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[windmill john]

Ahh, I read your post as if you cut it open and then fit it.... in fact it still reads like that

[stinkwheel]

Ahh, I read your post as if you cut it open and then fit it.... in fact it still reads like that

Ah well, all cleared up now. I think the important word was "old". Maybe I should have substituted "used".

[Adrian]

There was a bit of a fad 30-odd years ago for plumbing Norton Commando remote oil filter mounts and cartridges into classic British bikes' return oil lines when the likes of Triumph twins and BSA unit singles just relied on gauze strainers in the oil tank.

The Bullet actually has (by the standards of the day) a reasonable attempt at an oil filter on the FEED side, however, you can also get problems on the SCAVENGE side. There's only a fairly coarse gauze strainer plug to protect the return/rocker feed, and it's not unknown for smaller metallic debris (which is too fine for the gauze to catch) from the engine to get sucked out of the sump with the oil and build up around the rocker feed until it gets blocked. On later Indian Bullets with no pressure relief valve this can cause grief for the oil pump spindle also putting the feed side oil supply at risk. On an Electra-X the particles from a failing big-end pin (again, the bits that are too fine for the gauze) can also make a mess of the scavenge pump body, which unfortunately is also part of timing cover. Clue: sump magnets!

On the subject of the Electra-X, the oil filter is similar in principle to the older Bullet but it's not interchangeable.

There is nothing to stop you plumbing a Norton Commando filter into the rocker feed line, I have seen pictures where it has been done very neatly, though you'll be having fun with brackets and pipe fittings (the feed pipe stubs on the Norton filter mount are 3/8", the rocker feed pipe is 3/16").

As an alternative to the Norton Commando filter you might get the diesel fuel filter used on Indian diesel Bullets to do the job.

A.

[John-M]

I think that if you are using the bike as an occasional toy rather than a high mileage slogger, any wear will be minimal in any case.
Modern oils have come on in leaps and bounds, once upon a time, old engines were full of black sludge and crap, you don't seem to see it any more.

[Beezabryan]

I really like Stinkwheel's comment - It's said you can't polish a turd but you can roll one in glitter.