It's starting to look like it's getting there now, just need to save some money & then get the exhaust system made now that the engine is in it's final resting position, i.e. aligned with the rear wheel, gearbox & primary drive.
The charging system arrived yesterday so I got that fitted today. The kit comes with the stator, the rotor, the regulator/rectifier & shim kit. The large diameter washer that fits between the rotor & engine drive pulley was too thick to give me the correct pulley/clutch drum alignment so I'll make a suitable sized washer from a piece of stainless steel. Hopefully that will give me perfect alignment for the primary bely drive. The bike is booked in for the beginning of next month to have the exhaust pipes made & apart from the painting, that will be the last big job. All that I'll need then to get it running is the magneto, which have gone up considerably since I last bought one !!
Got a call to say the bike is ready for collection after having the exhaust made. Another job ticked off the list !!
Sorry for the late reply, I've been a bit busy lately ! The exhaust was made by OJZ Engineering. If you want to see him at work he has a YouTube channel, "Lancethegass". He, Lance, made the exhaust for the first bike I built & his work is excellent so I had no qualms about getting him to do the exhaust for this build too.
No worries... I was in no need of an immediate answer. I'm presently refurbishing the V-Raptor and am keeping me eye open for exhaust fabricators for future reference. So Lance has been duly noted.
The build has been a bit neglected lately, mainly due to trying to finish our bedroom & ensuite !! Anyway, I bought a selection of parts from Venhill to make my own throttle cable. There aren't "off the shelf" items available as on this build I've got a mixture of American engine/carb & a British made, metric throttle housing ! These are the bits I started out with. And after some messing about, cutting, re-cutting, swearing, etc I got a throttle cable fitted between the carb & twist grip. I would have preferred the 90 degree bend to have an adjuster built into it, but I couldn't find a suitable part on the Venhill site. At least now that I have made a cable that will do the job, I might make another when I come to do the final build if I need any slight tweaks making. I'll also make a spare cable in case I need one in the future.
The machine shop rang yesterday to say my bits will be ready tomorrow, so I picked the clutch cover up today cos I couldn't wait !! Engine pulley cover & steering damper arm will be ready in the morning
Picked the other two bits up this afternoon, the steering damper arm & primary pulley cover. They'll get anodised when I strip the bike for the final rebuild.
My magneto arrived from the States last week while I was away, so now that I'm home again I had a bit of a look at fitting it, albeit temporarily for the time being. It comes in two "halves", a base & a head. The base goes in first, simply sliding into the existing distributor hole in the crankcase & secured with two caphead screws, with Loctite obviously !! You then set the engine to TDC for the front cylinder, position the cam/points so they are just opening & drop the head into place. Final timing adjustment is then done, I used Morris's specific timing tool, which makes like very easy indeed. It just buzzes & the corresponding LED lights up when perfectly set, no false readings like you can get with a multimeter. New points also helps too. Below is the G5 head in place, note the lack of a "conventional" condenser, replaced with a solid state version !! Timing is then finessed with the Timing Tool, simples !! View attachment 337199
Why is it when you buy bits for a job in advance, when you come to use them you can never find them ?! Anyway, found the 90 degree connectors for my HT leads today while looking for something else so got that little job crossed off the list !
A bit more progress made this past week. Got the top engine mount tacked up ready for final welding, but I'll leave the final welding until the bike is built up for the final time, after painting, as I know things have a habbit of moving slightly during re-assembly !! Also, I finally decided not to mount the MoGadget until & fuses between the tanks, but stick with the "under the seat" option. It makes the wiring a bit more fiddley & means the fuse mounting plate will need to be lifted out of the way if/when battery removal is required, but I can live with that. I also made a mounting bracket for the MoGadget unit, which I can just get in beside the battery. Once I'd drilled the two mounting holes in the side of the battery box, using the actual bracket to pilot the holes, I fitted two more inserts so mounting the assembly is a lot easier & I'm not struggling to get washers & loose nuts started on the two screws !
Would I be correct in thinking magnetos give a much stronger fatter spark (they use them on drag cars) and on summat like a Harley the points are never going to be troubled by revs.
The main thing about magnetos is that they're self powered. Always (I think) used on aircraft engines and mostly doubled up. Not sure about the quality/fatness/fitness of spark
I believe the reason for using a magneto on drag cars/bikes & the like, was that they didn't need a power source & were simple & reliable unlike early electronic systems. Whether that is still the case I'm not sure, I'm guessing there will be people who swear by them & others that lean towards "modern" ignition systems. Morris, the makers of my units, make basically two versions for Harley's & derivative engines like my S&S engines. The "basic" version, which you have to physically turn to retard the timing to start your engine then turn it to advance the timing once running. The other version they do, the G5's, which is what I have used on both my builds, has a "wind up" mechanism & auto-advance. The "wind up" mechanism is really intended for kick-start engines & as you kick the engine over to start it, it winds up a spring which releases just as the spark is required & produces a big, fat juicy spark to aid starting.
Aha... I've managed to find the little online article I read re the use of (two) magnetos on drag cars: "The air fuel ratio in nitro cars is less than 1.7:1. The mixture is nearly solid liquid by the time the piston is at TDC of the compression stroke. Without that level of ignition, you run a high risk of hydraulic conditions in a cylinder. We count on the ignition to begin the combustion process so the piston can pass TDC without becoming stuck in a hydraulic state. The magnetos are both 44 amps, much like the power of an arc welder. It’s takes that much power to burn that much fuel. The ground straps on the spark plugs are often burned to nubs at the end of the run. It’s rather incredible."
