[Stogierob]

so the next two questions...

What size nut is needed for this?  my gauges, and local hardware store only stock up to M12, and nothing SAE has worked yet.


And my exhaust is leaking from between the engine and the cooling fin ring, and again at the joint between the down pipe and muffler.  is there a gasket that should be in there somewhere?  I don't recall one coming off of either joint when i disassembled the exhaust to repaint it (high heat 2000 degrees F)

[ddavidv]

I measured the bolt on mine with calipers and it is around 16mm. Pretty certain my nut is metric. The parts diagram thinks it is SAE but I would disagree (if I found the right thing).
https://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/partsbooks/pages/4841/Frame_Assembly
The pipe to head junction does not show a gasket on the parts diagram but mine has one. This is for the AVL engine but looks a lot like what mine has:
http://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/accessory-shop/Leanburn/10096
The pipe to silencer joint should have a band clamp to seal it.

[Adrian II]

The missing nut is 1/2" British cycle thread. Your muffler should have a 5/16" pinch bolt fitted in the lugs where it fits onto the pipe, that also appears to be missing in your photo, you shouldn't need a separate clamp. You can seal it with odrinary silicone RTV goo.

A.

[Stogierob]

found the pinch bolt.  it was completely in the blind spot when looking at the muffler. 

now to try and source a local 16mm fine thread nut.  i really hope that works because I really don't want to pay for shipping of two nuts from the UK.

at least it runs...

Rob

[Bilgemaster]

In my experience, you can spend an hour or so sifting randomly through bins of misplaced nuts and bolts at a big box store staffed with clueless high school dropouts and visa holders with no vowels in their names who'll cock their heads like a confused dog if you utter confusing words like "thread" or "nut", or you can just swing by some small family owned hardware joint staffed by ancient geezers with nametags, or better yet personalized embroidered polo shirts, reading "Earl" or "Jake", who'll know that the precise fastener you seek is over in their zeppelin maintenance section in zinc coated or stainless, and be in and out in three minutes. And if they don't have that quarter Whitworth left-hand thread squarehead with the embossed O-ring grommet, they sure as hell know who does. 

[tooseevee]

In my experience, you can spend an hour or so sifting randomly through bins of misplaced nuts and bolts at a big box store staffed with clueless high school dropouts and visa holders with no vowels in their names who'll cock their heads like a confused dog if you utter confusing words like "thread" or "nut", or you can just swing by some small family owned hardware joint staffed by ancient geezers with nametags, or better yet personalized embroidered polo shirts, reading "Earl" or "Jake", who'll know that the precise fastener you seek is over in their zeppelin maintenance section in zinc coated or stainless, and be in and out in three minutes. And if they don't have that quarter Whitworth left-hand thread squarehead with the embossed O-ring grommet, they sure as hell know who does.

          How true. I just a few weeks ago I was shocked when my favorite auto parts shop closed its doors. It had been there since Model A days and I met Bob (who is my age) first in 1959. The shop was so stuffed with so much stuff that you could hardly move through the stacks. Hundreds of little drawers; a wonderful, almost mystical place that I wish I had the literary ability to describe. It would take Larry McMurtry or Tom Waits to do it properly.

      When I first got my '08, I put together a complete double set of spare bulbs on the whole bike and I got more than half of them from Bob at County Auto.

        County Auto was next door to Stedman's Bicycle Shop which was also one of the oldest shops in Wakefield, 1920.

        And guess what was just ONE of Bob's many bikes? An iron head Royal Enfield.   

[ddavidv]

Lowe's keeps threatening to build a store near our interchange. I cringe every time I hear it because the local 'real' hardware store sees me grace their threshold about as often as Tim Allen uttered the word 'Binford'. My favorite employee is a 'mature' Corvette owner who is stationed in the nut/bolt/mystical fastener aisle. It's a noteworthy day when I go in there and can't source something to fix a problem.

[Adrian II]

now to try and source a local 16mm fine thread nut.

16mm is NOT 1/2". There are suppliers in the USA who can supply British Cycle Thread, have you searched for them?

A.

[Stogierob]

In my experience, you can spend an hour or so sifting randomly through bins of misplaced nuts and bolts at a big box store staffed with clueless high school dropouts and visa holders with no vowels in their names who'll cock their heads like a confused dog if you utter confusing words like "thread" or "nut", or you can just swing by some small family owned hardware joint staffed by ancient geezers with nametags, or better yet personalized embroidered polo shirts, reading "Earl" or "Jake", who'll know that the precise fastener you seek is over in their zeppelin maintenance section in zinc coated or stainless, and be in and out in three minutes. And if they don't have that quarter Whitworth left-hand thread squarehead with the embossed O-ring grommet, they sure as hell know who does.

holy shit!  that's hysterical!  the sad part is I am that old geezer with the name tag, though I work in the Midwest's version of the big box home improvement hardware store.  and while we have a few millennials who can sell better than I can, I actually have the experience with the product from installs and repairs.  "zeppelin maintenance section"  LOL!  that's poetry.

i think my engine, now that it's been running for a while, has a few new leaks and vents that had not been noticed before.  i think the decompression port is not sealing properly and exhaust is coming out from it.  also, there is a leak between the carb and the engine.  it looks too clear to be oil, which is worrisome as the only other liquid in the area is gas.  that's for tomorrow's investigation.

Rob

[Stogierob]

now to try and source a local 16mm fine thread nut.

16mm is NOT 1/2". There are suppliers in the USA who can supply British Cycle Thread, have you searched for them?

A.

i was referencing the post where 'around 16mm' was discussed.  i seem to have a mix of SAE and Metric on my bike.  i could also have BCT, but simply haven't lost any of those nuts or bolts to discover the additional standard.

Thanks!
Rob

[Stogierob]

bought an SAE 1/2" double-ended bolt to replace the one that was on the bike.  sourced locally.  got black RTV as well.  muffler will be sealed up nicely by the end of the day.

Rob