Author Topic: busted up magneto  (Read 949 times)

Offline markyboy64

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busted up magneto
« on: 16.09. 2015 01:45 »
 *sad2* So my sojourn to the Isle of Man with my new (to me) 1953 Golden  Flash was fun. Nearly got all the way through  without a hitch, but where's the fun in that says Murphy.
We had to get the bike over to Felixstowe to container back to Australia,  and  with 80 miles to go, the bike went onto one cylinder. A quick look at the magneto revealed that the porcelain / bakelite material had broken, leaving the HT lead dangling  in the  air. A handful of zip ties and some twine got me going again luckily.
The mag was newly refurbished, so this really shouldn't have  occurred. The thing I noticed was that the HT lead was only just long enough, and then had been ziptied  across to the other lead. It looked neat, but I'm thinking that it placed a strain on the fitting at the mag...
Any thoughts ???
I won't see the bike back in Oz until early to mid November, so will be able to investigate more. Just wondering if this is common or rare as this is my first experience with British Bikes.

P.S. The thing sounded great roaring around the back roads of the IOM.
Cheers, Mark K.


Online Triton Thrasher

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #1 on: 16.09. 2015 06:43 »
Many new pickups and acorn nuts are badly made.

There's no harm in HT lead length being generous.

So you're right!

Offline duTch

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #2 on: 16.09. 2015 09:03 »
 Hiya Marky- that's the trip with the Daddo in the outfit..??.. Well done I say, and commendations on the roadside fixit ; *smile* *bright idea*...
 I agree with the prognosis and TT's summation, sometimes things look 'neat' but can be a recipe for disaster...hoping to see some piccies of- " P.S. The thing sounded great roaring around the back roads of the IOM."...and the front roads *smile*
Started building in about 1977/8 a on average '52 A10 -built from bits 'n pieces never resto intended -maybe 'personalised'
Have a '74 850T Moto Guzzi since '92-best thing I ever bought doesn't need a kickstart 'cos it bump starts sooooooooo(mostly) easy
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Offline markyboy64

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #3 on: 16.09. 2015 11:10 »
Here's the bike near Port St Mary in the south. The sidecar is all wrong and I couldn't  get any further adjustment from the fittings. Will have to tweak it in Australia.  I took the chair off and ran around solo for a week. Got my hot lap in... One hour someting ha ha !
The main tube on the Watsonian had a bend in the last 6 inches towards the bike which  meant it leant towards the bike no matter which way I adjusted it.
Interesting that new maggy fittings are not what they used to be. I will definitely be running  extra length on the leads however.

Online muskrat

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #4 on: 16.09. 2015 12:55 »
G'day Mark.
I saw a Gold Flash solo on the IOM TT week. Was that you?
So that would make it about 35mph lap *lol*
Cheers
'51 A7 plunger, '57 A7SS racer now a A10CR, '78 XT500, '83 CB1100F, 88 HD FXST, 2000 CBR929RR ex Honda Australia Superbike .
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Online Topdad

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #5 on: 16.09. 2015 17:07 »
Mark ,that is one nice outfit shame the buggers who sold it to you hadn't got sorted for you . Once back home the fun can commence , well done on the roadside repair , cheers Bob
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Online RichardL

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #6 on: 16.09. 2015 18:32 »
Bob,

Seems harsh on the seller, since all that broke after some pretty hard (with side car) and lengthy riding was was one HT pickup body. That would be something hard to predict unless you'd experienced it before or read this very thread.

I, for one, am completely jealous of the adventure, including the MacGyver opportunity.

Richard L.

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #7 on: 17.09. 2015 10:40 »
Not the bike itself Richard ,just the trim of the outfit which on a combo is everything . It just seems that they couldn't be bothered to go the extra bit to get it right for a purchaser, who was after all, taking a quantum leap of faith as he was buying from across the world virtually unseen, sorry if that's harsh and in that case  I'm wrong but to me it smacks of the standard you can expect to get these days rather than what was promised, cheers Bob
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Online RichardL

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #8 on: 17.09. 2015 11:26 »
Ah, yes. I forgot the sidecar alignment issue. That, indeed, can be put on the PO.

Richard L.

Offline markyboy64

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Re: busted up magneto
« Reply #9 on: 17.09. 2015 18:31 »
In defence of the seller, in case he's reading at some stage. He's not into sidecars, so the outfit was take it as it comes. I think that for whatever reason,  that main tube developed a bend or maybe had taken a whack during its life. No, he had the mag rewound at his expense prior to selling me the bike. Price of the  bike did not change but he wasn't happy with the spark. These things happen. I do think it was as simple as the HT lead having no room to move.
And yes, Mac Guyver would have been impressed.