BSA c15

[Pedrobsa]

Hello chaps and possibly chapettes!

Ive embarked on my first ever brit bike build and as the title might suggest ive gotten myself a 1961 Bsa c15, however i am having a little trouble getting a spark, its running points and after much faffing and googling and replacing bits and pieces i still cant seem to get a spark.
I am waiting on a new condenser but until that arrives i figured i would ask for suggestions here, the plug is good and maintained well and all earthing seems to be dandy so im fresh out of ideas of what to do. any help is good help

Good day to you all
peter.

[Rex]

Sounds like you may have done old old trick of assembling the points wrongly.
Try the solution of connecting a battery straight to the coil connection and see what happens.
(You should find it mentioned many times on here)

[R]

Yes the layers of insulation/washers in the points have to be correct,
or the points will no longer be in the circuit.

Good suggestion of seeing if you get a spark when the coil is powered up directly.

[Pedrobsa]

Thanks chaps, i shall check the coil this evening and report back.

[iansoady]

If you connect a voltmeter (or even a bulb) between the "live" points terminal and earth then turn the engine over, you should see the voltage vary between 12- (or 6-) ish and zero as the points open & close, or the bulb light & go out.

[Pedrobsa]

Huzzah we have spark, turns out the coil was knackered, new lucas coil and spark came on nice and strong, now the fun begins of getting the oil and fuel lines on reassembling her and trying to start it without anything else breaking hehe, one thing i am having a problem finding is a correct lenth clutch cable, ive ordered 3 so far and none seem to be the correct length, does anyone have one to measure by chance ?

[mini-me]

over the years people mucked about with different levers, adjusters handlebars. Depending on what you have on the bike you'll have problems.

Best thing is to learn to make your own cables, easy enough but you need to be shown for best results. I could teach you in a hour but I doubt you are in wiltshire?

[Pedrobsa]

Unfortunately not I'm in Ashford in Kent however there is a classic brit bike meet hosted by the bsa owners club tomorrow evening so I shall enquire there fitted the center stand this arvo now trying to sort the oil feed and return lines.. She's becoming a right project haha

[Rex]

You might be lucky, but judging by the amount of riders who recommend JJ Cables and Venhills there can't be many left who make/modify their own. It's a skill worth learning as even the cable makers seem to get it wrong too many times.
Great bights of cable flapping in the wind and adjusters wound right out is never a good look..

[mini-me]

I don't know how Venhill and co keep going so long what with the problems mods and variationson 50yr old bikes that they are expected to cover.
It would drive me nuts.

Didn't C15 have fixed levers and odd adjusters?

[Pedrobsa]

They are rather odd, but ive changed them to more modern looking jobbies for ease as i am disabled purists hate it but its my bike haha.

Im going to look into cable making sounds like a great skill to learn thanks chaps. .. brief one ive tried to fit some 1/4" oil pipe to the return and feed and do you think its fits on the engine side, does it buggery, any ideas on how to make it stretch over the lines without buggering it up ?
sorry in advance for all the newbie questions

[Rex]

I don't know if I've understood you correctly, but if you mean getting a plastic pipe to fit over a copper stub, then I just play a gas flame briefly on the pipe and it goes as pliable as something very pliable and then soon hardens up again.
Don't know that those "purists" (that everyone seems to scared of) will pay an awful lot of attention to a Ceefer brake cable though...

[iansoady]

Personally I wouldn't use that plastic stuff as it goes hard & brittle, especially with modern fuel. I'd use black rubber pipe marked as suitable for fuel. It's actually very flexible and you can usually persuade it to stretch an extra 1/16" or so.

[Rex]

I entirely agree, but I assumed the OP was still in the "jury rig to see if there's any chance of life" mode. I bought some red and black plastic tube from a scooter shop on Ebay and said to be guaranteed 100% fuel-proof.....it still went hard.

[chaterlea25]

Hi All,
I think (sure) that the flexi pipes on BSA's is 5/16th bore 

John