Motorcycles through the ages have metamorphosized to produce what we have today. But sometimes this is not the principle of what the buyer wants, but it is close, hence people find Stotfold Engineering is the place to find that enhancement

Performance tuning a Ducati Mach 1 The first thing to do is lighten everything throughout the engine, but not compromise on the strength and reliability of the working parts. The project was carried out by me to contest a Ducati Mach 1 in a

Basic servicing After purchasing or inheriting an air arm the first thing to do is to oil it. WD40 is ideal as it can be sprayed onto surfaces and mechanisms, left to soak and wiped away. WD40 doesn’t seem to attract dust onto mechanisms an

The bicycle in question, ripe for a complete restoration is a 1954 Rory O’Brien racing bicycle. My father purchased the frame and forks for £17.10s unpainted. The frame was manufactured from Reynolds 531 tubing and all the tubing was brazed

Grease nipples are manufactured for use where the article to be lubricated can not be broken down easily thus upsetting fixed running clearances or difficult to reach parts. I have had a look at some early i.e. 1920’s nipples from a KTT Vel

A 1930 s triumph tank was brought into the workshop with the customer saying he cannot find anyone to restore it to it’s original fuel capacity. The problem being it had been “Petsealed” 30 years ago and the modern fuels contain

Following a steady season in 2009, when significant improvements in times had been achieved, I decided that some more speed was required so asked Terry Ives to investigate the compression ratio in the JAP engine. I had thought, but never ch

Recently we were asked to repair an  umbrella stand. The left hand stay was missing. Replacing parts on cast iron objects can be expensive. To cut down on costs and avoid having to go to a foundry to have the part cast I decided to replicat

A customer approached me with a gearbox problem and initially I thought great, just the sort of job I like. I love working on gearboxes, understanding how all the internal parts work and how all the different selecting methods operate to ob

What different types of lawnmower are there? Cylinder & Rotary mowers are the most common types of lawnmower used today. These two mowers come in many guises, the cylinder type mower is either, an electrically operated one or is mechani

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

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

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

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

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 occurrenc