1960 Sportsman

[pd]

Rick ,

You must be real excited ... hands still shaky ? LOL

Glad you finally have it .

Pete .

[Ricks]

Rick ,

You must be real excited ... hands still shaky ? LOL

Glad you finally have it .

Pete .

Now I need to find the time to put it back together.  I rode my other Simplex's yesterday, but it was cold. 

[Ricks]

It's Alive!  Got it running today and took it out for a couple of test rides.  The clutch makes a lot of noise until it is engaged, not sure why? I disconnected the drive belts and the engine runs smooth as silk!

 Maybe it has something to do with a modification done by a previous owner.  For some reason, someone cut grooves into the clutch weights, maybe to lighten them for quicker engagement?  I will look into it over the winter, but if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share them.

[pd]

Good to hear . I knew it wouldn't take you too long .

Which way do the grooves run , Rick ?

Across , with or diagonally the weight length ?

I have cut grooves in brake shoes ( diagonally ) to aid in clean out ...

Pete .

[Ricks]

Pete, they cut the grooves out with a lathe.  Maybe they are too light and are rattling around.

[pd]

Check the slots of the weight guides for wear at the bottom ( as opposed to the tips ).
That might allow the weights to stay away from the sliding member of the driven pulley and rattle some .

Mine had slight wear there and wouldn't allow free outward movement from the very bottom of the slot . The weights would move outward after enough RPMs would force them out . They had to be forced over the hump of the wear spot and then they moved freely . While in the bottom / wear spot the weights had room to move around without being forced against the sliding member .

Hopefully I explained that well enough ?

Pete .

[Bruce]

Obviously the bikes defective and these guys won't tell you....better send it to me...I'm harder to aggravate and might not notice.

[oil-lamp]

What no pictures? Come on now the first ride and nothing to show for it. 

[Ricks]

What no pictures? Come on now the first ride and nothing to show for it. 

Pictures to follow!  I had to go to that awful place called work!

[Ricks]

Took a quick look at the tracks this morning as suggested by Pete.  They are perfect.  I think what someone did in the past, besides cutting the grooves in the weights to lighten them, they also cut down the outside diameter.  This makes them move out very quickly, and causes the clutch to engage at a lower rpm.  The downside to this, there is a lot of room  for the weights to rattle.  On my other double track clutch, there is no play at rest, the weights are firmly against the movable pulley. 

Does anyone have a clutch off a bike that they can measure the outside diameter of the weight for me?  I don't really want to dismantle my other bike to measure it.

[pd]

Rick ,

It might be interesting to know exactly how much weight difference between your modified weights and OEM originals  .
What you are saying about your possibly 'trimmed' weights does make sense .

Pete .

[HGontheHD]

I am assuming you have the barbell style weights Rick.
I measured one and it is exactly11/16th of an inch in diameter.

I'll poet a pic as soon as the email I sent from my phone to myself arrives and I resize the pic.

Huston
hgonthehd

[Ricks]

I am assuming you have the barbell style weights Rick.
I measured one and it is exactly11/16th of an inch in diameter.

I'll poet a pic as soon as the email I sent from my phone to myself arrives and I resize the pic.

Huston
hgonthehd

Thanks Huston. I thought the early style were called the barbell.  The late style just look like a piece of bar stock.

[HGontheHD]

You're probably right. I've read all I can find and have accumulated quite a few parts but the only transmissions I have other than manual ones are the ones with the barbell style weights.
I'll see if BJM or his son has one we can measure early next week if you don't get an answer before then.
Attached is the picture of the weight I measured.

Huston
hgonthehd

[Ricks]

The barbell fits in the single track clutch, which was used until late 1954 or early 1955.  The double track clutch replaced it, and was, in the opinion of many, not as good as the single track, but was cheaper to make.  Thanks!