My SF31 Restoration Blog

[paul.wirdnam]

Hi Paul,
you have to use the same materal as the head otherwise it will brake more fin off your head.
I am using damaged 350 head fins.

Oh dear .

So does that mean it also should only be welded with cast iron welding rods? I'm sure I've seen other people brazing on fins to cast iron heads....

[adrie.degraaff]

I only use brass. Matchless fins also brake loose.

[brenton.roy]

Paul, the lower valve spring cover is Ariel - early 30's on.
Brenton

[paul.wirdnam]

Paul, the lower valve spring cover is Ariel - early 30's on.
Brenton

Thanks Brenton. Maybe Ariel but not for Sloper I think....I certainly cannot find it in the '31 or '32 Sloper (SB, SF, SG) Spare Parts lists.

Do you have a part number for it?

[brenton.roy]

Hi Paul,
571-34 - A7/412
It's in the '37 parts book in the library, but interestingly not in the '34. I think they were used between these years.
If you want to sell them, let me know. I could use them. They are as rare as the proverbial rocking horse poo...
But, they would be a period item for your bike and would help keep the valve area tidy and some of the larger lumps out.
I'll stay out of the fin discussion... but will take the opportunity to say how impressive the quality of your work is. The pump / exhaust etc., well all of it really, is the kind of quality we would all like to achieve.
Brenton

[paul.wirdnam]

Late March 2012:

Not long now and I'll be riding it; just need to sort out the tank, dynamo, cables and electrics....oh, and the primary chaincases

[magne.aga]

Marvelous piece of art!

[paul.wirdnam]

April 2012:

Bike just about assembled but still struggling with the primary chaincases. Having tried to clean and paint them twice, they continued to corrode / oxidise under the paint...so I have now decided to leave them unpainted but with a healthy coating of waxy maintenance oil.

Boiling them to remove all traces of the 1950s salt-based flux that was used at the time to weld them:

[paul.wirdnam]

May 2012....and the end of my restoration blog because the bike is now finished! Yipee!

Bike is insured (on frame number)
Bike has been officially dated (thank you Paul J)
V55/5 has been completed
MOT next week
Visit to Local DVLC next week (not looking forward to it....when I picked up the V55/5, there looked to be a 2 hour queue)

I've had the bike running a few times, ironed out a few problems like a flooding carb (tickler too long), faulty mag (poor points assembly), and a couple of disturbing "clunks" from the engine...latter turned out to be a cam follower catching slightly on the wrong cam; there seems to be a need for a fairly thick washer / shim on the cam follower shaft to ensure the followers are perfectly in line with the cams...the washer is not listed in the parts book but I know Paul Meredith / Clive Jones also found this on their Slopers. I had already used a washer, but had to increase the thickness from 48 thou to 90 thou. Cured the problem.

I really thought I'd done everything in the correct order on this restoration: repair, fabricate, assemble to check, strip down, paint, chrome and re-assemble....but as usual, there is always something you forget. On this one, I had a scary moment when I thought I may not be able to assemble the tank binnacle with speedo, speedo cable, clock and oil gauge. I had to make the binnacle and although I thought I'd checked everything, I had forgotten to do a full assembly with speedo cable....the angles are very tight but got there in the end without the need to modify anything or re-paint etc.

One thing I did end up doing was making a pair of stainless steel handlebar clamps. I knew it would happen ... and it did... the new chrome all flaked off the old clamps as soon as I tightened them...it always happens. The club or Drags should make some stainless steel ones...I don't want to have to make another pair .

She (I'm sure it's female) starts very easily and sounds lovely...much smoother than my '29 Model F. The oil circulation and pressure seems great and I've adjusted the pressure to read 12 psi on the gauge.

As so to the photos:

[ABMartin]

I'm not just impressed I'm astonished. My restoration project (dare I say it, a 1967 Yamaha YM2C Big Bear Scrambler) is still sitting in boxes even though it is much easier to complete than your sloper.

Bruce