1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (1000 miles and more)

Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Hey Jon, Thanks for letting me get up close and personal with the Gold Star today! A beautiful lass she is!
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Thanks Ed. I am still sorting out the idiosyncrasies of the starting ritual, but she is starting much easier. Slight tickle, no choke, hit TDC then go just past it with compression release lever, let the lever go, no throttle, kick hard and then VAROOOOMMM...

The weather went from a threat of snow (again) to 73 degrees, sunny and beautiful today. I did 15 more shakedown miles and all is good. She will start in one kick once warm (with an audience). Still need to polish primary cover, sort out a drip from the gearbox and primary cover. But wow, she runs, idles and rides beautifully and sounds great. Tomorrow is going to be nicer and I plan to wrench and ride most of the day. I am in love with this machine!
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Very glad to hear she's up and running sir that is one hell of a Beautiful Machine !
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Thanks DR. Everyone wants a video of this bike running and I keep telling you all to be patient because I will put together a nice video after she is all shook down and running at top speed. I stopped by my machinist Skip's shop and our friend Wes sent me this video from his phone. This is just a teaser but at least you can see and hear it running.


The weather was gorgeous yesterday and I put 30 more break in miles on my Goldie. It is not if, but when am I going to get a speeding ticket on this thing. She pulls like a mule and cruises at 55 mph at 3000 rpm. I want to do 500 break in miles before I can start to get past half throttle and all that power above 4000 rpm. Now that I have the starting ritual sorted she starts in 1 or 2 kicks and with 1 kick once warm (even with an audience). Sounds great, runs smooth and I still cannot believe I own this bike.

I finally sanded and polished my primary cover and reinstalled it with a new gasket and a slight smear of Yamabond sealer. I put ATF in the primary cases and the leak has stopped. The red color of the ATF will indicate the source of any future drips. RF Wahtley's article http://www.gabma.us/docs/primary_cases.pdf prompted me to buy some thin o-rings for the fill and clutch covers on my primary cover. The o-rings stop leaks and weeps as well as hold the caps in place. Thanks!


I still have a leak from the gearbox and plan to sort it out tonight if I can.

Spring is here and I plan to ride as much as possible to break her in quickly. I hope the sun is shining where you are too.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

she starts in 1 or 2 kicks and with 1 kick once warm (even with an audience)

even with an audience ... I don't believe it ;)

~kop
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)



80 break-in miles and she is running very well. Primary no longer leaks but the gear box and/ or tach cable connection is still leaking. This is common problem and there is an o-ring in there that causes a leak. I will try to get to it tonight after another ride.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Geez, that's a sexy looking bike.

You will totally ruin the mystique if you fix the oil leak. Rumor and whispering says it will no longer be British if there are no oil leaks....DON'T RUIN IT!!!

J/K

However, you do stretch credulity talking about easy starts and no oil leaks on a BSA. You really are making difficult to believe the whole project is not some sort of hoax.

I still love the bike....I hope it doesn't break anything at all, except tradition. Have great luck with it...
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

I was going to ask when he's going to stop riding it long enough to fix the leak ;) I'd have trouble getting off that bike myself!
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Nice job mate,Oily rag bikes are the best a true brit bike.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Ha, thanks guys! I had another beautiful ride last night in the 80 degree weather. It is going to snow tomorrow, ah Minnesota.....

I sorted out the gearbox leak by installing two new gaskets with a thin and even smear of semi-hardening Yamabond sealant. Also I believe the Haynes manual was wrong (what a surprise) in its recommendation of 570 cc of oil in the gear box. I refilled with 400 cc as recommended by the BSA owners manual and BMS's "Gold Star Book". I overfilled the first time and that may have contributed to my earlier leaks. I rode 25 miles last night and there are no drips or leaks of oil beneath the bike this morning.

I am really get a feel for this bike and it is an absolute pleasure to ride. 125 miles so far and no major problems and she starts in 1 or 2 kicks and 1 kick once warm. Smooth, great handling, cornering and is mechanically quiet with that beautiful and distinctive exhaust note. I am smiling just thinking about her and looking forward to more riding this weekend.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Wow, your break in is almost done and then you can really ride! SOOOOO glad you are not just putting her on a pedistal and looking at her, ride her till stuff wears out or breaks, fix her ride, rinse repeat.

Awsome
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

From the backseats I have watched this build from the start. The goldstar has always been close to my heart,and to watch her rise gracefully from her barn rest has been a total pleasure. No machine has had a better master,and the love, time,skill,and labour given to her by yourself, will be repayed many times over as you ride her. Well done.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

hartley353 said:
From the backseats I have watched this build from the start. The goldstar has always been close to my heart,and to watch her rise gracefully from her barn rest has been a total pleasure. No machine has had a better master,and the love, time,skill,and labour given to her by yourself, will be repayed many times over as you ride her. Well done.
Thank you very much for your kind words and watching all this time. Finding a rare, old bike in a barn and restoring it is a dream we all share

It was 80 degrees and spring a few days ago, then we got several inches of snow and rain. Warmed up a bit today and the sun came out so I went out riding and am going out again. She is purring and I am putting more break in miles on her.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

I am smiling in a way I seldom do these days. It takes many of us many years to work out what really matters in a motorcycle, and for those of us who lean towards the lithe and the spartan, it can take even longer to settle aas you plough your way through varying degrees of the modern motorcycle knowing full well "that ain't it"............and here we have Swan, with not only the luck to fast track to an iconic motorcycle , but also the balls to see it through. He knows full well that the bike reeks of integrity, and that;s no mean achievement. I salute you.
There are hundreds of motorcyckes that quicken my heartbeat, but probably only a handful that slow my heartbeat,,,,,,,,,,,and this is one of them. It;s a bike I will never tire of looking at.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

Thank you very much bumpthump. Hard work and luck defines me. I never tire of looking at this bike but it makes my heart race rather than slow down.

Had an absolutely beautiful ride last night before a rain storm rolled in. Went up the twisties in the bluffs to the long, straight and empty roads of the prairies. This is the most comfortable and best handling bike I have built and the sound, oh the sound..... I am still breaking her in but hit 5000 rpms and 80+ mph briefly and she has plenty of throttle left to go. This weekend is going to be nice so I will ride as much as possible. No problems yet but I am going to adjust the throttle cable length and adjust the front brakes. I plan to change the oil again at 500 miles, recheck the valve clearances, timing etc and then start to ride her harder and faster and do the same at 1000 miles when I can consider her broken in and the real fun begins.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

500 Miles!


So far, so good. I began but simply starting the bike a few times, then short rides with cool down periods, followed by progressively longer rides, never over or under reving the motor and kept the throttle varied so the motor will be properly broken in. Now I can riding her harder with higher rpm's and for longer periods until I hit 1000 miles and consider her broken in.

Yesterday, I changed the primary, gearbox and motor oils and there were no surprises, chunks of metal, etc. Checked the timing and valve clearances-all good. My primary chain stretched out and was loose, so I removed 1 1/2 links, moved the gearbox forward and added 1 1/2 links to the drive chain. I checked and tightened all the bolts on the bike and found I lost the brake pedal stud somewhere, so I ordered replacement hardware. Still trying to get more out of the front 190 mm drum brake, but it is better than it was.

There is a slight oil leak in the primary behind the clutch dripping and spraying the chain, center stand and rear wheel. I have a Phil Pearson seal holder and believe it is set up properly, but after some research another BB forum member had similar problems until drilling a small pressure relief hole in the inspection cap. I will do this tonight and test it out. I know it is not leaking gearbox oil because the leaking oil is red ATF.


Summer is finally here, I had several beautiful rides yesterday in the bluffs and it felt so good to start going past 4500 rpm's and feeling her really pull. And the sound, simply beautiful. My poor Triton is going to get some attention tonight, I have not ridden her in weeks.
 
Re: 1962 BSA DBD34 Gold Star restoration (SHE'S ALIVE!!!!.)

swan said:
I will make a nice video (no ratty ill-light cell phone video) when I have ridden and shook her down for 500 miles and then can start to explore higher RPM's. I have access to a decent video camera and a Go-Pro camera, but please be patient...


Nudge nudge.
 
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