Hitchcocks Forum

I remember taking the barrel of my friends Triumph by the side of the road. 15th February 1971 - decimalisation day. We were on our way back to the North East from the Dragon Rally in Llanberis. We had just came of the M6. His bike had been steadily losing power and finally it would not go up hills.

As we removed the barrel it started to snow.

We found all the piston rings stuck in the grooves. We broke a few getting them out but managed to prise some out intact. It went back together with two compression rings in one side and a compression ring and an oil ring in the other. It got us back without further problems. I remember querying the cheap and nasty toy-town money the barman gave us as change when we managed to drive to the nearest pub to warm up.

My father rode a 500 BSA single with side-car from the U.K. down to Spain carrying along all the camping gear and my mother, my brother and myself. It was 1966.

In the 1960's my BSA A10, with a Canterbury sidecar filled with wife and camping gear, powered up Shap (pre-M6) going north only to meet a crawling truck which slowed us and we got a burnt out clutch. A rest in a layby and a handful of loamy earth sorted it until the Scottish Borders the engine stopped again. Found that one of the carbon brushed had worn away in the mag. I found a brass plug which was adapted to fit and took us up to Cape Wrath and was only replaced in Aberdeen by a lump of carbon from a Hoover dealer. Yesterday I saw an outfit in Chorley, a Yamaha Max(?) and Monza sidecar, so that makes that two locally with my replica WW2 army outfit.

I once helped to change the head gasket on a Triumph Mayflower in the early hours on Bridlington sea front. The owner knew it was going so bunged a spare in the boot. As you may know, it's a side valve so not as complicated as it might have been. We were home for breakfast anyway.

Grandfather on Mothers side was in the REME out in Egypt during WW2, on holidays in the late 50's in Rhyl the car broke down and he had the kids searching the gutters for a lolly pop stick, once found and fitted car got them safely back to Bedworth before replacement was secured, No idea what broke or how he fixed it with a lolly stick but he did it!

sign of the times the age when a bloke could turn his hand to anything are sadly dying out,with exception of the car/ bike i wouldnt have a clue, my brother said to me after my father passed that we'd lost a fountain of knowledge as he was of a similar vain to my grandad

I used to think the same about modern machinery - can't be fixed (not by me anyway)
If you search Youtube, however, someone will have posted a video of how to fix just about anything. I now tackle a lot more repairs than I used to.

PeteF, I have even changed the battery in my wife's kindle, twice, I do it outside because of the risk of fire.