Chinese Norton Skywing Honda Camino Amalgamation

Earlier this year, some brave/foolhardy souls from the Real Classic message board decided that it would be a good idea to take part in a John O'Groats to Lands End moped challenge to raise money for the Help for Heroes charity.  They chose to attempt this on a Chinese Skywing moped, that became a Norton thanks to the addition of some genuine Norton footpegs and some badges. Sadly, the brave little mopeddy died a death after little more than 300 miles and ended up in my Home for Distressed Mopeds.  The original plan was that I should just store it until MadMike collected it and took it for scrap but that seemed like a waste so I ended up with the log book and moped in the hope that some way of fixing it could be found.

We did some research and found that it was some sort of copy of a Honda Camino so I've been keeping my eye out for a bargain Camino ever since.  It had to be very cheap just in case it didn't fit! Last weekend we collected a low mileage complete Honda Camino won for just £56 on ebay - I think the low price was helped by the fact that the auction ended at 8.00. bright and early on a Sunday morning. I was in two minds whether or not to get out of bed to bid but I'm glad I did!

This weekend, while I was tatting around with Bertie, The Boss was playing with the Honda Camino and soon had it running so it was time to try and fit the working bits into the Skywing.  First attempt was to fit the complete engine and back wheel in but the main problem there was that the wiring didn't match up.  The next plan was to just fit the Honda head, barrel and piston to the Skywing - this meant that we still had the newer wheel from the Skywing.  I'm making it sound quite easy but that's because The Boss did most of the work.  I was on engine cleaning duties. After connecting electrics, fuel pipe and cables the Skywing Norton Chamino hybrid was soon running and even got taken for a bit of a run up the road.

The Camino had pedals whereas the Skywing was a kick start.  The "finished" Chamino retains the kickpart but there are no footpegs - apparently it didn't come with them, there is just a sort of plastic footplate but that doesn't really feel as if it is in the right place (you feel a bit of a twat riding it like that). Also the splines on the kickstart look pretty shoddy so I'm not sure how long they'll last.  Longer term, we (as in The Boss) may transfer over the pedals and pedal starting gubbins instead of the kick start.

The donor Camino

 I've noticed that you can get Honda Camino big-bore kits on ebay so, longer term, the donor bike may get fixed up, registered and sold on.  Seems a shame to waste it!

Pete Sykes Mad Moped piccies

Batavus Update

Yesterday, I put the cleaned carb back together and then re-fitted it to Bertie.  The fuel tap had been soaking in petrol so I refitted that as well, filled the petrol tank with a 50:1 ish mix of petrol and two stroke oil, then refitted the petrol tank.  A bit of pedalling later and he was running.  He stays running for longer than he did before but still isn't quite right.  To be fair, the exhaust system is missing so I just cobbled on a knackered Ariel 3 one.  I can't take him for a test ride because the Ariel 3 downpipe stops the front wheel from turning and the tyres (which look as if they are the original ones) almost certainly won't hold any air!  I'm going to be funding his "restoration" entirely from funds raised by selling stuff on ebay so my next step is to raise enough money to buy some nice new tyres and tubes.



It seems to be a good way of shifting rust from an Ariel 3 exhaust!

RIP Amy

Kitten vs Apples

Batavus Bits

Batavus Caveman - you can even buy hatpins with him on!

Magazine review of the HS50 - this is the model I've got.

Batavus Whippet - build your own.

Are flares practical moped-wear?

The former Laura Anker factory where they made the engines both for Batavus mopeds and for Ariel 3s.

Another view of the Laura Anker factory in Eygelshoven.

Batavus HS50 on the right (they were all red, apparently).  I'd guess the yellow one is a Batavus Go-Go but I'll have to do more research.

Batavus Conforte - build your own.

Batavus Clutch

Batavus Reading

Thanks to Kawa for the following links:

Batavus HS50 manual

Batavus Service and Repair Manual

I like this bit:

Bertie Batavus

I've already mentioned the Batavus moped I bought while at Uttoxeter so here are a couple of pictures of him.

Ariel 3 engine removal

While at Uttoxeter, I acquired a Batavus HS50 moped, having somehow justified the purchase on the basis that the Batavus was running and had the same Laura Anker engine as the Ariel 3s.

Now, Bertie Batavus has missing engine covers and he's having to live out in the rain at the moment so I thought I'd borrow covers from one of the Ariel 3s.  The Ariel 3 engine I bought on ebay came without covers so that was no help.  Next possibility was the snot green Ariel 3 that apparently used to live in a hedge.

To access the engine bolts, the yellow chain case cover needed to be removed.

Note the BSA rubber bung proudly advertising the name of the manufacturer.  Bear in mind it would have been completely hidden by the engine enclosure almost all of the time!

 It looks fairly clean inside the chain case, quite unlike everything else.  Engine bolt is accessed just behind the top run of the chain but there is enough slack to not have to remove the chain:

With the two engine bolts removed, the engine lifted out easily, leaving the layshaft, drive chain and inner chain cover in place.  They drop down without the engine bolts to hold them in place:

The engine

 

Engine bolts were replaced to keep the chain case and layshaft in position.  The tall nut on the left hand side is apparently the belt drive adjuster but I haven't really worked out yet how it works - not helped by the distinct lack of belt, I suppose.

Behind the plastic flywheel cover.

Dead bodies

Plastic cover just needs a clean and it is ready to fit to Bertie Batavus.

The flywheel cover fits directly on to the Batavus engine.  There are supposed to be some sort of spring clips to hold them on but those were missing, of course.  That probably explains why the covers are missing on a lot of the other Batavus images I've found on 'tinternet. I'd been hoping there would be a cover for the clutch as well but I'd forgotten that the Ariel 3 has a fan fitted on that side that means there is nowhere for a clutch cover.  However, the flywheel cover also fits where the clutch cover should be so I need to check if there is one in with the original blue Ariel 3 so it can be loaned to Bertie and help keep him protected from the rain.

The idea is to get the Batavus all sorted and running properly and reliably (and road legal so I can use it on NACC runs), then use the running engine as a reference for when I try and put an Ariel 3 together.

Festival of 1000 Bikes

Piccies to follow

Uttoxeter Show 1st-3rd July 2011

A week before the show, I was surprised to receive a phone call telling me that my TriBSA was being allowed on the BSAOC stand.  I'll admit I've regularly been nagging for it to be allowed on the stand but I didn't really expect a result!

I was working all day Friday so Gus drove over to Uttoxeter with the TriBSA in the trailer, got the bike in it's rightful place as a Show Bike Trailer Queen (ha ha!!), got the tent put up and then drove home to fetch me (I hadn't just been wasting my time working, I'd managed to fit in getting Horatio, no 2 XL185, MOT'd!).  In spite of both being Very Tired (Gus has been working nights so had been awake for more than 24 hours and I'm nearly always tired), we managed to stay up enjoying ourselves until a reasonable hour.

Saturday was bright, sunny and hot; there were more showers available than in previous years and the water was hot; the racecourse cafe were able to provide delicious bacon butties; there were lots and lots of shiny and not so shiny bikes to look at and lots of people to meet and chat too.  It didn't seem as busy as in previous years but, as a "punter", that felt like a good thing - more room to move around and look at things and most people on the stands had time for a bit of chat and banter.  Everything you need for an enjoyable day, really.  The organisers provided a band in the bar each evening and lovely Uncle Jim Reynolds was an entertaining Compere during the day. What more could you want?  Oh yes, free weekend tickets for sticking my bike in the show for a couple of days!!

Gus pointed out the Batavus moped for sale - it has the same engine as in the Ariel 3.  But this one was running! I resisted the temptation. Until Sunday afternoon anyway.  The Batavus moped came home with us but, unusually, I had haggled - so successfully that I felt I could have got away with being less generous. Still, it was a good result by my standards!

Here are the pictures:

http://www.flickr.com//photos/bsanorthstaffs/sets/72157627114033460/show/

You'd think I'd have learned by now but I got horribly sunburned again on Sunday (I used the factor 50 on Saturday but sort of forgot until too late on Sunday), to the extent that I had to come home early from work today because I felt so ill.  I feel I need a nice lacy parasol to protect my delicate skin in future!