[XB33BSA]

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View attachment 99125

well i stand corrected

 

[jalsteve]

Learned a bit more about the Matchbox float chambers, which I had problems with earlier. On the about a dozen Manxes at Goodwood, most had Gardner float chambers, some had SU, no one used a Matchbox.
Learned that in the old days, riders was paid by AMAL for using their carbs. Had to use their float chambers too. So they got half a dozen float chambers, tested flow and used the best one.
Obviously a new made AMAL Matchbox is a close reproduction of the old one. Not usable on tracks with long straights.

Works fine on my 92bore with a bored out Gardiner a 42mm. I can tell you my 92 will drink twice that of your 86. You have to ensure the bore of the feed valve in big enough. And as I said run the fuel level higher than the traditional way of setting the float height.

 

[jalsteve]

Met an experienced Manx mechanic from Scotland in the pits at Goodwood. He answered to the question I asked in #8 in the thread. The tabs close to the steering head was fitted on 59 and 60 frames. Why no one knows. They were never used for anything. He kindly answered a lot of other questions ( and offered me a beer to).

Those tabs are not on the Reynolds / Norton factory drawing for the 1960 Manx frame. Have worked on 3 x 1960 bikes, 2 x 1959 and no tabs.

 

[Mike 40M]

Steve, as you earlier wrote that you use old float chambers after servicing them, I guess that the limited flow ones was thrown in the trash bin decades ago or fixed. From testing we found a great flow difference on different Matchboxes. My bike came with a round bottom feed AMAL, which I have saved with all other replaced parts. When did the Matchbox appear?
Anyhow, as the bike runs well with the Gardner float chamber, I'll stick to it.
So still a mystery about the tabs. Were they there from the factory or added later and why?

 

[Mike 40M]

Last practice this year. Went to the track yesterday, took out the bikes to give me place to sleep. Woke up, ice on the car windows. No good temperature to start a bike with R oil. Put the bike into the van. Took some hours to warm up the Norton. Finally out on track. Got a good feeling of the ride. Only problem was fog on the visor, had to have it partially open. Should have taken the helmet with pinlock with me. Second run, forgot that I'm still running in the bike, pushed harder to keep up with the other, the Manx responded well. Went into the pits very happy but very frozen. Though then the temperature had risen to 5 centigrade (41 F). Only remaining problem to solve is that the TTI gearbox is almost impossible to shift up to 5th gear. Have to figure out why. Otherwise only ordinary maintenance.

 

[Mike 40M]

Routine service done. Decided not to fit a fairing for the 2020 season ( if there will be one ). Much easier to check and service it with only a flyscreen. And I'm not yet fast enough on it to race it, so I will only parade it.
Worked a bit on other bikes.
First got a BSA ex military unit single, which needed a new electrical system and some other fixes and modifications.
The other one is a BSA Victor Special. Story is that I bought one new in 1970, replacing the Gold Star which I never liked. Sadly it melted down in a barn fire in -83. One of the bikes I really liked, especially on gravel roads. A while ago found another -70 Victor Special in excellent condition. Still looks exactly as when it left the factory, with 6000 miles on the clock. Not much work on that. Can't allow myself to modify anything on that one, except maybe upgrading the electrical system if ever needed.

 

[grandpaul]

I've had 4 or 5 BSA 441s, they're great bikes.

 

[Mike 40M]

I've had 4 or 5 BSA 441s, they're great bikes.

Since tuesday I have two Victor Specials. Both running quite well. Might now be called a BSA twin owner.

 

[Mike 40M]

The 2020 season ended with one race meeting. The Manx worked well and no gearbox problem. But a lot of rain.
My son raced the CB250, with some wins and some second. Won the Cup. Mainly because a much faster rider on a Greeves didn't start some races when it was too heavy rain.
There has so far only been one practice in 2021. Could not get the medical exam needed for the race license. Seems the hospitals are busy with other things. So in order to have the Norton running, a friend of mine rode it as well as his KTT. His fathers Inter had some problems, so he was happy to ride another featherbed Norton.
40M test ride

 

[Mike 40M]

Finally ridden the Manx again at the 56years race. Initially I was quite rusty, could not get gearchange and braking points right. Also took some time to adjust the old body to a good riding position. After modifying the gearlever, the TTI box started to work almost flawless. Had some carb problems as it was last run at close to freezing temperature. Got that sorted out after some runs with pit stops for raising and lowering the needle in the Gardner. Last run I had it running well and played with a friend on a Velocette Thruxton. Great fun.
My son rode the Honda 250 to a third in the first race but when going back in the pits a short circuit in the electronic ignition.
For the first time his RG250 worked a whole weekend. Seems the third crankshaft,the second pair of pistons and second clutch works. He also stayed on the wheels. Three last races on that track, he've crashed.

 

[Mike 40M]

Last track meeting this year. Surprisingly finally a decent temperature, 16C 61F. The Manx did like it and run flawless. Though the rider was a bit tired after I had run twice on a Yamaha RD250. So I didn't push the Manx very hard. Just a pleasant ride, never over the red line. Must be that age have finally caught up with me.
About the Yamaha. Young friend bought it to start classic racing. Then got a child and bought a house. No time for racing, he left it in my barn. When deciding to sell, I bought it. Anybody else done a barn find in your own barn?
My son tried it on a track meet. Crashed as the tires was old with very little grip. Fitted proper race compound tyres, borrowed from my Norton 650SS project. Then the rear wheel locked. So I sorted out the brakes and now ran it for the first time. At least 40 years since I rode a two stroke so first ride was a complete disaster. Handling and brakes was ok but the power curve was not what I expected. That it had a very high first and was completely empty under 5000 rpm was about the same as the Manx. The bike was much lighter than the Manx and it had a very abrupt power curve at higher revs. A much more delicate throttle control needed to keep front wheel on the ground going out of the bends.
Second run was much better. Got more used to it and pushed it a bit harder. Have to do some work on front suspension as I found a part of the track bumpy, never noticed that on the Manx, the Honda or the Ninja. Also need to look into jetting.
Overall a pleasant day, leaving a good feeling.