Hitchcocks Forum

I have been looking over the front brake of my 1956 500 twin and generally it all looks pretty good to me. The shoes have plenty of meat on them, drums have been cleaned out and the cables are free running and also clean.I understand the cable tensioner adjustment on the forks but does anybody know what the screw shown in the image below does? Is it an adjustment? I have the workshop manual but can't find anything about this that I can understand. All I am trying to do is make the brakes as good as possible.



Second question I think this bike is listed as taking 4 pints of engine oil which seems a lot to me. Any idea how much should come out when the oil is drained - no filter removal or pump removal?


Third question - do the fuel spigots (part nos. 06 and 5657) sold by HItchcocks require an O ring to seal them?





Thanks

That hole is for a grease nipple which wasn't usually fitted. The reason being that owners over used it and swamped the brake linings. Don't bother with it, a smear of high melting point grease on assembly is enough. Early double sided hubs also had a nipple in the centre to lubricate the wheel bearings and that was quickly deleted altogether for obvious reasons! Oil, 4 pints is right from dry, there is quite a lot in the filter chamber remember. Never measured an oil change sorry. Fuel spigots?

REgards, Mark

Thanks as ever Mark your help has been so useful with what has been a new adventure for me.



The spigots are for a new fuel line I am making up.I mean these things.








Not there yet but after many hours learning and many mistakes!

Hi, the spigots do not require an o ring. Dont forget that the brake pivot blocks should float to centalise the brakes when they are applied and the balance beam at the handlebars should be level to ensure the brakes apply evenly. Vince

The angle between the cable and the brake arm has been incorrectly adjusted.
The brake arm in order to provide maximum leverage needs to be pulled towards 90 degrees, not beyond it, as is quite evident in the photo. To achieve this and improve your front brake efficiency the arm needs to be rotated clockwise on the brake cam spindle splines.

Those spigots (I think they are referred to as petrol tap tails by Amal) just push into the pipe as has been pointed out by Ric. If you want to finish the job off neatly and secure them at the same time there is a metal ferrule that goes over the pipe (before the spigot is inserted) and is then crimped into place with a special (simple) tool. I'd link to part numbers but I can't find anything on this awful new website. Bike looks really good by the way!

REgards, Mark

vince - thanks for that I will double check them both


ric - that is a good point. I must admit it does long wrong to me also. The bike was crashed by my uncle in 1966 and not used since. I have seen so evidence of incorrect attempted repairs and I wonder of the lever should be remounted on the spindle (if that is possible). The cables seem sound and look like the correct ones but I will double check. If I release tension to get back to a 90 degree angle then the levers come back to the bars.


Mark M - thanks - it probably looks better in the photo than in real life but it is vastly improved from where I found it abandoned in my uncle's garage last year.

Colin, the front (and rear) brake levers are on quite fine splines so you should be able to get a sensible amount of adjustment to get the applied angle right.

REgards, Mark

Looks a nice bike but I agree the front brake arm needs repositioning. Once the arm has gone beyond 90 degrees, the harder you pull, the less mechanical advantage you're getting.

In my teens my first bike failed its MOT because of that same problem. The arm on that was on a square spindle so it was more of a problem to resolve. I did solve it by fitting shims under the ends of the brake shoes to move them outwards.

Sorry to come in on someone else's post, but can I ask about Vince's post "Dont forget that the brake pivot blocks should float to centalise the brakes when they are applied and the balance beam at the handlebars should be level to ensure the brakes apply evenly."

How tight/loose should the bolts be that hold on the brake pivot blocks?

Will they come loose?

Mine were tight on my Super Meteor which might explain the terrible double sided brake.


Thanks

Dave