Hitchcocks Forum

hello all,

Spot of bother this weekend with the old 250cc clipper 1959 model.

First off, back tyre went down on me & no amount of trying with a foot pump would make any difference, so I suspect the innertube has parted from the valve, so wheel off & down to the garage tomorrow, I have the tyre pressure at front 22psi & rear 26psi this about right! for a chap at 11 stone views please.

Also I have fitted a iridium spark plug after talking to some chap who swears by them, has anyone heard any bad results using one of these on the 250cc clipper!

The tyre pressures are wrong. I think they are written in a manual somewhere and were probably relevant to the older,harder rubber tyreas, but NOT the modern softer ones! I used those for a few years and had regular blow-outs. I now use 35psi rear and 30 psi front. I have had NO punctures since in the past 4 years.

Never used Iridium plug.

Hello there HOWZIE ------------ Why pay "garage rates" for a simple tyre&tube job ?? Have a go yourself OR get a local bike club to help and show you how. With a small bike such as the Clipper then it's not that different from repairing/changing a push-bike one !!. Also, I can personally testify ( from actual, on-the-road experience) to the effectiveness of these modern preventative/repair fluids such as SLIME, GLOOP etc. (Start of sunny ride-- 500 Bullet--2 up, full luggage--PUNCTURE !!---added the goo-----200 miles of happy riding !!). SORTED!........... Now then, I have an Irridium in one Bullet and an NGK in the other. Over 1,500 mile and its still ok. Personally I don't think the extra dosh is worth it---at the moment. Time will tell. PS----- I'm in ENVY mode !! Wish I was a chap at 11 stone again ---damm retirement !!!

Thanks chris, In my manual it states 18psi for front & 22psi for rear, but I was a bit unhappy with these so I up't them a bit.
By the way Alan R my trim 11stone was the result of a knee replacement, lost one & a half stone i'ts a hell of a way to loose weight many thanks for your reply. yes retirement is great 70 next year.

Cheers.

I run my Bullets at around 21 psi front and 26-28 back. I have run them harder but it makes for an uncomfortable ride. I think the iridiums are a bit of a have myself, perfect for a very high voltage system in a modern vehicle but unnecessary on an old machine. With modern unleaded juice and a good mixture you should get many many thousands of miles out of a standard plug. Good riding S:)

I run my Bullets at around 21 psi front and 26-28 back. I have run them harder but it makes for an uncomfortable ride. I think the iridiums are a bit of a have myself, perfect for a very high voltage system in a modern vehicle but unnecessary on an old machine. With modern unleaded juice and a good mixture you should get many many thousands of miles out of a standard plug. Good riding S:)

Thanks Simon, will keep the same pressures for now & see how it goes. quite happy with the mixture thanks to the good old colour-tune so i will change back to the old plug.

Cheers.

Although there are a lot of different opinons about how good/better iridium plugs are over standard types, there are some advantages simply because of the design/materials they use. They put lower demand on ignition systems and in some cases do give better starting and running. How much better is open to debate! But iridium plugs cannot be 'read' like standard, iridium plugs show a far more pale colour. The same to some extent goes for petrol with ethanol - it doesn't allow colour reading in the same way as 'old style' petrol. Back to the main point of Howzie's question: from my use of them I always opt for iridium plugs.

Hello RICHARDR,

Well your points are well stated and I dare say valid, and with this in mind I shall give the iridium plug the benefit of the doubt and fit it (again), I will agree about one point with you, regarding petrol I use BP ultimate which has no ethanol in it, on setting the carb up I was able to obtain the brownie tan effect on the electrode of the iridium plug more easily than the normal plug, more luck perhaps than good judgement I dare say.

Alan R I did take my rear wheel down to our local motorbike shop & within 20 minutes a new tube was fitted for £15.00 so I was quite happy with that, but thanks for your tips!

Cheers.