Honda CX 500   This is a typical enquiry that we receive on a regular basis. I feel it important to air this on our blog as it shows good reciprocation of information between us and the customer (Simon). Simon initially gave me a breakdown

A customer took possession of A Ducati 250 mach 1 and bought it as a runner. After several attempts at starting it by bump starting and roller starting it would not start so he was asked to give Stotfold engineering a look at it. the engine

The Honda XL 125 has a good pedigree and reputation also there is many variants of these machines, the Americans love them for off roading as suggested on many U.S.A. forums. A favourite enhancement to the XL,s is to fit a molossi big bore

There comes a time in an engines life when it will require reboring or relining. This operation is called for when the engine has lost power due to the piston ring to cylinder clearance exceeding there maximum operating limits. The first po

Other than a full gasket and seal kit and your engine condition is within the limit and conditions conducive of a run in machine, it is always advisable to change the cam timing chain, if this brakes untold damage can occur to the top and b

With the head and barrels off and a look down the bores and “Olay”, l could see the faint swirl marks left through the honing stage in finishing barrels. Those swirl marks show that all is well between pistons and barrels, this engine had b

This particular Honda 400 is the 1977 F model the mastery with this engine is its simplicity in its layout and construction, horizontally split crankshafts and there usual sandwich of barrels, head and cam cover make it a joy to work on. Th

The inner races of roller bearings can be very difficult to remove from there shafts without the correct tooling or extractor. You can trawl the web and find all manner of ways to remove them. The most common way is to heat the inner race a

Brake drums are manufactured in several ways and are made employing different materials. Bike drum brakes have a cast iron shell cast into the hub but the shell may also be made of steel. Some drums are made of only cast iron so no shell is

Since we have made so much replica petrol tanks in mild steel sheet, I thought it about time to mention the making of one, and what procedures I employ. Someone lucky was in ownership of a 1912 Ariel motorcycle with a rust eaten tank. The t

At first sight the engine looked in fairly good condition painted in heat proof black spray, with no apparent oil leaks. The engine also seemed to be devoid of those horrible marks and nicks left on cover joints when they have been more the

The bike was delivered to us as a rolling chassis plus 2 boxes of engine parts and frame fittings, the engine was in a total nut and bolt strip down and all was jumbled up. The first thing to do was to rebuild the engine . The cases were no

This particular triumph Bonneville was more or less a bit of a barn find since it was used for 52,000 miles and then layed up in the back of a shed in 1972 where it languished under an oily sheet. The shed was obviously dry and airy as when

Since the birth of the motorcycle the preferred way of joining the hub to the rim of the wheels are with wires called spokes that had a bend on one end to pass through a hole in the hub and a thread on the other end to pass through the cent

Finally I’m back after what seems a long time. Sometimes life gets in the way of bike building. I still haven’t finished the Honda 750 four project yet, but I felt it was time to to start another project bike. I am re-thinking s