Owner`s Club of Southern California

Owner’s Club of
Southern California
Established 1978
Monthly Journal
February 2013
BSA Artwork from 1939
The Piled Arms is a publication of The BSA
Owner’s Club of Southern California.
We are a member driven publication and rely
solely on your participation. Technical articles,
photos and “Member Experiences” and opinions
are essential
Meet Our Directors
Burt Barrett (661) 832-6109…..…….….…………....President
Steve Ortiz (951) 245-5287………….Membership/Secretary
Barry Sulkin (310) 569-1383……….Web Master / Treasurer
Barbara Barrett (661) 832-6109……………..Events/Director
Clive Brooks (714) 771-2534……Piled Arms Editor/Director
Craig Rich (562) 868-9389 ……….………………….….Director
Jody Nicholas (714) 730-9257...….……………….…...Director
Piled Arms Production Staff
Clive Brooks (714) 771-2534…clive54bsa@aol.com....Editor;
Contributing Members and Named Sources
The Piled Arms, 820 South Esplanade St. Orange, Ca. 92869
Please submit your articles by E-Mail or direct mail.
Deadline for submissions is the 8th of each month.
Members may place Non Commercial “4-Sale” or “Want”
Ads in the Piled Arms Free for 90 days, without renewal.
Contact Editor for “Commercial Ad” rates and information.
Librarian….John Gardner….310-920-3393
BSAOCSC Regalia… Randy Ressell….714-448-1179
BSA Owner’s Club Web Site
www.bsaocsc.org
Front Cover Photo submitted by ; Editor
Rear cover; Jim Tomich
2
President’s Page ——--by Burt Barrett——BSA A65 Parts Incompatibility
I am in the process of finishing up the restoration of a customers 1971
BSA Thunderbolt. I am beginning to wish I had never seen this
"motorbike". First, it was a Bitsa bike my customer purchased on
EBay. When it arrived at my shop, I noticed it didn’t have a head steady,
and the rear motor-mount, if you could call it that, was part of a alternator strap from a Chevy. None of the motor-mount bolts were right, and
the engine number didn’t match the frame.
I stripped it, and sent the painted parts off for powder-coating, sent the
engine castings to be "deburred" (tumbled), and sent the rims off for
chroming, along with the fenders. I finished the rolling chassis without
much trouble. My problems began when I picked up the cylinder block from the powdercoater. It was bored +020, and cylinders miked out ok, no taper. I removed the studs for powder
-coating. When I had paid for the powder-coating job on the cylinder, the powder-coater pointed
out four hairline cracks, running from the outside stud holes into the cylinder bore. He said he
didn’t notice it until the cylinder barrel was removed from the oven. It was easily seen then because oil was oozing out of the casting via the cracks. I was now the proud owner of a shiny black
powder-coated doorstop. Well, no big deal I guess, and found another cylinder. It was standard,
and didn’t have any cracks in the stud holes. It was an early A65, and I thought it would fit, so I
had it bored to fit the pistons, and powder-coated. I built the lower end, and tried to fit the barrel. Oops, the holes in the flange were too small. Oh well, I’ll just drill ‘em out. No big deal. But
when that job was complete, they still wouldn’t fit, the front two studs in the crankcase were
about a quarter of a bolt hole off. So I took it to a friend with a mill, and milled the front two
holes out so they would fit the crankcase. End of problem, right? Nope. I installed the barrel,
and was unable to fit the tall 71style flange nuts. The lower fin over the crankcase stud was too
close to the flange. The 71 barrel has part of the fin cutaway for clearance. I finally got it on and
was going to fit the cylinder head, when I noticed the rear two head bolt holes in the barrel were
a smaller size, looks like 5/16ths, and as you all know they are 26 tpi (I think). Then my son Joe,
noticed the valve cover wouldn’t fit the head. Great! The head now has new guides, and valve
job, and was ready to bolt on. This head was on the machine when I got it, and it had the finned
type valve cover. Not knowing the 1967-70 head is different than the 1971 head, I just bought a
71 valve cover. It looks just like the earlier model, except it has two bolt holes for the head
steady. The earlier head had 1/4" studs for the valve cover, and the 71 head has 5/16ths
studs. That’s not all, the head and valve cover for the 71 is wider, and will not fit the earlier
head. So….what to do? I guess I will look for a 71 Thunderbolt cylinder, and head, and peddle
the other stuff.
Another lesson learned the hard way.
Burt Barrett
3
Editors Page:- Oilyleaks by Clive Brooks
My Fellow Enthusiasts… , At the moment I’m sitting at home
recuperating from hip replacement surgery, it all went to plan and
I might be recovered enough to ride the Inland Empire ride. (see
page 17 for date). I spoke to Paul Elmore the other day, who will
be hosting the ride, and he mentioned his wife Ellen, had broken
her arm trying to start the motor on her log splitter. They make
‘em tough in the Inland Empire. I wish Ellen a speedy recovery.
I think our complete 2013 events calendar has been tweaked
to the point of being semi-reliable and can be downloaded from
our website www.bsaocsc.org , I encourage all of our members
who have internet access to visit our site, where you’ll find Members Ads, and links to
other motorcycle events. Also you may have noticed that we have details of the BSAOCNC’s San Jose Show and Swap meet, entry forms can be downloaded from either our website or theirs www.bsaocnc.org, or for those of you still in the “stone age”, contact me.
I ‘d like to thank those of you who have individually, donated funds to the
BSAOCSC, to help out with our fiscal shortfalls, this is much appreciated.
Once again I urge you all to send me your stories, articles, British Bike tech
tips, photos, and commentaries for us all to share, after all this is your newsletter.
Thanks again to those who have already contributed material to the Piled Arms, and
I hope you continue to do so. I desperately need fresh articles to keep this going.
Members please be aware that sometime in the next few months
we will be publishing our current Membership Roster, containing
your name, address, phone # and email address. If you DON’T
want your info published please , call or email me . Editor
BSAOC / SC members, we are updating our e-mail list in order to
contact you for any last minute changes in our calendar events, so
please contact Steve Ortiz at ; ortizst1@hotmail.com.
CHECK YOUR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL DATE (see front of envelope)
MAIL CHECK OR MONEY ORDER FOR $25.00 U.S. ($40.00 Overseas)
Make Checks Payable To: BSAOC/SC
Mail To:
BSAOC/SC, 11125 Westwood Blvd, Culver City, CA 90230
4
Poets Corner
Typical Biker by Art Sirota
I'm just a typical biker, no dif'rent from the rest
I love my country, wife and car, but motorcycles best
And that's 'cause they're reliable, they never let me down
when I dump money in them, the wheels keep goin' 'round
My lifestyle's not erratic, I'm not obsessed with bikes
I'm just an individual, who's found out what he likes
That's why my bathtub's full of carbs, they're gettin' a good soak
the rings they leave around the tub, don't bother this here bloke
The artwork that adorns my walls, has universal appeal
no Rembrandts or Picassos here, just shots of British steel
Two Triumphs grace the entryway, a Norton's in the den
my BSA's stored in the room, usually reserved for MEN
The oven holds a gearbox shell, from my pre-unit Beezer
while roller bearing outer races, cool off in the freezer
I've memorized the TT course, and know each curve by name
so when the baby came last year, we named him Ballacraine
© 2013 Art Sirota
5
The Phoenix, Arizona Swap Meet Report by Steve Ortiz
As a few of you know, I retired from 30+
years at Northrop Grumman with some
goals of traveling, getting my bikes in order and hanging out with Anita,
Kids and Friends.. I've since got a couple
of trips in and had promised
"Tucson Gerry" Thurein that I would
someday get over to their Phoenix Swap
Meet to reciprocate for all the times they
spent attending our swap meets. So when
the date rolled around I took the opportunity to head east, visit some friends and attend their Swap Meet.
Heading East, I spent the day in a rental car
racing to the snowy mountain region and
spending Friday & Saturday nights with
friends in Payson, AZ.
Buddy "Roy" also retired from Northrop
and found love in Payson (hot rods)
and a wife too!
Saturday was spent showing me around
and meeting other motor heads, one being
Butch Tucker who's claim to fame is being
a Master of Pin-striping and friend of Kenneth "Von Dutch" Howard. Butch showed me
around his fantastic garage (where the toilet is even pinstriped) and when I asked him
about a story that Barry Sulkin told me regarding Von Dutch, Butch gave me a copy of a
envelope Von Dutch had created where he had painted on the postage stamp, which was
in fact processed by the postal service!
After leaving Payson on Sunday, I
traveled down the
hill to Phoenix and
found the swap
meet being held in
a small mall parking lot. The size of
the meet was a bit
6
than ours, and the organizers
said it was growing.
Fortunately it had room for
expansion (which is something our club needs to think
of).
I found "Tucson Gerry"
wheeling and dealing next to
a former BSAOCSC member
"Byron Boaz”, and was not
really expecting to see many
"Red Hats," but low and behold, there was Frank Forster
chatting up someone on his
cell phone. I also ran
into a few other
friends and will plan
on returning to Phoenix for the next Winter Swap Meet.
So if next year's swap
meet date is anything
like this one, you may
be able to plan a Sunday in Phoenix and
visit Sedona / Northern Arizona on your
way to Las Vegas for
the big auction.
Ride (and Drive)
Safe!
Steve O.
FREE ENTRANCE TO:
$$$$$ LONG BEACH SWAP MEET $$$$$
$$$$ IF YOU RIDE YOUR BIKE IN $$$$
Contact: Barry Sulkin, Treasurer, for tickets
310-569-1383, barrysulkin@aol.com
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
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Unit 650 Twins, Triumph vs BSA …..submitted by
Lynn Bennett
What makes people choose one vintage bike over another? Today we vintage riders
tend to pick either the bike we had then or one we really wanted but couldn't have, for
one reason or another. The argument seems to always come up as to which is better for
a 650 twin, Triumph or BSA. For this article I shall attempt to lay out all the pro's and
con's of the selection of either of these bikes, the Triumph or BSA unit 650 cc twin
(circa 1960 through the mid 1970's).
Engines:
By the mid 1960's both BSA and Triumph had repackaged their non-unit motors into a
single case for both the transmission and the engine. In each, the internals were extremely close to that used prior to unitizing. Triumph retained their separate rocker boxes, twin cams located fore and aft of the cylinder with exposed chrome tubes, sealed
at each end, for the push rods, plunger style oil pump, duplex primary chain, and the
triangular shaped timing chest cover. The crankshaft ran on a ball bearing on the timing
side and a roller bearing on the highly loaded primary side. Triumph offered both single
and twin carbureted version as did BSA. Both shared a similar crankshaft design that
included a large bolted on central flywheel but a one piece forged crankshaft component. Both included a sludge trap inside the crankshaft, aluminum rods running on insert bearings on the big end and with piston pins riding in a bush (or directly on the rod
end in some years). Triumph end fed the oil to the crankshaft for the rods on the timing
side while BSA chose to feed the oil for the rods through a plain bearing that acted as
the timing side crankshaft supporting bearing. BSA at first used a ball bearing on the
crankshaft primary side but later changed it to a roller bearing. BSA used a single
camshaft running behind the cylinder with a completely enclosed, one piece rocker box
cast onto the head with a simple unstressed cover. The push rods ran inside a tunnel cast
into the cylinder while the rockers ran on shafts that pushed into pedestals that were
part of the head. So BSA totally enclosed and hid from view all of the valve gear. BSA
used a triplex primary chain with a clutch assembly of virtually the same design as Triumph, which included a set of rubber shock absorbers inside the center of the clutch
hub. The most basic difference is in displacement dimensions: Triumph has a longer
stroke than its' bore while BSA's bore is a single millimeter larger than its' stroke. The
transmission designs are equivalent, both using the classic British design of coaxial
input and output (hiding the output sprocket behind the clutch) and transferring first,
second, and third gear ratios through two gear sets while locking the input and output
shaft together (1:1) for forth gear. Each uses a slightly different gear selector mechanism but both are flat selector plates working through shifting forks on a set of transmission shafts located one above the other.
8
(Modern bikes almost universally use a rotating shift drum.) Only the details of the
transmissions are different. BSA used their standard for an oil pump, the rotary gear
pump, driven off the timing side crankshaft end.
BSA gets points for enclosing the valve gear eliminating leaks from push rod tubes
while Triumph gets points for allowing racers to degree the cams for different advance
between the exhaust and intake cam timing (only a small advantage at best for us). Triumph gets points for a slim looking motor while BSA looses points for their "power
egg" engine look. It's BSA over Triumph for a stronger primary chain. BSA gets recognition for a more modern engine design with a square bore to stoke ratio while Triumph
retains the old fashion long stroke motor. BSA looses big points for the crankshaft design that uses a plain bearing on the timing side and has a totally inadequate crankshaft
end play control design. (Triumph uses a ball bearing on the timing side which controls
the crankshaft endplay, while BSA uses an inadequate floating arrangement even in the
light of axial forces from the oil pump). BSA's rotary pump has theoretical advantages
but of the three that I have had apart, two were close to seizure for totally unknown
reasons. Triumphs rarely need new oil pumps (double plunger oil pump). To my way of
thinking Triumph wins the motor category, if only for the excellent crankshaft design,
although BSA had the more modern design elsewhere in the motor. BSA's Lightning
cam, used in the high end models, was much hotter than even Triumph's Bonneville TT
racer's cam. If only BSA had fixed their bad crankshaft end play design (the fix is
available through SRM in England and a few places in the USA) and used a plunger oil
pump, they would have had the superior design, at least in my mind.
Frame:
Triumph's frame is straight out of the 1930's: furnace brazed tube and lug design. The
frame is made up of straight and bent tubes terminated in heavy forged lugs. The frame
is assembled with brass embedded brazing paste and placed in a furnace to make the
brass flow by capillary action into each joint of every lug. The frame is a two piece bolt
together affair after completion of the manufacturing process to which a pair of
strengthening plates were later added (just behind the foot pegs). They tie the ends of
the swinging arm, the front frame piece and the rear frame piece together. This makes
for a heavy frame. BSA's used a welded frame assembly developed in the 1950's with
their Gold Star road racing program and first used on the non-unit 650 twin. While the
Triumph used a single down tube design the BSA is a twin down tube design, which is
inherently more flex free. Triumphs non-unit, twin down tube frame was a disaster,
breaking regularly such that it was used for only a year or two.
I believe the frame design points go to BSA, overwhelmingly, due to their modern all
welded super strong design. But I'm not sure any of us could tell the difference on a
twisty road.
Continued on page 10
9
Triumph vs BSA Continued
Suspension and wheels:
Both Triumph and BSA used then current design practices for their suspension components (Girling rear shocks and proprietary forks). BSA's used, in most years, an
internal cartridge fork that relegated all the dampening to a piston inside of a closed
tube, fed oil from the bottom through holes. The remaining volume of the lower fork
leg was the oil reservoir. The cartridge piston was connected to the upper tube fork
cap by a long slender rod. The rod passed through a top cap of the cartridge. The
dampening action was crude compared to today's forks but not all that bad for its'
time. Triumph used a shuttle valve attached to the bottom of the upper fork leg and
the clearance volume between the upper and lower fork tubes to generate the required dampening action. Triumph's forks seem to work OK, again good enough for
the times. BSA and Triumph are about equal as far as suspension goes.
There was a marked difference in wheels between the two. The difference eventually
evolved into sameness when the oil-in the- frame models appeared and slightly before. Initially BSA used Gold Star wheels (at least on the top of the line models).
The front was the narrow braked Gold Star unit while the back was the really neat
quick disconnect Gold Star model. The front was barely adequate while the rear was
OK for the time. The rear allowed wheel removal without disconnecting the chain.
The rear brake and chain wheel (with the chain going around it) were left on the bike
undisturbed at wheel removal time. The power was transmitted across a fine spline
arrangement. If you failed to be careful the axle could be cross-threaded (don't ask
me how I know) but generally this was a superior arrangement. Triumph used full
width hubs in the front but the assembly was a lot heavier than needed as it was all
steel. This wheel was in later years used along with the double leading backing plate
on both BSA's and Triumph's. The Triumph rear wheel looked similar to the BSA
rear wheel but was one piece requiring the chain to be removed to get the wheel out
of the frame. This rear wheel was not overly strong and the hub has been known to
separate at the welded flange when used heavily, like in desert racing. I'd give BSA
the nod for the wheels but in latter years both used the same front wheel. In still later
years both used a new conical set of wheels, shared between BSA and Triumph.
These later wheels are laughingly referred to a "comical hub wheels" due to their
poor brakes ( I am told).
Electrical:
Both BSA and Triumph used Lucas electrical components in virtually identical electrical systems. In the mid 1960's BSA was suffering with an image of a motorcycle
10
with engine problems. It turned out that the engine's problem was the Lucas points cam.
It apparently caused the ignition points to bounce at an inopportune time in the engines
cycle resulting in a maverick spark. The result was poor performance and ultimately
seizures. It took a year or so to figure it out but apparently Triumph's points cam did not
suffer the same malady. Triumph earned the reliability reputation while BSA got the
opposite, thanks to Lucas.
Conclusions:
In general the BSA was perhaps a little more modern design and as such should of had
potential as a race dominator. But the opposite was true. Triumph got the performance
tag due to many TT racing wins. Racers had a very hard time keeping BSA's together it
appears. In virtually all areas the BSA was slightly better except the engine. But a motorcycle is the engine. What is not covered here is personal appeal. More people (at least
Americans) are more drawn to the Triumph sport look than BSA's utilitarian power egg
look.
What are my conclusions? I ride a BSA, but it was a bike of opportunity, arriving in my
field of view when I knew nothing about the vintage scene, at the right price. With the
knowledge I have gained since buying it, today I would choose the Triumph. I really
hate that I have spent more than $1000 on my BSA motor and it is no more reliable than
before due to that stupid BSA crankshaft endplay control design.
Oh well, that's life for you
Lynn Bennett
Dear Editor, I was recently surprised to come across an advertisement for a motorcycle shop in Culver City that I never knew about. It's from 1958 and was located where
the present day George Petrelli's Steak House is
. Barry Sulkin
11
Piston Ring Gap… British Cycle Supply Co.
12
Continued on Page 14
13
Piston Ring Gap…..Continued
14
Members Only….For Sale / Wanted
For Sale: 1988 Matchless G80 with 600cc electric start engine and original 500cc
Rotax engine as spare. Excellent condition, only about 200 made. California licensed
and registered. $5000.
Barry Sulkin 310 398 6406
12/1/12
See a walk around at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDOqgxGyNuQ
For Sale: BSA M-20 Girder Forks. NOS. $375 plus shipping.
Call Barry @ (818) 681 0385 email: barryplusfour@yahoo.com
1/1/13
FOR SALE: BSA Bantam built
and ridden with success by Don
Alfred in the early 1950’s scrambles around So California. $1000
Call Chuck Minert
951-763-2738
11/1/12
15
Members only….For Sale/Wanted
Rickman 500cc Twin Triumph $8500 or best offer (cash only, no
trades, make offer, all offers will be considered)
Built from new kit in 2000
Ceriani forks with Race Tech emulators,
spare Betor forks.
Progressive Suspension adjustable
dampening shocks.
Spare race tank and newly manufacture
Lynn Wineland stock tank.
Alloy rims with Rickman hubs and
Buchanan stainless spokes and nipples.
Modern levers and controls.
1972 Unit Triumph 500cc motor, completely rebuilt in 2000
New Surflex clutch, Open exhaust pipes (one high, one low).
Two-into-one exhaust system with titanium spark arrestor muffler for District 37 GP's.
Bash plate for GP's, JRC carb, Trick dual foam filter setup
Boyer Power Box, battery-less, Boyer electronic analog ignition w/correct coils
Stainless steel chassis hardware
Converted externally to left hand shift, but possible to put back to right hand shift
Currently set up for Vintage GP's but can be put back to MX setup w/low fender/open
pipes
Low race miles (occasional super senior rider...me and a couple of GP's by my Expert
son)
Excellent condition..looks fresh and runs strong
Too old to ride anymore and son has no interest anymore in Vintage racing
Lynn Bennett
760-949-0139
ldbennett1@verizon.net
16
Calendar of Events
Feb 10 (Sun) Vintage Bike O.C. – Monthly meet at Beach Burgers, 19102 Beach Blvd,
Huntington Beach, Ca. 2 – 4pm
Feb 17 (Sun) – Ojai Pilgrimage; meet at the Cactus Patch, 197 High St. in “old town”
Moorpark; leave at 10 am for Ojai via Santa Paula for a visit to Guy Webster’s classic Italian collection. Info- www.socalnorton.com, or call Bib at 626-791-0259
Feb 24 (Sun) Long Beach Motorcycle Swap-meet, Info: www.socalcycleswapmeet.com
Mar 3 (Sun) * BSAOCSC”CINDER CONE” DUAL SPORT RIDE starts in Lucerne
Valley at the parking lot of the Highway 247 Restaurant, Junction of Hwy 247 & 18 Meet
at 9 AM, ride at 10 AM. Info: Mike Haney (760) 365-9191 or Craig Rich (562) 868-9389.
Mar 10 (Sun) Vintage Bike O.C. – Monthly meet at Beach Burgers, 19102 Beach Blvd,
Huntington Beach, Ca. 2 – 4pm
Mar 17 (Sun) – Frazier Park/ Cuyama Loop; meet at the Denny’s on Frazier Mountain
Rd, just west of the I-5; leave at 10 am for Cuyama for lunch, returning via Lockwood
Valley. Info- www.socalnorton.com, or call Bib at 626-791-0259
Mar 24 (Sun) * BSAOCSC “INLAND EMPIRE” VINTAGE STREET RIDE starts in
the Temecula area. Turn east off the 15 to Walmart parking lot Apis Rd and Hwy 79 south.
Meet at 9 AM, ride at 10 AM. Info: Paul Elmore (951) 763-4037 Ride maps and route
sheets provided. Ride pins at finish.
Mar 24 (Sun) Long Beach Motorcycle Swap-meet, Info: www.socalcycleswapmeet.com
Apr 6 (Sat) BSAOCNC CLUBMANS SHOW & SWAP - San Jose Fairgrounds. Apr 7
(Sun) “Morning After Ride” More info Jim Tomich 408-344-9457, or for ride details, Don
Danmeier 414-898-0330, or the website www.bsaocnc.org
Apr 14 (Sun) * BSAOCSC AL BAKER DUAL SPORT RIDE Meet at 9 AM at the Al
Baker Ranch, 16400 Wild Road, Helendale, Ca. Ride starts at 10 AM and is approximately
90-100 miles. For British & other vintage motorcycles with street registration, and spark
arresters. Info: John Gardner (310) 920-3393 or Mike Haney (760) 365-9191, Steve Ortiz
(951) 245-5287
Apr 14 (Sun) Vintage Bike O.C. – Monthly meet at Beach Burgers, 19102 Beach Blvd,
Huntington Beach, Ca. 2 – 4pm
17
BSA Owners Club of Southern California
Email & Phone Directory
Specialists
Gold Star/Winged Wheel: Dick Newby
No Email (714) 839-7072
**********
Pre Unit Twin: Clive Brooks
Clive54bsa@aol.com (714) 771-2534
**********
Grey Porridge: (-: Position Open :-)
**********
Unit Singles/B50: Jack Faria
(805) 551-4982
**********
Rocket III/Trident: Burt Barrett
(661) 832-6109
**********
Triumph/Sidehack: Russ Smith
(818) 343-8045
**********
BSA Unit Twins: Bill Getty
JRCEngineering@aol.com
**********
Specialty Tool Consultant: Craig Rich
Questions: (562) 868-9389
**********
Please make calls between 9am and 9pm
18
BSA Owners Club Regalia
Baseball Caps $14 + $5
Sweatshirts $25 —$28 + $5
S&H
S&H
Official BSA Owners Club “T” Shirt. Comes in Blue, Red, Grey
and Black. Large, XL and XXL. Price is $20 for short sleeve
and long sleeve $25. BSA Club sweat shirts are available in
limited colors and sizes. Price includes shipping and handling. Take delivery at a Club gathering and save $5. Sizes
and colors are limited, so place your order quickly!
Contact—Randy Ressell: Regalia Coordinator
Hm. (714) 448-1179, E-mail: b2v8384@yahoo.com
19
For more info on the San Jose Event please check our
web site: www.bsaocsc.org