good deed for the day!

[johnr]

what do you do when youve too many bikes to ever ride, and you dont want to sell them? ive somewhere in the mid 20's in terms of vehicles in the shed, and theres no way i will ever use most of them. so, ive decided to loan a couple out. theres a young guy i know through the local greenpeace group, hes a keen biker and currently rides a rather tidy cb550 of mid 70s vintage, hes a nice enough lad, and loves old bikes, but on his meagre wage wont ever be able to afford an old brit bike, so, with the thought that theyre better being run than stood, im loaning him my 67 c15 bsa on a long term indefinate loan. he will run it and service it and ride it round, and in return, i wont have to trip over it or worry about it getting a standing seizure. i couldnt bear to sell it because i personally know the last 8 owners of it, (it has in the past, literally been the proverbial 'village bike')  so im not after getting shut, but i do think its too good to be left alone unused. last night i popped a fresh battery and a new cork seal on the fuel tap. today im ultrasonic cleaning the carb and then whem its running, its off for an mot and it will go and live with him. hopefully he will love it and start saving to own his own brit bike one day, and that will then be one more of us and one less guy who said that he used to ride but doesnt any more.

[iansoady]

Well done. I don't have room for a "collection" but that's putting them to good use.

[johnr]

mot passed, did a few last minute adjustments and had a bit of a fettle, and hes now ridden away on it to its new home. one more out of the shed.

[Andy M]

Well played Sir, its great to see someone who wants them ridden.

Just how maintenance intensive is such a beast? I'm half tempted by a pre-59 no MOT no Tax type basic Brit mid-Thumper of some sort as my last commute by bike should be in October so I can get a weekend bike. Triumph Tiger Cub or a  250/350 BSA or similar is looking interedting. As I don't know my Spagthorpe from my Hurley-Pugh though  I'm rather starting from scratch.

Andy

[johnr]

they arent as bad as they used to be.........

i mean that theyre a pretty solid little bike that just need to be looked after right. cos they were cheap and unglamorous, they tended to be ragged into the ground with little maintainance and no mechanical sympathy. this tended to get them the reputation for being unreliable, as though the lack of oil changes, thrashing from cold, frequent crashing, scripmping on spares and general bodgery was a design fault and not the riders responsibility.  buy a cheap c15, get the engine right, modify the wiring and charging system, and then just run it reliably for as long as you like. theyre simple beasts and can be run on a shoestring. and spares availability for something like a c15 is unsurpassed. you can literally buy every single part for them even now, 40 odd years after the last one was sold.

[johnr]

tiger cubs are nice, but theyre a victim of their own hype. a lot of the classic trials guys are running them, and so theyre popular and prices are innevitably on the way up. ironically, a bantam is essentially better in every single way, as well as being simpler and more reliable and shares many cycle parts, but sells for half the price of the four stroke! the c15 is perhaps the last chance for a brit thumper on a shoestring, cos there are still absolute squillions of them out there. so runners are still out there for a few hundred quid and a grand will buy you something tidy and useable. get one quick before theyre all hoovered up by the classic motocross and trials brigade.

[johnr]

this is the machine in question. i think its fared well considering its been out in the elements for 4 years or so...

[attachment deleted by admin]

[mthee]

Simple, good lines, very nice! Good karma also 😀

[timbo]

Well done John, great work. I bought a C15 as my first ever Brit bike a couple of years ago, then sold it a year later, having used it regularly. Now have a C12 for sale, same owner since 1959. I've basically recommissioned and serviced it. Both have been a learning experience, but not as much as the 1953 Matchless G9 which me and Tony the lurker bought in January, and have just got on the road, this week.
All I can say, is spend money on the magneto, give it to the right person, and get it done properly 

[johnr]

after a number of magneto issues, i eventually, in a fit off desperation, sent my magneto off to kirkby rowbotham, it wasnt cheap and its extreme surgery, but he removed the internals and installed a boyer electronic ignition unit inside the casings. i then fitted a recon dynamo and a solid state voltage regulator. i decided against going up to 12v, but i did switch to negative earth. and i fitted a hawker gel battery inside the rubber lucas battey casing. bike now looks just like it used to, but starts either first or second kick every time, and runs like a dream, better than it ever did with any of the magnetos it had. best thing i ever did to it.

[johnr]

just to clarify, the magneto in question was off my 53 m21, not from the little 250.
this c15 has had the 3 phases of the generator wired into a 12v solid state regulator rectifier, zenor diode sacked off.  then i ran the ignition from the battery rather than the awful energy transfer ignition which normally uses one of the alternator phases. now the ignition gets a healthy 12v feed all the time and provides big fat healthy sparks, the battery charges properly and the ignition is probably for the first time ever faultless.

[themoudie]

Aye johnr,

Agreed, same problem with Ducati singles, 6 volts and their "electronic ignition". Convert to 12 volts and run ignition from the battery; just remember the 30amp fuse on the positive (+) side of the battery, just in case! 

So far the 'Morini the Minx' in spite of having 6v electrics and their own 'electronic ignition' has been very good ignition wise. However, cleaning ALL the terminals and plugs and then wiping with ACF50 on a cotton bud, appears to have kept the electrickery bugs at bay. Time will tell.

My regards, Bill