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Introductions and "new" 1970 Bonnie!!!

4K views 36 replies 13 participants last post by  henryanthony 
#1 ·
Hi everyone,

I just trucked home my 1970 pretty much stock Bonnie. I once owned a 1969 that I bought new from Triumph Detroit, sold it after 2 years to help pay for college and have dreamed of owning another one every since. No other bike would do for me.

My niece was recently married and a guest at the wedding, who buys and sells British bikes, was there and my wife suggested he give me a call since I talk frequently, and have had several dreams, about my old bike. So this gets my motor running. Then my wife, an eBay pro, finds this 1970 on eBay and says "Do you want it." I say "Yes."

So now I have it in my garage. It is in very good condition, matching numbers, but will not start. For a bike this age it has few condition issues other than faded paint, a small dent in the tank that happened during storage, light rust here and there, stuck carb slides and a tear in the back of the seat near the trim. Of course many other minor things. The guy I bought it from owned it for 35 years and, due to health conditions, could no longer kick start it.

Anyway, I am intending to restore it to a stock, better than new condition. The only alterations were a pair of semi-ape hangers and shorty mufflers.

The cosmetic issues are easy for me but I will probably have many technical questions that I will be posting on the forum. FYI, I search the posts and try to find my answer before posting a question. I do my homework but am a bit of a noobie at this even though I am pretty good with a wrench in general. I also have a some technical documentation that should help me.

I will try to post a picture but, since this is my first try, it may not be successful.

Best regards,

Henry
 

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#30 ·
Hi henryanthony are you going to put a liner in the tank?
If you do, you should choose the twin pack type.
Acetone is a great degreaser, I use it if I am soldering nipples onto cables, be careful as it will dissolve most plastics.
Your carbs will be a compromise to new ones but should do an adequate job, if the slides make it too weak you can always lift the needles, so on and so forth.
The slides always wear at the front as this is the vacuum side of the slide, and the slides are pulled hard against the body (relatively)
Use as little sanding as possible you only need rid of the high spots, try to ignore scratches as the can be quite deep.
Work on the slide more, than the body then when you fit new slides work on the body as the slide should be perfect.
You will most likely find the slides will stick, when almost fully open! this is due to the carb top screws being over tightened, so work on the top 1/4 of body will be necessary.
The high spots will show up shiny marks dull them off with 1000 grit wet and dry, then shove the slide back in and try again. As soon as the slide can be removed with little resistance, stop sanding! job done.
 
#31 ·
Hi Plewsy,

Wasn't planning on a liner but, I wasn't planning to do a lot of the things I need to do on this bike. Kind of expected to just get 'er going. :D This forum has gotten my head on straight regarding safety and reliability of 40 year old machinery. I'm in a big rush to ride but know I need to slow down and do it right.

The tank doesn't leak or seem to have any rust. Do you really think I need the liner? While I am working on the bike, should I coat the inside of the tank with something, other than a liner, to prevent rust? Maybe WD 40? Then clean it out again when ready for fuel?

There is very little rust on the entire bike. Rust is limited to some bolt heads and nuts. Front rim and spoke nipples have a bit of rust too. Other than that the rest of the bike is pretty clean which is one of the reasons I bought it.

There is a good sized dent, about the size of a golf ball, on the right side just above the badge. It's about one half inch deep. Owner said it happened during storage and that makes sense since there is no other damage. It's too deep to just fill it. Any ideas on how to bump it out? Being cosmetic, I not very concerned about this now.

The carbs were stuck wide open when I brought the bike home so your comment about that may be right. If that's the case, I'll have them bored and sleeved. Or, residue built up in the bores from not running, someone twisted the accellerator and they stuck. I doubt I would ever run wide open ;) but would want to slow down eventually! Now that you mention it, the slides do seem a bit tight as they reach the top of the bore.

Saw your video on rebuilding the 930s. Nice job and just what I needed. Where do you get the grinding paste?

My greatest problem is finding time to work on the bike. My water heater at home has sprung a leak and will need to be replaced today. $239 installation fee so (I'm cheap), I'll be doing this myself. Not a difficult job but, it will take time. Also in the middle of some other remodeling jobs around the house. Since it was my wife who suggested I buy the Bonnie, I better make sure the remodel jobs take priority!!!
 
#32 ·
Hi henryanthony,

When I first saw the picture of your bike (nice example) it looked clean, all there and not too messed with. Apart from the neglect it has suffered while its been stored, it was most likely a runner. With new fuel, oil change, sparkplugs and charged battery and a bit of work I would think it would run again, even if rough.

The liner is up to you, if its not leaking, its not leaking! you should at least keep it plenty oily when not in use, and once a year, drain completley when in use. Condensation inside is the biggest killer of fuel tanks, it lurks at the bottom munching away.

For now! use that can of W/D everywhere give everything a good squirt including wheels and cycle parts, your bike is a machine and machines love to be oily. Think the old army way " If it moves oil it, If it doesn't paint it"


A couple of pictures of the dent would be handy, is it reachable from the neck?

Grr! Tyre kickers, twisting throttles, and pulling levers Agh! a pet hate of mine.

Vid :) I might just have a carb with a stiff slide.
You should get "Valve grinding paste" from any decent auto shop. Over here it comes in a tin with a lid at each end, fine one end coarse the other.

Best of luck with your boiler.
 
#33 ·
Hi Plewsy,

Here's a pic of the dent. It's about 1/8" or 3.2mm deep. I'd like to fix it without putting any holes in the tank but I guess I'll have to do whatever it takes. Don't want to fill it just with body filler either. Just wouldn't be right in my book.

Also, the screens have been cut off the fuel tap filters. Can the filters alone be purchased or will I need all new fuel taps? Know a good source for these?

Thanks,

Henry

 
#34 ·
Hi Henry

The 70 model is the best of all, IMHO. It handles so well, goes like a scalded cat and stops at least as well as the later disc braked models. Plus it looks really cool, especially with flatter 'bars.

Dual windtones are available as a repro item, but they are very expensive!

Good luck with the resto. A well restored 70 Bonnie fetches over $10,000 here in Australia!

Craig.
 
#36 ·
Hi henryanthony,
As for the dent, it is in bad place but not the worst,
you may be able to reach it from the neck, with a piece of 1/2"ish round bar
with a flattened end, a bit like a tyre lever (spoon handle) and bent into a stretched "S" shape might fit in,
you can try and work the dent out, heat will make the job easier.
The creases will be the hardest bit, time and patience the big secret
and a bit of Catty to finish.
As for petrol tap filters I'm not sure if you can buy separately, you can buy small inline filters that will do the job just as well.
 
#37 ·
Plewsy,

That's just what I was looking for - encouragement that it is possible to bump it out. I've been dreaming up all sorts of contraptions that might do the trick. The heating was something I had not thought about though. There are some shops around here that rent body repair tools. I'll look into that. Got to get her running first. Might give it a go this weekend. I've had a whole lot of questions answered, now I have to get some work done. Also, got my water heater in OK. Took all day but saved $250 on installation. More Bonnie parts!!!

epynt1050,

I'm going to try to do as much of this myself as I can. I plan on buying a compressor and spray gun and paint it myself too. For me, the doing is better than the having. If I screw up, I'll just paint it again. I actually have a pretty good network of auto body guys available to me but they will all charge something although I would get a discount. Might have to suck it up and pay.

farric1,

I'm glad you like the 70. I couldn't agree with you more about the vintage. I would be happy with any 67 - 70. Just my personal preference.

Thanks all,
 
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