Micrometers

[Chris Stevens]

You will need required hand tools, torque wrench, angle gauge, ring compressor, measuring tools, solvent and some way to clean parts, ideally a straight edge, and I seem to remember for Pinto a special tool for adjusting tappets (?). Assembly lube something like Graphogen is also a good idea, which I would suggest using on bottom end.

 

[Jim Davey]

Good lighting and a clean workspace are also very handy, you don't want swarf, grit or welding spatter getting trapped between a bearing surface.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I think the OP wants to re-build a stock motor, and probably isnt ready to be introduced to the world of "tuning" just yet?

 

[Jim Davey]

The techniques are the same, it is relevant, as well as good working practice. But yeah, I don't think he's likely to be end for end weighting of con-rods, or hand filing ring gaps just yet.

 

[Chris Stevens]

The "techniques" employed by a good number of professional tuners seem to have a good deal to do with lightening the wallets of customers, who very often pay for work which isnt appropriate for their purposes, and is simply the most expensive option................

In most cases basic modifications to increase torque, rather than max power on a dyno will work a good deal better for road going cars and bikes, than alterations which cost the earth and are much better suited to competition machines.

 

[Jim Davey]

You'd know all about that.

All I know is if you are putting an engine together using replacement parts, it's a good idea to know what the tolerances are, and confirm for your own peace of mind that all the clearances and dimensions are within the specifications in the manual and the thing will give good service for the longest time possible.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Never ever been involved with tuning or modifying cars or bikes for road use, so selling people max power race conversions for doing the shopping, is not something I know that much about................

On the comp bikes I work on, something as simple and cheap as replacing the very poor OE carb with a more effective one, makes a great deal of difference and is something that can be carried out in 15 minutes.

 

[Jim Davey]

It comes as no surprise that you have a negative opinion of an industry you have no involvement in.

I bet you don't charge 15 minutes for fitting a carb though do you ?

 

[ronan]

I fell into the "tuning" trap years ago when i converted my old triumph 350cc to 500cc, and decided to "warm it up" to Daytona specs. Was it interesting and fun to do ? Yes, but i wouldn't do it again, as the end result was a bike that didn't really run right until it was being really driven on hard, so not really suitable for around town.

 

[Jim Davey]

I fitted a BTCC inlet manifold to my track car and it lost power and torque through about 70% of the rev range as it is designed to work with high lift cams, high revs and a full race exhaust. It didn't gel at all well with my at the time standard head, cams or exhaust! You find out a lot of this stuff the hard way though Ronan. It keeps life interesting.

 

[ronan]

I fitted a BTCC inlet manifold to my track car and it lost power and torque through about 70% of the rev range as it is designed to work with high lift cams, high revs and a full race exhaust. It didn't gel at all well with my at the time standard head, cams or exhaust! You find out a lot of this stuff the hard way though Ronan. It keeps life interesting.

Well you do learn alright , i bought a Bsa 650cc and deliberately kept the engine in a very low state of tune, low compression and the cams hardly look like cams at all, small carb, iron head, its like a big scooter to ride and very usuable on the roads, and not as slow as you would think either.

 

[Jim Davey]

I agree chasing power can be a waste of time and money, but sensible mods to increase cooling or improve oil pressure/reduce oil starvation are good ideas if you like to 'push on'. These days I think it easier and more beneficial to improve handling/stopping than throwing money at engines.

 

[Chris Stevens]

It comes as no surprise that you have a negative opinion of an industry you have no involvement in.

I bet you don't charge 15 minutes for fitting a carb though do you ?

I see plenty of young lads with ridiculous "tuning" parts fitted to road cars, and seems to me that as most buyers dont seem to have a clue, there is plenty of money to be made from pushing modifications and parts whose cost is not reflected by effectiveness for road use.

Dont charge anything for fitting a carb I supply, fitting and fine tuning are both FOC for anyone who brings bike to my workshop. I can show end users how to fine tune carbs same time, which is a good thing, as this makes a good deal of difference to anyone who is seriously competitive.

 

[Chris Stevens]

I fell into the "tuning" trap years ago when i converted my old triumph 350cc to 500cc, and decided to "warm it up" to Daytona specs. Was it interesting and fun to do ? Yes, but i wouldn't do it again, as the end result was a bike that didn't really run right until it was being really driven on hard, so not really suitable for around town.

Setting the cam timing properly, fitting a Mikuni carb, and a decent ignition, will make any old Brit run a great deal better.

 

[ronan]

Setting the cam timing properly, fitting a Mikuni carb, and a decent ignition, will make any old Brit run a great deal better.

A mikuni carb ? ............on a british bike ?

" YOU BLASPHEMOUS SCOUSE GIT "

 

[Chris Stevens]

A mikuni carb ? ............on a british bike ?

" YOU BLASPHEMOUS SCOUSE GIT "

Mate of mine with a good collection of Brit bikes has a low mile TR7 which needed a new carb. I persuaded him that starting, running, fuel mileage, and performance would all be greatly improved after fitting a Mikuni carb.

He went for this, and was very pleased to find that all I told him was spot on, and that simply binning the Amal and fitting something that worked made the bike so much better. On Brits with twin carbs the gains are even more noticeable, and kits for all the more common stuff can be obtained off the shelf from Allens in Nottingham.

Sure if its a show bike never going to be ridden I can see the point of retaining poorly designed and made OE type parts, but if a bike is going to be used seems to me that bolt on parts which improve things a good deal are well worth thinking about..............

 

[ronan]

Mate of mine with a good collection of Brit bikes has a low mile TR7 which needed a new carb. I persuaded him that starting, running, fuel mileage, and performance would all be greatly improved after fitting a Mikuni carb.

He went for this, and was very pleased to find that all I told him was spot on, and that simply binning the Amal and fitting something that worked made the bike so much better. On Brits with twin carbs the gains are even more noticeable, and kits for all the more common stuff can be obtained off the shelf from Allens in Nottingham.

Sure if its a show bike never going to be ridden I can see the point of retaining poorly designed and made OE type parts, but if a bike is going to be used seems to me that bolt on parts which improve things a good deal are well worth thinking about..............

Yes you are right of course, they are much better than the amals. Someone told me dellorto's are good on the unit singles like the tiger cubs and derivitives. If they used good quality metal in the amals instead of the toffee soft, pot metal zinc or whatever the hell it is, they are not a bad carb. Built down to a price of course.

 

[Chris Stevens]

Yes you are right of course, they are much better than the amals. Someone told me dellorto's are good on the unit singles like the tiger cubs and derivitives. If they used good quality metal in the amals instead of the toffee soft, pot metal zinc or whatever the hell it is, they are not a bad carb. Built down to a price of course.

Dell Orto are certainly better than Amal, which as a result of being made out of a lead/zinc alloy wear out very rapidly. Problem with Dell Orto though is they are difficult to tune...............a far better option for competition use is OKO flat slides, which are easy to tune, and come in sizes from 21 to 30mm covering a good range of engine sizes.

 

[brightspark]

Mate of mine with a good collection of Brit bikes has a low mile TR7 which needed a new carb. I persuaded him that starting, running, fuel mileage, and performance would all be greatly improved after fitting a Mikuni carb.

He went for this, and was very pleased to find that all I told him was spot on, and that simply binning the Amal and fitting something that worked made the bike so much better. On Brits with twin carbs the gains are even more noticeable, and kits for all the more common stuff can be obtained off the shelf from Allens in Nottingham.

Sure if its a show bike never going to be ridden I can see the point of retaining poorly designed and made OE type parts, but if a bike is going to be used seems to me that bolt on parts which improve things a good deal are well worth thinking about..............

if your in to british bikes l.eave as is otherwise go buy jap crap if u want something more modern and faster

 

[ronan]

Dell Orto are certainly better than Amal, which as a result of being made out of a lead/zinc alloy wear out very rapidly. Problem with Dell Orto though is they are difficult to tune...............a far better option for competition use is OKO flat slides, which are easy to tune, and come in sizes from 21 to 30mm covering a good range of engine sizes.

A carb that has always interested me is the Gardner flat slide. They look nearly homemade, very simple. I have no experience of them though.