The Acquisition

The Acquisition- initial description and survey

Responding to a Facebook market place ad, I snapped up this project Francis Barnet Plover from 1960. I'd never had a  FB bike and as I'd got several books on Villiers motors I was keen to continue my investigation into two strokes. As usual I paid too much and failed to ask the correct questions (through ignorance) but it seemed an achievable challenge to restore or quickly flip, whilst the vendor appeared honest and open, and the bike appeared to be pretty much complete.

The first signs I'd got the wrong bike were when I discovered this was a Plover 86- fitted with an AMC 15T motor that seems to be universally panned in the opinions of many FB owners and writers. I'm not too bothered about this because the motor was widespread and used in the Bantam as well and frankly most of the detractors have either not owned such a motor or cannot tell me what its weak points are anyway. Finally Motor Cycling magazine on August 1960 stated that the engine was so simple to maintain that their service review left much of it out in favour of covering other items! This particular bike was a non-runner lacking a sparkplug cap, but it did turn over with decent feeling compression and given the comment above I was confident I could fettle it. However spares are harder to come by and this did concern me.

Other problems immediately apparent were (as the vendor stated) the fuel tank which would clearly need attention- it had no cap- a defective tap and only one tank badge. It was also thickly clagged in primer and several coats of paint and obviously rusty inside. 

The rear brake was disconnected (although apparently present) and the front wheel fouled the forks when the bike was wheeled- at first that concerned me in case it meant the frame or forks might be bent although everything looked straight enough by eye. Closer inspction showed that in their haste to reassemble the bike theyd regitted the front wheel the wrong way round. To be fair its a natural mistake as most bikes have the brake plate on the right... the same side as the fr brake lever, but this bike should have the brake plate on the left so this should be a simple fix. The speedo cable was missing and the remaining cables were in poor condition. Finally there was no battery and I was told there were electrical problems. 

These pictures were taken when I'd got the thing home. At that point it became clear that the bike had been dismantled recently and only loosely reassembled for sale- luckily nearly everything appeared to be there and the bike even came with some extras- a rear carrier and a pair leg shields although no fitting kit for either. The battery cover missing in the pictures was provided separately in the accompanying box of bits. The bike also sported pannier frames although these were disconnected at the rear and the bench seat had recently been recovered and was only rested in position. Its a shame the recovering work was done in green instead of black although this may have been original. The cycle parts weren't too bad with most recently repainted and in good condition. An extra tin of two-pack colour matched paint was also provided.

The bike as received- note missing battery cover, chaotic jumble of cables inside and badly mis-painted fuel tank.

Relatively low mileage at 9811- no guarantee of course. The speedo glass is cracked and the lighting switch appears partially melted.

Front view- headlamp not sure that the footpegs are even.

Rear view- bike appears to have pannier frames fitted but flapping loose, exhaust looks new.

Side view- nicely repainted frame with what I'm assuming are new transfers.

Transfers look new- frame looks to have been newly painted. The carburettor is present but detached from the tank pipe and the pancake air filter is missing

Single tank badge-but sadly cracked

Recovered bench seat- not crazy on the colour. Stated this was a professional job but I'm not convinced because...

Saddle removed, the pannier frames are not bolted to the mudguard. The attachment holes are evident  but no bolts were supplied. It seems that these bolts should also pass through the saddle but unfortunately the new saddle had not been pierced for the bolt attachment.

When the saddle was refitted in position its clear that not only are the bolts which should penetrate the bench seat missing, but the seat cover itself hasn't been perforated. It should have grommeted holes for these bolts to pass through. Currently I'm not sure whether the pannier frames should be fitted over, or under the bench seat.

Rear Carrier- no fitting kit- for angled  rods required as in the example below.

Picture for reference- complete Plover. Note rear carrier support method.

Pair of leg shields (unpainted)

Unknown component- possibly leg shield fitting bracket?

If this bike can be made to run then it would be worth taking the resto farther onward so this was the first priority. The vendor had stated that he'd not run it but had been assured when he had bought it, that it was in running condition- well I've heard that one before. The seller hadn't tried to run it because it had no plug cap (which seemed a pretty poor reason), and he was clearly concerned about the state of the tank (see on). I too was worried that the tank might be perforated but I wasn't going to get into that unless the motor could run. I fitted a plug cap and turned it over- to my delight I did get a spark. I then hooked up a temporary fuel tank and ran fuel into the carb before trying to start the motor. To my delight (and although I had just about given up) the motor suddenly sprang into life and ran really nicely; no nasty noises and good throttle response. I will clean out the carb at some point and service the motor plugs and points, but clearly no serious problems with any of that at present. The bike has no kill switch and apparently should simply be choked off by closing the throttle. I don't know if that method works as I didn't test it- being forced to stop it by removing the plug cap!

Fuel Tank

As stated above the tank was badly painted outside and rusty inside. It lacked a fuel cap and the tap was broken. I tried to get a replacement plover cap but failed- sadly the cap isn't illustrated in the Parts manual so I'm not sure what it should look like. It also changed through the years so its not clear to me what the fuel cap  should actually look like. It is however quite small and a generic replacement wasn't obvious either. the FBOC members tip told me that the oil cap from a Triumph 3TA would fit so I got one of those. The part was relatively cheap as a used item (around £12) and it did fit- although its really tight to screw on and I have doubts as to whether its properly vented. However as a short-term fix I think it should do well.

Tank cap fitting seems badly pitted.

The fuel tap was an odd fit fastening onto an adapter shown below. This caused me some concern because these tanks are usually BSP threaded although the adaptor was 1/2 UNC 18tpi. 

Fuel tap adapter removed from tank- wider end 1/2" 18tpi fits into the tank and the narrower section fits into a female threaded fuel tap. 

The whole thing seemed to fit poorly in the tank and the threads were initially hard to identify. Further I couldn't find another female threaded tap compatible with the narrower thread. I concluded this was a later addition and the tank was probably actually a 1/4 BSP thread. Fuel taps in this size were easily sourced. I bought a replacement and also an HSS 1/4 BSP tap to chase out the threads in the tank and hopefully rectify any damage caused by using this poorly fitting substitute.

I stripped the tank using paint stripper although this took some 4 days because of the different types of paint. Its a very messy job but eventually I got the tank down to bare steel. I'd intended to strip it to bare metal because of the concerns expressed by the vendor. In fact I was delighted as all the seams seemed intact- there were no obvious holes and the only damage I uncovered was filler applied to two dents. As long as these are dents and not holes they should not be a problem. However, clearly I will eventually need to refill and smooth these areas before painting. It would be good if I could insert a spoon dolly and try to relieve the dent before refilling.

Stripped tank- bare steel- patches of filler evident on right hand side- left side looks very good.

Tank seams appeared in good condition

I stopped the fuel tap hole with a bung...

before filling the tank with POR15 degreasant and shaking with nuts to dislodge any loose sediment. 

Washing tank inside and out- shake with a handful of nuts inside to clean.

I then rinsed 2% citric acid and leaving it over the weekend in 2% citric acid to derust.

Electrics

When I'd run the bike I had tried to operate the electrics- the lights et cetera ought to operate directly from the bikes magneto; however all were inoperative- nothing worked except the ignition circuit. Inspecting this bike showed that the owner had at some stage invested in the rectifier wiring system. Incredibly this was an extra at the time and allowed the bike's alternator to charge the battery which otherwise was simply a disposable dry cell- like any torch battery! This system obviously needs a battery and sadly mine was missing. Even so the lights etc should have worked and this reminded me of the unspecified "electrical problems" alluded to by the vendor. I therefore started to inspect the wiring and discovered that not only was the battery missing but the connection leads had been removed, the earth contact detached and many new wires inserted with taped (unsoldered) joints and frequent flex colour changes. 

I started from the obvious point (rectifier and worked my way backwards repairing joints and inserting flex of the correct colour, reconnecting the leads with Lucas bullet connectors. I had to modify the wiring a little by providing more access points (bullet sites) to avoid the original requirement to stuff several wires into one bullet.

I eventually reconstructed the missing connections and was able to insert a 6v 6n4b battery, wiring it as positive earth using red flex- live used brown. 

I reconnected the horn and the rear light. However even when the battery was inserted there was still no activity from the lighting or horn. The latter was simply wired the wrong way round which for DC makes a difference. I tested the bulbs and discovered that rear light- headlight (both dip and main) were in working condition. The speedo illumination light had been changed for an incorrect bulb holder that was jammed poorly into the gauge. It was also not working and when tested in direct connection with the battery illuminated only poorly. This was explained as examination revealed that the bulb had been changed for a 24V BA9 unit for which the  6v feed was obviously inadequate! The BA9 holder was clearly too large for the socket in the gauge.

Poorly fitting gauge light stuffed loosely into the speedo- I will need to replace this bulb holder.

Headlamp bulb wasn't operative in position and the sidelight (parking light) plug is missing completely

I could however detect battery power coming in to the lighting union multiplug shown detached from the switch here and it seemed therefore that the switch was probably defective..

Lighting Switch

I removed the lighting switch (Wipac SO781) which was visually in poor condition showing signs of overheating or partial melting. The black indicator switch is simply a push fit on the stem and just pulls off the nacelle. The switch is then held by a single ring nut, remove this and the switch body is released from inside the headlamp shell. 

Headlamp switch removed.

The switch has 9 spades that connect inside the loom multiplug. However I found that the switch was unable to connect any of these to the "power in" spade in any position. Clearly this switch is defective. I ordered a replacement but these are largely replicas and have 10 spades instead of 9. I eventually purchased a Tiger cub switch which does have the 9 pin configuration. 

Dismantling

However- I would like to preserve the original if possible so I took it apart by carefully levering up the retaining tags visible in the rear. The switch then came apart easily revealing the problems. The spades remain attached to the fibre baseplate. Removing this reveals a fibre washer that lifts off to reveal the internal workings. The switch consists of three sprung bearing contacts- in my case all springs were dirty and two of the bearings had detached. The springs looked weak but were also clogged with dirt. Obviously reassembling something like this is unlikely to work- but I decided to give it a try- step one being to clean all the components in the sonicator.

Components of the switch before cleaning- note heat damage to the black switch knob and loose balls inside.

I'm hoping that refitting the balls and cleaning the contacts will restore this switch so I'll put it back together and try it before replacing it with a replica. Reassembly is very difficult but I have had success in the past using superglue to hold the balls onto the springs whilst the switch is reassembled. The glue will fail when the switch is used but by this time the balls should be retained in their detents and so function correctly.

Once cleaned the spring holder section lifted out of the case and the springs and balls were removed. The rear of this spring holder section has a cut-out that limits rotation of the switch and this must be refitted over the lug in the base of the case.

Spring-holder lifts out of the case- balls and springs removed.

Components separated- note that the case contains an upright spade fitting (here 11 O'clock) which serves to orient metal case and the fibre spade-holding base section. 

The upright spade is seen better in this view, it should penetrate the fibre base and presumably emerge through (making contact with) the slot in the brass section.

 Its vital that the balls remain in place during reassembly-  to hold them I carefully dipped the end of each spring into superglue and then glued a ball to the end (note the spring has 2 ends- one dished for the ball and one that tapers to  a slight point- stick the ball in the end that looks most like a cup.

Dipping the spring in superglue

Two springs glued to their balls.

Insert the springs- you can use a little more glue to fix them in the holder section, and then refit that section in the case taking care to align the cut out so that switch rotation is limited.

Better view showing the tang underneath the ball-holding section and the cut-out n the switch case that this must fit into- this limits switch movement to the three positions H off and L.

Balls and springs stuck in place

... and refit the washer

Washer cover fitted

The tricky part is now refitting the spade base- this is a tight fit over the balls and can push them off their springs again (believe me I know). The fibre spade-holding section has to be refitted aligning the slot for the missing terminal with the internal spade in the case. It is possible to position this such that a spade covers each ball and so presses each of them inwards against the spring as the section is fitted. As an alternative a narrow strip of plastic from a plastic component bag can be cut and wrapped tightly around the ball section. Secure it with a staple thus squeezing the balls back against their springs. If this is routed carefully between the spades of the cover section it should hold the balls in whilst the spade section is fitted and can then be pulled out once the section is in place. Whichever way you do it, it WILL be fiddly and will take several attempts. Always do this over a tray lined with soft paper as the balls WILL probably drop out in some attempts and are easily lost.

Switch body reassembled.

Rear Light 

The rear light also shows signs of overheating- possibly due to incorrect bulb wattage, or possibly over voltage operation as this bike lacks a voltage regulator.

Sadly, this pattern is no longer available, even as a replica, which is a real shame as this design has great character. This design apparently predates the requirement in UK law for reflectors to be circular and this one sports a nice square section. Modern replacements are available but these have a round reflector and most sadly lack the top ridge. However- hopefully this should fit into the same lamp base.  

Original rear light- note top ridge and square reflector section. The lamp has obviously suffered from overheating and can't be cleaned up well enough for a UK MOT.

Removing the cover shows that this light unit actually accepts 3 bulbs- two MES 1.8W at each side act as a stop light when a stop switch is connected. The centre Bayonet bulb (1.8W) acts as the tail light and is activated by the light switch.

Replacement NOS Wipac rear light lens S179

The replacement reflector S179 is an original Wipac part but sadly has lost the screw guide on the left side. 

I will have to make a new insert in plastic in order to refit.. The right side has already had a repair largely based on Araldite but to do the left I wanted to rely on more than just glue so I opened the hole u and rounded it  using a hand-held 9mm drill bit. I could then tap the hole to M10- again using hand held tap.

Prepared reflector- note threads cut inside the bore.

I turned down a plastic rod to 10mm and threaded it to M10 using a hand held die. Finally I drilled it through using a 5mm bit to create an plastic insert and screw guide.

Plastic insert plug as made

... and plug inserted.

Finally the new reflector was fitted to the bike.

Replacement reflector fitted

Battery

This bike lacked the battery that it must once have had. Sadly the parts manual gives no clue as to where this was mounted and although it states that a "battery bracket" is illustrated- actually it isn't! I'm assuming that the battery must have been laced behind the helpfully named "battery cover" and I'm assuming it would have stood on the small shelf like projection on the left side of the bike  and rested against the antivibration mat stuck on the panel in this region. However, at present there is no trace of any fastening mechanism which must have been present to hold it in place (Wire clip or rubber strap?). Another owner suggested that there is a bracket attached to the frame cross tube that can be rotated to secure it. I do have something similar but the battery I've obtained is too small to connect with it. I will have to make something to do the job.

Battery shelf?

Battery shelf and anti-vibration rear mat seen from above

Speedometer light

The speedometer is a Smiths  4  inch instrument. Sadly the glass on mine is cracked and the bulb holder provided doesn't fit in the spigot on the rear. The distortion this has caused is obvious below. In order to address this I removed the speed- its the usual 2 nut bracket fitted to the rear- 3 BA size nuts. Its a bit awkward but not difficult- much easier with a BA socket and ratchet handle. The bracket then comes off and the speedo just presses out from the bottom. 

I was pretty sure all Smiths Gauges take the same bulb holder and BA9 bulb. I removed the holder from a Spare Smiths clock I'm keeping for my MGB and this is compared with the holder removed from the speedo below. The narrow section is actually a good push fit in the speedo but even so the bulb causes a distortion- possibly through a lump of solder just below the glass. In any event this holder cannot fit up inside the instrument and it must do this or the part left protruding is pushed out of place by the headlamp unit when its refitted. At this point I'm considering that this might require a smaller bulb and holder so I've ordered a BA7s fitting.

Bulb holder supplied with this bike (Left) and from a Smiths clock (Right). Both are the same diameter and neither will fit into the speedo without distorting the mounting

Ba7 fitting was fine for the speedo so I'm awaiting a 1.8w BA7s bulb- I also need a 1.8W MES bulb for the sidelight (parking light) inset into the headlight unit and a further two for the rear stop light when this is eventually reinstated- I have no stop switch.