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Thanks James.The photo you provided of the (Bonham auction bike) engine number looks a bit of a DIY job. A bit wonky. I hope the stamping on “Flying squirrel”s” engine looks more original as it is the correct number engine the bike left the works with.
@Geoff Case wrote:
Thanks James.The photo you provided of the (Bonham auction bike) engine number looks a bit of a DIY job. A bit wonky. I hope the stamping on “Flying squirrel”s” engine looks more original as it is the correct number engine the bike left the works with.
we’ll let him explain.
I know the story on my bike and your bike but I am not going to post it on line
@BRIAN MARSHALL wrote:
With a good quality two-stroke oil in the tank, preferably 40 grade if you can get it, slacken off the feed union going into the pump until oil starts to leak out, and then retighten the union, fairly gently as the pump bodies can be a bit fragile. Then remove the top ‘window frame’ from the pump, and half fill each well with the same oil so as to prime the pump as it might have no oil in it at all. As you have a roller starter you are well equipped to get the oil moving without firing up the engine, so remove the spark plugs, making sure that you know which lead is right and which is left. Then get the bike in 2nd gear, and spin it over until you see that the oil is both disappearing from the wells, AND more oil dripping out of the two ‘beaks’. You can then safely try and start the bike. Replace plug leads, turn on the gas, and depress the tickler button on top of the float chamber until fuel pees out of the vent hole in the float chamber lid. It will also drip from the bottom of the carb until the engine is running. This is normal !
Then turn on the ignition, close the air lever/choke/strangler lever, open the throttle about a quarter to one third open, and operate the kickstart or your roller starter. If all is OK it should fire up immediately. If you just get bangs in the silencer the plug leads may be on the wrong way round…
As soon as the engine is running, check that the oil is dripping into both wells of the pump, and that you are getting some, perhaps lots of smoke out of the exhaust. After a very short time you should be able to open the choke lever fully, and check the flow rate of the oil. Aim for 6 to 10 drips per minute in each side at a fast tickover, no more. As the bike has been restored the carburettor settings may be miles out, so initially the primary air screw should be gently screwed right in and then opened one and a half turns, as a ball-park first setting. With modern petrol containing ethanol the jet size quoted in the handbook no longer apply, and you will probably need a 190 or 200 main jet instead of the old 170. The throttle needle clip should be in the middle groove, and you should have a 6/3 slide.
Good luck, and good Scotting !
Brian
the good news… well it runs

the bad news….not very good 😥 😥 😥
It seems the engine is completely full of oil, well now my shop and drive is covered. 😯 😯 😯
I think my remote test fuel tank has a moving blockage causing it to run on the float bowl only.
The Lucas alternator and my brand new wiring harness seem to be working OK
No bad noises or lock ups
I will regroup when I catch my breath and get out the starter
got back to it, fixed the fuel obstruction : now its idles ,kind of, its hot and doesn’t want to stay running, dialed down the oil . and cleaned up. Its pretty loud and doesn’t sound much like a two stroke 😐 ❓
Rode the Scott, e hah! 😀 Its running pretty crappy, a lot of popping through the exhaust , I have the oil pump set real high I think.Lots of smoke.It wants to clear out under some load but then the clutch went south The clutch just about slipped completely away. I might have over filled the trans but I cannot see how the oil can get to the clutch? The cycle seems to be OK otherwise, brakes are so so. Handles OK. The transmission is there somewhere I think 😉 , not much feeling at all . It got good and hot and didn’t overflow or have evidence of boiling. It didn’t make goofy banging noises or lock up and that’s good! Almost settled down to an idle but the high oil setting might be causing the idle problem . Black thick oil is still dripping out the exhaust pipe to muffler joint! I think the rebuilders used a lot of graphite /moly paste in assembly and its mixing with the pump oil . I’ll tear into the clutch later maybe in a couple of days. Might need new clutch plates etc.
Hi James
I have a 1960 Brum which I have had since 1966. Re your comments on lubrication if you can drive the engine sans plugs from the rear wheel then I suggest you remove the top cover from the pump fill the wells with appropriate oil, turn the adjusters counterclockwise and rotate the engine until a copious supply of oil can be seen exuding from the drippers then turn the adjusters back until you get one drip every 6/7 pulses at the beaks.Make sure you recheck the delivery with engine running and when things have warmed through.
Hope this helps
Dave B
Hi, It all looks perfect, so a bit of a mystery to me why it should slip so badly. Check that the tongues on the plates are not binding in the slots in the clutch basket, and holding the clutch ‘out’. That includes the inner tongues where they engage with the slots in the clutch drum. Also check that the cable is properly adjusted, with some free play at the handlebar lever end. I can see that the clutch retaining nut is tight, as the tab washer bent over the flat on the nut is visible in one of your photographs. Make sure that the outer edges of the plates are not binding on the inside of the drum. I don’t think that you have corks in the friction plates as they look more like the composition ones with bits of wire in them. This stuff was called ‘Neolite’ or something like that, and note that if the plates are original the stuff will contain asbestos, so take the appropriate precautions when handling the plates.
Brian
thanks for the help, it didn’t slip at first but during the maiden voyage it just got real bad 😕 I’m going to get it back together today and see if anything is better.
back together , clutch is working OK , bike is still running crappy, I have a bad exhaust leak at the cylinder to header joint would that cause running problems?
Probably not that big an effect. It is hard to diagnose at such a distance, but I suspect that your main problem may be over-oiling, with so much getting into the combustion chamber that it is lowering the octane rating of the fuel/air mix.
Brian
I used Yamaha injector oil, should I use something else?, it seems to be pretty thin for the scott and the pilgrim
I don’t know where to start looking for 40 weight two stroke oil around here.
You definitely want a 40 grade oil in a warm climate. The pilgrim pump will over-oil with the thin stuff. Try and find a local lubricant company that will advise you. Any straight, non-multigrade oil would do, and they just might be prepared to import something for you, even if their minimum quantity is five gallons !
Brian