Stroppy Old Tart, or the story of a Triumph Bonneville

[Hooli]

Yeah the manual says stick it in place with grease but as soon as you wiggle the gears to engage the next one it moves. Great fun* especially when you get it all in and realise you missed a locating pin for a washer at the back of the layshaft so the final fork doesn't line up.

[Hooli]

Right, a small bit of progress today. It doesn't look like much but I indexed the box about four times before I added the gasket & sealant. It's something I've got wrong in the past & couldn't recall how I'd done it finally, so I tried it several times to make sure I was happy I was doing it right before the final time. Plus of course opening up one of the stud holes in the gasket slightly as it was about 1/16" out so the gasket didn't sit level.

Ignoring the manual as the way it suggests hasn't worked for me in the past & doesn't seem to work for anyone else online, I indexed it in 1st. Basically, you put the box in 1st gear & then as you slide the inner cover on you lift the quadrant (the oblong dark bit with slots on to the front of the box) just so it engages one tooth above touching the bottom of the box. It engages with the cog on the back of the selector plate you saw yesterday. I then run it though the gears to confirm they felt ok & selected, before leaving it in 5th as per the pic.

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I fitted the kickstart ratchet to the end of the main shaft.

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Next I turned the engine around, got the front sprocket fully tightened. it screws to the 5th gear cluster so I had to jam the sprocket against the engine casing with a screwdriver to hold it all tight. That nut has a tab washer, it got threadlocked too. Finally, the oil seal that fits inside the 5th gear cluster was pushed in. That's to seal it against the input shaft, as in any other gear except 5th they go at different speeds.

If you're wondering why the hole has all those slots cut in it, that was something I had to do ages ago to fit a 21 tooth front sprocket. The only time you can fit a sprocket over 20 teeth without doing that is when the crankcases are split apart. As this bike runs a smaller than standard rear wheel, it needed a larger front sprocket as well as a smaller rear to get the gearing right again.

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Finally, I fitted the oil seal to the plate that covers the sprocket & installed that. Again the gasket got a smear of sealant & threadlock on the screws. Now it's ready to fit the primary drive next time I do anything on it.

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Oh, I could have fitted the kickstart spring & gearbox outer cover. But I leave it off till the engine is in the frame, the same as I'll leave the primary drive cover off. Because doing that gives you some nice lips to told it by, rather than trying to pick it up on smooth casings.

[Vile hatred]

My old 650 pre unit chopper



In front is my Hinckley Triumph 1200

[Hooli]

I've done a bit more tonight, less than planned but a slight* issue annoyed me so I wasn't in the mood to continue.

First off, I found the rest of the broken woodruff key. It was still in the shaft & jammed in with a tiny bit of broken metal, I got that out ok and then fitted the primary drive. This all has to go on as one as you can't fit the chain afterwards. Not forgetting the gear shift shaft that's in front of the clutch basket as it fits around it & won't go in afterwards either.

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Then the seven plate clutch went in, standard is six plate but these are slightly lighter to use & it had a damn heavy lever years ago so I fitted this previously.

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Then because I'm stupid I forgot to fit the primary chain tensioner & fitted the stator & rotor instead. The tensioner fits to the 'split' shaft you can see below & slightly behind the crank sprocket in earlier pics. So I'll have to take the stator out again to fit the tensioner.

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I would have sorted that and then fitted the pistons & barrels but as I tightened up the stator nuts my fake workmate did this, hence the last pic was on the floor. The engine didn't fall, but I obviously can't trust this now and I kind of lost interest at this point.

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[cros]

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I had 10 years reliable service out of my Tiger, took me all over Europe lots. Biggest criticism is guides were always shagged after 20'000 but never had to touch anything else including Rita. Originally a Nigerian police bike, hence tank cover. Bike cost very cheap in 1990.

[Hooli]

If this one behaves once built I'm very tempted to take it abroad at some point. She's already been around Ireland once.

[Hooli]

2BA helicoil* kit turned up today, so I've got 25 chances to fix the single dodgy thread. I should manage it as these kits are pretty easy to use & I've not failed with one yet.


*own brand by Chronos, looks good for £22ish.

[Eddie Honda]

2BA, the thread of champions

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[Hooli]

Is that you on the telly?

[Eddie Honda]

Aye. The most common use of a 2BA thread these days I would reckon to be on darts barrels.