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Douglas Motorcycles - General Discussion / Re: Hello Everyone! New Douglas Owner, W-20/22
« Last post by Hutch on 04 Aug 2022 at 01:56 »Hi Tim,
Welcome to the forum!
The missing “valve/breather” is part 829D for the 2 3/4hp three speed gearbox. It is described as an oil injection tap in the 2 ¾ hp parts book. These are fairly scarce (but not impossible) to find. In all the 3 speed gearboxes I have seen only one that had the original tap in place….and it wasn’t on any that I have!
On most of the gearboxes I have, it has been replaced by a blanking plug, usually a spare drain plug as they appear to the same thread on the earlier 3 speeds that I have seen. One possible reason why all these taps have disappeared (apart from being pilfered for other projects....) is that it could be difficult to get the (normally used) semi fluid grease into the gearbox through them?
You may be able to find an original tap or use something similar (commonly called (fuel) priming cup valve or tap) that you can adapt or make an adapter to fit.
Later 3 speeds went to a pressure type grease nipple (slightly different to the common "Zerk" type) with which you can use a grease gun. This makes the filling of the ‘box an easier task (see attached picture from 1925 2 3/4 hp The Handbook of the Douglas Motorcycle showing filling a CW gearbox, that can be found here; https://www.barnstormers.co.nz/barnstormers/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Douglas-350-PDF.pdf ). This of course would be non standard for a W-20. but maybe more practical and interim fix until you find an original?
(note the picture of the 3 speed on page 10 in the 1920 Peace Program Brochure from https://www.barnstormers.co.nz/barnstormers/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Douglas-PDF1.pdf is a 4HP one. Very similar to the 2 3/4hp one – only beefed up a bit), but it shows the oil injection tap.
The 2 ¾ hp Douglas 3 speed gearbox is by default in 2nd gear with no gear selection mechanism attached. This is because of the way the selector mechanism is spring loaded internally. The spring pressure required to place the gearbox in neutral, 1st (low) or 3rd (high) gear can require a little effort (more than one would think compared to some other gearboxes) to change gear. Worth looking into this before assuming the gearbox is broken or needing adjustment in some way. Description of how it works is in the Barnstormer's link to the instruction book above. Adjustment of the selectors is fairly straight forward tho' if required.
cheers
Ian
Welcome to the forum!
Currently, I THINK I need:
Stuff:
Valve/breather ? for the gearbox top
The missing “valve/breather” is part 829D for the 2 3/4hp three speed gearbox. It is described as an oil injection tap in the 2 ¾ hp parts book. These are fairly scarce (but not impossible) to find. In all the 3 speed gearboxes I have seen only one that had the original tap in place….and it wasn’t on any that I have!
On most of the gearboxes I have, it has been replaced by a blanking plug, usually a spare drain plug as they appear to the same thread on the earlier 3 speeds that I have seen. One possible reason why all these taps have disappeared (apart from being pilfered for other projects....) is that it could be difficult to get the (normally used) semi fluid grease into the gearbox through them?
You may be able to find an original tap or use something similar (commonly called (fuel) priming cup valve or tap) that you can adapt or make an adapter to fit.
Later 3 speeds went to a pressure type grease nipple (slightly different to the common "Zerk" type) with which you can use a grease gun. This makes the filling of the ‘box an easier task (see attached picture from 1925 2 3/4 hp The Handbook of the Douglas Motorcycle showing filling a CW gearbox, that can be found here; https://www.barnstormers.co.nz/barnstormers/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Douglas-350-PDF.pdf ). This of course would be non standard for a W-20. but maybe more practical and interim fix until you find an original?
(note the picture of the 3 speed on page 10 in the 1920 Peace Program Brochure from https://www.barnstormers.co.nz/barnstormers/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Douglas-PDF1.pdf is a 4HP one. Very similar to the 2 3/4hp one – only beefed up a bit), but it shows the oil injection tap.
Knowledge:
Not sure if the gearbox is able to shift through the gears, hope to figure out adjustments
The 2 ¾ hp Douglas 3 speed gearbox is by default in 2nd gear with no gear selection mechanism attached. This is because of the way the selector mechanism is spring loaded internally. The spring pressure required to place the gearbox in neutral, 1st (low) or 3rd (high) gear can require a little effort (more than one would think compared to some other gearboxes) to change gear. Worth looking into this before assuming the gearbox is broken or needing adjustment in some way. Description of how it works is in the Barnstormer's link to the instruction book above. Adjustment of the selectors is fairly straight forward tho' if required.
cheers
Ian