Crash!!!

[Sianelle]

Yes that's the model of Matchless Jemma
Built like a truck they were. Great bikes to ride though.

You take care of yourself now.

 

[duivendyk]

To the best of my knowledge there never existed a 6 cyl. Henderson at least not in the US.My grandfather had an awesome 4 cyl. in line machine, that must have dated from the twenties.It was American made.Was there a British Henderson?

 

[JemmaUK]

To the best of my knowledge there never existed a 6 cyl. Henderson at least not in the US.My grandfather had an awesome 4 cyl. in line machine, that must have dated from the twenties.It was American made.Was there a British Henderson?

There were several 6 cylinder machines made by American henderson - basically a 1 1/2 engine idea..

There was also a raving maniac who mated the top halves of two 4 inline henderson motors and a custom bottom end to make a U8 motorcycle using a modified henderson frameset... since those machines were good in 4 cylinder form for probably 60mph I hate to imagine what a U8 bike would manage..

Jemma xx

 

[JemmaUK]

yes Jemma, i felt the same way about the spokes, & wheels. so one day i took an old wheel that was in awful shape, i put it in an old set of forks,& secured a old peice of a spoke to the forks with a zip tie, to check the true of the rim,got my spoke wrench & went to work.after about 45 mins. i could'nt understand why i had made such a big thing of it. i have read many of your posts, so i know you would do most likley a more proper job, than a shop, like the axle being loose, that would be cause to put more trust in yourself, or at least in another shop. although there is only one here within a reasonable distance. that is also why i sometimes tackle jobs , that maybe i would'nt if i had a good bike shop near by.

Well, an update - the motor seems to be running like a bucket of bolts at the moment or there is some other problem... a symptom is a clinking noise when the bike is wheeled with the tensioner on... im gonna put a little more oil in.. see if that helps. I want to get the engine off but i have no idea of how to go about it.. the new GEBE mount is a royal pain in the behind.

With the Pipe on the bike I have alot more mid range power - like doing a hill locally that I used to crest at 20mph before the pipe at 28mph with it - an 8 mile an hour difference. The top end is slightly higher, but the engine seems to have a sweet spot at 29/30mph now and seems loud if its pushed harder :???:

Another spoke went - the opposite one from the one that busted before strangely enough - so I went and got a set of 5 spokes made and spent an instructive and moderately painful 40 minutes fitting a replacement up. The problem I couldnt get past and which worries me is having to bend the spoke to get it into place - I would have had to do that even without the sheave on the back wheel.

There is one other bike shop in my town, but since my ex used to work for the same company and her comments on them and their standards werent exactly complimentary I think I'll give them a miss. its bad enough making mistakes on a pushbike - its a whole different thing when the machine involved is a borderline motorcycle..

Jemma xx

 

[Zev0]

Jemma, I don't understand how getting the engine off the new gebe mount is hard. There's only 4 bolts holding the engine onto the mount. You don't have to take the mount off to get the engine off.

 

[Mountainman]

Jemma - we are sooo glad that you are alright - going to be somewhat sore - but - no broken bones - thank you Lord.. It is so easy to get into the habit of miss using our brakes - I have been using WAY TO MUCH OF THE FRONT BRAKE LATELY - yes, the front brake has the most stopping power - but, can also cause the worst of troubles if used in the wrong conditions -- thank you for reminding us to - think think think - something that I forget at times... Happy Riding from - Mountainman

 

[Sianelle]

Another spoke went - the opposite one from the one that busted before strangely enough - so I went and got a set of 5 spokes made and spent an instructive and moderately painful 40 minutes fitting a replacement up. The problem I couldnt get past and which worries me is having to bend the spoke to get it into place - I would have had to do that even without the sheave on the back wheel.



Jemma xx

Gently bending a spoke is Ok Jemma just so long as you're not putting a permanent kink in it in order to get it into place. Sometimes you may have to loosen off one or two spokes around a broken spoke in order to get the replacement in. If you're worried about putting the wheel out of shape, note down how many turns you had to release a spoke by so you can tighten it up again to the same tension. The most important thing is not to rush changing a spoke, but to take your time.

 

[crazeehorse]

i know the feeling about bending the spoke, i wondered if it was ok as well. but it is ok, if you really want to have some fun, take an old wheel, take it apart, then put it back together again. take your time, & get it back true again. thats good practice, & after you finish, you will be like the master of the wheel. you can show off your skill to others after that. oh, if you have a really warped wheel, you may want to use this method. http://www.instructables.com/id/Stomp-Straighten-a-Bicycle-Wheel/
the above is a great site.

 

[Mountainman]

Jemma - noticed that you went and had 5 spokes made.. I owned a bicycle shop way back in 1970. We never made spokes - had most sizes in stock. I noticed that I had a broken spoke the other day - to tell you the truth - I was surprized because my bicycle is almost new - went to a bicycle shop and they said that they would have to custom make some spokes to size for me - I said that I would wait for now and went on my way - later at another bicycle shop - asked for spokes - they had plenty Swiss made available. The point that I wish to share here is that - I don't think the quality of spokes is anything like it used to be. When I owned my bicycle shop we hardly NEVER had someone who had bought a new bicycle come in with a broken spoke. I have been reading about a lot about spoke problems here. A few notes from above - yes, your knowing the ends and outs of trueing a wheel could come in very handy while on your long ride coming up. Again - praying for a fast full recovery for you.. Happy Riding from - Mountainman

 

[JemmaUK]

re the mount - do you mean the 4 screws on the tensioner side? or the 4 hex heads on the other side - if you mean the latter I cant even get to them let alone get them off..

The spokes had to be made up because the size of the nexus hub. Incidentally is it possible to convert a hub brake to a drum brake?

Jemma xx