Final Assembly - Bits & Bobs PT II

The mechanical work to the Interceptor's drive train has been finished. The carbs were primed and it was started for a short time to make sure everything was ready for its final tuning in the spring. I cannot run it for any length of time in my shop as it is attached to the house and fumes work their way into the living space. Here is the sorting out of the final bits.

Tuning the carbs....setting sync in this pic using .187 drill bits. 

Following John Healy's Amal carb tuning guide. Thanks John!

 I am grateful to find an air filter which was an option in '69  but it did need a bit of repair. In this pic I have filled voids in the glass with black epoxy and worked the mounting holes to fit the carbs. Assembly on the carbs was a bit of a job and makes me appreciate the velocity stacks. 

Voids filled, edges painted and ready for assembly. 

The fuel taps were taken apart, cleaned in my ultrasonic cleaner, and the flippers were re-chromed. They came out looking like new. Let's see if  the new o-rings hold fuel in. 

Time to make fuel lines but first I need a crimping tool. The Interceptor fuel lines were a bit larger than my BSA lines requiring a new tool. A fun project. 

Finished and ready to go. 

Putting my new crimping tool to the test.....

The lines came from Hitchocks with crimped fittings on the tap connections but screw clamps elsewhere. I added crimped ends all around. 

After searching for original handlebars for three years a pair came up on eBay and I decided I would pay whatever crazy money necessary for them....and I did. That was only the start as they needed to be refinished. Chroming a set of handle bars with a cross bar takes a lot of labor and cost about double my crazy eBay purchase price. It also took several trips to the chrome plater and several months to match results with my expectations. That being said I am happy with the final finish. Although the "Made in England" reproductions were very nice they were two inches narrower than stock and the cross bar was way to big. Why spend all of the time and money on a restoration to miss on such a prominent part?  I will feel better about this in a couple of years when I forget how much it cost. I still have heartburn over the price of Lucas reflectors and have not yet popped for them as they are less obvious parts.

My eBay find. An original set of MKII bars.....a bit rusty but not pitted. 

Back from the chrome plater...my overpriced eBay find OEM bars.

Reproduction (bottom) and re-chromed original bars. Although the reproduction bars are very good and the bend is the same, there are obvious differences that would jump out at an Interceptor owner.

Heating up the foot-peg rubbers in my lovely redheaded assistant's oven so they will fit over the pegs. She really should read this blog to find out what I am up to while she is away. Let's not even bring up the dishwasher and my aluminum engine parts.....

Precision measurement of fork oil.  

We had to many mixing cups in the kitchen anyway....

The exhaust system went on after the foot-pegs. Pipes are original and coated internally with high temp header paint while the mufflers were rusted beyond repair and replaced. 

The seat and rear fender assembly fit and lights working. An original Lucas lens was purchased and polished to look as new. The OEM grab rail will be installed after the RE is finished as it appears difficult to work with. 

The upper front fender bolts were missing as someone had taken the brace off for another project. The ones I have seen on original machines have dome heads which I could not find. I put flat ones on but after looking at them for several months I decided to make the correct ones. One less thing to distract from originality. One more trip to the Cadmium plater. One more cost over run. Anyway, I think it's going to be a blast to ride and a novelty item at the regional shows. Let's do it right.

New screws with heads being machined to dimensions of the originals. 
Off to plating they go... 

Final checking of all bits - tighten, align, and confirm I did everything right before starting in the spring and final tuning. The air cleaner and grab rail will be added later. 

On to the next.....Now that I have finished Phil Irving's "Motorcycle Engineering" it's on to another of his classics. I am sure "Tuning for Speed" will be great too.