UK to Malta. 1951 Vincent

For the engineers only;
In my defence and that of the previous owner I say that I bought the bike in January and it had not been used for 7 years previously. So it's possible parts had dried out and some seals may have hardened with time and lack of use.
While I was test riding it I never really went hard with it at all. Just easy riding on country roads.

The first problem to show itself on day one was the crankcase oil leak from someone near the front. It became quite serious quite quickly as I was riding it at between 70 and 80 mph for several hours. It was bad enough to coat both sides of the rear wheel rim. I did the obvious checking the crank case bolts which were not loose. I eventually cured 90% of this by using an idea I did not think would work. Cleaning it, drying it and using super glue.
I had a series of things work loose. First was the steering lock was reduced and when I looked one bolt holding the front of the petrol tank had unscrewed. The next three resulted in oil leaks and where very easily cured by tightening. Oil feed to the rocker banjo bolt. Then the feed nut near it. Then the rocker box cap close by. All three resulted in oil on the front mudguard.
There is just a little oil getting past the gearbox seal and into the clutch, easily fixed when I get to England but as I travel I must check the gearbox level and drain excess from the clutch every couple of days.
The battery loosing its charge is still a mystery. It is a new good quality battery. It took four days riding to go down enough so the starter motor would not work. That didn't bother me as it starts easily with the kick start. It showed +amps all the time while riding. I've disconnected and reconnected the battery which appears to have helped as it is now maintaining voltage. I've bought a small battery charger to carry if I decide to ride it back to England.
Once I reached Malta I put new spark plugs. One was a bit oily and checked the points which are good.
That's it. Nothing serious.Read more