I used to own one of these in 1970. It was a fast and fun bike for the days, but had a lot of vibrations! I managed to damage the crankshaft by running a while on one cylinder to get home. That resulted in a knocking sound and a rather expensive rebuild. Then sold it. I many times regreted that decision! I wish I still had it, but in Norway there were only 3 of them at the time. Hard to find a good one these days. So nice to see one being treated as it should! Lol!
Had the earlier model of that 1966, fitted with amal gp2 cards 10.5 to 1 compression had to have 5 star petrol would never idle very high fuel consumption. I had to rebuild it when the fuel was discontinued due to high lead content fitted 9.5 to 1 pistons and concentric carbs, still went well but lost a lot of speed.
Nice build. Though you may already be aware, this appears to be a 1968 Spitfire. There were a bunch of A65SA bikes built with the Y suffix added: some were 1967 models with electrical upgrades, others were 1968 models in every way other than the VIN (the US model brochure for 1968 used such a bike on its cover). The way to know is that the cases differ quite a bit in 1968, including the transmission fill on the right-side case (moved to the inner timing cover) and the alternator stator mount on the left-side case. Assuming your frame matches the motor, it's likely the model year got incorrectly registered at some point in the last 50 years. In any case, happy that it's back on the road. Enjoy it and keep posting content.
Thanks for your comments👍 it’s a non matching number bike but the owners club have certified the engine and frame as 1967 Spitfire. I’m not really too worried either way though.
Great looking machine. I never liked the look of 'small tank' bikes, such as the BSA and Triumph models destined for the USA. The tank always looks like an add-on to me.
I’m no expert as this is the only British bike I’ve owned. Mine has a buzz through the handlebars but no real vibration issues. That said, I bought it in boxes and had the crank balanced during the rebuild so was never able to see it running before balancing.
Have a look at my 67 Spitfire which has the correct front brake and forks and not one from a 71 bike. The problem getting a 190mm genuine brake is that it might cost £1000
Hi, I haven’t looked as my remit was to build a Spitfire with the best available parts of its era and whatever modern day additions to make it ride as good as it could get. Museum pieces are good to look at but that’s not for me. This has the upgraded front end with better braking, upgraded electrics and lighting so I can see better. Dry belt driven clutch which is smooth and light. Due to the upgrades and modifications, it’s a great bike to ride and it doesn’t leak a drop of oil! I do understand where you are coming from though.
