Nice ride out

Took the restored LE out for a good ride today. 150 miles down to
Lynmouth and back, Porlock Hill was interesting, it steepens up to 1 in
4 after a tight bend and I needed to change down into a rather baulky
1st gear. On the return I followed a bus up Countisbury, also 1 in 4,
and was boiling nicely by the time the bus struggled to the top.

Apart from that, fuel consumption was a tad poor at just over 60 MPG, I
am glad to report that the brakes bedded in nicely and no longer need
advance written warning.

Old Britbikes rock .......

 

<VVBG>

 

Silly sod

 

"I didn't get where I am today by being somewhere else!"

 

Yes yes? Any details?

 

All classic bikes have brakes which are not up to modern standards.
A lot has changed in 40+ years.

The 3/4 inch wide drums on the Mk1 LE were pretty dire.
All of the 200cc variants have 1" wide drums, which are quite good IF
you deglaze the drums and shoes. Like all drums they need to bed in
properly which takes a few hundred miles of use. Beware of oil seal
problems on the rear one, if transmission oil gets through onto the rear
brake you are in serious trouble.

According to the manufacturers specs a Mk3 LE should stop from 30MPH in
20 feet which is good compared to machines of the same era. If you
cannot acheive this you have a problem that needs fixing, you should be
able to do better than spec with reasonable fettling.

Other points to watch are wear in the fulcrum bushes and cables. All of
the necessary replacement bits are available from the club spares scheme.

 

Out of idle interest - the wider drum doesn't demand a different spoke
set does it?

 

Not that I know of, but there are a lot of subtle differences between
the 150 and 200 c models. The Mk3, for example, uses a different size wheel.

 

Ah, and this wheel will obey Sods Law by being unobtainable anywhere in
the World ...

 

The 150 had a different lubrication system as well and used roller
instead of plain bearings. These were changed because relying on one oil
jet to lubricate most of the internals proved dodgy. That's from memory
of a Velocette history. Water cooling was adopted due to the use of side
valves, the Valiant with OHV was always air cooled.

By the way IIRC one of the experimental models mentioned was a Viceroy
engine in a Valiant frame.

Ken Young