Recommissioning a Comet.

[Paul Lowsley]

My first post. Hi - I've just purchased a 1951 Comet that's totally original but has been laid up for 15 years. I'm not new to classic bikes but I might need some advice. The oil tank appears to be empty so I'm not sure if all the oil has drained into the crankcase. Is there any procedure for cleaning out and re-filling the system? I'm Ok with the cycle parts. The carb is none standard (an Amal Concentric MK2) which is gummed up. I should be Ok with this. The engine turns over Ok.

Any advice would really be appreciated.

 

[clevtrev]

Take out the sump drain plug, which is situated in the centre of the left hand front stand plate, and all will be revealed !

 

[clevtrev]

Or not.

 

[tatty500]

Paul,
It's best not to trust the old grease in in the gearbox.

Tatty500....... aka "4th gear meltdown"

 

[vibrac]

You are lucky that 15years means you have missed the curse of the Ethanol imposition

 

[Paul Lowsley]

Thanks for the advice so far - drained well over three pints of oil from the crankcase. Thanks ClevTrev.
Is it worth flushing the oil tank out - looks to have about 1/4" of oil in the bottom of it? Also I'll change the oil filter as well - haven't found it yet.

 

[timetraveller]

If you try to scrape some of the 'oil' from the bottom of the oil tank you might find that it is sludge with contaminant particles. If so it is well worth while taking off the tank and finding some way of cleaning it out. Many of us have tried petrol, acetone, Gunk type products, pressure washers etc. to no avail and have ended up fitting an inspection/cleaning hatch to the top of the oil tank to ensure that it is really clean. It might seem to be a pain now but you will be glad you did it in the long term. Of course if it really is just oil then go for some flushing oil or highly detergent oil intended for diesel engines and change it and the oil filter after a few miles of running. Check the cleanliness of such oil when it is removed and look for particles of metal in it as most unrestored Vins have such debris in their various catchment areas.

 

[bmetcalf]

As a start, you should get the RIDER'S HANDBOOK from http://www.vincentspares.co.uk/ or your 'local' Vincent parts supplier to help you with questions such as where the oil filter is. Prior Brit bike experience is very helpful, but the idiosyncrasies make Vins a challenge without some references to help you. The filter is under the magneto behind a big brass plug, same spanner size as the valve inspection caps.

 

[Paul Lowsley]

Thanks for that Bruce, the guy I bought the bike off gave me a couple of manuals including the riders handbook which seems to cover most things.
Probably got enough info now to sort the lubrication out, next thing will be to see if there's a spark at the plug!

 

[Bill Thomas]

Hello Paul, I have held back, Hoping someone would be able to help, I think you have taken on a big job!, I can see you are of an age ! And you sound like your up for it , But these are tricky bikes, Any chance of going to the local VOC section, It would be nice if somebody could be hands on for you, Give us a clue as to where you live, There is so much to learn, A lot of us have been doing it for 50 years, And still learning ! It's not poss' to put it in to a few words, Good Luck, Bill.