Blogs

In this blog I just wanted to tell some of you about my Commando as I ‘ve been asked about the bike by a few people. People always say “that’s a nice bike, it must have cost you fortune”. I tell them it didn’t happen overnight. I’ve been working on

The customer who required these had borrowed a couple of old ones from a friend, so I could use them for patterns. Firstly an average measurement had to be taken across the mounting holes. Then the screen was laid on a sheet of stiff paper and the profile was marked, including the gla

Here at Stotfold Engineering we don’t just work on pristine bikes. We work on many bikes that have had a hard life and are in need of bringing back to a good working standard. This one of our customers bikes. He had bought it after it had been off the road for a number of years.

At Stotfold Engineering we do weld aluminium on a regular basis and often have customers come in to have their crankcases repaired on their classic motorcycle or car. However not all aluminium is easily repaired. Firstly lets have a look at it in more detail. WHAT IS ALUMINIUM?; Alumi

When we require a classic motorcycle restoration to be undertaken by an ‘expert or professional’ motorcycle restorer we have to expect the complete job to cost more than the classic bike is worth. This is a very common occurrence. There are ways to bring the cost down and

What types of four stroke lubrication systems are there?  There are four main types that are used on four stroke motorcycle engines: The  splash or spray system The total loss system The dry sump system The wet sump system 1. The splash or spray system of lubrication: This was employe

From day one of this cafe racer project I have always had it in my mind that all wiring should be well and truly hidden. To many really good creative bikes are made with little or no thought for the wiring. I like my wiring tidy and when ever possible hidden. When you decide to build

 From time to time we get the same inquiries about various aspects of motorcycle building. Brakes is one of those subjects. People come into the workshop, phone or email saying ‘my brakes are spongy and how can I fix them’ or ‘my brakes work, but what can I do to imp

Finally I have reached the stage of reconstruction. The frame has returned from the painters (‘Full Range Finishes’ – Letchworth) and the swinging arm freshly chrome plated (‘Doug Heath’ – Baldock). Firstly the frame was prepared with new head races

NAMES: Aqua blasting, also known as vapour blasting and wet blasting. WHAT IS AN AQUA BLASTER?: Essentially it is a machine that operates using a medium compressed air supply and a high pressure pump. The sump of the cabinet type aqua blaster contains water and a measured amount of me

A customer approached us with a damaged gooseneck assembly from his ‘Vortex Laser’ assymetric racing dinghy. The damage to the fitting was caused when the boom swings over too far and attempts to pull the gooseneck from the mast. After a few of these mishaps the whole asse

The engine I have now completed and ready for installation. The crank cases were firstly striped of components and modified. The starter motor was not going to be needed so I ground most of the housing for it away. This also meant I had to tidy the generator cover and gear selector co