I have seen the allen socket type adjusters advertised, and I agree that fitting these is probably the best solution in the long run. My tappets however, are showing no evidence of wear on either the faces or the squares so there is no urgent need to change them just now. I have always muddled through tappet adjustment with odd nearly fitting spanners on the squares, and I got to wondering what the correct sized tool might be. The locking nuts are no problem as has been stated it is a 1/4" nut. By the way in order to gain proper access to the rocker cover front nuts I bent a combination spanner into a "L" shape. It is the perfect solution giving just the right length for turning and grip. I have often wondered why BSA put holes in the cylinder head to give access to the front rocker studs but omited to do so on the cylinder block. It is also interesting to note that BSA advised owners of new machines about the need to re torque the cylinder head, but no mention of taking it to a BSA dealer for this to be done as part of the bikes first service. How would that have affected the warranty I wonder? Would not bothering to do this task have invalidated the warranty, or if the owner did do it and bu**erd anything up in the process would that have been a cause of warranty disputes? Different times I suppose. As an aside, Probably some of you have heard this story before. He was not a BSA man, but it was Donald Heather of AMC who was alleged to have told Bert Hopwood that his original design for the Norton Jubilee engine was not acceptable because Hopwood had designed the cylinder head and block as a one piece unit. Heathers rational was that motorcyclists liked to spend their weekends grinding the valves in. I don't know if that is really true, but it is a good story, and seems plausible given the attitude of the industry in those days.
John
