Blimey Raymond no sooner said than done!
Blimey Raymond no sooner said than done!
But knowing me, probably end up pulling it all apart.
Nope, I believe it's the standard Indian piston (Velveeta is ringing a faint bell at the back of me mind) fitted to Bullets, here's a borrowed picture comparing with Hitchcocks forged replacement.Looks very like a Hepolite
Yes.Maybe I should use the rod to turn the crank and see if it feels smooth?
I wouldn't, Raymond. If it all "feels" good, I'd call it good. That's about all the Indians did... and the Brits before them.If the bottom end is good, there's probs not much reason to go any further?
As long as there's no up and down movement you should be good. A bit of side to side is normal for any motor I've seen. You can use the old piston skirt and a feeler gauge to check bore size accurately enough. There won't be any wear at the bottom of the bore. You can probably still see the hone marks in it.Nope, I believe it's the standard Indian piston (Velveeta is ringing a faint bell at the back of me mind) fitted to Bullets, here's a borrowed picture comparing with Hitchcocks forged replacement.
View attachment 255644
A preliminary feel of the conrod did not reveal any up-down play but it can move side-side a little bit. Not quite sure how well the big end can be checked this way?
I'd agree with that and I have a cheap honing tool that fits in a hand drill - used it on the XS in fact. But the unknown at this point is the state of the barrel - if it's too worn, then looking at oversize on the piston and rings so I'd probably go to Border Engines in Berwick with barrel and new piston for a rebore and hone.A quickie hone of the cylinder is required for a new piston and rings, correct?
The feeler gauge method, as you probably already know, relies on a known dimension to start with. IE... with a known bore, we can find the skirt clearance, and simple math will deduce the piston diameter... and vise versa with a known piston diameter.Maybe should look for a tool to measure the bore? At first, I'll go with @Kojack's suggestion, piston and feeler gauges.
Nothing like a fresh bore and piston. The last time I paid for a bore job was back in the 70s, and it was $8 per hole at the time on an auto engine. I wouldn't think a shop would charge more than one hour labor.Thank you for the suggestion, @Kojack.
All considered, a rebore and oversize might be the best way. Takes some of the guesswork out of the equation. Don't know how much a good rebore and hone costs, maybe £60-80? Hitchcocks list their forged piston in standard and +20 only. But with a new piston & rings and properly run in, no reason to believe that's not going to outlast my use of the bike.
Oh yes, the leftfield option - H's also list an oversize piston, 87 instead of 84mm. Also standard and +20. Gives you 535cc, as used in the café racer. For when you need the raw power.
Nice tools Raymond.Have just made a purchase with a Tool company . . .
https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/measuri...ters/3-4inch-external-micrometer/p/ZT1016521X
https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/measuring-and-test-equipment/telescopic-gauges/telescopic-gauge-'e'-54-90mm/p/ZT1016804X
see how I get on with these.