From: Charles Falco
Date: Wed, 20 Sep 1995 06:59:19 -0700 (MST)
On September 19 Armin Gittinger wrote:
Could someone give me a hint where I can find
places with good literature on british bikes in London. I am looking for
all related to BSA.
There are three places worth a visit. One of them needs a car to reach (or a well developed urge to hike), while the other two are within a few hundred yards of the Leicester Square tube station (one, in fact, is about 20 feet from it).
Located about 3 miles east of Heathrow is Chater's. Unfortunately, the nearest tube station--Hounslow East, on the Picadilly line that runs to Heathrow--is too far to walk comfortably. I've never measured it, but my guess is that it may be a mile. Chater's are definitely worth a visit, since they normally have a worthwhile stock of out-of-print as well as new books (the other two places I'm about to recommend do not carry used books). However, on a one day trip, you'll probably want to pass them by. If not, contact me directly and I'll give you detailed directions for reaching them by car. In any case,
Chater's
8 South Street
Isleworth, Middlesex
TW7 7BG
(44) 0181-568-9750
-569-8273 Fax
Next, and in no particular order, we have Autobooks.
They're on a tiny street (St. Martin's Court--not to be confused with St.
Martin's Lane) that's directly on the south side of the Leicester tube
station, and that runs between Charing Cross Road and St.
Martin's Lane. I don't have their address
or phone number handy, but it's easy to find; once you find it. The
actual "Court" is so small that it barely appears on most maps. If,
after circling the streets adjacent to the tube station once you haven't
run across it, ask at a few shops. Autobooks has a very large selection
of new motorcycle books.
Finally, just "up" Charing Cross Road a few hundred
yards from the Leicester tube station is Foyle's. They're a very
old, very well stocked, multi-storied, full service book store. Motorcycle
books are on the level above the street level. Exit the tube station
and head north along Charing Cross in the direction of Totenham Court Road
and you'll see them on the left (west) side of the road about half way
to the Totenham Court tube station.
From: Charles Falco
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 1996 17:49:22 -0700 (MST)
For anyone interested in gaining a broader perspective of the many reasons for the decline and fall of the British motorcycle industry, I particularly recommend the following sources:
* Meriden: Historical Summary 1972-1974, Anon. (Norton-Villiers-Triumph, c1975)
* Whatever Happened to the British Motorcycle Industry?, Bert Hopwood (Haynes, 1981)
* The Giants of Small Heath: The History of BSA, Barry Ryerson (Haynes, 1980)
* British Motorcycles Since 1950, Vol's 1-6 [of 6], Steve Wilson (Patrick Stephens, 1982-92)
There are many other sources I could cite, but the above give a representative overview.
Charles Falco
From: Terry Drehmel
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 94 13:05:31 CDT
This is for all owners of Haynes manual covering Triumph 350-500 twins published in 1974.
Page 61, Illustration # 7.7 "Kickstarter return spring in tension."
If you follow this illustration, you will feel tension when you try
to use the kickstarter. It will travel down about 1/2 inch and then abruptly
STOP
as it bends the smeg out of the spring keeper. (that big tab-washer
looking thing that goes over the kickstarter shaft and holds the return
spring in place.) The photo in the book is EXACTLY WRONG (in regards
to a '71 Daytona) and if you follow this it will cause you grief.
This manual also shows the headbolts going in with the two headbolts which have the studs for the engine mounts on the exhaust side of the head. This will not work as the engine mounts are to the intake side of the head. The parts book (specially ordered for this year,model,etc...) shows it wrong for the '71 Daytona as well.
When I first bought this manual, it was treated nearly as carefully as a Gutenberg Bible. The first couple glaring errors caused me to buy a Clymer (ptui!) and then after being Clymerized I bought a 4-ring FACTORY-(oh, it's got to be right!)-straight from Jolly Old-and don't think for a minute there aren't a few "HEY, That's not right!'s-Triumph Service Manual-GAWD, I CAN'T BELIEVE THE POSTAGE ON THIS THING. I now keep all of these available and open when puzzled as between them I have figured some stuff out. The Haynes has been EDITED by the owner repeatedly to rectify problem areas. Get 'um greasy guys. A pristine manual is a useless book.
Terry Drehmel LWotGm
.sigless for now
From: Rob Brotherston
Date: Mon, 25 Jul 1994 13:35:32 CST
[edit edit]
> When I first bought this manual, it was treated nearly as carefully
as a
> Gutenberg Bible. The first couple glaring errors caused me to buy
a Clymer
> (ptui!) and then after being Clymerized I bought a 4-ring FACTORY-(oh,
it's
> got to be right!)-straight from Jolly Old-and don't think for a minute
there
> aren't a few "HEY, That's not right!'s-Triumph Service Manual-GAWD,
I CAN'T
> BELIEVE THE POSTAGE ON THIS THING. I now keep all of these available
and open
> when puzzled as between them I have figured some stuff out. The Haynes
> has been EDITED by the owner repeatedly to rectify problem areas.
> Get 'um greasy guys. A pristine manual is a useless book.
>
> Terry Drehmel LWotGm
> .sigless for now
>
Actually, I put my manuals in plastic page protectors ($6.95/hundred),
that way I can use the manual without destroying it (that 4-ringer is worth
more than my truck!) and I can put notes on the diagram with a wipeable
transparency marker. Example, if I had checked off the parts on the exploded
diagram as I installed them I probably wouldn't have had exactly one nut
and one bolt left over when I rebuilt Fido's top end.
But...I guess since the motor runs good I must have made it more efficient by using fewer parts. :-^)
Rob
Date: Tue, 26 Jul 94 10:28 EDT
From: Latte' Jed
> This is for all owners of Haynes manual covering Triumph 350-500 twins
> published in 1974.
>
> Page 61, Illustration # 7.7 "Kickstarter return spring in tension."
>
> If you follow this illustration, you will feel tension when you try
to use
> the kickstarter. It will travel down about 1/2 inch and then abruptly
STOP
> as it bends the smeg out of the spring keeper. (that big tab-washer
looking
>...
> When I first bought this manual, it was treated nearly as carefully
as a
> Gutenberg Bible. The first couple glaring errors caused me to buy
a Clymer
> (ptui!) and then after being Clymerized I bought a 4-ring FACTORY-(oh,
it's
> got to be right!)-straight from Jolly Old-and don't think for a minute
there
> aren't a few "HEY, That's not right!'s-Triumph Service Manual-GAWD,
I CAN'T
> BELIEVE THE POSTAGE ON THIS THING. I now keep all of these available
and open
>...
After wrenching almost every part of a Triumph 500 (the wheels have yet to give us grief) I've come to regard their pictures and diagrams as "your bike might look something like this". I have the Haines, Clymers and factory manuals, and whenever I need a critical dimension I ask all three for their opinions and do whatever I feel like. Fortunately the bikes are so shit simple and easy to work on that they can be rebuilt with nothing more than common sense and whitworth wrenches.
As for the kickstarts, yeah, they can be a frustrating spot - I went through two of those smeggin tab washers (overpriced from Don Hutchinson, I might add) before I bought one somewhere else and realized that the stuff Don was selling was just shit, the next one held.
Another problem I've run into is the tab washer slipping off of the shaft it's on - the shaft has flats to hold the washer in place, but when tolerances get loose the washer can slide off and spin. I found that a valve spring shim fits perfectly on the end of the shaft and keeps the washer where it's supposed to be.