Jump to content

BSA C15


Recommended Posts

It is a public holiday in Western Australia today (WA day), and today was a big day.

The BSA in my avatar for the first time in about 5 years I took it for a ride today.

When I purchased it, it cosmetically looks pretty good, but mechanically was not so good.

I started a ground up restoration on it 5 years ago, but the project stalled a couple of years back due to me not having enough time and some of the engine work I did not feel confident to do.

A few months ago my dad mentioned he was looking for a project to give him something to do so I gave him my BSA with the deal I would keep it licensed and pay for any parts needed that I hadn't already purchased and he could finish the restoration and keep the bike to ride until he was bored of it.

He got it running a few days ago, so I dropped by today and took it for a ride. I have been looking forward to having that ride for the last 5 years.

The bike still needs a little more tweaking before its 100% complete, now my dad is on the hunt for another vintage bike. Shame I had to sell my WM20 project bike a couple of years back.

Anyhow, this is how it looks now, not hugely different from before, but mechanically much sounder.

I'm sure it will give my dad another few months of fun before he gets bored of it and hands it back.

 

BSAC15.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Never owned any old Brit bikes but that looks like I would be a nice little rider and I bet it now goes like clockwork. Like the bar end mirror's that have been fitted.

We went from the UK to South Australia and NSW on holiday for a month a few years ago, didn't see too much old British Iron about but a supprising number of 60's BMW's while in Sydney though.

Any further projects planned?

Sent from my moto g(6) play using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No future motorcycle projects, got to many watch and clock projects, not to mention that I'm now reaching the point where the tools I want to further my watch repairing along are starting to get pricey, so cant afford another bike.

I had a 1942 BSA WM20 that was to be my next project, but I sold it 2 years ago to pay for my watchmakers training and tools.

I bumped into the guy I sold it to a few weeks back and he told me he had already finished it and it was up and running.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, oldhippy said:

We call them Bloody Sore Ass.:D

Yes I had forgotten that 'BSA' feeling of tingling toes as the vibration from the single pot goes right through your whole body. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • Recently Browsing

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Topics

  • Posts

    • OK, welcome in the world of alarm clocks... I guess the 4th wheel is dished because it is from another movement. If it was not dishet, then it would not mesh with the pinion of the escape wheel, am I right? The marks of wear on the 4th wheel pinion doesn't corespond to the 3th wheel table position, at list this is what i see on the picts. Calculating the rate is easy - there is a formula - BR = T2 x T3 x T4 x T5 x 2 /(P3 x P4 x P5) where T2 - T5 are the counts of the teeth of the wheels tables, and P3 - P5 are the counts of the pinion leaves. Vibrating the balance is easy - grasp for the hairspring where it should stay in the regulator with tweasers, let the balance hang on the hairspring while the downside staff tip rests on glass surface. Then make the balance oscillate and use timer to measure the time for let say 50 oscillations, or count the oscillations for let say 30 seconds. You must do the free oscillations test to check the balance staff tips and the cone cup bearings for wear. This kind of staffs wear and need resharpening to restore the normal function of the balance.
    • Glue a nut to the barrel lid, insert a bolt, pull, disolve the glue.  Maybe someone will have a better answer. 
    • The stress is the force (on the spring) x distance. The maximum stress is at the bottom, and decreases up the arm. That's why they always break at the bottom. I used a round file, then something like 2000 grit to finish. I gave the rest of the arm a quick polish - no need for a perfect finish. Just make sure there are no 'notches' left from cutting/filing. The notches act like the perforations in your toilet paper 🤣
    • It's probably a cardinal rule for watch repair to never get distracted while at the bench. Yesterday, after finishing a tricky mainspring winding/barrel insertion (I didn't have a winder and arbor that fit very well) I mentally shifted down a gear once that hurdle was passed. There were other things going on in the room as I put the barrel and cover into the barrel closer and pressed to get that satisfying snap. But when I took it out I realized I never placed the arbor.  When opening a barrel, we are relying on the arbor to transfer a concentrically-distributed force right where it is needed at the internal center of the lid. However, when that isn't present it's difficult to apply pressure or get leverage considering the recessed position of the lid, the small holes in the barrel and the presence of the mainspring coils. It was a beat-up practice movement so I didn't take a lot of time to think it over and I pushed it out using a short right-angle dental probe placed in from the bottom, but that did leave a bit of a scratch and crease in the thin lid. I had also thought about pulling it using a course-threaded screw with a minor thread diameter smaller than the lid hole and a major diameter larger, but that may have done some damage as well.  Thinking about how this might have been handled had it been a more valuable movement, is there a method using watchmaking or other tools that should extract the lid with the least damage? 
    • 🤔 what happens if lubrication is placed directly on top of epilame ? Making a small groove so the lubrication doesn't spread across the component but what if when lubing a little overspills and sits on the epilame .
×
×
  • Create New...