Your Indian;—. Its Care and Maintenance

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 214, 29 November 1927, Page 7

Your Indian; —. Its Care and Maintenance

A SUN special feature to obtain the maximum re; proper care and treatment

assist the owner-driver to t ults in performance by the of his car.

In the maintenance of a motor-cycle, as in the maintenance of any piece of machinery, care and forethought are invaluable. Correct lubrication, being of the utmost importance, is dealt with first.

The crank case is provided with two screw plugs on the lower left side. The upper plug is set at the correct oil level. Tf, when it is removed, oil flows freely from the opening, excess lubrication is indicated. Allow this excess oil to drain off until the proper level is reached. Replace the plug securely. The lower plug is for draining the crank case completely. It should be removed every 500 miles to drain out old, burnt oil. Inject two or three pumpfuls with the hand pump after draining.

With the fresh oil lubricating system used on Indian engines dilution of the crankcase oil with fuel is not a factor on motor-cycles. The oil in service will acquire a certain amount of sediment, however, especially when the engine is new. There will be gritty matter, bits of carbon flaking from the undersides of the pistons, particles of metallic wear which must be cleansed from.the crankcase periodically else they will be distributed with the oil. tending to increase friction and wear. So, every 500 miles:

First: Remove the drain plug in the lower left-hand side of the crankcase, allowing the old oil to drain off. It is best to do this while the engine is warm and the oil is thoroughly mixed; this will carry off most of the sediment. Second: Replace the plug, temporarily and force several hand pumps of oil into the crankcase. Run the engine for a few moments, and drain this off. If this oil is very much darkened in colour, repeat this flushing process. Third: After the crankcase has thoroughly drained, replace the drain plug tightly and remove the level testing plug. Then fill the crankcase to the proper level with the hand pump. Caution: If the oil tank is emptied by flushing, us described above, make sure to re-prime the mechanical oiler before starting the engine after refilling the oil tank. Flushing with Kerosene: We do not advise flushing with kerosene. Its cutting action is so great that it loosens much sediment and gritty matter that is pocketed in the system and which is not normally circulated. When the engine is turned over with kerosene in the crankcase, this loosened matter is carried directly into the bearings, startting pitting and scoring. Flush with the regular engine oil or flushing oil—it will carry-off all the loose sediment —the attached sediment is out of circulation and is no longer harmful —do not loosen it and carry it into your bearings with kerosene. Removing Heads: In removing cylinder heads, take off all nuts, then with i a block of wood and a hammer, tap on the heads, first one way and then ; the other, sideways. This will loosen 1 them. j Gaskets: Be sure and do not damage I the gaskets between the bead and cyl- ! inder when removing heads. Do not prv 1 up on the head with a sharp instru- ! ment such as a screwdriver. Replacing Heads: Shellac the gas-

kcts around the. holes on both sides, place head down over studs, and start all nuts. Pull down on one nut a little at a time. Do not tighten any one nut all the way down, as this will be liable to break the head. Draw all nuts down equally. After a day or two try drawing down on all nuts again. The proper running of motor depends in a large measure upon the good condition of the valves. All valves have adjustable tappets to compensate for wear. The intake valves are those nearest the carburettor in each cylinder, while the exhaust valves are those farthest away from the carburettor.

It is important to have the clearance or distance between the tappet and the end of the valve stem correct, if the motor is to run quietly and keep its power and speed. The proper clearance for the intake valve is three-tlious-undths of an ince. The broker clearance for the exhaust valve is six thousandths of an inch. The motor must be cold for all tappet adjustments. No upward pressure should be exerted by the lifter on the tappet and the valve must be fully seated if satisfactory adjustments are to be made. Use a mechanic’s feeler gauge for measurements. The exhaust valve expands with the cylinder and the clearance remains the same whether the motor is hot or cold. The intake valve does not expand with the cylinder, but when the latter gets hot it lifts the intake valve stem, leaving six-thousandths of an inch between the stem and the tappet.

Be sure to tighten lock-nut on the valve tappet after making the adjustment. Lower dust cover sleeve and screw it down. Inspect all valve tappets once a week. Clearance should be accurately measured and not guessed at. To remove carbon: Take out spark plugs and remove cylinder heads. Bring piston to top of compression stroke when both valves will be closed. Remove all carbon deposit from top of piston and valves. Next scrape carbon out of cylinder head. Inspect and clean primer opening, making sure that passage is free for intake of priming charge. Carbon deposit should be removed with special scrapers which can be bought from the dealer or from an auto supply house. A long screwdriver or wood chisel will do in place of a scraper. CARE OF ELECTRIC GENERATOR Damage may result to batteries, particularly in summer time, if charging rate is too high and setting of third brush which regulates the amount of current should have attention. For average summer riding, the maximum charge rate should not exceed 3 to 35 amperes/nd in cases where little night riding done even less than this will be sufficient to keep the battery fully charged. It is also good practice in long daylight riding to keep a light burning and so prevent excessive overcharging of battery.

Should a battery need very frequent attention in the way of topping up with water, this is a sure sign that the charge rate is too high for the class of work the machine is doing.

When adjusting the third brush, moving it toward the fixed brush nearest it, will increq.se charging current;

moving it away from this brush will decrease the amount of current.^ Attention should also be given to amount of break between the points on contact breaker, as should it be too great the generator will not start to chargo until high rate of speed is attained. Points should be set to separate when generator is stopped, not more than .020 or less than .015. Oilers at each end of generator should r* <*eiye a few drops of good light oil every 4/0 miles. ii i If the following points are adhered to in regard to the battery, it will give practically no trouble. 1. —Add distilled water regularly each " 2—Keep the battery and battery box clean. , , Remove the filler plugs (three plugs, one for each cell), ami see that the electrolvte or liquid in battery covers the plates inside the battery when the battery is standing upright. The plates must be kept covered- The correct level of electrolyte is obtained vben the plates are just covered with solution. The battery must not be filled to overflowing. To restore the level of the electrolyte, add distilled water. It is rarely necessary to add acid, and it is far better to have this done by an experienced battery man. Add the distilled water regularly once a week. Don’t use tap water, as this contains minerals injurious to the battery. If for any reason the battery is removed from the machine or disconnected during the time that the machine is in operation the generator must be grounded to prevent possible injury. This may be done by connecting a piece of wire between the terminal on the generator and any clean, unpainted part of the motor or frame. Considerable vibration is caused on handlebars and grips that is often put down as engine vibration, but is caused by loose steering head bearings. With a sidecar on a machine it is sometimes hard to note if bearing is loose, as it has to be very badly out of adjustment before it rattles sufficiently to be noticeable. The front wheel should be jacked up while adjustment is being made: bearings should have no shake b

<ut should be sufficiently free to turn rasily.