More Power

Are they really that gutless?, the 8E that is.
Darn thing will only cruise about 35mph on the flat, & slight up hill gradients, have to change down or it will just slow down.
I just seem to hold everything up, even in town.
Perhaps I might skim the head, seems the easiest option.

In a short reply,NO,if you are limited to 35MPH then there must be a reason,ignition timing,carburation or just general health of the bore ,piston,rings sea;s etc,a rebore is about £30 a piston is about £55,seals are about £4 each.In first instance i would check ignition timing (points .015,arrow on flywheel aligned with notch in backplate with piston at top of stroke)carburation(needle 1.95"protruding from bottom of slide etc)Then investigate bore wear ,piston etc,with all these things in good health 50/55 mph should be a reasonable touring speed on level going.JH

Yes, I thought it should be a liitle more powerful/ridable. I have rebuilt the motor & gearbox. All new seals, bearings, con rod, piston & rings. So the first thing I will check is the timing again. I did set it to 5/32" BTDC.
When I put the brass flywheel on after the rebuild, the thing would spin itself loose every time it started. So I lapped it to the shaft & that cured it. Obviously while it was apart, there must have been the slightest amount of corrosion built up on the taper.

Well, checked the timing & it was firing at TDC, Exhaust had become slightly loose.
Reset it & now goes alright.

Flo - You say the flywheel turned on the shaft. Isn't there a woodruff key to stop this happening? (53 years since I looked at an 8E!). There certainly is on later variants. Thus positioning the cam and magnets correctly for maximum spark.
Michael

Micheal,
No there isn't a key on the shaft. Just a hope & pray taper. I did do it up tight by holding the head of an axe in the opening & doing the nut up with a good socket. After the timing somehow reverted to firing at TDC, the flywheel wasn't hard to remove. Just hope this time it won't move.
It conked out outside a pub last saturday night, while groups of people were going in. Took me 1/2 an hour to get it going. Had a few remarks, & a few wondering what it was. Much to the embarrasment of my wife, I love these old bikes.
Gary

If you want to stop your flywheel moving get some grinding paste, apply this to the and taper fit the flywheel to the point of it just starting to grip. keep turning and re apply the paste a few times. Whipe it all clean and it should have show a nice even dull surface This will make both surfaces a match and will normally make these or any other taper grip tight.

Regards Ken

Ken,
I did when I rebuilt it, as the flywheel kept letting go & lapping it stopped it. If the timing moves again, I shall do it again. I wonder if there was anything on the points that settled in or moved, or maybe it was the flywheel.
Gary

I dont know the 8E but am sure my 9E has a key. have you seen the knocking spanner for the flywheel that comes up on ebay now and again. With that you can get it tight without trying to hold the flywheel in the opposit direction

Ken

NO key 10D,12D,13D,30C,6E,7E,8E, and all previous motors, KEY 9E,10E,11E,1H,2H,2T,3T,4T,31A,32A,33A,34A,35A,36A,37A,STARMAKER,BASICALLY IF THE POINTS ARE EXTERNAL TO THE FLYWHEEL THERE IS A KEY AS POINTS CAN BE ROTATED TO SET TIMING
IF POINTS ARE INSIDE FLYWHEEL,POINTS ARE FIXED AND FLYWHEEL POSITION DETERMINES TIMING,(HENCE NO KEY!)
Hope that clears it up!
The f models are the anomally where the flywheel is keyed on one side of the engine and points are on a plate on the other side(4F,6F)JH