Cleaning The Shop

G

Grumpy Gator

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In the never ending quest to make more room in the shop I found this.
tach 003 (Small).jpg
Back in the day {Mid 1980's} there was only two other independent motorcycle shops in town.My partner and I had the third.

One slow morning a pick up rolls in with a bike in the back and in walks a customer. "My bike just quit running can you take a look at it?" So i grab my coffee and go out to check it out. The first thing I see is the tach. "Going kind of fast were ya?" "Yup sure was and she just stopped running" says he. I take a peak under the motor and see a chunk of case missing and part of piston rod poking out. "Missed a shift did Ya?" "Ya I guess I did" say he. "Well I can fix it but it ain't gonna be cheap"
Long story short $3,800 later I give him back his bike and he takes it for a test drive around the block. "It runs better than it than when I got it" says he. "Next time you do that pull over and go back and pick up the broken case parts" says I.
Another happy customer. And another piece for my "Opps" showcase.
Well that brought back some memories now I got to get back cleaning the shop.
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I bet that Smith's gauge is worth a bloody fortune...
What kind of bike did it come off of - do you recall?
 
I think that would be a Triumph or BSA. I'd have to go out in the shed to make sure.
 
My old BSA didn't need a tach - I just shifted when the valves floated!
I am curious as to what that came off of. Most of the old English bikes I know of had 10,000 RPM tachs, but the dials started about 7 or 8 o'clock and ended about 4 or 5.
 
This came in fitted to an Ironhead Sportster in a custom chopper frame.
I think it started life on a racing Norton from the early 60's.
I'm going out later so I will stop by a friends shop that just does British bikes and ask him.
*G*
 
I did some web searching and found out that Smiths started out in 1851 as J. Smith and sons. They were clock makers. They were the official clock makers for the British Admiralty. They started making Tachs and Speedometers in 1904.There products were used on many cars and motorcycles till the 1980's .
I will share the full story when I get back.
*G*
 
I also forgot Norton. I do have to get out and check the tach on my BSA.
 
Did Vincent use them also?

Yes, both speedo and tacho

I stuck one of those Smiths Chronometric speedo's on a Harley 45 chop I built in the mid 70's.
It wouldnt quite reach 100 mph, a very accurate speedo.
Then I used the speedo and tacho buried into the tank top in a triton (bonny engine in norton frame) custom I built in the late 70's.
Pics available if wanted.
 
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