I'd wanted a Sprint since my youth. Well, some 35+ years later I finally found one I could buy. With my tax return in pocket, I scoured eBay and found one not too far away and the seller would deliver. I paid $2200 for the '69 and the seller assured me it was in very good condition and ran well.

Actual auction pic:


Kayleigh riding it, fightning that damn clutch!


Well, it was delivered, and it started up, but because it was mid February in Michigan, I didn't ride it. I paid the man and off he went down the road. Well, a few weeks later it was warm enough to pull it out and go for a test ride. I heard rattles on the bike I hadn't heard before, and the clutch was very, very hard to pull. I decided to open up the clutch, and when I did I found that all but three of the teeth on the clutch plates were busted! I ordered some replacement plates, and decided to take the tins off and repaint. Once the tins were off I discovered that all but one of the motor mount welds were broken. I took the bike to the local Indy shop and had the mounts rewelded, and painted the tins at home.

The paint scheme I went for was a stock look, with non-stock colors. In fact, my daughter picked out the colors, black with a bright metallic orange.

Once I had installed the new clutch plates, and put it all back together, it runs and rides like a champ. My daughter LOVES to ride this bike! Though I probably have about $2700 into it, which includes the paint, it's worth every penny. It gets attention wherever I take it, and my daughter gets to claim that she rides a Harley! Here's some after pics:



No trouble with the clutch now!

This post was last modified: 11-04-2007 02:08 PM by Alleydude.

That is a sharp looking bike. I do not see a lot of difference between the two years other than a few extra horses. I discovered the orange paint on mine while stripping it down. I also know, at least on mine, that the choke does not affect the starting. I have got a "primer" on it and as long as you run the carb out of gas when you shut down, it starts great. It is a lot easier getting parts for my sprint, Moto Italia(Leslie), than it is to find parts for my 68 sportster. Have fun with your bike. It is a looker and I wonder how many are left.

Thanks! I have really fallen in love with it. I told my wife if worse came to worse, and I had to sell all my toys, the Sprint would be the last to go.

I sold two toys, a Honda XR 650 and a four wheeler, to keep my ex happy last time. This time around, new wife, I am not getting rid of any of my toys. It would be like selling one of the kids. I got a wife that likes bikes. What I was thinking with the last wife, who knows!
I'd rather live in a refrigerator box than give up my sprint.

Great colors! and I like the Triumph lookin Pea-shooters too.

Great colors! and I like the Triumph lookin Pea-shooters too.

I've actualy had people ask me if it was a Triumph because of those pipes. The logo on the tank wasn't enough to tell them differently...

Great story and a great looking bike.

Wondering about that clutch....

My girlfriend just bought a 1973 Sprint with an American Easy Rider side car on it from a "collector" The bike looked to be in great shape, and he claimed only 2500 original miles, which is pretty believable. The tires looked to be original even, the oil was crystal clear, and the dipstick and inside of the crank case looked almost polished. Anyway, as we're riding it around, I start noticing problems. First complaint from my girlfriend is the clutch. She's got two other bikes, but the clutch is really really hard to pull for her, and for me, it's even a little hard. It's also flaky going between gears and a pain to find neutral. Probably worth investigating. I also wonder about the mechanics that have been working on it in the past - The chain is so damn tight - even when the bike is unloaded, that there's zero slack, and as a result, no suspension travel as the chain tries to stretch... which doesn't work. The starter is busted, but it looks like it just had some moisture, so a thorough cleaning of the brushes and commutator fixed that. Odd that such a simple fix wasn't done long ago. He kick started it, so he pulled off the left side passenger foot peg. More trouble than fixing the starter. The battery isn't charging either. Good thing it's got that tractor size battery.

Anyway, I'm wondering about that clutch - How exactly did it behave on yours? Should I tear it apart?

Thanks!

Andy Baker

Hi Andy! My clutch was extremely hard to pull initially. It might have been that it was tightened so much in order to make it work with so many broken teeth. I don't know if the '73 is a dry clutch or not. If it is, it's not really a big deal to pull the cover off and check into things. Shifting mine isn't a big deal, only getting into neutral successfully is a trick.

Definately loosen the chain. No need for it to be that tight.

Again,

my 73 350ss is dry clutch