As for daytime visibility, the bobbing effect of the light source with a girder forked bike tends to make them quite visible on the road. But I don't always run the headlight during the day & you should NEVER rely on being seen because of it.
I keep my forks & damper nipped up fairly tight. Mine has a steering damper but I don't use it. It depends on the road surface too, of course.
Hi Mark
Your bike is looking good. I can't wait to get mine on the road. It will be my first time with a BSA of the era, I am more familiar with the later BSA Unit Singles and Twins (late 60's / early 70's). It's useful to me to understand your experiences, thanks for sharing.
Hi Bob
Regarding the headlight on the girder forks, as the headlight is fixed to the fork blades which are fixed to the front wheel, won't the bobbing of the headlight be experienced by the rider and not the oncoming traffic?
email (option): steve@bsa-inc.com
That is exactly the case Steve. I remember one guy asking if the speedo cable he was about to order should be long enough to allow the movement between wheel and speedo. Of course the two points are fixed and never move apart. Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com
Hi Steve
As the entire girder & wheel assembly bounces up & down over road irregularities the quickly moving light source tends to grab one's attention. If the headlight was mounted on the mudguard of a telescopic forked bike the effect would be the same, I suppose.
The roadholding on mine is fine as long as the front tyre pressure's around 17psi. The clutch is excellent, the gear change positive and it's not at all cumbersome. It's really sweet with a whiff of throttle at 45 using a 19 tooth engine sprocket, and tops out over 60mph, but then mine's a 16H.....
Another test ride last night, I didn't get a chance to address all the issues I found on the last ride.
The bike is stored at home now, no room so I don't gat a chance to look at it.
What I did manage to do is fit a 60/55W halogen bulb.
Current drain is awful, but I could see.
I also tightened a few fasteners I forgot!
I'm getting better at the gear changes, but I still forget and change to fast or at the wrong time.
Still a work in progress.
Mark
email (option): pes.sales@btconnect.com
Mark, presumably you've fitted the longer post war 60W dynamo with an MCR2 regulator? Even so with that bulb and the tail lamp and the occasional use of a 21W stop light. It will struggle to keep up.
LED's are the way to go, if indeed they can give a correct pool of light for night riding.....Which I avoid like the plague.
https://www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com/led-bulbs-especially-for-motorcycles-shop.php
Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com
Due to peer pressure I have become a reluctant anorak Ron. (please excuse the pun)
So I decided to use the short dynamo with the MCR2.
I was happy with the rebuilt magneto, so I sent most of a short dynamo to Armoto to be fully rebuild as 12volts.
I'm running the lighting on a 12volt lithium battery with no charging.
I've ran for over an hour now, and still a bright headlight.
If I can find a new original lens and reflector I might try an LED again.
The Wassell (cree) was very bright, but light everywhere other than my direction.
Still the compact rear LED is not bright enough either.
I'll have a good look at the link you posted Ron, as it's not clear to me as to what I require.
Mark
email (option): pes.sales@btconnect.com
I've ordered wrong bulbs from his confusing array of bulbs before. But he's more than happy to talk you through what you need.
Click on the Ariel Sq 4 link for our classic bikes. Ron
email (option): ronpier@talk21.com
Last night I tried the snow run at night test.
The snow was a disappointment, slush was more interesting around corners.
Deep unexpected flooding no problem, I managed to get the throttle shut as the wave went over me.
It coughed a bit, but soon recovered.
Going slower at night exceeded my lighting range, so I had to phone home for recovery.
Conclusion, it was happier in the cold and wet than me!
Mark
email (option): pes.sales@btconnect.com
Now using a rebuilt 40W Dynamo by Armoto.
What is a surprise is that the 40W Dynamo is this charging with a 55W halogen headlight bulb.
So I'm very happy with that.
I managed to find a little time to advance the ignition timing.
Still not happy as the timing light is so sensitive that the slightest pressure changes the light.
It's a bit more responsive, but I'm not happy.
Any more that half throttle make no difference.
I think the answer is to put a TDC mark on the crank sprocket and use a digital strobe to check it.
Big shock was how much water was in the engine.
I had no idea it could get in so easily.
I noticed this morning that a drip I think was from the gearbox was also gray.
Better drain the gearbox and chaincase.
Lets hope the water resistant grease I used is doing it's job.
So a warning, the M20 is not amphibious!
Mark
email (option): pes.sales@btconnect.com
I just use a marked pencil to get the timing right and then adjust by feel if needed, but then this is my third M21 [and came with the timing out]. Having knackered four batteries using a far east regulator, due to a reverse bleed; I now use an English made DVR and one of Goff's excellent 6v LEDS. I got a 12v LED from him for my Enfield 535 and that was a vast improvement too.
email (option): jeremy@clogmaker.co.uk