1974 SFC
- Thread starter FNQ1000
- Start date
78jotadave
Hero member
Rob B you wrote ' I also rode my SFC, it has 29000 miles on the speedo and they're all mine except for the first couple of hundred. Back then it was just another bike and could be brought for not a lot of money. If I knew what I know today I'd have sent the SFC back to WA from San Francisco and carried on traveling with my SF2 instead of selling it to continue my world travels on the SFC. If that was the case then I'd have a virtually new SFC with very low miles sitting in the lounge room instead of a bike with lots of patina and no memories of the fun I had hooning around Nth America, Europe, IOM twice and some of the best roads in NSW and a few race tracks to boot.'
Good on you mate, that is exactly what you are supposed to do with an SFC, not sit around looking at it on a shelf. Cheers
Good on you mate, that is exactly what you are supposed to do with an SFC, not sit around looking at it on a shelf. Cheers
helicopterjim
Hero member
- Location
- near Lone Butte, BC, Canada
MarnixSFC said:
Interesting. Mine came with the later style. Maybe some of the the second batch had them.
Jim
MarnixSFC
Hero member
That whole batch rolled off the production line in May 1974, usually they built between 10 - 20 SFCs per day.
Shipments to US left the factory early June and early July.
If yours came with the later bracket then it?s more likely thanks to pro-active importers Continental or dealer.
Marnix
Shipments to US left the factory early June and early July.
If yours came with the later bracket then it?s more likely thanks to pro-active importers Continental or dealer.
Marnix
Tippie
Hero member
- Location
- Dr?bak, Norway
And we were all very happy.sfcpiet said:
MarnixSFC
Hero member
I wasn?t happy at all with the new bracket because of the ugly flat position of the clocks. I understand that on a triple with its short tank that position was more logical, but on the 750SF it spoiled the looks in my view.
I solved it by cutting up the alloy bracket and welding it to the upper triple clamp. A bold step, but it was a neat and stylish solution and it stayed there for more than 35 years until my high speed crash at Zandvoort in 2013.
Now I have a newly made version of the original steel bracket, back to the roots so to say, so far so good..
Marnix
I solved it by cutting up the alloy bracket and welding it to the upper triple clamp. A bold step, but it was a neat and stylish solution and it stayed there for more than 35 years until my high speed crash at Zandvoort in 2013.
Now I have a newly made version of the original steel bracket, back to the roots so to say, so far so good..
Marnix
helicopterjim
Hero member
- Location
- near Lone Butte, BC, Canada
MarnixSFC said:
Thanks for that info Marnix. I am afraid I am back to square one anyways as when I started assembling the bike a while back I found that I had lost the bracket. I am going to go the route of clip-ons and Smiths tachometer now. I guess I'll have some spare clocks now.
My bike came through Continental then when unsold ended up in Montreal in spring of 1975 and came to Ontario shortly after that and in 1978 it came into my possession.
Jim
helicopterjim
Hero member
- Location
- near Lone Butte, BC, Canada
sfcpiet said:
My 3c is a 1975 model and has the alloy bracket.
Jim
helicopterjim
Hero member
- Location
- near Lone Butte, BC, Canada
MarnixSFC said:The bracket for the Smiths rev counter hardly ever breaks!
Marnix
I have the bracket from Wolfgang and I have the tacho. I have clip-ons but not happy with the angle. Too flat.
Jim
mcnicol
Hero member
- Location
- Safety Harbor, Florida, USA
Jim
Clipons too flat? 2 kg sledgehammer. Too crude? 2 m waterpipe. OK, maybe some heat, but if you can do it without then why bother?
Ken
Clipons too flat? 2 kg sledgehammer. Too crude? 2 m waterpipe. OK, maybe some heat, but if you can do it without then why bother?
Ken
The Sock
Hero member
- Location
- London, England
sfcpiet said:
With respect Piet, that information regarding the alloy brackets is misleading.
I took mine out of its crate in June '76 and it has an alloy bracket. The Owner's Handbook, which came with it, contains a parts list (I can scan it, if required) which shows the alloy bracket and gives the part number "21114133 16 Instrument Support Complete".
TBH as far as I'm aware, they started making 3CLs in '75.
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The Sock said:
Do you have a 3C or a 3CL? Not apparent from your pic. June '76 would point to a 3CL.
Production of '76 3CL models would have commenced September '75, when the factory resumed work after works vacation.
I also posess a wire-wheel 3C maintenance manual/parts list showing the alloy bracket. But, the second page also shows a factory photo of a 3CL, so the list was apparently printed after the 3CL was introduced. Please refer to my comment "The alloy bracket doesn't show in parts books until the 3CL was introduced." The alloy bracket was apparently an upgrade that was integrated into the lists for previous models. The original type bracket was probably completely phased out and no longer made available by that time.
One of my next projects is a 1975 3C, still in bits and boxes, this has the pressed steel bracket. This was an original bike, disassembled by the PO many moons ago and passed on as an unfinished project.
piet
The Sock
Hero member
- Location
- London, England
Mine's a 3cE, wire wheeled with drum rear.
My hand book, on page 5, shows a horns-on-oil cooler 3c and is, IIRC, listed as "SETTEMBRE 1974- Printed in Italy".
I also have a later 3CL/Jota Handbook, which has the page 5 photo of a cast wheel bike and no Parts List. It's listed as "SETTEMBRE 1977- Printed in Italy"
My hand book, on page 5, shows a horns-on-oil cooler 3c and is, IIRC, listed as "SETTEMBRE 1974- Printed in Italy".
I also have a later 3CL/Jota Handbook, which has the page 5 photo of a cast wheel bike and no Parts List. It's listed as "SETTEMBRE 1977- Printed in Italy"
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Tippie
Hero member
- Location
- Dr?bak, Norway
We will have to send this one to instrument bracket arbitration!
Can anyone enlighten me on what a 3CE is. We never saw this model designation in Australia.
Can anyone enlighten me on what a 3CE is. We never saw this model designation in Australia.
lavgert
Hero member
- Location
- Vienna, Austria
sfcpiet said:
Hi Piet, I had a look to my manuals collection and I have to disagree: The 1000 3C manual from April 1975 has already the alloy bracket in the parts list, as well as the 750 SF2 manual from May 1975.
Ciao, Gert
tom3c75
Hero member
- Location
- Cape Town South Africa
Piet, I can confirm what Sock has explained.
My 3C was also removed from the crate in 1976.
It has, and was delivered from the factory, with the new style instrument mount.
My 3C "Operation and Maintenance Spare Parts List" owners manual clearly shows the new part, which is referenced with the number Sock provided.
I'd need to dig up my purchase documents, but I suspect the bike reached our shores in Dec 1975.
I bought it new in Jan 1976.
Tom
My 3C was also removed from the crate in 1976.
It has, and was delivered from the factory, with the new style instrument mount.
My 3C "Operation and Maintenance Spare Parts List" owners manual clearly shows the new part, which is referenced with the number Sock provided.
I'd need to dig up my purchase documents, but I suspect the bike reached our shores in Dec 1975.
I bought it new in Jan 1976.
Tom
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Laverdalothar
Hero member
- Location
- Germany
I feel that last one at least is in line with Piet's comments: 3CL was a 1976 Model, but produced in 1975. So - if the 3CL came originally with the alloy bracket, a 3C/1 produced late in 1975 could have had it from new, too. Production normally changed in Summer and the 1976 Model were produced after the summer brake. Not sure when you ordered yours, but that might explain the overlap.