Model 8 on long journey fun

BigAl350 · Post by **BigAl350** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:00 pm

So there I was, riding my 1960 Model 8 from Reading to my mum's farm down in dear old Devon (6 miles northeast of Bude to be precise, but JUST on the PROPER Devon side) via a stop-over with a good friend in Zummerset.

I'd spent the last month or so checking and double checking my Lightweight pal, and after all, it had taken me all the way from home to the Alternative Rally in Essex in brilliant sunshine last year, with no problems apart from light banter ("Ho ho, you must be a sadist flogging that little bike all this way" - Well, I AM 6ft 8 ins tall and 20 stone) and a few oil leaks.

Things started well, with a pleasant chug along the A4 to the other side of Hungerford, where I noticed that the prevously-excellent compression has become a thing of the past. More fool me for not checking this out, especially since the performance seemed a bit down - well, with 20 stones of flab and most of an engine in spares in the panniers PLUS all my clothes and all the other dull stuff of travel in the world's biggest Craven topbox - I kept going. I reaped my indifference outside Corsham when travelling down the long hill towards the village, the Model 8 started to cough and splutter, and finally died.

I managed to coast and coast, a long way into the centre of the village, finally ending up outside the very fine village fish and chip shop. There I discovered that the inlet pushrod no longer had "Nil" clearance when the engine is "warm" - it was bl**dy keeping the bl**dy inlet valve open!!!

I checked the inlet pushrod and it seemed to have become somewhat banana-shaped, perhaps as a result of my, erm, "excessive right hand"! Well, about 10 minutes labour saw nil clearance restored and the Old Girl (she's actually one year younger than me!) restarted immediately - and she subsequently took me well into deep Somerset, and lots of cider...BUT...what happened? The locknut on the pushrod adjuster was still tight. I must admit to over-revving the poor mite at times, which probably din't help...Well anyway, tomorrow should hopefully see the 8 and its daft rider crossing into God's own county...More if I make it...Edited by - BigAl350 on 11 Apr 2012 6:04:42 PMEdited by - BigAl350 on 11 Apr 2012 6:07:26 PM

Ian5913 · Post by **Ian5913** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:21 pm

Following with interest BigAl. Hope you had a room for a camera as well. Best of luck Ian

itma · Post by **itma** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 7:54 pm

A4 is minutes away from me,you should have checked the assistance posts before you left.

your bent pushrod is likely the result of the inlet valve sticking, due to this ethenol shite, did you dose it with redex or 2t oil?

no, of course not, its snake oil innit.........................

cbranni · Post by **cbranni** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 8:07 pm

Glad you made the halfway mark Al, I will be waiting for tomorrows next thrilling installment of this epic journey.
Ride with care
Colin

BigAl350 · Post by **BigAl350** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:00 am

Now now, don't put words in me mouth! I regularly follow your advice (I recall your post on this) to use Redex, etc, as I have a bumper supply of it, bought for a pittance from a car boot some time ago.

The inlet valve and guide was new not too long ago and but I can't resist thrashing the 8 and now, in my post-cider haze, I recall that I had noted that the inlet pushrod was bent a bit last year. I should have replacd it.

I do keep the assistance list with me but it's only for major breakdowns, not for minor inconveniences like today's which was easily fixed. I'll "borrow" a pushrod from my Model 8 that lives in the shippen (shed) in Devon. I'm hoping to get that back to Reading in May, and will start work on it in the Autumn. It will give me "challenges" to overcome...

Al

quote:
A4 is minutes away from me,you should have checked the assistance posts before you left.

your bent pushrod is likely the result of the inlet valve sticking, due to this ethenol shite, did you dose it with redex or 2t oil?

no, of course not, its snake oil innit.........................

BigAl350 · Post by **BigAl350** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:00 am

Thanks Ian. These bikes are for using and enjoying and even though "it's just a Lightweight" (such prejudice exists, sadly) it's brilliant fun and gets an lot of attenion from the general public - like the heavily-tattood guy in Bath today who shouted "lovely bike mate!" as I sat in heavy traffic on the A4. I certainly do have a camera, Ian, and I'll submit some pics to the Photos section.

Al
quote:
Following with interest BigAl. Hope you had a room for a camera as well. Best of luck Ian
Edited by - BigAl350 on 12 Apr 2012 12:39:31 AM

Ian5913 · Post by **Ian5913** » Thu Apr 12, 2012 6:13 pm

I'm a full size chap like yourself I believe , as many will know. I have often had the motor up to 70mph with little issue. I just think of it as a motorbike these days having owned it for so long. Its worse though now as my Daughter is often on pillion just to ramp up the weight a bit!

But one hot ride some summers back. It was the Gales run in Hampshire I recall. A push rod did exactly the same thing as yours. I guess a fully hot engine alters the torques due to thermal expansion. Its a simple job to fix but gets you thinking the worst.

The LW's are not a poor alternative to a heavy weight but they appear to be a little cheaper. It's always nice to get cheap parts at boot sales as a result.

Did someone mention Cider?

Ian