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Newsletter of the BSAOC of Northern California
June 2018 Number 390
In this amazing issue! The way we were Letters (lots) Vintage photos Side car primer Side car instructions Rides Guess the celebrity Calendar Craven equipment 1971 BSA road test Headlamp bulb test Bikes for sale Maggie DMV vehicle inspection Commander McBragg No Comment
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Number 390 June 2018 The BULLETIN of the Northern California BSA Owners’ Club is the forum for the
exchange of information among the members. All material contained within this
newsletter is property of the BSAOCNC unless otherwise stated within the article.
Material is not to be reproduced or copied without the written consent of the
BSAOCNC. If you would like to use an article or picture found in this newsletter please
contact the Editor.
Deadline for submission of material for publication is the 10th of each month. Members are encouraged to submit technical information, ads, letters, photographs, or any other items of potential interest. Photos will be returned only if so requested in advance. Opinions expressed in the BULLETIN are those of the respective contributors, and do not necessarily represent the position of the Club membership or its officers. BOARD OF DIRECTORS John Magri President 415-587-7541 Jim Romain Vice President 707-894-3805 Ray Pallett Secretary 510-456-6578 Mike Crick 916-797-0879 Ants Uiga 949-466-6404 David James 510-562-6769 Gary Roper, 541-858-5313 REGALIA SALES Patti Meadows 775-359-8150 LIBRARIAN Randy Reiter 510-222-2546 WEBMASTER David James 510-562-6769 INTER. RALLY DELEGATE Barry Porter 831-464-2867 TREASURER Bill Whalen 707-837-0424 ADVISORS Thomas Stott (Pre-unit C Series Singles) 951-659-2406 Heinz Batterman (Gold Star) 510-339-1776 (M20/21) need volunteer *** - *** - **** Jack Wheeler (Pre-unit Twins) 510-724-1782 James Banke (Unit Singles) 831-335-1422 Jerry Meadows (Unit Twins) 775-359-8150 Bill Whalen (Rocket 3) 707-837-0424 Ray Pallett (Bantam) 510-456-6578 CONTRIBUTORS Maggie Neato (Personals) Write c/o the BULLETIN Claude Baddley Retired Lion tamer Sigmund Fraud Ex-analyst Commander Thaddeus McBragg Video Naval Commander Anne Nonomous Not really sure
Membership: The Northern California BSA Owners’ Club is open to all BSA enthusiasts at $20
per year. Associate membership is $5 per year for additional members in the same household.
The address for submitting material for publication in the newsletter is: 17320 Santa Rosa Mine Rd. Perris, Ca. 92570
. e-mail: [email protected]
www.BSAOCNC.org
Front cover: BSA Factory photo of the milling section of the Birmingham factory Back cover: Name that place , hint: from a once popular off road canyon.
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The way we were Your humble Editor
Workshop technique is something learned often over time by trial and error. As I sit writing this I am nursing a sore eye from a distinct lack of proper form in the workshop. Grinding on a footrest a bit of metal got between my glasses and into my eye. As I was taught so many dec-ades ago reading glasses are definitely not safety glasses but at 10:30 at night that last bit of grinding didn’t seem to count. Now I can only wait for the week or two it takes to heal. I am reminded of some of the more painful lessons learned over time. Allow me dear readers to share some with you so you may learn from others mistakes. One of my first lessons was in beginning machine shop class. The instructor made it clear that the only way a chuck key was to be in the chuck was if your hand was on it. A chuck key left in the chuck was grounds for immediate eviction from the class. A fellow student forgot this early on and turned on a rather large lathe launching the chuck key skyward where it bounced loudly off the tin roof and narrowly missed a student. The instructor said nothing but grabbed the offending party by the collar and half carried him to the door and pushed him through, never to return. Lesson learned and I have never made that mistake. Once when welding a frame at my old shop Malcom had the hood down and forgot to clean the swing arm of excess grease. The welding heated the grease which poured our molten hot and down his arm and pooled in his jacket sleeve causing 2nd and 3rd degree burns and a trip to emergency (one of many). My parts guy fancied himself a biker and carried a huge sheath knife on his belt. Once when a customer asked for some fuel hose Bob whipped out his toad stabber and sliced off a few feet of fuel hose and fileted his had in the process. Many stiches later he decided to ditch the knife. As a boy I was involved in Boy Scouting and one of our older leaders decided to drill a hole in a piece of wood with a power drill. He used his knees as a vice to clamp the wood (!) and began drilling. The drill bit skipped across the wood and into his crotch drilling a hole in a very delicate place indeed. Another emergency trip and a bit of a hos-pital stay with that one! My first real drill press presented an opportunity for pain I had not experienced in the past. My instructor made it clear that clamps must be used at all times in a drill press but I was just drilling a small bracket with a 1/4” bit. It is amazing how many times the work piece can spin around whacking your hand before your brain realizes what just happened. Very painful lesson again. Always clamp your work piece, always. Lance Weil was a famous road racer turned motorcycle mechanic. While work-ing with his lathe the work piece came out of the chuck hitting him squarely in the chest stopping his heart and killing him dead in an instant. Never stand in the path of the work piece, another lesson learned but easily forgotten. Accidents happen unexpectedly ,other wise we would call them “on purposes” but by keeping our wits about us we can avoid becoming a statistic. Perhaps it is time for a refresher course at a local community college. As we get older we may have the knowledge but have become complacent. Spend a bit of time reviewing your latest close calls or injuries. Have you become careless? Ed.
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Letters to the Editor Send to: [email protected] or by mail : 17320 Santa Rosa Mine Rd,
Perris, Ca. 92570
Hi Bill, In this months bulletin I need to modify my guess on page #7 with Dick Mann {AKA Richard S. Mann] # 2 and Gary Nixon, # 9. I first said Houston 1967 then I realized the first race at Houston was in 1968. Duh! The photo is so small but it actually looks like they are on big two strokes, maybe not. My final guess will be Houston Astrodome 1970 # 12 I'd say that is Charlie Hockie who had a BSA, Greeves, Ossa dealership in Torrance, CA I'd say it was at the Catalina GP in 1956. Correct as always Dennis! I sent you three 8x10's a few months ago of fa-mous BSA riders. I think they were Neil Keen, Dick Dorrestyn, and I can recall the third. I guess you did-n't want to use them. And you didn't care for the Wil-low Springs article with it being the first year and the winner was BSA mounted Kenny Eggers. Oh well. You don't hurt my feelings. I'm just wondering if you are passing on them. Mike Haney said the Nor Cal BSA Newsletter was great so I subscribed for him but he does not know I did it. Thank you for all of your help. Dennis Thanks for the photos and story on Willow Springs Dennis, as you can see they are prominent in this issue. Truth be told they were under a pile of club magazines I get and were overlooked. Thanks for shaking my tree! We want your old photos folks! Send copies and I will scan and return to you. Editor
Dick Mann #2 on the Husky and Gary Nixon # 9 on the Triumph, at the Nationals in
Houston TX, 1970 Ralph Price
Dick Mann, Gary Nixon, Houston, 1970. Short track bikes. -Ron Letcher.
I’m thinking that the rider is Nick Nicholson, at Catalina, 1950 or 51. A little before my time! -Ron Letcher Good guess but it is Charlie Hockie BSA dealer and racer. Did I win a B50 cylinder head for my answer? Because I really need one! -Ron. Does anyone really “need” a B50 cylinder head? -ed.
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Dennis Lesea's story about his cobbled together
Wizzer reminded me of my nephew Bobby's home made motorcycle in the 70's.Only 14 years old, he found an old 3hp Briggs Stratton motor off a diesel pump and got it run-ning. The concept of his bike was very simple. A 3" diame-ter drive wheel was made out of a few layers of conveyor belt rubber and bolted to the output shaft. Then the motor was mounted on a plate made out of an aluminum road sign and hinged to the bike frame under the seat. An ordi-nary motorcycle clutch lever was rigged so when it was pulled, it raised the motor off the bike tire. A motorcycle twist grip throttle went to the Briggs carb. To drive, you pedaled a short ways then released the clutch lever and the motor start-ed and off you go. To stop, just pull in the clutch lever and idle the motor and use the bike coaster brake. The rig would do about 20mph. The fate of Bobby's invention is lost to history. Probably laying over in a barn somewhere. Butch Gordo Winnemucca, NV
Statin pain and other side effects. I found I was falling off my dirt bike (KTM 525) for no apparent rea-
son. It seemed that the world would tilt sideways and I would simply slide
off the edge. I had been prescribed a Statin drug some years before and as
it happened I was suffering one of the many side effects, balance issues
along with memory fog and extreme joint pain. After reading extensively
on the subject and in view of the multiple side effects I was experiencing I
made a somewhat educated decision to stop taking Statins altogether.
Time will tell if that was foolish or not.
With so many friends abandoning riding and a huge section of the riding
public in our age group hanging up their leathers I thought it a strange
coincidence that most were using Statin drugs. Prescriptions for Statins
have expanded to become the most prescribed medication in the world and
Statins directly affect skills that are needed to ride a motorcycle.
Having had a heart issue some years before my Cardiologist has labeled me as
“uncooperative” and speaks down to me saying “here are Nitro tablets, it’s all we have for you (if
you don’t use Statin drugs that is)”. Still it is better than the debilitating pain the Statins inflected.
It took me almost a year to regain my full balance and relief from the joint pain but I did finally
lose the side effects (except memory according to my wife). I am back to riding and will be away
on a 10 day trek on my KTM 990 Adventure (done by the time many will be reading this). Three
years after quitting the drugs I am back to my old self. I get a cold shoulder from my health care
provider for my lack of conformity. I am not a doctor and make no recommendation that you
avoid Statin therapy. I only suggest that if you are experiencing a loss of coordination, muscle
and joint pain, confusion, memory loss or the host of other side effects that Statins can cause and
may end your riding and decrease your life enjoyment that you educate yourself on the true cost
of Statin therapy vs the advantages. Google offers a wealth of resources on the topic from both
sides that will equip you to make an educated decision on how this potentially life alternating
drug may influence your ability to ride, among many other daily activities. At least it is possible
to put a name to the pain and loss of motor control should you experience it as I did. Bill Getty
Letters to the Editor– part 2
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The amazing Ed Kretz Jr. #33 with Al Gunter #54 and a cameo Chuck Basney #37
at Gardena 1/4 mile in 1955
Dick Mann #4 on his BSA with John Hateley #43R and Tom Rockwood #9
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Sammy Tanner #7
Neil Keen 1960?
Thanks to a Den-nis for these amazing period photos. They capture the spirit of racing in the 50’s through the 70’s. Have a col-lection of photos? Scan them and send to the editor or send to me and I will scan and return. We want to see pho-tos of club mem-bers . Remember “the older I get the faster I was” ed.
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Motorcycle sidecars, are they for you?
I am not quite sure how I got the sidecar bug. Really I never knew any-one who had one and had never ridden in one but somehow the idea of having a chair seemed to embody the best of all worlds, cars and motorcycles. I was working for Flanders Company as a road representative at the time and the founder of the company Earl Flanders had been a sidecar jockey for decades. When I mentioned my desire for a hack he launched into all the reasons why I shouldn’t have one. Then he went on for a long time reminiscing about how he and Lucile (wife) had come west on their Indian sidecar outfit. He took me into the upstairs of their Pasadena warehouse to show me the very sidecar that they had used. I reasoned that a chair must not be so bad if Mr. Flanders had such obviously fond memories of them. I set about looking for a chair to buy. One of my dealers had a Bender-Florine chair, a copy of a Steib sidecar but made in Belgium. This I hooked up to my 1966 BMW R60. The BMW was no ball of fire as a solo and hanging 450 pounds on one side didn’t improve things. As a ma-ter of fact the bike only seemed fast when I needed to stop. The BMW brakes suffered a bit from the added weight and hauling the rig down from speed could bring on some pucker moments. I traded the whole rig, bike and chair, to Irv Seaver Motorcycles for their last Triumph, a left over 1979 T140D Bonneville Special. That BMW certainly is worth more these days but I still have the Tri-umph and do love it. Seeking more power and missing my hack I approached California Sidecar Co. about buying one of their plastic hacks, a rotationally molded affair on a tubular chassis with “universal” mounts. They offered a demonstrator and made me their road representative instead. With a brand new Friendship mod-el I set about fitting it to my new T140. The rig worked OK but still lacked a bit of power. I switched the chair to my 1966 Norton G15. Now that bike had the pow-er but the brakes were if anything worse than the BMW. Add to that where the Bender sidecar had a side car brake the Friendship had none. After selling a few Cal. Sidecars mostly to Vespa dealer who fit them to the 150cc Scooters I opted for a Jawa side car. That was a marvelous bit of kit with torsion bar sus-pension and a brake. By mounting a second brake lever under the front brake lever one could make some pretty hairy “Bat” turns by applying the side car brake only, sort of motorcycle drifting. I would guess I have traveled over 50,000 miles with sidecar motorcy-cles. We were even a Cozy sidecar importer for some time. I still have a Royal Enfield with Cozy hack fitted that I take out once in a while. So is a hack for you? I have found that the better a motorcycle rider you are the more difficult driving a hack is. You do not lean a chair but steer it like a car. My friend Bruce tried my hack and ran across the street and into my neighbors garage door all while leaning as far off the bike as possible. My friend Paul had never ridden a motorcycle and drove on a 400 mile trip with me with no issues. If you are a motorcycle rider be ready to forget everything you know about riding, these are totally different. Are they for you? Find a friend with one and a large unobstruct-ed parking lot and find out. I love them. Claud Baddley
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A leaning hack like the Flanders rode
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JOIN US FOR THE
BSAOCNC TRIPLES RIDE
SATURDAY, JUNE 9TH NAPA, CA
NOTE: NEW STARTING LOCATION
RIDE DEPARTS FROM STARBUCKS COFFEE, 3383 SOLANO AVE, NAPA, CA.
FROM HWY. 29, TAKE TRANCAS BLVD. EXIT, TURN WEST TO SOLANO AVE. THEN TURN SOUTH ON SOLANO AVE., STARBUCKS IS ON YOUR RIGHT.
EVERYONE WELCOME
RIDE DEPARTS AT 10:00 AM
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bill Whalen 707-837-0424
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BSA International Rally - Australia- 2018.
November 9th - November 15th FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK
November 9th - November 15th WELCOME TO THE 55th BSA INTERNATIONAL RALLY 2018
The BSA Owners of Victoria, take great pleasure in inviting all of you to Victoria, AUS-TRALIA for the BSA International Rally 2018. The Rally will be in Halls Gap, in the sce-nic Grampians National Park. Rally arrivals are scheduled for Friday, 9th November, and departures on Friday, 16th November. That means that a weekend will occur dur-
ing the course of the Rally, and we plan to use that to our advantage.
Nestled in the foothills of the majestic Grampians National Park, and centrally located in Halls Gap, the Parkgate Resort (part of the BIG4 Holiday Parks group) offers you a great range of accommodation. The accommodation includes quality cabin, caravan and ensuite sites for a fantastic family holiday in a safe, inviting and relaxing atmos-phere. There is also OFF SITE Accommodation in close proximity to the Parkgate Re-sort. Halls Gap Gardens park have offered a 10% discount for the week to all rally goers. Halls Gap Gardens has similar facilities and is a short distance around the cor-
ner from Parkgate Resort.
[email protected] PO Box 80, Halls Gap Victoria 3381, orTEL +61 (0)3 5356
4215 , orFAX +61 (0)3 5356 4472 , orwith other offsite accommodation, motel
http://bsa.asn.au/html/events/inter/index.html
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Here’s another one for you. Who is this famous racer and Tuner? [email protected]
(hint– RE/YA)
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2018 Clubman’s Calendar
01 Jun (Fri) SCNOC Cambria Ride 02 Jun (Sat) socalnorton.com 03 Jun (Sun) 01 Jun (Fri_) Lake Cachuma British Bike Rally 02 Jun (Sat) Live Oak Campground, Santa Barbara County 03 Jun (Sun) Eddie Mulder, 661-944-1184 09 Jun (Sat) BSAOCNC BRITISH TRIPLES RIDE, Napa Bill Whalen, 707-837-0424 10 Jun (Sun) NCNOC Highway clean-up and ride Ken Armann, (408)455-9388 16 Jun (Sat) Fort Sutter Chapter AMCA show and swap meet, Dixon 916-485-1721 or www.fortsutteramca.org 01 Jul (Sun) BSAOCSC OJAI LOOP STREET RIDE Charley Caspery, 818-384-4074 or Barbara Barrett, 661-703-9249 06 Jul (Fri) BSAOCNC 07 Jul (Sat) NORTH WOODS RIDE, Departs Nevada City 08 Jul (Sun) Don Danmeier, 415-898-0330 [email protected] 15 Jul (Sun) NCNOC ride Ken Armann, 408-455-9388 15 Jul (Sun) SCNOC Wrightwood ride socalnorton.com 16 Jul (Mon) International Norton Owners Association (INOA) 17 Jul (Tue) “Tall Timber” Rally 18 Jul (Wed) Elma, WA 19 Jul (Thu) http://inoanorton.com/ 22 Jul (Sun) North American Velocette Owners Club Rally through 28 Jul (Sat) Baker City, Oregon 22 Jul (Sun) BSAOCSC “RIM OF THE WORLD” RIDE Steve Ortiz, 951-440-3521 or Barbara Barrett, 661- 703-9249
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Vintage ad for Craven
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LED BPF Bulbs In February of this year (2018) a new type of bulb was developed to cope with all the charging problems many experience today. This type of bulb is called an LED. Not only are LED bulbs smarter, brighter, cooler, and conven-ient they also emit a brighter light with more than half the load from a traditional bulb. What makes the new 446 LED bulbs “smarter” is the fact that they have an IC chip built in to allow this same LED bulb to work with 6V, 12V and 24V applications. Still not convinced? Further below we will put the new BPF LED bulb to the test so you can see exactly how much you are saving and also gaining. What is a British Pre-Focus bulb? Original Lucas bulbs and headlight units from the 1940's though the 1970's accepted what is called a “British Pre-Focus” bulb. The British Pre-Focus bulb or better known as "BPF" bulbs are unique to what is now known as a
classic automobiles and also classic motorcycles. BRITISH PRE-FOCUS BULB WITH BASE British Pre-Focus bulbs typically have a round base flange with a small half-moon shape locating slot to prevent the bulb from rotating and to keep the bulb holder lead contacts in the same position. BPF bulbs rely on the base as the ground where modern bulbs use 1
of the contacts or prongs as the ground. For example, an H4 bulb with a 3-prong adapter uses 1 of the 3 prongs as a ground or common wire. Split test (Halogen vs LED vs Incandescent)
If you have seen our product listings on the new LED bulbs some may get the vibe that it’s all fluff. It’s not.. Below I will explain to exactly why we recommend using an LED bulb by performing a few bench tests. The 3 types of bulbs I’ll be using for this split test is a Lucas 446 bulb, an EMGO 446 halogen bulb (446H) and the new LED bulb (446LED). I’ll be performing this test using a 12 volt sealed battery, positive and negative leads and (2) multimeter. The first multimeter is to measure the battery under load and the second multimeter is to measure amps. The goal of this split test is to record each bulbs amps to calculate the wattage and also recognize the draw that each bulb puts on ones charging system by performing a few simple tests.
Obtaining Watts Watts = Amps X Volts Formula Above is a simple formula which will help you obtain wattage. To obtain wattage I must obtain the correct battery voltage, measure amps then multiply the battery's voltage to obtain watts. Using the formula above is key to obtaining the cor-rect data. TEST #1 - 446 CONVENTIONAL BULB Testing A 446 Lucas Headlight Bulb With Multimeter The first test I’ll be performing is on a standard Lucas 12V incandescent headlight bulb. This is the same bulb that was fitted to most British motorcycles during the mid-1960s
Thanks to:
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through the late 1970s. Test Bulb Rating Voltage Part Number BPF Incandescent Bulb (Dual Filament) 50W/40W 12V 446 / 414 Using the formula to calculate watts I will take measurements and record what I find for this bulb. This is what I have found… Battery Voltage (under load) Amps Wattage 12.7V 3.02A (Low Beam) 38W (Low Beam) 12.7V 3.39A (High Beam) 43W (High Beam)
TEST #2 – BRITISH PRE-FOCUS HALOGEN BULB 446 Halogen Bulb Amp / Wattage Test The second headlight bulb I will be testing today is a British pre-focus base with a halo-gen bulb. This specific bulb was produced by EMGO a few years ago and fits inside any headlight housing that can except a British pre-focus bulb. Test Bulb Rating Voltage Part Number BPF Halogen Bulb (Dual Filament) 60W/55W 12V 446H Using the same formula I will take measurements and record what I find for this bulb. Battery Voltage (under load) Amps Wattage 12.63V 4.74A (Low Beam) 59W (Low Beam) 12.62V 5.20A (High Beam) 65W (High Beam) TEST #3 – BRITISH PRE-FOCUS BULB LED BULB LED Bulb 446LED Testing For Amps / Wattage The British pre-focus LED bulbs are the newest types of bulbs on the market today. They offer a bright and clean white emitting light along with less load on your charging system. Test Bulb Rating Voltage Part Number BPF LED Bulb (Dual Filament) 970lm / 510lm 12V 446LED Using the formula further above I will take measurements and record what I find for this bulb. Battery Voltage (under load) Amps Wattage 13.6V 0.22A (Low Beam) 2.992W (Low Beam) 13.7V 0.49A (High Beam) 6.713W (High Beam) Split testing bulb review All the bulbs tested today performed as they should - no surprises here. Right off the bat I noticed that just putting a load on a fully charged sealed battery I saw the voltage drop especially when testing the 446H halogen bulb followed by the incandescent bulb then the LED bulb. 446 HALOGEN BULB NOTES I was very surprised that the EMGO 446H halogen bulb required much more draw than the incandescent bulb. Granted the halogen bulb is the brightest of the 3 that we tested followed by the LED and incandescent bulb. The halogen bulb also has the highest load one could put on your charging system. I found that if you were choosing the halogen bulb you would indeed want to consider upgrading your stock stator as opposed to the LED and incandescent bulb. 446 / 414 INCANDESCENT BULB NOTES The 446 / 414 incandescent bulb (stock bulb) is ideal for those who are happy with a traditional bulb. There is nothing negative to say other than most would think the bulb is too dim?
Continued on page 27
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Road test reprint from the long gone Cycle Guide magazine on what may be the best A65 BSA made.
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DEAR MAGGIE:
For a long time, my pride and joy has been my 1956 BSA Super Rocket. I’ve kept it reasonably clean, and maintained it as a tidy example that I was proud to ride. Then I met "Buffy". She rides a BMW boxer twin, and soon she began staying overnight with me and parking her motorcycle next to mine. Soon I got to witness how meticulous she was about clean-ing her BMW. Every part was completely waxed and polished after each ride. She'll spend ten minutes going over each and eve-ry spoke. An odd thing began to happen: each morning a pair of boxer shorts was missing from my un-derwear drawer. At first, I thought perhaps I'd left them in the dryer. But one day I found a cardboard box full of my shorts in a darkened corner of my garage. Every pair of my old underwear was covered in dirt, wax, and grease. Yuck! So I confronted Buffy, and she con-fessed that since her bike was a boxer twin, she needed to polish it exclusively with boxer shorts. Maggie, what am I supposed to do? I don't want to spoil my relationship with Buffy, but I can't afford to keep buying new underwear after each "ride". – COJONES GIGANTE, BUT
POQUITO CHONIES IN REDWOOD CITY
Dear Delusional:
I like her logic. In fact, I recommend that you use a bit of it with her – how could she object? Let’s see. You say that you keep your BSA “reasonably clean”. Well, how do you do that? Probably by the occa-sional rubdown with an old raggedy-ass T-shirt or something, I’ll bet. You’ll have to explain to Buffo that she’s such an inspiration for sanita-tion that you aspire to come up to her standards. From now on, you’ll always put the toilet seat down after each visit to El Bano, and you will need something appropriate for use in cleaning the BSA. Compared to that Beemer, your BSA is a minimalist object - so it would seem that those silky thongs of hers ought to do the job. See what she thinks of that.
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Bulletin adds work! Swap Meet, buy-sell-trade Only British motorcycle related items will be listed, with BSA items having priority. Unless otherwise requested, ads will run for three consecutive issues. If you find/sell what you are advertising for during that period, please send the Editor a cancellation notice!
The methods for submitting ads for publication are: Preferred: via Email, [email protected] with any photos in .jpg format
Next Best: Phone 951-943-5886. Good: mail to 17320 Santa Rosa Mine Rd, Perris
1949 BSA B33A Competition 500 single. Turns over and has compression. Previous 93 year old owner has taken the magneto off but is included. Has later A65 rear wheel adapted to the rigid frame but looks to work well enough. A rare alloy competition single cylinder rigid, not very “original” but a fine looking bike. Sold as is, not running. Some of the features: Amal TT10 racing carburetor BTH racing magneto Alloy engine with perfect fins all around. $4900.00 OBO Bill @ 951 943-5886 Bike is in southern Ca. Bill of sale only 4/18
Wanted: BSA 1947 350
rigid
Any condition to match the machine I raced in the 40’s and 50’s. Please hurry, I am 90
years old!
Norman Forrest 510-494-9555
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1969 Triumph Trident 750 with beauty kit. Very original machine that runs
great. Recent top end work at Rabers. New genuine clutch disc and all oil seals, new clutch cable, new beauty kit type mufflers, new battery. Electronic ignition and best of all, no leaks anywhere. Bike is current non-op in Ca. Lovely non standard paint almost new. White with gold striping. $5000 obo or trade for interesting British motorcycle (s).
. Bill at [email protected] 951 943-5886 2/18
1968 Triumph T120 Rick Price engine, Kelly Moss wheels. Has large tank, small tank available. Powdered coated frame, mikuni carbs, stainless fenders, matching numbers, electronic ignition, manuals, receipts, spare parts. $7250.00 OBO Contact Michael at [email protected] or 707-823-5532 5/18
Its time to get rid of some of the projects I’m never going to get around to doing anything with. I acquired both these bikes as part of the purchase of other mo-torcycles. Approximately 1941-5 Ariel single. Its got an original engine with a Norton gearbox grafted on and no forks or wheels. If your looking for Ariel parts or a real project it might do you more good than me. Matchless 1954 G-80 jampot shocks. Rolling chassis, motor kicks through no spark from the mag missing the tank and the dyno. Correct front wheel with the wrong axle. Needs everything gone through but most of the bones are there, it might be a better parts bike than a builder but the buyer can decide for themselves. Bikes are in Sacramento. Reasonable offers will be considered. Jeremy at 916-500-3013 or [email protected]. Don’t make me resort to e-bay
5/18
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More Swap Meet
Parts for sale, can ship anywhere. Norton Atlas complete bottom end with Lucas K2F competition magneto. A bit crusty but crank and rods move. All timing gears/cover on engine. $650 Triumph T140 case set, used R/H shift bare $250 Triumph unit 650 case set believed 1967 in good condition $350 Triumph 500 case set, later 2 bearing type $350 Lucas magneto for BSA A10 working, sold as is $250 Lucas generator for BSA A10, working, looks a bit dirty $200 Lucas auto advance and points plate for Triumph T140 used $95 BSA 250 project, frame raked to take Suzuki RM forks (included) and rear has RM 250 swing arm and lay down shocks (Included). Will need wheels/tank and all en-gine mounting hardware. Engine is 1970 TR25W, frame B44 $350 Triumph T140 bottom end with crank and rods. All turn over well $500 Miller Tig welder, water cooled torch and wheels for easy moving. $500 obo Bill @ 951-943-5886 Southern Ca. 5/18
Fantastic Bikes for sale in Southern California:
1956 BSA Gold Star Scrambler $12,500.00 1959 BSA Gold Star Clubman $16,500.00 1937 Velocette KSS $16,500.00 1977 Triumph T140 Silver Jubilee $7,500.00 1965 BSA Starlite Beagle 75cc 30 miles $4,000.00 1959 Royal Enfield big head fury original $9,000.00 1966 Matchless G85 scrambler $21,000.00 1967 Matchless G80CS 1100 miles $11,500.00 1968 Seeley Matchless G50 racer $33,000.00 1965 Royal Enfield Interceptor, original $6,500.00 1949 Norton DOHC Manx Garden gate $25,000.00 1951 Vincent drag bike, beautiful! $50,000.00 Contact Greg 760-522-1755
"Very reluctantly putting my rare 1963 Rocket Gold Star/Gold Star Spitfire up for sale. Won it’s division at the last Clubman’s show. For more information please go to: http://www.classicmotorcycleconsignments.com Click on “Browse Motor-cycles" button then click on the British Button. I can also do a local deal (pick up
only) in San Jose area. $22,500 OBO Thanks, Geoff Ullmann 408-644-2876"
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BSA Rocket 3 Very original survivor
with many recent parts replaced to assure rideability and reliability. All original paint and seat covering. New Avon Roadrider tyres and tubes, new Boyer ignition, solid state regulator/rectifier, plus many other important parts. Some extra parts/accessories too. Clear CA title and current registration. 11,822 miles on speedo but probably not correct. I've rid-den it 5,500 miles in the last 5 years. $12.000.00 Dave Molloy 530-273-3726 or [email protected].
Continued from page 17 446 LED BULB The LED bulb is the ideal choice for everyday riders. Although the bulb is much brighter than a traditional bulb however it is not the brightest in the arsenal... but a big increase non the less is visually noticeable. The 2 upsides to the LED bulb is the light improve-ment and the lower amps that it requires. Between the two this is the best all-around bulb that should satisfy any vintage British motorcycle enthusiast seeking more light. The 446LED bulb comes in positive or negative variations CHART COMPARISONS Here is a final chart showcasing each bulb together, I only listed the high beam for refer-ence as I believe that is the most important. LOWEST TO HIGHEST AMPS / WATTS DRAW CHART Test Bulb Amps( High Beam) Watts (High Beam) Part Number BPF LED Bulb 0.49A 6.713W 446LED BPF Incandescent Bulb 3.39A 43W 446 / 414 BPF Halogen Bulb 5.20A 65W 446H Final thoughts HEADLIGHT BULB 446LED LED bulbs are definitely the way of the future. It's really nice seeing LED bulbs suited for vintage British motorcycles because it has less load in regards to the charging system but it also keeps us riders safe. Before LED bulbs where introduced in our industry we had to settle with incandescent bulbs, sealed beams and halogen bulbs. Although all are great alternatives there are many factors in which take place when replacing or choosing headlight bulbs. Not all bulbs are created equal. Those that have installed headlights that resulted in dead battery's or ignition issues know exactly what I'm referring to. I personally believe the introduction to high put stators had a lot to do with the bulbs us-
ers where installing on their motorcycles.
Classic British Spares, Inc. 12623 West Ave C10
Lancaster, California 93536
Phone: (661) 951-2120
Text: (661) 492-5552
Email: [email protected]
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The world according to Commander McBragg Apologies to Total Television
Have I ever told you about the time I rode a motorcy-cle in the first ever motorcycle race in the western USA? “Really Commander I must be going, tea on the boil. Nonsense my boy. There I was, just back from my successful dominance of the European circuit when I heard of a new race in the States. “Really Commander, racing with the colonials? How fascinating” Quite, it seems there was a tribe of Indians in Arizona who were famous for their apple trees. By a great misfortune a fire burned their orchards and they now had vast lands where the trees had been. Not able to wait for the trees to re-grow they hastily built a race track and launched a race series. “Really Commander, that seems a bit far fetched to me” Surely you have heard of the race, after all it is now quite famous. It is of course the Appleless Indian 500! It took great convincing to get my BSA race bikes released into such a rugged and foreign land. We sailed for the States and encountered many adven-tures while in transit, ah yeas but those are stories for another time. “ Thank heaven, err please continue Commander” We were able to load the BSA on the trans-continental railroad leaving for the wasteland of Arizona and were making fine time when the train was held up by a band of robbers. They were of course intent on taking my race BSA as anyone knows they are among the most valuable things on the planet. Thinking quickly I managed to push a BSA Beagle into plain sight while covering my BSA with a handy buffalo hide I found hanging in the baggage car. The rascals robbing us had no idea of what BSA they were stealing and made off with the Beagle thinking they had the mighty BSA one off race bike. Upon arriving at the reservation I had occasion to walk the track before the race. This my boy is no small endeavor. The track was easily over 100 miles long and climbed high into the Superstition Mountains. While walking the track I was waylaid by some desperados. Being the master of self defense I soon put those rascals running for their lives. While chasing them I fell headlong into a pit that turned out to be the famous lost Dutchman mine. Gold was lying about in glittering nuggets. Forgetting the bandits I filled my pockets with as many nuggets as I could carry. Completing my circuit of the track I returned to our pit area to find that our BSA had been damaged in the trip across the ocean. Being in the vast Arizona wilderness there was very little material with which to effect a repair. It appeared all was lost. Good heavens Commander, what ever did you do? It looks like your trip was for nothing. Not quite, seizing the moment I quickly melted down the Gold I had taken from the Dutchman mine and fashioned it into replacement parts for the BSA. I was just com-pleting the repairs when the race began. I quickly caught the other riders on inferior ma-chines and took the lead. I carried the lead for the rest of the race having become famil-iar with the track from my walking it. At the finish I was the star of the race many miles ahead of the next competitor. Well done Commander! So by using the gold you found you became the star of the race. Quite, BSA were so impressed they named the model after my heroic ride. Why you don’t mean to say the Gold Star was named for your USA ride Commander? Quite…
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HONORARY MEMBERS OF THE BSA OWNERS CLUB OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA:
Dave Aldana Earl Bowlby Don Danmeier Dick Mann Bob Raber Jim Rice Jeff Smith Craig Vetter In Memoriam: Kenny Eggers Nick Nicholson Roland Pike Roy Bacon Neil Keen Chuck “Feets” Minert Eddie Dow
BSAOCNC Committees:
NEWSLETTER Bill Getty, Editor 951-940-5411
Don Danmeier 415-898-0330
RIDES Don Danmeier, Chair 415-898-0330
Ray Pallett 510-456-6578
Mike Crick 916-797-0879
CALIFORNIA Don Danmeier, Chair 415-898-0330
BSA RALLY David James 510-562-6769
ELECTIONS Ants Uiga (Chairman) 949-466-6404
Gary Roper, 541-858-5313
David James 510-562-6769
MEMBERSHIP Bill Whalen, Chair 707-837-0424
Patti Meadows 775-359-8150
WEB PRESENCE David James, Chair 510-562-6769
Patti Meadows 775-359-8150
Jeff Sunzeri 831-636-3020
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Frank Casey Carnelian Bay, California
Gary Smythe Pollock Pines, California
This man is: A. Praying to the great Edward
Turner for direction in life B. Exploring a new type of walk-
er for invalids. C. Stealing the Triumph fork to
put on his Norton D. Showing off his new lab coat E. Practicing a new sport of mo-
torcycle wrestling soon to air on ESPN
F. Giving the thumbs up on the Triumph telescopic fork
G. Testing milk crates for strength
H. Looking his adversary straight in it’s one big eye
I. Now on workers comp.
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Sorry folks but these are not currently available in the USA.
The name lives on even if the bike isn’t a 500cc road burner!
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No C
om
men
t
Can anyone tell the editor where he took this photo? A
prize is waiting for the first correct answer! bsaocncedi-
