne could use a standard steady plate with the spindles bolted in for alignment,
but I doubt
it is that necessary. Glen Bewley 7/6/02
Spindles: It seems like individual tubes, cut to length per the stackup of shims
, cams or followers, etc. plus one clearance shim to be removed, would allow pre
cise individual insertion. The projection dimensions would be handy to know, bu
t then the steady plate is pretty flexible; the hollow oil feed spindles are the
critical ones. Rip Tragle horrified The Faithful some time ago by suggesting t
hat spindles get hammered in to a heated crankcase; of course, he was using 4340
chrome moly steel spindles that should take it. I prefer the light tap myself.
Bruse Metcalf 7/6/02
Irving-Vincent: Infomation on production of new crankcases and complete engines.
Oil Filter: Pre-soak your filter in a jar for at least an hour before replacing
it into the machine. You will be surprised just how much oil the darn thing hold
s not to mention how long it will take before the oil flows through it to the re
st of your engine!
Store (new unused oil filters) in a tupper ware or plastic tight container to k
eep moth larve out. They bore holes in wool. 3/6/02
Balancing the Vincent engine: If the crankshaft is an original unit ( by this I
mean the original conrods and wheels) it should have conrods of the same forging
type (there are about five different forgings used). These will weigh pretty mu
ch the same so as long as the wheels are a pair, i.e. they true up well and have
the same chamfer. You can balance the crank as a single. My method is as follo
ws : Get the crank running dead true (checked on mainshafts with measure clocks
near the flywheels and at outer ends), put it in a lathe and cut flywheels down
until both run true - usually they don`t by 0.2 to 0.5 mm .With care you can han
g the conrods on a rubberstrip for slow revving machining. Cover the bigend in f
at before machining thus avoiding swarf entering the bigend. After turning you h
ave dead true flywheels. Now the balance: Weigh the little ends (support flywhee

ls on level surface, vee blocks are good), rest the conrod little ends horizonta
l and dead centre of your digital scales ( 0.5 grams ). Take the individual and
combined weights for a good average. Add to the little end weights the total wei
ght of both pistons, multiply by your chosen balance factor (I would suggest a m
inimum of 45% and depending on your average RPM, i.e. over 3000 up to 50%), and
subtract the little end weights. Put the flywheels on balancing wheels or strai
ght edges, hang a small container with the calculated weight in, and balance. An
y small out of balance moments can be corrected whilst balancing by varying your
placement of balance holes one wheel to the other. I would suggest that any hol
es that may need drilling are done on the edge of the wheels, this way they coll
ect no oil or debris. And don`t forget to wash bigend out and let it dry before
balancing! I got this from Bob Dunn and it works very good! Hartmut 2/2/02
Camshaft: Measuring lobe separation from the lifter when it is at its highest po
int or points? Put a dial indicator on the valve stems or the tops of the adjus
ter and plot the actual lift. This would take into account the way the cam nose
contacts the follower at different points of rotation. Then the lobe separatio
n is measured between the high points of the lift. Bruce Metcalf 1/28/02
I am using a Moto Guzzi oil filter, it fits in the same place as the original fi
lter and you can use the standard oil filtercap, including the emergency valve.
The filter is original for V65, V50 Monza or V35 Imola, part no. is : UFI 25465
00.
Just pull the attached spring off and the special oilseal out, then find a O-rin
g of 30 by 5mm and place it were the spring was.
I did not invent this myself, Peter Volkers told me this.
jos 1/03/01
Just don't understand why everyone is so bent on timed breathers. A simple U tub
e manometer will verify how ineffective they are compared to a reed or other eff
icient PCV valve. My Shadow pulls negative 18 inches w.c. between 1000 and 4000r
pm. The trick is a positive sealing and light acting valve. I have not been able
to better the results from a carefully designed reed.
Steve 1/03/02
Pushrod Seal: The upper seal will work better if the top face of the pushrod tu
be is dead flat. The best way to get the flanged over end of the pushrod tube fl
at is to take the lightest of cuts over the end face in a lathe. There is no nee
d to touch the under side of the flange as there is a danger of making the flang
e too thin and fragile if you do. Just remove any sharp edges with a dead smooth
file whilst the tube is spinning in the lathe. The seal will now work on two ma
chined surfaces - one in the head and the newly turned and flat tube end - ET46
Whilst the tube is in the lathe take the opportunity to polish the whole outside
of the tube with fine emery cloth, especially at the bottom end where the tube
will enter the crankase seal. Its amazing how oil will creep past the finest of
scratches so polish all the scratches out. No need to worry abought altering t
he outside diameter of the stainless tube but worry about cleaning the lathe of
all that emery dust properly!
The crankase seal is a poor design! I think a tight fitting O-ring is a better s
eal than the standard hydraulic seal ET104 we have always used. I think the sta
ndard seal is distorted by the close tolerances between the crankase machine rec
ess and the tube being too tight, thus preventing the hydraulic design seal from
working as intended. These seals should not be distorted for them to work prope
rly. It is better to use an O-ring and oil-resistant sealer around the outside j
ust before final assembly. Apply
to the outside only and wipe smooth before the stuff dries. If you are making n
ew tube nuts ET127 a nice little modification
is to cut six slots instead of just four this makes it easier to get the two pro
ngs of the K1 spanner to work in a confined area and to enable a nice snug bite
on the seals to be maintained. If you can, make them in stainless and polish the
m. Its also a nice mod to put a thin steel washer between the top of the tube nu
t and the fibre washer to prevent the action of tightening the nut from tearing
the washer. Andrew Rackstraw 1/03/02
Welding Crankcases: The "B" case you saw at the Rally was missing a massive amou

nt of metal. 1 to 1.5 inches from the entire drive side. I knew it would be impo
ssible to avoid distortion. The case halves were bolted together and preheated t
o 400 to 500 F, checked with temp. crayons. Temp was maintained during welding w
ith large gas flame. Welding was alternated
side to side and in and out. Slow cooled in fiberglass wrap it took an hour befo
re I could touch it. Total distortion was only .035". Probably could have reduce
d that by peening the weld. Doing a major repair of a "C" case at this time and
will try peening. I used 4043 rod . The repair piece was fashioned from 6061 and
joined easily to the case. Lots of buffers in 4043. When blended the repair was
invisible. Steve Hamel 9/26/01
Excessive Valve Adjustment: Stainless steel is an excellent material for pushro
ds because of its work hardening qualities. I quote from an interview with none
other than Phil Vincent, in the "Motor Cycle". When asked why he had chosen st
ainless steel he replied :- "Stainless steel of certain selected alloys forms a
very stiff and rigid material which possesses the excellent
quality for pushrod purposes of very rapid work hardening. Copnsequently we are
able to use very light yet stiff pushrods, which can be left in the "as-machine
d" condition because the ball end work hardens within the first few revolutions
made by the engine." I would suggest that a lot of (valve adjustment) problems
have occurred because over the years pattern parts have
been made of the wrong grade of material. And pushrods have been used that had
damaged ball-ends before they were fitted. Just like the bad name given to the
alloy idlers because pattern parts were made of the wrong grade of alloy. In th
e early fifties these problems were vitually unheard of and Vincents covered hug
e mileages without all the fancy parts that are now
recommended. Pattern parts and ham fisted D.I.Y. mechanics have caused the myth
of Vincent unreliability. D.J.P. 9/13/01
Cam Follower Wear: I think that the problem is worsened if the rider allows lon
g warm-up periods of the motor just ticking over at a slow idle to warm the oil
. This cannot be inherently a good practice due to the speed that the camshafts
are rotating. Not too fast - but way too Slow ! If ticking over at 800 rpm,
those camshafts are turning over at only 400 revs - half
the speed of the crankshaft . This tends to cause a juddering and inturrupted m
otion over the surface of all followers and lobes leading to an oil film breakd
own . Too slowly and that wedge of oil seperating the metals at point of contac
t bleeds away. Where before all was a sliding motion over that film, now the por
es and previously rent skins dig in to each other and rapid wear ensues. All of
this made more possible due to the slow oil pump speed and low delivery.
The morale of all this is to refrain from long periods as described. Set a fas
ter idle of 1600 to 1800 - or double the
earlier revs. This advances the timing a bit so burning the pipes less as the f
lame retreats back into the chambers. It is even better to ride your Vincent at
a gentle speed to warm all components equally and move some air over the exhaust
pipes. The
colder weather coming should have you blocking off those air inlet spaces at the
front between fuel tank and the UFM. This results in a quicker warm up and hi
gher temperature. S.M. Biberman 9/13/01
Oil Pump Removal: I made up a slide hammer type tool that I can either screw a 5
/16 BSF bolt into (ET109/3) and use it to gently tap the sleeve into place, or p
ull it out, plus I can use it for timing chest spindles also. You do realize th
e two start worm and plunger are a pair and not to be used half and half with a
regular pump? There is NO advantage to using a two start pump on a road bike and
I learned (the hard way) It'll just push oil out your filler cap if you're goi
ng very fast and make a hell of a mess... John (mercury crest) 05/29/01
Stud Removal:Trevor Southwell proferred that the stud had been chemically coated
for oiltightness. So while at NAPA
(North American Parts Association, or some such, a large parts chain here in the
states) looking for the stud removal tool, I picked up some PB Blaster. Now, i
f you've never used this stuff, go buy some NOW. It is absolutely the best pene

trating oil I've ever used, and very few engine builders around here would be wi
thout it. I had given (loaned) my can to a friend, so was out. However, I spra
yed the stud, heated the lot, and applied torque to the stud remover, and out sh
e came. Glenn Bewley 05/24/01
Head Bolt Removal: Don't try forcing that rear timing side head bolt too much.
It could well be held by the rear cam-follower spindle poking into it. If thi
s is the case you could well do serious damage by trying to force it out. If
there is any doubt about this, it would be wise to remove the rear cam-follower
spindle before trying again. If all the other head bolts came out without a lot
of trouble, this is almost certainly your problem.
D.J.P. 05/16/01
Valve Seats: Ampco 45 works for us at a fitting interferance in the head of 1.
5 thou, and the stem to guide inner bore clearance is inlets - 2 thou and exhaus
ts -3 thou. Be sure to make up double diameter pilots running in both top and b
ottom guides to cut the seats dead concentric and true to both upper and lower
guide bores. We machine up a third bore to assist with final reaming. This in th
e form of a top inspection cap in mild steel having a central boss that is bored
to act as a 3rd
inline fixture for stability while doing all of this critic
al work. We cut a 3 angle cut on the seats with sharpely defined edges twix all
as an aid to air flow and power. Grinding in is barely needed for sealing when
all is done to high standards. Old and even new valves often need truing to ach
ieve zero run-out when the valve is spun and must be corrected for consistant v
alve sealing and compression readings, thus strong running and long life. Sid
05/06/01
Engine Disassembly Organizer: When I took apart my motor last winter, I kept my
cams & shims separated by putting ~5" x 1/4" dowels into a 2x4, one dowel per ca
m (or follower) and shim group. I did the same with my head nuts and washers, w
hich I have miked and mixed to be equal heights. To have the engine studs organ
ized, I copied the drawing from the spares list, enlarged to suit and glued it t
o a piece of masonite that was drilled for the studs at the place on the motor
they belong. A couple of 2x4 blocks held it up in the air so that it wasn't too
top heavy. Bruce Metcalf 04/19/01
The easiest way to find T.D.C. is like Carl said with a plug stop screwed into t
he plug hole, but the most accurate way to use it is different to the way descri
bed by Carl.
The easiest way to make a stop is to find one of the old type plugs which un
screw to take apart. A hexagon bolt of convenient size can be pushed down throu
gh the centre of the plug and the locking ring used to retain it.
Then having screwed the stop into the plug hole, set up a timing disc, using
a tapered mandrel entered into the timing end of the crankshaft. (Note you only
need remove the quill to do this) Then gently rotate the engine forward until
it is stopped by the plug stop. Note the setting on the timing disc. Then gent
ly rotate the engine backwards until it once again hits the stop. Again note the
setting on the timing disc. Having then removed the plug stop, T.D.C. is exact
ly half way between the two readings you have taken. It is not difficult to do
each cylinder in turn in this manner. You can then see if the theoretical setti
ngs for your 50 degree twin are accurate. I've always found them to be fairly a
ccurate.
This way of doing it is absolutely foolproof and 100% accurate. How you the
n time your ignition is entirely up to you, whether it be cigarette paper, light
, strobe etc. I personally favour using the information obtained to use a strob
e as I use electronic ignition and the exact moment of sparking is difficult to
ascertain using any other method. DJP 04/18/01
If you are not proposing to use your Vincent for speed events, then changing to
crank-pins without nuts is a waste of time and money. Certainly people like Joh
n Renwick and Roy Robertson use this type of pin, but they use their own constru
cted flywheels which are much wider than standard ones. This is possible becaus
e of the missing nut. However, very large interference fits have to be used and
special equipment is necessary to line them up. They also use cranks which are
cut away for about two thirds of the diameter. Fitting this type of pin to sta
ndard flywheels would result in a weaker set- up than the standard one with nuts

. It is however possible to use a larger crank-pin with nuts, which produces s

atisfactory results and was certainly widely used in racing before the advent of
the newer designs. If you only intend to use your Vincent for road work you wo
uld be better off with a properly balanced and lined up standard assembly. D.J.
P. 03/24/01
While I said that the amount of endplay before tightening the engine sprocket nu
t did not really matter, I think that 1/8" does seem excessive. The endfloat can
increase if a loose main bearing inner has worn away the bosses on the flywheel
. It is some times necessary to fit shims between the bearing inner and the fly
wheels to rectify this fault. I think that after tightening the engine sprocket
nut and ensuring there is no end play, you should check the position of the co
nrods in relation to the bores. They should be central and if they are not you
will need to shim the drive side bearing as described. I am assuming that the
drive side bearings have been correctly installed with the necessary circlips (E
T 125) and spacer (ET19). D.J.P. 03/24/01
I just finished a Suzuki clutch conversion a few months ago using the Overlander
kit. A few observations:
1. Be ready to spend a few nights in front of the lathe! Virtually all of the
finish dimensions had to be cut, both on the adapters and the Suz clutch. Took
more cutting to get it to fit inside the cover. Also neccesary to have a spare
mainshaft or something around with the correct splines to use as a mandrel, as e
verything depends on the splines for concentricity.
2. I am running it dry, so far. I started out using only 3 of the six springs,
but with slight slippage. I now am using all six but with about .060 shim wash
ers to lighten them up. Clutch pull is light.
3. It engages rather rapidly, within about 1/4 of the lever travel. Takes some
getting used to. I may try oil in there to see if it softens it up any, and ma
y change the lever ratio. Paul Zell 03/09/01
Suzuki clutches will only run for about 500 miles DRY. They MUST be wet. So thr
ow away all the oil seals, and drill a few holes above and below the clutch into
the primary. Trevor 03/09/01
Engine breathers: The only way that makes sense to me is a good PCV valve, the g
oal being negative pressure in the crank case. It is well known in the Hi Perf w
orld that positive pressure in the crank case is not helpful. Not finding anythi
ng in the auto industry that satisfies, I decided a reed valve would provide the
lightest, fastest action. Jap bikes have used them for years. Modified a four p
etal intake reed assembly from an old Yamaha single to fit a small cylindrical h
ousing. Also got to thinking about oil separation and went to a lot of trouble t
o build a system that would allow oil mist in the vent to condense and drain bac
k where it came from. A primary consideration was for the installation to be inc
onspicuous. Once installed it needed scientific testing. Contacted some friends
at Aerospace Engineering at the Uof M who provided a dynamic test system using a
piezo transducer, A/D interface, and laptop.This system samples 1000 times/sec.
To verify data we also set up a seven foot tall U-tube water manometer. Reading
s were taken at 1,2,3, and 4 thousand RPM. The stock breather made minus 9 inche
s @ 1000, minus 3" @2000, zero @3000, and plus 3" @ 4000. The reed valve gave mi
nus 18" @1000, minus 10" @2000, minus 19" @3000, and minus 19" @ 4000. Cannot ex
plain the jump at 2000 RPM but over all the results are impressive! During the t
ests it was apparent that the c/case evacuated very quickly to a relative negati
ve pressure, after which very little air moved through the system. This allows v
enting through small diameter hoses. 3/8" ID is enough. Sorry to say it but the
elephant trunk is hideous and really spoils the view. Road test was next. Severa
l runs at 75 to 100 MPH sustained and a couple of 50 to 100 mile rides proved th
e system. Total oil separation from the breather, no milky residue, just a few d
rops of clear water.
Engine is dry. Working to condense the system into a package that is easily hidd
en and will amaze your friends.

Steve Hamel 02/27/01

Engine Breather: Steve - Since you were sampling at 1 kHz you should have seen s
ome substantial varations in crankcase pressure. However you mention only (I a
ssume) average pressures. Please fill us in in the details of how crankcase pre
ssure varies with piston travel. What is the availability of raw data, tables
or charts? Doug Wood 02/27/01
Engine Breather: Pressure readings are averaged. Efficiency of valve affects rat
io of plus to minus. The better the seal on the up stroke, the fewer air molecul
es are left to be compressed on the down stroke. Interesting that at 1000 and 30
00RPM the dynamic graph shows almost entirely negative during both up and down s
troke. At 2000 and 4000 RPM the range is plus 12" on the down stroke to minus 32
" on the up stroke. Maybe a resonance in the reed. The raw data resides in Arge
ntina with the engineer who built the
transducer. I'll try to get it as the graphs are four color and the yellow just
won't copy or scan worth a darn.
Paul Zell, your gulp valve is an interesting device. I've had one apart and you
are right in that they are a bit stiff but effective as you have proven. A U-tub
e manometer is simple to make and use. 8 to 10 feet of clear 1/4 or 5/16" hose s
tuck to a board. Half full of water and you're set. Rig an old tappet cover with
a barb fitting and connect to one end of the tube. Fun to watch it react to dif
ferent systems and conditions. the tube and water damp the oscillations and give
a nice visual average indication of c/case pressures.
John C. it would be interesting to know if your system stays negative
all the way up the rev range.
Steve Hamel 02/27/01
Engine Breather: All I did was follow Irving's advice, except I went a bit furth
er in increasing the sectional area by drilling out the spindle and enlarging th
e fitting in the crankcase. Because of the increased chamfer and opening of the
breather slot, the duration of opening was necesarily increased somewhat. At i
dle a puddle of oil about 3/4" long would enter the clear breather hose; above i
dle it would draw back into the engine, indicating a slight negative pressure at
any speed above idle. No oil separator needed, no valve needed. I'm happy.
It's only fair to admit that I "read the directions" only after several years of
pursuing perfection through developing my own systems of PCV valves, oil separa
tors, etc. John Caraway 02/27/01
Colin Taylor of Lincs phone # 079800 90533 is selling Lightning Exhaust Pipes fo
r 195 pounds, either over and under or staggered at 45 deg.Whilst they look goo
d, the standard diameter at the port appears to be too long, this is critical to
their extractive effect. It should increase in diameter just past the exhaust p
ipe nut. dimensions if I remember correctly are in Tuning for Speed. You will f
ind that you will have to jet-up, and alter the slide cut away,as well buying ea
r defenders, I would also like to know if these have tested on a dynamometer.
Ken Tidswell 02/13/01
Engine Breather: The trick is to have it as the sole breather and quite large in
internal bore say 3 /4 " hose on to a right angle elbow in alloy, pointing upwa
rds at one o'clock. A large hose releasing thusly will vent in a slow, gentle p
uff too low a velocity to pick-up and carry out any oil. A small bore inside dia
meter hose will vent in much quicker velocity blasts which will carry out oil wi
th it. Sid 02/08/01
Engine Balance Factor: The reciprocating weight is the weight of the small end l
ying at rest on a scale, with the mainshaft and crank pin in a horizontal plane.
This is then added to the combines weights of the Piston : Rings : Gudgeon pin
and circlips. So given all that, here`s a simple way to check out the assy.
Select the balance figure you require (X) . Therefore X % of the total weight o
f the above is the figure to apply to the following experiment.
1. Place the assembled (minus piston) crank on a set of knife edges.
2. The assy. should then fall into a position that puts the crank pin directly a
bove the mainshaft.
3. If they do not, this means that the balance weights are out of kilter. So tha

t material will have to be removed until the aforementioned state is obtained.

4. Then add the weight of the balance factor ( X %) to the small end.
4. Then add the weight of the balance factor ( X % - the weight of the small
end) to the small end. (note: correction in next comment)
5. Roll crank along knife edges.
6. The crank should then stop in any position , no matter where the crank pin is
.
7. If the crank pin falls to the bottom or rises to the top , every time time it
settles , add some plasticine to the periphery of the wheel until it can stop a
nywhere. The weight of the plasticine gives you a good guide of the material eit
her to be removed or added. Derek Peters 02/07/01
Correction:
4. Then add the weight of the balance factor ( X % - the weight of the small end
) to the small end.
So imagine we want 35%
and the total weight of the end plus piston etc. is 2
1 ounces (example only), and the small end( reciprocating weight ) is 7 ounces,
the weight to be applied would have to be 35% of 21 ozs == 7.35 ....
Now
subtract the weight of the small end.
.35 ozs would be the weight required f
or the experiment. If we apply a 55% balance figure the weight would have to be
4.55 ozs. These are imaginary figures. And all for a static balance. Trevor
02/07/01
Opening up Ports: The rear head will open out easily to 32mm being careful not
to break into the lower spring well. Favor more removal elsewhere away from tha
t thin spot. Front heads will allow nearer to 1 3/8" and this size was favored
by Amals when I asked
them years ago, and was what We aimed for even with our 2" inlet valves in our B
ig Port Works heads. Too large a port will lose velocity, and the real restricti
on is the low lift anyway. Flow can be boosted by releaving around the back-sid
e of the inlets, involving the liner flange and head metal in that near area.
Sid Biberman 02/05/01
Sid's Hop-up Comments on the Cylinder and Piston Group: Each part must be bluep
rinted and each pair made equal in all important dimensions. Before the cylinder
liners are fitted to the muffs, ensure both muffs are the same height, top and
bottom parallel, and at right angles to the central bore. Prep the new oversize
liners so their outer faces and their freshly bored and honed inside walls are
both dead straight and parallel. The new outside liner faces offer nicely finis
hed surfaces for a .006" tight press fit in the cylinder muffs. The top recess
in both muffs should be prepared with the same precise eye. The liners should b
e properly inserted into the muffs and held secure until cooled. If any gap i
s allowed under the liner flange, the liner will later drop and spoil the lapped
joint. The oil feed to each rear piston thrust face must be correctly sited to
emerge below the lowest ring groove. If the oil feed emerges into the lowest ri
ng groove, it will detrimentally fill the groove with oil during engine running.
All of the above efforts have been directed at maximum rejection of heat and ma
intanance of good ring seal during severe use, all paramount in a racing motor w
here one expects any chance of winning. Of equal importance is the proper fitti
ng of the piston to bore and we would - even with modern silicone alloys - pref
er a skirt clearance in a Vincent on the order of 004" rather than risk some pi
cking up or outright seizure. My old Rattler ran its old Specialloids at no les
s than .0065" which had grown a full thou. after the first run at the lights.
These were 12.5:1 compression ratio.
Serious power needs high combustion chamber heat and tight crown / head interfac
e for any real squish effect. Prior to running the engine, check with clay the a
ctual seperation distances and all relationships between components. Check again
after the initial running and later again after the first race when youth and a
nger makes fools of us all. Repeated examination shows how clearances narrow as
the rods fling and valves float leaving telltail marks the wise tuner had best

keep up with, removing metal whereever evidence is left behind.

Vincents run long and full bore often show scuffing around the piston pin hole o
n both sides. The scuffs are signs of growth in width across that plane and shou
ld be eased by carefull removal of metal in the affected areas. Pay attention t
o any valve contact of the edges and surface of the cutaway relief in the piston
crown. Contact in this area may cause serious damage during high-rev valve flo
at periods, especially where bigger valves and higher lift cams are employed.
Heavier and broader inlet valves bring on float far easier and must be watched a
s springs weaken. Burnt and abused exhaust valves can show melting away at thei
r edges from operating at elevated temperatures.
Sid Biberman 02/01/01
Reducing the weight of your Flywheels: Imagine the completely assembled fly-whe
el /rods assembly sitting on bench in front of you, its mainshafts horozontal left to right - with both rods lying down sloping towards and resting on the ben
ch. To each side of the rods one faces the edges of the wheels. With a 6 inch
machinest ruler and a felt tip marker {fine point} you draw a mark across both
edges the width of those wheels. Remove 25 percent of each marked line, this to
be off the edges nearest the rods, ie. towards the center of the assembly. Tha
t clean portion of the edge of each wheel will remain untouched during the remov
al process being needed still as the surface from which all oil is still to be s
craped. The remainder of the marked surface, 75 percent of the original width
is to be turned off on an angle outwards towards the outer face of each wheel.
Examine the surface up the side and find a little drilled hole - must be a Works
original locating index / fixture point.
This is used as the stopping poi
nt for your cut, and duplicated on both sides. The weight of metal removed in t
his area does NOT affect the balance yet is a considerable decrease in mass/iner
tia allowing the assembly to be spun up far quicker consuming far less torque po
wer in the process. Elapsed time over the quarter mile will take a big cut and a
s a result the speed through the lights can be far higher. S.M. Biberman 02/01
/01
click for slightly larger image of Vincent FlywheelComment on Sid's Flywheel Mod
: On a twin flywheel , when one machines a chamfer as you describe. You will re
move more material from the balance weight side, so I think the balance factor w
ill be altered. On a Comet this does not happen, the wheel being parallel across
its diameter. Trevor Southwell 01/02/01
Dipsticks: There's 80 on your Vincent that will do the job, just cut a spoke to
the length you require. The length you require is only to be determined with th
e G2 cover off. With the layshaft gears in position, pop in the dipstick and mar
k to suit. Ensure you know where the oil level is to be . I have it so that the
largest gear is dipping into the oil at rest, by about 3/16 inch. That way you
will know that it is doing its job. Any old dipstick is not the way to go. There
are tooo many variables for there to be a standard dipstick, that's why they ar
e made adjustable. So adjust the one you already have. But if you really do need
another, you must have a broken spoke laying that you can make a new one from.
Trevor Southwell 02/01/01
Half-time Pinion/ ESA springs: The system Irving chose which allows for fine las
h adjustment between big idler and the cam gears and half time pinion is anoth
er cost-be-damned example of his design ethics. By placing the big idler spindle
in a movable base allowing it's center to be moved upwards and in an arc, it's
lash with the two cam pinions can be set to fine limits. The altered lash betwee
n the bottom driving pinion can then be catered to by providing a range of these
pinions having a difference in their manufacture of 9
choices, both in larger and smaller increments, by one thousands large or smalle
r gears. Thats 9 up and 9 down . This is an
expensive undertaking for the Maker to accept as his responsibility but of mass
ive assistance to the owner wanting high performance and a quieter timing chest.
Happily stateside Coventry Spares both stocks most of the alternate sizes and
assists the owner as best he can select the best pinion for his motor. Were you
aware that the Honda 4 cy. K bike of '69 through '77 offered only the single

std. size crankshaft bearing shells ? Scratch or score a crank journal and you
were out of luck. Order a new crankshaft ! Lots of displeased owners !
If our ESA assemblies are fitted and done-up carefully, even the B/C units funct
ion well and beautifully for many, many thousands of miles. Only recently have
we spotted the reason for broken springs in some examples, actually 2 reasons.
# 1: Many times the depth of each spring hole in PD3 /2 varies enough to cause
a coil-bound condition in a number of those pocketing holes. All must be checked
for drilled depth and the shorter ones drilled deeper. Also, it is wise to ins
pect the mating together for least free to and fro unchecked movement between th
e two cam elements, the PD 3/2 and the lobes on the drive sprocket . Each of t
he alternative mating positions is tried - pressed together firmly - and the out
er element turned in both directions seeking that choice where there is little o
r no outward thrust - uncontrolled by the spring pressure. Free movement or coa
sting will cause rapid cam wear and noise, roughness at town speeds and also bro
ken springs. The springs are to be each greased and popped into its mating dep
ression in PD 5 during assembly. Removable or Blue loctite allows later service
w/o severely damaging the hex on PD 7 and a good air driven impact wrench -1/2
in. drive and a solid socket is the way to insure both fully home assembly and
later removal with ease.
Assembled to these standards will insure no spring breakage and long, smooth, an
d slick functioning. The Series D pattern is
somewhat better with more springs, thicker outer plate and a locking eared washe
r, all of which is great yet the earlier faults
need be attended to for gr
eatest advantage.
A word of warning: The big impact wrench driven by 90 to100 PSI air in your tan
k delivers serious twist and can easily cause problems -as well as work miracles
! The ESA is carried on the drive side main shaft which is held tightly within
the flywheel by its interferance fit as well as a Mills pin, Irving's term fo
r a rather soft grooved sheer-pin as long used to secure the propeller blade to
its driving shaft on an outboard motor. Strike a rock and the pin is cut across
and through-saving the Prop but often having one paddle home. My warning -- when
using the tools described be very wary when turning on the nut PD 7.
Reduce the air flow approx. 50 percent, then lean into the wrench while listeni
ng /observing and being sharply aware that the nut spins up smoothly till it com
es to a gradual stop - ceases to rotate - indicating all pieces are bottomed ou
t against each other. Don't bang away at it any more ! Dead home solid is achi
eved, and no more torque is to be applied lest you spin the shaft in its wheel sheering that pin ! If a couple of drops of med. loctite has been spread roun
d the threads which were first made clean of oil, then All is Secure. Assembly
is greatly eased by sliding out towards you the splined sleeve PD4 allowing all
components to go home, especially disc PD5 must accept those splnes on PD4 . Si
d Biberman 01/17/01
If you have a mill it is relatively easy to check the bearing alignment of a set
of cases. Using the timing chest face as your datum, clamp the timing side hal
f down onto the mill table. Then having mounted a dial indicator in the mill sp
indle you need to clock both timing side bearing housing faces to centralise the
spindle and ensure that the two bearing housings are concentric and in line. Y
ou may have to pack up the timing case face to attain this situation if there is
any damage to the timing chest face. You then clamp the mill table and place t
he drive side crankcase half onto the lower case using the dowels to locate it.
You then clock both bearing housings in the top case half and ideally they shou
ld both be in line and concentic to the spindle. It is also just as important t
o traverse the dial indicator up and down the muff clamping faces to ensure that
your barrels are going to be square to the crank shaft. If everything is not t
rue to within about .0005" it would pay to consider having the bearing housings
rebored and bushed with aluminium bronze. Derek Peters 12/18/00

If you are not proposing to use your Vincent for speed events, then changing to
crank-pins without nuts is a waste of time and money. Certainly people like Joh
n Renwick and Roy Robertson use this type of pin, but they use their own constru
cted flywheels which are much wider than standard ones. This is possible becaus
e of the missing nut. However, very large interference fits have to be used and
special equipment is necessary to line them up. They also use cranks which are
cut away for about two thirds of the diameter. Fitting this type of pin to sta
ndard flywheels would result in a weaker set- up than the standard one with nuts
. It is however possible to use a larger crank-pin with nuts, which produces s
atisfactory results and was certainly widely used in racing before the advent of
the newer designs. If you only intend to use your Vincent for road work you wo
uld be better off with a properly balanced and lined up standard assembly. Dere
k Peters 12/18/00
Replacing parts: Like the surgeon's inciscion, there is a liability with each c
hange. A main bearing outer race, when removed always leaves a looser fit for th
e next bearing. A crankpin, once removed will soon require an OS pin and another
machining operation to bring it (hopefully) within tolerance.Valve seats remove
d for new seats seem to be more likely to drop their seats in the future. Do it
cause you really gotta do it. Sometimes its well enough left alone. Somer Hooke
r 12/05/00
Valve Guides: We make our own lower guides from a very hard and dense wrought b
ronze in modern usage called
Ampco 45 . Thus we can clean up the bore in a
heavily worn head and produce an oversize OD guide giving the exact fit desire
d. While at it we cut the groove for the Viton O ring for oil control down the s
tem , this positioned just below the
flange for greater strength during inse
rtion. We prefer this location rather than set into the bottom side of the lockring .
Alignment run-out often sees the threaded ring off to one side so that the fragi
le O ring is then off center to the stem. Many valves seen here both used and ne
w when checked are bent quite a bit, and even show poor quality manufacture in t
hat
there is visable runout of valve head to its stem, thus affecting the concentric
ity between seating area and it's stem, none of which is good for consistant sea
ling and performance. Poor service to valve and seat rings will result in blurr
ed and rounded seat/valve faces, which reduces efficient breathing and power.
We do a 3 angle treatment actually cutting with 3 seperate cutters set at 3 dif
ferent angles. The sharply defined edges between each giving a precisely defined
seat and width. The sharp edges contribute to much greater flow across the sea
ling surface when the mating face of the valve is treated in a similar fashion.
The greater the flow, the greater the volumetric efficiency.
None of the above is possible without proper piloting on double diameter pilots
riding in both top and bottom guides to assure
positioning of the cutters. We go even one step further by adding a third suppor
t. This a precision steel cap modeled on a inspection cap but carrying another
central boss in excess of one quarter inch thick bored to align with the other
two guides below. Each top guide is selectively positioned for free stem moveme
nt and then punch-marked to allow it to be assembled later where earlier it was
best located. All of this done to ensure consistant sealing at each valve as wel
l as contrubuting to high power and long life.
Sid Biberman 12/05/00
Rocker Arm Facing: Place a pad of abrasive on the collar, use double sided tape.
Assemble the rocker and fit locating screw. Rotate valve easing it up and down
at the same time, until you have ground down the ears on the rocker to an even
shape on both. You will find that the resultant curve on the faces is almost fla
t. So why the big curve on the face from new I do not know. They tend to dig in
to the collar and indent. Trevor 12/05/00
Con-Rods: The most efficient and least damaging method of removing chrome plati
ng is to have a competent Plater reverse the process. Afterwards you should heat
soak the rods in an oven for 4 hours at 350 to 375 degrees F. Re-polish along t

he flanks and around both eyes, especially where they blend in to the flanks .
I would suggest they be Magnifluxed, and finally shot-peened at a local Hot-Rod
engine builder, the eyes blanked off with steel discs to eliminate exposure to
their ID's . We often see tiny
cracks rediating outwards around the edges of the bigend eyes -- usually where a
caged roller bearing has been used . These tiny beginning cracks dont seem to
grow longer in further use, nor cause failure. Recently we have used several p
airs of Terry Prince's lovely con-rods and they appear superbly designed and ma
nufactured, and the most identical of all yet examined.
Sid Biberman 11/26/00
To get rid of Hydrogen embrittlement, soak the plated item in an oil bath which
is maintained at 177 degs. John 11/26/00
Distorted Con Rods: Turn your motor over with the heads off . This will show if
the piston "walks" to one side (left or right), easy to see by eye . Arthur Far
row 11/26/00
The weight of a freshly completedVincent engine is 199 lbs - Including the magn
eto and Miller generator as well as pair of carbs and inlet manifolds. Simply we
igh those items and subtract from the stated total . Sid Biberman 11/22/00
Wear on big-ends: These results seem to be based on experience in more modern ti
mes when caged roller bearings have been used and after much work has been carr
ied out over the years since our machines were made. Undoubtedly the treatment m
eted out to Vincents over the years have resulted in very false impressions bein
g gained in the aftermath of very poor maintenance. Back in 1951 Tony Rose carr
ied out the 100000 mile test of a standard Black Shadow and the wear on the big
-ends, when finally stripped, was extremely small. In fact the big-end outer ri
ngs wear was a maximum of .0004 inch and the crankpin roller tracks maximum wear
was.0003 inch while the rollers were so little worn that no comment was passed
on them. As far as the Works were concerned the big-end was just nicely run in.
The things to be noted about this are that the engine was standard and the oil
(Filtrate with Colloidal Graphite) was changed every 1000 miles. Due to owners
wanting to rev their machines the caged big end has now become the main one in
use. This does undoubtedly not have the life of the crowded roller big end use
d at low revs, but is much safer if you drive your machine fast. However, even
with this type of big end the advice of Phil Vincent given to Tony at the start
of his test stands good. He was quite happy the engine would do the 100000 mil
es without needing major replacement as long as the revs were kept down to 5000
and the oil was changed every 1000 miles. There are not many owners who can say
they have any experience of this kind of mileage, but one thing I would certain
ly not do is strip down a big-end at 30000 miles to fit new rollers to worn comp
onents. Only if you are prepared to hone out the big-end outer bush and grind t
he crank pin before fitting oversized rollers is this recommended engineering pr
actice. And if a big-end is sufficiently worn for this to be necessary then it
is time to fit a new bearing.
Can Aircraft Gas be used in Vincents: Some years ago John Bradshaw? wrote an ar
ticle in MPH re. Burnt Ex valves in his vintage aircraft - A Sea Fury powered by
a Bristol Centaurus, I believe. His information was that leaded fuel does infac
t burn more slowly and was still burning when the Ex valve started to open, so b
urnt valves. The advice he was given was to run this engine on 87 octain aviatio
n fuel. This he did and no more problems. This is confirmed by the fact that at
a French Rally held at La Fait Alais all the vintage aircraft bore the legend "
87 Octain only" on their engine cowlings. Wm. Clive Richards 11/22/00
I wondered a while back how in the world Mr. Higgins' fix for head warpage, whic
h involved shims under the nuts (as read) on the heads would help. Easy enough,
it occurred to me the other day, and was confirmed by the man himself today. T
he shims are between the head and muff, taking up the space normally left when d
oing the narrow face/broad face lapping in of the surfaces. Shims of a thou or
a thou and a half, held by both the head and the liner flange nipping down on th
em.
Glenn Bewley 11/22/00
At about 40,000 miles the rollers in your big end, if you`ve looked after it and

warmed it up before thrashing, will be half a thou under. The pin and eye shoul
d still be OK. But then it starts to go downhill faster. Sure you can make it g
o on longer, but the final wreckage is a lot greater, with having to replace eve
rything. So tear down after 40,000 and re-roller, and this gives you a good chan
ce to make sure all is OK elsewhere. Trevor Southwell 11/21/00
Valve Guide Installation:
1 Put head on fixture at the correct angle for the valve, using the four counte
rbored locating holes, as was originally used.
2 Clock in upper guide register.
3 Bore out for valve guide. And maybe reclaim the lockring thread if its buggere
d.
4 Heat up and fit new guide, and seats if you are doing these as well.
5 Replace on fixture, CHECK that the upper guide register in is the same place.
And I will tell you now, that it will NOT be.
6 Bore out the guide to its required size.
7 Machine the upper guide recess to ensure that the face is square to the guide.
If necessary you might have to oversize the upper guide if the the recess is ou
t of round.
8 Refit lockring, heat up and tighten.
Some comments.
Every time you heat up a head , and recheck it on the fixture . It never comes b
ack the same. It`s walking ALL the time. I consider that this is also happening
in use, especially the front cylinder being the frame. What with the honeycomb m
uffs and all that. I think that this is one of the reasons for the front push r
ods always (nearly) wanting adjustment. A big problem nowadays with heads is tha
t over the years they have been got at , by the go faster, I must make the holes
larger, rider. This person believes he can make the plot more efficient, when i
n fact he is destroying the original design. Valve guides no longer have the sup
porting material around the part where the guide sticks out into the port, so th
at when you place a guide in place, on cooling it will tilt away from where it s
hould be. SO NEVER try to use a guide that is a finished size. NO CHANCE.
I have found out that the face of the upper guide is not always true with guide
, especially front exhausts. Doing it this way could lead to the seats having t
o be miles out to keep in line. So I now ignore that face and machine it last, t
his way I now know where it is. My methods have evolved over the years, some 30
0 or more heads down the road.
PS. I have never found two heads the same. Exhaust ports as much as a quarter o
n an inch out of position, varying in depth by 3/16 " . However did you expect e
xhaust pipes to fit? Valve guides anywhere but in the correct position , at leas
t to the factory
drawing. The least said about rocker tunnels, the better.
Trevor Southwell 11/13/00
Tightening the rocker feed bolts. If you do this with all the valve gear in plac
e you can finger tighten the rocker feed bolts, and then roll over the engine so
that the bush is under load, that is pushing it against the underside of the ro
cker tunnel. then
when you tighten the feed bolt you are assured everything is where it should be.
Robert Watson 11/13/00
Erratic Compression: I have come across these symptoms when an ET35 collar is m
oving up and down on the valve stem and occasionall jamming in the up position.
To find out the only way would be to lift the head. However I think it is far
more likely that you have a valve sticking in it's guide and this is much easie
r to solve. Get some upper cylinder lubricant (e.g. Redex or Marvel Mystery Oi
l) in a pressure can and if you can start the engine squirt the mixture straight
in to the carb mouth while it's running. If you can't start it then squirt the
lubricant through the plug hole and carb whilst kicking the engine over manuall

y. Once you break up the gum which is jamming the valve all should be O.K. If
this solves your problem make a habit of including a small amount of upper cylin
der lubricant in your petrol to prevent a reoccurrence. Derek Peters
11/09/0
0
Erratic Compression: With pipes and carb. removed -- and with a length of rubb
er hose - each in turn listen with one end held at each exposed port . With spa
rkplug in place slowly listen - while the motor is slowly turned over. You WILL
hear the air rushing past the leaking valve at one or the other, ie. at inlet
manifold and then the exhaust port . My guess? One of two things,-- #1 A chun
k of soft carbon has been caught betwix one or the other valve and seat , or
--#2 One valve has suffered stem to guide scouring / picking -up{too tight c
learance }. Probably the exhaust , and at its lower portion . My suspicion
is # 1 . When the hiss is pinned down try to soften the clump of carbon by spr
aying through noisy port a hefty squirt of WD-40, several long bursts through
the port aiming at the seat area and trying to cover the entire seat- ring . L
et it sit and soak one hour . Now with that length of hose on your air pressu
re line and holding the hose into first the plug hole --blow short - repeated bl
asts while the motor is kicked over. Next blow through inlet manifold - hose
shoved in right against the valve back-side . While blasting air spin over the
motor then do the same deeply up the exhaust port - while spinning over the mo
tor . If I'm correct - there is a good chance the crud will be blown away .
Replace plug and kick over. With luck - and if I'm correct - compression wi
ll be restored . S.M. Biberman 11/09/00
I had a bad time sealing the rear intake push rod seal on the rapide (Mr Woolly
Mammoth) despite good braething and no crankcase pressure. I made alloy rings w
ith internal o-ring grooves and .000 fit and locktite. That did it. You must ma
ke each to fit as pushrod tube diameters are all over the country for OD. And wh
en you dismantle keep track of each, as you should do with the pushrods and adju
sters, as they have all "worn" in together.
Robert 11/09/00
Just a Quick fix for lower pushrod seal carefully dig out the old seal, degrease
well and fill with a bead of black RTV, ie Dow Corning 732 number 110311 Black,
if you do it carefuly it looks just like the real seal and it works. Roger Lo
rd 11/09/00
Timing your Vincent using Rod Bearing Inserts: When you are running a highly mod
ified motor (e.g. with nitro) , you don't exactly have an owners manual to time
in the motor. It will change throughout the day anyway. If your motor is too adv
anced, then the top part of the (rod) insert will begin to show more wear as it
is fighting the detonation or "spark knock". I actually learned this from Dave M
atson, who uses the same technique but only at the end of the year. Later when I
saw them pulling the inserts out of motors ,I realized what they were doing. If
the bearings are the same on both sides,your timing is spot on. If the bearing
is wearing on the bottom, its too far retarded.
Somer Hooker 11/05/00
Timing: As a nitro burner needs ignition advance ranging from 54 to 60 degrees b
efore TDC to acheve best results, a gas burner street motor needs 38 to 39 degr
ees and a Methanol motor less at 34 to 36 degrees to function at optimum .
Thus retarded timing on the (Dave Matson) Bonneviile bike is retarded at 48 to
52 degrees. Sid Biberman 11/05/00
Engine Gaskets:While attending the Arkansas National meet a few summers back, I
spied a lovely restored Black Shadow that had a very fine copper line separating
the primary cover from its attachment, and another on the timing chest. I met t
he restorer, a meticilous man named Dick Busby who also said, "Hell, I quit usin
g gaskets a long time ago. I use "Permatex Ultra Cooper."
Further research among my racing engine builder friends found some utilizing Hyl
omar, but the best seemed to like the very small tubed, and expensive anerobic L
octite...very, very sticky.
Consequently I bought the Loctite and among all
the leaks I have had on my Shadow, none have come from utilizing the silicone ba
sed materials....and I have purchased no gaskets since.
Locktite 518 is very sticky, tends to stay where applied, and merits considerati
on. Carl Hungness 11/03/00
After years of trying we finally sealed a friends DBD34 to oil-tightness by usin

g Gaskacinch, which is WONDERFUL gasket cement. And worth the price of admissio
n just for their really cute "mascot" or whatever, which is an illustration of a
young lady which looks as if it should come right off of the nose of a B24. Of
course, I am a huge fan of Hylomar as well, when there is no gasket, and copper
kote on copper gaskets.
Glenn Bewley 10/4/00
Location of Oil Holes on Cam Spindles: Oil holes in any situation should always
be on the non-load side (opposite the thrust forces). So point them at your main
bearings. If they were on the load side, the pressure would keep the hole shut
. So some to avoid this, make the hole into a slot. This in turn is a tool to w
ear away the bush. Trevor 9/29/00
Cam Spindle Oil Holes: I think the fact that the Vincent uses a low pressure oil
ing system makes the location unimportant. This is backed up by "Vincent-H.R.D.
motorcycles" published in the "Motor Cycling" Maintenance Series with help give
n by Vincent Engineers (Stevenage) Ltd. I quote "Camshafts are mounted similarl
y to the followers except that the two spindles are hollow and have oil holes, t
he disposition of which is unimportant".
There is no thrust against the oil hole in the cam spindle for it feeds the oil
between the two bushes at each end of the cam shaft. So I maintain that it does
n't matter one jot where the oil holes are located around the circumference.
Correction: I completely forgot the second oil hole under the inboard bush. St
ill with a good supply of oil into the centre of the shaft, I don't think it wou
ld cause great problems wherever the holes were located. However I'm inclined t
o agree with Sid that it would be better to keep them away from the top position
. DJ Peters 9/29/00
Lubrication: ... the shearing action of a gearbox is not good for multiple "w
eight" synthetics, which achieve their viscosity range by use of polymers (exten
ded molecular strings). BTW in this regard, for any engine, it is best to use a
multi-grade synthetic with
the narrowest possible range--that is, a 20W-40 is likely to be longer lasting t
han a 5W-40. There is also an extensive body of opinion about whether synthetic
s are the ticket for low pressure roller bearing engines (did someone say Britis
h bikes-do I hear Vincent?). I offer no opinion on that. I'm interested that Honda sel
ls asynthetic for its car trannies (MTF) -- and that it is very low viscosity as
well.
BTW I think the 90W designation for gear lube isn't to signify that level of vis
cosity, but to keep you from using it in your engine. Its viscosity is probably
more like 50W. In both cars asnd shaftdrive bikes the differential fluid recomm
ended is 90W mineral oil, and obviously its primary function there is to deal wi
th shearing and high load bearing forces without regular, or at least frequent,
changes.
As to the recommended viscosity for vintage Brit gearboxes--I think all that mat
ters is the quality of the gearbox seals. If you've got felt seals in a trannie
that's meant for a mix of grease and oil (if not grease alone), it would seem t
hat a lubricant with low viscosity like that recommended for Honda cars (my prev
ious message) will find its way out to decorate other parts of the machine--or t
o the clutch or primary chaincase.
I still believe as a general theory that it's more important to change oil frequ
ently than it is to use any particular viscosity or "brand" of oil, or oil from
a particular source, be it beans, minerals or the laboratory. I have a prejudic
e only against high sulphur content oils, because of corrosive damage I've obser
ved as a necessary effect of cooldown cycles.
john caraway 8/00
Gearbox-graded oils EP80/90etc, have better gear meshing breakdown resistance, s

o the molecules stay in grade longer, providing the correct lubrication for the
gears. 20/50 is thinner, and thus has more "fling", so lubricates more of the g
ears - but goes out of grade quicker due to the meshing of gears... I'd suspect
it's best to leave each in the environment it was designed
for!!!
Vincents:- Well, I use EP grades for the gearbox, varying dependant season, and
straight GP50 for the engine - Tigger Aldus 8/00
I believe the thread size for a (bottoming) die that will re-cut the threads in
my Vincent Series "C" Twin Head is 1 7/8" x 20 TPI, ...Whitworth..I think it
has a 55 thread degree angle..and I believe the American counterpart has a 60 de
gree angle, but I have also been told that the American die will work.
Carl
I was once in discussion with Big Phil on this business of the stripping of exha
ust threads and he made an interesting comment. He said that it was strange tha
t the exhaust nuts seemed to get a taper on them after some time and they were n
ot tapered when new, he said "why not heat the nuts and push them over a taper m
andrel and restore them back to
the proper un - tapered shape".
I have never had to resort to doing this but it does make a bit of sense when yo
u consider the heat the nuts are working in and the compression they are under a
nd the relative thin wall of the nuts.
I have an exhaust thread bottoming Tap, I bought the tap from a tool company in
Hackensack NJ phone 1-800-342-8665 called 'Tool Importers' should you find their
email address would you forward it to me - thanks
Andrew Rackstraw
The main experiment under test was the running of a crank-shaft balance factor
of 35 degrees rather than the 46 degrees commonly employed since Paul Richer
dson's book apparently led us up a fools path some 50 years ago !
I met Pau
l in 53 at the Works and dearly liked him -- but he simply got his figures w
rong ! Phil Irving clearly stated the correct balance figure in two of his boo
ks as being 35, not 46. Marty Dickerson long ago got the real skinny on th
is from the Master himself . In a real fury of anger Phil revealed that Paul ha
d blundered and got it wrong. At speeds up to 60 the bars feel as if they ar
e not bolted to the bike at all - but rather lying on your kitchen table! Fro
m 60 up to 90 there are NO vibration periods, only a mild feeling of being pa
rt of the motorcycle, this gently increasing as speed mounts. We were careful to
blue-print / equalize all recriprocating component weights and the flywheel r
un-out was held to about 1/2 thou. total, and pinned to prevent shifting .
Sid Biberman 8/06/00
I have had some experience with the kickstarter problems myself, as well as havi
ng researched the malady as I too nearly fractured a knee shortly after buying m
y bike. Yes, the G48 spring should be doubled, another spring simply wound into
the first one..You will gain a more positive engagement with two springs, and t
hey have been known to slip, thereby causing the kickstarter to slam the rider's
leg into the ground.
The sticking is yet another problem, and happens at the top of the kickstarter's
travel.. The quadrant starts to engage with the ratchet gear and actually winds
up "on end of a tooth" and will not go past the end of the tooth to allow the q
uadrant to engage the ratchet gear fully. It has been said to "file or eliminate
the first gear on the quadrant" to allow it to move freely into the ratchet gea
r, but my experience has shown me that this is really not a great fix.I did not
successfully file and remove the proper amounht of material to insure me of no s
ticking at all times.
Rather, I simply do not allow the kickstarter to go fully back to the top positi
on. I "set" the kickstarter at about one tooth below the top of the quadrant...i
t is a pretty simple operation actually. If you happen to allow the kickstarter

to go back to the top, rather than approximately one tooth down, simply pull in
the clutch lever, move the kickstarter down just a touch, and you will make sure
you are engaged into the quadrant. In other words, don't kick the bike with the
kickstarter absolutely at the top of the kickstarter's travel.
I have had the kickstarter and ratchet gears working so sweetly that it was poss
ible to allow the kickstarter to go all the way to the top, however, when it mig
ht stick that once in 50 times is enough to frustrate you, so I just "go one too
th down" and I never have sticking problems.
As noted when discussing this problem previously, having the kickstarter slip ca
n very easily mean a fractured knee. This is a real serious mechanical considera
tion on your Vincent, so if you have not renewed the G 48 spring in mention in
many years, it is (in my estimation) a MUST to do so, and please add that second
spring.
Carl Hungness 7/19/00
One way to extend the life of the exhaust lifter mechanism is to obtain a kill b
utton type magneto points cover, and a Miller grounding type horn button. Use o
f a kill button to stop one's motor will greatly extend the life of the exhaust
lifter mechanism. Also, according to Sid it is important to dial in enough slac
k and he recommends that the lever only begin to engage after you have pulled it
in half way. Matthew Biberman 7/18/00
Valve Lifter Mechanism: I do not subscribe to the notion that kicking the bike
without the compression release will strip the splines to your kickstarter..as n
oted, I have kicked my bike for about nine years now with no spline wear noticea
ble. (While speaking of spline wear, it is a GREAT idea to drill the kickstart s
pline and tap so you can run a bolt and washer up to the kickstarter itself..I u
sed to have trouble with the kickstarter working its way off the spline until I
performed this simple modification).
If I were your neighbor I'd take off the timing cover first thing...actually
just removing the cover won't do much good. You also have to remove the steady
plate and all of the attendant gears that go along with it.
If you have not
performed this operation previously (and lined up all the timing marks) be cauti
oned the Vincent has a "hunting tooth" and you may well turn the engine over sev
eral dozen times before everything lines up. If you need further instruction on
how to perform the operation, I'm sure there are many who will assist you (mysel
f included).
Adjusting the mechanism is no easy task either. I believe you are supposed t
o have about 0.015 clearance between the roller and the lifter, but getting in t
o measure it is a task for the journeyman. I managed to adjust mine with approxi
mately 3/8" slack before the mechanism started to move, and I had plenty of cabl
e left, and I was able to see the mechanism working perfectly, so I put it back
together and she now works a treat.
As far as having the mechanism leak, you will find numerous cures in the "40
Years On" book and I just completed one that utilizes a valve seal out of a Tri
umph. I had to make a new outer tube, but the effort was REALLY worth the troubl
e..so if you do tear the thing apart, NOW is the time to cure the leak..and it w
ill leak..and you will have an oily rear wheel.
John Healy from Coventry led me through the valve seal fix as did Rip Tragle
as well..I had it explained to me twice to make sure I knew what I was doing. Y
ou are playing with one of the real Vincent bugaboos here, in my estimation, and
it is one to be considered very seriously for I know what the knee damage can b
e.
At the same time I would almost Demand that your friend replace the G48 spri
ng with TWO G48 springs, interwound within one another. If he is on an old bike,
the G 48 is probably worn badly and the result will be a slipped kickstarter wh
ich can (easily) result in a fractured knee..fractured as in bloody. I thought I

had discovered a real fix by putting in two G 48's until I discoverd that some
of the journeyman mechanics such as Dick Busby have been doing so for years. It
will take only minutes to replace the springs. If he has never experienced a sli
pped kickstarter he is in for the most rude awakening of his life.
My best, Carl Hungness 7/18/00
Valve Lifter Mechanism:What Carl means is that the roller on the lifter has worn
into the face of the follower, what has happened here is that the set up was in
correctly carried out , such that the roller was in permanent contact with the f
ace or the follower. This is deduced by Carls statement that it wore in a few mi
les. The roller should never be in contact with the follower with the engine run
ning !!
It is preferable to replace the roller with a hard face , e.g. Stellite it. not
hing to drop off then. When setting up the lifters use a bush on the camshaft th
e same diameter as the base circle of the cam, so that you have an uninterrupted
view of what
you are doing. Take the pushrods out , and make sure the follower is sitting on
the bush. Then sit and adjust. When you think you have it right , put the pushro
ds in place adjust the tappets and try again.
Trevor 7/18/00
Engine Balance Factor:I was talking to a rider recently who had discovered durin
g a rebuild that his Shadow is balanced to a factor of 35%. My understanding is
that during production the line was generally balanced at a considerably higher
factor, about 46%. I must say that riding his Shadow proved the lower number t
o be quite smooth. I investigated by doing some homework with "Motorcycle Engin
eering" by the late, great Phil Irving. In it, discussing balance and torque re
actions, he states that 35% is a very good factor for "medium" V twins, those fa
lling between 45 and 90 degrees. By the way, this 35% is based on TOTAL recipro
cating weight, i.e. (as I interpret it, please correct me if I'm wrong), both pi
ston assemblies and the weight of both small ends. My question is what the gen
eral consensus has been amongst those of you who have investigated your machine'
s balance. What numbers have you found as "stock" and what numbers have you run
with what results.
Glenn Bewley 6/29/00
Glenn, I asked PEI about the 35% balance factor and HE said it may have a typo.
Marty Dickerson built numerous Vinnys @ 35% and, like you said, they were smooth
. Another one of those things that makes you say: Hmmm. Cheers, John Ulver
Cylinder Liners: .L.A. Sleeves offer well proven and well made liners in oversiz
e dimensions we have used with full success for many years . Coventry Spares ge
nerally carry fine quality liners in + .040" and +.060" at reasonable prices.
After removal and deep cleaning, the pair of finned cylinders are closely exami
ned and measured / compared. The purpose
being to Blue-print them to identical thickness top to bottom as well as being b
ored perfectly central and perpendicular to parallel top and bottom surfaces. T
heir inner bores are taken out enough to fully clean-up and provide a smooth d
ead straight and round surface. Unwise to bore any larger than necessary as it l
oses cylinder strength / rigidty .
The new liner is mounted on expanding mandrels and its outside diameter is reduc
ed dead true to its center and fully larger by .004" than the i.d. of that muf
f selected to mate with it . At the exact distance from its top where this li
ner shall emerge from the bottom of that muff, this sleeve is taken down to sui
t one or the other main case register mouth bores - to a fine finish and a snug
slide-in fit into the bolted together cases and marked to identify this mating
for correct assembly . The remaining liner and muff are likewise prepared and
mated .
The cool liners are fully entered into the heated alloy muffs and held hard-in u
ntil cooled off . The top recess and head spigot

already having been reformed to original dimensions . Later, after final double
grit lapping, we like to see an air gap of .003" between the two broad faces, th
is representing the differance in grain size . This will close up and come soli
d upon application of the correct torque loading figure, ie. 30 to 32 ft.lbs.
maximum . No more is needed and actually harmful .
Before final bore and hone procedure, the thrust face oil delivery holes are sit
ed carefully. These break through below the oil-ring grooves - at BDC - not in
to them. Finally, we prefer to fit a lower liner mouth girdle clamp to prevent
any bell -mouthing while boring and honing .
Good luck .
Sid Biberman
5/22/00
Camshafts: When Bob Guptil was playing go fast I bought Him a set of Emmericks'
cams as He was tight for $. So in 1977 the two of us head to Bonneville. Now, R
on Kemp had built this VERY sweet engine for Bob, but neither Parti or the rest
of us couldn't make Bob stay out of it, and little by little it would go slower
and slower. Anyhow, in '77 it ran 137mph with Mk.2's and on the next run with th
e Emmerick/Andrews' cams it ran 136mph. Virtually the same, Bob pulls the cams o
ut, hands them to me and says something like "You paid for them, they're no bett
er than stock, they're Yours"! No, I didn't hurt him. I needed the ride back hom
e.
I took the cams and tried them out, took them out ploted them on a spare engine
wrote it down somewhere, and they are still on the shelf. They ran OK, but the b
ike sounded like a Maytag washing machine to me. A couple of years later Harvey
Crane invited me into his Motor home at the SaltFlats to sell me some of his cam
s. "These got dips in them" says I. "Yeah, 'that's so the valve will slam shut"
says H.C.. I walked over to Dave Matson retold him the story and it turns out D
ave had given Crane some cams to regrind correctly because they had dips in them
and Dave wanted to Get them fixed!
A few years later in Wendover one night, we're sitting around telling each other
how smart we are when on of us who owned a well known cam shop let it out that
he and the guy he'd bought the business from had ground cams for years with the
Masters set up backwards! Moral, stick with Gary Robinson, or Phil Irving.
Cheers, John
Vincent Rods in order of Total weight----Big end weight-----small
end weight.
Vincent 1 607 grams-- 314---160
Vincent 2 594-------------333----208
Vincent 3 617--------------316----196
Early Carrillo

(A)

Late Carrillo (B)

462-----240-----146
569-----314----182.

Weight of big end bush

93 gram

small end bush

30 gram.

The Vincent rods were weighed complete with both bushes.

The Carrillo without big end bush and small end bush (A)
The Carrillo without big end bush but with bronzed in small end (B)
So you can see that the Carrillo`s are not heavier than a standard Vincent, in e
ither variety...and that Vincent rods have nothing in common. Another little th
ing in my book suggesting that there is no such thing as a standard Vincent.....
Trevor Southwell 4/04/00

Regarding the extra oil pump for the timing case , I use a similar Honda 50ss pu
mp but which is not driven by an added gear and the intallation is more compact
than the Herve Hamon system as described in Forty years on.
I fit the pump centralised on the large idler (for twin engine)---on the little
idler rear for Comet. In place of the std idler shaft holder I made a ??special
ET66 with two ball bearings side to side. A slotted spindle is tight fitted in
to the timing large gear which can drive the little oil pump placed on an enlarg
ed steady plate. Of course another ball bearing is needed
at the other end of the'drive shaft' at the back of the steady plate to have a c
orrect alignment of this idler gear+shaft assembly.
The oil is pumped at the bottom of the crankase into the recess with a copper tu
be and an anti return ball valve at the bottom end. The pump push the oil under
pressure into the timing cover through a n added rubber seal inserted in front o
f the higher steady plate stud after machined (an sometimes add some material)a
slot and a three mm hole in the timing cover...+special
drilled stud ,banjos,etc...
WHY THAT???Who has never heard of worn out cams+followers+bushes+spindles after
too short mileage?? Cams+folls are lubricated by the return oil from the heads..
...OK Cam spindle+bush via the 170 jet to convert the large oil flow from the
original pump to ......Pressure able? to lubricate the camshaft plain bearings.
This converted pressure is:00004 bar!..something like that! With this added pump
the cam bushes and shaft+cam followers and cam friction are lubricated as they
should be..under pressure. Several Twins and Comet in France are such assembled
and all is all right on this side now. After some checks at differents mileages
no signs of wear compared with the std at the same mileage.......Another repor
t in 50 000more
miles!
Francois Grosset
A Thrilling New Big-twin Rapide
Vincent-H.R.D. Design
Vincent H.R.D.s are concentrating upon one model - the famous "Rapide." As a r
esult of this policy and of their now magnificent production facilities, it is a
nticipated that the price of the 998 c.c. big-twin will show only a very small i
ncrease over the 145 of 1939, though in this country plus, of course, Purchase Ta
x. And this is in spite of the new and greatly improved specification. The whol
e conception is new, and the machine almost bristles with fresh features and "ri
ders points."
In size and even in weight the 998 c.c. Vincent-H.R.D. "Rapide" is a 500! Great
pains have been taken to ensure cleanliness in design and freedom from all oil l
eakage.
The aim in the new model is to provide a big-twin "thousand" which has outstandi
ng speed and acceleration and first-class road manners coupled with the weight,
the wheelbase and the ease of handling of a super five-hundred. It is when the e
ye roams from the combined engine and gearbox to the wheels that full realisatio
n begins to dawn that here is a cobby, extraordinarily compact machine which in
every direction, either than it's larger engine and its greater performance, is
a five-hundred.
With the new design the wheelbase is 3in. shorter than on the old Rapide. It ha
s been reduced to 56in. which is the same as on the old Vincent H.R.D. 500 c.c.
T.T. machines. The weight has also been reduced. It is anticipated that this w
ill be 400 to 405 lb. - again very much that of a five-hundred.
Engine Forms a "Tie"

As with every Vincent-H.R.D. that has been produced, there is pivot-action r

ear springing. The construction of the machine is, however, very different from
the past. At first glance it may appear to be on standard lines. Then it is n
oticed that there is no front down tube - indeed there are remarkably few tubes.
That robust, clean-looking engine-gear unit provides the link between the "bac
kbone" of the machine, the top member, and the rear chainstays. With the so-cal
led diamond frame the engine forms the tie between the front-down tube and the s
eat tube - does so automatically; in the new Rapide, by ingenious design, full u
se is made of the opportunity the 50-degree twin proffers. As with diamond-frame
machines the crankcase forms a tie, but this is a wide, extremely rigid enginecum-gear unit designed specially, while as for the link between the top frame me
mber and the bottom half of the unit, this comprised not the widely set cylinder
holding-down studs as such, but studs within these studs. In other words, there
are tubular studs for cylinder and cylinder-head holding -down purposes and, ru
nning down the axis of these are solid studs, approximately 3/8in diameter, to c
arry the frame loads. Each of the two types of stud has its own thread in the c
rankcase, and the two are thus independent of each other.
Construction of the top member is unusual, and as regards dimensions and str
ength, reminiscent of a lorry chassis. Running backwards from the forged steerin
g head lug, and riveted to it, is a six-pint oil tank which is a deep "fl???" in
construction. This is some 3 1/2 in. wide and has a mean height of about 5in.
Over this fits the 3 3/4 gallon stainless steel fuel tank, which narrows towards
the rear for riding comfort and is of semi-pistol grip type. The width at the
riders knees, incidentally, is approximately 11in. An interesting feature is th
at there is an air space between the oil and fuel tanks amounting to about 1 1/2
sq. in. on each side so that air can pass along the sides of the former tank, w
hich by its design has a very large surface area.
A special drawing revealing the detail construction of the new Rapide engine and
the manner in which the parts go together. The ingenious valve gear is worthy o
f particularly close examination.
As in the past, enclosed coil springs link the area of the top member with the s
eat stays. The pivoted chainstays follow standard Vincent-H.R.D. but, as on the
earlier layout, the Skefko taper-roller bearings are carried in the chain-stay
members. These bearings are of the same size and type as those for the front and
rear wheels. Friction dampers are incorporated at the bottom of the rear of th
e special Feridax Dualseat, which has the nose, rear and the front of the rear s
eat picked out in maroon to match the panels on the stainless steel tank. It is
a very special Dualseat with the tyre inflator running lengthwise in it and com
pletely hidden and a tooltray under the front portion. This tray pulls out like
a drawer and has a felt inlay to provide a rattleproof housing for each of the
tools. The question of the toolkit is being investigated; it is hoped to be abl
e to accommodate in addition a repair outfit, spare plugs and replacement lamp b
ulbs.
Oil-impregnated porous-bronze bushes and side-thrust washers are used in the new
front forks
The front forks are of link- or girder-type, but redesigned with the object of p
roviding forks which will operate efficiently over thousands of miles without at
tention, even lubrication. They have Nitralloy spindles working in porous bronze
, oil-impregnated bushes. Side-thrust washers at the top links are also of this
oil-retaining bronze. An anti-rattle mounting in the form of a compressed rubb
er bushing is provided for the knob of the steering damper, which can therefore
be left right "off" without any clatter occurring. Another improvement is a Bake
lite knob for adjusting the friction dampers incorporated in the bottom links.
So much for the frame and front forks. The wheels are: Front, WM 1-20 rim fitte
d with a 300-20 ribbed tyre; rear, WM 3-19, with a 3.50-19 studded tyre. The aim

has been to provide a front rim that is light for road-holding and a rear one w
hich is sturdy and fully equal to high-speed sidecar work.
While the foregoing is the standard specification, there is room for 4.50-18 tyr
es both front and rear. Vincent H.R.D.s want to fit stainless steel rims, but th
e difficulties are to get them and at what is construed a reasonable price. The
alternative is chromium-plated rims. A single security bolt is being fitted fron
t and rear and the wheels are being balanced on racing-car lines - by bolts and
lead washers.
Both wheels have their twin brakes - "Duo" brakes - one each side, and are
of the Vincent-H.R.D. really quick to detach type, which does not involve the us
e of tools. The hubs are now aluminium die-castings. The brakes, incidentally, a
re 7in. in diameter, with 7/8in. wide linings. A feature of the rear wheel assem
bly is that the final driving chain, thanks to the tommy arrangement for the rea
r wheel spindle and hand-operated stainless-steel chain adjusters, which are of
the self-locking "click" type, is also adjustable without the employment of tool
s.
The front forks are of link- or girder-type, but redesigned with the object of p
roviding forks which will operate efficiently over thousands of miles without at
tention, even lubrication. They have Nitralloy spindles working in porous bronze
, oil-impregnated bushes. Side-thrust washers at the top links are also of this
oil-retaining bronze. An anti-rattle mounting in the form of a compressed rubb
er bushing is provided for the knob of the steering damper, which can therefore
be left right "off" without any clatter occurring. Another improvement is a Bake
lite knob for adjusting the friction dampers incorporated in the bottom links.
So much for the frame and front forks. The wheels are: Front, WM 1-20 rim fit
ted with a 300-20 ribbed tyre; rear, WM 3-19, with a 3.50-19 studded tyre. The a
im has been to provide a front rim that is light for road-holding and a rear one
which is sturdy and fully equal to high-speed sidecar work.
How the oil tank and the drop-forged steering head form the backbone of the mach
ine
[oops*] using only one cylinder; a low-lift rear stand - approximately 2in lift,
with the rear mudguard hinged just behind the lifting handle at tyre level; a v
ery wide hinge is used to give the mudguard lateral rigidity. On the handlebars
are three levers - clutch, front brake and exhaust-valves lifter - a built-in ho
rn push that is an inch or more in diameter for ease of operation, and two twist
grips. One of these last, of course, controls the throttles of the two carburet
tors; the other, which has a powerful click-over spring action, operates the dip
-switch.
Considerable thought had been expended upon securing a riding position whic
h is truly adjustable. The footrests are mounted on long hangers with taper fixi
ngs at the top and a series of holes near the bottom, which, the shank of the ki
ck-starter pedal being inside the hanger and the exhaust system being of the low
-level type, means that the footrests can be set in any position that might conc
eivably be desired. The footrest on the kick-starter side - the kick-starter can
be fitted on either side - is provided with a folding pad and it is proposed to
fit a simple automatic arrangement whereby on the kickstarter pedal being depre
ssed the pad flies out of the way, to be pressed down again when the engine has
started.
Both the brake pedal and the foot gear change pedal are carried on the forgings
that form the footrest hangars, so the pedals remain in the same relative positi
on to the footrests. If a rider wishes to adopt a racing position he can use the
pillion footrests and reverse the gear and brake pedals on their mountings so t
hat they face to the rear and are under his toes. The pillion footrests are on p

lates that extend rearwards from the engine-gear unit. Thus they are fully sprun
g: they are also fully adjustable since there are three holes available and, in
addition, they can be swivelled. The kick-starter pedal, with its curved shank o
r arm, is unusual. It is designed to give first-class leverage, the start of the
effective stroke being at approximately the 10 o'clock position and the end at
roughly 8 o'clock. It is of the folding type, and it and the gear pedal will pro
bably be of stainless steel.
An adjustable spring blade forms the tensioner for the triplex primary chain. No
te the manner in which the 50-watt dynamo is driven.
Naturally the 998 c.c. engine - 84 x 90 mm. - is based on the highly successful
Rapide of the past. It has only a moderate compression ratio (6.8 to 1), and is
designed to provide high power with docility, long life and freedom from the nee
d of frequent decarbonisation. The output, it is stated, is over 45 b.h.p. at 5,
300 and the makers quote the speeds on petrol of 73 to 80 octane at 110 m.p.h. i
n top gear (3.6 to 1), 95 - 98 in third (4.3), 80 - 83 in second (5.6) and over
60 in bottom (9.6).
The engine is of the high-camshaft or "semi o.h.c." camshaft type with total enc
losure of the valve gear. There are also twin camshafts, one for each cylinder,
with a large idler pinion between the engine-shaft and camshaft pinions. An idle
r pinion is also employed to the (B.T.H. or Lucas) automatic advance-and-retard
magneto: this incorporates a rotary release valve to release the crankcase press
ure and ensure a clean engine. An aluminium outer steady plate is provided for t
he timing gear.
Rear Cylinder Offset
Both cylinders have their exhaust ports to the front, and the rear one is 1 1/4i
n. this permitting a direct air blast. The connecting rods are set side by side
on a 1 9/16in. diameter crankpin and are each mounted on 135 3mm. diameter, 5mm.
long uncaged rollers.
The mainshafts are 1in. in diameter, pressed into the flywheels and have on the
driving side one large roller bearing and one large ball bearing, and on the oth
er two roller bearings, one large and one small. The connecting rods are of nick
el-chrome steel of about 65 tons/sq. in. Heat-treated R.R.53 B light alloy is us
ed for the cylinder heads, which have shrunk-in valve seats, austenitic-iron inl
ets and aluminium-bronze exhausts. The finned cylinder jackets are also of light
alloy - silicon alloy for low expansion. The cylinder liners, which have a lip
at the top and are, therefore, definitely held apart from the shrunk fit, projec
t into the crankcase for approximately half their lengths.
A works drawing showing the arrangement of the main and big-end bearings.
"Silichrome" inlet valves and austenitic-steel exhaust valves are employed. The
ports of the latter are 1 7/16in. diameter, and of the former the diameter is 1
11/16in; the ports can be opened up very considerably if desired. Amal carburett
ors with vertical mixing chambers and 1 1/16in. bore are fitted.
Design of the valve gear, with it's total enclosure and not even a rocker shaft
hole through which oil can seep, is highly ingenious. As usual in Vincent-H.R.D.
engines, the valves have twin guides, but now, for reasons of neatness and beca
use at the r.p.m. involved there is little, if anything, to lose, the springs ar
e of the coil-type instead of hairpin. Tappet adjustment is effected by removing
the large die-cast hexagonal caps. By undoing the tapped adjuster the rider can
, if he desires, pull both the push-rod and the valve rocker out of the tappet-a
djuster hole. Stainless steel push-rod tubes are fitted. Incidentally, the oil f
eed to the rockers is taken from the return form the oil pump - rotary-cum-recip
rocating plunger type - to the oil tank, so that the oil is warm and flows readi

ly. All oil is pumped straight through a felt filter of over 50 sq. in. total ar
ea mounted in a housing cast in the crankcase and removable for cleaning by undo
ing one cap on the near side; draining the oil tank beforehand is not required.
Pistons are "Specialloid," each with two 1/16in. wide pressure rings and an 1/8i
n. scraper. The dynamo is of 50-watt output with the voltage-control unit mounte
d alongside. Plug covers are being standardised.
Drive from the engine to the gear box is by a 3/8in. pitch triplex chain, which
is provided with an adjustable spring-blade tensioner on the lower run. The gear
box, which is lubricated separately from the engine, is a Vincent-H.R.D. produc
t and of racing-type design, with alternate dogs cut back approximately 1/16in.
for ease of engagement. It is of constant-mesh type with a positive foot change.
Other points are: A 6in. ground clearance, a saddle height of approximately 28 1
/2in. with the rider seated, and a choice of 10 or 12 rear chain wheels, with 46
T. standard and others - the rear wheel will accept one each side and can be ch
anged round in the fork ends - available as extras to all who want them. The clu
tch? A new clutch of self-energising type, a clutch that has the advantage of ex
cellent heat-dissipation properties, has been designed.
Delivery of the Rapides should start about March, and may be earlier. At the pre
sent time probably 20 per cent. of the parts for the first 300 Rapides are ready
. In the case of some parts, where material is readily available, sufficient for
the first 500 have been made.
407
The MOTOR CYCLE
DECEMBER 6TH, 1945

Vincent Technical Sections: -Serial Numbers/Production- Photo Gallery of Models

- Brakes - Engine Overhaul - Vincent Engines - Wheels/Fenders - Instruments - Tr
ansmission - Clutch - Magneto - Tank/Seat - Suspension - Tools - Norvin - Electr
ics- Carburetors - Misc - Links -Vincent Parts/Services Suppliers - Polishing/Cl
eaning - Shipping Vincents-Electric Starter - Paint/Transfers

Overhauling the post war Vincent power unit - Service Data on this famous Thorou
ghbred
The Vincent motorcycle engine is designed to give long periods of service withou
t major attention, and whilst the handbook gives instructions for decarbonizing
it does not cover more extensive overhauls. The following notes are intended for
those who have the necessary mechanical aptitude to undertake the job themselve
s and familiarity with the general details of the engine thru study of the instr
uction book is assumed.
Fitting Crankshaft to Engine
Centering the crankshaft in the Vincent engine cases is an important part of the
reassembly process. The stack distance of ET92, ET77, ET91 determine the positi
on of the left flywheel and ultimately the position of the rods in their cylinde
rs. The position of the inner most roller bearings (ET92) is critical on both si
des. The clearance on ET92 is tight, but the rollers must fully engage their out
er races on both sides. There appears to be several thicknesses of ET77 used ove
r the years of Vincent engine assembly, most likely having to do with the roller

bearing thicknesses of the time. Shims are available to insert between the bear
ings and the flywheels to achieve rod centrality, however with a too thick ET77,
it would appear reducing the thickness will be required.
Cylinder Head and Barrel
The earlier type kit spanner for the push rod tube gland nuts was not always str
ong enough, but the prongs of the current pattern spanner will shift these nuts
even if they are very tight. If the stainless steel tubes are difficult to lower
in the synthetic rubber glands a smear of oil will help, and if the jaws of sui
table pliers are wrapped in a rag the tubes will not be marked. The cause for fr
equent need for adjustment on one tappet should be investigated; it may be that
undue loads are imposed on the valve operating mechanism by a coil bound valve s
pring or a valve stem collar hitting the lower valve guide. Rockers which have m
ore than .010" sideplay in the bearing should be shimmed up as otherwise the ins
ide of the fork will foul the valve stem (fig 2 ). Both fork ends should bear ev
enly on the stem collar, and if necessary the higher fork end can be carefully s
toned down. Clearance of the bearing in the head is up to .002" when new, but as
the bearing is surrounded by oil slightly greater play is not detrimental. Bear
ings are now available in .002" oversize, but fitting may require skimming the t
unnel; usually a new standard size bearing restores the clearance to normal. A w
orn rocker bearing is unlikely to fail suddenly and renewal is mainly advisable
on account of mechanical silence. Metering wires are recommended for all rocker
feed bolts, but the bearing lubrication can be increased by fitting a thinner wi
re than standard.
Valve Clearance
Clearance of the valves in the lower guides is important; .002-.003" is recommen
ded for inlet and .003-.004" for exhaust. Normally renewal is recommended when w
ear exceeds .003", depending upon operating conditions. For removal of the lockr
ings the tool shown in figure 3 is used and when dealing with the actual guide t
he head is heated up to 200 deg C. Valve springs are renewed when they have sett
led down to 2 1/16". Seat rings seldom require replacement, but they cannot be r
emoved by heat; worn rings are carefully broken up by drilling or turned out in
a lathe.Grinding stones dressed to 30 deg are used recutting.
Piston Clearances
When new, piston clearances are as shown in Fig. 4, but while no hard and fast r
ules are laid down as to relinering and reboring, it is frequently accepted that
wear in the top of the liner must not exceed .008in., but earlier attention is
necessary if a liner is badly scored or worn oval. Oversize pistons are availab
le, but it is much better to fit Service Exchange barrels which are relinered to
standard. The same applies when high-compression pistons arre installed for us
ing premier grade fuels. Piston ring gap is .016in-.020in. compression and .010
in-.020in scraper and, whilst a larger gap does not matter, rings eventually los
e their strength, so that renewal is usually advisable. The gudgeon pin must be
an easy push fit in the piston when cold and new pistons must be installed the r
ight way around, i.e., with the larger cutaway facing the inlet valve. When fit
ting genuine replacement high compression pistons it is not necessary to rebalan
ce the engine. Clearances are comparatively low and progressive running in for
at least 2,000 miles is essential.
Timing Gear, Primary Drive
The plunger of the lubrication system presure relief valve must be an easy slidi
ng fit in the timing cover, otherwise it may stick in the open position. This r
educes the flow of oil to the big end and premature failure will eventually foll
ow. If oil restrictor discs are used to reduce the lubrication of the cylinder
wall these discs are fitted behind the rear rubber washer of each pair inside th
e timing cover. All timing gears are fully marked, but when dismantling note the
position of various thrust washers (Fig. 5). The idler gear is mounted on an a
djustable boss for resetting to zero backlash against each cam pinion, and overs
ize half-time pinions in steps of .002in are available for use when idler gear a

djustment gives too much clearance on the half-time pinion. Cam followers always
show signs of wear in service, and if the grooves worn across the component are
not more than 1/8in wide the follower can be refaced on an oilstone. Badly wor
n followers can be built up and reground locally, but renewal is probrably easie
r. A small ridge on a cam indicates that the follower is not tracking correctly
. The ridge can be stoned off and the follower is lined up by adjusting the thi
ckness of the thrust washers.
Replacement camshafts are normally only supplied complete with pinion; the asse
mbly is not keyed and pressing out the old camshaft may affect the required inte
rference fit. In any case a jig is required to obtain the correct relation of t
he cam relative to the markings on the pinion. Timing gear spindles are inserte
d after the case has been heated up to 200 deg. C., and if a spindle is found to
be loose it can often be plated up to the required oversize and refitted after
the case has been heated locally with a blow lamp. A big end roller is peened i
nto each exhaust lifter and this roller may come adrift if the exhaust lifter ha
s been used at too high r.p.m. It can be repeened into position if the lifter a
rm has not worn, otherwise a new arm is required.
Primary Chain
The primary chain requires renewal when stretched more than 1/4in. per foot, and
usually this is indicated by all external adjustment having been taken up. As
fracture of the chain may cause irreparable damage to the drive-side crankcase i
t is a wise precaution to renew every 20,000 miles on account of the great power
output of the 1,000 c.c. engine. The component is endless and removed together
with the sprockets (Fig 6). Spare parts for the triplex chain are not supplied
. The tensioner blade always shows grooves, but replacement is called for when
these grooves have worn half-way through the component. A cracked blade must be
renewed without delay. The chain features straight links for use with a tension
er and only genuine replacements may be fitted.
The shock absorber nut has a right-hand thread and must be dead tight. Consider
able leverage is neccessry if the tool kit socket spanner is used for removal or
tightening, and it is permissable to lock the primary drive with a wooden or so
ft metal sprag. A loose nut affects the location of the flywheel assembly and c
auses spring fracture; springs will also break when the shock absorber cam is ba
dly worn. It is advisable to renew the complete cluster of springs and reassemb
ling the shock absorber is greatly facilitated by partly withdrawing the splined
cam sleeve rather than trying to compress the spring cluster by hand!
Crankcase and Flywheel Assembly
On the twins the crankcase halves are retained by sixteen bolts and studs and th
ere are three hollow dowels for alignment. Jointing compound is used on the fac
es. Splitting the halves to remove the flywheel assembly necessitates withdrawa
l of the half-time pinion with the extractor illustrated, but the remainder of t
he timing gear, magneto, oil pump and filter can be left in position if desired.
The matched cases are made from a low-silicon alloy which can be welded provid
ed care is taken to avoid distortion.
Bearing races are fitted after the case has been warmed to 200 deg. C., preferab
ly in an oven, and the crankcase metal is then staked as shown in Fig.7. Races
which are loose in their bores, but otherwise in good condition, can be plated u
p to the required oversize provided no plating solution comes in contact with th
e bearing track. The required interference fit is .002in.; if more the race wil
l contract to such an extent that the runnung clearance is reduced. An interfer
ence fit of .001in for the spindles in the timimg side case is sufficient. Spin
dle bores which have been worn out of round due to loose spindles as mentioned a
bove can be bored oversize to take stepped spindles which will have to be made u
p. Oil leaks past crankcase bolts are avoided by fitting with some jointing com
pound, and this also applies to the cylinder holding down bolts. Sometimes the
rear bolts break through into the cylinder feed gallery from which oil under pre
ssure may work past the threads. Make sure that these bolts do not pass oil by

fitting with some jointing compound without blocking the cylinder feed. Poorly
fitted holding-down bolts cause oil to accumulate in the tunnels of the alloy cy
linder jacket which eventually shows up as a leak from the front of the barrel b
elow the head joint.
Big End Renewal
Big end renewal is not necessary before up-and-down play exceeds .003in, and cra
nkpin wear by the seperators is not detrimental provided the roller tracks are i
n good condition. Inspecting or renewing the big end is, however, a works or sp
ecialists's job, and the component parts are not supplied loose. Oversize rolle
rs are not available and the conrod sleeves are ground after pressing into the r
od. The works supply a completely assembled big end fitted to reconditioned ser
vice rods. Clearance of the gudgeon pin in the small end bush is .001in., and t
he fitting of a new bush is not beyond the scope of the private owner provided h
e remembers to drill the oil holes and possesses a 7/8in. reamer. Side clearanc
e of a big end, felt at the small end bush, is not detrimental.
The flywheel assembly is located from the drive side without being affected by t
he shock absorber springs; no percepable end float is permissable, and .010in. s
hims are sometimes used on the drive side of a Black Shadow to obtain perfect ce
ntrality of the small end bushes in the cylinder registers. Inner bearing races
which are a slack fit on the mainshafts will turn and wear the flywheel boss aw
ay. If this has happened the worn boss can be turned off and substituted by a h
ardened shim.
Owing to their generous dimensions main bearing wear is very low; renewal is nec
essary when up-and-own play exceeds .0015in. or when a bearing feels rough if sp
un by hand. It is surprising how a little roughness in one main bearing may ren
der an engine noisy. When reassembling note that each roller race is refitted t
o its own outer ring.
Lubrication System and Clutch
The condition of the teeth on the oilpump plunger can be observed without disman
tling the pump; excessive wear on these teeth indicates that the pump has beeb o
verloaded, possibly due to an obstruction oin one of the oilways. If the plunge
r requires renewal the oilpump sleeve must be replaced as well, as these matched
components are supplied only in pairs. Use a ring spanner to unscrew the oilpu
mp cap and a stout screwdriver to remove the locating screw, which is normally p
unchlocked. The plunger is tapped 1/4in B.S.F. for withdrawal and the top end o
f the pump sleeve 5/16in. B.S.F.; to extract the latter part a crankcase bolt ca
n be used, but it is necessary to dismantle the driveworm first. Earlier oilpum
p worms were made from bronze, and if these are worn it is better to fit the cur
rent steel pattern. Wear on the actual pump is usually very low, and provided t
he drive parts are in good condition it is rarely necessary to withdraw the slee
ve. When reassembling use jointing compound on the cap as well as on the locati
ng screw, as air leaks here reduce the scavenge capacity. With banjo washers in
good condition there is no need to tighten the light alloy banjo bolts to the p
oint of fracture.
The fitting of a new oil filter element is advisable and all external pipes must
be clear with the rubber hose in good condition. If the earlier type inspectio
n-cap spanner does not fit the filter chamber cap the outer periphery of the too
l can be ground down without detriment to allow for slight variations in crankca
se castings. Damage to the taper of the chain oiler calls for replacement of th
e screw, which is a standard Amal carburetter component. Swilling the oiltank w
ith degreasing fluid will release sludge from the trap at the rear, and as the s
top valve gauze is surrounded by a shroud this job cannot be done with the tank
in position. The big-end quill must be scrupulously cleaned; signs of slight ru
bbing of the quill in the timing side mainshaft do not matter provided the quill
is not weakened.

Clutch Lifting Mechanism

Normally, only slight wear takes place in the clutch lifting mechanism, and the
standard length of the pushrod is 12 5/16in. If worn prematurely the rod can be
divided, hardened where cut, and refitted with a 1/4in. dia steel ball in the mi
ddle. When cutting the rod make due allowance for any wear which has already ta
ken place, as well as for the diameter of the ball. A worn lever can be built u
p with the Stellite or similiar process if no replacement is available. Clutch
linings must be free from oil and the seals in good condition. Duron moulded lin
ings which are groved (see Fig.8) may powder to some extent. They may be washed
in clean petrol, roughed up and the grooves scraped out. A new bonded carrier
seal is always necessary and if not readily available a hard copper washer of th
e same thickness and o.d. makes a good substitute. The leading clutch shoe-lini
ng edges must be well chamfered to avoid fierceness in operation and steel plate
s which show signs of distortion should be refaced on a surface plate. Clutch sh
oes which are badly worn on the pivot holes cause judder rather reminiscent of a
chain jumping a sprocket in bottom gear. If rebushing is not possible the shoe
must be renewed.
Gearbox and 500c.c Models: Final Instructions
It is rarely necessary to dismantle the gearbox to cure jumping out of gear; tro
uble of the nature can nearly always be rectified by careful adjustment of the s
elector mechanism, the fitting of the later type pawl carrier centralizer, one-p
iece footchange lever or new selector pawl spring. The box must be dismantled,
however, to split the crankcase, although new oilseals can be fitted without dis
turbing the internals. Both seals are identical, of the spring-loaded synthetic
rubber pattern and fitted with the spring and the lip facing inwards. Access t
o the gearbox is gained by removal of the clutch, primary drive, dynamo and kick
start cover. This exposes on the left-hand side the gearbox cover plate (Fig. 9
) and on the right-hand side the kickstarter ratchet parts are pulled off the sh
aft after removal of the Seeger circlip. After unscrewing the eight retaining s
etscreews (locked by tab washers) the cover plate is released by a tap with a co
pper mallet on the right-hand end of the clutch shaft. The plate is then withdr
awn complete with shaft and constant mesh pinion and this exposed the other gear
s which are still retained by teh camplate spindle. A large screwdriver is need
edto unscrew this part (usually punchlocked) from the top of the driveside crank
case and it is tapped 1/4in. B.S.W. to facilitate final withdrawal. The gearbox
internals can now be taken out with the exception of the final drive shaft; the
third gear pinion can be examined in situ.
Rounding of the dog clutch teeth does not matter so long as the gear changing is
not affected, but gears with badly pitted or chipped teeth must be replaced. S
ide clearance of the selector forks should not exceed.010in. and selector pins s
hould be renewed or turned in the forks when they have worn flats more than .005
in. deep. A camplate must be renewed when clearance between the slots and selec
tor pins exceeds .020in., backlash on the bevels can be taken up by shimming.
For reassembly the gear cluster is put together on the bench with the double gea
r to the right and the large pinion away from the operator. On the layshaft the
order of assembly by the number of teeth on each of the four gears is 29, 23, 1
8, and 27, the two middle gears being embraced by the grooved selector fork. The
camplate is placed on the selector forks with the bottom gear notch in line wit
h the selector bar and nearest to the assembler and the cluster entered into the
gearbox shell. Check the indicator lever is back in bottom gear position befor
e the camplate is fully pushed inwards, refit the camplate spindle and complete
the reassembly of the box in the reversed order of dismantling.
With the exception of the gearbox, practically all the foregoing is equally appl
icable to the 500c.c. machine. The idler gear drives the dynamo on which the pi
nion is tapped for withdrawal with the extractor shown in Fig. 10. Note that on
500c.c. models the slot in the breather spindle does not face forwards, but dow
nwards. The single-row primary chain has a spring link, but the shock absorber
is identical to the one used on 1,000c.c. models; there is, however, a spacer b

ehind the sprocket.

return to thevincent.com