Ammeter

[a101960]

For those of you that might be interested in such things, I recently purchased an ammeter from Lyford Classics that was advertised as being damped. Quite expensive at £25 but worth every penny I think. It is absolutely brilliant. I now have a smooth rock steady accurate indication. No more pointer thrashing dementedly from side to side. My ammeter is now a useful functional instrument at any speed unlike the original one that was fitted to my bike. Both ammeters are branded Lucas but only one does its job properly. It is I suppose the same old story. You get what you pay for.

[LJ.]

Hi John...

I thought the original Lucas ones had a damper screw on the back? I seem to remember mine have. I've wondered if the needle flicker is caused by regulator oscillation, an electronic one would probably not cause the ammeter to flicker as such. But bike movement and vibration could be damped by that screw on the back, which reminds me that one of my A10s need looking at after a ride day before last. I also like to see a fully functioning meter, shame with the A10 nacelle they are difficult to see on the side
unlike the Star Twin and M21 who's meters are in the middle on back of head lamp.

[a101960]

Laurence you are right in your assumption that genuine Lucas ammeters should have damped needles. that was definitely the case back in the days when our bikes were built. I can never remember oscillating needles back then. The complete opposite seems to be the norm with most of the ammeters currently on sale today, and this especially so when for example you by a repro head lamp assembly. The ammeter that I have just removed was marked Lucas on the face but there was no provision for damping adjustment on the back. The newly fitted ammeter is marked Lucas Made in England, and it does indeed have provision for adjustment. The only component in the electrical circuit that has been changed is the ammeter. I have always used an electronic regulator because I have booth feet firmly planted in the 12 volt camp, and that was the most efficient way to achieve this. Laurence I know that you are keen to stay with the original 6 volt mechanical set up, and I can see why you would want to conform to original specification. I think that doing this has much to commend it, and I am also keen on originality except in the case of electrics. I just think that 12volts has more advantages than disadvantages. I have one final mod to carry out on the electrics, and that is to swap the V2 regulator (as good as it is) for the DVR2 witch is even better still. I don't suppose amongst all of your bits and pieces you have an old mechanical regulator and cover that you might want to get rid of? In fact just the base and cover would do. It is for mounting the electronic regulator on.

John

[Lannis]

Good info - Thanks!

Ammeters have always been a bugbear of mine; they don't tell you anything when the engine's running, and they fail internally and give you all sorts of hard-to-troubleshoot problems.

If there's a good one out there, it's a service to us all.

Lannis

[fido]

The one on my Enfield works OK so I wonder if the Indian made ones for the Bullet are also better than the usual sort sold by BSA specialists? Hitchcocks do 4 types, although the ones that say Royal Enfield on the face may not look quite right on a BSA.  One is described as "genuine Lucas" but I thought Lucas stopped making motorcycle parts years ago 

[Triton Thrasher]

The one on my Enfield works OK so I wonder if the Indian made ones for the Bullet are also better than the usual sort sold by BSA specialists?

I've been using an Indian one made for Enfields, for a couple of years and it's good.  A bit of a tight fit in the hole in the headlamp.

[fido]

I asked on the Hitchcock site and it looks like the Lucas factory making these ammeters is in India. I should have remembered about that as my Enfield has a Lucas ignition coil, no doubt from the same factory.

[a101960]

Interesting that, because mine definitely says made in England.

[Triton Thrasher]

I asked on the Hitchcock site and it looks like the Lucas factory making these ammeters is in India. I should have remembered about that as my Enfield has a Lucas ignition coil, no doubt from the same factory.

I think mine is "Minda" brand.

[mrshells]

A101960
is it genuine Lucas or a reasonable repro ?
I need one for my Star Twin i dont mind paying for quality just dont want a piece of S**T 

[a101960]

I can't say weather it is genuine Lucas or weather it is repro. It is marked Lucas made in England on the face. What I can say for certain is that it is well made and works properly. I would agree with you that price is not that important if the part is of good quality. The trouble is that often price is not a reliable indicator of quality. Somebody mentioned on this board a few days ago that there is a lot of sub standard parts in circulation due to us Pommies being reluctant to pay the going rate for quality goods. I would not agree with that. Sub standard parts can not be identified by price alone. I could go on all night about rubbish that has been sent to me by many different suppliers and this stuff has not been cheap. I am always on my guard. However to reassure you this ammeter is a goodun. order one with confidence.