[Jon Hodges]

Hi Kevin

I have tried to find your previous posts but have been unable to find any reference to them on this forum.  Am I missing something somewhere?  I am sorry that you feel that you are not getting any support from the Scott fraternity but please don’t do anything rash before looking to see if there might be some other reason for the lack of response.  There seems to have been so little activity lately that I have only looked at the SOC forum occasionally.  Not being a Facebook fan I used to look at the Scott page as a non member but that ability has now been removed, that action has again put me off Facebook.

Having been involved in the Spares Scheme many moons ago I do know of the difficulties of dealing with member’s expectations as well as trying to second guess the level of demand for particular spares.

There is never going to be a constant demand for anything other than perhaps a few gaskets.  I think this is an issue that that the Club needs to be looking at. The long-term need to keep the Scott machines on the road into the future is something that needs to be addressed together with all the individuals that put their time and money into just that objective.

[Jon Hodges]

Is this the official confirmed detail mentioned in the February Yowl AGM notice?

[Jon Hodges]

As someone that has championed the Scott Club website from it’s inception by Geoff Harland I feel sad that the decision has been made to deny non members access to this part of the Club’s site. I agree wholeheartedly with views expressed so far in favour of keeping the forum open to all. I myself spent good deal of time collating all the Yowl articles relating to Silks and badgering Paul to have a Silk page put on the Club site knowing full well probably people interested in Silks would not be Club members. It was done in the same spirit that grew the internet, the freedom of information for all.

I think at the very least something that has such a profound effect on Scott interests worldwide should have been put before the membership at the AGM. Has some sort of proposal about the forum access been put on the AGM agenda and will the minutes of the Committee meeting be printed in the April Yowl?

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

There is the publication that is now available online called Scott Technicalities. This is a compendium of technical articles that have been published in the SOC magazine Yowl over the years. It is the first entry on the “Links” page from the Scott Club’s Website Home page. The only problem may be that you will find too many different answers to your question.

Happy reading

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Carb details from 1st issue Silk 700S Owner’s Manual Oct 1975 are

32mm. Amal Concentric Mk II – Model 2932 L/H
Main jet: 280, Needle jet: 106A, Needle: NP3 2D1, Pilot jet: 20, Throttle valve 3, Cold start jet: 80.

Hope this helps

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Hi Jan
While involved with the Spares Scheme a while back we did have a batch of distributor springs made in conjunction with Price Productions of St Neots. He was specialising in the repair of distributors however I do not know if he is still in business. The telephone number was 0148 473225. Hopefully he will have kept up stocks of these springs if he is still around. There are two different springs for the Scott distributor. I will send you a rough sketch as I don’t seem to be able to attach an image on this message.

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

The drawing mentioned by Brian should be with the Club Spares Scheme but I do have a copy that I made before the drawings got passed on with everything else from Gill Swan’s tenure. I am in the middle of a move at present and would need to find somewhere to photocopy A3 size sheets but you are welcome to a copy. There is a second anonymous drawing which is slightly different for the 1930 Flyer but which gives no detail for the outlet.

Any chance of a few of these be made at the same time to go in the Spares Scheme?

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Thanks Richard for this information that should have been in the April Yowl for all members to see. How does the Club expect a good turnout of members with so little prominence given to the AGM. I also thought that the Club had been through a lot of turmoil not that long ago in an effort to keep the membership fully informed as to their Club’s activities. So where was the AGM Agenda and Reports from the Club Secretary and Treasurer in the April Yowl? This is an annual event so surely these items should have a dedicated space in each April issue of Yowl without fail.

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Before anyone goes rushing off ordering special BA screws for the cover, I have just unearthed a large quantity of 5BA round head plain brass screws. They are too long being 3/4″ length but I would be happy to donate them to the Spares Scheme and will take them to Abbotsholme. There would appear to be sufficient numbers to replace the screws in every surviving Pilgrim Pump.

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Hi Roy

Although not having practical experience of the Silk oil pump I have unearthed some references to the pump from old Yowls in the process of collecting all articles with any reference to George Silk or his products. The first announcement of the pump does states that it would be throttle controlled but on a subsequent price list of all his offerings at that time a handlebar lever is listed with the pump. This he called Town & Country. It may interest you to know that the price in 1970 was £12 complete with elbows and translucent nylon pipes and the additional lever added £1.75. There is also an article describing the pump in which it is stated that there is a connection for an oil feed to the carburettor if it is required.

I hope that this is of some help. I have been trying to persuade Paul to put all these Silk related articles up on a dedicated Silk page on the main SOC website. However in the meantime if anyone wants an index of all these articles I can supply that either emailed or by post. They should then be able to be found in the back issues of Yowl in the Members’ Section.

Good luck in getting the bike ready for Abbotsholme.

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Dear Erik

You have not been reading and inwardly digesting your Yowls. Nick Sloan has been running a series of “Among my souvenirs” and in the June 2007 issue of Yowl his article shows an early radiator hose and the story behind it. However he did not know when hose clips were introduced. Hope this goes some way to satisfying your curiosity.

Glad you are going to make it to Abbotsholme.

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Dear Roger

The thread size of these inlet tubes is 1″ x 24tpi. There has been some correspondence on this subject previously on the Message Board, see Headache on page 12, Jan 29 2005.

I was wondering if it would be possible to pull these more useful technical items out to a separate archive similar to the way the Scott Technicalities was initiated. Of course it would depend on there being anyone willing to take the task on. It is not something that should be added to our Webmaster’s workload and at the moment I don’t feel able to commit to it myself. Any ideas?

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Dear John

If you have a few hours to spare but would like to see other people’s attempts at improving the Scott oiling system visit the website http://www.scotttechnicalities.com.au. that Steve Enticott has recently put up. There is a whole section on oiling including converting a pilgrim pump to a drip system.

Don’t get too distracted by everything else that you can find in there, it can be addictive!

Good luck

Jon Hodges

[Jon Hodges]

Came across website with info on Japanese twostroke oil pumps that may be of use to anyone wishing to experiment. Shows different types fitted by various manufacturers.

http://www.dansmc.com/2_stroke_oilpump.htm

[Jon Hodges]

Dear Colin

I don’t know if you had any direct responses to your message posted a few weeks ago. This is my fifth attempt at trying to put into words my feelings about the Club. I had decided that too much time had passed to contact you direct but since Paul has included your message in the new Members only forum it has given me a chance of another stab at it. I will not go back over old ground but as one of the “posters” I did want to reply to you.

It seems from your short history of your association with the SOC that we are of the same generation. My first Scott was purchased when an apprentice in about 1967 after being smitten seeing Dennis Howard’s Sprint Special leaning against a wall at the Pioneer Run. It didn’t help that my father was very keen on them as well so it seemed inevitable that I would end up with a Scott. I have now owned my present Scott for over 30 years and I wouldn’t part with it for anything. Time seems to have flown by but my Super holds many memories of the abuse that it has thrived on in my hands.

I couldn’t agree more about your statement about cooperation and respect but I think it runs deeper than that. I have come to the conclusion that the Club is essentially exactly the same as it was when I first joined via my father back then, minus a few of the characters. Now I know this can be seen as no bad thing in this ever rapidly changing world of ours and there are certainly a good many things that I wouldn’t want to change. However one thing I have learnt in life is that the world around you doesn’t stay the same and change is necessary to survive. I feel that the Club has failed to make the necessary changes to keep up with the times. It is only thanks to the hard work of a few individuals working from their own initiative like Geoff Harland who put up the first Club Webpage and Paul Wilson with his “unofficial” Scott Website, Bill Jamieson who gave us the Technicalities followed in his footsteps by Steve Enticott with the CD version that we now have these benefits for all members. These are recent examples and of course many others have done a lot for the Club in the past with little reward.

However, the question I would like to ask is whether this the only way that the Club is to progress with reliance on selfless individuals like these? Can the Club itself not try to be more proactive in looking to bring some of these services forward for it’s membership? It is hard to remember any major initiative that was introduced by the Club itself.

The membership must have tripled since I joined and particularly the number of overseas members and it is good to see that they are now at last wishing to be heard. Apart from the few lucky ones that are near to Section meetings, it is difficult within a Club such as ours to meet up and discuss ideas and thoughts. I hope that this Members Only site can bring members together in discourse rather than be a means to divide the Club as has been previously suggested by certain parties. I am looking forward to what may appear on this page and will be interested to see how it develops. Many thanks to Paul Wilson for all your work in developing the Club Website and broadening its scope. Who knows what the future will bring, a virtual International Rally perhaps!

Jon Hodges

[Author]

Posts