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- Feb 9, 2012
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I just realized your bike is a very early B....very cool
How many vincent guys out there?
- Thread starter usefulidiot
- Start date
Btw, I saw on the Vincent site that you are going to fit a Hills stand. They aren't too bad to build if you are interested. Fortunately the bike in the photo had a Hills stand so I copied it to make a stand for my 52 c Rapide. It had the stock stands which are not great, as you may have noticed. I think I took photos of building the stand, will dig them out.
Glen
Here it is. I made the feet about twice the size of the Hills version. This requires a little notch for the chain side foot. I also converted the Hills stand to bigger feet, the small ones it came with punch into soft ground too easily.
The Hills stand comes with new larger steel footrest plates that provide the mounting point for the top pivot tube. In this case, the bike in question being a bit of a hotrod, had been fitted with alloy footrest plates. I cut and welded on an appropriate piece of 1/4" al. Plate.
Glen
Here it is. I made the feet about twice the size of the Hills version. This requires a little notch for the chain side foot. I also converted the Hills stand to bigger feet, the small ones it came with punch into soft ground too easily.
The Hills stand comes with new larger steel footrest plates that provide the mounting point for the top pivot tube. In this case, the bike in question being a bit of a hotrod, had been fitted with alloy footrest plates. I cut and welded on an appropriate piece of 1/4" al. Plate.
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- Feb 9, 2012
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nice. Actually i just finished fitting the Hills stand. I'm a good wrench, but not a great fabricator. It did require about an hour of "fitting" to get it to work right. Tomorrow it's off to the powdercoater. The stock rear stand to me seems like an accident waiting to happen.
Everyone needs to try the rear stand just once after a 400 mile day with a fully laden bike. It is like walking a tightrope to make your way back to the rear stand without dropping the loaded bike, then even worse as you bend over to undo the tommy bar, one hand clutching the bike the other fiddling with the stand nut.
Then you work your way all the way around the back, still balancing the bike, and give the big heave.
Yeah, they could have done better with the stands.
No wonder Dave Hills has sold a couple thousand of his stands!
Do watch the feet on theHills stand, they are too small for parking on a lawn of soft ground. You could weld some larger feet on right on top of the existing feet, it would just lift the rear wheel another 1/8" when parked.
Glen
Then you work your way all the way around the back, still balancing the bike, and give the big heave.
Yeah, they could have done better with the stands.
No wonder Dave Hills has sold a couple thousand of his stands!
Do watch the feet on theHills stand, they are too small for parking on a lawn of soft ground. You could weld some larger feet on right on top of the existing feet, it would just lift the rear wheel another 1/8" when parked.
Glen
Glen and Useful did you see the pics I posted down the page under 'Pics from recent Australian Historic Roads Racing'
Lots of Vincent stuff to drool over. Some pretty rare too.
Nice bike too Useful. I am sure you will enjoy it.
Now you just need to age about 30 years! :lol:
Lots of Vincent stuff to drool over. Some pretty rare too.
Nice bike too Useful. I am sure you will enjoy it.
Now you just need to age about 30 years! :lol:
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2012
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thx i'll check it out. ugh...today i took it on its first long ride and it wouldnt start after getting hot. cooled down started right back up. Believe its "rebuild the magneto" time. other than that it rode fantastic
As with Nortons there are plenty of choices when it comes to ignition. Pazon makes several systems for Vincents. BTH makes a modern electronic magneto that some love, others hate. I believe there is still a company in England making D distributor type ignition that will also fit B and C Vincents.
And then there are the Magneto rebuilders. Doug Wood in the US has a very good reputation.
Glen
And then there are the Magneto rebuilders. Doug Wood in the US has a very good reputation.
Glen
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- Feb 9, 2012
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what do you run on yours? did some reading about other options right now i'm leaning towards rebuilding the mag.
For the special I bought Pazon twin plug Smartfire in an extra hot version, double wattage his regular twin plug Smartfire.
Havent assembled that yet, but I am praying for easy kickstarting as it is 1360ccs andc10.5 to one, squish heads.
The bike I have ridden the most has converted Norton twin point twin coil ignition. An English company called Dolphin Electrics made up a number of these conversion for Vincents back in the seventies. I like it a lot, the bike is ridiculously easy to start and makes very good power. Also, I can easily carry and install roadside, if necessary, a complete ignition system when out on tour. Just spare points, a couple of coils, the little ballast resistor and the condensors. Only problem I have ever had with it was when I installed some aftermarket Daichi replacement points. The heels are too soft and wear out in about 500 miles. With original Lucas points you are good for an easy 20,000 miles between changes, more if you dont mind dressing the points. I dont imagine you can buy this system anymore. It is tough enough to find the proper NOS Lucas points.
I have quite a few sets on the shelf for future use.
My other Rapide has D distributor igntion. It is not as easy to start as the Oz bike, but that maybe related to the Mikuni carbs it has vs Amals on the Oz bike.
Another system which is very popular in this area is Harley Screaming Eagle Electronic ignition mounted in a custom housing by John Mcdougall, a name you will hear a lot in Vincent World. Johns system, the BTH electronic mag and the Pazon are all in the 1,000 to $1400 range
Glen
Havent assembled that yet, but I am praying for easy kickstarting as it is 1360ccs andc10.5 to one, squish heads.
The bike I have ridden the most has converted Norton twin point twin coil ignition. An English company called Dolphin Electrics made up a number of these conversion for Vincents back in the seventies. I like it a lot, the bike is ridiculously easy to start and makes very good power. Also, I can easily carry and install roadside, if necessary, a complete ignition system when out on tour. Just spare points, a couple of coils, the little ballast resistor and the condensors. Only problem I have ever had with it was when I installed some aftermarket Daichi replacement points. The heels are too soft and wear out in about 500 miles. With original Lucas points you are good for an easy 20,000 miles between changes, more if you dont mind dressing the points. I dont imagine you can buy this system anymore. It is tough enough to find the proper NOS Lucas points.
I have quite a few sets on the shelf for future use.
My other Rapide has D distributor igntion. It is not as easy to start as the Oz bike, but that maybe related to the Mikuni carbs it has vs Amals on the Oz bike.
Another system which is very popular in this area is Harley Screaming Eagle Electronic ignition mounted in a custom housing by John Mcdougall, a name you will hear a lot in Vincent World. Johns system, the BTH electronic mag and the Pazon are all in the 1,000 to $1400 range
Glen
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Can you use a pair of linked points and a double ended coil on a Vincent (wasted spark) ? It might be easier to buy two sets of points from a popular make of car and drill and tap the backing plate to suit, then use a double ended coil off a common Japanese superbike. You would be able to fix it in any medium sized town. I use a Boyer on my Seeley with a 12 volt double ended Honda coil - total loss and works very well.
The trick would be in making the points cam, most of us are not capable of grinding a hardened or otherwise cam. The Dolphin setup came with the cam.
I am not sure what the advantage would be in linking them for the wasted spark setup.
The main advantage to two point two coil ignition(non wasted spark) is adequate dwell time at high rpm. These dual systems were generally good for up to 8,000 rpm before running out of spark, more than enough for a Vincent (5500rpm redline) or Commando.
Glen
I am not sure what the advantage would be in linking them for the wasted spark setup.
The main advantage to two point two coil ignition(non wasted spark) is adequate dwell time at high rpm. These dual systems were generally good for up to 8,000 rpm before running out of spark, more than enough for a Vincent (5500rpm redline) or Commando.
Glen
