My 1950 VH

[Keith.owen]

Hi David,
At great risk to my relationship with long suffering wife, I'll get these goodies and give them a try.

I got call to say that my NH frame is ready (it needed some minor straightening of the lower front right engine mount - I didn't do it myself because I'm not confident I could re-braze after the heating).

I did, by the way, carry out the mod to the timing case that you suggested.

BR,

Keith

[Keith.owen]

I have fitted a 3 1/2 cutaway throttle slide and it has made quite a difference - the machine is much 'snappier' and the exhaust note doesn't 'flatten under load.

Yesterday I rode out with the needle in the top notch. I think the mixture was a bit lean since the plug was on the lighter side of brown. I therefore put the needle back in the middle position and rode out this morning. I will inspect the plug colour later.

Interestingly most of running seems to be well below middle throttle and extensively down below or around 1/4.

I saw (was it Nevs comments) on some 125s having as much power as a VH at 10 K revs, but having once had a Suzuki 350T can definitely say there is no comparison -I know what I prefer; my Ariel anytime!!

Keith

[Keith.owen]

Yesterday I took my VH out for the first run of the season. Garden refurbishment etc has gotten in the way of an earlier excursion!

I believe that I have cured the mixture problems at low throttle openings by setting the float 1mm or so lower than the edge of the bowl, not level with it, as the stay-up float instructions suggest. I think this compensates for the angle at which the carb is mounted due to it's being down draught. Also changed the rubber 'o' ring for a paper gasket at David's suggestion.

I fitted a rubber bump stop for the kick start into the gearbox and one of those Royal Enfield breather pipes on the timing side. Took her out for a run. What joy and she's going nicely............I hit 65 at one point and realised I'd better slow down!

I did change the position of the handlebar controls and (just to show how fortuitous things can be) I put the front end up on a stand to adjust the fulcrum check things. Lucky I did.....in fully extending, the brake cable snagged over the yoke, putting the front brake on............it's a good job this happened beforehand I went out on the road since the cure was a new brake cable with a longer outer sheath.

Can't wait to go out again!

Keith

[Keith.owen]

Since I last posted here has been a minor disaster with my petrol tank which started weeping petrol. For a year or so I got away with just putting in a couple of pints of petrol, sufficient to get me out and back for a ride. However, late last year it got too bad to risk and I took it off and sent it for repair. I have an Indian tank for which I 'bodged' some fixings, since the mountings didn't line up and fitted a GPS speedo from Ebay so that I could get back on the road.

So, back to the tank. Repair involved cutting out the bottom and some of the sides and replacing with newly fabricated pieces. The following pictures show what was removed.

As can be seen this sort of solid filler was the order of the day with some tacked in strips of mild steel sheeting; It is no surprise that when the petrol got above the level of the 'sealant' it ran down the inside and out the bottom of the tank. It is a shame that these people who undertook the job spoilt quite a nice paint job with this. Sadly when I spoke to them about it they said that if I sent it back 'they'd look at it' but basically it was out of warranty and so..............

Things have moved on though, as they must, and I am near to completion of the paint job on the repaired tank which I decided I'd do myself (not the repair but the painting). I shall post more pictures soon; I hope they will be of interest because I have learned a lot and would be happy tp share my experience with anyone who is interested.

Keith

PS. Bye the way. I don't think I'll be recommending Hartlepool radiators in a hurry!

[Bob.Murphy]

Interesting. My 'VH' tank has been leaking for a while and the bike has been off the road for over a year (don't ask - too many jobs!).

I made some repair pieces and tried MIG-welding them in, but that didn't go well, despite per-heating with a Propane torch (the tank has been comprehensively cleaned out).

Nothing else for it . . . I have just spent £1,700 on an up-market AC/DC Inverter TIG welder plus all the fittings. Now I must get some practice in before returning to the tank.

Unfortunately my elder daughter's car has returned to my garage and I'm stripping out the front hubs and suspension, fixing her leaking diesel tank and replacing the cabin heater matrix. The 'VH', and the three other bike restoration projects, are on the back burner again .

Naturally, I've lost my Ford Focus again, until her car is fixed.

Life for a 'Classic' Motorcyclist is never smooth.

Bob.

[simon.holyfield]

Those with the knack to fix stuff are destined to never have time for their own stuff. Daughter in law, seeing her husband get his class A license, now wants their MZ125 rebuilding, like the 250 I did last year.

Guess where that's headed? The Huntmaster is still in bits, held off the bench by yet another MZ...

[Keith.owen]

Hi,
below are pictures of the tank with a base coat and having been lacquered and flatted back.

Using the templates from the Danish owners club web site I laid out the panels using pinstripe masking tape and then masked the areas that I didn't want to paint (post office red cherry).

It took an hour or so to get it more or less right after which I returned to it the following day to re-examine and make minor changes. I must of put down the tape, lifted it and then re-laid it again any number of times. In the end a lot of it is 'by eye' looking at it from different angles and adjusting until it looked ok (well, to me, anyway)!

More pictures to come....................

Keith

[Bob.Murphy]

Looking good .

Bob.

[Keith.owen]

Well,
The long awaited pictures. This has taken a lot of effort in particular since it has been a continuous learning curve; it's the first time I have attempted anything like this.

When I rubbed back the lacquer over the metallic silver (before painting the red panels and gold lining) I got a bit over enthusiastic and created a 'bald' patch. No amount of attempts at re-touching made it better. In the end I had to re-spray the silver parts and then apply the final coats of lacquer.

When fully hardened I'll put the tank back on the bike (this weekend).

Although I say it myself, not bad for a first attempt!

Keith

[Vincent.vanGinneke]

Yes, well done !