250 Griffon Build

[scott151]

Stunner........

Well done

Scott

[dave higgins]

Yep! superb job there johnu..... one small criticism......should the carpet not be the correct shade of moorland brown?........

[johnu]

Yep! superb job there johnu..... one small criticism......should the carpet not be the correct shade of moorland brown?........

I was hoping no one would notice

[Brian Thompson]

GRA Carpet and Soft Furnishings Dept.....

....actually Dave, I was thinking the carpet was a dead ringer for Moorland Beige at one time.... Obviously, a few oil changes have darkened it a bit over time, but still, it's close.....

The bike is looking really really nice John, what a stunner! Well done.

Brian.

[johnu]

Well I got the beast down from it's stand today and had a sit on it to check out what it feels like.... holy cow it's like sitting on a chopper with that front end flopping around I must have had too many years on modern machinery (spoiled), now I'm going to have to learn a new riding style for this thing

[johnu]

Finally got the Griffon finished! All pics can be seen here https://mannysphotography.smugmug.com/Johns-work/ at my photographer friends website if interested.

[Colin Sparrow]

Looks brilliant, well done.

Brilliant pics, but oh for your climate!

[Brian Catt]

WE ARE NOT JEALOUS.......much!

[Brian Thompson]

Simply Stunning.

Finally got the Griffon finished! All pics can be seen here https://mannysphotography.smugmug.com/Johns-work/ at my photographer friends website if interested.

Hi John,

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That beautiful bike is a great credit to you mate, truly stunning and you should be very proud (as I'm sure you are.)

Well done indeed, and doesn't the sunshine and that special 'light' you have in that part of the world really show off the bike to perfection. Great pics too!!

An amazing job John, and as our old mate Tim Griffin would have said...'That's another one done!"

Can't believe that you didn't go for the metallic blue hand grenade tire valve dust caps though......

All you gotta do now is RIDE the thing and enjoy it. Have lots of fun with it John, you earned it!

Brian.

PS Thanks for this great thread John and for sharing the build with us all on here. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it both interesting and entertaining and I'd like to express my sincere appreciation for your time and efforts in doing so. I hope you will continue to post on this forum as I'm sure you have much more you could share with us along the way.

[Bearingman]

Finally got the Griffon finished! All pics can be seen here https://mannysphotography.smugmug.com/Johns-work/ at my photographer friends website if interested.

Looks great John!

Looking forward of seeing you and your Griffon on the track!

Bring it to our rescheduled Greeves Days next weekend if you can!

Kenny

[johnu]

Looks great John!

Looking forward of seeing you and your Griffon on the track!

Bring it to our rescheduled Greeves Days next weekend if you can!

Kenny

Dang it Ken my son is getting married next weekend! I will get out there soon though

[johnu]

Thanks for all the kind words guys.

Don't worry Brian I will still be around, I have my 1960 Scottish to restore again. I first did it back in 1980 with my dad, it was the first resto I was involved in. Pic below
Hmm, blue anodized hand grenade dust caps, can't believe I forgot to get some of those

[johnu]

Well I fired the Griffon up last week and had a little ride up and down the street First off it took about 20 kicks to fire it up but I figured that's fair after having everything apart. I suspect it is just from lack of a choke, it fires right up when it's warmed up. I had the air screw set at 1-3/4 turns out to start off with but now I am at 1 turn out and it seems to run fine. I have everything stock in the carb as listed in the manual and all the carb internals are new including the slide. However I started it again yesterday so my son could hear it and had a bit of an issue. When you rev the engine it seems like the throttle is staying open a little bit as the revs don't die down right away. I shut it down and checked to see if anything is sticking but it all seems fine, no sign of anything getting stuck or stiff in the throttle operation. I'm wondering if there could be an air leak somewhere but I am baffled as to where it could be

[Kim275]

Absolute Stunning Griffon John

Hi John,
Clearly running a little lean on the pilot jet. Could simply be a re-tune on the pilot - but as you say worth re-sealing the inlet manifold on the Amal. They are notorious for leaks - I used to use grease but now i use silicon on all faces also be careful not to over tighten the inlet manifold that can pinch up the slide - so could be a slight stick.

Everybody has a different method for tuning the pilot - for me - set a fastish tickover and then adjust air screw to find max revs....(noting that it was lean you will probably end up with the air screw turned in further) . If you have to turn air screw in all the way - then u need a bigger pilot - and indeed for racing it is quiet common to run on a bigger pilot as when hot you can get the same problem coming in after a race. as with all things in life Richer is better (or at least safer !!)

p.s for some reason I missed these pics - and all I can say is simply stunning - That exhaust really sets off the bike perfectly ...all you need to do now is go and get it really muddy !!

[johnu]

Thanks Kim! Well I changed out the pilot from a 25 to a 30 and now I am at only 3/4 turn from all the way in!!! Doesn't seem to make sense. I sealed the carb manifold with silicone, the flange is flat as I checked it with a straight edge. I have a brand new slide and the body seem ok. So I started it up again and still the same issue with the revs not dying down He is a youtube link so you can hear what's going on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgp33o83tis&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share