Flywheel Weight

[laird387]

Sorry to be the one thinking laterally, but studying a whole load of images of various machines in action in the Pre-65 Scottish to decide which selection to include in the latest ORRe, I was struck by the seemingly endless tendency to aviate the front wheel unexpectedly and cast the rider off ignominiously.........

 

Then I realised that most younger riders have seemingly infinite faith in electronic ignition, whereas I as a qualified electronics engineer have less than perfect faith, having seen the poor quality of many of the components fitted........

 

But the fact that hit me between the eyes, as it were, is that on steep climbs with poor grip, be it dry because of loose rocks/stones or wet grass, we ALWAYS used to knock the ignition back a notch towards retard just to soften the power delivery and keep the front wheel lift controllable. We had power to spare anyway, so softening it was not a compromise.

 

Now I'm not saying throw the electronic ignition away - getting magnetos restored these days must be a nightmare - but mount the electronic points on a rotatable plate with an advance/retard spring loaded lever, keeping the prime advantage of a king-size spark, but with the added subledty of control of power delivery to suit the conditions.......... and don't tell me that can be achieved in the mapping because it would need an intelligence in the mapping selection to decide whether the rider was just trying to kick start the bike or getting ready for an awkward climb - and remember with an advance/retard lever you could ease it towards smoother delivery for the tricky step then put it back to full advance for the rest of the blast up the hill.

 

Whatever - enjoy!

Edited June 10, 2016 by laird387

[b40rt]

On 13/09/2010 at 11:42 PM, martinm said:

The very early red/white SWM used a smaller flywheel that the yellow models.....Sammy Miller used to list a bolt on flywheel weight in his catalogue many moons ago.

While in the flywheel area.......one of my talented SWM contacts has converted his bike to electronic ignition, with some very good results. It is utilising a kit thats already available on the market, and I have one winging its way to me shortly, to see if its as easy to install as he makes out..and whether the improvement is significant enough to warrant the money.

Will let you know the findings soon.

Martin

@martinm pretty exhaustive testing ..

[baldilocks]

On 6/10/2016 at 10:07 AM, b40rt said:

 

 

Think 500g is nearer to the mark !

I weighed it, it wasnt a guess. ive just removed the same looking weight from my Aprilia TX.

[b40rt]

On 12/9/2013 at 6:38 PM, baldilocks said:

Clutch side weight is 1.6kg so pick up is improved with it off. Still seems to grip ok and im still yet to stall it in the approx 6 weeks I have owned it ! Love it

600g's, just cheched.