Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Bsa bulletin board Hornet, Wasp, Spitfire Hornet, Cyclone (Restored)

Thank you Morgan for cleaning it all up. It looks much better now.

The three tenors went to the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California last week. A great event. Very high class and the event is on the golf course at the Quail Resort and Golf Course. The tenors were in good company as there were a lot of nice machines of all types. I started each one up and rode them onto the show field. The purr from the Hornet and Wasp pipes had show workers looking during the quiet morning air at 7 AM. Had the urge to really jump on it and make divots in their grass and golf greens. 150 bikes were judged and they said is was the largest ever. Last years program magazine listed all of the approved entrants and there were 250, so a lot of the machines are not judged. Endless food and beverages although a draft Stella cost $8. A very worthwhile event to attend, but spectator entry cost $65 which included an endless high quality BBQ lunch on real plates, silverware, cloth napkins, and table cleaning service when you're done. The long distance award (there isn't one) would have gone to a fellow that shipped his machine in from Japan.

The trip started out on a sour note with the loss of wheel bearings on the trailer. A day later and $650 poorer all was well. The trip ended well with the Wasp getting 1st place in the Off-Road division. The award is an engraved Tiffany crystal plate and $50 bottle of Champagne, all very chee-chee.

Congratz Gary. Sounds like an event to put on the to do list. Looking forward to seeing your bikes in person next year ! :bigt

Right, I've traced and mapped all the wiring and have established (for anyone interested) that this is a Lucas Rita electronic ignition conversion dating from pre-1972.

It has three wires only leaving the alternator which all connect to a recifier and that ally plate on the offside of the frame near the passenger footpeg area is a heat-sink with the two diodes fitted to it.

Being a 12 volt system I suppose it will need a battery to spark it. I'll try it connected to a digital battry charger - which provides a very stable 12v.

It would be great just to hear it fire before I put it to one side to get on with my other pressing bike projects,

Ardee

Great picture Gary

Hey guys,

shame about the thread...haven't been on for a while, had nothing to contribute as my rebuild was laid up since my first post about 2 years ago.

Well, some good news - the 1966 East Coast (ex Cali. tagged) bike I bought here in Oz three years ago is now getting the treatment and should be a rolling runner in a couple of months. Thought I'd post some recent pics to spread the joy of another bike being reborn.







Unfortunately a few concessions had to be made (lights being one...) since I would never have a hope of road-registering this bike in 'Factory spec.' here in South Australia.

All the best!
Dave/Powderworks

correction: East Coast Hornet - before some witty mug reminds me Cali. ain't on the East Coast! hahaha!

Here's an original pic of the bike as I purchased it here, kitted out in Spitfire livery and a few other mismatched parts...BSA salad!

D.

Dave,
Your '66 is coming along nicely. They always look so good when in fresh paint and nice rims.

Dave,

When your done I'll send mine down and you can breathe on it too. Nice job!! Who did your (Zn??) plating?

Ray

Success! In case anyone is interested I connected the 12v battery charger to the battery leads and was able to get a spark on both plugs by turning the ignition key on-off.

Next step was to leave the ignition key in the on position and crank the engine with the kickstart and again a good spark on each side, proving the sender unit / reluctor works fine. Not bad for a electronic unit which is probably over 40 years old!

So now to set up the carbs, refill the oil drained when shipping from USA and squirting Easy start down the carbs to see if it will run.

Then on to petrol and checks that the oil returns to the tank.

If it does then at least I'll have a running restoration :-)

Ardee

Ardee,
What is 'easy start'?

'Easy Start' is a spray can of Ether-based solvents that is highly combustible. The RAC and AA breakdown crews use it to fire up reluctant engines. Just a few seconds spray onto the air filter or better still into the inlet tract will fire any engine even if there is no fuel there (as long as you have at least a weak spark).

I think places like Halfords still stock it.

I used to decant 'Easy Start' into one of my mums small screwtop scent bottle to fire my Triton when it was proving difficult. Running 30mm chokes on a 500cc motor means the inlet tract airspeeds are quite low when spun with a kickstart so anything that goes 'bang' easily helped things along nicely.

Ardee

In the US we call it starting fluid. It is really hard on engines.

'67 West Coast Hornet for sale in the UK

West Coast Hornet with correct TT pipes

A lot of potential here. Lots of hard to find pieces are there including the TT pipes with brackets and the tachometer cable clamp. Can't quite figure out how the rider could use the front brake handle though. Needs the correct shorter rear Hornet fender.

Thanks Ken for the link to the listing.

How do I read the '66 Hornet parts manual when it quotes 3 front guards? The first one has no model prefix and is #68-6536
The second one has the model prefix of A65 S/H Mk 11 #68-6539.
The third one has the model prefix of A50W, A65 S/H # 68-6544.
What is the difference between A65 S/H Mk 11 and A65 S/H?
It would appear the Mk11 will be a Spitfire but is the S/H the Hornet? Interestingly BBB show the Hornet guard as 68-6544.
Sid

You must have the early spares manual. The later manual does not list the Spitfire Hornet as that was a '64/'65 model machine.

68-6536 East Coast Hornet & all other models
68-6544 West Coast Hornet
68-6539 Spitfire Mark II, III, IV (short style fender, uses loop stay)

The later manual has footnotes explaining model detail. Also, in both of the '66 & '67 spares manuals The "H" is missing in the models included for the 68-6536 fender.

There are images way back in the first few pages of this thread that show the differences of the east and west coast model front fenders. The side mounting brackets and stays are also different between the two fenders.

Thanks Gary. I was a bit confused about that. I think this early manual has caught me out a few times.
FYI I have almost finished a full rebuild of my 67 West Coast and it is looking very sharp. I am not sure if it is up to your standard but pretty close I feel. All I have to do is get one exhaust pipe rechromed (for the second time) as I forgot to put the spacer on the front stud which logically popped the bracket weld when tightened. Any idea who may stock those spacers? It may be easier to get some made locally. It is doing such a stupid thing that occasionally frustrates the crap out of me and episodes such as this seem to be getting more regular as I age!
Sid.

The distance piece is 68-4906 (7/16 x 7/8 x 3/16) To get the pipes to fit the frame and engine correctly I have two of them on the left side and none (except a standard washer on the right side.

Britich Only lists the distance piece, but doesn't mean they have it. Maybe just make one or two of them unless you are ordering a bunch of parts from one the the usual suppliers.

Thanks Gary. I am getting them made up locally and are trading a copy of the Stainless Steel Fasteners reference book for them.
Good deal!
Sid

Measuring up the front guard stays 2 that have 12 inch centers and 2 are 12&7/16 Centers. The parts book, well my early one, shows them both as 12 inch 42-6560 so what are the other two off? Also the center tab bracket is shown as a plain stay 68-6547 which I take may also be for the 65 & early 66? I presume the correct stay would be the same as the 67 ie with an 'L' lip on it?
Sid

The short stays are for the east coast fender, whereas the longer stays are for the west coast fender. The longer ones usually, but not always, have an "H" stamped on one end of them near the mounting hole. The straight center bracket is for the east coast fender, whereas the bracket with the 45 degree angle is for the west coast fender. There is a third type of bracket that has a 22 degree angle, but it is for the '68 models, and not for the Hornets.

Again, all of this is shown in images in the earlier pages of this thread. For me, it's easier to understand with images than narrative.

What length hole centre to centre are your west coast ones Gary. The ones on mine I was told were NOS and measure 12&1/4 inch whereas these ones are 12&1/2!
Also the seat on it has a grab strap on it. I dont think this is correct for a 66? Any idea what that came off?

Sid

West Coast: 12.5"

East Coast: 12.0"

The west coast stays have a more pronounced bend at the end that bolts to the fender. Otherwise they wouldn't match up to the west coast fender tab that has more of a spread than the east coast (standard model) fender.

Here's A65E1285. Has correct frame number, too, could be a matched set. My pal got it out of Topeka, maybe the seller checks in here?