The problems related to the Astralite wheels fitted to the V1000/Vampire are well documented...
(http://iloapp.heskethownersclub.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/5/139216320633125100_resized.jpg?width=1365&height=1024)
I've modified my wheels to prevent this damage
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/139345686674781800_resized.jpg?width=1366&height=1018)
But Mick B devised a different solution - different wheels:
(http://www.heskethownersclub.org.uk/Pages/Gallery_Pages/Bike_Pics/Mick_and_Vulcan.jpg)
This came about after Mick spent a period developing solutions for Triumph Motorcycles (Hinckley) and gained access to their 'Parts bin', so the vast majority of the new chassis parts came from there... The wheels, in particular, came from the 955i Tiger:
(http://onlytruecars.com/data_images/gallery/01/triumph-tiger-955i/triumph-tiger-955i-07.jpg)
A couple of years before I bought my own V1000, I visited Mick at Turweston and we had a long chat about the bikes... The blue Vulcan was there and I made a LOT of mental notes as Mick told the tale of the bike's development...
Later that year, I happened across an Ebay listing for a pair of Tiger wheels... Complete with discs, sprocket carrier, etc... I won the auction at an Amazingly low price and this turned out to be another upgrade part that I bought before I bought the Hesketh... (I know... It's an illness...) ::)
Years later and after seeing two bikes in the Picos with collapsed wheels (not Heskeths), my thoughts have returned to the Tiger wheel upgrade... My V1000 needed a new rear tyre, so it was an ideal time for a spot of 'fannying about' in the garage...
Here's how the OE Astralite fits in the V1000 swing-arm...
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/144628450075895700_resized.jpg?width=485&height=1024)
The wheel is dead centre in the arm (not all are) and there is 26mm clearance twixt arm and the outer face of the sprocket...
Here's the Tiger wheel loosely fitted and with no spacers...
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/144628450293779700_resized.jpg?width=544&height=1024)
The (big fat) rim is 10mm off-centre (looks more, but 10mm measured) and the sprocket face is only 17mm from the swing-arm. It's clear that there will need to be a large slice of sprocket carrier removed. An even bigger slice if a proper spacer is to be introduced too...
Feel free to chip in any time you like Mick... ;)
More, as it develops...
Jeff
I don't know if I have the time available to run through all the changes to fit and make the wheels as its winter and I am heading south after a short trip to Dubai (no not a holiday) and I may be back in the spring!
Well to start with its just the hubs you need from the Triumph wheels and the first question is what forks for the front and where is the nearest centre lathe for the back plus all new spacers and bearings, spoke sets and rims, tyres, tubes, shafts, speedo drive and so on.
I think the first decision would be do I want traditional or practical followed by am I a tinkerer or cannot find the spark plug type.
For the braver souls who make the effort and do it properly with suspension, brakes as the Blue Bike the change is dramatic with handling in the wet on par with the old handling in the dry.
It brings the riding experience forward by a few years, not perfect because of the long wheel base, flexi swing arm, lazy trail and engine weight but pretty dam good for effortless miles at modern speeds
Enjoy
LOL..!! I know it's a lot of work Mick - the forks and front end will be addressed in another thread (they're in the loft at the mo)
I have access to a centre lathe with tame (and bike savvy) driver... (He has just finished a rebuild on his '56 Ariel 350...)
I thought the OE Tiger rim was too fat for the V1000, but I'm keen to go the spoked wheel route to make the bike more robust for touring... I'm a big lad (getting narrower, but it's slow progress) and I tend not to travel light... I figure the spoke wheel solution is the way forward...
There's no doubt that I'm a serial tinkerer and couldn't care less about 'traditional'. I need the bike practical as it was bought to be ridden - I'm happy to come up with alternative brake solutions myself (more than one way to skin a cat, apparently) and as for the shock absorbers, I'll almost certainly end up with a pair of IKONs fitted... Great performance at very realistic prices...
But a drawing for the hub mods would be a simply GREAT way to get the ball rolling... ;-)
Jeff
Because it's you I will have a look but while I have an assembly drawing of the original I think I only have individual drawings of some of the parts, the bits which were manufactured from scratch rather than modified bits.
The rear Tiger rim is too wide, remember the drive by me at the time was to fit Radial tyres which led to the wheels which led to the forks which led to the brakes.
If you go for a wide rim you need to move the chain which is easy enough but the tyre profile is a lot flatter which helps with the ground clearance but does not help the handling.
That's great Mick... :)
All assistance gratefully received... I'm just 'playing about' at the moment and any additional info will all go towards directing my decisions on rim sizes, tyre choices, etc...
All goes toward keeping me busy of the dark winter months... ;D
Jeff
Well if you will live up north.
I know a quaint little bar a short walk from a tiny cove only the locals know about were you can sit outside in the evening sun in your tee shirt ( Hesketh ) in February and be two minutes from some of the best deserted mountain roads and paths you can find and live on the state pension, when you want to see the light but you had better get some decent wheels and tyres on first otherwise you will never keep up :P
LOL..!!
That sounds like a plan, but I'm a LONG way away from pulling the state pension yet...
After my recent trip to Northern Spain, I'm already hatching a plan to find a similar place...
There are significant advantages to living up North too... The weather ain't one of them, but the roads and the amount of traffic on them definitely are...
I'll get those wheels and tyres sorted ASAP... Just waiting for an aged Guru to come up with the goods now... ;)
Jeff
Jeff,
If I notice an aged Guru standing on the beach I will be sure to ask him to get in touch, mind you he will need to be standing between me and the young French lady only wearing a smile and before the wine kicks in so may be some time.
Can you speak German then, ;D
Eine kleine...
Where are you sunning yourself just now Mick..?
Trying to think of a German beach that might be sunny this time of year...?
Jeff
I flew back from Bremen yesterday and can confirm that part of Germany is exactly as you would expect at this time of year. Not a lot of sun, or daylight for that matter....
RB
Quote from: Rob B on November 07, 2015, 08:27:51 AM
I flew back from Bremen yesterday and can confirm that part of Germany is exactly as you would expect at this time of year. Not a lot of sun, or daylight for that matter....
I'm not at all surprised by that news Rob... Every time I've been to Bremen it's been raining... Spent some time at a GAF base in Jever, North of Bremen and that was lovely though (base is closed now, I think). My last trip to that area was to Bremerhaven (http://www.bremerhaven.de/tourism/) - great tourist spot, especially if you're into submarines and beer - they had both..! Also had a LOT of rain... ;-)
Quote from: MICK on November 05, 2015, 09:12:47 PM
...mind you he will need to be standing between me and the young French lady only wearing a smile and before the wine kicks in so may be some time.
Can you speak German then, ;D
Looking back at Mick's comment... I think he's in the South of France... dunno about the German coment though..??
You going to chip in Mick..? I've sent a couple of PMs, by the way...
Jeff
The Germans don't stay in Germany any more than the rest of Europe and we all seem to finish up in the south in motorhomes looking for the perfect beach and sun, there seems to be a lot of old people out there just catching up with life :-*
Just back in the house from machining suspension bits for the Vortan , I must say its great to be working on the old girl again and finishing off the bits and pieces as much as I can.
So not on a beach just yet but getting ready , unfortunately one microlight has a suspect crank which I am awaiting parts and the other ate most of the reed valve on the last flight so waiting for parts for that as well so back in the shed working on the Hesketh.
I think its two weeks and I depart for Dubai for 12 days for the world air games so am around till then and if the van can be sorted then its somewhere south but no idea where it will be till we arrive and know the weather.
British team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZWXM79aF9A&feature=em-subs_digest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZWXM79aF9A&feature=em-subs_digest)
Having trouble finding the drawings and reproducing them on here , will try again tonight.
Can you get the detail from this drawing?
Biggest bit of kit needed if you have a lathe is the keyway broach to replace the keyway after you have bored the bobbins out to suit the shaft to keep them in line.
That's great Mick. Many thanks. :D
Looking at this, do I correctly understand that the revised carrier is generated from scratch and isn't a modified version of the original Tiger part?
Jeff
Yep
You will find a lot of Hesketh parts in the conversion in both the front and rear wheels , people think its just fitting a pair of Triumph wheels to the Hesketh but I only used the hubs and a few other bits , even the shaft is a Hesketh part.
I do have a dim recollection of modifying the first set from more Triumph bits including the carrier to see what was involved so it could be possible with less genuine parts but remember my modifications were usually more dramatic than average having a lathe, mill and welder to lean on.
I think I had to move the threads down a bit with inserts 8)
A wee update on this topic...
I decided to keep the swingarm and chain adjusters as 'standard parts' and focussed on making the wheel fit the bike...
To that end, the wheel has had new bearings fitted and a new centre spacer....
The RHS bearing has a 17mm bore to suit the axle.
The LHS bearing has a 25mm bore and the centre spacer has a 'step' matching this.
The LHS wheel spacer has a shoulder with an OD matching the wheel bearing inner race and then steps down to 25mm, passing through the LHS bearing and into the larger end of the centre spacer. The LHS wheel spacer has a 17mm bore to match the axle...
All this allowed me to fit the wheel onto the 17mm axle...
To get the wheel and sprocket carrier/cush drive assy mounted in the centre of the swing-arm, AND the rear sprocket correctly aligned, a LOT of metal had to come off the sprocket carrier...
Before we could do this, the 5 x M12 studs had to come out - they're loc-tited in and a LOT of heat was required to get them out of the alloy carrier... Once removed, the sprocket carrier had some serious mods:
- The sprocket mounting face was machined to move the sprocket closer to the wheel (about 20mm)
- The sprocket carrier bearing was moved further into the carrier to allow excess metal to be removed from the carrier centre
- The sprocket carrier had approx 26mm of excess metal removed to permit the wheel to be centred in the Hesketh swing-arm
- The sprocket carrier dust seal seat was re-machined to permit the seal to be fitted to the modified carrier
The original spacer between the sprocket carrier bearing and RHS wheel bearing was maufactured for a 20mm (hollow) axle. A new one SS was made to fit the 17mm axle and accommodate the shortened distance between the two bearings...
A new RHS wheel spacer was manufactured to ensure the correct spacing between the modified sprocket carrier and the swing-arm...
And now we're here (Tiger 955i wheel in V1000 swing-arm):
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/145547287464715000_resized.jpg)
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/145547287243690100_resized.jpg)
(http://iloapp.empressmcc.org.uk/data/_gallery/public/11/145547287195548400_resized.jpg)
That's a 150/70 V 17 Avon Road-Rider. The clearance between the sidewall and the chain is 4mm, so I'm well pleased with this...
Next up is the rear brake... I'm happy to keep the original Tiger/Thunderbird disk (future replacements will be 'fully floating' from EBC, I reckon) so now I need to make a decision on a suitable caliper. I have the twin piston, single sided Nissin caliper from the Tiger, and it's original mount, but I'm not convinced thay these will be 'plug and play' on the V1000.
The sharp-eyed amongst you will have spotted the temporary LHS wheel spacers (yes, two). These will eventually be modified to accommodate an underslung caliper mount.
In my head (at the moment) this mount will have a deep-groove roller bearing, matching the axle, and a couple of circlips to ensure the mount stays centralised on the bearing... I'll use the original V1000 spherical bearing front attachment for the torque arm and (probably) another spherical bearing/rose joint at the caliper end too...
I'm hoping to replicate the 'parallelogram' effect of the original V1000 floating caliper mount, but the underslung caliper will mean less metal is required in the new mount... I say, hoping... We'll see...
More, as it happens...
Jeff