1970 fastback restoration

hi guys
well this old bike has been off the road for 31 years so today the journey begins in earnest .
today all fluids changed i had allready fitted a side stand/new battery and new plugs/leads
so what did i find

sludge in the gearbox

thread falling apart on gearbox drain plug

ready for a ride around the block

where does this hose go???
how did she go ?
like cra! so next will be timing check/tappets and possibly amal carbies clean/overhaul that should be fun !
cheers
macca

I'm not familiar with the fastback oil tank but it looks like the oil tank breather which usually goes to the air cleaner, or the rear chain, or to a catch bottle somewhere. Some guys route it to the very back of the bike. It prevents the oil tank from becoming pressurized.

I'd put it into a catch bottle, it most likely went to the air filter which then drips all over the gearbox. I used a large pill bottle with 2 holes in the cap, one for the tube and one for the air and put it between the rear of the engine and the front of the gearbox under the air filter. I know your arrangement is different. I have the central oil tank. The timed breather should go to that top hat thingie in the oil tank.



Dave
69S

right thanks for that info on the hose it has a KN air fliter so i might runit to a bottle similiat to dogt
thanks

on my 69 that hose is from the crankcase breather, and the hose off the cylinder next to it is routed under the seat and out the back of the bike like an overflow line. Now i'm wondering whats correct....

http://www.oldbritts.com/oillines.html

Engine Breather
On all models the breather goes into the oil tank on top by the filler cap.

Oil Tank Breather
This breather is on the top of the oil tank towards the front of the tank

Click to expand...

I can tell you what happens in a 69 'S' which has the central oil tank, but I'm not sure about the fastback which has the panel oil tank, but I bet it's similar. The timed breather off the left side crank below the cylinders goes to the top hat thing on the oil tank. The 'S' central oil tank has a breather tube inside the top hat thingie, not attached to anything except the front of the oil tank and that goes out the front of the oil tank into the air filter area where I reckon the carbs are supposed to pull the oil tank vented vapors into the carbs to burn in the motor. Trouble is the vapor turns into oil and drips down on the air filter and then on to the gearbox once it builds up enough. It doesn't take much oil to make a mess, kind of like horse shit. That's why I put a catch bottle on it, and it seems to be effective, no more oil on the gearbox.

Now I've heard that some central oil tank people don't have this problem. Don't know why. I can say that most of what goes into my catch bottle is drips of water and over 1000 miles I have maybe 1/8" of oil in the bottle. It mostly happens on start up, but I've put a valve on the oil tank feed so I no longer wet sump, that may make a big difference. When it's wet sumped I'm sure lots of oil comes out of the timed breather and goes into the oil tank, where it may be partly vapor and is then passed on into the oil tank breather tube.

The early bikes also had a line off the return oil tank banjo that fed a chain oiler. I disconnected that as fast as I could and soldered it shut, it put a whole bunch of oil on the chain and it prevented a lot of rust, but a lot of oily dirt on the bottom of the bike too. As we speak, my centre stand is free of oil after about a year.

This is all my conjecture, I stand to be corrected, but I have a pretty oil free 69.

All things said, if oil comes out of that line, I'd put it in a catch bottle. If you drip it off the back, you're making a mess and it will get on the bike somehow from the wind. Mick Hemmings suggested I breathe the oil tank to the air, but I thought more of it.

Dave
69S

she lives !!!
after chatting to a guy with a matchless yesterday i decided i would read the amal manual ! [which is normally something i only do if everything else fails ] and well i had the choke or airslide on fully dooh !


she is still missing a bit on the right side but i took her for a spin around the block and now i know what all the fuss about nortons is about !!! they sound great and have heaps of power
cheers

well i got her running after reading the manual and realising i had the operation of the choke ass about
so i took her for a quick run around the block and she pulls nicely but not too happy to idle and the right side is missing now and then

She sure is beautiful and when you clean her up and get her tuned it will be more fun then you can imagine! Send more pics as things progress.

so i took her for a quick run around the block and she pulls nicely but not too happy to idle and the right side is missing now and then



THEY ALL DO THAT . :mrgreen:

Could be worth seeing if the kick across the points is the same for Ea. cylinder ,.

Concentrics wernt the worlds best carburators , theres a degree of spit & miss inherant , except on sundays after a beer , and when the moons blue .

Keeping it under 5.000 rpm's till she is fine tuned should see any missuse avoided . Really needs a 1/2 in spark out of the coils .

100 octane ( shell race fuel ? ) would make life easier for starters . Once all is sweet , pump gas wouldnt be to degradeing .

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looks a nice bike in that specification , dont be in a hurry . I may not be perfect but parts of me are excellent . 8)