Starting it Up

Now its time to be excited and a little bit nervous. Although there is a lot of finish work to do on the Interceptor it can be started to verify the engine work was done correctly. All of the work of the past three years is about to be tested. Do I have the camshafts timed right? Do the Cross rings seal? Did I setup the points right? Did I put the cases together in a manner that holds oil? I sure hope so and its time to find out. Let's put in the oil and figure out how to get it pumping to all of the right places before starting it up.

A progressive lubrication system for its day; dual pressure, wet sump, and an oil cooler (not shown), although it was fed by a plunger oil pump design. It seems to work well. 

I elected to fill the Albion with Valvoline full synthetic 75W-90 weight oil which has worked well in my other British bikes and is close to the 50W motor oil recommended in the manual. The Albion held oil which was a relief.

The point of leaks I expected the most were in the gear box. None yet although the real test will come when it's on the road. I'm filling the oil filter cavity in this pic. 

The Interceptor's lubrication system is different than any I have worked with in the past. Dual oil feeds and pressure relief valves, an oil filter, and a cooler. I filled the engine with 20W-50 Valvoline conventional motorcycle oil. Oil was poured in the valve oil returns to let it drain down on the cams and I filled the sump until it was at the dipstick high mark. I also used a syringe to pump oil through the oil cooler feed line until it came out of the return line. It took a surprising amount of oil and made a mess in the process. Finally I filled up the oil filter pocket. Next I kicked the engine over until oil came out the filter bleeder hole. I loosened a rocker feed bolt but never got oil out of it although I kicked way past my physical endurance. I even put the bike into 4th gear and spun the wheel a while. Still no results.

Syringes were used for oil system priming. I cut the end of one to fit over the oil cooler intake fitting. Although it made a bit of a mess I was able to get oil out of the return line. 

When the bleeder screw was removed oil came out which is a good thing. No such luck with the rocker oil feed bolts. I also had a bit of a leak from one pressure relief valve.

Filling the engine sump and the primary case.....

It's early morning and I am ready to go. Better wait until folks wake up to give it a kick or I will not be very popular around here...... 

My shop is attached to my house and the fumes bleed into the living space so it's a bad place to run bikes. A snow filled back yard make it impractical to take anywhere to run....time to exercise patience.....With that being said I still need to know that I have things close enough for final tuning in the spring...

So...now it's time to put gas in the fuel lines, tickle the carbs and see if it will start. After about 3-4 kicks it fired up but ran rough. I shut it off and checked the rocker feed oil lines which now had oil in them which was good to see. Next I went back and rechecked the timing. It was retarded about 5 degrees which I corrected. I am not sure if something moved or more than likely I had it setup wrong to start with. I also may have flooded the engine by pushing to much fuel into the carbs with my syringes. Adjustments made and on to the second attempt. 

Once again I called on the syringes to prime the fuel system. I pushed fuel in until it came out the ticklers when they were pressed. 

With the timing readjusted and a bit less fuel pushed into the carbs the Interceptor started up on the 2nd kick and ran well. It seems to be oil tight and no unwanted mechanical noise can be heard. This will do until I can get it outside in the spring, properly warm it up, and fine tune the carbs and timing. It smoked a bit which can be expected until the rings seat and the assembly oil burns off of the cylinders. A compression check showed 125 lbs on each cylinder. Not a bad starting point I think.

One thing I was fearing was oil leaks. The only one I found was from the top end oil pressure relief valve.  I tightened it down a bit but it still leaked. I added Aviation Permatex to the sealing washer and we will give that a go. I know more opportunities for leaks will arise when I get it on the road but for now I am quite pleased with the results. It's time to finish up bits and bobs until I can get it on the road in the spring......its -6 Deg F here this morning...cold even for this part of the country.

Check out the Interceptor's start up video on my Facebook Page - link below.

Electrical Part II

So it's been a year getting to the assembly phase of my wiring project. Things were refurbished or replaced and put on a shelf until the rest of the build caught up. Now that most of the mechanical bits are installed electrical pieces can follow. Bits ready to go, shop manual open to the wiring diagram, pics called up on the PC and the old harness laid out as a guide. Here we go....

My intention with the Interceptor is to recapture the form in which it left the factory. While I have had great luck with Trispark ignitions and coils I am keeping the original Lucas system on the RE as I want to experience the bike with its original character. I have not setup points in a few years and am looking forward to working with them again. If I decide to go Trispark at a later date it's easy to swap the system out. So on to rebuilding Mr. Lucas......

Original components ready to be reconditioned.

A new harness was purchased from England and looks close to the original that came off the RE. Most original Lucas bits are being reused until they give me trouble. They will all be checked after the bike is started as this is the easiest way I know how to inspect them. The RE ran well before I disassembled it. New condensers were purchased while the original points look good and will be reused. The plug wires were a bit stained but cleaned up and should work fine as they are copper cored.

Original parts cleaned up, inspected and ready to go. 

The headlight washed out and connectors cleaned. 

 
A new UK made wiring harness and the quality is great. Insulation on the old one was brittle requiring a replacement. There are a few differences from the original but overall a pretty good match. 

The electrical panel being lined up with the battery box tray and tightened down. It was a bit wonky when I took it out. I straightened it before painting but it still required a bit of tweaking to fit. Par for the coarse so I have found. 

Sorting the new electrical panel connections. 

Hmm....a few extra wires and not all connectors match up to my electrical components. The old harness was labeled as bits were removed to help with installation. A good idea since electrical is not my strong point. 

Scraping the ground points bare and checking continuity engine to frame. The same treatment was given to the Zener diode mounts. All zeros on the multi-meter engine to frame.

The lights and horn work with a battery....on to the ignition system. 

The points unit getting ready for an update.

Cleaned up and ready to go with new condensers. 

I have not worked with points in a while and this was a chance to get reacquainted with them. I followed the factory workshop manual's instructions in conjunction with a multi-meter to get things setup. I will fine tune the timing with a strobe once the RE is running.

Sorting out the points. Fitting from scratch requires a bit of  re-learning. 

Timing marks lined up with RH cylinder on the compression stroke. The marks have been filled in with paint to make them more visible with a strobe light. 

Tools used to setup the points & advance unit. 

 A special fixing washer is used to hold the advance unit in full advance position while timing is statically set. It will be checked with a strobe light later.

Everything went together well and appears to function properly. The spark is good, the lights all work, and the horn makes a proper blast. On to the fuel system and final bits. 

Snow's here and the bikes are officially locked in for the winter. It will be a while until I can take the RE for a ride but I will have to start it once it's together.