[Martin Heckscher]

Hi Paul,

Lambook Tyres (http://www.classictyres.com) are still offering a “3.50H20 Avon SM Original”. This is the tyre to which I referred. It has a different tread pattern, squarer profile, and I think a higher sidewall than the current model Avon SM mark 2 (which is not available in 20″ rear).

They also list 20″ Waymasters, front & rear, which may or may not be the same tyre as Simplex and or Coker.

Best wishes
Martin

[Martin Heckscher]

Hi Paul,

The 20″ tyre issue is a big problem.

Yes, Coker & Simplex tyres are available but in my experience they aren’t very grippy! Within the last two or three years Avon made a limited batch of 3.25/3.50 x 20 original pattern SM rears one of which I fitted to a Velo. But it was horrid, very high profile and very “square” in section, with very deep treads, OK for a tourer perhaps but very far from sporty. I ended up by swapping my 20″ rear wheel for a 21″ (see below).

I have a similar problem with my TT Rep currently fitted with a 20″ rim but the ancient tyre is not long for this world, though strangely it grips well. It seems to me that the options are:

1. Fit a “new old stock” tyre – but it may well be age hardened.

2. Depending on the bike:

Fit a 21″ rim (perhaps better for your Sprint) and fit to this a modern enduro front tyre (it must be fitted backwards i.e. the opposite of the marked direction of travel). Both Avon and Continental make suitable tyres. The man at Avon says you should check this with your insurance company! I’ve had a Continental like this on the back of the Sprint for several years and it’s been very impressive.

Or, again depending on the model, go for a 19″ rim. As far as I can see, this was a manufacturer’s option when new on the TT Rep, and probably others too. There are plenty of choices of rubber in the 19″ size.

I’d be interested to hear which way you go on this. How is the Sprint project progressing? Feel free to phone me if you want to discuss the tyre question further.

Best wishes
Martin Heckscher

[Martin Heckscher]

Hi Colin,

I don’t think my boxes will be any good to you. They measure 7 1/4″ x 3 3/4″ x 3 1/2″. Since I won’t be seeing a computer through the holiday period, if you want to pursue this please phone me on 07973 661051. Merry Christmas to all!

Martin Heckscher

[Martin Heckscher]

Hi Colin,
I think I may have a couple of toolboxes, though not actually Scott. What size are you after? If you want something made to measure I can thoroughly recommend Derek Filer +44 (0)1761 462002.
Merry Christmas
Martin

[Martin Heckscher]

Hi Jeff,

I’ve just returned from the Manx with my TT Rep so this is a late response to your query about 3 jet Binks carbs.

I’ve only had this bike since last November and the 3 jet Binks has been a revelation. It is smooth, picks up beautifully, and the bike goes exceptionally well on it. I don’t need to juggle with the air lever at all. It is slightly fussy about starting: anymore than 1/2 choke and it doesn’t want to know.

I claim no credit for any of this. It had been beautifully set up by the previous owner. So the real purpose of this posting is to say that it is definitely worth persevering! My bike came with lots of paperwork including some corrrespondence from Jim Best (I think) answering some particular queries about the carb. He may be a good man to consult.

Good luck!
Martin Heckscher

[Martin Heckscher]

Dear Shaun,

I had the same problems with petrol washing over the top of the tank on both a flat tank model 18 Norton and an early KTT Velo.

The complete answer is to contact Simon Grigson who is a Norton man. He has a choice of 2 materials, I seem to remember that one is neoprene (ok with oil but not petrol), the other is Viton (fantastic & utterly resistant to petrol but expensive).

Over the last few years he has supplied me the two washers. The result was so successful that I had to drill a bigger breather hole in the model 18’s tank cap!

Simon Grigson’s phone no. is 01256 381560.

Good luck!

Martin

[Martin Heckscher]

Since I have an original hard copy of Technicalities I’m not really in the market for the same again on CD. But I absolutely ackowledge that the information will be extremely useful to anyone new to Scotts.

However, the difficulty of scanning the photos in Technicalities has been raised. In fact most of these photos are of such poor quality that their relevance is doubtful. If decent reproduction of these piictures is the problem, then I simply wouldn’t bother with them. The usefulness of Technicalities does not lie with the photographs.

Of course Technicalities deals with technical articles as the title suggests. I seem to remember at least one posting suggesting that other topics would be interesting. Now, if the membership really wanted to go the whole hog, though it would be a massive undertaking, how about making all back issues of the Yowl available electronically? Properly indexed, that would be a massive source of reference. But in this event decent photographic reproduction would be a must as there are some wonderful old photographs in the old Yowls. The quality isn’t always there but it’s inevitably better than in Technicalities which, I think, was simply photocopied from the relevant Yowl.

Best wishes to all
Martin Heckscher

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