UK Adler Motorcycle Page

FAS 832 Restoration Diary

Not too much to report really, as working away can limit available time in the workshop.

Saturday, 13th Sept: Dismantled horn to clean up and adjust the armature. Horn now delivers a clear note, instead of a weak, barely audible rattle. I discovered some helpful advice on a Sunbeam motorcycle web site:

"Amateur's Guide to Horn Restoration: I've stripped and repaired several horns and there's not much to them. They contains a coil, and set of points and a diaphragm. The points are in series with the coil and when they open, the coil's magnetic field collapses. They are so positioned that when current enters the horn the coil pulls the diaphragm inwards and opens the points which collapses the field which releases the diaphragm which closes the points and gives us magnetism again and again and again... .

My steps are:
1. Disassemble - You shouldn't have to open the big nut in the middle of the Diaphragm but open everything else.
2. Clean any spider nests and rust out of the inside.
3. Check the current path for opens or shorts.
4. Clean the points and all screwed connectors to bare metal.
5. Clean and oil all threads.
6. Check coil for continuity. If it is bad, give up and get it rewound or find another horn. If you don't have a meter, briefly apply voltage through the coil and see if you get magnetism.
7. Make sure the adjusting screw on the back really does change the point gap when turned and the spring works.
8. Reassemble and test. Use adjuster on the back to adjust the horn tone and volume. If it makes just one pop of the diaphragm when you try it, the points are not opening when the diaphragm pulls in. If it makes no noise, then the points are open when current is initially applied and they should start out closed.
9. When you get some noise, turn the adjusting screw till the sound stops in both directions and pick the best tone in between.
Be especially careful where wires attach to the back. If they are open and can get wet, it can short from the connection to the horn body and cook all your wiring. An inline fuse is advisable."

Sunday 28th Sept: Fitted a new 6v battery. Adjusted the slider on the brake rod that is connected to the brake light switch. Checked all the lights worked. I then removed the dreadful rear rack, as it had obviously been fabricated by someone who couldn't measure to save their life. Look at the rear photo, you can see the rack is all shapes but straight.

Thurs 2nd Oct: FAS832 passed it's MOT and was duly taxed (free due to historic vehicle status). Back on the roads legally again. All set for a trip up to Leyland on Sun 5th Oct to meet up with the MZ Riders Club, but eventually torrential rain led to me putting the bike back in the garage and I took the car instead. I plan to take the bike to the Aintree Classic Bike show this weekend.

The Rebuild Begins

6th June 2004: I've started to strip the bike down for a complete nut and bolt re-build. I'm in no hurry and I intend to take my time and get it right. I will give the engine to an experienced motorcycle engineer who lives local to me, for a complete restoration. The main crank seals appear to have failed, as the gearbox oil shows signs of frothing and the engine really smokes for a while once it's been stood, suggesting oil seeping into the crankcase. However that can wait until next weekend.

Today I have removed the petrol tank and cleaned 50 years of debris and a decent amount of rust from it's interior. I've washed the tank out with copious quantities of water and removed the fuel cock and drain plug. I will replace the tank knee rubbers (kniekissen) with new ones as they are in a pretty poor state, however I have yet to find an original Adler filler cap so I will have to make do with the BMW one currently fitted. Unless anyone out there has one for sale ?
The inside of the tank would probably benefit from sealing and/or stabilising with a phosphoric acid based compound (such as Trustran or Jenolite), I will have to look around for advice.

I've also removed the hindmost section of the rear mudguard, the rear light and battery case cover. I'm now in the process of stripping them (using B&Q's own brand All Purpose Paint Stripper) back to bare steel ready for a coat of primer and filling where necessary.

12th June 2004: More stripping I'm afraid, front mudguard, tank, battery cover and the rear mudguard and it turns out that my bike left the factory painted metallic blue and not black ! I'm now wondering if I should return it to the original livery.
The tank was carrying about 2 stone of filler but I've only found two small dents, so I've no idea why it was all there. However the bike should fly when it all goes back together. Pics to follow.

12th July 2004: After a bit of a break for a summer holiday in the Austrian Alps, it's back to work on the bike. I've removed the engine and delivered it to Harold Nuttall. He is an experienced engineer who has been working on bikes all his life. He is really an NSU expert but has Adler experience. Harold will take quite a while to do the rebuild but I have no doubts that when the engine comes back to me, it will be like new. Once stripped down, I will probably return to pick up the engine casings and barrels and heads for barrel scrubbing to return them to a similar condition to which they left the factory.

Most of the tin ware from the bike is now in the process of paint stripping. The bike is just a rolling shell at the moment. One more full day in the garage should have the frame assembly separate from the rest and ready to go for shot blasting and powder coating in gloss black.

18th November 2004: I've been working away a lot recently, but nevertheless I have made considerable progress in fits and starts.

Frame ~ Power coated in gloss black by Elite Powder Coating, Bootle, Liverpool. Now sat in my living room.

Alloy ~ Most of the dull alloy (brake plates, drums etc) have been barrel scrubbed and now look close to how they left the factory in 1954. I've had the steering damper polished and the handlebar clamps have also been barrel scrubbed by Steve Smethurst.

Barrel scrubbing is a process of cleaning alloy parts by placing them in a large barrel full of various stainless steel and ceramic ball bearings and needles. The barrel is vigorously vibrated by a powerful electric motor and the alloy is scoured clean. It gives a lovely finish ready to go straight back on the bike.

Click on the photo's for full size images and use the back button on your browser to return.

Chrome ~ I'm gradually getting all the chrome work re-finished again by Steve Smethurst., although he puts out the re-chroming work to someone else the preparation work he puts into it shows in the quality of the finished article. The headlight rim has had a nasty scar removed by a linishing wheel and after re-chroming it looks perfect!

Other re-chromed items include the fork shrouds, seat spring cover, ignition key cover, brake arms, wheel spindles, rear light cowl, and various head stock rings and brackets. I will be replacing the handlebars with new units as they are bent, scarred and replacement is a better and more cost effective option.

Tinware ~ I've stripped and re-sprayed all of the mudguard brackets in BMW black. The headlight bowl and the seat spring cowl have also been re-sprayed by myself and just need final flattening and polishing.
However the mudguards, chain guards and battery box and tank have gone to Elite Powder Coating, for welding, panel beating repairs, planishing, linishing and final finishing in BMW black. At sometime in the past, the front mudguard's front edge had been bent over flat and filled. This has now been bent back to shape, welded where it had cracked and then the original swaged edge has been restored with a swaging machine. The flared trailing edge of the front mudguard has had all of the dents removed and wheeled back to a smooth flowing flare again using an English Wheel. Once again, a skilled repair that is beyond my ability, so I'm happier to work at my job and earn money to pay someone to do theirs.

The battery box has had bodged repairs removed and new plates welded in where necessary. The chain guards had developed cracks over the years at various stress points. These have been welded and strengthened.

Wheels ~ I have had the barrel scrubbed drums laced up with new chrome rims and stainless steel spokes. I just need to get new rim tapes and inner tubes and then I can order new tires.

2nd August 05 ~ I have replaced the wheel bearings today, something I had been putting off because I wasn't sure how to approach the job. The rear wheel wasn't a problem and both bearings were simply be drifted out and replaced with FAG 6303.2ZR bearings that cost me less that £5 each from Hayley in Manchester. The bearing dimensions are:
47mm external diameter
17mm internal diameter
14mm thick
These bearings are completely sealed units so there is no need to pack the hubs with grease.

The two bearings are held apart by a spacer tube between them of the following dimensions:
24mm external diameter
18mm internal diameter
50mm in length

I could see that the front near side bearing seemed to be held within a dust cover. As it turns out, there is really nothing to worry about and it is the same size as all the others. Simply drift the uncovered one out and then the covered one. The bearing simply pops the cover off which contains a small spacer unit and a grease seal that protects the brake plate shoes. The seal dimensions are:
32mm internal diameter
60mm external diameter
5mm thick, with a chamfered face to match the internal shape of the steel cover. I have not yet found a source for these bearing in the UK, so Germany may be the only source for these?

The steel cover looks like it was originally Cadmium plated which is not really an option to replicate these days as it has pretty much been stopped due to the nature of the heavy metal involved. I eventually decided not to chrome the cover and have simply painted it in silver and it looks perfectly fine.

Front suspension ~ currently in the process of dismantling. I have removed one link arm for re-chroming and just need to press the other cotter pin out to remove the second one. The first one came out quite easily using a drift and a hammer and a few minutes with a paint stripping heat gun. However the second one will not move al all. You can see the location clearly if you click on the diagram on the left to see it in full size.

The pin is quite solid and I think it will need the controlled force of a hydraulic press in order to move it safely and without damage to either the pin or any other parts of the suspension system

The cotter pin is removed by pressing it out, downwards from the oil filler hole out through the bottom of the forks, once the end cap has been removed. The second cotter pin was removed with the help of a neighbour and a very robust vice. The whole assembly was mounted in the vice, with a drift pressing down on the pin (held by the front vice jaw) and an old socket held by the rear vice jaw behind the pin. Once we had applied plenty of force with the vice's Tommy bar, we shocked the vice using a lump hammer hitting the front vice jaw whilst heating with the paint stripper gun. This loosened the pin enough to be able to drift it out easily. However you WILL need a very robust vice for this.

The link arm can be removed by separating it from the link piece that connects the arm to the hydraulic damping piston. Each piston has an O-Ring oil seal (external diameter ~ 33mm and internal diameter 25mm) which is shown as a "gasket" on the above diagram and these are best replaced. They are available from Sally at Manchester Seals in Salford, Manchester ~ Tel 0161 832 7922) and cost pennies.

Likewise the link arms also have one oil seal each which are 22mm x 32mm x 7mm rotary shaft oil seals and are also available from the same supplier for approximately £4 each (15th June 2005).

As you can see from this image, springing is provided by two springs, held in place at the top with a screw cap (these can be accesses once the chrome fork shroud has been removed), that can be removed once the lower alloy end caps have been removed and the oil drained out (more info on oil and dampening to follow).

I used a drift to tap the screw caps anti-clockwise and loosen the thread, then they came off by unscrewing by hand.

Fasteners ~ dual polished replacements have still to be ordered with correct pitch threads via Inox Fasteners.

Replacement parts ~ these have still to be still to be ordered and include pipes and silencers, handlebars, seat cover, the footrest, kick start lever and handlebar rubbers, wiring loom, replacement cables for brakes and clutch, rear stop lamp switch, chain, tires, bearings, tank and rear mudguards badges, fuel filler cap, tank knee pads, wing bolts for rear mudguard, gear lever (correct heel and toe unit is required), rear mudguard curved brackets, gasket sets plus any parts that Harold Nuttall requires for the engine rebuild.

21st November 2004: I've flattened off and polished the headlamp bowl using warm water with washing up liquid and old P600 wet and dry paper. I didn't have any P1200 or P1500 but almost worn out P600 did the trick. With the chrome headlamp rim in place it gives me a lot of encouragement to carry on as I have some time at home over the next few weeks.

I've got the first top coat of BMW black on the front mudguard stays, the rear mudguard support brackets and another coat on the seat cowl. I've also paint stripped the rear lamp body, ready for re-chroming.
The air intake section of the read mudguard needed a few smears of filler and I've put what I hope to be the final layer of filler onto the air filter and choke unit to remove one small yet persistent dent.

22nd November 2004: Some more parts have gone away for re-chroming work today. I've stripped therear light housing and the other parts are visible headstock components, one of the front suspension link arms and the ignition key cover. The front brake arm was a bit of a puzzle really as to what to do with it. The were given a sacrificial anodised coating over the alloy before they left the factory and I've decided just to clean it up with degreaser and fit it back to the bike. Polishing it would have been a shame really.

26th November 2004: Last night I picked up my wheels from Bill in Fernhead (+44 (0)1925 827780), who has re-laced the drums with new chrome rims and stainless steel spokes. Once I get hold of new rim tapes, then the tyres can go back on. I've not yet decided whether to replace the bearings or to just leave well alone, as they were fine before the strip down and they've been well protected.

This morning I have found a company in Swansea, Wales called Speedy Cable who can restore my VDO speedometer back to as new condition. They claim £40 to £50 is the normal fee for a full restoration, so it is all packaged up safely, ready for posting tomorrow morning. If the results are successful then I will put a link to their web site on here.

I've just riveted the frame number plate back onto the offside rear suspension mounting point, my MB200 is no longer anonymous.

3rd December 2004 ~ The speedometer arrived back today from Speedy Cables of Swansea, all completed in less than one week !!!

They have replaced the bezel, glass, fitted a new rubber sealing ring, new bulbs and bulb holders and overhauled the interior and repaired the odometer. The cost was £82 inc postage and packing and VAT. I think they have made a lovely job of it and I'm very happy, so they have earned a link on this page.

4th May 2005 ~ Plenty of progress to report. All the tinware has been shipped out to Elite Engineering in Liverpool for repair, a powder coat base coat and two pack gloss black. All the chrome work pictured above is now back from Steve Smethurst. The engine has been stripped by Harold Nuttall using the Hirth coupling extractor that I obtained as part of the Sprinter Solo and MB250 purchase.
The Hirth coupling that holds the 2 halves of the crank together can be seen in these photographs. The two halves of the crank match up with opposing dogs so they cant slip in relation to each other. The two halves of the crankshaft are pulled together by a captive bolt held within the web of the offside crankshaft half.

The captive bolt has a machined head like a cog or sprocket that can be rotated using a tool that matches up with the teeth and rotates the captive bolt. This tool inserts into an off-centre hole in the offside web and lines up with the central captive bolt. The photos show this pretty well. To me it looks like the bolt has a left hand thread, so turning the tool anti-clockwise should undo the bolt.