"Best"? exhaust valve guide material?

[michiganbuck]

My old Jaugar 120 manual greatly differed in the valve clearance for a completion (race) and a street engine.
Old valve materials may not be well suited for modern fuels.

 

[PackardV8]

My old Jaugar 120 manual greatly differed in the valve clearance for a completion (race) and a street engine.
Old valve materials may not be well suited for modern fuels.

Old valves were designed to be cheap to make and to run on leaded gasoline. Modern stainless valves with chromed stems are worlds more durable.

Only slightly OT, but if one wants an interesting few minutes google "making two-piece spin welded valves"

jack vines

 

[Limy Sami]

Back in the day I worked on the old racers motto ;- They don't go till they rattle, AKA ;- loose is fast.

 

[john.k]

Ive got two NOS Norton valves on the way from England ....at $50 each ,I sure hope they last ...........there is nothing special about them ,in fact both inlet and exhaust are the same part..........back in the day ,I would have made valves from truck valves ,and probably had a better job .....but I can no longer be bothered.............but I do use Perkins guides .....about $10 for a packet of 12 ,as opposed to NOS guides at $25 each.

 

[john.k]

Most of the NOS bike parts were sold in the 1980s for scrap price......now they have turned into gold .......but the real sticker shock comes when suppliers run out of NOS ,and have parts new made ......prices are astronomical .

 

[stephen thomas]

Ive got two NOS Norton valves on the way from England ....at $50 each ,I sure hope they last

For Norton -
Manley intakes are better than stock and still made.
Dunno about Gus Kuhn exhausts?

Fortunately in the US, many companies made (often better) aftermarket parts for Brit bikes inexpensively.
Canadian company/ British Cycle Supply does a pretty good job of supplies in NA
And the Japanese also jumped on the bandwagon.
Another "dunno" - racing Brit twins over there (Japan) was a very popular activity & big business, supported by a lot of home grown parts and clones.

Not sure who is making Manx replicas these days (your reference) since i don't pay attention anymore.
But other Norton heads are available cheap enough.

FullAuto Norton Commando Cylinder Heads

Kibblewhite Valves & Guides

smt, cellar full of pre'72 Triumph twins, triples, and a Norton Atlas. Mostly projects.
Trying to get an airplane done before i can't fly anymore. Saving the bikes for when i get really old.

 

[PackardV8]

A guy too old to fly is too old to ride sickles. Back when, most of the motorcycle fatalities were younger guys. Today, it's mostly older guys still riding and dying.

jack vines, who is too old to ride sickles

 

[stephen thomas]

A guy too old to fly is too old to ride sickles.

You are ignoring the factor that the FAA can decide & has not always been known to lack capriciousness. Just ask some of my friends.
A guy too old to ride, might or might not be too old to continue to machine & wrench on projects of either ilk.

My old Jaugar 120

Gosh those were pretty cars!
Though oddly, i liked the FHC 140's

smt