BSA

[Allred]

An absolutely gorgeous replica of the BSA Rocket III works racer from the early '70s.


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[Allred]

An absolutely wonderful example of an A65 Lightning.

If it were me, I've never been a fan of siamese exhaust pipes, and I would definitely go for a twin leader up front, but I love that Norton-style headlight shell!!!

A really nice example!


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[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

An absolutely gorgeous replica of the BSA Rocket III works racer from the early '70s.


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That is gorgeous.
I would like to know what steps they took to keep these air cooled bikes cool when they had the stream lined fairing in place.  

[Allred]

Fatfatboy wrote

I would like to know what steps they took to keep these air cooled bikes cool when they had the stream lined fairing in place.

Good question, as these engine weren't known for their ability to keep cool. One thing I know of is they moved the oil-cooler to sit directly in front of a special slit in the front of the fairing.


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[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

Fatfatboy wrote

I would like to know what steps they took to keep these air cooled bikes cool when they had the stream lined fairing in place.

Good question, as these engine weren't known for their ability to keep cool. One thing I know of is they moved the oil-cooler to sit directly in front of a special slit in the front of the fairing.


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Hard to believe a little oil cooler could get much air behind there.

That is a dang sexy front view.

Interesting ironhead in the foreground. Looks heavily modified.

[Allred]

Fatfatboy wrote

Interesting ironhead in the foreground. Looks heavily modified.

My knowledge of Harleys can be written on the back of a postage stamp so I'm no help there, here is as good a picture I can get of the machine.........I'm assuming it is one of the works XRs, although what it is doing in the same stable as Mann's BSA is a little puzzling.


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[Allred]

Here's a very clean looking period A10. Note the "crash bars" front and rear. I don't think they actually protected the bike in anything more than a stationary, or very slow-moving, fall, but they were popular with some for their aesthetic look in the late '50s-early '60s.

The license plate indicates the bike was sold new in Guilford, Surrey, UK


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[Allred]

An interesting video on a DB34 Goldie, with some very true snippets. As stated, well assembled, and well cared for, machines, despite being British, do not necessarily leak oil, and nor are they necessarily unreliable. But they do need a knowledgeable caretaker to be sympathetic for their period design.

Just in case anyone has any misconception about the "Goldie" being the ideal cafe racer, it has to be remembered that its legendary reputation was based mainly on racing successes when 500cc was the "Senior" class. On the road, and in cafe riding circles, pretty much any 500cc, twin or single, could not compete against the 650cc twins of Norton, Triumph or BSA of the day. Machines like the Velocette Thruxton, BSA Gold Star, Triumph 500 Daytona were amazing machines, but they could not beat the Norton 650SS, or Triumph Bonneville or BSA A10 Super Rocket/Rocket Gold Star twins of the time.

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[Fatfatboy]

1968 BSA A65 lighting 650 on eBay looks clean.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1968-BSA-A65-lighting-650-/254844060836?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49292

[Fatfatboy]

That’s a great video on the Goldie.
I like how he really I states that you will get know the bike because you will be in its guts.
Why does that sound just grand to me?

[Allred]

Fatfatboy wrote

1968 BSA A65 lighting 650 on eBay looks clean.

Hmmm, a no reserve listing, will be interesting to see what it goes for..........how far is Wisconsin from you?

Strange that there is only a speedo and no tach.

Here's a comparison, a mint restored one went for $13,000
https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0816-244089/1968-bsa-lightning/

[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

Hmmm, a no reserve listing, will be interesting to see what it goes for..........how far is Wisconsin from you?

It’s only five hours away. Just a full day,, there and back. 😉

I’m pondering on if I want to bid or not. I guess it depends on high it goes. Right now it has 120 bids between six bidders so I suspect the price without up at the last minute.

I really need more room if I get another bike. I’m very much considering an out building on the empty property next to the house that I bought a few years ago.

[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

Strange that there is only a speedo and no tach.

Did they all come with a tach?

[Allred]

Fatfatboy wrote

Allred wrote

Strange that there is only a speedo and no tach.

Did they all come with a tach?

Not sure, but I thought maybe the standard Star may just have a speedo but the upgraded Lightning would naturally have a tach.

[Fatfatboy]

I rebuilt the carb today on the Beezer. Got the seepage to stop.

It has seemed to me that this bike kicks over fairly easy and has felt under powered. I did a compression test today. I got 58 psi on the right and 64 on the right. Looks like the top end is going to need to come apart. And I need to invest in some Whitworth spanners.

[Allred]

Fatfatboy wrote

I rebuilt the carb today on the Beezer. Got the seepage to stop.

It has seemed to me that this bike kicks over fairly easy and has felt under powered. I did a compression test today. I got 58 psi on the right and 64 on the right. Looks like the top end is going to need to come apart. And I need to invest in some Whitworth spanners.

Maybe not Whitworth, (hard to find) but some BSF (British Standard Fine), Whitworth has a coarser thread than BSF but the wrench sizes are the same.......although if I remember correctly while the wrenches fit, they are "size stamped" a 1/16" different.

Not a big deal to take the head and barrels off. Probably needs some new piston rings and a good decarbonization of the cylinder head and ports, plus a careful (and arduous) lapping-in of the valves with grinding paste.

Piston rings should gap in the bores at 3 thousandths per inch, plus 3 thousandths. (i.e. a 3" bore should have a .003x3 + .003 gap=12thou gap). (Anything in great excess of this may require a re-bore and new pistons)

The valves should be snug in their guides, replacing the guides is not a big deal, heat the cylinder head and remove the old guides, install new guides with a brass/copper drift while the head is hot. Cut/smooth the seats and lap in new valves (or clean up the original valves if they are in recoverable condition)

It's important to know what camshaft is fitted as valve clearances can vary greatly per camshaft, to ensure no valve burning down the road.

When a top end rebuild is done correctly the difference is phenomenal!

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[m143]

Now is your chance to buy some “King Dicks”.

[Fatfatboy]

m143 wrote

Now is your chance to buy some “King Dicks”.

I actually used my King Dicks adjustable on the carb.

[Fatfatboy]

Allred wrote

but the wrench sizes are the same.......although if I remember correctly while the wrenches fit, they are "size stamped" a 1/16" different.
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Neither my metrics or my standards fit quite right. They’ve work for the little tinkering I’ve done but if I would have encountered a really stuck bolt I think I would round off a head.

I looked up whitworth comparison sizes and found out that there is some slight differences by this chart.



I never really knew how the whitworth got their sizes until I read the Wikipedia article.
It said they went by the bolt diameter.
Strange because in some circumstances the bolt diameter can be smaller with the same size head as a bigger bolt. Case in point is the bolt that retains the points cam in the old ironheads.
The head was a 9/16 but the bolt diameter was about a 3/16 to 1/4. Way to skinny and easy to break causing cam removal and an EZ-out breakage which turns to finding someone to burn it out electronically.

[Allred]

As an apprentice we had wrenches (spanners) that had both whitworth & BSF sizes stamped on them.

Here's a quote from the internet (so it must be true!)
"A whitworth spanner or socket is larger than one marked with the same size in BSF for example a 1/4 inch whitworth is the same physical size as a 5/16inch BSF. (approx 13.34mm), this occurs throughout the sizes so a set of whitworth sockets or spanners will fit an equal number of BSF nuts and bolts, and visa-versa".


And a link to a comparison sizing..............
http://www.baconsdozen.co.uk/tools/conversion%20charts.htm

It was extremely confusing for a while back in the 1960's-early 1970's, the British bikes (and cars) had Whitworth,(BSW) and British Standard Fine (BSF).  Whitworth had a courser thread than BSF, but both wrenches would fit the same bolt/nut......even if they were marked as 1/16" different on the wrench! The Japanese came along and insisted on metric sizes. And then there was/is the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) wrenches (also known as AF) used in the US. So for a while you needed three sets of wrenches, BSF, SAE & Metric. Plus different tap and die sets, BSW, BSF, SAE, Metric, as well as British Association (BA) threads for bolts/screws smaller than 7/32. And I won't even mention British Standard Cycle (BSC), also simply known as "cycle thread", which had not only a fine thread but cut at 60 degrees instead of 55!

Today it is getting rare to find anything but metric on vehicles.


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