Well, on account of the "database error" can't write everything here I wanted to - maybe that's a good thing!
In short, I had put about 2,000km's on the bike since building it last spring, and with the new carb/filter was enjoying what seemed a bit enhanced mid/upper range power... and a hard uphill, somewhat higher rpm run one day left me with nasty noises coming from the crankcase... not a knock, sounds more like a bad/rough main bearing. I outlined above concerns I had about how they'd built the crankshaft, but other thing is I put standard-clearance NRB main bearings in it; recently another Brit up in these hills who's hoarded something like twenty Bullets is telling me the NBC's/NRB's used by RE and typically used for rebuilds in India are the cheapest options with corresponding reliability. So I'll have to open it again, we'll see what's gone wrong.
1. ACE/Adrian/BW/other engine guys: How important do you think the C3 spec would be on the main bearings? A lot of bikes (incl. my Kawasaki) do specify them for the crank - did RE ever? Seems wise considering our heavy-load hill conditions / short runs / RE's poor machining tolerances (thinking of case misalignments, and I can see uneven wear on the old main bearing races, though it didn't cause any failure in six years). I can get the Japanese NTN's here (NU205/305) but thus far haven't found them in C3. Stated otherwise, if it came down to Indian C3's or Japan/Euro standard fit, what would be the better option? Are Hitchcock's UK-bearings standard or C3?
Also (ACE), finally found your old breather thread
https://forum.classicmotorworks.com/index.php/topic,4802.45.html wherein you stated it wouldn't work on AVL's due to the lack of the crank seal on the timing side, which in the new low-pressure environment would lead to wet-sumping.
Now here's the thing: A new senior mechanic showed up here a few days back who apparently used to work at the Chennai RE factory (and independently later), who seems familiar with all the typical AVL weaknesses / mods (incl. CI tappets/spindles/cam conversion, etc). He says he adds a seal there by re-purposing the (felt?) one from the old point-ignition distributor - presumably kind of squishes it in between the case and the oil-pump drive gear. Sounds like a classical case of Indian "
juggad" but sometimes these things do actually work. Also says that if I let him build the engine he'll give me a 5-year, unlimited mileage guarantee (why does this sound familiar???!!!).
Anyway, if the felt(?) were sufficiently saturated with oil and snug in there, and moreover held against the crankcase side by whatever light vacuum is in there, could it be enough to keep excessive oil from moving past into the crankcase... and is the benefit of the relocated breather worth any associated risk of this NOT working? Machining for the old-model crank seal won't be feasible in this context (don't know anyone with a milling machine), whereas drilling for the engine-side breather and doing the crescent in the case with my die-grinder would probably be pretty do-able. And on the AVL I still do have to block off the 3mm hold between the crankcase and oil tank, right? In my case I'd want to retain the catch-can (don't want the rear-exit, it's just too dusty here and it's all going to stick to any oil-spatter/mist), so if the crank/oil tank are again separated, I guess I could drain it back into the latter via the original nipple there, correct? Or else the timing-case, which does have a duckbill inside already.
2. Hitchcock's $50 crankpin is the Indian one, no specs available, so no advantage. Their U.K. made one comes only in the complete, fitted rod kit, which is well beyond my budget... So I'll just get the RE pin over here, a friend up here has 50,000km's on his crank (on a stock C5), and that's a combination of daily short hill runs (7km's commute), and a fair amount of mountain touring with pillion and luggage.
-Eric