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[Mark M]

Well done, good bikes aren't they! My 1966 Mk 1 does similar trips very comfortably. I have the 2.5 gallon export tank so petrol stops need to be carefully thought out though. I have fitted modern JE pistons to mine and valve stem oil seals so oil consumption is very low. Pilot tuning is a pain, you could try re-fitting brass float needles if you changed for new Viton type, this helped mine. Note: the 5 speed Indian box will not fit the Twins, the layshaft is too short. The one made for our Hosts will fit though. An alternative is to gear up to 21 on the gearbox sprocket, cruises a little more comfortably. By the way, did you get to see the previous owner and share his reaction?

REgards, Mark

[Adrian]

An Indian Bullet TLS front wheel will fit those forks, though you might only need to use the TLS brake plate in your existing front hub - getting a brake specialist to fit oversize linings and machine them to fit your hub would give you an improvement, or you could even fit the disk brake front end from an Electra-X or Electra EFI, possibly a B5 EFI Bullet, make sure it has the leading axle forks and the screw thread on the outside of the tops of the fork stanchions to fit the Interceptor top yoke.



A.

[OilyFingers]

Thanks everybody there are some pics up on the blog:

https://reinterceptor.wordpress.com/


Thanks for the advice on carbs and front brake.

[Adrian]

Having checked your pictures and noted that you have the double-sided 6" front brake, my post was in error, at least partly!



The one I had on my '57 Bullet seemed very good (AFTER I stripped and cleaned it and fitted new cables), but possibly not good enough for a 750 twin. The bike ended up in the hands of a clever French enthusiast who not only treated the bike to a ground-up rebuild but also converted the front brake to Four Leading Shoe operation (double TLS)! If you're interested I can see if I can find the link.



How good is the lighting with the Electrex stator kit?



A.

[Enfieldnomad]

I also have a 1965 Interceptor that I have spent the winter rebuilding/restoring. Mine had the 7" SLS front brake and all it took to install the Indian TLS was grinding off the flange for the felt washer so that it was flush with the front wheel bearing and using sealed bearings in place of the original. Also the original front brake cable is just a bit too long so I have it at the max of its adjustment just to get it to work so Hitchcocks sent me a cable they have specifically for this conversion part number 143321B. I just received it and haven't installed it yet.
My bike came with an entire extra front fork assembly, with a Bullet style nacelle and the 6" dual sided brake. I have no idea what bike it came off of but it is definitely Royal Enfield.

Damon

[Mark M]

The 1965 Interceptor was available in 2 versions, the Home Market (as Greasy's) had the twin 6" front brake, a different front mudguard from the Export and the nacelle as per the other Twins, the Bullet no longer being in production by this time. The Export version had the 7" single side front brake as fitted to the Crusader range with a mudguard with 3 stays, separate headlamp brackets and a twin clock top yoke. Mine is like this. There were some small variations during 1965 and early 1966 when production at Redditch ceased. These bikes are not well documented and the actual numbers produced in any variant may have been quite small. Pictures from American road tests of the time show some other variations as well, mostly with different sorts of seat. Quite a puzzle!

REgards, Mark

[Mark M]

Sorry, I forgot to clarify: Greasy's bike is a (I think) a mid year mix of the components I described, it shows how complicated this period was! There are detail differences on the fork sliders which were unique to the Interceptors which might show what model Nomad's extra forks came off.

REgards, Mark

[OilyFingers]

Thanks everybody.
The front brake is the twin sided 6" one. I have new cables and the modern exchange brake shoes from Hitchcocks. It will stop the bike OK ish with a mighty squeeze. With the assistance of the rear brake it is acceptable.


The headlight is poor but that is mainly because the reflector is now very dull. I rode it at dusk on Sunday (20:30 ish) and it made a nice orange patch on the road! I don't plan to ride it at night, if I do it would be in town with plenty of street lighting...

I do not use the Electrex lighting coil I simply use the charging coil to charge a modern 12v AGM 6ah battery and run everything off that.

I have an LED brake/rear bulb and an LED pilot light bulb up front and an LED bulb in the speedo. All good and bright.

It puzzles me why they made it originally with a magneto AND an alternator. It would have been quite easy to make a points and AR housing where the magneto attached... I know they went to points on the later Interceptors.

If I can ever find spare side covers and a chain guard I would paint them and use instead of the originals which have been touched up with "Royal Navy Red Lead and Graphite" paint by the original owner. Those , in conjunction with the new Series II chrome tank would make a very smart looking bike while retaining all the original patina parts if I ever sell it...

The bike was registered 14 April 1965 so built early 65 or even late 64?

Would it have been built in Redditch or Bradford on Avon?

[Mark M]

"The bike was registered 14 April 1965 so built early 65 or even late 64? Would it have been built in Redditch or Bradford on Avon?" The answer is, both! Enfield always built the singles at Redditch but when the first Twin (the 500 Twin) came out in 1950 the engines were built at Bradford on Avon in an ex-woollen mill called Greenland Mills which Enfield also owned as well as the underground factory at Westwood. Greenland Mills flooded regularly in those days so eventually Enfield moved the Twin engine manufacturing to the caves at Westwood and from then on all the twin engines were made there and shipped to Redditch for assembly into bikes. The Redditch Factory at Hunt End closed at some time in 1966 and all production of the new model Twin, the Interceptor Mk1A, was moved to Westwood for the next 4 years. Incidentally, Enfield was always an independent company at this time and not owned by Norton Villiers Triumph as is sometimes stated although NVT do seem to have been involved in the export of bikes to the US which might explain the confusion.

REgards, Mark

[vince]

Hi, to get these twin brakes to work the pivot mounts need to slide, unlike the rear brake pivot which need to be locked when adjusted. I have this type of backplate on single sided early bullet brake and is very good. The lack of that fixture is why the Indian brake is crap. Vince