*** Cleveland Motorcycle Information Needed ***

[CHIEF]

Thanks Ken
Pics And Dimensions Are Great I Found A Web Site That Tells How To Go About Creating A Piston I Am Toying With The Idea Of Buying A Junior Triumph Piston And Moving The Gudgeon Pin More Engineering To Do Good Luck On Your Project Fred

[Ken Lee]

HHMmmm , sounds like a fun project , that did cross my mind but as I'm lucky enough to have one I didn't give it too much thought , make sure the ring pegs are in the right place though and best of luck , keep us informed , Ken

[Tommo]

Fred,
I have a cast iron piston blank that fits the measurements that Ken has posted and the only thing missing is the deflector on top. If you made the deflector and welded it to the blank and then machined it to size you would have your piston.
Trying to relocate the gudgeon pin wouldn't be easy because of the internal gudgeon pin support bosses.
If you want the blank it's yours but it won't be cheap to post as it's quite heavy.
Pay the cost of postage and you've got a piston blank.

[Ken Lee]

Hello Fred , the offer from Tommo sounds a good way to go ! I have made piston rings for mine so will be putting it together very soon BUT before I do , would you like me to take a cast of the deflector , it'll only be in aluminium , for you to copy / get copied in cast iron ?? let me know fairly soon , otherwise it'll be running !! after I've rebuilt the wheels and tweaked the front forks !etc etc although probably any deflector piston of 2-1/2" diameter will probably be the same , depends if you can find one at an auto jumble , Ken

[Tommo]

Ken and Fred,
With the Cleveland having a fore and aft crank and a forward facing exhaust with the gudgeon pin running fore and aft (at right angles to the deflector) you will find that most if not all pistons you find at swap meets will have the gudgeon pin that faces east-west (parallel to the deflector) and modifying them will really pose some problems.
There may be other makes that used the Cleveland set up but none come to mind.
I think that unless you get lucky and find an original you will either have to make patterns and cast your own piston or as Ken and I have suggested modify and then machine the piston blank I have.
Your choice.

[Ken Lee]

Fred/Tommo , yes agree with Tommo but I should confirm what I was trying to say and that is that any deflector topped piston of about 2-1/2 inches diameter should have the same deflector shape as the Cleveland and could be used as either a pattern to cast another or just cut the top off and weld that on . I didn't mean any piston with deflector would do for the Cleveland , sorry if I gave the wrong impression but it was late when I wrote , Ken

[CHIEF]

Ken And Tommo Yesyesyes Boy Am I Glad I Woke Up This Morning !!!! Looks Like A Plan Is Coming Together From All Points Of The Compass Ken Please Make The Casting ,and Could I Also Beg Another Favor? Would You Buy A Set Of Rings From Veteran Triumph And Mail Them With The Deflector ? That Should Cut Shipping Costs Greatly.get Your Estimated Costs Together For The Rings And The Casting Before Spending Your Money And I Will Get The Money To You Tommo Could You Get An Approximate Cost Of The Shipping Of The Piston Casting By Air And Sea To Niagara Falls Canada Approximate Length Of Time By Sea I Will Pay Both Of You In Advance Are You Set Up With Pay Pal Or Will I Need To Work Out Another Method Of Payment ? Let Me Know Fred

[Ken Lee]

Fred , I will do that BUT check with Tommo for piston ring sizes first as they may differ from the 'Triumph' ones ! I am away on a rally from this evening (Friday) and won't be back till Tuesday so cannot do anything till next week , have a good weekend , Ken

[Tommo]

Ken and Fred,
The piston is a blank so there are no ring grooves and no gudgeon pin hole so you can make the ring grooves to suit whatever rings you have. That goes for the locating pins as well. Same goes for the gudgeon pin.
The blank has a small tower that sticks up from the piston crown in the centre of the crown and is there so you can put a centre hole into it so all further machining is kept true and accurate via a live centre in your lathe tailstock.
Once all machining is done you normally just machine this tower off but in your case Fred it may be useful in locating the deflector you are going to weld onto the top.
Fred I do have two of these blanks, do you want both of them just in case something goes wrong during machining or if you strike any porosity holes in the casting during machining.
Let me know and I'll get prices for both options

[Tommo]

Fred
Could you please e-mail me direct. p.j.thomson@actrix.co.nz

[Ken Lee]

Fred , I have the casting ready to send , let me have your address on here or on my email and I'll send it , what are you doing about rings ?? as the blank that Tommo can let you have need the ring grooves machined , it's probably best if you get more modern thinner rings so I'll leave the Triumph ones unless you especially want them but they charge me £10 for delivery , rings are £20 and from me to you will probably be another £5 so it'll be much cheaper for you if you get local ones to suit 2-1/2 inch bore , anyway best of luck , my engine rebuild is nearly finished , I picked up the magneto on Monday , the top end is on but have to check the kick start return spring and clutch , then have cycle parts to attack !! No charge for the casting , it was a good exercise !! Hope it works out OK !

[CHIEF]

Ken Sorry for the delay techno problems at my end. Did you get your rings from the Triumph shop? Are they the wide ones probably a cast metal of some sort
I would prefer something period of that sort .I think they would work better with the older cylinder . You can contact me at smartin59@cogeco.ca. Thanks Fred

[cabanadan]

Going to pick up that 1924 that was for sale in the Prewarcars website from Missouri I just bought... Looking for any info I can find on this bike... Production numbers, service manuals ect..... Dan

[c.o.]

There's some Cleveland info you can get right away here........ http://www.vintagemotorcyclelibrary....c3aba8b84e8ee8

[Ken Lee]

Congratulations Dan , nice bike , hope you enjoy riding it , there's also another for sale in Sweden see -
http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/Classif...land_1919.html
a 1919 , same as mine , which is taking longer to put on the road than I hoped , I am getting a cast iron piston made , everything else is done and ready to roll , I'll let you know when it's out an about !! happy riding , Ken