'72 Interstate Restoration

Matt looking awesome matey happy belated 17th and some cracking progress on her keep up the brilliant work

Tom

Thanks Tom! Ive got a little progress since that last picture. Havent had much time to work on it though. The primary was all done up until of course we found the alternator rotor core to be loose, so we just got a new one the other day and should have the primary done up again shortly. Then electrics and hopefully not too many more problems.

Matt

Its such a simple machine what could hang one up...
To me the electrics are the most tedious slow going phase to suffer through and redo after some road time shake downs. I love my IS tank for its range and place to squeeze knees when letting the Combat-ness loose now and then. More than once if not knowing others actually put these things together soup to nuts I'd not believed anyone would ever get one done.

No new progress because a new bike has been stealing the Norton's thunder lately. My dad came home with this '68 BSA Lightning so weve been cleaning the carbs and tuning things up a bit to make it run better. Personally this is one of my favorite looking bikes ever, although it doesnt stand up to the commando performance wise.





Matt

I like the Buck Rodgers tank badge and engine and case esthetics but realize there is innate weakness in the crank bearings and few other things that made this a poor long term runner. My bud Wes had one i got to ride a bit for a real throw back sensation.

SRM mod will remove crank worries. It isnt as bad as you think anyway.
It is the punishing vibrations that ruin the bike. US bikes came geared low
for impressive acceleration. On the highway wrong thing.
They are a weighty old anchor too.
Good finish great chrome.

I have a 70 BSA Thunderbolt very similar except one carb. Would highly recommend that you fit some sort of external oil filter, either MAP Trident filter type (which I did) or Commando spin on type. Also, change oil religously. The weak point on 650 BSA's of this vintage is the timing side crank bushing. Dirty oil is only going to accelerate the wear. Mine wet sumps every time it sits for a couple weeks. An alloy sump plate with a drain plug makes draining the crank case a lot easier.

Thanks guys! I am aware of the crank bushing problem. The bike isnt going to be run long and hard so we will just stay on top of things and slow down the wear process. Once the bike looses oil pressure its a good hint that the bushing is toast.

Anyways, on a more exciting note, I drove my first motorcycle ever just a couple nights ago, took the BSA out for a spin after learning the clutch action (damn parents never had a manual transmission car for me to try first). Drove it around in a grassy park by my house to make any potential falls safer for me and the bike as well as a large open area to roam around. Shifted up to third for a couple seconds before I ran out of space and had to downshift. It was a great feeling, accelerating up a hill is not what I am used to after riding bicycles all my life.

And the Norton...it has taken a back seat lately, but we'll get it started pretty quick. A couple parts got delivered a few days ago that were keeping us stalled. Im getting very excited for the Commando to start up after seeing the BSA run.

Matt

Its been months since I've posted here, and for that matter its been just as long since I've worked on the bike. In early September I was given a chance to move away from home to play hockey (ice hockey that is, if any of you Americans and Brits even know what that is ), since then I have remained away from home and still have a few months until the season is over, then I'll return home to finish up high school and enjoy the summer off. This has produced no progress on the bike whatsoever, however I do plan on picking up where I left off when I return home for the summer. My dad has sent me a few updates on what he has done, he started to put the new wiring harness on the bike and also assembled the ignition coils. Other than that everything else seems to be the same. Because of this I only have one picture for ya today, Ill keep the thread updated with work my dad does.


Matt

You gottta love the old man for makin' forward progress on the bike while you're..."skating away on the thin ice of a new day".

cjandme said:

You gottta love the old man for makin' forward progress on the bike while you're..."skating away on the thin ice of a new day".

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Oh yeah, it's nice to know he still has an interest in it since the project is going on 3 years now. He's just as excited for the finish as I am I think, it has brought back memories for him and definitely influenced him to get back on bikes and buy the BSA for sure.

I've found a few more pictures that haven't been posted yet. Most are from the summer where I left off and some are the progress my dad has made.





(I tend to be organized in everything except in the workshop, which explains all the clutter)






Matt

cjandme said:

You gottta love the old man for makin' forward progress on the bike while you're..."skating away on the thin ice of a new day".

Click to expand...

Top Tull quote. I have it on a CD in the car at the moment.

79x100 said:

cjandme said:

You gottta love the old man for makin' forward progress on the bike while you're..."skating away on the thin ice of a new day".

Click to expand...

Top Tull quote. I have it on a CD in the car at the moment.

Click to expand...

A little disappointedin myself I didn't pick up on that one, being a Jethro fan

"Tull " Seen e'm 3 times. My first concert at $3.50. Try peeling off that kinda money for a show nowadays.

Talked to my dad today, he's been hard at work on the bike lately. My hockey season is almost over, approaching playoffs now so I will be back to work myself in not too long. The wiring is almost all nipped up now. Here are some pictures he sent me.





Here's one that I like, his two most time consuming past tomes lately. Working on the Norton and watching my games.



Matt

Its been a long time since I've updated on my progress. Almost a year now i think! With me moving away after high school for the winter months, its been hard to get much work done on the bike. My dad has been doing most of the final finish up work while I'm gone and now she's almost ready to go! I'll be back home in April to hopefully get her started before too long, if my dad doesn't get to it before I'm home. The last snag we caught was with the ignition system, the old Boyer that my dad had fitted on the bike 40 years ago wasn't working (not surprised). So we just got a new Tri-Spark system with the Tri-Spark coils as well. My dad installed that just a few days ago and now everything is ready to go for the most part. Just some small things to finish up and it should be ready for the road! The air filter still isn't in place as you can see in the pictures and the seat on there isn't quite the right one. We received the wrong seat a while back and had to get a new one that has the chrome strip running around the bottom. Other than that, everything is all done up besides the front fender stays and the fuel lines i believe. We tried to keep the bike as original as possible, i think the only non-stock parts would be the oil filter i installed, Mk III isolastics and the Tri-Spark ignition. Its been a long process for us, i started the summer heading into Grade 10 knowing nothing about bikes, and now a full year out of high school and 4 years later, we're just drawing it to a close. Ive learnt tons from my dad and from everyone here about working on bikes. I've loved it, even though its frustrating when parts don't fit or when you're sitting with sandpaper and a polishing wheel for hours, it's made me enjoy working on things even more than before i started. Im sure ill be around here for even more help once we try and start up the bike and get the engine tuned just right. Here's some pictures as it stands right now.







And here's the Tri-Spark, looks like a great unit to me.


Matt

Sweet!

Fantastic looking project.

Keep up the good work, and keep the pix coming!

Very nice! I myself am restoring a 73 Interstate. Could you tell me what mufflers you went with, where you acquired them, and if you are pleased with the fit? I have two but one has a baffle and the other had been replaced without. Cheers! Dennis

NORBECER said:

Could you tell me what mufflers you went with, where you acquired them, and if you are pleased with the fit? I have two but one has a baffle and the other had been replaced without. Cheers! Dennis

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Same here! I installed a pair of Dunstalls in the late Seventies when my original Interstate mufflers rotted out. I like the Dunstalls, but it would be nice to get another set of original-looking mufflers. 'Nice looking bike!