1 BSA BULLETIN

Newsletter of the BSAOC of Northern California

November 2017 Number 383

In this issue:

The way we were

Letters

Rides

Matchless Blues

You say, we say

BSA Rally report

SLO Rally report

Better brakes

Blast from the past

BSA Beagle/Starlite

Swap meat

Calendar

Maggie

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Number 383 November 2017 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 541-858-5313 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 Dwayne Pipe Retired plumber Anne Nonomous

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: bsaocnceditor@aol.com

www.BSAOCNC.org

Front cover: BSA offers the best choice and value– was true then and is today Back cover: BSA dealer news issue 1 from Duarte facility built in 1966

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The way we were Your humble Editor

Riding in the 60’s was quite a bit different than to-day. In the 60’s there were much fewer laws to regulate where or how you could ride. I suppose we are responsible for the multiple laws on the books regulating about every-thing and I wouldn’t dream of doing what we did now. I re-member in 1970 riding my brand new Kawasaki 100 up and down the length of the San Gabriel river bottom. The river in those days was completely natural and was a mixture of sand and mud. We could ride from Azusa canyon all the way to Santa Fe flood control dam. There was the ruins of an old Spanish home in the bottom of the flood control basin and we would explore the stables which were still standing. In the canyons above Duarte there were fire roads that we would ride without a thought to legality or prudence. At the mouth of Azusa canyon was a water treatment plant that discharged treated water into the San Gabriel river in volume. Below that was Happy Jack’s Fish Farm where for a princely sum you could go fishing. As kids we would swim in that water and later in the winter when the flood gates on Morris dam in Azusa canyon were opened we would buy used car inner tubes and “ride the rapids”. These days riding the San Gabriel rapids would get you on the news and also bring out swift water rescue! Swimming in the treated water wasn’t the best idea either but the huge catfish and schools of perch that lived there didn’t seem to mind. We would ride out into the riverbed and then swim for a while. Catch a few fish or crawdads and roast them over an open fire we would start. We would have fire and Fish and Wildlife on our backs today as well! No matter as the river bottom has been groomed and fenced and posted and Happy Jacks is now a housing development. We had set up a track of sorts at the mouth of Fish canyon that crossed over a number of berms set up to divert water coming out of the canyon. A upper classman had the reputation of being the best motorcycle rider in the town and would come out to our track to show us up. He had a huge bike, a Yamaha 250 DT1 that was all striped down for racing. My Kawasaki just didn’t measure up. A friend had a new Hodaka 90 that was even slower than my Kawasaki. He decided that if he blew it up his parents would have to buy him something else so he set the throttle and started it letting the poor thing race for what seemed a long time before it quit. After it cooled off it started right up as if noth-ing was wrong. My buddy Hugo had a decrepit Yamaha 80 Trailmaster that had been abused thoroughly . Once while hill climbing the berm that contained the main discharge from the treatment plant he overshot and flew through the air and landed squarely in the middle of the flow and disappeared underwater. It took us some time to fish his bike out and then tip it up on end to drain the water out. We towed it around for a while until it started. Hugo traded the Yamaha shortly after for a Briggs powered mini bike with a Salisbury clutch and variable belt drive. To get the maximum power out of the 5 horse Briggs we found that the exhaust was threaded and a piece of sprinkler pipe was a per-fect fit. The pipe stuck straight out the back past the back of the seat and fender. Hugo added a bit of model airplane fuel for the smell and we rode that wheels off that thing. The brake consisted of a metal plate that pushed against the rear tire when one stepped on a rather crude brake pedal. Of course this did virtually nothing when wet so naturally Hugo crashed his mini bike pretty quickly. He talked his folks into buying him a new Yamaha AT1 125 Enduro raising the stakes for our local pecking order. My father bought me the same and my brother got the Kawasaki. That AT1 was what I was riding when I got my first look at a new Norton Commando at Bert’s motorcycles. Later when offered a ride as pillion on one I was hooked. I saved every penny I could and bought a brand new 1970 Commando . Ed.

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Letters to the Editor Send to: bsaocnceditor@aol.com or by mail : 17320 Santa Rosa Mine Rd,

Perris, Ca. 92570

Another excellent editorial, Lost Freedom. I think things were better before all the regulations and restrictions. A couple years ago, ten actually, I tried to take my hybrid YamaBeezer on an old school run like we used to do in the early 70's. Reno south to Sonora Pass then Hiway 49 to Yosemi-te. Pull over when it got dark and make a little campfire, heat up a can of chili, nice bottle of Lambrusco. Roll out your sleeping bag and count the stars. It can't be done now. Sonora Pass is camping in designated campgrounds only and reservations re-quired. Hiway 49 is fenced and posted the whole route. And certainly no campfires. KOA's were full. I ended up staying in motels for $125 a night. And don't worry about the new generation missing out on that kind of adventure. They are perfectly satisfied with their nose stuck in a smart phone. Butch Gordo, Winnemucca, NV

Good afternoon, I am thinking AJS 500, Model 18, Single 1955. Still working on racer. Have a great day. Regards, Mike mstod57@gmail.com

The great man himself,

Mr. Edward Turner in his days

with Ariel designing the 600cc OHC square four and later with Triumph and BSA as Damaging director and finally as designer of the ill fated BSA Fury 350. He set the stage for 40 years of motorcy-

cle design.

Only a watch after 40 years? Bly me...

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28th Annual

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA ALL-BRITISH RIDE

Saturday, November 4, 2016

BRITISH BIKES ONLY! ***NO EXCEPTIONS***

Ride departs 10:00 am - 940 Seventh Street, Novato DIRECTIONS:

Highway 101, take the Downtown (DeLong) Exit

Right on Novato Blvd., then right on 7th St.

Meet in front of Novato Gymnastics Center

DO NOT PARK BIKES OR TRUCKS IN THE GYMNASTICS CENTER PARKING LOT

ON-STREET PARKING ONLY Bikes at the curb, Trucks/trailers use neighborhoods

Lunch for British Bike pilots and passengers after the ride at

→Stafford Lake Park

Lunch tickets sold at sign-in, before the ride - $20

Info: Don Danmeier, 415-898-0330

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The Matchless Blues Redux by John Anton Sebastopol, CA Regular readers may recall my struggles after buying, sight unseen via Craigslist in Vancouver, British Columbia, a Matchless G80CS. After painting, repairing and/or re-placing the tank, rims, spokes, rear hub, triple clamps, magneto, wiring loom and many (mostly expensive) cycle parts, I concluded the first installment with “it’s now in one piece” and I hoped “it needs only gas and oil to run.” The second installment began “If only” and recounted removal and repair of the magneto, carburetor, and spark plug. After “a quick spin down the lane” exposed “a hemorrhage of clean oil” I foolishly thought “a couple of crush washers ought to take care of that,” and “the DMV is next on the list.” Once again, if only. Like most British bikes of its generation, the G80CS gets its oil by gravity from a re-mote oil tank. Through a combination of metal fittings, flexible hoses and clamps, it pumps the oil through the engine and back to the tank. For some reason, probably that it had been mined for spare parts, the BSP thread feed and return fittings threaded di-rectly into the timing side crankcase had been replaced with ASP hardware store nip-ples. No amount of Teflon tape would stop the leaks so a few hours on the internet and not just a few telephone calls secured what might be the world’s last NOS parts. Past experience made me wary of a direct approach to the DMV, and a private inspec-tion/registration service I’d used several times at modest expense was now out of busi-ness. I found a local guy who said for his fee of $79 I’d get title, registration, plate and current tab. Unfortunately the paperwork that came over the border with the bike accu-rately disclosed the purchase price and date of Sale. Joel said “Next time you do this, come see me first.” Since five years had passed I had to pay not only sales/use tax but also five years of road tax. Joel had done his research and over well more than an hour earned his fee, but the State of California collected another $700 or so. With clenched teeth I bolted on the new plate. Now it was time for the first legal trip on the road. Gas, oil, chain lube, tire pressures, and kicking. Lots of kicking. Plug out, big spark, plug in, more kicking. Finally the stac-cato bark of a high compression single. Oil returning, it was time to ride. Of course it died as I fastened my helmet, and do you think it would start again? More kicking, a helmet full of sweat then a glorious ride. Back when, my goal had been to have it ready for BSAOCNC’s “All-Brit” ride. This time, two-and-a half-years on, the goal was the BSAOCNC “British Singles Ride.” Even in that company I feared being the last to start. When in doubt, trust the bike. A little prac-tice starting from dead cold taught me to touch nothing, adjust nothing, just ease it over TDC and stomp the sumbitch. Suddenly it became the world’s most docile pussycat. The 10AM Brit singles lineup included Goldies, Victors, several Velos, one Ariel and my Matchless. Among the twins were unit BSAs, unit Triumphs, and Norton Commandos. Assorted oddities included an SR500 and an XT500 with BSA badges. We left Geyserville for Cloverdale, Highway 128 and Boonville for regroup and gas, and then west on Mountain View for 31 really rough twisty miles to ocean fog, High-way 1, Point Arena and lunch. Another effortless restart, 20 miles of smooth cool sweepers down Highway 1 to Gualala for gas, then east past Annapolis for another 40 really rough twisty miles on Scaggs Springs Road until where near Lake Sonoma the Corps of Engineers has done some of its best work. With decent brakes and a gentle clutch lever I might have done justice to this locally famous raceway, but its steep in-clines, steep declines and linked bends on decent pavement make it a pleasure on any-thing with two wheels.It was in the high 80s back in Geyserville when we finished. By then the big pussycat would even idle. Hot as it was, it had only a few drips to show for about 150 miles of hard riding. No more Matchless Blues.

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What did you say? Send us your caption for the above to: BSAOCNCeditor@aol.com Your clever captions for last month submitted below!

A. Ricky Racer I think I just fell in lust

B. Kelly Shane "Dammit! I should be a Norton girl in the next booth over. Instead my agent gets me a gig sitting on the BSA version of CB350".

C. Ed Storck "Does this bike make my butt look big?"

D. D Scott Cattoor ANOTHER REASON TO LIKE BRITISH MOTORCYCLES.

E. Michael Breslin "My clutch nipple isn't visible from this angle"!

F. Matt Furginson Beautiful, Sultry, Angel.

G. Doug Gagnon How does my hair look?

H. David Chamberlin See that overhead cam..?

I. Allan Gill “A fury for your bandit!”

J. Charlie Storck Unsophisticated Complication

K. Gordon E Moore The babe's got a deadlier rocking couple than that engine

What do you say?

1. I’ve heard of airports being out of town but this is ridiculous.

2. Exploring how Pacific Islanders arrived at Tahiti Dr. Jones discovered they had pow-ered transport.

3. Clive’s attempt to cross the Atlantic on motorbike seemed to be going so well

4. BSA worked tirelessly to penetrate new markets

5. When BSA heard Indian was making outboard boat motors they thought they could do better.

6. Travelocity discount cruses just didn’t catch on

7. When the British say captain of industry they mean it.

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The 2017 California BSA Rally Don Danmeier

Lunch at the Paso Robles Airport was OK, but we had to hustle the burgers and burritos just a bit, because the café closed at 2:00. We’d been over at the Estrella Aircraft Muse-um just down the road, scoping out not only the military planes but also the armored vehicles and in a separate building, classic cars, hot rods and bikes. That stuff deserves time and concentration, right? Afterward, I muffed a turn at Creston Road, which put us on the Highway 229 roller coaster, always a sheer delight. So the Friday ride turned out all right, even with that blunder.

Likewise, on Saturday we voted (I think) to alter the route back to the motel after lunch (this time, at Loading Chute saloon in Creston), shortening the ride a bit by eliminating another run down 229, but getting us back in time to buff up the bikes and to allow the release of a reasonable amount of BS. You know, “socializing”. Actually, it was a tail-gate party.

At the official party, held as a catered buffet at the Marriott across the street from the Rally HQ, several riders were honored with the following awards:

Best BSA Single Barry Porter, 1939 Silver Star

Best BSA Twin Dan Gehrs, 1968 Thunderbolt

Best BSA Triple Terry Packer, 1969 Rocket 3

Best BSA Custom Jerry Meadows, 1962/70 Lightning

Most Original BSA Barry Porter, 1963 Rocket Gold Star

Longest Distance Burt Barrett, 1969 Firebird Scrambler

Oldest BSA & Rider Barry Sulkin, 1960 Super Rocket

President’s Award Ron Massey, 1963 Rocket Gold Star

The raffle offered a gamut of goodies in including some most excellent wine from Dan and Robin Gehrs; bike accessories, tools, books and attire donated by both clubs, Raber’s and others. Phil Radford scored a voltmeter, which among its many functions provided “electronic temperature probes”, a facility that he be-came particularly enamored with.

You may read or hear addition-al details of this year’s Rally from other sources. Beware of falsehoods and flatulence.

2014 picture cause I didn’t get any current

ones….

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SLO Classic bike show and swap report by Darren Deeds

The Central Coast classic Motorcycle Club puts on a weekend extravaganza that is hard to beat. Thursday begins with an evening at the famous SLO Framers fair enjoying all the a college town has to offer in the way of food and fun along with great people watching. Some very unusual charicters roaming about there! Friday is a ride through some of the best roads in California with the finial destination at Ragged Point on the southern end of the best part of Pacific Coast Hwy. 1. Fellowship and bench racing at the lunch stop and then back to the hotel to get ready for the movie night. The club rents a full on theater in town to show some rare motorcy-cle movies. This year was the BSA factory film “The Best of Everything” with commen-tary by some old guy then a 1930’s motorcycle comedy and the highlight of the evening an Italian film with subtitles narrated by Clem Salvatore of Rider magazine fame who does speak perfect Italian.

The highlight of the weekend is the show and swap meet high atop the south end of the city at Mountainbrook Community Church (who says Christians can’t have fun?). Attendance is always such that there is no problem seeing all the bikes and look-ing for that project bike you must have. I would guess the crowd to be in the neighbor-hood of 350+ with about 35 vendors. The deals you missed my friend! A very complete running CL 77 Honda scrambler for only $1000! Or a really complete 1972 Yamaha XS2 for a mere $300! A rare Maico 250 from 1980 could have been in your garage for only $1200 or perhaps the 1982 Suzuki 650 Tempter would have tempted you to part with $150, and it was reported to have been running when parked. The assortment of bikes on display includ-ed the prototype Ariel 4 powered Healy that Thor, Ariel expert par exultance brought. Or the how about a priceless Croker V twin or the lovely Henderson 4 rid-den regularly. Don Harrell brought out

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Bad Brakes? Reprinted from the Piled Arms

So. Cal. by Lynn Bennett You’re cruising down a wonderfully curvy road on a BSAOC street ride and a reduced speed curve looms ahead. You gently roll the throttle off and the ca-dence of the motor doesn’t change. Stuck throttle! Instant panic sets in. But your mind quickly decides that you’ll use the brakes to overpower the motor and stall it. With heavy application of the brakes you realize that the brakes are not nearly powerful enough to stall the engine. You fumble for the ignition switch. Finding it you shut the motor off and the engine noise stops. Whew! This actually happened to someone I know. What did he do wrong? Firstly, in my opinion, he used an old worn out, distorted body Amal carb. Perhaps a new Amal, correctly mounted so as to not over tighten the mounting hardware, would have prevented this. Secondly, his brakes were not working to their full potential. But why did the brakes seem so ineffective? Several have written here about solutions to poor brakes for British bikes. One solution was to use a mill or a lathe to true up the drum and to arc the linings. Most of you don’t have a lathe big enough to handle an assembled wheel. I have trued the drums of disassembled wheels, making special adapters to take the hub only in my lathe. I have yet to find an easy way to arc the loose brake shoes to the diameter of the drum (called arcing them), until now. It has been said that you must true the drum with the wheel laced up as the spoke tension distorts the hub from a pure cylindrical form. If you true the wheel using different ten-sions on the spokes around the wheel to pull the wheel into true then you have done it wrong. A finished wheel’s spokes should all have the same tension. Special torque wrenches are made to assure that the tension of each spoke is nearly the same. I was given the secret to a solution for this problem by a fel-low Motocross racer. The concept is to use sandpaper temporarily glued to the brake drum working surface to shape the brake lining material to the drum. First remove the wheel from the bike and remove the brake backing plate from the wheel. Next, using about 80 grit paper, remove all the glaze and rust from the brake drum working surface. Carefully blow out all the brake dust remem-bering that if you have the original linings still on your bike they probably con-tain asbestos, which is dangerous if breathed. Next cut strips of about 80 or 100 grit sand paper the width of the drum. They should be cut so that multiple ones will completely cover the inner circumference of the drum with-out overlapping any where. Next, using rubber contact cement (Gasket Cinch, or household rubber cement), glue the strip(s) of sandpaper onto the drums inner working surface, sand paper grit surface facing the linings. Drop the backing plate into the hub and install the axle. The axle helps to cen-ter the backing plate and assure a uniform and correct arcing to the linings. A good approach is to clamp the exposed end of the axle into a vise allowing you to spin the wheel while holding the brake lever to the applied posi-

11 BSA BULLETIN

tion. Gently holding the brake lever on, rotate the wheel to make the sand pa-per work on the brake lining. After a while disassemble the wheel and check the progress on the linings. It will be most obvious where the sand paper has done its’ job. You can stop when about 90% of the linings’ surface shows that it has been sanded. You may have to renew the sand paper if you find it no long-er cutting aggressively or you may have to clean the sand paper grit of lining material to keep it cutting. Finally clean out the sanding gunk, remove the sand paper using lacquer thinner to remove the glue, and reinstall the wheel on the bike. The test ride will impress you. We have done this to all our bikes and any who have ridden our CZ motocrossers are amazed at how good the brakes are.For those of you, like me, who have installed the 1968 to 1970 Triumph/BSA double leading edge brake backing plate, you should first adjust the linkage between the two actuat-ing levers before arcing the brake shoe lining. This can be done most easily on the bike. To do the adjust first remove the link between the two actuating levers and set aside. Using wrenches or any handy tools, apply both levers fairly hard. Be careful to operate the levers in the correct direction: that is, the di-rection that they would move with the link installed and the lever pulled by the cable. For this series of wheels that should be clockwise. Now measure the distance between the link holes on the two arms with them fully applied. This may take a helper as with only two hands it could be tough to do. With that di-mension in mind adjust the separated link length between the holes to that di-mension. It is made so that that can be done easily. Reinstall the link and do the arcing as described above. When I did my A65 Hornet the brakes became extremely good to the point that normal stops were by necessity single finger applications, mocking modern bikes. All of the bikes I have done have shown some improvement but since I had adjusted the linkage incorrectly in the past on my Hornet it showed the greatest improvement. It’s time for you to get your braking power back

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July 1950 A Vincent motorcycle or

Howard Raymond Davies "HRD" was

featured on the cover of the July 1950

issue of CYCLE magazine. What's

wrong with that you say? Well it was

being ridden by Tex Luse in a dirt field

meet hill climb in the L.A. area. Yep, a

coveted Vincent motorcycle being

abused in the dirt. Well let's not say

abused because it is being ridden by

Tex Luse, one of the best dirt track

riders of the 1940's and mid 50's. Tex

was one of the top riders at the old

Carrell Speedway 1/2 mile in Gardena

from the late 40's through 1953, the

last year for motorcycle races there.

The track last operated up until mid

1954 when it was closed down and

Artesia Blvd was constructed smack

dab through the middle of it as if it was

cut in half. Carrell was located just

west of Vermont Ave. Then the Gar-

dena 1/4 mile Speedway was built and

located at 139th and Western Ave. It open in 1955. The first AMA class C motorcycle

race was on April 1, 1955. All of the big boys began showing up to race there. Joe

Leonard, Jimmy Phillips, Brad Andres, Don Hawley, Chuck Basney, Ed Kretz Jr., Dick

Mann, Johnny Muckenthaler. George Everett, just to name a few. Tex (17) rode a little

30.50 Velo single against the best Harley's, BSA's, and Triumphs on the circuit. He

was winning the main events and was finally protested only to be found legal. The

little 1/4 mile track turned out to be dangerous for bike bikes and there where several

fatalities. A three bike

crash occurred during the

1956 season which in-

volved

Chuck Basney, Brad An-

dres, who was currently

AMA # 1, and Don Hawley.

The accident took the life

of the 42 year old Basney

and seriously injured Brad

who was out of racing for a

year. The AMA said no

more big bikes on the

track. The track was

closed in 1957 and remod-

eled to a 1/3 rd mile. It

reopened in 1958 for it's

Tex Luce 17r

and George Everett 84x

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last AMA season. Ironically Jimmy

Phillips was fatally injured there in

June 1958. Ascot was built in

1957 and Called L.A. Speedway.

The big boys left Gardena and

began the new AMA season in

1959 at the "New Ascot" Tex had

retired..

17R Tex Luce Velocette 350

Leading Jimmy Phillips #8 (lower

picture)

Don Hawley #66

The great Al Gunter #54 by Annie Nonomus

5X Jack Kertzman, 39X Johnny Rich, 17R Tex Luce, #8 Jimmy Phillips, #1 Brad Andres, #37 Chuck Bashey

Tex Luce

Jimmy Phillips #8

Johnny Rich

Jack Kertzman

Brad Andres #1

Chuck Basney #37

Tex Luce

Jimmy Phillips

Don Hawley #66

Al Gunter

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BSA BEAGLE/STARLITE 75cc: 1964 - 1965 Clem Salvatore

Cute name, BSA Beagle. Dog names were not unusual in England, as with the Triumph Terrier of the early 1950s. But when this little mo-torcycle got to the United States, the word Beagle on the gas tank was gone, replaced by Starlite. Pretty boring.

Here was the essential commuter bike, a mildly attractive machine with a 75cc single-cylinder, four-stroke engine with a 9.5:1 compression ratio which could put out some five horsepower at the crankshaft ... somewhat less at the rear wheel.

The BSA folk had looked at the small-bike market around 1960 and realized that the original 125cc D1 Bantam, a two-stroke, was getting pretty long in the tooth. After all, it had originated in 1948 as part of German reparations after World War II, and was actual-ly a DKW 125 which BSA had flipped around in order to have the gear-shift and kick-starter on the right side, traditionally English. And the English do like tradition. The Beagle was intended to replace the Bantam.

The Italians had been selling their small bikes in England for several years, and now companies like Honda were looking to expand their markets. It was decided that the D1 Bantam should be dropped, and a smaller, cheaper motorbike would replace it. Ariel, a company wholly owned by BSA, was also thinking about a small bike. Edward Turner, now head of the BSA group, put pen to paper and came up with an OHV design, and said that Ariel would use it as a 50cc (stroke, 42mm, bore, 38.9mm) engine in the new Pixie (love those names!), while the BSA version would be bored out to 47.6mm for a total of 75cc.

Late in 1963 the first Beagle appeared at the London show, and early the next year the Starlite showed up in the U.S. Much to the disgust of most dealers because few Ameri-can motorcyclists commuted to work on their bikes, as cars were plentiful and inexpen-sive. The BSA shops were happy selling the big Beezas, like the 650cc Road Rockets and Spitfires, and wanted little to do with this tiddler. But when BSA Inc. in New Jersey said, "Take these flyweights, or else," the dealers did, and tried to sell it as a sporty lightweight ... without much success.

The design looked good on paper, with engine cases split vertically, a seven-fin iron barrel topped by an aluminum head, which had an "elliptoidal combustion chamber" ... one can only presume that means somewhat oval. A wet sump held the engine oil -- unusual for the British who liked to keep it in a separate container.. A geared primary drive went back to a wet clutch, through a four-speed transmission, then chain-drive to the rear wheel. The clutch had no need of a drum, as the clutch plates had teeth and served as the driven gear ... a minor saving of weight, which was around 145 pounds for the whole machine.

This engine was hung from a pressed-steel, spine frame, with no front down-tube, making it look quite bicycleish ... which was not an asset in the American mind.

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The leading-link front forks were a bit dated, but adequate, and a pair of shocks suspended the rear end. Nineteen-inch wheels and drum brakes were used at both ends, the wheels having properly valanced fenders to keep the rain at bay. The buyer could choose between a solo or a double seat, and a luggage rack was offered. A two-gallon Ban-tam tank held the gas, and that was more than enough to take the rider 200 miles. Curiously, the on/off/reserve petcock was not on the tank itself, but on the float chamber of the Amal carburetor.

Sounds good? Unfortunately, to quote a fellow who knew these bikes well, the end result was "a quaint bit of engineering malpractice." Apparently the factory was told to

rush production, and that is never good. First were prob-lems with lubricating the crank-shaft, and one rather feeble oil pump, with a single piston did not do a a sterling job. Rolling along at a moderate pace was okay, but if you were late for work and flogged the bike, bearings could go bad. Also, anyone wanting to change gearing by changing the front sprocket would have to split the cases to get at it. Not conven-ient. The chassis was a bit too flexible should a sporting rider try to test the limits of perfor-

mance and find himself in a bumpy corner.

And while the Beagle had lights, it had no battery, and all the electricity came off a fly-wheel magneto. This was fine for a daytime commute, but a lot scary on a dark night. The ignition was merely a toggle switch under the right side of the saddle, not something that thieves would be unaware of.

And the wet sump? Imstead of a good strong cover, the bottom of the engine had a tin plate keeping the oil in, but should the rider happen to ride over a curb and bump the sump, chances were very good that a leak would develop.

This rush job had not worked. The Honda 90 proved to be cheaper and better. Production of the Beagle ended in August of 1965, with just over 3200 units having been built, of which fewer than 600 came to the U.S. A slightly more modern Bantam, now 175cc, carried on until 1970, the chicken chasing the dog out of the yard.

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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, bsaocnceditor@aol.com with any photos in .jpg format

Next Best: Phone 951-943-5886. Good: mail to 17320 Santa Rosa Mine Rd, Perris 92570.

Swap Meat British only please! Runs for 3 months free!

C&J BSA B50 motocross motorcycle. New build with all the right stuff, Powder coated red C& J frame with Cur-nutt shocks and Rickman rear wheel. Looks like Husky forks and front wheel. Very well presented and runs very well. Health of the owner forces sale before he could ride it much. Bike located in south-ern California. $6500

mynorton850@aol.com 9/17

For Sale 1979 Triumph T140D Bonneville Special.

This bike has only 8300 miles on it, runs great, and was just completely serviced, including installing new clutch plates, tires, battery, rebuild-ing the carbs and the brake master cylinders. New fork seals /tubes were installed along with a new chain, rear sprocket, muffler and Lucas ignition switch! Also installed were new fuel petcocks, fuel lines and in-line filters. Also worth noting: Triumph mounted the shift lever on the left side (1978) and bored these Bonneville's out to 750cc! This bike is so much smoother on the highway than the earlier models! I'm only ask-

ing $5199/offer. CASH only. Call Chuck at 909-912-2631 9/17

WANTED: Manufacturer – Distributor race win posters of the 1950’s – 1960’s, such as “Feets Minert Wins 1956 Catalina”, and/or “Bud Ekins Wins Big Bear Run”. Sharp copies OK if you wish. Also 40’s, 50’s and 60’s m/c magazines: anything on Tiger Cubs & BSA Victors. Cash or trades, rogersr.e.65@gmail.com

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From: Charles Chatfield-Taylor [mailto:taylor0292@sbcglobal.net]

Subject: starter bike, Hey Dan-I have a young friend who's looking to get into motorcy-cling. I told him I'd help him out with whatever he winds up buying (if it's British, that is), and that also I'd help with the purchase.

Happen to know of any project bikes? Ideally, it would be something like a 500 Triumph twin, an A50 BSA-or even a B40. He wants a bike that isn't too complicated that would be okay around town. He's willing to get his hands dirty while I sit in a comfortable chair and advise. Ha ha. We're always bitching about how hard it is to get young guys into this stuff-and here's someone who wants to take the plunge. Any suggestions?

I need to make room in my garage and would like to find homes for two of my amazing Triumphs. Please post my ad in the next BSA Bulletin edition. Below are brief details for the bikes (pics attached): 1973 Triumph TR5T --Recent rebuild on this rare bike. Winner of this year's best dual sport @ the Steve McQueen show. $7,000.00 Contact Bruce @ 949-742-0573 1972 Triumph Trident T150V --Just finished complete top end rebuild. Great looking and running bike. $6,500.00 Contact Bruce @ 949-742-0573 Thank you, Bruce 11/17

LOW MILEAGE ORIGINAL 1969 BSA 441 VICTOR SPECIAL $7,200 OBO As per the one featured in the 1969 movie "Woodstock". Yes! Check it out! Maybe this helped to make the Victor fa-mous! A garage/barn find in Santa Maria this bike has 2644 original miles and was last registered for 1972. Confirming black li-cense plate included. Engine has 185# compression and the bike GOES LIKE HELL! This is what I call a "SURVIVORATION"; what had to be done has been done to make it run and run well including: Completely re-built front end (more details are available) New rear sprocket, chain, tire and tube Wheel bearings checked and brake drum and shoes inspected New front primary sprocket, primary chain adjusted, new oil, Kick start seal changed, kick start gears inspected Points cleaned and adjusted, timing adjusted statically and by strobe New Lucas ignition switch with 2 keys New throttle and clutch cables New battery - large, sealed AGM New air filter Carb disassembled and cleaned Oil tank removed and cleaned, new dipstick I have receipts for all parts mentioned above More pictures available. Contact me at danielgehrs@gmail.com or 805 448 0268. Clear CA title only - Planned Non Operation status - simply register

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BSA street scrambler A500 Original parts included and workshop manuals less than 10,000, had it in a shed for a long time. too hard for me to kick over, my dad and i worked on it a bit but needs more love than i can give it.(530) 412-2684 1700urrently non operational title

1967 250 Starfire, 1200 original miles, not restored but per-fect, been stored al-most all its life $4000 chip 775 2240209

1969 BSA B44 Victor Special Runs and rides like it should. All original Title in my name. Last registered in 2007, since when its been on Non-Op so no back reg-istration fees. If the posting is still up, the bike is still available. I can deliver, at cost. $4800 7fksz-6297977625@sale.craigslist.org

1969 BSA 2 motorcycles 1 with motor 1 without

1969 BSA - $2000

(707) 354-0670

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Has single carb and siamesed exhaust pipes, clear Calif. title. Has been updated to 12 Volt and electronic ignition, starts on first kick even after sitting for 2 months. Runs excellent, shifts perfect, and every-thing works fine. Even includes original goggles and Craven hard bags and rack made in England in the 60's. If you see it, it is still available, I will remove ad when sold. call or text six o 4- O O eight I. thanks $4000

This is a 71 BSA B50. It is an incomplete bike. Engine has compression, fuel tank included as is rear fender. That is ALL I have. No title. Make a VMX bike or restore as a thumper. Frame & engine #'s match. Bike is by Spokane. VMX AHRMA vin-tage classic - $2000 (208) 771-0882

BSA B40 Project Everything has been powder coated Rebuilt lower end New piston and cylinder bored to a 425cc New valves and head machined Comes with all parts to finish! Clean title on non op 1964 BSA B40 - $2000 (san rafael) (415) 613-8455

1972 B50 MX MATCHING NUMBERS ENGINE TURNS OVER, BUT KICK-STARTER GEARS NEED FIXING. CAN SEND BETTER PICS IF INTEREST-ED. PLEASE CALL 8three1-5eight 8-01seven2. $2200

Some Craigslist gems for your perusal. Current as

on 9/21 Send in your for sale ad today!

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1970 bsa tracker style runs good starts easy and rides nice, new battery and rear tire, brakes work good , nice tracker wheels and tires, right side shift ,shifts nicely and plenty of power. pipes have baffles in them so it's not too loud they have a very nice sound. I'm not riding it enough to keep it -clear title registered non-op so no back fees - may trade

for a guzzi griso or v11 sport dqvnx-6297179327@sale.craigslist.org

1970 BSA Thunderbolt 650 A65T - Mostly Original & Complete Thunderbolt features an easy to tune single carb head, but can be converted to dual carbs for a bit more power. Unit construction with 4-speed gearbox. Classic Brit sound and handling .. very fun bike to ride. Coming out of a private collection ...

this bike is in very good overall condition. Clean title current reg Low original miles Starts easy, runs and rides excellent .. collection quality cosmetics. Priced at $8495 or best reasonable offer ... (510) 860-5048

runs perfect no frame mods bsa b50 mx 1973 - $3300 (corona) (951) 279-5741

BSA B50MX 500c.c. single, with matching en-gine and frame numbers. I have a current Cali-fornia title, registered non-op, OHV. It needs new tires, although they do hold air, but are cracked. Alloy gas tank has a few fixable dents and doesn't leak. Seat is BSA aluminum seat base. Super Trapp muffler. B50MX 1971 - $3000 Phone: seven one four, 321 876 seven I WILL NOT RESPOND TO TEXTS

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1968 BSA 650 Runs & Rides Excellent Custom Paint, Seat Upholstery, New Tires, Wiring, Re-Built Engine. Clean Title in My Name Serious Buyers Only No Low Ballers $6000 OBO or POSSI-BLE TRADE (805) 340-9980

First year that the 441 was imported to USA. Round-barrel. Cosmetically unre-stored (looks cooler that way). Original Black and Yellow plate with 1966 and current registration tabs (on non-op). En-gine redone by Mike Doom and Meatball, with Mikuni carb (have original) and up-dated electrics. Also, I have original 1966 pink slip and spare stock gas tank. Will need a little work, lights don't work, but

it's a great project. Possible trade for vintage bike or something cool. 1966 BSA 441 Victor - $3500 (818) 269-7262 ext. 818

1952 B31 BSA. 500ccm Motor. Ready to assemble. Everything here, many new Parts. Manuals included. Clean AZ Title.

Lost interest.$2800.00 Obo.

tx9fr-315437834%40sale.craigslist.org

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Clubman’s Calendar 2017

04 Nov (Sat) BSAOCNC ALL-BRITISH RIDE, Novato

Don Danmeier, 415-898-0330 or dwdsms@novato.net

05 Nov (Sun) SCNOC All-British Ride, Hansen Dam

www.socalnorton.com

11 Nov (Sat) AHRMA vintage trials, Anza

12 Nov (Sun) www.ahrma.org

12 Nov (Sun) BSAOCSC SWAP MEET

Steve Ortiz, 951-440-3521 or Barry Sulkin, 310-398- 6406

19 Nov (Sun) BSAOCSC “ELSINORE GRAND PUTT” DUAL-SPORT RIDE Steve Ortiz, 951-440-3521

03 Dec (Sun) BSAOCSC ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY

03 Dec (Sun) NCNOC Christmas Party

Ken Armann, 408-455-9388

17 Dec (Sun) NCNOC “Freeze Ride”

Ken Armann, 408u-455-9388

31 Dec (Sun) SCNOC “Run for the Roses”

www.socalnoc.com

Always the pessimist!

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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

Membership: The Northern Cali-fornia 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.

MAKE CHECK/MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO THE BSA OWN-ERS’ CLUB AND MAIL TO: BSA OWNERS' CLUB, P.O. BOX 594, NOVATO, CA 94948

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DEAR MAGGIE:

My 1971 BSA Lightning has the origi-nal Amal carbs which seem to work well, but I sometimes get frustrated with the ticklers because they are so small and difficult to depress, espe-cially with gloves on. So when my beautiful but kinky girlfriend asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said without hesitation, "Tickler exten-sions". But I was surprised when my birthday rolled around and my sweet baby, with a glint in her eye, tied me to the bed and told me to get ready for my special present. As I was ly-ing there in quite a vulnerable state of undress, I tried to work out in my

mind how removing my shorts and getting tied to the bed had anything even remotely to do with tickler extensions for my Amal carbs. Then she whipped out two peacock feathers attached to four-foot pieces of bamboo and proceeded to tickle me every-where. And I mean everywhere. I must admit that we had a pretty good time, but I still get gasoline all over my gloves when-ever I go to start my engine. Maggie, when am I ever going to learn to communicate with women? – TICKLED PINK IN RED-WOOD CITY

Dear Pink Woody:

At the rate you’re going, maybe never. You have to realize that normal people do not employ the same highly technical vocabu-lary that bikers do. Consider where women are “coming from”, that is, what their perception of reality is. Your girl, being at-tuned to implications of the sensual sort, will jump to conclusions that you may never have thought of. Such is the nature of the “battle of the sexes”. Different hormones, different biological im-peratives, presto, different vocabularies. Stick with the touchy-feelie stuff and you may get through to her. You know, “koochy-koo” instead of “ticklers”. But take off the gloves when you do it.

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In Nov 1967 BSA Western started a little folded in half single page deal-er’s newsletter. They called it the Main Events. The inside page mentioned the new letter and encouraged dealers to submit the names and race locations of any BSA wins for publication in their new monthly newsletter. The only other inside news was the release of the 68' models. The back listed some recent BSA wins. Note that J. Kato won the open expert Elsinore main. J. Kato was actually professional AMA expert # 10X Johnny Issacs however the AMA frowned on their professional rid-ers in sportsman races so guys would use an alias. For example, Bryan Farnsworth would race as Clutch Cargo.