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By Alan R
#75776
Hi Guys---- yes, spot-on there Barry......The two things not yet mentioned are a}--- These are long stroke engines and develop their power via an increase of Torque rather than higher engine speed, and b}--- The quality of commercially available fuel at the pumps is changing ---- and not necessarily for the better...
I think that Bullet Whisperer's idea of altering the inlet cam by 1 tooth is the best, no-cost idea yet !!!......has anybody got one of Performance Classics oversized Bullets ??.....Any idea what CR he runs them at ??..........Just for interest I had a look for long stroke engines and in particular Harley Davidson Tech. Specs and found this}----------http://hdhistory.com/most-popular-harle ... son-chart/ ---------- Notice how Comp. Ratios have gone up from 6 to 8.5 --or-- 9.0 and then settled there ??......
If you want to increase the Clearance Volume (CV) by another method then you can always have some metal removed from inside the head.............The length of the inlet tract can help torque development..For example}-----A long tract helps torque lower down the rev range whilst a short tract helps with top-end torque.............Have another look at that BSA Gold Star photo and notice that the carb is bolted direct onto the Cyl.head to help with the top-end torque as the engine reached it's max rpm........On my 250 Grass Tracker I made up several different tract lengths to try out...............Incidentally when we say a base gasket of 0.5mm then that's a metallic one, not a paper or card....We don't want it collapsing, do we ??

Using basic maths we can transpose the CR formula around such that the Clearance Volume (CV) can be calculated if we know what CR we'd like to be using..( Remember that point about poor quality fuels ??)...................So we now have this}---CV = SW + CR divided by CR.....If we want an 8:1 comp.ratio on an engine of 500cc swept vol. we get}------ CV = 500 + 8 divided by 8 which gives}--- 63.5cc.......and for an 8.5CR we get 59.8cc............and for 9:1CR we get 56.5cc..........and for the Bullet production CR of 6 we get 84.3cc..............Just for information 1mm = 0.0394" ( 40 thou if rounded up ) so half a mm = 20 thou. or just over 1/64"...
#75779
Hi Alan, to answer your questions about my 'Asbo' Bullets, there are probably no two exactly the same, as, with a couple of exceptions, each has been built to the owner's requirements and there are 350 [one is a Redditch unit engine], 500 and one or two 535's out there. The 612 was never included in the count, although with modified piston crown and valve timing, perhaps it should have been. I usually aim for 9 or 10:1 for 350 engines and 9:1 for 500's, but will go lower or higher, if requested. The 612 in question is a custom/bobber/lowrider, which I helped build and it runs very well, with power to spare - enough to rip a bolt on rear sprocket off while traveling at speed, as can be seen in the closing moments of this video 'nasty'! Regards, Paul. https://youtu.be/Fm-Nmpz18fI
By Alan R
#75966
OO--err !!.......what a shame as it was going great guns indeed AND on a glorious biking day as well !!.....I have a desktop PC with an 18" screen and always go to "Full screen" for maximum effect so was riding with you all the way.....The sound reception is also very good...for example I could hear muttered Welsh expletives just before you park it on the pavement---LoL !! ...... Thanks for the info. and the vid.
#75968
Yes. And then - having doubled up on the number of bolts, to spread the load - it did the same to me.



Luckily, this happened at the end of a high speed dash from Bury St Edmunds (when I was completing the final leg in Greenwich, a mile from home) not at 80mph on the M11....ping...weee!



Safe to say, that we now have a one piece rear sprocket.
#75975
Hi guys..... Oh, wow! Lots of good info & advice here and I'm trying to absorb it all. Regarding our discussions on compression... I do not currently have a burette, nor do I plan on getting one. Therefore, with much of the knowledge already gained, I'm just going to wing it. I'll definitely be using both compression plates, 2 base gaskets, and also doing the inlet cam 1 tooth timing mod. I really don't mind a tad more compression as I can still get some decent premium fuel here, and I have the added benefit of being able to tweak the timing on my N1 magneto right from the handlebar. The last rebuild of this engine included a 9:1 piston and .5mm solid copper head gasket. Not sure what the compression ratio was, but it ran pretty good. And speaking of head gaskets, what are the thoughts on our host's new composite head gasket? I currently have one on hand along with a new .5mm & 1mm gasket, but not sure yet which one I'll use.
#75976
Hi Woodsman, retarding the inlet cam by 1 tooth reduces the cylinder pressure, or physical compression, it wont give more compression, but less. It will reduce any tendencies towards pinking with a high compression ratio and increase power at higher rpm's by a larger margin than any losses at lower rpm's. Kickstarting will also be slightly easier, as a result. Regards, Paul.
By Felix
#75989
Be sure the small stud above the tappets is long enough before assembling. I noticed that adding a 2mm plate and two thin gaskets made the stud shrink. With no British Unfindable Fasteners in my town, the nut is half-engaged.

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