New classic brit bike owner/what have I gotten into?

Piefairy said:
I haven't gotten it yet, shipping issues. My goal is to have it before the end of next week.
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I have a bike on the way. I used uShip but they add at least $200 to the cost.

I have the number of this shipper. They’ve been good so far. I’ll know Wednesday when it shows up. If you want their contact info let me know.

Haulbikes was my backup plan but they are booked with Sturgis traffic right now.
 
I installed a kickstart lever from a 1975 MK3. It is slightly longer and is a little easier to kick over.
The secret to easier starting is good tuning. I will advise replacing those old monoblocs with a new pair of premier carburetors.....and there is a pitfall or two in doing that. Ideally replace with a single Mikuni and life becomes easier. Fitting an air cleaner might be difficult. If you are going to use the current oil tank then it could be lowered to where it just rests on top of the transmission mounts and then you would have room for an air cleaner.
Due to its age the magneto is suspect too.
 
I had originally booked it through uShip. They guy I had gone with reached out to the pickup location saying he would be there last friday, or saturday, and never showed or called or responded to either of us. So I had to cancel that, then he finally responded 3 days after the scheduled pickup date.

Anyways, I ended up going with Premier Motorcycle Transport. Ended up spending more than I thought, but they are pros and came highly rated, custom made pallets to secure the bike, blankets, straps, all that fun stuff. They have a terminal about 30 minutes from my house as well, so as soon as it gets in the area it should go out for delivery. Its getting picked up tomorrow, it will be delivered no later than the 5th of august. I spent 10 years looking for an Atlas, I can wait a few more days.

The bike is coming in off of a recent engine rebuild, and the trans was gone through, so hopefully I shouldn't have any issues with it running and breathing once I get the hang of kicking it over.
 
I had a budget in mind for what I wanted to pay. It wasn't that I couldn't find it, but more about finding it for a price I was willing to pay.
 
Does anyone have a suggestion for good, aftermarket Atlas tanks? Metal only, fiberglass worries me.

Thanks
 
No matter where you get a second-hand tank from, you have to remember it is around 50 years old and would need clearing out to stop all that crap getting into the float bowls- it’s another DIY job involving a battery and a metal lode.
 
Well tomorrow is the big day. Bike should arrive late morning or early afternoon. Hopefully it gets in before the daily downpour so I can take it for a spin.

As for the gas tanks, I just don't really like the idea of permanently modifying a survivor tank. I'll just take some measurements off the stock tank and see how it mounts and find something aftermarket. They are a lot cheaper aftermarket as well.
 
1 other line of questions... I've gotten mixed answers on this forum and everywhere on the net. Do I need to run a lead additive? What octane? And the biggest question, Ethanol?

From what I have read, the valve seats on Nortons are hardened and unleaded should be fine. The regularly available octane by me is 87, 89, 93. All of these contain Ethanol. I can get 100 octane with no ethanol, but its very limited and runs around $5 per gallon. The tank does have a fresh internal coat on it, so the water from ethanol shouldn't be to much of an issue unless sitting for a long time.

This is not a bike I'm going to pressing the limits, just a fun, classic, weekend ride.

Thanks again everyone for the input! Its much appreciated.
 
If I could find non-ethanol near me I would only gas my bikes there.
I put 89 in and drain the bowl if I'm not going to be using the bike. Ran out of fuel earlier today and sucked rust powder from my repainted "survivor" tank right into my carb.
Now I'm more concerned about the bike dropping 25¢ oil puddles all over town...
 
My tank, from what I have been told, has an internal coating to prevent internal rust. And from what I've read, as long as it was well cleaned prior, the coating should be good. I will inspect it once I get it here.
 
Piefairy said:
My tank, from what I have been told, has an internal coating to prevent internal rust. And from what I've read, as long as it was well cleaned prior, the coating should be good. I will inspect it once I get it here.
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These internal coatings, if done properly, are fine with non ethanol gas. It is doubtful they will survive a daily diet of e-10.

Slick
 
Piefairy said:
Well tomorrow is the big day. Bike should arrive late morning or early afternoon. Hopefully it gets in before the daily downpour so I can take it for a spin.

As for the gas tanks, I just don't really like the idea of permanently modifying a survivor tank. I'll just take some measurements off the stock tank and see how it mounts and find something aftermarket. They are a lot cheaper aftermarket as well.
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You get it? Take it out for a ride I hope? Enjoy!
John in Texas
 
I got it, put some gas in it, but I am having a hell of a time getting it to kick over. It has fuel, petcock is open, played with the tickler points to get gas in the bowls, get on the kick starter and press until it hits TDC and goes limp, give it about 25% throttle, and kick it with all I've got. It will roll over and I can see oil going through the oil lines, but no ignition. I can hear it compress and it will make a "tuff" like noise, but it doesn't sound like ignition, just re compression. I can't get this to occur consistently, which tells me my technique is still off. I'm having to remind myself to keep the lever down at the bottom of the stroke or I will kill it.

Ive got about 2 hours of trying to get it to turn over, with breaks to let the gas drain out from flooding, and it feels like its right there, I just need a little more ass behind it. I'm going to order a longer kick start lever for it, the one on it is a little under 9 inches. I have tried having a buddy hit it with starter fluid, but that doesn't seem to be doing anything other than making me light headed.

Any input would be great. I'm taking a break from it for the night. One of my biker buddies is in town tomorrow and he is twice my size, we will see if he can kick it over.

Also, any trick to getting the bike up on the center stand? Its not as easy as people make it look.

All in all though, any day that ends with you smelling like gas and oil is a good day.
 
Re: Reply #35

Does the bike have a magneto?
Have you removed each spark plug, and tested for spark by grounding the spark plug electrode?

Slick
 
The bike does have a magneto. I haven't checked for spark, what should I ground the electrode to? The plugs and plug cables appear new. I will check the gap on them in the morning as well.
 
Also, I am not sure what this part is, I can only assume its the rectifier, but it looks rough. The pic is bad, sry, I meant to take a better shot of it before I left the shop.
New classic brit bike owner/what have I gotten into?
New classic brit bike owner/what have I gotten into?


<a href="https://ibb.co/TkLkV9Z"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/TkLkV9Z/Inkedatlas-750-11-LI.jpg" alt="Inkedatlas-750-11-LI" border="0"></a>
 
I dont see the part on any of the parts lists I've seen. Its connected from the magneto, to it, then out and up to what looks like a small capacitor under the seat, then from their to the front and rear lights it seems.
 
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