Prince George Vintage Motorcycle Club
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: Qball on February 08, 2016, 07:30:15 PM
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After f*&#ing around of epic proportions, I still can't get the matchless to run proper. If anyone has a lead on SH matchless cams please let me know. Thanks in advances
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bring the bike with all parts to PG...beer for Hans and myself and we will perform another miracle...lol, Hans does not yet know this...
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I was present last summer when Q-Ball had plenty of "advice" in trying to get the Matchless working. Lots of good ideas and attempts, but it just wouldn't go.
I was in a similar situation with the Smithers XS650 Bobber, and it was Hans who had the eureka moment (magnets in electronic ignition system ... two were missing). Maybe Paul's onto to something.
Peace & Grease, Dennis
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QBall Buddy if you are going to bring or ship the old girl to P.G. take to Jim Anderson problem solved. You will be racing against us next year then. Its awesome to keep trying but some times we all need a little expertise i no i do bud. He is known to be one of the best at this game.
Bulldog
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so I found the new SH cams that originally crumbled out of the bike. they are on the way, had a long chat with paul the other morning and will have one more crack at her before i book my trip out for a visit. Fingers crossed!
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Hi, The SH or CI cams are meant for and work with the later short stroke post 1956 competition engines, alloy barrel , High comp domed piston, hemi head and enclosed pushrod tubes. If you have an iron barrelled engine , separate pushrod tubes, and a flat top piston even machining out the camcase to make fit will not really be of help. Better off with a set of roadster cams or a set of H cams if you can find them. I will look in through my spares this weekend. The cams will press out of the spindles if heated , they are identical , only the spindles different to drive the mag. Cheers, Matchless dave
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thanks dave. this one has had me stumped. it had the SH in there when I got the bike as a complete wreck. I jerry rigged an ignition together from snow mobile parts and used the original points for timing only and managed to race in vernon on the first year. I then tore apart the ignition, got a new lucas mag and cams with no marks and have not had it run right since. the cams had to be changes as they were on the verge of disintegration. I even tried putting the rust old ones back in to no avail. I loved the bike on year one.... now on year three sticks of dynamite seem to be a better idea. The bike was raced flat track in california back in the 60s and 70s. It is very rough but thought keeping her alive would be fun.
The bike is a: 1952 steel sleeve, 1954 aluminum valve cover, 1955 bottom end, 1953 transmission (as best i have been able to determine.) I have spent wayyyyyy too much money on it and hopefully can stop the money wound from bleeding soon. It has been a fun project but my patience is starting to wear out.
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From personal experience -- the only way to stop bleeding money into these things is to attach a long rope or chain to them and consider them your new boat anchor. Otherwise it's all part of the adventure - right?
Consider too - if you weren't pouring money into something like this that gives you pleasure on occasion what on earth would you do with all that extra money?
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Ya I know, I do love it. Just would rather be riding than wrenching some days
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Hi, So a steel sleeve in an alloy barrel from 1952 to 1955 would have taken an H cam originally. If you have a low compression piston , flat top ,it will run on roadster cams. no top end but ok off the line. You did make sure that you lined the dots up correctly when you set the cams in the case. I have an article on how to do it as the manual can be confusing. If you send me a picture of the cam I can identify it . dblagdon@shaw.ca. Some roadster cams did not have an identifier stamp .If you have a high compression piston the timing will have to be dead on, otherwise will never get to run properly. Jimmy knows where to set them and is different from the "book" Cheers Dave
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We read that manual the original time we set up the cams and farmer ignition system before O'keefe 2 years ago. I do believe it was written in a language known as "British". It was rather incomprehensible. Eventually we reverted to base principles of 4 stoke engines in order to get it running.
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I will take some pics this weekend and send. The new SH cams came in today.
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so dots on the new cams are same locations but different numbers from the other SH cams that originally we got to run in the bike. the lobes are approximately the same (close as F&*K is to swearing). I just spent an hour hooking everything up exactly reverse rotation of the crank...aaaahh crap. Then I put it back together right way as per degrees for intake-exhaust of what the book says. it now blows fuel out the carb...Hans and paul, I think we had this issue before!? I think the SH duration of open is too long so I need to open them sooner, It doesn't make sense but I think this is what happened before. Im going back out to the garage after a beer and snack.... I hope the end is in sight! Dave, does any of this make sense to you? Remember this is a Frankenbike.
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My hazy recollection is that we made sure we had the intake cam in the right position first and picked with the exhaust cam after and actually managed to get the dots to line up. Have pics of the cams?
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So I just got back inside... Bike is sucking, compressing, power and blowing. Seemingly perfectly. it feels smooth and "right" if you know what i mean. No kicking back and bucking, i set the ignition timing, checked it 3 times. bike still isn't firing! friggg! not a pop or bang or nothing! it has only 90psi compression when i warmed up the cylinder, but it is only running 5.9:1 ratio so doesn't seem too off.
the dots ended up lining up (like last time) I don't know. just buttoned her all up but, no luck! i see other posts saying that 110+psi is needed. Im thinking pulling the head off and checking valves...thoughts?
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I joined the matchless club to see what they thought and the 75-80psi dry and 90 wet and warm are acceptable and i "should be happy with the compression" So the mystery continues!
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90 pounds should fire cold, especially with that low compression ratio.Kicking over a Harley 45 is like stuffing your foot in a bucket of water and they will run on kerosene. Have you tried squirting a LITTLE bit of gas in the cylinder just prior to kicking to get the juices flowing?? As a general rule if you have spark compression and fuel and it still wont run you have spark at the wrong time. Being unfamiliar with your bike and Brits in general I have no idea what style mag you have. If it has a rotor on a tapered shaft with a woodruff key the key may have sheared off and the rotor shifted so that could be the problem. If it is gear driven recheck the timing of the gears, worst case scenario just keep shifting it 1 tooth till it fires. luck and CHEERS!
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Mulling over your problem today I remembered the name of a British cycle guru who could help you solve your dilemma. Al Maas if he's still around is your answer, don't have his number anymore but Guy or Bulldog should. CHEERS.
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Al Maas 250 746 5011
British Isles Motorcycles, Duncan BC
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QBall you must love pain. Dave and i are both British bike owners and have suggested who to contact. I work on British bikes daily. I wish i new a 10th of what that man has forgoten. He knows AJS and Matchless like Dave Posted he is the man. Like i said before problem solved.
Bulldog
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Bulldog I have no doubt Jim can cure the matchless but Q-ball is in rip-bum and Jim is here. Al is more accessible by phone and internet, besides paying someone else doesn't help you learn anything. During my time in bike shops I had other mechanics to draw from when I couldn't solve a problem and they in turn had me. we all have different areas of expertise and experience. Bringing his bike here would be expensive and mean admitting failure, tough pill to swallow. Did not mean to offend. CHEERS.
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Heck no, we want QBall to come here. I'm sure we can help and hell, he's fun to drink a beer or 2 with.
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Well Fast1 I don't call it been a failure and i am sure others won't. I have seen what happens when someone installs the exhaust cam in a Triumph T140 one tooth out. Can you also believe this by a 20yr+ certified motorcycle mechanic. The owner of the bike was lucky he had deep pockets pay for the end result. Al is a great Mechanic i agree + i have great respect for him and his knowledge. I am sure QBall knows people who travel to P.G. Plus its a lot closer than Duncan and plus less expensive . We all can get them running but getting them running right is a different story. I am trying to save him going into his pockets any deeper than he has. We want to see him in Vernon B.C. and Pemberton B.C. this year kicking our ass this year at Flat Tracking. I will phone QBall and give him Al and Jim's Ph#s and both there Email address. And yes Hans he is fun drinking beer with.
Just one Dogs option.
Bulldog
en
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Hey folks
It appears my name has come up regarding the mechanics of the old Matchless singles. While I appreciate all of the great bumps to my ego, I really do have to straighten out any misconceptions as to my knowledge regarding these great machines. I am more than happy to bend over backward to help out in sourcing parts for any old Brit bikes but I really don't know much about the Matchless.
Although I do have a load of used parts for the twins, I don't have much in stock for the singles and have never worked on either the singles or twins. I am more a Triumph or Norton or BSA guy, although I love them all. I no longer do repairs other than my own, as we are in a building in downtown Duncan that is not zoned for doing such.
I agree with Fast1, he mentioned that Qball was in a "rip-bum" to get things done, Jim is there and he is very knowledgeable, he could likely have this problem solve without really thinking about it a whole lot. The knowledge is there with some of the older folks, all you have to do is ask them, and Jim has been working on all types of bikes for as long as I have known him.
I'm happy to answer any questions that you might have regarding any of these machines, I don't know all the answers and will tell you so if I am unable to answer 100%, rather than trying to impress you with a bunch of baloney. Although free advice is sometimes worth what you pay for it, I will certainly do my best for you.
While I've got your attention, I want to thank all that I do hear from, we are one of about 5 or 6 businesses still dealing with these British parts in Canada, could be that because we are a small business, we are able to provide a more personal service than some of the larger outfits. Anyway, that is why we're still in business, because I enjoy the personal contact with my customers.
We are still hard at it in Duncan, BC, we presently carry approximately 15,000 part numbers. I hope some of you get a chance to come and visit someday. I'm not hard to get ahold of, if I'm not here, leave a message 250 746 5011 and I will get back to you, or email works really well for me britmc@britmc.com
Swap meets coming up down this way:
Luxton (Victoria) March 20
Coombs (Parksville) April 3
Cloverdale (formerly Tsawwassen) May 1
Wheelies M/C (Victoria) May 15
Later, Al Maas
British Isles M/C