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A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction
A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction
A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction
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A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction

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A collection of vintage articles on motorcycle construction and maintenance which would be a joy to read for enthusiasts of classic motorcycles. This book contains classic material dating back to the 1900s and before. The content has been carefully selected for its interest and relevance to a modern audience. Each publication has been professionally curated and includes all details on the original source material. This particular instalment, "A Guide to Motor Cycle Design" contains information on the design and construction of motor cycles. It is intended to illustrate aspects of motor cycle design and serves as a guide for anyone wishing to obtain a general knowledge of the subject and understand the field in its historical context. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 29, 2013
ISBN9781447483922
A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction

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    Book preview

    A Guide to Motor-Cycle Design - A Collection of Vintage Articles on Motor Cycle Construction - Read Books Ltd.

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    A GUIDE TO

    MOTOR CYCLE DESIGN

    A COLLECTION OF

    VINTAGE ARTICLES ON

    MOTOR CYCLE CONSTRUCTION

    By

    VARIOUS AUTHORS

    Copyright © 2022 Read & Co. Books

    This edition is published by Read & Co. Books,

    an imprint of Read & Co.

    This book is copyright and may not be reproduced or copied in any

    way without the express permission of the publisher in writing.

    British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

    A catalogue record for this book is available

    from the British Library.

    Read & Co. is part of Read Books Ltd.

    For more information visit

    www.readandcobooks.co.uk

    Contents

    WHY THE CRANK CASE GETS HOT

    A MAGNETO DIFFICULTY

    ELEVEN YEARS OF MOTOR CYCLE DEVELOPMENT

    A CONTRAST IN MOTOR CYCLES

    3 1/2-H.P. TWINS

    A TRYING EXPERIENCE ON THE ROAD

    THE CAUSE OF THE TROUBLE

    THE LEA-FRANCIS TWO-SPEED GEAR

    THE REAR LIGHT QUESTION

    BENZOLE AND EXHAUST VALVE DESTRUCTION

    TWO-STROKE ENGINES AND AIR COOLING

    WHY THE ENGINE WOULD NOT START

    THE TWO-SPEED GEAR MECHANISM OF THE CLYNO TWO-STROKE MOTOR CYCLE

    A LOOSE TANK CAUSES AN ACCIDENT

    SOME SILENCER EXPERIMENTS AND THEIR OBJECTS

    A NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS

    TROUBLE AFTER RE-BUSHING

    LOW-TENSION MAGNETOS

    WHAT IS THE LOW-TENSION SYSTEM?

    FAULTY BRAKE APPLIANCES

    ADJUSTING THE ARMSTRONG GEAR

    MOTOR CYCLES THAT ARE TOO FAST

    A SMASH AND THE SEQUEL

    FRAMES THAT ARE OUT OF LINE

    A NOVEL CONNECTING-ROD

    PROTECTING IRON PATTERNS

    THE ULTRA-LIGHTWEIGHT MOTOR CYCLE

    MOTOR CYCLE REPAIRS

    TWO-STROKES AND CARBURATION

    TROUBLE WITH A BROKEN VALVE

    STRANGE BEHAVIOUR OF A BELT

    FITTING A NEW PISTON RING

    REAR LIGHTING FROM THE MAGNETO

    AN OFFICER’S BELT EXPERIENCE

    A TWO-STROKE QUERY

    SIDE CAR ALIGNMENT

    AN EXHAUST LIFTER DIFFICULTY

    INTERRUPTED IGNITION

    COUNTERSHAFT GEAR ADVANTAGES

    DANGER WITH SIDE CARS AT CORNERS

    A READER’S LAMP ENQUIRY

    BELT WEAR ON EXPANDING PULLEY GEARS

    A QUERY RELATING TO TWO-STROKE WORKING

    MAKING AN ARMATURE FOR A MAGNETO

    A HINT TO USERS OF SMALL TYRES

    THE CAUSE OF A PETROL STOPPAGE

    GETTING THE LAST DROP OF PETROL

    A QUERY RESPECTING MOTOR CYCLE LICENSING

    INACCESSIBLE MOTOR CYCLE PARTS

    A RECENT HEADLIGHT DECISION

    DAMAGE TO A PISTON

    HOT INDUCTION PIPE

    A NEW MOTOR CYCLE RECORD

    A MOTOR CYCLE LIGHTING CASE AND ITS SEQUEL

    THE LAMP AND ITS FIXINGS

    THE SUMMONS AND THE HEARING

    NEW TWO-STROKE ENGINE DESIGNS

    SHIFTING CARBURETTOR LEVERS

    THE ADVANTAGE OF SPRING FOOTBOARDS

    A NEW MOTOR PROPELLED BICYCLE

    MY RECENT LIGHTING CASE

    These articles have been extracted
    and compiled from various editions of
    The Model Engineer and Electrician.

    A GUIDE TO

    MOTOR CYCLE DESIGN

    WHY THE CRANK CASE GETS HOT

    The motor cyclist is often puzzled to know why the crankcase of his engine gets so hot, a condition which is almost certainly accompanied by a falling off in power and speed. I have at various times received enquiries from readers complaining of these symptoms and in one case, a novice rider told me that he contemplated either removing the drain plug or else drilling a hole in the top of the crankcase to allow of the heated air escaping. Fortunately, I was in time to prevent him from doing considerable injury to his engine by adopting either of these plans.

    A hot crankcase—that is, one which gets unusually warm—indicates that the piston rings are in a faulty condition, and that, owing to their lack of fit in the cylinder, gas is leaking past them into the crank chamber. This results not only in conveying heat to the latter, but also in loss of power, and the remedy is to fit new rings. On inspection they will most likely be found to bear marks of discolouration, which is a sure sign that leakage is taking place.

    Sometimes, if the rings are removed from the piston and the grooves cleaned out, the inside of the rings themselves being also scraped clear of burnt deposits, some further use may be made of them, but as a general rule it is better to fit new ones If the cylinder has had a very great amount of wear it may be necessary to have it re-bored, so as to restore its true cylindrical interior shape, and then a new piston altogether will be required.

    A MAGNETO DIFFICULTY

    A Weymouth reader, who possesses a motor bicycle fitted with U.H. magneto, writes, asking my advice in the following circumstances: I experienced during a recent ride, he says, "a most peculiar action on the part of the magneto. So long as the timing lever was in the fully advanced position or any position between that and, say, two-thirds retarded, all was well. Movement of the lever further than this, however, in the direction of retard immediately brought about misfiring, whilst fully retarding it was to stop the engine firing altogether.

    "It is a low-powered machine, and I find it necessary to fully retard the ignition when climbing a stiff hill, but as the effect of this was to stop the engine, I was obliged to desist, and knocking and labouring of the engine resulted.

    On one long down grade I used the timing lever as a switch, cutting off the current to the sparking plug by fully retarding the lever.

    My view of the matter is that the contact breaker points required adjusting. In the U.H. magneto this can only be done with the parts in situ and a special spanner is provided for the purpose. This appliance was illustrated some time back in these pages.

    Immediately at the rear of the contact disc is a rotatable washer or plate, moved by means of the special spanner referred to. If this plate be turned to the right the effect is to reduce the amount of break and to retard the moment of sparking, whilst if, on the other hand, it be turned to the left, the

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