The Classic MotorCycle – September 2019

6:Clampingeverythinguplocked

thewheel...notgood.

7:Theproblemwastracedtothe

bearinggreaseshieldandcuredby

cuttingitawaysothebrakeplatecould

revolvewith thebearinginnerrace.

8:It ispossiblethecentralbossonsome

platesis relievedtoallowtheshield

tostayinplace,Idon’t knowifthat

is thecase.Perhapsareaderdoes.

6

7

8

easywith aqdhub andisessentially one
bolt –orwheel spindleify ou prefer–and
adistancepiece to contendwith.Theidea
behindtheqdfeature wasless to dowith
the teamsin th eInternationalSixDaysTrial
needingspeedytyrechanging and more
to do with the conditionofthe roads in the
early partofthe 20th century.Macadamised
road buildin gwas common,butthe
addition of tar to the process wasnew and
not doneeverywhere. Addinthe factthat
horsetransportwas still common andnails
fromshoeswould be on theroads,isitany
wonderpunctureswere frequentand afast
methodoffixing them wasrequired?
With th etyreonand in place,the
clearancebetween theswinging armand
the widertyreinuse should be checked–it
is closeasthe swingingarm would normally
have to dealwith a17indiameter,3.5in wide
tyre, rather than the4.5in x18inendurotyre.
Clampingeverythin gupbroughttol ight an
issue–the wheelwouldn’t turn. Slackening

offagain,the wheel turned, so something

wasobviously nipping up.

In the partsbookfrommyearlies tforays

with unitTriumphsinthe 1980s, the

assembly of th erear hubinvolves shims, felt

seals andcirclipsfittinginthe brak edrum.

Theactualhubisfine andhadbeenmodded

slightly and theproblemwasthe vast cast

iron sprocket/drum.Ith as abearingin

it and intheold days itwould have hada

shield andaseal, butnow it hasasealed

bearin gand theold shieldserves asalocator,

butitdoesn’t need to seal greaseinthe

bearin g.Thebrake platehas aboss that sits

against thebearinginnerrace and, when

clampingup, it canstill spin. It looks as if

the brakeplate needed wouldhaveaslight

relief around theedgeofthe boss to letthe

main bi tsit on theinnerrace and theouter

bit togo over theshield.Thanks to theseal

on thebearing, theshieldcanbecut away

and serveasashimtolocatethe bearing

and,with ever ythingclamped up again,the

wheel span quite nicely.It isfiddly little

thingssuch as thisthat takeupalot of time

and it is something anyone attemptingsuch

abuild will have to contendwith.

Still needed

Something else to contendwith is there’s

never asmuch ofaproject asyou think

thereiswhenyou startout.Giventhe

alterations to the frame,therewas always

goingtobeahighlevel of time-consuming

design and make to accomplish.Asf or the

other parts,wheneverIvisi tanautojumble

latel ythereseems tobe nothingonthe stalls

Ineed.Somewherealongthe road Ineed

tofind an alloyrear guard, an oil tanktofit

in the frame,mudguardstays for thefront

and some handlebar clamps,footrests,a

kickstart, some rockboxcapsand other bits.

An exhaust systemwould be nicetoo.

If youhavesuch bits clutteringupyourshed,

thengetintouch and maybe we can

strike adeal.

End

THE CLASSICMOTORCYCLE|SEPTEMBER 2019 79

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