I don't know about Midland safety valves but the GWR valves I grew up with have one wonderful feature that you never notice until it isn't there. More than a few years ago at the GCR at Loughborough with the B1 'Mayflower' providing steam heat to the dining car train I was talking to the fireman whe...

For what it's worth I've never had any success with solderless nipples
and would not contemplate using them on anything brake-related, at all.

If you misuse the cork clutch just like any other clutch it will eventually cry 'enough', except sooner. In over 50 years I haven't yet burned one out, solo and sidecar. Have you checked the state of the clutch basket? if that gets notched by the action of the tongues of the friction plates you'll g...

With the original mechanical regulator fitted a good dynamo should be able to light the headlight with no trouble without the battery being connected. DON'T try that with the electronic regulator fitted - it won't like it at all. I've encountered odd problems with charging systems when the dynamo bo...

Cables: All but brake cables are made from DIY lengths from a friend who restores bikes professionally. The brake cables I make from inner and outer I bought a long time ago from a place in Sheffield. It is slightly larger than standard, enough so that standard ferrules don't fit the abutments on br...

When the 8" BSA brake was fitted to my sidecar I changed the fork bottoms and kept the Ariel yokes in place. This allows all the BSA wheel fittings to be used . . . BUT the Ariel forks are a little wider than the BSA so the rim had to be offset and the wheel spindle doesn't protrude much from t...

According to my copy of Waller it's +ve earth . . . BUT It's very easy to change that, sometimes unintentionally. Also, there is so much modern equipment available to replace dynamos and control boxes and which have different requirements perhaps the best response muxt be to ask exactly what is fitt...

A quick scan of the parts lists shows 5057-54 (E9/3307) for the S/A frames but nothing earlier. However, both the 4's I've had dealings with have had them. In the early 60's a neighbour had a 4G with sidecar and frequently blown head gaskets. We spent quite a lot of time taking the tank on and off, ...

I haven't got one to hand to measure but the length should be enough to just cover the first thread on the bolt. This length should also be shorter than the combined length of rubbers and bracket so there is some compression of the rubbers and finally the OD should be such that is completely free in...

Don't forget to use the sleeves. Without them you won't be able to properly tighten the fixing bolts which will then fret in the threads in the tank and cause all sorts of problems. For some reason they're not listed in the parts book but they were used. They fit over the fixing bolt to limit the am...