ET: Engine (Twin) Godet electric starter

[PapyG]

Good morning all

Greg, simply for a generator training issue that would cause problems.

Coming back to Harley starters, once received they are disassembled and the bearings are replaced with sealed bearings, and grease is put in place.

For the starter crown problems, as I explained to you, there was a time when they were brittle. The problem was then solved and never caused a problem again.

Indeed, putting rivets in place of the 8 M6 screws is mechanically better, but this assembly has never caused a problem .. (so far)
Greg, unfortunately you have encountered this problem on the 1330 Black Prince, but if a tooth is to go to the wrong place and to force on the crown ... ouch ..

By the way, to answer Gerry and Greg (not personally to you Greg but to the owner of 1330), know that the 90% of people who are not happy are people who touch their bike themselves or who do not ride and trying to start them every 6 months without doing a minimum of maintenance.

there was a problem with the phone at Godet for a long time. Today it works

Guillaume

 

[greg brillus]

Ok, thanks for your response........ I agree about the lack of use of these bikes on a regular basis, no one can control that.........For folk who have collections of bikes this is a common reality....... No matter what the machines are really. I also agree about owners who like to tinker with their own bikes.......However........this bike was bought to me by the concerned owner......... Anyway we shall see what happens........They are a lovely bike and beautifully made........ But for myself coming from a lifelong mechanical and aviation background there are some areas that just don't seem right........ I know you people are the manufacturer and that's fine, I do not want to degrade the machines you build........ I just think there is room for improvement.........there are definite ways to ease the load on a starter system without going to too much extra effort........anyway cheers and thanks for your help.

 

[PapyG]

Greg, if this bike is from you, I have no doubts about your skills. I was talking about the 1330 Black Prince, which was delivered in beautiful condition and once arrived, was dismantled in all directions by the owner and his friends, to see how it was mounted, up to the igniter! So that's why I want to explain all of this, because it's easy to point the finger at Godet once anything's been done .. and stories like this I'm unfortunately in store. .

Of course, there are improvements to be made, and I admire the constructive ideas of these people on this forum! Really.

Sincerely, Guillaume

 

[Peter Holmes]

I think when criticising Godet Egli's one should remember what they actually are, the original Egli built by Fritz was a tuned Vincent engine fitted to a modern (for 1970) frame. When they became unobtainable Patrick Godet started to build his version of an Egli.

It is true that Patrick introduced some improvements along the way, and they are now considered to be a fine machine, having visited the factory twice quite recently, once with Patrick at the helm, and once with Francois leading the team, I can only say what they are producing is extremely impressive, but the engine, the main component, is still essentially the same engine that Phil Vincent and Phil Irving designed and built in the late 1940s, flaws and all, would we want it any other way, is a triplex chain running in shallow oil such a bad thing anyway.

I think Patricks approach was to keep the basic engine as it was designed, with a few improvements, but put it together extremely well, and lets not forget, he got a 500cc Vincent based pushrod engine (with a few improvements) round the Isle of Man circuit at just a fag paper under 100mph, no mean achievement.

The starter ring problem obviously could be seen as a major problem for a very low volume producer, I guess the costs to bear could be dangerously costly for a small business to put right, but even major car manufacturers get it wrong sometimes, VW have a major problem with the EGR valve failing on the 180 Transporter engine, which then sucks debris into the bores and destroys the engine, very well documented, but not a problem admitted or recognised by VW.

I only wish that I could afford a Godet Egli, with perceived flaws and all, but I would bear in mind that I was buying an engine that was designed as state of the art perfection in the 1940s

My acerbic Son would say (with tongue in cheek I hope) you cannot polish a turd, but then again he does ride Honda's and Kawasaki's.

 

[greg brillus]

I think anyone who has adapted an electric starter system to a Vincent engine is doing very well........It is all obviously a big compromise, as you don't really want to change the looks and basic design of the factory spec engine. I think in reality the main issue is when the engine specs grow.........As bore sizes grow the internal friction grow with it, plus add extra compression and many other upgrades........You go from an engine that cranks over quite well, to one that only needs the smallest of hickups and things start to go wrong.........I think that is what I have seen here, a combination of small issues that have ended up doing some damage. The carburretors seem to block their pilot jets within a short period of time, especially here in a hot climate.........The ESA seems to be a stock Vincent one, is there an upgraded one that can be used.........Remember this Egli is a 2015 model 1330 magnesium engine (about 400 km's on the clock from new)........Can someone confirm that a Lithium Ion battery is better to use in this bike for better cranking output.........Cheers........ Greg.

 

[PapyG]

Greg, we already have this installed and it works great

 

[Vincent Brake]

Yes i use shorai Greg.
But once its been totally emptey its loss is hudge.
I use therefore the biggest one.

I like them as they arr black

 

[Monkeypants]

Shorai states that their batteries should only be used with a charging system that produces at least 13.1 volts at idle. Also, it should charge the battery to 14.4 volts for a full charge. That's the operating range for " 12volt" Lithium batteries.
Discharged to 12.9 volts they shut off or go into limp mode. This is not fun at night in traffic!
Charging much above the 14.4 volt threshold can cause great heat and fire.
Keep it in that 13.1 to 14.4 range and they seem to work quite well.
The actual AH capacity is 1/3 of the rated number on the Li battery.
With this in mind they aren't quite so light.
A Shorai 18 LFX has a PB/EQ rating of 18 ah but an actual storage capacity of 6 AH, for regular draw down purposes. The 18 PB/EQ rating means it will run a starter for one quick draw down in the same way that an 18 AH lead acid battery will. If the bike doesn't start on that quick burst, things can get ugly. Now you have something with power akin to a half discharged
6 AH lead acid battery, not ideal for starting. Suck the power down a bit lower so the 12.9 volt threshold is encountered and the battery goes into limp mode to save itself. Do this often and the battery will die a sudden death.
This is just my experience, Shorai's recommendations and what has been reported by some Norton owners.

Glen

 

[Vincent Brake]

And yet, when i had at some point Alton disease.

I could run till the pazon stopped, at about 7-8 volt.
Had a digital voltmeter on it, so came home.

At some coffee point i asked if i could charge my battery, the waitress asked what battery.

I guess the world is getting used to Tesla owners....

 

[greg brillus]

So with the info Glen has given, should a different regulator be used with the Alton to up the voltage to keep up with the Li po battery. I only mention this because i remember working on a Shadow not long ago that had a Shorai battery and electric starter........this had an earlier Alton, but the regulator was some modern Japanese thing that gave a higher charge rate than a podtronics.......does any of that make sense.......