brake034;287953 wrote: Hi Hiko,
Eddie does not state that, he refers to other bikes who had it, so it was around during the early 70's.
Actually my old Norton and Velocette had black cylinders, it just did not last that long.....
Modern aluminium coatings or surface treatments last a bike's lifetime and that was not the case in the early 70's.
I have worked with metal industrial products a long time, aluminium castings are investment casts, is is said they integrity of the investment casting is much better then sand castings.
Sand casted crank cases may be they are rare but certainly not considered to be better castings.
Hi all, first post from a 'newbie'...
just picking up on Marcel's comments about aluminium castings and motorcycle engines -
From my experience, crankcases are usually high pressure die cast to get a good finish, precise detail thats required, good casting integrity (no porosity or shrinkage where you dont want it) and consistency of product, but it requires very costly equipment and die tooling. Barrels (if separate parts) and cylinder heads are usually low pressure or tilt-pour cast as it costs less to set up but still gives the required casting integrity and external finish.
Investment casting (developed by the Egyptians as the 'lost wax technique) is used for smaller steel or aluminium parts is a low set up cost method that gives a good finish and consistent results.
Sand casting is not the first choice of process for aluminium parts that require a good finish and consistency - sand by its very nature leaves a more rough surface and is easy to damage while the die mould is being assembled. But its relatively quick and lower cost to set up or modify. It may be used while the preferred method is being finalised. Possibly Honda had some issues with their chosen casting method and so had no choice but to use sand cast for a limited number of early bikes... Or the whole project would have been delayed...
Think I've rattled on enough... Great site!