Strada Camshaft Oil Ways

[Duccout]

Thanks Craig. Things are not too bad, the old Strada is infinitely better now than when I bought it, I just need to iron out the teething problems.

[Duccout]

Possible success! Before it got too hot this morning I went out to the garage and went over all the work that I had done in the last month - new battery, new earth wire, tidying up electrics, valve clearances etc, and found nothing wrong, but re-set the ignition timing to be on the safe side, and strangely the light bulb went out this time when I rotated the plate, which it didn't when I first timed it ( something amiss there) which made setting it easier, and I chocked the back wheel to hold it in place with a piece of wood, to stop the flywheel effect. Third kick and it started and mis-fire has gone! So fingers crossed, and if I can get a speedo cable to fit I'm running again soon.

[Ventodue]

Brill!

[blethermaskite]

I have in the past sometimes fixed this issue by folding a little square adapter shim out of super thin tin sheet from a cheap biscuit tin or something of that nature maybe even a coke can.....just bulks up the dimension of the square cable end.
Cheers
George

[Duccout]

Thanks George, I have some shim knocking around. I have ordered another inner cable from a cable supplier, but that may turn out to be the same as the one that I have.......

[Duccout]

The new cable inner works! Nice service if anyone needs a cable making from Carrot Cycles in Lincoln, UK.

I managed at last to get out for a proper ride today and did about twenty miles along the back lanes, which is what I bought the bike for. The front brake is still not working and is mildly terrifying, and I don't know why it is so poor. My Sebring's brake was the same type and was pretty good, so I will have to take off the wheel again and investigate. I've already oiled the cable and the shoe pivots and cleaned everything up, so I don't know what else to do.

The engine is very fluffy low down and feels like it will cut out when the throttle is closed; also, it keeps missing at tick over, which is either ignition or carburration.

I was not sure what gearing to fit, so after much deliberation went for 16/47, but I think that I could go higher, as the engine easily pulls this.

The good news is that the oil leaks are conquered! Not completely, but not a problem now either. When I got back I drained the oil again, which I will keep doing until I think that the engine has disposed of most of the grime in it.

[Ventodue]

The new cable inner works! Nice service if anyone needs a cable making from Carrot Cycles in Lincoln, UK.

Good news about the speedo cable, Colin. And also about those pesky oil leaks ...

For the brakes, I'm sure you know as much as I. But crappy drum brakes is almost always the same things:

1) Grooves in the brake drum. 'Hills and valleys' significantly reduce the amount of friction surface = bad brakes.
2) Contaminated, glazed - or just simply, old - linings. With these, the only effect of pulling on the brake lever is to (further) polish the drum .
3) The arc formed by the shoes not matching the circumference of the drum closely enuf. This results in only part of the shoes meeting the drum = reduced friction surface. If this is happening, you'll normally be able to see partial witness marks on the shoes.

The best solution to 1) is a careful turn-up in a lathe - but outside the specialists, who has access to a lathe big enough to mount an assembled wheel? So failing this, the only solution I know is emery cloth and rubbed-raw fingers to remove as much (as many?) of the grooves as you can.

The best solution to 2) is to replace the linings. Or at least rub up the old ones with something nasty up to get rid of any glazing. I've found a steel wire brush to be pretty effective.

For 3), here's one way that managed to get my SCR front brake at least 'reaching towards' acceptable. Takes time, mind ...:

First follow steps 1) & 2) above.
Now cut some pieces of medium/coarse grit self-adhesive sandpaper (e.g. as used on electric sanders), and line the entire inside surface of the brake drum.
Install the brake plate and shoes into the drum.
Mount the wheel in the fork, hook up the brake lever.

Then (ideally with someone else) slowly turning the wheel, gently actuate the front brake so that the brake shoes are sanded to shape. Inspect regularly, looking for when the shoes start to show contact over as much of their area as possible. (I'm not sure you can ever get all the area coming into contact, but who knows?) When happy/had enuf, remove the sandpaper and clean up the drum.

The engine is very fluffy low down and feels like it will cut out when the throttle is closed; also, it keeps missing at tick over, which is either ignition or carburration.

For the fluffiness, I'd favour fuel (which of course means it will be ignition ). What's the plug telling you?

[Duccout]

Hi Craig,

Thank you for the ideas about the brake, I will certainly try the sandpaper in the drum. I should have bought new shoes in the first place, but you know how it is with rebuilds, you have to be selective or you'll end up replacing everything. The shoes look almost new and aren't contaminated as far as I can tell. I've got it apart again and the drum looks good, with a nice even braking surface, but the shoes are covered in a build-up of what looks like dust that has embedded itself into the linings.

I don't know if linings deteriorate with age, but these could be over 40 years old. I'm going to wire brush them (wearing a mask) and see if they clean up, sand them and then see how it works, if it is still no good then I'll get new linings.

The plug looks good, but unless the mixture was very rich it probably would on these old Amals. Don't forget that I never found the reason for the mis-fire, so maybe the coughing is a part of that. It is possible that the slide cutaway is slightly too rich, or maybe the ignition system has had it....The engine seems lazy; slow revving and much more torquey than I'd expected and seems to lag when I open the throttle, but not slow- I saw 60 a few times easily enough. I will clean the carb again and see what I find.

[Duccout]

I'm quite encouraged: I think that the linings were covered in fine sand which was a residue remaining after I had cleaned the brake out; then as I rode the bike this dust came loose and balled-up and became embedded in the surface of the linings. I have gone over the linings with coarse wet and dry, washing the surface with the hose as I went, and now the linings have a nice clean and even surface, which is noticeably better just spinning the wheel and braking.

I drained the float bowl and although there was no residue, the petrol was brown in colour again, so maybe the fluffing low down is due to contaminated fuel. I think that it will take a few tank fulls before this disappears.

[veloduke]

Try https://bikes.ebcbrakeshop.co.uk/index.php for brake shoes.

Cheapest I've seen, use them myself. Personally I wouldn't chance 40 year old brakes shoes, even if they look OK.

They do 3 sizes, part no.'s 921, 928, 929. You can check the actual size of each online.