Does the O ring on the touring models oil drain plug seat in a groove under the hex head of the drain plug? Should it be visible when the plug is tightened?

 

Yes, no

 

Nothing I can add to xcbullet's reply! So which model BSA is that in your photo?

 

When I looked at my 14 it looks as if the o-ring compresses in the hole to seal. No grove on mine.

 

1969 441 Victor Special

 

Here in the UK my brother bought a B44 street version around the same time! Not his, but close enough:

 

That bike is sweet. I love the old british bikes! Dream of owning a Norton commando some day. They are pricey in the states though!
Have you ever visited the ACE cafe?

 

A college friend was a development engineer at Norton, working on the Commando and experimental projects! I rode an experimental 830, long before they were announced. The Ace is around 40 miles away, but to be honest I've never visited in it's current incarnation, only a very long time ago while it was still a transport cafe. I suppose it's close enough that I can go when I fancy, but haven't yet found the urge!

As for British bike prices, they are silly over here as well. I tried to buy a Vincent twin around 1970, when they were dirt cheap, but also knackered and nobody was prepared to invest the money to restore them. I couldn't find one that worked, let alone was rideable. They cost a king's ransom today. A decent Commando over here costs about as much as one of the cheaper new H-D Dynas!

 

What is the definition of a transport cafe? Food and drink ? I've never heard the term! I imagine thats where the term cafe racer came from?
ACE is opening a place in orlando Florida in the spring.

 

A transport cafe is where lorries, or trucks as you chaps call them, stop for refreshment. So in its heyday the Ace Cafe was a blue-collar cafe with the space to park up large vehicles and were not fussy when motorcyclists discovered and visited them. A cafe racer is a road bike customised to look like a racing bike, for chasing from one such cafe to another. In recent years the Ace Cafe has become a brand in its own right. This pic is outside the Busy Bee Cafe, note low clip-ons!