Exposed clutch on Albion gearbox

Hi Vince
 
Which gearbox and engine are fitted in your James. As far as I am aware for 1930 they only made the following models B8 with 247cc Villiers X-A engine, B9 with 196cc Villiers Supersports engine, B10 with Villiers 196cc 1E engine and the B11 with 172cc Villiers Sports engine. All models were fitted with the Albion Model E gearbox.

The Albion Model E gearbox could be fitted with different clutch options. The B8 used the two plate version fitted with a rubber shock absorber in the clutch centre. The B11 model with the 196cc Supersports engine also used the two plate clutch, not sure if it had the rubber shock absorber. The B10 and B11 could have been fitted with the single plate clutch to reduce costs.

If you only have a single plate clutch on a B8 or B9 there is a good chance that it will slip even when it is in good condition. The B10 and B11 are also likely to be a bit marginal.

The first problem is that there are lots of subtly different Albion clutch parts and some of them are not compatible. This is more of a problem with the two plate clutches but it can affect single plate clutches. When you are playing with motorcycles that are over 90 years old it is likely to have had replacement parts fitted.

The problem may be that the new corks are not flat so only part of the friction surface of the corks is in contact with the steel front and back clutch plates. On these clutches the chainwheel corks are quite thick I believe they should be ½" thick when new. They need to protrude through the chainwheel equal amounts each side. I would get them a even as possible by hand then clamp the re-corked chainwheel firmly in a large vice between either two thick sheets of flat steel plate or some thick flat timber sheet to even up the corks. Then sand the corks down with a circular motion on a flat plate with a sheet of fine aluminium oxide paper glued to it.

The steel front and back clutch plates should be given a light rub down to remove any rust and burrs. If they are badly scored or distorted they need to be replaced. You will soon see if they are not flat if you give them a light rub down using fine aluminium oxide paper on the flat plate using a circular motion.

You do not want any oil in the clutch. In time it gets a bit oily from the grease in the clutch chainwheel bearing that gets thrown out and the lubrication off the primary chain.

Is your clutch chainwheel bearing in reasonable condition. The ball bearings can be eased out, the bearing track cleaned up and new ball bearings fitted. I used stainless steel ball bearings in my bike to overcome a problem with rust. They are available online from 'Simply Bearings'.

If all the clutch plates are flat the other issue could be primary chain alignment or incorrect chain tension. This could be caused by two problems. The Albion E gearbox is two stud top mounting and on the James has long studs that fit between the frame plates. I am not sure how they ensured that the gearbox was mounted square in the frame but it is worth checking the gearbox mounting. The other problem is that the engine sprocket on early Villiers engines is screwed onto a threaded boss and shimmed to get it to line up with the clutch sprocket. If the engine has come out of a different bike or the engine spacers have been replaced the primary chain alignment could be out. If the chain alignment is wrong or too tight it can pull the clutch chainwheel out of square as it runs on ball bearings causing the clutch to drag.

A couple of other things that can affect the clutch operation. First the endfloat on the clutch mainshaft. This is adjustable by the screw and locknut that the clutch pushrod passes through. You will need to make a peg spanner from a suitably sized piece of steel tube to undo and tighten the locknut. Adjust to give minimal endfloat. The other item is the clutch operating arm pivot pin. These wear badly if not lubricated but are easy to replace by cutting the head off a long ¼" BSF bolt and cutting a screwdriver slot. Be very careful with the aluminium arms that support the clutch pivot they break off easily. I have seen quite a few Model E gearbox end covers with broken arms lying around at Autojumbles.

Best of Luck
Butty Bach