Touring on a VB

[dave.pitt]

Rob
I have a 1947 iron head VB that I've owned for over 20 years and have covered 28,000 miles on. In the main it has been very reliable. If yours has a BA gearbox I would recommend a thing or two... The 276 type carbs like to vibrate apart occasionally. I've heard it said that exhaust valves are vulnerable. Hmm! I rebuilt my top end in 2011 and put a new exhaust valve in - because I had one, and because the existing one which had done more than 30,000 miles to my certain knowledge looked a little tired, but, if I hadn't had one it would have gone back in! The guide was knackered.
John Nash has given a very fair account of performance. Mine does 45-50mpg. I did once see 68mph but that was when I was running a factory standard 160 main jet. I dropped to 150 ten or more years ago. It still does 60mph at a push, but 45-50 is comfortable.

[john.whiting]

Queensland is roadrage central.Reported in the HMCCQ magazine last November.If no one was actually assaulted ,nothing would be done officially.Regards John.

[barry.swanson]

A local rally on a country road held up a truckie .

...I feel for both the drivers of faster vehicles and fellow old bike riders, both groups should be encouraged to be considerate of the other.
Fast road users should show patience and slow users should observe one or 2 simple courtesies if we are to remain in the good books of the law makers, and fellow road users.
Don't all leave the pub in a group and when on the road maintain a gap between bikes that makes it easy for an overtaking vehicle to pull into...
There's not much future in being pigheaded and adopting the veiw that " this is my lane cobber !!" ...that truckie needs a ticking off though.

[brenton.roy]

A couple of months ago I rode the Model C with a '25 New Imperial, on a hilly road that is a bit of a local racetrack.
The Imp is 300cc of side valve power, so needless to say, uphill was pretty slow. Flat out, downhill, it does about 60 kph.
Actually, this speed might require a cliff.
We kept a good eye out for cars and faster bikes (some with pedals) and while we did hold them up, we tried to make eye contact, or at least let them know we were aware they were there. It isn't always practical, but to me, doing this puts the rider more in charge of the situation. Cars are less likely to drive through you.
At the top of a long hill, we came across a policeman with a speed camera ~ who gave us a nice wave. I bet the half dozen vehicles behind us were happy too..
I hadn't ridden with other '20's bikes before, and if this is what they are like, I can see why black Ariel's are so popular for vintage events.

[Rob.Bassett]

Rob
I have a 1947 iron head VB that I've owned for over 20 years and have covered 28,000 miles on. In the main it has been very reliable. If yours has a BA gearbox I would recommend a thing or two... The 276 type carbs like to vibrate apart occasionally. I've heard it said that exhaust valves are vulnerable. Hmm! I rebuilt my top end in 2011 and put a new exhaust valve in - because I had one, and because the existing one which had done more than 30,000 miles to my certain knowledge looked a little tired, but, if I hadn't had one it would have gone back in! The guide was knackered.
John Nash has given a very fair account of performance. Mine does 45-50mpg. I did once see 68mph but that was when I was running a factory standard 160 main jet. I dropped to 150 ten or more years ago. It still does 60mph at a push, but 45-50 is comfortable.

Hi Dave,this is all good.What recommendations for the gearbox?All tips and advice gratefully received,as I have set myself the challenge of having the bike roadworthy by the first week in June for a trip down to Applecross and Skye...

[huw.parsons]

Hi Rob

Best roads in Britain! what a great run round from John O Groats. I reckon your VB will be perfect.
not too much traffic last time I was over there either. love to be riding down the pass of the goats on a VB!

hope the weather is good for you.

Cheers

Huw

[Mike Nash]

Rob,
Glad to hear of another VB enthusiast! VB doesn’t have to mean “Very Boring”, does it!
Re performance, I rode mine for 5/6 years in the late 1970s/early 80s between Aldershot and Whitehall, London (95 miles per day but avoiding the 3 months of winter) and got almost exactly 60 mpg. I cruised at 50-55 mph on the dual carriage way A331 and A3 for two-thirds of the journey and then hacked through London traffic for the rest. (All figures are, of course, pre GPS.) And I was running with an extra tooth on the engine sprocket i.e. 23, the same as a VH.
My bike was (and still is) a 1956 NH with a ’56 VB engine fitted. (The engine cost £20 – but had spent a while at the bottom of a pond!) The VB engine gave much the same performance as the 350 OHV apart from an increased fuel consumption, but was better suited to the London traffic i.e. 15-45 mph with stop-starts and sudden squirts of speed. Less gear changing and more bursts of wide open throttle.
Exhaust valves were never a problem but I took care with the barrel/exhaust port cooling. If you look from the front at between 4th and 7th cooling fins on the barrel (counting from the top) above the tappet box you should see an air gap running from front to rear. A torch behind it helps. Sometimes over the decades this cooling passage can fill with crap or even be bridged by a bit of the original casting. A careful bit of drilling might be necessary – although the cast iron with bits of sand from the original casting is hard on drills! Also it’s worth using an old cable inner as a sort of “saw” to drag to and fro at the fin bases (cord wears through in no time) to clean out the crud that’s gathered there. Whatever you do you’ll wind up with a warm right leg!
Re carburation, I increased the main jet on my 1 inch standard Monobloc from the recommended 220 size to 230 and ran with an air cleaner fitted. The idea is to run cooler when at full throttle to improve reliability but as this is rarely used the increased jet size makes little difference to the overall economy. Like L W E Hartley says (quoted in “Cheval de Fer” Dec 94’) “ . . use the richest setting that will give the required results”. (And also like him, I use the hottest plug that won’t oil up.)
Finally, there seems to be quite a variation in the capacity of the cylinder heads. I’ve two of aluminium, one with the plug almost over the exhaust valve and another with it central between them. The first’s capacity is 130cc give a CR of about 5.6 and the latter having a capacity of 100cc giving a CR of about 7.1. (My figures above are with this head.)

Like you, I hope to rebuild my VB for touring – and with luck’ll have it ready for late this year. Perhaps we might persuade the moderators to let us have a “VB Corner”! Regards, Mike Nash.

[Rob.Bassett]

Hi Mike, 95 miles a day! That's great to hear, it gives me more faith in the achievable level of reliability.My bike has the ironhead engine and 276 carb but is also fitted with the 23 tooth sprocket. I don't imagine that there is a great deal of difference in performance though.Thanks for the tips. Cheers. Rob.

[Rob.Bassett]

Hi Rob

Best roads in Britain! what a great run round from John O Groats. I reckon your VB will be perfect.
not too much traffic last time I was over there either. love to be riding down the pass of the goats on a VB!

hope the weather is good for you.

Cheers

Huw

Yes Huw, it really is one of the best runs imaginable and I've ridden down that way several times since I've lived here.I'm also hoping for better weather this year...

[Mike Nash]

Another thought Rob (although not VB specific). I've just spotted that way back then I'd drilled the oil tank drain plug and Araldited in a 5mm dia by 2cm long cylindrical magnet, an "Eclipse" product in those days I think. These days magnets are far more powerful but still very cheap; a web search will show you. It amazes me that they so often not fitted even by people who are driving/riding rare and expensive machinery. (I also have one in the gearbox drain plug. My Morris also has one in the back axle -that REALLY collects stuff!)

I strongly urge you to fit them, Mike Nash.