wdbikemad

Possibly for the King's East African Rifles ? They used a pattern very similar if not identical to this......

Rear chain for the ML is the same measurements as the WD/RE Flea but a different length..........try Hitchcock's or Villiers Services.......they should be able to supply a suitable length of chain with joining/cranked half-links as necessary.............

If you're restoring British motorcycles, and I've been doing such for over 40 years, taps and dies are as essential as spanners, hammer, etc, in the tool department........they are essential for running over or through parts that have been subject to rust, plating, painting, etc, to clean the threads to ensure smoothness in fit. I even do it to new-old-stock parts just to ensure a decent fit.......

You don't need a massive stock of taps and dies......a basic set of 26 tpi cycle items are a good starting point, and you can add certain BSF, BSW, BSP and BA as time goes on.........many engine components use BSF or BSW, BSP for fuel and oil fittings, and BA for control levers, electrical, etc..........Autojumbles usually turn up loads of taps and dies cheaply, as does Ebay, etc......if buying new, Tracy Tools in Devon are excellent.....

I was fortunate to acquire all my Dad's tools when he passed away a couple of years ago.....he was ex-RAF and an engineer. I acquired numerous taps, dies, etc, in all manner of widths, thread forms, etc, literally a cabinet full. I haven't sorted them all out yet but it's set me up for life there....

Steve, the ML (and Flea) gear-knobs were stained or painted black and then lacquered..............you can use shoe-dye to blacken the knob and then apply a coat or two of gloss yacht varnish. The latter takes a while to dry but the results are worth the wait. One of my ML's plus the Flea have the original-finish gear knobs and this was the finish........

Slick 50, you need a 15, or better, an 18........the latter was the largest standard one made....BD was grouped together in 3 widths per-height, eg: 1 - 3, 4 - 6, etc.......the widths being basically narrow, medium and wide.........see the attached chart for info....

I was never into the Mason's........I didn't think the antlers, apron, funny handshake, one trouser leg rolled up and carrying a half-brick suited me.........

Think I'd be more suited to becoming a member of "Sons of the Desert"......after all, I'm regularly in trouble with the wife....

Both of my ML's, plus the Flea, have new-old-stock WD cables fitted so these fittings are correct.......!

The Flea used standard-type ferrules.........but the ML on the Brake, clutch and decompressor levers uses a rather strange arrangement.........

This is basically an additional ferrule into which the end of the cable outer and the cable ferrule fits.......this extra ferrule has a small "pointy bit" through which the cable passes and this ferrule fits into the small hole in the lever bracket.......it is basically half a spherical ball on very thin metal.......difficult to describe, the photo does a better job.....

Steve, I made front and rear brake rods for one of my ML's.....quite an easy job......

The wheel hubs and brake plates on the ML were made by "The British Hub Co" of Birmingham........If you do an Ebay search under "British Hub" in motorcycle parts suitable brake operating arms often appear......

As for the sprocket, someone was having replicas made.....but anyway, it's another "British Hub" item........Villiers Services MAY be able to help here........?

The photo shows the Flea in it's final production form (with the exception of the number plates) so this is either late-1942 or early-1943........it is known that the Enfield works retained several examples for testing and modification purposes, James with their ML doing similar......

Steve, you are correct in saying they are rare.........I have used a couple of originals in the past but the best thing today is to make up a replica out of suitable black-rubber tubing glued together and slip it on over the HT lead........

It's a really good idea not to add any "obstruction" in the current of the HT lead as this can affect the quality of the spark delivered........best to use the hollowed-out resistor and just an immobiliser false/replica cover.....

I'm proud to say that the Sean Walsh armoured 3SW is fitted with a cylinder head from me.........well, actually it was originally a door-stop for my workshop door that Sean spotted on a visit to my place....!

I note your air cleaner is not quite the correct one Steve.....Terry or Drew at "Metal Magic" made some replica examples last year that come complete with the proper printed Villiers plate. They were copied from a new-old-stock original I had....They may still have some...01189 731631.....

The post-war stand was part number ML64ASS whereas the wartime was ML15ASS............

The post-war springs were part number ML643B whereas the wartime were ML643...........

The post-war springs were indeed probably slightly longer although to what extent I don't know. The key thing with the springs is to have them "springy" enough for the stand to automatically flip-up and then largely stay in place once retracted.....

I was wondering when you'd spot that Lex........Well done !!!

Looking nice Steve ! Don't forget to fit that small pair of plates either side of the bottom engine-to-frame bolt to attach the stand springs to !

Decent 9D cylinder heads are getting hard to find......worth picking them up when you see them, even with broken fins.....

Most post-war 9D heads have a screwed plug in the 14mm decompressor hole as this item wasn't fitted to civilian models. Of course, you can remove this but all the heads I've had in the past with the plug present required heat of volcanic proportions to budge !

As Ron noted, any decent engineering shop should be able to put in an 18mm metric insert.....

That's interesting Ron. I'm only going by what's seen in the bulk of period images, parts lists and surviving bikes today. I'm sure you're right though and supplies of springs of whatever shape were used as available.......

PS - the saddle springs on both the Flea and the ML are normally 4" long and "Barrel" shaped.........

Steve, your saddle and cover appear to be correct for both the Flea and the James.......

The clue with the Mansfield saddle cover is the pair of front securing tab rivets that are placed high away from the lower edge of the saddle cover to fit the frame "step" at the front.......it may well be worth getting the missing rear-edge strip replaced if you can, either by a saddler or done at home using a strong adhesive and clamps.....

My Flea and both ML's have the original covers still in place....they're a bit scruffy but I like the wear and look of them ! Slight scuffing can be touched up with a suitable paint.....

You could also look at having your original cover copied by R K Leighton (on line) in the Midlands.......

Note that the original covers had a small brass nameplate on the back strip riveted on, infilled with black enamel.......it states "Mansfield" with "Made in England" beneath.........you can't get hold of these now even as copies but it is worth looking at Ebay, etc, for a suitable Mansfield-make bicycle saddle that may carry the same nameplate........!!!

Done !

Nathan, they were only fitted to early WD M20's with the rubber-mounted handlebars and it was designed to prevent the steering damper knob loosening once adjusted correctly.........I've got a NOS one still in KG No.3 paint....no use to me as I no longer have BSA's......

I'm assuming that the white painted marks are a WD inspection mark, either applied at the Lucas factory or more likely at an  Army Ordnance stores depot.....maybe the white dot with the blue mark is a "focus compliant" or "focussed" mark following testing ? Pure speculation though.......

Steve, those little decompressor levers are out there ! I hunted for one for over two years and then like busses three came along at once ! Few actually realise what they are and I'd recommend doing various Ebay searches using words like "vintage", "lever", "decompressor", "valve lifter", "autocycle", "handlebar lever", etc, etc...........and when things get back to normal the usual autojumble trawling may well produce results..........

That's looking to be a really nice restoration so far Steve ! I particularly like the way that you've blended the NOS headlamp assembly in with the rest of the bike......I had one of these on one of my ML's but I decided to repaint it in SCC.No.2 brown to match the bike but I did mask-off the stores lettering area painted onto the shell's exterior and then matt-lacquer over it just to preserve a bit of history.......

I think you may be spot-on there Steve ! I've seen a genuine WD ML frame within the last few hundred numbers of (non cancelled) military production so I suspect the stand design was revised at some point late in the day.....this would also include the fitting of the stand clip which was present on the frame I examined.......proof may lie in later WD parts/spares books but to date, I haven't encountered any other than for the first contract.......

The original WD design was not really up to the job of repeated kick-starting whilst on the stand.......the number of bent or repaired WD stands that I've seen would bear this out....!