First Ride Out

Hi Bruce,

That looks brilliant and a credit to you.

When I rebuilt a Navigator in 2019 from a pile of boxes that had stood for 50 years, I neglected to do a thorough check on the speedometer.

At mile 13 the speedo cable inner failed. On investigation, the speedo internals were very stiff to turn. Probably hardened grease and old oil inside. Careful application of 3-in-1 without flooding the beast, freed up the speedo. I filed a nail into square section and fitted it to my pistol drill to drive the speedo and free it up. No more problems since.

Had similar problem with one exhaust pipe. Reset it at the footrest mount as much as possible to pull the pipe into the head.

Carbon build-up did the rest over time.

Enjoy the rest of the sunny weather.

Peter

Hi Bruce,

As Peter says, you have done a good job there.

To keep it looking that way, treat yourself to a brake reline from Villiers Services (other relining companies are available) - my experience is that it will probably be the best £24 you can spend.

Whilst a small drum is never going to stop you like a disc, new linings will improve things a lot.

(Nb. I had a similar experience to you on my 650 - brake was useless until you had applied it for 2-3 seconds then it would work as expected. New linings from VS have transformed it.From posting the shoes off to getting them back took 10 days.)

Hope that this helps,

George

... recommendation for VS. Ask them for the high friction linings rather than the fade-free ones.

Are you holding the brake hard on while tightening the spindle nut? This centralises the shoes and can make a big difference.

Lovely looking bike, like the colour!

Looks like rebuilt wheels, assuming that has been done did you get the braking surface machined true after lacing up?  Also machine the linings to fit the trued drum. Can make quite a difference to braking performance.

Having said that if the brake was no good as built back when the bike was new no amount of truing up is going to make much, if any, difference.  Ask an Ariel Leader/Arrow owner!

Nice looking Jubilee and a great paint job. I agree about VS for new brake linings. I mostly use the rear brake and that works well, even locking the wheel if I press too hard!

For the exhaust downpipe I agree that 'adjusting' the attachment at the footrest works, possibly in conjunction with the aid of light tap at the head end with a hide mallet. I use a clear high temperature silicone meant for stoves  to seal the pipe into the head and that works well and yes, the seal an be broken easily if you need to remove the pipe in future.

Dennis

.. I rebuilt an Arrow a few years ago and actually the front brake was fine. You neeed to make sure all the parts are in good condition, that you use a 7/8" pivot distance lever, and that the cab;le follows the correct path (which is a little counter-intuitive).

VS linings of course.

Hiya Bruce - A couple of questions Did you repaint that tank and if so what is the colour code if you know pls. Also did you rebuild the wheels and if you did where did you get your spokes from?

Gary

Nice bike BTW - Its where I want to take my Jubilee.