Blogs

Triumph motorcycles seemed to have got everything sorted out when they introduced the 1970 triumph TR6. They are a joy to work on and a particularly good starting point for a novice engine builder, in that they are simple in construction with the unit construction gear box and no fidd

The little bikes are quite easy to restore as there is not an inordinate amount of chroming involved, most of the paint work is black including the wheel rims and spokes. The BSA C11 of 1939 vintage is not a very common beast and some spares are hard to come by, like the slightly upsw

Good heat resistant engine paints are getting difficult to source as some have stopped being produced due to regulations on there chemical make up and possible health hazards. For the home based motorcycle restorers, the preferred method of applying paint is by spray in the form of ra

I was asked by a company to produce some parts in a material that I was unaccustomed with, the material was called Ferralium. The part that I had to machine had very high tolerances involved in its production, a very small batch was needed and Stotfold Engineers was singled out to uph

Wheel building is an art if it is done properly. Many wheel come into our work shop from all over the UK for rebuilding and refurbishing. For example a pair of wheels were bought to us that not only needed respoking but needed new rims as they must have sat out in the rain for years a

Honda CX 500   This is a typical enquiry that we receive on a regular basis. I feel it important to air this on our blog as it shows good reciprocation of information between us and the customer (Simon). Simon initially gave me a breakdown of all the problems suggested by another mech

A customer took possession of A Ducati 250 mach 1 and bought it as a runner. After several attempts at starting it by bump starting and roller starting it would not start so he was asked to give Stotfold engineering a look at it. the engine looked as though it had been shot blasted bu

The Honda XL 125 has a good pedigree and reputation also there is many variants of these machines, the Americans love them for off roading as suggested on many U.S.A. forums. A favourite enhancement to the XL,s is to fit a molossi big bore barrel kit, The advantage in doing this mod i

There comes a time in an engines life when it will require reboring or relining. This operation is called for when the engine has lost power due to the piston ring to cylinder clearance exceeding there maximum operating limits. The first port of call in accessing worn cylinder or barr

Other than a full gasket and seal kit and your engine condition is within the limit and conditions conducive of a run in machine, it is always advisable to change the cam timing chain, if this brakes untold damage can occur to the top and bottom end. Valves always need inspection as t

With the head and barrels off and a look down the bores and “Olay”, l could see the faint swirl marks left through the honing stage in finishing barrels. Those swirl marks show that all is well between pistons and barrels, this engine had been running on the rich side there was lovely

This particular Honda 400 is the 1977 F model the mastery with this engine is its simplicity in its layout and construction, horizontally split crankshafts and there usual sandwich of barrels, head and cam cover make it a joy to work on. These engines as with all the CB 4 cylinder mod