Alternators, brakes...

[Tom Gaynor]

Brakes and generators and the stock look

I have PVS 4ls brakes. They are quite clearly not stock, but look as they ought to be: almost no one notices them.
I also have an Alton. You'd have to look very hard to see that it wasn't a Miller. Except of course when the lights are on........
Eddie Stevens among others believes the Miller dynamo is a solid piece of kit, but the regulator very much isn't and is best replaced by a Lucas one.
That was then and this is now: first stop therefore might be spending a few quid on an electronic regulator. There are several on the market.

 

[timetraveller]

Oh!! the pain and anguish. To read that Roy the Mechanic, possibly a close personal friend of Bob the Builder, should consider that the car alternator kits, the un-natural love child of my CAD package and a bobin of copper wire should evoke his comment "[they look like dogs wosname]" is more than I can bear. Surely 'handsome is as handsome does' and 'beauty lies in the eye of the beholder' should be evoked. Quite likely when Roy the Mechanic emerged in to the world as a pink and prune like infant his mother thought that he was beautiful even then. For those who can't stand the look of our car alternator kits then The Appletons, father and son, have shown what can be done on a twin while the new owner of Bruce Flood Thane's Comet (he was at the Pie and Pint with the bike) has shown what can be done on a single. I will try to post photographs of both bikes on the correct part of this Forum so others can form their own opinion.

 

[roy the mechanic]

Timetraveller/alternators

Pain+anguish was not the object. Just a personal observation. Iwas known as Roy the mechanic before Bob's creator was born! As to "darling mother" We never did get on. The best complement you can pay to modifications is that it looks like a factory peice. automotive alternators, however effective, just don't cut it. If they are so pretty why did they go to all that trouble to disguise them. I cannot see the two Phils using them as original equipment. Regards Roy.

 

[vibrac]

there is only one problem with Timetravelers system it can bend the ammeter needle against the stop when you rev the engine....
(only joking its a great system)-Comet Trials (all night) outfit

 

[vapide]

I think the parts of my Vin that might be stressed by good brakes have, despite the age of the machine, so far lived a life remarkable free of stress!

Your vin, like mine ,is fast approaching sixty years old .Does it really need the extra stresses and strains that yor dream brakes will impose upon it.

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Stress

I think that if Girdraulics couldn't take the stresses imposed by double discs, big four-shoe drums and the like, we'd have known by now because many people use them. And if standard Vincent brakes really WOULD stop a 200 kg twin from 30 mph in 22 feet, a feat which most modern set-ups would struggle to equal, then the worst criticism that could be levelled against them is that they were grossly over-engineered.

 

[Tom Gaynor]

Stress

It was a series of close shaves in traffic as the standard Vincent brakes kicked in three feet later than I wanted that persuaded me to go 2ls. I don't regret it. At speed the Vincent brakes were fine, and being a little slow to build up to maximum stopping scarcely matters. But in traffic, when I want brakes I want brakes NOW, and the leisurely servo of my Lightning plates meant I was risking heart-failure.
Yes, I do have a set of Lightning plates for sale, since you've asked......

 

[Bazlerker]

some decisions made.......

Well tonite I am going to order the Alton...and a slew of nuts, bolts, transfers, front fork springs, washers & gaskets...Everything has been decided on except the brake linings. For now I am going to simply re-line the brakes ...and between now and this evening consider alloy backing plates...


My goal is to have the beast fettled and ready to ride to the rally in Minnesota in September..with the 2 weeks prior being spent hiking & kayaking in Newfoundland that leaves me the rest of the spring & summer to do the work..more than enough time, and more than enough single malt in the cellar to "assist" in the process.

 

[peterg]

Howdy MrTom,

You mention the leisurely servo of those Lightning plates. That can be mitigated a touch by lining thickness, ie, the greater the approach angle of the outward moving shoe relative to its pivot at the point where it makes contact with the shoe determines in small measure the servo effect upon application.

So against conventional judgement, a thinner lining is preferred though one could argue being thinner it has less area to absorb heat. A moot point for (heavy) duffers like me living in built up areas where instant reaction is preferred over resistance to sustained application fade - which I'm unlikely to encounter as an inveterate plodder. I use longer linings, bonded, which are of a softer compound than the repro's I've encountered, then mark and hand camfer/radius to suit. At only $15 or so a shoe, I'll gladly relign more often than incur the expense of capping my teeth lost against the backside of the car in front of me.

So... to digress for a moment. Indian owners would ony love to be confronted with (even more) limited servo effect. The rear brakes are substantially stronger with more surface area than the fronts to prevent the dreaded front wheel lockup - presumably on gravel roads as it could not be induced on pavement - the only compromise I've found is to use the hardest nearly ineffective truck clutch material on back, putting very softy grabby posi-unit material on front....and then praying for the best.

 

[indianken]

My disc brake project

Here is my disc brake project as of 2/11/09. Shown here mocked up on a spare set of front forks.

Wheel, Honda Goldwing 19/1.85 with duel 11 discs. Kawasaki ZX10 Calipers, lines and master cylinder assembly. New wheel bearings and Spedo drive gears. Costs so far, $210.00 plus some alloy plate from my scrap pile.

USE IT UP, WARE IT OUT. MAKE IT DO,OR DO WITH OUT.

Cheep Ken Smith