BSA A65 engine timing side inspection.

[@mrp410]

Nice work Paul. Your patience and determination is obvious and I for one am learning a lot from you on this journey. Keep going mate!

[@Grumszy]

Always take your bike to an expert like Paul...will save you a lot of time and money in the long run...great vid.

[@iandeumayne-jones1557]

Jeez Paul. It's criminal what someone has done and then taken good money for a disastrous bike.

[@AB-bf9ne]

Bloody interesting this. Would never have spotted that. Been in a similar situation with a mix of worn and new parts. Great work but if I were the owner i would be back to the restorer with the bill and then small claims. Too much of this about. Great work! You are a master sir.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Thank you!

[@derekcollins1972]

It is too bad for sure but unfortunately this is the chance you take as with buying anything second hand.

[@colinhall8998]

If this bike was advertised as restored or good condition I’d be contacting the ‘defendant’. The new owner will win 100% in a small claims court.

[@norsehall309]

G'day from Australia Paul, a total rebuild of the motor, if l was the owner l would want nothing less if faced with the evidence you have presented, your like a Terrier down a Rabbit hole you don't give up, cheers mate, Neil 🤠.

[@GTMarmot]

Paul I don't know if you already know this but apologies if you do. Anyway, "Arndt" Allen keys (made in Germany, properly old-school tempered steel) are the best of the best. Never any rounding off, and you can put a huge lever on them and go for it when undoing stubborn Allen bolts. I highly recommend them.

[@rogerlishman2532]

Jeepers Paul, this is a labour of love! Looking forward to the weld repair on the bridge piece (if you go ahead with it). Has a sort of Allen Millyard feel to it.

[@peterparsons3297]

the bush on my Lightning Clubman used to work its self out and get worn away by the timing gears, no amount or loctite would keep it in place, replacement crank shells bush and bearings... a thousand miles and it did it again. last time it did it i didn't bother fixing it. it was quite a nice bike and quite quick but when you use it for transport

[@neilmcintosh1200]

Not "just overhauled" ready for sale then, but badly done a while back. I'm surprised there were not more leaks.

[@johnmarsh2078]

Either the crankshaft end is oval or thr bush has worn oval. I'm inclined to think that a new bush was fitted to a worn crank journal for speed's sake. won't cost just pence. Then there is the question of an undersize bush which may be a custom job. With the loss of pressure to the big ends, it a good job you didn't wring the engine's neck. Looking forward to more exploration.

[@derekcollins1972]

It could be possible that the play in the main bush bearing might even be greater if the idle gear wasnt being used as a stopper. Enjoying these vids and always learning from you.

[@andrewslattery403]

Going to be an expensive exercise.... Got to feel for the owner.

[@williamnethercott4364]

I was thinking about the possible failure modes of this engine. It could be very dangerous if you hadn't investigated. It makes me wonder whether somebody has blown it up in the past.

[@4speed3pedals]

The guy that sold this bike as being restored should have a law suit filed against him.

[@markalton2809]

Caveat Emptor, old bean.

[@nigelbaldwin752]

I guess it was restored but engine wise that restoation was of a VERY poor standard.

[@richardburchill8740]

@@nigelbaldwin752 Half a tube of solvo and hey presto!

[@otooled]

Ive watched each episode and waited with baited breath for the next one. 😂

[@learningturningmetal]

Oh dear - another issue added to the list. Did you manage to get a bore gauge in the cylinders to work out how much piston slap there is? Looked like you could drive a horse and cart through the gap. What a nightmare!

[@ParaBellum2024]

Have you got an impact driver (not a gun, but a heavy screwdriver that you hit with a hammer)? I had to use one to separate cases like that, when the screws were super-tight.

[@Honkawsuzyamal]

This is EXACTLY what I have experienced when working on this type of motorcycle. Restored - my butt! Also 2 thou movement in a journal bearing has always felt more than it actually is

[@bsa_brummie7775]

All that wear adds up and compounds the problem. It would be best to rebuild that bottom end / motor. You are bound to find further problems when none of these issues have been addressed. Rebuilt?

[@florabee9283]

I suppose since it’s got to be split for welding anyway it’s sort of good that there’s multiple reasons for such an invasive task. The owner may wish to have a chat with the seller for at least informative purposes.

[@wdhewson]

To get that crank bush play measured, do you have to take that intermediate timing gear off? Teeth could be contacting before the crank has moved its maximum.

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Watching the oil squishing in the edge of the bush, I would say that we are seeing the total movement, I have seen more in other engines in this area, so there is plenty of free space between the gear teeth, and most of the wear will be in the lower part of the bush, away from the timing gear.

[@guitarzanbikes1862]

Thrown together cheaply to sell it to some unsuspecting punter is what it looks like to me Paul. You know the horrors you'll find as you go deeper, sludge trap dirty, crank not shimmed right, big ends out of spec, drive side bearing turning in case housing, all add up to a rough running rattling & knocking A65!

[@tphvictims5101]

I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.

[@TrustMeiamaD.R.]

I hope you got an apprentice m8. All your skills are dying out. Soon the Uk won't be able to turn a widget. Love from Downunder. ❤

[@madeinyorkshire52]

I can loan you some stud extractors if you need them :) - but you’d need to drill small holes (centrally) into each allen socket bolt

[@shingerz]

How about engine rebuild then because primary chain tightening it knackers the main bearing and timing side bush this is what's happened to my a10 it's devastating I feel for the owner good video 👍

[@mickbrown8249]

Yes fully aware of last Comment'S Paul.

[@jjrider6758]

I feel quite disgusted that someone (probably a biker themselves..) has actually deemed it acceptable to con another this badly with this atrocious lash-up.. I find it almost impossible to understand how there could be this much wear and damage and this many stripped threads in just one engine.. Is ANYBODY that INCOMPETENT and HAMFISTED or was this engine a deliberately thrown together bodge of loose parts just to enable the seller to flog the bike?.. I feel really sorry for the owner.. Whether it was done knowingly or not, dumping this level of mechanical devastation on an unwitting buyer is exactly the kind of despicable act that could well put this person off classic bikes for good..

[@roybartran6756]

connecting rod probably hit that crankcase support and also cracked that cylinder flange.

[@derekcollins1972]

Or the primary side main bearing let go.

[@rodrigoantunes8502]

and when the engine gets hot that play doesnt desappear a bit???

[@tphvictims5101]

Back in the day they ran like a gorilla with a bent banana in its bum. They definitely had the Bark as well.

[@dennisbailey6067]

Before long,there will be very few that have the skills to work on petrol motors.Updating facebook and playing video games just won't suffice as training.Maybe there will be a week long course in how to plug in an EV??

[@ralphjohnson4041]

Wouldn’t varying play indicate a bent crankshaft?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

More likely to be lop sided wear on the journal, which is quite a usual wear pattern around bdc.

[@LeytonC]

So what was on the Allen bolts? Did heat shift them easily?

[@paulhenshaw4514]

Nothing, as it happened - just tightened by a gorilla!

[@LeytonC]

@@paulhenshaw4514 Excellent - cannot leave us hanging there Paul!

[@raycollington4310]

One thousandth of an inch is nothing in the Harley Davidson world, they measure run out in feet. I reckon this engine needs to be fully stripped and overhauled. Thanks Paul.

[@richardsouthey430]

O dear that's not looking good, it's all adding up, at least you can fix it .Richard

[@grahamseward1388]

I think 0.001" is acceptable Tolerance

[@carlstark6857]

Timing side bush in poor idea needs bearing conversion if doing lots of miles and a inline filter on return side for me

[@dog8nut]

I've always said people would attempt "repairs" on a M/C they would never try on a car. I think those pistons are a higher compression than corect for stock,which will not improve smoothness. Worked on more than a few Triumph 650's that people tried to improve with 12.5 comp pistons . Even back in the early 70's when good gas was still around saw more than one engine with holes in the piston tops.

[@JeremyFairbairn-mv3sz]

i would not be happy with it at all

[@tphvictims5101]

I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.

[@tphvictims5101]

I was thinking about a large soldering iron with a hex key or Phillips head to heat up the lock tite and not melt the cases. I’m going to try it on t6 and t8 screws in my pocket knives. And fishing reels.