This particular Rickman Honda had been laid up for several years before it was given to us for an engine overhaul. We have rebuilt only a few Rickman Hondas in the past 20 years. The name Rickman enticed the purchaser to believe the engine
Triumph motorcycles seemed to have got everything sorted out when they introduced the 1970 triumph TR6. They are a joy to work on and a particularly good starting point for a novice engine builder, in that they are simple in construction wi
The little bikes are quite easy to restore as there is not an inordinate amount of chroming involved, most of the paint work is black including the wheel rims and spokes. The BSA C11 of 1939 vintage is not a very common beast and some spare
Good heat resistant engine paints are getting difficult to source as some have stopped being produced due to regulations on there chemical make up and possible health hazards. For the home based motorcycle restorers, the preferred method of
I was asked by a company to produce some parts in a material that I was unaccustomed with, the material was called Ferralium. The part that I had to machine had very high tolerances involved in its production, a very small batch was needed
Wheel building is an art if it is done properly. Many wheel come into our work shop from all over the UK for rebuilding and refurbishing. For example a pair of wheels were bought to us that not only needed respoking but needed new rims as t
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