F500/ Montjuic gears

[bob]

Just posting this for a bit of interest. The supply of close ratio NOS Montjuic /F500 first gears from Italy has now dried up although the 2nd and 3rd are still available. The last time I was in Italy I picked up a set of 2nd and 3rd gears but was faced with the problem of getting hold of a 1st gear mainshaft and its attendant countershaft gear

On the 500 the first gear is integral with mainshaft and so getting a first gear manufactured is quite tricky due to the spline arrangement at the clutch basket end. The countershaft gear is relatively straightforward to replicate.

Anyway, to cut a long story short a local company produced one for me,which I'm delighted with. I've taken a couple of pics - the mainshaft nearest the camera is the new one, the one in the background is a standard Alpino .

 

[LaverdaIan]

Very nice Bob.. well done. I guess I'll make a point of not using 1st gear as much as possible.. wouldn't want to wear it out eh..?
Was going to post another Montjuic question.. but do you know the length of the standard pre-load spacer in the 35mm forks, O.D. of spring and wire thickness..? Mines a bit of a bitza it would seem, and I'm trying to just plot the basics against what I've got..
Ciao
Ian

 

[bob]

Ian , I,m afraid I don't know what the spacer should be, I've got Maxton internals in mine which are totally different and its some time since I stripped a set of standard 35mm forks. Meanwhile if nobody answers this I've got some old forks knocking about so I'll whip the cap off and check for you.

 

[3patC]

You cant fool me Bob, everybody knows we dont make anything in the UK anymore.
Mind you it looks great!

 

[LaverdaIan]

Thanks Bob. I'll put up a new string and we'll see how we go.
8)

 

[Monty500]

Hey Bob

can the supplier do more for other Monty owners, I'd like to get a set for possible future use?

Geoff

 

[LaverdaIan]

Bob, not much luck elsewhere.. about all I got was an offer from Red to pulls PFC's bike apart.. tempting, if only to freak him out, but if you do get a chance, appreciate you pulling the top of those oldies of yours..
Thanks
Ian

 

[Morizzi]

I went out to Allora on the weekend for the Frostbite Rally.

It is run by the local Historic Motorcycle Club. Lots of old imperial stuff mainly. Only 3 Italians there and they were all Guzzis, 500 Falcone single, 1000S and my LM III.

Back to the point. On the Saturday afternoon there was a quick run to 2 backyard workshops. The first guy specialises in wooden spoke wheels for veteran cars. He is one of the few in the world that still do it. He is also into old bikes and has a 192.? Waratah.

The second workshop was a machine shop beyond belief for a yard shed. He had machines I can't even describe with the normal array of lathes, mills, cnc's etc. He was demonstrating how to cut gears very similar to the one you had made. Fascinating watching the worm gear cutter rotating in sync with the forming gear on a turntable all the while being bathed in a steady flow of oil.

Its nice to know those skills are still out there but they are getting scarcer.

 

[bob]

Hey Bob

can the supplier do more for other Monty owners, I'd like to get a set for possible future use?

Geoff

Geoff, I've got second and third gear sets out of the bike at the moment so I could get them drawn up and replicated if necessary. I'm having some Atlas starter gears manufactured at the moment and now the F500 stuff is drying up I was thinking about commissioning a couple of F500 close ratio clusters. Drop me a line if you're interested .
Bob