Bess has been "run-in" and is performing admirably. With a garage full of other bikes to ride, I've not been able to ride Bess as much as she deserves. I did, however, run her down to the Strathmore Arms a couple of days ago. There and back at a steady 65-70 mph. Way to go!!
Wednesday, 24th May, 2023.
When I got back from the Strathmore Arms, I noticed that one of the petrol tank bolts had fallen out. It was still attached to the wire I'd used to stop it undoing. It turned out that the thread had stripped... as had two others, and the forth wasn't looking that good, either. It was not a very good fixing when it was new, over 70 years ago. The bolts are screwed into a tapped hole in a plate that is only 1/8" thick. It was time for a permanent solution. I drilled out the threaded holes to 7/16", and turned up four steel inserts to fit into the holes. These were drilled and tapped with the 5/16" BSCy thread to match the new bolts I'd ordered. The inserts were silver soldered into the original mounting plates. They had a full 1/2" of thread depth so there would be less chance of them being stripped again. OK... the silver soldering isn't that pretty, but I guarantee that the inserts won't drop out any day soon, and it didn't look that bad with a coat of black paint.
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Last updated 27/05/2023