CBG your guide to...
DRIVE TRAIN
The gearbox can be clunky, and the clutch can be heavy. A seven-plate clutch kit and a good nylon-lined cable are inexpensive and excellent upgrades. Adjusting the primary chain on an early Tiger is a pain because of the location of the adjuster hole, and it is often easier to do the adjustment by pulling off the left-hand chain case. Grease the gasket before refitting and you might be able to use it again next time.
ELECTRICS
The alternator works well and is cheap to replace if it wears out but check a new one fits on the studs before throwing away the packaging, as some recent pattern items don’t fit properly. Electronic ignition is easier to set up than points and provides easier starting and smoother running, while fault-finding is easier with points. A solid-state regulator rectifier is useful. Try www.rexs-speedshop.com for various options. Changing the old-style lightbulbs for LEDs is worth doing but get good ones. We recommend Paul Goff for these.
manufacturer’s products looked the same at a glance. Is that AMC single a 350 or a 500? Is that a Norton 88 or 99? Multiple models would be built on the same platform, using the same ancillary parts, the same tanks and often the same brakes. Model name badges were not common until the 1960s, but there was one way to tell if a bike was a tourer or a sports bike
