Heat washers and valve springs

Where did you get those valve springs though ?

Back when Terrys supplied Nortons with valve springs - long time before Commandos ? - it was recommended that they be changed after EVERY racemeet.
Don't know what that meant for road bikes though.

When S&W supplied valve springs for Commandos, they claimed they would last for life.

Big difference in spring/steel quality ??

dynodave said:

Hi Ken
Would you mind saying when you started running your PR, what was the cam? 2S, 3s, or 4S or an aftermarket?

Click to expand...

I first raced my PR in 1972. It had stock cam and head, with the domed Powermax pistons. Came that way from the factory. I was disappointed when I first tore it down to discover that it did not have the 3S cam and big valve head as advertised. Later found that it was not uncommon for them to be delivered missing some of the promised performance bits.

Ken

Rohan said:

Where did you get those valve springs though ?

Back when Terrys supplied Nortons with valve springs - long time before Commandos ? - it was recommended that they be changed after EVERY racemeet.
Don't know what that meant for road bikes though.

When S&W supplied valve springs for Commandos, they claimed they would last for life.

Big difference in spring/steel quality ??

Click to expand...

That was the explanation at the time. S&W used a higher quality steel for the springs, along with state-of-the-art heat treat. If my memory is correct, the most significant material difference was in the lower level of impurities in the steel, but it could have been a different alloy too. They certainly had the reputation at the time of being the best springs out there, and almost all the Brit bike racers I knew in Southern California used them.

Ken

lcrken said:

Rohan said:

Where did you get those valve springs though ?

Back when Terrys supplied Nortons with valve springs - long time before Commandos ? - it was recommended that they be changed after EVERY racemeet.
Don't know what that meant for road bikes though.

When S&W supplied valve springs for Commandos, they claimed they would last for life.

Big difference in spring/steel quality ??

Click to expand...

That was the explanation at the time. S&W used a higher quality steel for the springs, along with state-of-the-art heat treat. If my memory is correct, the most significant material difference was in the lower level of impurities in the steel, but it could have been a different alloy too. They certainly had the reputation at the time of being the best springs out there, and almost all the Brit bike racers I knew in Southern California used them.

Ken

Click to expand...

There were a lot of UK racers using them at the time, they were the only performance springs mentioned. I think Mick Hemming sold a lot of them. Though for some reason I had registered 'W&S' in my memory banks :roll:

I also remember doing my best to check them for 0.050" from coil bound using bent feeler guages and adding up the gaps I could find!

Dial guage equipment was expensive then....

Actuallly, there was regular confusion over W&S springs and S&W springs back in the day. The S&W were made in the US, and the W&S were made somewhere else, very likely in England. W&S were popular there about the same time as S&W were selling their springs here. I don't know the quality of the W&S springs, but I do know they were sold by a lot of shops in England at the time. Might even still be around.

Ken

lcrken said:

Actuallly, there was regular confusion over W&S springs and S&W springs back in the day. The S&W were made in the US, and the W&S were made somewhere else, very likely in England. W&S were popular there about the same time as S&W were selling their springs here. I don't know the quality of the W&S springs, but I do know they were sold by a lot of shops in England at the time. Might even still be around.

Ken

Click to expand...

Well that clarifies that Ken, W&S it was that I used then.....I was confused too. W&S were the part recommended by most tuners so I guess they were good enough. I broke one inner spring in 4 seasons. Replaced like with like replacement bought through Hemmings. Don't recall hearing of others, but this would have been after Dunstall was at his peak, I guess he did something in his day!

I don't think W&S are still around simply because no one has mentioned them, I have seen RD are available from UK suppliers.