when did the new model come out with 12V electrics?
someone I know has been offered a free B plate one, but it seems to be a 6V one. Last of the old type, I'd guess, then. and presumably a pushrod motor as well, not that there's anything wrong with that of course...
The Older Gentleman said... My girlfriend's mother has just bought a brand new CG125[1]. It's really quite nice, with new stylish bodywork, disc brake and electric start. They even supply them with decent Pirelli tyres nowadays. All she needs to do now is learn to ride it without crashing into walls in Wroxham[2]. [1] MSOHP [2] I need to replace a fork stanchion and fork seal for her, as the hard chrome is scuffed and had wrecked the seal. Not bad going for a 12 mile old bike.
I used to dream about a belt or chain driven 4 valve head OHC conversions for SOBeemers. The guy who built the V12 kawasaki could have done it easily. Shame BMW came up with such an unappealing version, SOB's vibrate but in a pleasant lumpy kind of way and you can cruise at 60 or 90 smoothly. The oilheads and harsh vibey tingly POS in comparison IMHO.
Hack a lump off a Cosworth/Alfa/ head as a starting point and Bob's yer transvestite relative. I suppose a SOHC would be better for ground clearance, though. Some of the air-cooled Porsche heads might fit... On a related note, the Holy Grail of A-series tuning was a DOHC ally head - mucho money for fresh metal in its day; now it can be done relatively easily with K1100 head.
The prewar racing DOHC bikes but the camshafts below the valves and used rockers to reduce width. However it is perfectly possible to use a push rod four valve head. Rudge did after all and there was a four valve head conversion available for the Triumph twins. IIRC the first Cosworth speedway engines used a push rod head as well. A lot depends on what the main limit on revs is. The Vincent valve gear was good for 7 or 8 thousand RPM the standard big end got unhappy over about 5.5. Ken Young
Yes but they were very short pushrods and the original CX top ends were not exactly trouble free. Other than the material choices for the followers etc and an excessively tight crankshaft run for the cam chain which destroyed them asap the CX was an outstandingly good engine. If they had applied good surface treatment technology and used a gear driven cam it would have been a wonderful bike, particularly in the 650 Euro prolink guise. I liked the comstar wheels (if you kept corrosion at bay around the rivets), they were lighter than the cast lead alloy wheels of the day and tougher/less maintenance than spoked wheels.
