Looking at a 71 Lightning. Not 100% original mind you. Paint is a shade darker than original, and frame is black not grey. But it was rebuilt and sludge trap douched about 14 years ago, has upgraded Voltage reg, and a boyer. it does leak oil on the bottom of engine like i knew it would. mileage since rebuild is 5000miles, no idea of original miles. Center stand mounts are worn a bit and wobbly, kickstand lug has had new weld applied by him, kickstand is new (i was told by him to never start on sidestand) It was plated last summer and ridden. Mufflers arent original, but head pipes are original with cross over and other chrome looks to be in nice shape. all the lights etc work. The amals on it have been resleeved. Seat, and rubber bits seem nice. New wheel bearings. he had a pretty nice 68 bonneville, and daytona and restoring a 53 thunderbird. (hence the selling of the bsa to fund the resto and was very helpful and knowledgeable) it was cold in his storage and no battery in it, so i havent heard it run yet. but it was tarped with silica bags all around it. Going back next weekend to hear it and see it run as i helped him wheel it to his garage. we have agreed on a price of 3500cdn. Keep in mind, these brit bikes in this part of the country are rare as hens teeth. to buy a far a nicer one here it will cost you north of 6000. Besides crank oiling problems, what else should i be looking at? I will more than likely be going through the motor myself in the next year or two if i do buy it for my own piece of mind. Im no stranger to cases apart rebuilds on 3 xs650 motors, and one top end on a sohc honda, so the job doesnt scare me with a good manual and these here IntArNEt forums.
Were the frames grey on the oif lightning? I know they were on the firebird, but I thought they were black on the lightning?
I think the first year they were, also the frame is higher than the later OIF models. I had a 71 but the frame had been painted black. Quite a nice bike to ride, cycle parts are same as Triumph of same year I think.
The engines are easy to work on. Just be sure to measure all your tolerances...found that out the hard way...especially timing side bush and all journals. Parts are generally easy to find. Knowledge is available, especially over on britbike.com. I just took apart the engine on my 70 Lightning to have some welding and machining done. Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think the engines changed much from 69 on. Not too many whitworth fasteners on my 70. Sludge trap is the big thing though. Was an oil filter fitted?
I believe so for the oil filter. I do plan on taking to the cases in a year or two. Any real way to tell with that timing side bush whether it worn bad? Poor oil pressure? Oil pressure light somewhat a tell tale in that aspect? Or can one fit a guage somewhere to see what hot psi is like
BSA OIF's were black starting about April 71. Check eninge/frame S/N to get the build month. The dove grey was on the ear'y 71 bikes. BSA never got the low seat rails. That was Triumph only. The whole high seat thing is largely bullshit. A 71 Lightning was 1/2" taller than a 70 Lightning :eek1 The late A65 motors were decent motors and had all of the upgrades. The timing side bushing is also more urban myth than reality. With proper assembly and clean oil (add a filter), an A65 is a sweet running motor that will give you lots of miles (km's in your world) of riding. Getting the crank dynamically balanced does wonders for an A65 as does making sure the engine fits the frame. You sometimes need to shim the bottom motor mount to fit the engine tightly to the frame. Carb and ignition timing does wonders too for smoothing out the engine. An A65 does require proper end play set up for the crank. You also have to shim the crank sprocket to get the primary chain aligned. This gets overlooked on a lot of A65's by a lot of people. Front brake does require some TLC to set up right. If you want a set up procedure for the TLS, PM me you email addy and I will send it along. My first street bike was a 71 Lightning in 1974....to this day, I still ride an A65. Sweet bike when set up right.
Thanks for all the wise words. Cant wait to hear it run. Might have to see if i can find an nps 1/8 fitting and guage and see what the oil pressure is up to. It felt barely taller than my xs650. Thanks for the frame color info.
Damn Rich, you started riding in 1874?? You sure don't look that old to me...you age really well. My timing side bush was worn out big time. I had low oil pressure from my first rebuild. Second rebuild I replaced it (after measuring it), ground down the crankshaft, and all is now well on the oil pressure front.
Don't tell anyone I am that old...... fixed it, that is what happens when typing and not reading......hate when I do that. CDNTX650 - IMO, BSA did something stupid when they added the oil pressure port. On some cases, the drilling for the oil pressure tap may not actually intersect the main oil passage in the engine. Some engines show low oil pressure when everything inside is fine. Listen for unusual bottom end noises, removes the sump plate and look for "shinies" and chunks. Also make sure someone did not put a hideously thick fiber washer under the oil pressure relief. The washer should not be more than about .040" thick. A thick washer will raise the OPRV too high in the cavity and you will have low oil pressure. Good luck with it
My main concern with buying is the fact we live in the stix. A machine shop to to said bush work is a problem here. Boring cylinders and valve seat cutting are probably as far as i can get here. Im almost talking myself into letting it pass and spending more on a triumph.
