The Sunbeam S7 Deluxe originally used Angus 182 leather grease seals on the wheel bearings. While surprisingly long-lived (12,000 some odd miles and 66 years of service) everything is prone to eventual failure. This weekend while taking a leisurely trip to visit J&B Moto Company, the rear grease seal lost structural integrity. Grease was all over the rear wheel and caked into the mud guard.
A quick look for a replacement yielded a modern equivalent. A Precision 476838 Seal was a perfect fit. It is a double lip seal and should yield adequate protection. I doubt they will last over 60 years though.
The old seal is easily pushed out with two sockets of appropriate size. The new seal is pushed just as easily with one socket. If the seal becomes cocked in the hole it is very difficult to push. I chose to use my drill press as a light-duty press for this job since it is easy to line up for a perfectly even press job. (drill motor off of course)
Remember the castle nut of the seal assembly is LEFT-handed, just like the axle.
The VXB 6x14x5mm Miniature Thrust Bearings arrived today and were easily installed in place of the original balls. I added some moly grease for extra insurance. The height gain was only a few thousandths from the worn parts, and easily allowed the clip ring to be replaced with room to spare.
I've been getting an annoying clunk when shifting gears on KYL95. I adjusted the clutch cold, but when hot it seems not to disengage properly. Consulting the SOF gurus and Sept/October 2010 issue of On the Beam, I discovered that a modern bearing AKL 6 could be placed between the original release bearing races and maintain the original configuration. Brilliant, except that I couldn't find that model number locally.
Luckily the clutch release bearing can be removed easily without dismantling the bike. Pulling it out revealed that there's nothing really wrong with it, except some radial wear inside the bearing holder cup. Since there really isn't supposed to be any radial load, and I can probably attribute that to some numbskull in the past putting a frapping nail in place of the clutch push rod.
The release bearing is easily removed. Notice my clever Viton o-ring seal "glued" to the outside lip of the gearbox.
The locknut is knocked loose, then removed, after that the bolt can be removed.
The balls look fine. There's a little wear on the races, but nowhere near anything catastrophic. With nothing to keep the balls evenly spaced, I'm sure they're bumping into one another, shifting the load on the races.
The whole assembly fits together like this and then drops down into the cup.
Sorry for the blurry picture, but the wear inside the cup is evident from some radial load on the bearing.
The next installment will be investigating the installation of the new bearing.
Here you go, photographic evidence that KYL95 runs well enough to actually transport me somewhere. I took it into work, where a curious crowd soon surrounded it.
I discovered that the oil leak from the head isn't really that bad. The brakes work great. And there are no insurmountable issues with a hot restart.
The concerns that this trip generated are only a few.
First, at about 45mph on gradual deceleration downhill, the front suspension goes into an oscillation. The symptom is very repeatable. I'm not sure if this is a damping problem with the forks, or if my front wheel is slightly out of balance. Re-balancing the front wheel will be the first treatment.
Secondly, the clutch needs adjusted slightly when warm to insure proper disengagement. The gearbox got slightly "clunky" when it was hot, which tells me that there was a little bit of drag and the shifts weren't happening cleanly.
Overall the trip was a complete success. Everyone was intrigued by KYL95 and it performed like the engineering marvel it was built to be.
The S7 Deluxe has been ready, but I needed a license plate to take it out on the street. The moment I was waiting for arrived today, when the tag and registration came. I made some quickie retaining clips to hold the plate on over the original UK number plate. The clips are made of a strip of stainless sheetmetal curved to catch behind the original license plate bracket. There's a hole drilled in the strip and a bolt welded into that hole so that when the outside retaining nut is tightened the bolt doesn't turn. The matching brackets attach from the left and right sides and are backed with a strip of inner tube rubber. This protects the original bracket and gives some elastic tension to the clips. The clips are made tight enough that they spring out JUST enough to allow the license plate to stretch between the studs. It is very secure. Currently the bottom has no clips but simply a piece of weatherstripping behind the plate to protect the original KYL95 plate from abrasion, but I may add some bottom clips later.
You will notice in the film that I forgot to do something as I drove away. Yup... forgot to turn on the fuel. I'm so spoiled by the XS650 with automatic vacuum-operated petcocks, and the Guzzi with no petcock. I got 50 yards down the road and quickly realized what I had forgotten. I made a few trips UP the hill from my house. That way if it stops running I can always coast back home. Unfortunately, its a rather short drive up the hill, so I made a few iterative trips while tweaking the carb. Overall it runs nicely. It pulls well even in 3rd gear, and each shift is flawless (unlike the Guzzi).
The best way to see if you've forgotten to tighten any bolts is to see how many fall off on the maiden voyage. I did pretty good. I only lost the nut from the distributor breaker contact wire. It was an easy fix and I was back going again.
There appears to be some oil seepage from the head gasket. I'll try to torque the head again, but I don't want to snap a stud. I'm afraid my attempts to seal the oil passageway have failed. I may be taking the head off again to improve the seal. I'll have to see what happens when the engine gets good and warm. Things may seal up as they get hot, or it may get worse.
My instincts will have to develop for the brake on the left foot. It will take a while to get used to. If I can figure a clean an inconspicuous way to add a brake light switch to the front brake I think I will. Its a safety item and I think its worthwhile. Learning low speed turning will also be a challenge. It does get a little squirrely in the turns. The bike is so well balanced and so low, the counter-steer effect is prevalent even at slow speeds. I was amazed. At speeds I tricycle steer with my other bikes, the S7 tends to counter-steer. That will take some getting used to.
I need to make a little tool-roll of the essential spanners, screwdrivers, and a tommy bar. Then I will feel better about venturing further from the house.
