Beautiful restoration - BSA M33

While I was getting the MOT done on the military Bombardier, this awesome BSA M33 pulled up.  I got chatting and took a few pics but didn't get the fella's name!  After owning this since '72 I was lucky to witness its first ride out in nearly forty years!  What a fantastic job he's done!

He's just waiting on the tank badges and she's complete.  An absolutely beautiful bike and a restoration to be proud of. 

Time for me to start looking for an M20 project.

Couldn't resist!

I couldn't let the Bombardier stay parked up any longer.  With the Can-am project in Australia taking a back seat for a few weeks, it was time to wheel out "old faithful". 

Well the battery was well past its best but that wasn't going to prevent me riding.  I checked the frame for two-stroke oil and half-inched a gallon of dad's petrol.  Several kicks over later and I guessed she was flooded.  Plug out and dried, engine kicked over to clear the crankcase and then the plug back in.  A few kicks later and she filled the shed and garden with the sweet smell of two-stroke fumes once more!

Then a quick blast up to Coleford and another MOT from Beales!  Success - and the return journey consisted of a few local trails I know.  The incredible scenery in the Wye Valley really is something else and not a soul to be seen!

A great afternoon and I'm looking forward to the next few days.  Perfect weather and a ride on one of my favourite bikes.  Good times!

Back in the UK

Flew into Heathrow at 3.30pm on Saturday.  Straight out into dad's shed a couple of hours later to see my BSA that's been under wraps for a year and a half.  She was looking good!

Sunday morning I was ready to start.  A new battery was waiting for me courtesy of the component shop on Ebay.

 http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/component-shop__W0QQ_armrsZ1

Under a tenner delivered - can't fault it!  A 6V 6AH battery that will fit inside the rubber "Lucas" battery box.  So the seat off and a new battery fitted, it was time for the oil to be sorted. 

The oil that should live in the oil tank had by now made its way down to the sump so draining was necessary.  This was made easy because of the SRM sump plate fitted.  Old oil out, new oil into the tank and we were nearly there.

http://www.srmclassicbikes.com/news/srm-magnetic-sump-filter-kits

A gallon of petrol out of dad's jerry can and it time to kick her over - instant success!  Runs like a top and soon the oil was returning to the tank.  Check the charging and she was ready for the MOT on Monday morning.

Monday morning came and a cracking ride up to Beales in Coleford to see John and we soon came away with the necessary document.  What a great feeling to be riding my old BSA again!

On the way home and a quick photo on the way into Staunton.  Days don't get any better than this.

Am I loving this!

And it's ready to be delivered - just not to me!

Mixed views from the biking world but, in my opinion, it's beautiful!

Well done Norton for making such a great looking bike!

Cruise to http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com now to check out the new model variations and start saving those pennies.

Broken bolts/studs?

There are various ways to remove them and this turned out to be an exception to the normal rule.  Usually we are stuck with a seized thread, due to corrosion, and the fastener duly snaps off in the engine, frame or whatever.

Now this particular bolt wasn't seized, but its thread was damaged and it wouldn't attempt to unscrew.

 

The easiest thing to do was cut it flush and drill through it.

So, armed with the necessary, a centre pop in the middle of the stud, a small drill bit (3.5mm) for a pilot hole and we were away.

The idea when drilling through a stud is to be dead centre and continue that way!  If this was in a cylinder head, or equally important part, I'd be a lot more careful. 

 As it happens I went off at an angle, but this proved to be to my good fortune!

The stud could now be closed up with a Vice Grips and popped out of the frame with a punch and hammer without any further damage to the frame.

An 8x1.25mm tap to re-cut the thread.  There is a good chance that it's too far gone for this and may need a thread insert fitted, but it's worth a try anyway.

Yes, the thread is too far gone for my liking.  The bolt will screw in but has a touch too much play.  It would work for a while but will strip at some point.  Time for a Recoil kit and the next blog post.

Seat Covers, Bases, Rust and Ruin.

I ordered a new seat cover off Ebay because I just happened across it ,and thought I'd better snap it up (that's me all over!). I'm certainly nowhere near that stage yet but at the end of the day - it doesn't matter what you do first.

But maybe I should have had a better look at the seat before splashing out on a new cover!

 

 

Time to get the old cover off and check that seat base.  Looking a little corroded!

 

The staples are very rusty but, with gentle leverage, came out of the plastic strips that are rivetted to the seat base.  Any sharp bits left were taken out with a long-nosed pliers.

So, as the cover came off, the donkey was able to see the carrot.

 

Unfortunately, the base was worse than I first thought.  Not impossible but it might be better to source another seat rather than try and repair.  I'll have a think about this one.

 

The foam, which I thought was in bad shape, didn't turn out to be too bad.  A good wash and I think it's reusable.  Yes I'm serious.  It's still nice and soft and the rough sections shouldn't show once the seat cover is fitted.  I've seen worse.

Sorry if you thought that there might be a shiny new seat sitting at the end - that's how it goes sometimes.  Half the battle when restoring bikes is maintaining the motivation when the rust crumbles in your hands - oh, and money, money's always a problem!

Spend time thinking about the solution - not the problem.

The Carburettor: Bing 84

Anyone who's tried to strip an old carburettor will know of the hardships involved: blocked airways, damaged screw heads, seized jets.  The state of the outside didn't bode well.

Nevertheless, it needed to be cleaned - it needed to be stripped.

Using a mixture of WD40, soapy water and carb cleaner, I managed to get the outside clean enough to work on.

The quick release clip for the float bowl moved with ease. 

A few taps with a screwdriver handle to separate the bowl from the cork gasket and it was off.

It wasn't pretty but I set to work with the carb cleaner and screwdriver and it began to clean up really well.  In fact, the float bowl is in superb condition compared to my military 250 Can-am.  Having sat in a pond for years, the military version's had begun to rot out.

The float pivot slid out like a new one!

The float needle - looks in reasonable fettle to be fair.

Like a bought one!

The entire carb came apart as if it was put together yesterday.  Not bad for 35 years old.

Take note of every jet, spring etc.  Easy to lose parts so take your time and keep your work area clean.  When unscrewing jets, use a quality screwdriver that fits the slot properly.  Brass jets are easily damaged but I'm pleased to say the pilot jet was in superb condition.

If you have access to a compressor, blow out all of the airways/jets and check that the air is passing right through.

The only thing I need to get is the tickler mechanism as it's rotted slightly.  I'll finish the cleaning/polishing when I fit it.