Grumph / Tri-Greeves

[iansoady]

They're not going to be cheap but given the many areas where it could all go terribly wrong I thought it best to get them made by an expert......

[Moto63]

They're not going to be cheap but given the many areas where it could all go terribly wrong I thought it best to get them made by an expert......

If it’s any consolation Ian. I usually find that if “you buy cheap, you’ll buy twice” and that’s why I mainly try to “do it right, do it once”
 Can’t remember where I picked the quotes up but definitely found them  both to be generally correct over the years.
👍

[Itsme]

I agree with you Michael and know that you will 'measure twice and cut once'. My old boss, he of the radiator story, was a man of 'robust' language and one of his was 'any one can make a mistake, but only a total 'see you next Tuesday' (you can work it out!) makes the same mistake twice.

By the look of those engine plates the man who made them certainly measures twice and isn't prone to making mistakes either once or twice.

Ian

[iansoady]

Moving slowly on after a great trip to Brittany....

Picked up the engine plates yesterday and fitted the engine bottom half. One plate needed slightly trimming to avoid collision with the crankcase casting but otherwise everything slotted straight in. Please excuse the messy backgrounds.

[themoudie]

"Messy backgrounds"! Appears "organised" to me and the engine plates look to be tickety boo to boot.

Good health, Bill

[Moto63]

"Messy backgrounds"! Appears "organised" to me and the engine plates look to be tickety boo to boot.

Good health, Bill

What more can one say that hasn’t already been said in the previous post. 👍👍
Cheers, Michael

[themoudie]

Aye Ian,

If your looking for an exhaust system, you could do worse than contact Raysons Exhausts. His Grandfather was one of the founders of Unity Equipe, Rochdale. I have attached a link to a Facebook "Reel" (short video!) below:

Raysons_Exhausts_Tri/Greeves_500cc_exhaust_system_make_fitting

Good health, Bill

[iansoady]

Thanks Bill. As always I'm striving to keep the costs manageable so have a scruffy pair of standard pipes which I'll use for the initial build at least but will bear Raysons in mind. I think I've seen them featured in various classic bike magazines over the years. I am wondering about silencing and was considering trying db killers in the otherwise open pipes but feel that might be a bit antisocial.

This morning I've been fitting the barrels. Eagle eyed observers may note that I've also had to make a slight mod to the engine plate to allow the gearbox drain / level plug to be removed and inserted. Where the holding down strap is. I've had a polite word with the chap who supplied them. Otherwise they fit beautifully with only very minor adjustments.

I'm going to build the engine unit including gearbox and final drive without putting the frame on as I've checked that for fit and access is so much easier. Those pesky cylinder base nuts tried my patience however and I've had to grind soen one of my nice combination spanners to get in.

[themoudie]

Aye Ian,

Used to use the "silencers" from the end of the VW Beetle system, they effectively take the "crack" off the exhaust note, don't impede gas flow and are relatively cheap and easy to purchase. I understand why you initially wish to keep costs down, until you have the beastie up and running and see how you meld with it.

As for the cylinder base nuts!    They look a right pain in the buttocks. But, torquing, allen cap screws at the base of an SRX cylinder can be "trying" as well! 

I'm still cleaning carbon and crud from the internals of the Ducati 350 at present, inbetween other household chores etc.

Good health, Bill

[iansoady]

Thanks Bill, I've heard about these VW mutes but no idea what they look like / where to get them. I'm considering this type of thing: I have one fitted in the XBR Goldie "silencer" and it does seem to cut the noise down a bit.

[themoudie]

Aye Ian,

That is the sort of thing required.

I was thinking on the lines of these: eBay Lot number: 133304876616

However, 'Feked' produce this, which appears similar, if not the same as yours, in a range of diameters.

Link:Feked_silencer-baffles-bolt-in-type

The latter is probably your preferred option. 

The main thing to watch for is that there are the depressed/punched holes as these disrupt the exhaust pulses and if you can reduce the area of the exhaust outlet by 25% of the exhaust valve area the you should ensure that the exhaust gases speed is not reduced and encourage scavenging of the cylinder at the end of the exhaust stroke (Motad knowledge, NOT MINE, but used by me in my copy of their design for a single cylinder silencer).

Good health, Bill

[iansoady]

Yes, the feked one is the type - I assume these orginate from the far east as it looks the same as the one I have in my XBR which I got from my local classic bike parts shop.

Initially at any rate I just want it a bit quieter than open pipes....

[iansoady]

Cylinder head now on. I was a bit nervous about this as people have said it's hard to locate pushrods etc but it all went together very easily. No doubt I have something wrong. It was much easier to do the engine assembly without the frame getting in the way.

The pushrod tubes are notorious for leaking oil but hopefully the wellseal I've used everywhere will stop that. Who knows?

Next job is to insert the gearbox internals - I've done test assemblies of this so don't anticipate too may issues.

[iansoady]

I thought I'd do a trial assembly of the frame loops and tanks etc - looking quite good although the tank is very close to the rocker boxes. I've used 2 of the head bolts that have a threaded extension for a head steady but since the photo have replaced these with ordinary ones as I'm not fitting a head steady - I may regret this later. That gives me an extra inch or so even with the rocker feed installed. I have the gearbox internals ready to fit - just waiting for some Allen screws from Nooky's nuts. I'd already bought a set but they seem to have made a bid for freedom.....

Looking good I think although the hard stuff is yet to do.

[iansoady]

Moving on....

I've made the proper mounting studs for the engine plates - previously just cobbled together with various odd metric bolts. These are 303 stainless - 3/8" diameter, Cycle 26tpi thread. I cut the threads in the lathe then tidy up with the die as the lathe leaves a slightly rough surface finish. A couple of hours' work here;



Also fitted the gearbox internals which went well. More than can be said for the kickstart return spring which is notoriously tricky. I ended up holding the plate in place with a washer and jubilee clip to stop it popping off its locating register and using a long screwdriver to coax the other end round and over its abutment. The Triumph manual suggests doing it the other way round but I couldn't get that to work. The inner cover is temprarily held snug with slave screws etc to give the wellseal a chance to cure - I'm leaving the outer cover off for the time being as it gets in the way of the oil junction union etc.